When Fei Ni got up in the morning and looked in the mirror, her eyes fixated on the red mark on her neck. Fortunately, when she buttoned up the top of her blouse, it barely covered the mark. She made a mental note to buy mosquito incense today.

Tomatoes were cheap in summer, so they bought some. Fang Muyang made tomato noodles, being generous with the tomatoes. After finishing their meal, Fei Ni asked Fang Muyang to take her to her parents’ house on his bicycle.

Since the house exchange involved her parents’ home, they needed to discuss it with them. Because the in-laws were coming to visit, the Fei family had started cleaning early in the morning. When Fei Ni arrived, the family was just sitting down to eat. Mother Fei, being retired, had few opportunities to increase income, so she could only reduce expenses. She applied all her wisdom to making delicious meals for the family with minimal spending. She never bought groceries from convenience stores, only from the farmers’ market, and she was particular about timing – specifically going when prices dropped but the produce was still good. Sometimes she would deliberately catch the early market for fresh vegetables. Mother Fei never wasted food; she would stir-fry celery stems and toss the leaves in salads.

Today’s breakfast continued to showcase Mother Fei’s wisdom. After eating the flesh of yesterday’s watermelon, she peeled and cleaned the rind, seasoning it to make a cold watermelon rind dish on the table. She added extra vinegar since Lin Mei had recently developed a taste for sour foods. Unlike most pregnant women who experienced morning sickness and loss of appetite, Lin Mei’s appetite had improved. She ate a bowl of rice porridge with a large steamed bun, dipping pieces of the bun in fermented tofu. Like her mother-in-law, she possessed practical wisdom – whenever buying fermented tofu, she would ask for extra sauce, and the vendor would give even more than requested. Often, even after the tofu was finished, the sauce would last another day. Lin Mei worked at a pastry shop, and when the tofu vendor came to buy pastries, she would give them extra scraps that weren’t counted in the weight – this was how relationships were built. Lin Mei had similar arrangements with people from the meat factory and cloth store, and thanks to these connections, she not only got fermented tofu with plenty of sauce and fresh eggs but also free organ meats when she held her wedding banquet. Since Lin Mei became pregnant, Mother Fei decided that the monthly egg ratio would prioritize Lin Mei, ensuring she could eat one egg every day. Today, Lin Mei had boiled five eggs – one for everyone else, two for herself.

After eating one and a half eggs, she couldn’t finish more, planning to eat the rest later.

Fei Ting took the egg from her hand. “Save this one for tonight. You can have my egg then.”

Lin Mei tried to grab her egg back. “No, eat your own. I need to finish this one.”

Fei Ting ignored her and ate the remaining half of Lin Mei’s egg.

Mother Fei handed her unpeeled egg to her daughter-in-law and couldn’t help but scold her son: “What’s wrong with Mei Mei eating two eggs? Eat up, I have more here. If you want eggs so badly, I’ll get you one per meal. If we run out of our ration, I’ll buy farm eggs from the countryside.”

“You think I’m worried about her eating eggs? Look at her – can she even eat anymore?”

Lin Mei admitted she really couldn’t eat more.

“Lately, I’ve been eating well in the mornings, but I get hungry before mealtimes. I see food and want to eat it. Usually, it’s fine, but isn’t Little Sister’s in-laws treating us to lunch today? I thought if I ate more at breakfast, I could control myself at lunch and just pick at the food a bit. That way we’ll look like we have good manners. Then they won’t look down on our family.”

Fei Ting laughed at her. “There’s no shame in not being sophisticated. It’s fine if you eat more at lunch. Sure, the Fang family is better off than us now, but as long as we don’t take advantage of them, we’re not beneath anyone.”

Old Fei said, “Your eldest brother is right, I completely agree.”

When Fei Ni arrived, the meal was winding down.

Lin Mei welcomed them: “Have you eaten breakfast? If not, have some here. We still have steamed buns. I can fry some bun slices for you.”

“Sister-in-law, don’t trouble yourself. We’ve eaten. I came early because I need to discuss something with everyone.”

Fei Ni got straight to the point about the house exchange. She started with what was in the notice – a nearby family whose son was getting married wanted to exchange their two-bedroom apartment with a private bathroom for two separate single rooms. Fei Ni’s apartment plus this one would meet their requirements.

“The house is in our neighborhood, convenient for Brother and Sister-in-law’s work. Mom, if you want to chat with old neighbors after moving there, it’s just a fifteen-minute walk away. I won’t live there, but the agreement will still be in my and your names. Brother can continue waiting for housing from the factory.”

Old Fei immediately thought of a question: “Where will you live?”

“We’ll rent a place.”

