Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

"Did you add too much ginger?"

As Li Xiangqian was thinking, someone knocked on the door.

"Xiangqian! Are you there?"

Aunt Liu downstairs. Old Hou's wife, the human broadcasting station in the family compound.

"It's open, come in."

Aunt Liu entered the kitchen and sniffed. There was an indescribable smell, a strange aroma with a hint of salt and scallions.

"I've been watching you fiddling around in the kitchen, and I was wondering what you were doing?"

"I cooked a bowl of porridge, would you like to try it?"

Li Xiangqian served her a bowl.

Aunt Liu looked down and her curiosity immediately turned into vigilance.

The porridge had a dull, grayish base, with yellowish-white bits of debris floating on the surface, and a few strands of unidentifiable material half-submerged and half-floating. The whole bowl of porridge looked the same color as the water from washing a pot on a stove that hadn't been properly cleaned.

"This...is it porridge?"

"You try it first."

Aunt Liu hesitated for a moment, took a small sip, held it in her mouth for two seconds, and then her face contorted into a grimace.

"Salty!"

She put down the spoon, looking incredulous.

"Why is the porridge salty! Porridge should be clear and watery, or with some red dates and sugar! You put salt, eggs, and shredded meat in it, is this what you call porridge?"

"Cantonese people's congee is salty."

"Guangdong?"

"It's nothing."

Aunt Liu glanced at the grayish stuff in the bowl again, and finally put the bowl on the stove.

"Xiangqian, it's not that your cooking is bad, but couldn't you just stir-fry the eggs and meat properly? It's such a waste to mix them into the porridge."

One sip of porridge extinguished Aunt Liu's curiosity, and she put down the bowl and left.

Li Xiangqian didn't mind. He poured the remaining porridge into an enamel bowl, tidied up the kitchen, and returned to the living room to sit down.

Seeing the living room was messy and dirty again, Li Xiangqian seriously suspected that the air in Yuanxi County might contain more loess than oxygen. A thin layer of dust could be wiped off the floor, the table, and the shelves with a single touch.

Li Xiangqian took an enamel basin, filled it with a large basin of water, and first wiped down all the furniture he could see. Then he wiped down the thermos, the tray, and the sewing machine. Feeling unsatisfied, Li Xiangqian filled another large basin with water and rushed it into the inner room.

The large and small beds in the inner room, both on and under the beds, as well as Runye's own small desk, were all tidied up.

By the time Li Xiangqian finished cleaning the floor, the sun had already set, and the setting sun shone obliquely into the living room, casting dust into the sunlight.

"Holy crap!"

Li Xiangqian touched the table he had just wiped, and a thin layer of dust covered it again.

"What kind of life are you living?"

Li Xiangqian continued cleaning the ground while complaining.

……

A crescent moon hangs in the dark blue sky.

Dim yellow lights shone from upstairs and downstairs in the residential compound, and many sounds drifted out, along with the aroma of food.

Runye parked the car at the gate of the courtyard and hurried upstairs.

Today, the school invited people from the county cultural center to tell students stories of revolutionary heroes. Runye was one of the hosts, so she has been busy until now.

The other teachers, unaware that Runye had a sick family member at home who needed feeding, even planned to invite her to dinner. Runye quickly made an excuse to leave, and once out of the office, she rode her bicycle back home.

"Did he take a shower again?"

As soon as Runye arrived at the stairwell, she saw a puddle of water at the entrance, and the hot air smelled of soap.

The lights in the living room were on, and there was no sound in the house.

"You're back?"

Li Xiangqian sat at the table in the living room, drawing circles on his cheekbones in front of a small round mirror without looking up.

Runye stood at the door, rolled her eyes, and remained silent for a moment. Li Xiangqian was applying her face cream again.

"Hmm, are we having egg drop soup again tonight?"

Runye sat down in the rattan chair; she was indeed a little tired from the long journey.

"Hey, I'll starve if you cook for me."

"I made myself some food."

As Li Xiangqian spoke, he scooped out a dollop of face cream with his fingers, rubbed it between his hands, and gently patted it onto his cheeks.

Runye was taken aback: "You did it yourself?"

When did Li Xiangqian learn to cook?

"What did you do?"

"Good stuff. I couldn't bear to finish it all, so I saved some for you."

Li Xiangqian didn't even look up, but gestured towards the kitchen with his lip.

Runye got up with some skepticism and went into the kitchen. The stove was spotless, and the pots and pans were all back in their places. The old Li Xiangqian, let alone cooking, probably couldn't even tell which way the kitchen door faced.

Her gaze fell on the enamel bowl on the stove.

The bowl contained half a bowl of something, a grayish blob, with a few bits of egg yolk and dried scallions stuck together on top. It had cooled completely, and a thin film had formed on the surface.

Runye stared at it for three seconds.

