◎Sharing the Same Bed◎
Cheng Lang silently concealed the matter of getting married and only said, “There’s something going on at the Mine District. By the way, when are you heading to Changping? The job is hard to come by—don’t delay it.”
“Huh?” Jiang Ping had been preparing to catch up with Brother Lang and ask for more advice on working down south. Hearing this, he immediately grew alert. “Brother Lang, I was planning to hang out with you, stay in Ink River for a couple of days before leaving.”
Cheng Lang’s expression turned serious, a touch of helplessness washing over him. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and offered it over, preparing to have a proper talk with Jiang Ping.
“Brother Lang, I don’t smoke. No need.” Jiang Ping waved it off, politely declining the cigarette Cheng Lang offered.
Hearing that Jiang Ping didn’t smoke, Cheng Lang’s gaze darkened for a moment before returning to normal. He made a firm decision. “Jiang Ping, I’ve got too much on my plate lately and really can’t host you. Next time—next time I go to Changping, I’ll visit you. Come on, let’s grab a meal. After that, buy a train ticket to Changping and report for duty. Don’t miss out on the job.”
In a daze, Jiang Ping was led to eat. Then he watched as Brother Lang enthusiastically took him to the Ink River train station, even personally queuing up and paying to buy his ticket. Brother Lang didn’t turn to leave until he saw Jiang Ping board the train. Sitting in his seat, Jiang Ping looked out the window, waving vigorously, his eyes welling up with tears from the emotion.
‘Brother Lang was too good to me!!!’
……
Cheng Lang had gone out on business, but Feng Man didn’t take it too seriously. This man was always reliable when handling affairs—whatever it was, it must have been urgent and sudden.
Plus, the wedding banquet was lively, full of relatives and Cheng Lang’s close work buddies. No one cared about the formalities; they just ate and drank freely.
After lunch, the bride Feng Man sat in the middle of the courtyard, cracking melon seeds and listening to everyone chat idly. She got praised or teased now and then, and heard some neighborhood gossip about so-and-so’s family, until around three in the afternoon when two women wearing red armbands and crisp, outdated dark gray Western suits appeared at the iron gate.
The suits were clearly standard work uniforms from their unit, with a pen tucked into the breast pocket—almost certainly office staff.
“Comrade, you’re holding a wedding banquet here today?” The short-haired woman glanced at the red firecracker scraps by the door and the bride in her wedding attire, confirming again. “We’re cadres from the local Family Planning Office. I’m Zhang, and she’s Li.”
“Comrade Zhang, Comrade Li, hello.” Feng Man and Dong Xiaojuan spoke with them at the gate. Wondering why the Family Planning Office had shown up, Feng Man saw the two capable women straightforwardly hand over a small bag.
The bag was square and about half a palm-sized, with three bold characters in the center: “Condoms.” Above it said it contained two, and below noted it was produced by some city’s latex factory. The back reminded that for repeated use, they could be washed, dried, and dusted with talcum powder for storage.
Feng Man: “…”
The woman in front of her was utterly serious, speaking clearly and resonantly, full of emotion as she educated the bride on the importance of family planning. “Comrade, fewer births, better births, a lifetime of happiness! Family planning benefits the country and the people! When do you and your husband plan to have children?”
At this point, whether Feng Man intended to or not, she could only say, “Not planning any for now.”
Of course, young as she was, Feng Man truly had no plans to have kids right away. She wanted to enjoy life a bit first.
The two cadres smiled with relief and, before leaving, highly praised Feng Man’s high level of ideological awareness.
Feng Man, who had inexplicably earned a bunch of praise: QAQ
Dong Xiaojuan cheerfully saw them off. “Comrades, rest assured—we’ll definitely follow the national call!”
Feng Man looked at the little item in her palm, feeling it heat up her hand. She quickly stuffed it into her suit pocket.
Local custom in Ink River was two meals for red-and-white events. At dinner, the head chef got back to work. Leftover dishes from lunch plus five or six freshly stir-fried ones were served, and everyone continued the merriment.
Cheng Lang returned just before dinner. After seeing off Jiang Ping and repeatedly urging him to work hard at the electronics factory—especially not to wander off—he headed back.