Fei Ting immediately said, “Don’t do this for us…”

“I’ve thought about exchanging houses before.” As for her reasons, Fei Ni explained that Fang Muyang couldn’t paint comfortably in their current home, and they wanted to rent two rooms, one specifically as an art studio. But they were worried about losing their allocated housing if they moved out, so the exchange was perfect – it would preserve her housing rights while giving her parents and brother’s family more space.

Lin Mei was the first to object.

The exchange would benefit her, giving her a private bedroom and bathroom. There was a risk that Fei Ni and Fang might move into the new two-bedroom apartment with them, which would be worse than their current situation, but Lin Mei trusted Fei Ni’s character and considered this risk negligible.

However, she couldn’t let Fei Ni rent a single-story house just because the exchange would benefit her. If Fei Ni lived with her in-laws, Lin Mei would agree to the exchange. True, the problems Fei Ting mentioned existed, but Lin Mei still believed living with the in-laws would be more beneficial than harmful. If she weren’t worried about Fei Ni misunderstanding her intentions regarding the apartment, she would encourage Fei Ni to live with her in-laws. Lin Mei thought her sister-in-law was very likable, and if her in-laws were reasonable, they wouldn’t make things difficult for her. Even if there were conflicts, working six days a week meant limited interaction time – any friction could be endured. They could avoid each other on Sundays, and the money saved on rent could be spent on shopping and new things, which would be much more enjoyable. Why waste money on rent?

To Lin Mei, renting was throwing money away.

Lin Mei had always opposed renting private housing, considering it very uneconomical. Spending money on eggs, butterfish, a television, or even pastries from her shop seemed worthwhile to her. But renting when you already had housing was wasteful.

Besides, what kind of good housing could they rent? Available private rentals were all single-story houses. In her view, these could never compare to apartment buildings. Lin Mei was a stubborn supporter of apartment living, with her aversion to single-story houses reaching extreme levels. She had lived in such a house briefly as a child – the roof leaked during summer rains, requiring frequent repairs from the housing bureau. In winter, there was no central heating, only a small stove that risked carbon monoxide poisoning. The toilet was outside the courtyard gate. Even public toilets in apartment buildings were more convenient than that. She had also lived in single-story houses during her rural assignment. In her memory, nothing associated with such housing was pleasant. Even if offered free accommodation in a single-story house, she might refuse. Let alone paying rent for one.

She had shared these thoughts with Fei Ting yesterday and repeated them today.

“Sister-in-law, single-story houses aren’t as bad as you say.” Fang Muyang wanted to explain that indoor bathrooms could be installed and winter heating could be solved with a small boiler. But with Fei Ni present, he couldn’t discuss his renovation plans, as they would far exceed Fei Ni’s budget. If she knew in advance, she would object.

Lin Mei told Fei Ni, “You’ve never lived in a single-story house. Trust me, you’ll regret it once you do.”

Fang Muyang had lived in single-story houses since childhood and didn’t find them inconvenient. But he couldn’t say anything now, so he just drank the tea his father-in-law had poured.

Indeed, Fei Ni had never lived in a single-story house and couldn’t find a way to counter the argument.

Lin Mei thought Fei Ni’s best option was to exchange houses and live with her in-laws, the second-best was maintaining the status quo, and the worst was renting a single-story house.

Since Fei Ni was unwilling to live with her in-laws, maintaining the current situation was the best choice.

Lin Mei vaguely felt that Fei Ni’s sudden proposal to exchange houses was for her benefit, to prove she wasn’t a bad sister-in-law, which made her oppose it even more strongly. She even came up with a new solution for Fang Muyang’s painting: “Fang, you have a regular job and sometimes draw comics – you can’t possibly paint those complicated, space-consuming paintings every day. When you want to work on those, go to your parents’ house. They’d surely welcome it. They haven’t seen you in so many years, they must miss you terribly.”

Mother Fei, who already disapproved of her daughter renting, now echoed her daughter-in-law’s opinion: “I think Mei Mei makes sense. Think the housing matter over some more.”

Fei Ni had thought this would be a perfect solution, but unexpectedly, her family opposed it. Even her sister-in-law, who desperately needed the housing, strongly objected.

She looked at Fang Muyang, who was quietly drinking his tea, head down.

Fei Ting called Fei Ni outside and spoke quietly: “When I thought about renting before, it was also impulsive. Your sister-in-law criticized me yesterday, saying she quite likes it here. What she just said isn’t unreasonable. Think about the housing situation some more, don’t rush into a decision. Consider your own needs, don’t sacrifice yourself for us.”

“I’m not sacrificing myself. Brother, you should stop making furniture for people too. It’s not right to keep hiding it from Sister Mei.”

Fei Ni occasionally called her sister-in-law “Sister Mei,” as she had for many years before Lin Mei married Fei Ting.

“I’ll stop after these two orders – I’ve already promised them, it wouldn’t be right to refuse now. Don’t rush the house exchange, think it through carefully. We can always exchange later.” After finishing these two orders, the money would be just enough to buy a nine-inch television.

