Chapter Sixty: Teaching My Brother-in-Law About Puppy Love

“Yes, I have a few words to say to you. Ladies, would you mind giving us a little privacy?” Hongtao took a careful look at the so-called “Big Miss” and, truth be told, she was actually quite pretty—fair-skinned, with eyes that curved into crescent moons when she smiled, and those two dimples were very alluring. Besides, girls these days rarely wore makeup; what you saw was what you got. There were no “back-view assassins” around—everything was genuine, just like buying goods that are true to their description.

“Go ahead, what do you want from me?” The two ninth-grade girls with her evidently knew Hongtao and his group of troublemakers. Though curious, they said nothing and simply walked away from the window.

“My aunt—oh, I mean my uncle’s older sister—she’s a seamstress. See the clothes I’m wearing? She tailored them for me. Not bad, right? Your trousers have good fabric, but they’re a bit baggy and don’t show off your slender figure. My aunt wanted to thank you for helping my uncle call for help last night, so she’s invited you to our house to have a pair of trousers altered for free. What do you think? My uncle spent ages persuading her. He says you’re the prettiest girl in school, and if you can’t wear clothes that fit you perfectly, it’s a huge waste. Chairman Mao once said that corruption and waste are both serious crimes! Also, my uncle’s eye is swollen—he can’t come to school today. As his classmate, shouldn’t you go visit him? Care for your comrades like the warmth of spring! I’ll wait for you at the snack shop at noon after class. Don’t keep me waiting!” Hongtao rambled on, mixing truth with nonsense for quite a while, leaving the Big Miss utterly at a loss. Without waiting for her to react, he waved and hurried downstairs.

With girls just awakening to feelings of love, you can’t wait for them to say yes or no outright. You may be shameless, but they still care for their reputation. The best way is to give a directive: if she comes, it means everything; if not, it’s no big deal—just try again another time. After all, you’re in the same school, you see each other every day; she has nowhere to hide. Of course, as far as Hongtao was concerned, he’d only try twice. If she really wasn’t interested, he’d stop pursuing her; pestering wasn’t his style. What he sought was a mutual connection.

At noon, Hongtao was so preoccupied with his uncle’s matter that he even skipped leading his class home, delegating the task to a classmate who lived the furthest. He jogged to the snack shop between the school gate and his home. Huh! No sign of her. Hongtao began to wonder if his charm was fading—this trick used to work wonders when he was in middle school.

“Hey, beauty… I’m late, sorry! Unlike you, we can’t just leave as soon as class ends; we have to line up with our class. That’s why I’m late. Come, let’s find my aunt!” But soon enough, Hongtao regained his confidence. The Big Miss wasn’t outside the snack shop; she was inside, after all.

“Can your aunt really alter my trousers?” The Big Miss had no chance to say yes or no; Hongtao had already opened the door and stepped out, so she had to hurry after him, searching for words to fill the silence.

“You don’t live around here, so you wouldn’t know. My aunt’s tailoring is the best—neighbors all come to her. She can even make new clothes with styles you’ve never seen. Just wait and see.” Having discovered her weakness for looking good, Hongtao played it to the hilt, determined to make her itch with curiosity. Besides, he had the goods to back it up—the designs he’d drawn for his aunt, inspired by future trends, were all there. Just showing her one or two would surely make her heart flutter.

“Grandma, this is my classmate. She’s here for my aunt to alter her clothes.” Bringing the Big Miss home, Hongtao greeted his grandmother first, ensuring that the old lady would see the girl as coming for his aunt, not suspecting anything with his uncle.

By the way, the Big Miss had a name—Hongtao had already asked his uncle. She was called Su Hongbing, a name full of that era’s flavor, much like Jianguo, Weiping, Jianshe, or Xiaobing—children of their time.

“What a pretty girl! Your aunt’s in her room—just came back and hasn’t eaten yet. Who knows what keeps her so busy all the time.” Grandmother only cared if the children ate and slept well; as for their studies or thoughts, that was beyond her reach.

“Hello, Grandma…” The Big Miss joined Hongtao in greeting the old woman.

“Haha, don’t call her Grandma with me! You’re of the same generation as my aunt—you should call her Auntie or something, right, Grandma?” Hongtao nearly burst out laughing. If he played a little trick and had the Big Miss call his grandmother “Grandma” too, what if she and his uncle really ended up together? Then, when they brought her home, how would they address everyone? His uncle would call her “Mom,” and she’d call her “Grandma”? What a mess!

