After Ma Zhiguo and his wife failed to get their way at the Ning household, they went to the factory the next day and caused a big scene at the director’s office.
It was said the situation got quite ugly. Despite her age, Liu Meifang shamelessly lay down in the office hallway and started throwing a full-blown tantrum and rolling on the floor1削地光 (xiāo dì guāng) – A dialectal slang in Jiangnan/Shanghai areas, describing someone flailing or rolling on the ground, usually to cause a scene, shouting that if their family didn’t get the apartment, she wouldn’t get up. No matter who tried to persuade her, it was of no use.
Eventually, the factory director couldn’t bear to watch anymore and went to the workshop to find four strong female workers. One took her arms, another her legs, and together they carried her away.
“Today the director called me in for a talk. It was about Uncle Ma’s family.”
Under the lamplight, father and son sat facing each other, stacks of new textbooks piled on the table, alongside scissors, an art knife, and glue.
That morning had been the final pre-semester return-to-school day. Ning Xiaobei, after so many years, stepped into his elementary school again and came back with a stack of new semester textbooks. Now, they were wrapping them in book covers.
There were no ready-made book covers at that time, and the Ning family wasn’t willing to waste colorful gift wrap paper. What they used were old calendar sheets from the previous year.
Back then, giving calendars to one another was a trend. Every factory would order custom-printed calendars from a press at year’s end, branded with the factory’s name, to be handed out by salespeople as advertising.
The most popular themes were Hong Kong celebrities, luxury cars, and scenic landscapes.
Grandma Ning had a glamorous portrait of Maggie Cheung and Cherie Chung pinned by her bed—she liked looking at beautiful women, especially those in qipao. Ning Jianguo preferred calendars with planes, cannons, and various warships.
As for Ning Xiaobei, he favored cats and dogs, so this time the calendar paper wrapping his books featured pet animals.
Together, he and Ning Jianguo work on wrapping the books, chatting as they go.
“What did Uncle Director say?” Ning Xiaobei puts down his scissors and glances at Ning Jianguo out of the corner of his eye.
Ning Jianguo’s skilled hands flipped and folded, wrapping the book until it was stiff and neat.
“He told me to carry forward the spirit2“发扬风格” (carry forward the spirit) – A phrase from the Mao era encouraging people to act selflessly, echoing the legacy of Lei Feng., of course.
He chuckles, a slight smirk playing on his lips. Bathed in the soft light, he truly looks like a jade tree in the wind3“玉树临风” (yu shu lin feng) – “as graceful as a jade tree in the wind,” used to describe an exceptionally handsome and elegant man., even in just a plain white undershirt, his handsome charm undeniable.
Sigh, such a good-looking dad, who can even cook so well—how is it that no woman likes him?
It’s all because of me, this baggage4“拖油瓶” (dragging oil bottle) – Colloquial term for a child brought into a new marriage or family, often considered a burden.! And not even a biological one at that.
Ning Xiaobei gritted his teeth inwardly.
“Then… what did you say, Dad?”
Ning Xiaobei asked cautiously.
He was really afraid his dad had been persuaded again to carry forward the spirit.
“I said, there’s a Miss Wu5吴家妹妹 (Wú jiā mèimei) – Wu family girl from our alley who works as a shop assistant at the Friendship Store in Xuhui.”
Ning Jianguo answered, avoiding the question.
“Huh?”
Seeing his son’s dumbfounded expression, Ning Jianguo chuckled.
Miss Wu was the daughter of Grandma Ning’s mahjong friend, Auntie Wu, who lived at the alley’s entrance and was nicknamed the Flower of the Lane6“弄堂一枝花” ( Flower of the Lane) – Local phrase used in Shanghainese culture to describe the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood.. Apparently, she had once had a crush on Ning Jianguo, but… well, nothing ever came of it.
