Chapter 45: Chapter Forty-Five: Sleepless Night in the Courtyard House

After the afternoon banquet ended, Jia Dongxu was stinking drunk, and the half-grown kids of the Courtyard House saw that there was no way to cause a bridal chamber disturbance, so they all dispersed.

When He Yuzhu returned to the Courtyard House, it was already past eight in the evening. He went inside, turned on the radio on the side table, made himself a cup of tea, lay down on the arhat bed, and picked up the novel he hadn't finished reading. Suddenly he heard a rustling sound outside the door, went to the window, pulled back the curtain, and saw that Xu Damao, with Liu Guangtian and his brother, were prying open Jia Dongxu's window.

He Yuzhu watched with interest, curious to see what mischief the three boys would get up to.

Below the Jia Family's window, Liu Guangtian whispered, "Has Big Mao started yet?" Xu Damao replied, "Not yet. Who knows if Jia Dongxu will be able after drinking so much this afternoon? Don't speak, or we'll be discovered." After saying that, Xu Damao pressed Liu Guangtian's head down.

At this time it was still cold, and every household had their windows shut for sleep. Xu Damao and the others could only peek through a slit in the curtains. Not long after, a panting sound came from inside the house, making Xu Damao and his companions blush red-faced.

When Jia Dongxu finally woke up at night, it was already dark. He opened his eyes to see Qin Huairu lying beside him, not caring that Jia Zhangshi was sleeping in the outer living room. He immediately turned over and sat on Qin Huairu's body. Jia Dongxu gazed at her beautiful face, his eyes glowing like a hungry wolf's.

In a few moments he stripped Qin Huairu's clothes off, seeing the two large white rabbits jump out, he lunged at her. At first Qin Huairu tried to muffle her voice, but as time went on it grew louder. Hearing this, Xu Damao and the others outside felt their inner fire surge, and after a while Xu Damao could no longer hold back, covering his pants he ran off.

The night in the Courtyard House was destined to be restless, especially for the households near the Jia Family, who all got up to tighten their doors and windows. Moreover, Xu Damao and the others, who had never tasted the forbidden fruit, lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep, faintly able to hear Qin Huairu's moans from the back courtyard.

The most unfortunate was Jia Zhangshi, who was sleeping in the Jia Family's living room. She had already fallen asleep, but the growing volume of Qin Huairu's voice woke her; she pulled the blanket over her head and endured a difficult night.

After He Yuzhu got up in the morning, he took his spittoon and walked outside, seeing Xu Damao and the others also coming out to empty their spittoons, each with dark circles under their eyes, he said, "What's wrong with you, Damao? Insomnia?"

Xu Damao put down his spittoon and ran to He Yuzhu's side, saying, "Silly Zhu, didn't you hear any noise last night?"

He Yuzhu said, "Oh, no, I sleep like a log, I heard nothing." In fact, when He Yuzhu was looking through the curtain gap, he had heard Qin Huairu's voice. He was still a vigorous young man and certainly couldn't resist her moans; his body naturally reacted. After covering the curtain, he went to the bathroom to wash his face, took the radio to the bedroom, and stubbornly waited until there was no sound before turning off the radio, only then falling asleep after a long while.

Xu Damao pushed his bicycle out from home into the middle courtyard, where he happened to see Qin Huairu washing up in yesterday's little red jacket. Seeing her two little white rabbits, he felt a reaction again, gripped his bicycle, and hurried out of the Courtyard House.

Xu Damao had no energy all day; whenever he closed his eyes, Qin Huairu's image filled his mind, and recalling her moans from the previous night made him even more irritable.

In the afternoon Xu Damao left the Yagangchang on the pretext of borrowing a film, riding all the way to the vicinity of the White Family Hutong. He had heard from people at the factory that there was a widow operating a half-open door there. When he arrived nearby, not knowing which house it was, he saw an old man sneaking out from a doorway, looking around. Seeing only Xu Damao there, the old man finally stepped out.

The old man approached Xu Damao, glanced at him, and said, "Two mao, don't give more." After saying that, the old man left, and Xu Damao still didn't understand what he meant.

Pushing his bicycle, he went to the household the old man had just come from, knocked on the door, and an old woman in a gray little jacket appeared. Seeing Xu Damao leaning on the door, she said, "Hey, looking like that you're still a novice, right? Come in and make sis happy for three mao." After speaking, she turned and went into the courtyard.

Xu Damao looked at the woman's back, and thinking that she hadn't even buttoned her top, his inner fire flared up. But then he realized the woman was older than his mother; he gave his bike a little bump, sighed "ai," and walked out of the hutong.

After Xu Damao left, the more he thought about it, the hotter his inner fire became; he had several urges to turn back, but recalling the old woman's face gave him a chill, dampening his ardor somewhat. He went to Xu Fugui's cinema, borrowed a set of films, and rode his bicycle back to the factory.

Jia Family

Today was Qin Huairu's return to her parents' home, so she got up early and began tidying. After finishing washing up in the courtyard, she saw Jia Dongxu still in bed and shouted, "Dongxu, get up and eat!" Then she threw his clothes onto his head.

After Jia Dongxu finished his meal, he asked Jia Zhangshi, "Mom, are the things Qin Huairu needs for her return visit ready?"

Jia Zhangshi glanced at Qin Huairu and said, "Ready, they're placed in the kitchen." Jia Dongxu got up and went to the kitchen, seeing that Jia Zhangshi had prepared two bottles of wine and a box of peach pastries, he asked, "Mom, is that all?"

"Yes, just those. Dongxu, you've just gotten married; you need to be thrifty in everything, and from now on you'll have to support three people." Jia Zhangshi said this without looking at Qin Huairu, addressing Jia Dongxu in the kitchen.

Qin Huairu glanced at the speaking Jia Zhangshi, said nothing, lowered her head to eat, her eyes flickering uncertainly as she wondered what to think.

Jia Dongxu walked out of the kitchen and said, "Mom, we can't let Qin Huairu return home with just this little; you'll make the villagers look down on her. Give me another five yuan."

Upon hearing the request for five yuan, Jia Zhangshi immediately flared up, "Five yuan, Dongxu, do you know how much you'd have to buy?"

Jia Dongxu impatiently replied, "Five yuan won't even be spent; hurry up and give it to Mom, or else starting next month when I get my salary I won't give you any."

Jia Zhangshi reluctantly took out five yuan from her person and handed it to Jia Dongxu. Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu left the Courtyard House carrying the wine and peach pastries, then went to the tobacco and liquor shop to buy a roll of old-blade tobacco, and ran to the market to buy a large slab of pork. Altogether they gathered six items before rushing to the bus stop. When they arrived, they just saw a big wagon pulling up, and the two laughed and chatted as they boarded.

When the two returned from Qinjia Village, Jia Dongxu was drunk again, sleeping all the way. He had consumed a lot of alcohol, and the jolting of the vehicle made him vomit all over the car, his pants and clothes stained. Qin Huairu apologized to the passengers while wiping Jia Dongxu clean with a handkerchief; as soon as they got home, she took his clothes and started washing them.

While Qin Huairu was washing clothes, it happened to be the time when workers got off shift. Xu Damao pushed his bicycle into the middle courtyard and saw Qin Huairu washing clothes by the water tank; the fire that had just been doused this afternoon flared up again.