Volume One, Chapter 20: The Interpersonal World Within the City

“…Well, alright then!” Zhang Shengli didn’t want to spoil Zhou Ling’s good mood, so he climbed onto his bicycle, took Zhou Ling along, and followed her directions to the Desert Park on the eastern edge of Shacheng County.

From a distance, they could see two or three towering sand dunes standing amidst a sea of single-story houses, making for an impressive sight. But compared to the Tengger Desert near Qinghu Township, these dunes were little more than humble mounds.

“There are loads of Russian olive trees planted in the Desert Park. When the flowers bloom around the Dragon Boat Festival, their scent fills the air. Everyone in town comes here to play!” Zhou Ling explained as they reached the park’s entrance.

At the gate, the ticket seller—a formidable woman with a permed hairdo—was barking at the visitors, “Move along! Get in line at the back. Everyone buys a ticket. Don’t think you can sneak by!”

The tourists jostled into a noisy queue.

Zhang Shengli locked up his bicycle and told Zhou Ling, “Wait for me in the shade. I’ll go buy our tickets.”

After all, Zhou Ling had already spent quite a bit on him, so Zhang Shengli wanted to at least cover the cost of their park tickets as a token of gratitude.

“Buy tickets? I’ve never bought a ticket to get into Desert Park!” Zhou Ling laughed.

“Why not? If you don’t buy a ticket… won’t that fierce ticket seller at the gate let you in?” Zhang Shengli was utterly baffled.

“That ticket seller is Liu Dapeng’s mother. Even if I wanted to buy a ticket, she wouldn’t let me!” Zhou Ling covered her mouth with a smile.

“Oh…” Only then did Zhang Shengli understand why Zhou Ling never needed to buy a ticket, and he couldn’t help but marvel. Who would have thought that Zhou Ling, who had only just graduated and started working as an ordinary sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative, would have such extensive connections and privileges in Shacheng County?

Zhou Ling had already helped him with his registration at the Education Bureau and secured free internal materials for him at the Xinhua Bookstore. Now she could even stroll into a park free of charge.

He’d always known she was special, but he hadn’t realized just how much influence she wielded; it was as though she could command the winds and rain, moving effortlessly through the city’s social circles.

Of course, all of this was because Zhou Ling was the daughter of Zhou Yun and Su Qiong. Zhou Yun, the deputy county magistrate, needed no introduction, and Su Qiong, the head of the county hospital’s obstetrics department, was a figure most people could only hope to ingratiate themselves with.

In a city’s intricate web of relationships, a respectable and successful person needed to know at least a teacher, a police officer, and a doctor: a teacher to help their children with school, a police officer for emergencies, and a doctor to safeguard the family’s health. These connections were essential in urban life—quite different from the countryside.

“Let’s go. We don’t have to queue; we can just go right in!” Zhou Ling took Zhang Shengli’s hand and hadn’t even reached the park entrance when Liu Dapeng’s mother spotted her and waved enthusiastically. “Lingzi, come on over!”

“Aunt Zhao, it’s the weekend—why aren’t you resting at home? How come you’re working today?” Zhou Ling greeted her with a smile.

“Oh, at my age I shouldn’t be on shift weekends, but Xiao Li, who works with me, just had a baby, so I’m covering for her for a few days…” Liu Dapeng’s mother replied impatiently. Her eyes flicked to Zhang Shengli, standing behind Zhou Ling, with a look of suspicion and hostility.

“This is my friend, Zhang Shengli.” Zhou Ling introduced Zhang Shengli graciously.

“Hello, Auntie!” Zhang Shengli nodded and smiled politely.

“Oh… so this young man… is the one who stayed at your house last night—the chef who’s planning to take the correspondence course?” Liu Dapeng’s mother looked Zhang Shengli up and down, her gaze and tone openly disdainful.

“My mother really does love to share every little detail with you, doesn’t she?” Zhou Ling joked with mock annoyance.

“Well, you know how it is—your mother and I were chatting on the phone, just passing the time…” Realizing Zhou Ling’s displeasure, Liu Dapeng’s mother forced an awkward laugh and quickly lifted the lid of a white-painted wooden box, pulling out two ice pops and handing them over. “You’ve been out all day—you must be thirsty. Have an ice pop!”