But after getting off the bus, still ten minutes’ walk from the new house, Cheng Lang spotted the Family Planning Office on a fork in the road and turned that way instead.
“Comrade, I got married today. I’m here to pick up family planning supplies.”
The cadres, who often promoted family planning without much understanding from folks—especially men, who all hoped to have kids right away, ideally eighteen or so, downright feudal—perked up. It was rare for a man to take the initiative.
Thus, seeing this male comrade come for supplies, Cadre Zhang, who had just returned from preaching, lit up with joy. “Congratulations! Here, comrade—take it and use it!”
Standard for newlyweds: one bag with two condoms. Washed and dried, they’d last a month.
Cheng Lang saw the small packaging in his palm and paused silently for a moment, carefully reading the usage instructions.
Cadre Zhang thought he found it insufficient. Considering how rare it was to see such an aware young man, she immediately grabbed two more bags and shoved them into his hands. “Take them! Don’t be shy!”
Cheng Lang: “…”
In the end, seeing this man walk off with three bags—six condoms total—Cadre Zhang was moved. She raised her voice after his departing back. “Comrade, your ideological awareness is top-notch! The country needs more people like you!”
Cheng Lang stuffed the little items into his pants pocket and hurried back to the new house. As soon as he arrived, he saw the bustling figure in the courtyard, her red wedding attire making her even more beautiful than the flowers.
“Business taken care of?” Feng Man casually asked her new groom, without much emotion.
“Mm.”
Sensing Cheng Lang wasn’t up for talking more, Feng Man didn’t press and just told him to greet the guests.
The evening meal lasted over an hour. The guests offered all their congratulations, helped tidy up the house together, and finally left as the sun set.
Dong Xiaojuan’s family hadn’t moved in yet. She left last with her mother-in-law Cheng Yulan. Before going, she winked at the newlyweds. “We’re heading out first—you two get busy.”
Feng Man didn’t have time to parse the teasing in her cousin-in-law’s eyes. Right now, she just wanted to wash her face, hair, and body! She’d been up since early morning, her head and face covered in decorations. After a full day, she was exhausted.
Having mentally shifted into her new role, Feng Man looked at the man, her eyes bright with longing. “Cheng Lang, I want to take a bath.”
The man’s throat tightened, but the next second he snapped to and went to the kitchen to light the stove and boil water.
The firewood crackled in the stove, flames bright and red, softening the hard lines of Cheng Lang’s brows in the glow. The fire licked at the pot bottom eagerly, and the cold water in the iron pot gradually bubbled, sending up wisps of white steam.
Feng Man removed the plastic gauze flowers and pearl decorations from her hair, then took out various hair ties and over a dozen small clips. Her curls, permed at the salon the day before, cascaded like a waterfall, shimmering in the moonlight.
Hot water splashed into the wooden tub. The man lifted it effortlessly, his arm muscles bulging slightly under his white shirt, tracing a graceful curve. He strode toward the bathing enclosure.
Feng Man followed behind, quite satisfied with how efficiently Cheng Lang handled things. She watched him bend like a drawn bow—beautiful arc—and carefully add cool water to the tub, testing the temperature now and then. It was an oddly endearing contrast to his attentiveness.
“I’ll be in the courtyard. Call if you need anything.” When Cheng Lang turned, his jaw was clenched tight, his voice a bit hoarse.
“Okay.”
The bathing area in this flat-roofed courtyard house was partitioned off separately. The original owner, at least a coal boss, hadn’t skimped on himself. While most people in this era crammed into tiny tube building rooms, this coal boss had renovated his place. While others squeezed into public toilets and bathhouses, he had built a clean private toilet and independent bathing room.
A dim yellow bulb hung above the bathing area. White steam swirled, gradually filling the enclosure and even seeping out through the wooden door cracks like smoke and fog, drifting through the courtyard as if invisible hands wrapped around the man in the center.
The patter of water sounded endlessly in his ears, stirring his heart.
……
Using the facial cleanser bought from the Department Store, Feng Man thoroughly washed her face. Her hair, wet, turned the one-time perm into straight locks. After a good scrub, it felt like all her fatigue washed away. When she returned to the inner room and blow-dried her hair, she could glimpse the man still busy outside the window.
Cheng Lang boiled another pot of water, carried the tub to the bathing area, shut the door, and soon steam drifted out as well.