Is this what he meant by "good stuff"?

She leaned closer and smelled it; it had an indescribable odor. As for the color, it was somewhat similar to the yellow mud road after a recent rain.

Runye picked up the spoon, hesitated for a moment, and then scooped up a small spoonful.

Cool. Sticky. Salty.

"Pooh!"

Runye vomited up the porridge she had only swallowed halfway through.

"Isn't this a waste of food?"

After saying that, he flung the curtain aside and went out.

Li Xiangqian chuckled dryly twice outside.

Wild boars simply can't appreciate fine chaff.

"My bed?"

As soon as Runye entered the inner room, she suddenly discovered that her bed had been made neatly, and the sheets and duvet cover had all been changed.

"Li Xiangqian!"

Runye turned and went to the living room.

Did you touch my bed?

"Shouldn't it be moved? It's a mess, like a pigsty. Weren't those sheets changed in the spring? Just thinking about it makes me sick."

After Li Xiangqian finished speaking, he clicked his tongue.

Where are my sheets and duvet cover?

"It's drying by the window!"

Li Xiangqian pointed to the window at the back of the living room, where several quilt covers hung on a rope, swaying in the night wind.

As Runye approached, a faint scent of soap wafted in the cool night breeze—it smelled wonderful.

What's wrong with this person?

In June in Yuanxi County, the temperature difference between day and night is significant. Tian Runye lay on her small bed, the clean quilt carrying a faint scent of sunshine.

Has Li Xiangqian gone mad?

Runye craned her neck and glanced at the large bed.

……

The next day at 10 a.m.

Under the old locust tree in the south gate of Yuanxi County.

Wang Manyin was already there.

He had an old hen tucked in his arms, its two claws bound with hemp rope, its head peeking out from the chest of his old jacket, its two round eyes darting around.

Li Xiangqian walked over from a distance.

"Got it?"

"Shh!"

Wang Manyin looked around, then pulled Li Xiangqian behind a tree and lowered his voice.

"Xiangqian, you have no idea how much effort I put into making this chicken."

Wang Manyin's expression was extremely solemn.

"Now the authorities are cracking down hard, and farmers aren't allowed to raise chickens privately. But as you know, there's always a way around the rules. In Shuangshui Village, there's an old man named Tian Wanyou who secretly raises seven or eight chickens on the hillside behind his house. He feeds them corn husks and bran and trades the eggs for salt."

Li Xiangqian nodded.

"I went twice, but the old man absolutely refused to sell. He said the chicken was for my child to lay eggs for, one egg a day, and the child is still growing."

"So how did you get it?"

Wang Manyin chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "I told him that this chicken wasn't for anyone else, but for Tian Futang's daughter, Runye, because Runye needs some nourishment."

"You know what, the name Tian Futang carries more weight in Shuangshui Village than the commune director's seal. The old man grabbed the chicken without a second thought when he heard it was Secretary Tian's daughter. But then again..." Wang Manyin pulled the chicken out of his pocket and held it up in front of Li Xiangqian, "Look at this chicken, plump and healthy, its comb as red as if it's been rouged, in its prime. Normally, it could earn a lot just from laying eggs, it's not easy for them to part with it."

Li Xiangqian looked at the chicken.

It's really good.

Its plumage was glossy, its claws were thick, and it felt quite heavy. These days, there were no factory-farmed chickens; they were all free-range, growing up eating insects and grass seeds, resulting in firm meat. In his previous life in Guangzhou, this kind of genuine free-range chicken would sell for at least eighty yuan per jin (500 grams) in the market.

"How much?"

Wang Manyin held up three fingers: "Three yuan."

After saying that, he felt a pang of guilt. He had given Tian Wanyou one yuan and fifty cents. Three yuan was double the price, enough to buy ten jin of flour or a brand-new pair of Liberation shoes in Yuanxi County.

Li Xiangqian didn't haggle; he took out three one-yuan bills from his pocket and handed them over.

Wang Manyin took the money, his heart instantly lighting up with joy. He'd bought one yuan and sold three, making a net profit of one yuan and fifty cents. This money came much more easily than selling sandals.

He handed the chicken to Li Xiangqian, clapped his hands, and said sincerely, "Xiangqian, you're a good man. You should take good care of your own wife, that's right. If Runye wants anything else to eat in the future, just ask me, and Brother Manyin will take care of it for you."

Li Xiangqian's eyes were full of chickens, and he looked completely satisfied.

"Okay, I'm off then."

"Take care, take care!" Wang Manyin waved from under the old locust tree.

Watching Li Xiangqian walk away with the chicken, he rummaged through the three yuan in his hand, then happily stuffed it into the pocket of his inner underwear.

A profit of one dollar and fifty cents.

That's enough to buy two pounds of white sugar for the orchids and the child.

Never mind, I'll just buy a pack of cigarettes first.