“But finding such a suitable house isn’t easy. Two bedrooms, private bathroom, and nearby. Who knows when we’ll find another opportunity like this.”

“If you want to rent, get a better place. I’ll pay for one room’s rent.”

“Why should you pay anything for my rental?”

“Aren’t I living in your house?”

“If you didn’t, it would just be empty.”

“You can’t look at it that way.”

By the time Fei Ni’s sister and brother-in-law arrived, she still hadn’t reached an agreement with her family about the exchange.

Old Fang sat in the car his wayward son had rented to meet the in-laws, a cost that would ultimately come from his pocket. They’d need another car soon.

He agreed that renting a car to take the in-laws to dinner seemed more formal, but his son spent money too casually. He said to his wife, “Wonder who this child takes after.”

His wife replied: “Indeed, wonder who.”

Old Fang felt his son did somewhat take after him, but his father and his son’s father weren’t in the same wealth bracket. He was a propertyless proletarian, and even if his wages were higher than others, he was still proudly working class. How could Fang Muyang, with a proletarian father and having been re-educated by poor and lower-middle peasants in the countryside, enjoy luxuries like he once did?

His past extravagance was due to historical circumstances, and he had since corrected that flaw.

Old Fang had initially planned to give his wayward son six thousand yuan as compensation. Though his older son and second daughter had suffered some consequences because of him, he had fulfilled his parental obligations to both children. Only with his youngest son had they failed in this duty.

But he suspected that if he gave his wayward son six thousand yuan, it would be spent within half a year. His daughter-in-law was very indulgent with his son, so even if he entrusted the money to her, his son might still wheedle it away.

So he temporarily abandoned the idea of giving money.

Before preparing the meeting gifts, Old Fang asked his son for advice. His son suggested not writing poetry for the family. This both angered and puzzled Old Fang, as he had indeed written a poem, though he hadn’t planned to present it. His son also advised against spending too much and pressuring them, saying his in-laws were dignified people who didn’t like taking advantage of others. He brought a basket of watermelons, a basket of Hami melons specially transported through connections with the shipping team from their hometown, and a small basket of lychees that someone had given them, keeping only a portion for themselves.

Old Fang, considering himself still in his prime, carried one basket of watermelons himself and asked the driver to carry the Hami melons as they walked toward the building. Fang Muyang happened to come down just then and took the basket from his father’s hands, saying, “Let me.”

“I can manage.”

Fang Muyang ignored whether his father could manage and simply carried the items forward.

The Warsaw-brand car parked below attracted considerable attention. Old Fang didn’t want to draw attention, but he could hardly walk to visit his in-laws and then ask them to walk to the restaurant with him.

The neighbors didn’t know the car was rented by the unemployed Old Fang and assumed he was a leader with an official vehicle. One young neighbor, full of youthful vigor, approached Old Fang directly and asked him to help solve the employment difficulties of returned educated youth. Old Fang, also unemployed at home, understood the feeling of being unwanted and said he would report their concerns to higher authorities, but explained he wasn’t a leader – he could only report, not solve problems, and was here to meet his in-laws.

The onlookers didn’t believe he wasn’t a leader, with the car as evidence. How could ordinary people have cars?

Only when they saw him bringing fruit to the Fei family’s door did people believe he was truly visiting in-laws?

So Little Fang, who had helped them build earthquake shelters, had a father with an official car.

For the building’s neighbors, after their initial surprise, this seemed reasonable enough. Beautiful girls’ fates were often more unpredictable than others.

Old Fang entered the Fei home amid this web of misunderstandings. The home had been renovated when Fei Ting married, with all the too-old items discarded. Though cramped, it didn’t appear poor, with many flowers and plants arranged in the limited space. Mother Fei was good at saving face for her daughter – though she often bought less-than-fresh vegetables at the market, she didn’t skimp on quality when hosting in-laws. Two metal buckets were filled with cold water, one cooling watermelon, the other cooling bayberry and orange sodas. Fei Ni opened a bottle of bayberry soda for the driver, saying, “Sorry we can’t invite you in to sit – the house is too small.”

When Fang’s parents arrived, the already cramped house became even more crowded. It was the height of summer heat, and Old Fei turned on the electric fan his son-in-law had bought.

Fang Muyang made the introductions.

Both families exchanged gifts, each saying the other had spent too much. Mother Fei had prepared two pieces of Polyester fabric and a box of pastries, having gone to great trouble to buy the fabric.

Lin Mei, showing good awareness, skillfully cut and served the watermelon from the bucket, while others brought out sodas. The soda, having been cooled in cold water, was no less refreshing than if it had been refrigerated. On the table were also candies Lin Mei had bought from her shop – the most expensive ones, as her mother-in-law had requested.

All of Fei Ni’s family members were willing to help her save face.