“In the past, if you wanted to buy things at the Friendship Store, having Renminbi7“Renminbi” (literally: “People’s Currency”), which is the official currency of China. The basic unit of the Renminbi is the yuan. alone wasn’t enough. You needed foreign exchange certificates, you know8“侬晓得伐？” (nong xiaode fa?) – Shanghainese dialect for “Did you know that?” or “You get it, right?”?”
Ning Jianguo said, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.
Ning Xiaobei nodded.
“Foreign exchange certificates”—not many born after the 1990s or 2000s would know about these anymore. They were a part of a whole generation’s memories.
Back then, the Friendship Store only served foreign guests and overseas Chinese. Ordinary people couldn’t even step inside, unless their family had overseas ties or they could get foreign exchange certificates from scalpers.
Just like those high-end hotels that only received foreign guests, being able to work in a place like the Friendship Store was practically like making a fortune overnight9祖坟冒青烟 (zǔ fén mào qīng yān) – literally “blue smoke rising from the ancestral tomb”, an idiom meaning something extremely fortunate has happened, as if blessed by ancestors..
Although China stopped issuing foreign exchange certificates after 1995, the outrageous prices at the Friendship Store still deterred most common folk. The place remained lofty and unattainable, like something in the clouds.
“As soon as I went in, the Director offered me a cup of coffee. Xiaobei, let me tell you, coffee is really nasty. It’s basically foreign herbal medicine.”
Ning Xiaobei was already confused by the story, but Ning Jianguo insisted on veering off track. Seeing his son’s urging expression, Ning Jianguo finally stopped teasing him.
“I pointed at the coffee cup and told him: this gold-rimmed cup isn’t available in stores. It came as a free gift with the 《Nestlé》 gift set. And that set? Limited edition. Only sold at the Friendship Store. Special supply.”
Ning Xiaobei lifted his head, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes curved like two small moons.
He started to understand.
“Miss Wu told me. Their counter only sold three of those gift sets this month. Two of them were bought by the same person. One ended up in the Director’s hands. The other? It came to our door last Sunday—but I turned it down.”
“Dad…”
Ning Xiaobei couldn’t help but whisper.
“That family isn’t struggling at all. Miss Wu said that when he took out the money from his wallet, it was a thick stack of ‘green skin10“Green skin” (青皮) is slang for the older generation of 100-yuan notes, which had a greenish hue.‘ bills—old-style hundred-yuan notes—bundled up with rubber bands, easily totaling a few thousand yuan.”
Ning Jianguo smiled and flicked Ning Xiaobei’s nose with his finger.
“His wife even told Miss Wu that her husband makes a killing reselling seafood at the Tongchuan Road market. Their daily cash flow is insane. She said they already bought a commercial apartment last year, two bedrooms and a living room, with a balcony view of the Huangpu River. Aiyo, if those people count as a ‘hardship household,’ then I don’t know what kind of misery we’re living in. A family of three, only me working. My old mother’s too old, and my little one’s too young. Xiaobei, don’t you think your dad’s got a point?”
“Dad, amazing! Full score!”
Ning Xiaobei raised both hands and gave him two big thumbs-up.
“So what did the Director say?”
“He said, ‘I understand.'”
Ning Jianguo imitated the Director’s tone, putting on an official airs: “But Comrade Xiao Ning, I hope you won’t go around spreading this matter… As for Old Ma’s situation and the housing issue, I’ll think of a way. You just go back and do your work.”
Truly speaking like an official.
Ning Xiaobei curled his lips and didn’t comment.
“Just wait, Xiaobei. By next year at the latest, we’ll be moving into our new place. Then you won’t have to scrub toilets every morning.”
As he spoke, he pinched his nose.
Ning Xiaobei nodded repeatedly in agreement.
If it weren’t for this welfare housing, they would’ve had to wait until the end of 2000 to move into the public housing from the demolition resettlement.
And even then, his dad had once again displayed his noble character, giving up the more convenient ground-floor unit to an elderly neighbor and choosing to live on the sixth floor, without an elevator.
To be able to move a few years earlier was truly a blessing.