“Oh, you’re a clever one! Call her whatever you like, it’s all fine—just go find your aunt. Tell her to eat soon, before the food gets cold! And you, too!” The grandmother didn’t think too much, shuffling off to the kitchen to fetch food.

“You’re even worse than your uncle!” The Big Miss blushed bright red and reached out to pinch Hongtao’s arm.

“Aunt, you have a guest! Are you in there?” Hongtao dodged her grip and darted to his aunt’s door, knocking and calling out—after all, you can’t just barge into a girl’s room.

“Xiaotao! What are you… Oh, who is this?” At the sound of his voice, his aunt quickly opened the door, holding a stack of white paper. She was about to ask what Hongtao wanted, but then she spotted the Big Miss behind him and swallowed the rest of her question.

“This is my classmate, here for you to alter her clothes. Let’s talk inside—Ms. Su, please!” Hongtao was anything but shy, dragging the Big Miss into his aunt’s room, then glancing toward his uncle’s door.

It was open a crack. Though he couldn’t see clearly, Hongtao knew his uncle was surely peeking through the gap. So he flashed a thumbs-up in his uncle’s direction before stepping inside his aunt’s room.

“She’s Su Hongbing, goes to my school, same year as my uncle, and often helps me out. This is my aunt—of course, she shares the same surname as my uncle. Tell her what trousers you want altered, and your measurements. She’s got great skills. Aunt, I’ll leave you to it. If you’re going to measure up, be sure to lock the door—my uncle might barge in at any moment.” As Hongtao spoke, Su Hongbing’s eyes were wide with wonder. His aunt’s room was hung with several newly-made dresses and blouses, all women’s styles she’d never seen before. In fact, no one but Hongtao had. Whether she heard him or not, he introduced her to his aunt and then quietly slipped out.

“Uncle, I brought her here for you. Don’t go in just yet—they’re taking measurements. In a bit, grab any piece of clothing, say it’s torn, and ask her to mend it. That way, you’ll get to meet the Big Miss. She hasn’t had lunch yet, you know? Oh, and you haven’t spent all the five yuan I gave you, have you? Take her out to eat, but don’t go anywhere near the school—better head over to Beixin Bridge, so you won’t run into classmates and make her feel awkward!” Hongtao, having left his aunt’s room, slipped into his uncle’s. His uncle was pacing nervously, wanting to go out but not daring to.

“Got it… got it… Hey, what if I ask her to the movies this afternoon?” His uncle’s left eye was no longer swollen, though there was still a bruise. As he listened, he nodded like a woodpecker, then offered his own idea.

“You fool! No wonder you’re still single! She has class this afternoon—you can skip, but don’t drag her out of class! You want her to have fun with you with no burden—get it? That way she’ll be happy and relaxed. Let her go to school, go home when she should, don’t let it affect her studies, or you two won’t last!” Hongtao gave his uncle another lesson.

From his interactions this morning and just now, Hongtao had already figured out that, despite her alluring looks and not-so-great reputation, the Big Miss wasn’t the type to flirt with boys. She was actually quite simple at heart. Probably, it was just that her bright, charming smile made her seem easy-going and gave her an undeserved reputation. In those days, being beautiful wasn’t a crime, but being beautiful and not pretending to be cold was. If a girl smiled at everyone, that was unforgivable! Even if you wore a chastity plaque on your forehead, people would still label you wanton, and you’d never shake it off.

Sure enough, after ten minutes of restraint, his uncle finally couldn’t hold back. He grabbed a pair of trousers and barged into his aunt’s room. Hongtao saw that it was a pair his aunt had only altered for him the previous month, and now the crotch was torn again—his uncle was really making a sacrifice! Even new trousers weren’t spared; Hongtao regretted not telling him to just rip an old pair. Save the new ones for outings with girls!

As for what happened in his aunt’s room, Hongtao didn’t care. If his uncle couldn’t manage with all that help, he was hopeless—he couldn’t rely on his nephew to chase girls for him forever. Besides, the girl had already made her intentions clear—would she invite just any boy to her family’s compound to watch a movie?

“Mom, I’m going to help my sister see her friend off, so don’t wait for me for lunch!” As Hongtao was nearly done with his meal, his uncle finally emerged from his aunt’s room, the Big Miss following behind. It seemed he’d succeeded.