Chapter 31: Braving Blades and Fire

Tang Xin looked utterly bewildered. Only after her husband introduced him did she realize that this was Li Sheng’s sworn brother, named Chen Liguo. His family had some connections, so after graduating from middle school, he became a ticket seller at the county cinema. Since he had to work today, he’d planned to take a day off tomorrow and visit his newly married brother at Five Star Commune. After all, they were close, and Chen Liguo seemed even more enthusiastic than Li Sheng’s own brother. Smiling broadly, Chen Liguo greeted them, “Sister-in-law, the movie won’t start for another half hour—come in and wait.”

Chen Liguo was usually indifferent toward others, but when it came to his sworn brother, he made exceptions—even if there were no tickets, he’d find a way to produce two. The main thing was, Li Sheng rarely asked him for favors, and Chen Liguo felt he’d go through fire and water for his brother. Besides, all he had to do was give the tickets intended for his girlfriend’s brother to his own brother, and even if his girlfriend made a fuss or his parents complained, it wouldn’t matter. His old man was always reminding him of Li Sheng’s life-saving kindness; Chen Liguo only regretted he couldn’t do more to help.

Especially now, his brother was getting on in years—cough, cough—and had finally managed to find a wife. Li Sheng was four years older than Chen Liguo, and for so many years had not even dated anyone; one could hardly help but shed a tear of sympathy. The news that his brother had finally married moved Chen Liguo and his other brothers nearly to tears of joy. So, he smiled at Tang Xin as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum, practically ready to worship her as a goddess.

Since there was still half an hour before the movie began, Chen Liguo invited Li Sheng and Tang Xin to rest in the ticket office’s lounge. He warmly entertained the newlyweds, not only offering Tang Xin several story magazines to read, but also pouring boiled water and producing a packet of five-spice sunflower seeds and some biscuits from a drawer—a veritable feast.

Frankly, Tang Xin was surprised by Chen Liguo’s generosity. He treated her better than he treated Li Sheng. Of course, this was all for Li Sheng’s sake—after all, his brother had finally married. Still, seeing Li Sheng’s expressionless face and taciturn manner, Chen Liguo worried his brother’s marriage might not last.

Soon, someone else came to buy a movie ticket, and Chen Liguo, coldly declaring there were none, sent them away. The gap between town and countryside was stark—no wonder so many rural folks were desperate to move to the city. In the countryside, most people struggled even to have enough to eat, but in town, many were eager to catch a film.

Li Sheng sat nearby reading the newspaper, while Tang Xin perused the magazine, furtively observing Chen Liguo at the ticket counter. She was somewhat startled—not only to see Chen Liguo here, but also to learn he was Li Sheng’s close friend. In the novel she’d read, Chen Liguo later became an important character: shrewd and resourceful, adept at navigating the world. After Lu Liqin returned to the city, he befriended Chen Liguo, and together they ventured into the black market, building up capital and connections. That was how their future success began; they partnered in business, creating a vast enterprise.

Yet the book’s depiction of Chen Liguo was sparse; aside from being skilled in business, he was described as aloof and unmarried. Watching him now, Tang Xin found him anything but antisocial, and was more surprised by his friendship with Li Sheng—a connection absent from the original story. She wondered if the author hadn’t bothered to flesh out the supporting characters, or if her own intervention had already altered the course of events.

If so, perhaps it was time for a bigger change.

Tang Xin glanced tentatively at Li Sheng, who was engrossed in his newspaper. He’d attended middle school, though family circumstances forced him to drop out after the first year. Still, Li Sheng could read and write, and after starting work, he wrote reports and summaries. This was one reason the brigade leader valued him; had his family not been so poor, he could have studied much further. The current times were tough, but educated people were generally respected. All this, Fang had confided to Tang Xin, hoping she’d understand her son better and strengthen their marriage. As for Li Sheng’s reticent nature, Fang thought it would take a miracle for him to shower his wife with sweet words.

Tang Xin had considered, when the college entrance exam resumed, whether she could persuade Li Sheng to take it. But that was several years away, so she set the thought aside. For now, she sipped the “delicious” boiled water and sampled the snacks Chen Liguo had prepared.

The five-spice sunflower seeds were quite tasty, and just as she was enjoying them, Chen Liguo came over again, having just sent away another would-be ticket buyer.

Tang Xin casually asked, “These sunflower seeds are really good, Brother Chen. Did you make them yourself?”

Although Chen Liguo addressed her as sister-in-law according to Li Sheng’s seniority, he was actually older than her. So Tang Xin respectfully called him Brother Chen, which suited their respective positions.

Chen Liguo shook his head, replying, “My mother roasted them. She likes to tinker with these things when she’s at home.”

Well, whoever roasted them, they were still from the Chen family.

Everything was proceeding just as Tang Xin wished. So she remarked, seemingly offhand, “Brother Chen, your job here is pretty good. Since your mother has this skill, maybe you could apply to the leaders—when movies are showing, you could sell sunflower seeds and five-spice beans alongside. Wouldn’t that earn a little extra?”

Of course, it would need approval from the leadership, otherwise it would violate regulations. But this was also a way to cut off one of the male lead Lu Liqin’s original sources of income—he’d first gone into business with Chen Liguo selling snacks.

Now Tang Xin wondered if her father, who was about to sever ties with her, would still pull strings to bring the leads back to the city. Wait—she realized she was overestimating her own importance! In the book, after Tang Xin’s death, the only one truly heartbroken was her mother. As for her father, with Meng Jia and her mother by his side, did he even remember his biological daughter? Tang Xin, as a reader, had often wondered whether Meng Jia might actually be her father’s child—though the book didn’t say so, she preferred not to dwell on that thought. Meng Jia’s father truly was a hero, sacrificing himself to save others, leaving behind his wife and daughter in tragedy.

Right now, Tang Xin saw she’d been too sentimental. With Meng Jia there and Meng’s mother constantly sowing discord, Tang Xin’s father had already forgotten his own daughter. In the end, wouldn’t he just help the leads return to the city together?