The new books were quickly wrapped up. Following the newly issued curriculum, Ning Xiaobei placed the books needed for the first day of school into his Ultraman-printed blue backpack.
“Xiaobei, go downstairs and watch TV with your Grandma for a while.”
Ning Jianguo picked up a fan and waved it twice, directing his words towards the stairs.
In the living room was a 14-inch color TV that Ning Jianguo had bought years ago using a “TV voucher” issued by the factory. Back then, not many in the lane could afford a color TV, most still watched black and white. At night, neighbors would bring stools and come to the Ning household to watch TV. Especially in summer, Ning Jianguo would move the TV out into the yard so everyone could enjoy it together.
But in the past two years, more families had bought color TVs, and people didn’t bother coming over anymore. Besides, their 14-inch TV had become outdated. Nowadays, everyone was buying big-screen Japanese sets, some over 20 inches, with VCRs and all kinds of flashy features.
Ning Jianguo had saved quite a bit of money over the years. He planned to get rid of all the old appliances when they moved and replace everything at once, so Grandma and Xiaobei could live more comfortably.
“I don’t want to watch TV. I’ll just read for a while,” Ning Xiaobei shook his head, taking a magazine from Ning Jianguo’s bookshelf and heading towards the attic stairs.
The hottest TV series this summer was the Shanghai dialect version of 《Sinful Debt》. Grandma Ning watched it every day, and the next day during the mahjong game, she would exchange experiences with a few neighbors.
The story followed several kids from Yunnan who came to Shanghai looking for their educated-youth fathers. It stirred strong reactions among the locals, who laughed and cried along with the drama.
In the evening, the entire alley echoed with the song 《Beautiful Xishuangbanna, Can’t Keep My Dad Here》 coming from the windows of every household.
Although Ning Jianguo was not a sent-down youth and had never been to Yunnan to work in the fields, he had served in the army in Heilongjiang shortly after junior high school. Soon after demobilization, he went there again and then brought Xiaobei back.
Since the TV show aired, there were often a few joking uncles and aunties in the alley who would tease Ning Xiaobei, asking if his dad had brought back a “sinful debt” from up north.
In that “real world,” young and introverted Ning Xiaobei, manipulated by unscrupulous adults, was so angry that he ran to Ning Jianguo with tears and snot, asking him who his mother was, leaving Ning Jianguo speechless.
Now, facing the same question again, the now experienced Xiaobei raised his chin, innocently saying, “Uncle, I don’t know if I’m a ‘sinful debt.’ Perhaps you should ask yourself if you’ve ever had ‘outside flowers.’ Moral corruption is a serious issue; being found out by the unit could lead to dismissal.”
Seeing the mature response from the young lad, those nosy neighbors with no manners could only retreat. Behind closed doors, they curse the young master of the Ning family, who appears polite and well-mannered but, in reality, has a mouth as venomous as his grandmother’s. It’s truly a case of birds of a feather flock together.
Ning Xiaobei climbed onto the bed, opened the magazine, and laid it on his chest, hands resting behind his head, legs swinging restlessly.
Resolving the housing issue was just the first step; there were so many more things to tackle.
Like his father’s job problem, the shoe factory was on the brink of closing; what would happen to Ning Jianguo’s position?
And then there was…
Ning Xiaobei gritted his teeth, letting out a long sigh.
A man in his thirties, and here he was, back in primary school. And to top it off, he had to spend a whole year with a bunch of primary school kids. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.
……………………………
Author’s Note:
I checked it out, and the TV drama 《Sinful Debt》 should have been released in 1995, but for the sake of the plot, I’ve pushed it back a year. Please overlook this bug~~Here, I’d like to wish everyone an early happy National Day~~
===========================================================================
![The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]](https://i2.wp.com/knoxt.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/007S8ZIlly1ghl04hyuxyj30hs0owwgu.jpg?resize=85,105 "The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]")
Seris On AYM Chapter 106
Saeri On TCPUAAV Chapter 36