In the 1980s, Shacheng County didn’t have ice cream yet, nor were refrigerators or freezers widespread. Ice pops were sold from these white-painted wooden boxes, insulated with quilts.

Naturally, Liu Dapeng’s mother sold ice pops at the ticket booth as well.

“Thank you, Aunt Zhao! We just had some soda, we’re not thirsty.” Zhou Ling declined politely.

“Oh, have one anyway! If I don’t sell them this afternoon, they’ll just melt.” Without waiting for an answer, Liu Dapeng’s mother pressed the two ice pops into Zhou Ling’s hands.

Zhou Ling had no choice but to take them and handed one to Zhang Shengli.

As they chatted with Liu Dapeng’s mother at the booth, the tourists in line grew restless and started grumbling:

“Hey, are you going in or not? If not, let us through!”

“Yeah, you’re blocking the entrance and just keep yakking!”

“This is ridiculous…”

“What are you yelling about?” Liu Dapeng’s mother glared with her sharp, triangular eyes and roared, “Bunch of country bumpkins who’ve never seen the world! Do you even know where you are? So ignorant—no manners at all!”

The crowd fell silent under her fierce glare.

Yet Zhang Shengli could hear the hidden barbs in Liu Dapeng’s mother’s words; she was scolding the visitors, but her real target was him.

Zhou Ling, sharp as ever, also understood the underlying message but kept her composure. She slipped her arm through Zhang Shengli’s, smiled at Liu Dapeng’s mother, and said, “Aunt Zhao, we’ll let you get back to work. We’re going in for a walk.”

“…Don’t stay too long. Your mother called earlier and said she’s already home making dinner for you two. She wants you to eat early and then head back to Qinghu Township.”

The moment Zhou Ling linked arms with Zhang Shengli, Liu Dapeng’s mother froze, then forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

In the 1980s, when a young man and woman linked arms in public, it was nearly as good as announcing they were a couple. Zhou Ling’s gesture made it clear to Liu Dapeng’s mother that she and Zhang Shengli were officially together, leaving no hope for Liu Dapeng.

It was also her way of striking back at Liu Dapeng’s mother for her earlier rudeness to Zhang Shengli—a resounding victory.

“We won’t stay long,” Zhou Ling responded with poise, still holding Zhang Shengli’s arm as they entered the park.

Liu Dapeng’s mother stared after their affectionate figures, dazed at the ticket booth, unable to recover for some time.

“Hey, what’s going on? Are you selling tickets or not?” The waiting tourists grew impatient and snapped at her.

“No more tickets. I’m done for the day!” She slammed the ticket book shut.

“What? You’re done? Aren’t you supposed to close at six? It’s not even five yet!”

“We finally got a weekend to come into town and visit the park—how can you close so early?”

“Lady, what’s wrong with you? Why are you in such a bad mood?”

The tourists immediately surrounded the booth, arguing with Liu Dapeng’s mother.

Inside the park, Zhou Ling didn’t release Zhang Shengli’s arm until they were deep in the grove of Russian olives. She blushed, embarrassed, and turned away to eat her ice pop.

Zhang Shengli, too, let out a long sigh of relief. When Zhou Ling had linked his arm, her warm, soft body pressed close to his, making his heart pound so hard he thought it might leap out of his chest. But he had kept a straight face to play along with her act.

After a moment of awkward silence, Zhou Ling broke it, her voice indignant. “That Zhao Juhua—what a snob, always judging people through a crack in the door! Just wait till you get into the correspondence school—she won’t dare say a word!”

“You… You brought me to Desert Park just to put on a show for Liu Dapeng’s mother, didn’t you? Is this your way of getting rid of Liu Dapeng?” Zhang Shengli frowned.

“Exactly! I didn’t bring you here to have fun, but to let Zhao Juhua see for herself.” Zhou Ling, realizing her intentions had been seen through, dropped all pretense and laughed openly. “In fact, I’ve been urging you to come to town to register just so you could pretend to be my boyfriend and act as my shield. That way, Liu Dapeng will finally leave me alone!”

“What? Pretend to be your boyfriend?” Zhang Shengli stood dumbstruck.