Feng Man looked away, put away the blow dryer, and sighed inwardly that she was lucky to transmigrate in 1988—at least there were some household appliances to enjoy. It wasn’t the sixties or seventies…
A massive wave of exhaustion hit once everything was tidied. She’d been up since before four that morning, spiritedly hosting guests all day. Now she could barely keep her eyes open, and the water sounds from the bath continued. Feng Man simply lay down first on the bed covered with the big red wedding quilt…
Cheng Lang finished his bath, looked up at the starry, moonlit sky, tidied the kitchen completely, pulled the electric cord to turn off the light, and carried two filled hot water bottles to the hall. Glimpsing the dim yellow light spilling from the half-open inner room door, his heart skipped.
He slowly pushed open the wooden door. The overhead bulb cast a soft glow on the big red wedding quilt, gently brushing the peacefully sleeping face of the woman on the bed.
Cheng Lang stood there, staring at that patch of snow-white lost in deep red for a long time, and finally let out a soft sigh.
……
Unsure how long she’d slept, Feng Man slowly fluttered her eyelids and opened her eyes to pitch darkness.
Feeling herself on the soft bed, the silky smooth fabric easing her fatigue completely, she went to stretch but froze when her hand brushed hard skin…
Someone was in her bed?!
Shock lasted two or three seconds. Feng Man’s eyes flew wide until, moments later, she suddenly remembered—she’d gotten married today!
Phew~
Still groggy from sleep, Feng Man carefully turned on her side toward the man in the darkness. Under the faint moonlight, Cheng Lang hadn’t slept!
“You’re not asleep?” Feng Man noticed Cheng Lang’s eyes gleaming faintly in the dark, staring straight at her, stirring an odd feeling in her heart.
“Mm.” In the night, the man’s voice was even hoarser. “Saw you were asleep. Didn’t wake you.”
Falling asleep from exhaustion on their wedding night’s first day, Feng Man tugged at her lips. The discomfort of sharing a bed with a man for the first time eased a bit.
“Today was just too tiring. Fell asleep as soon as I touched the bed.” Feng Man yawned on cue, shifting to face Cheng Lang sideways. “But this house is great. That coal boss renovated it nicely.”
Cheng Lang’s voice drifted into Feng Man’s ear, low and magnetic, though a bit distracted. “Wang Hongbing knew how to enjoy life. He didn’t skimp on himself.”
Thinking of how Cheng Lang had contracted the Mine District from Boss Wang, Feng Man’s curiosity piqued. “Liberation Mine District is Ink River’s biggest. You were doing well—why insist on quitting?”
She’d vaguely picked up bits from Cheng Lang’s chats with Fan Zhenghua—something fishy.
Now that they were married, Cheng Lang didn’t hide it. “Our team spent a whole year surveying and mining a rare metal mine last year, but all the credit went to Deputy Mine Chief You Changgui’s nephew, You Jianyuan. All the awards from the city to the province went to him. The bonus was five thousand—he gave our team a hundred, said to take the workers out for a celebratory meal. We only found out later from a reporter.”
Stealing credit, getting awards, and out of five thousand bonus, giving the actual contributors a hundred?
Feng Man’s eyes widened in the dark at the sheer shamelessness. “That’s too outrageous!”
And he was the deputy mine chief’s nephew—strong background, solid connections. Someone from an ordinary family like Cheng Lang naturally couldn’t compete.
Sure enough, her baby betrothal partner was just a minor male side character in the book. Life wasn’t some shuangwen everywhere.
“It’ll get better.” Feng Man thought of her fiancé’s smooth path ahead and couldn’t help hinting obliquely.
But the man responding seemed a bit down, giving a soft “mm,” his voice huskier than usual.
Feng Man chatted a few more lines with Cheng Lang. Her sleep-fogged mind gradually cleared, but for some reason, at a certain point, neither spoke again.
The air filled with a faint, subtle stiffness, threads of it winding around, vaguely tinged with ambiguity.
The little courtyard flat was silent all around. In the darkness, Feng Man grew tense, thinking of what day it was and the current situation. Her thoughts drifted far…
She showed no movement, and the man beside her remained still as well. The room was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard, with only the shallow breaths beside her growing a bit heavier.