Volume 1, Chapter 47: Arranging the Wedding

After burning the paper money, I went back and felt Qiuyue's forehead. Her fever had broken, though she was still fast asleep.
Things were truly miraculous sometimes.
I felt deeply regretful; my unintended action had almost harmed Qiuyue.
Aunt Hua's hanging heart finally settled, and her face relaxed back into a calm expression.
Master Ma pulled two hundred yuan out of his pocket and placed it on the sewing machine.
Aunt Hua asked, "What is this for?"
"It's the custom. I have to provide the money to buy the child some clothes."
"You just gave money earlier, why are you giving more?"
"Oh, don't ask so many questions. I'm heading back."
"It's the middle of the night, why go back now? Just sleep here for the night and go back tomorrow."
"No. Many, let's go back."
I stood still without moving.
Master Ma glanced at me and said, "Let's go. What are you daydreaming about?"
I gritted my teeth and said, "Why don't the two of you just live together?"
A blush crept across Aunt Hua's cheeks.
Master Ma glared at me fiercely and scolded angrily, "Stop talking nonsense. Just wait until we get back, I'll deal with you."
"How many more years do you have left? Let me tell you, if your face gets paralyzed and you start drooling in the future, I'm not taking care of you."
Master Ma grew somewhat annoyed.
Aunt Hua felt a bit shy and said softly, "You should stay the night. No matter how I've asked you to stay before, you never would. Even the child says you should, yet you still won't spend the night."
I figured Master Ma simply couldn't get past the obstacle in his own heart. Ever since Grandpa Fourth Sun told me about Master Ma's past romance, I felt quite sorry for him.
"Master, you two should just set up a home together."
Aunt Hua was actually more proactive. She said, "I'll go make the bed for you."
Master Ma didn't hesitate. Ignoring me entirely, he pulled the door open and walked right out.
I chased after him and said with displeasure, "Master, you're even worse than those live-in farmhands. You finish all the work, wipe your mouth, and just say 'I'm going home'."
Master Ma didn't speak. I could tell he was feeling uneasy inside.
I continued asking, "Master, what do you actually want?"
"Want what?"
"You and Aunt Hua."
"If we're going to live together, it has to be done properly with a formal marriage."
With that, Master Ma stopped in his tracks. He turned back from the village entrance toward Aunt Hua's house and said, "Hua, Brother Ma has that intention too, but now isn't the time. I have to give you proper status and marry you properly."
Tears welled up in Aunt Hua's eyes.
"Once we've seen our girl through graduation, the two of us will live together."
I had to admit, while Master Ma was usually unserious, he certainly knew how to say the right things at the crucial moment. He really had his moments.
In the days that followed, the affair between Master Ma and Aunt Hua became a chronic worry in my mind. I always felt that if they didn't officially live together, I had no energy for anything else.
I went to see Qiuyue twice to ask about this matter. Qiuyue's attitude was very clear: she had never known a father since she was little, and it hadn't been easy for Aunt Hua to raise her alone. Master Ma had often helped out, and in Qiuyue's heart, she had long since regarded Master Ma as her father.
When I relayed Qiuyue's thoughts to Master Ma, he always brushed me off by saying adults' business was none of a child's concern.
Eventually, bursting with frustration, I took the matter to Grandpa Fourth Sun. Grandpa Fourth Sun listened in utter astonishment and asked, "Kid, tell me the truth, does your master actually have those feelings?"
"Of course he does! He even talked about a formal marriage."
"Alright, you don't need to worry about this anymore."
I talked to Grandpa Fourth Sun in the morning, and by noon, the village's loudspeaker was blaring. That damn loudspeaker hardly went off a few times all four seasons.
Rural broadcasting followed a strict procedure. The first step was always the village head blowing into the microphone: "Hoo~ Hoo."
Next came the announcement, repeated twice: "Attention villagers, attention villagers. Master Ma's house is going to be renovated, Master Ma's house is going to be renovated. Able-bodied men with free time, come over and lend a hand..."
Master Ma was completely dumbfounded. He stared at me and said, "You little brat, what kind of trick did you pull this time?"
"What could I possibly have done?"
Before long, around twenty grown men had gathered in the courtyard. Grandpa Fourth Sun was even more impressive; he drove a pig over from his house and had even arranged for a butcher.
Master Ma still resisted, insisting he wasn't renovating his house.
But Grandpa Fourth Sun wasn't about to listen. He completely ignored Master Ma and started directing people to get to work.
Master Ma's house was unusually lively. The butcher slaughtered the pig, the women chopped pickled Chinese cabbage, and the men split into several groups under Grandpa Fourth Sun's command. Some cleared the courtyard while others went up the mountain to chop down trees.
The village head arrived as well, and it was only then that I learned he was Grandpa Fourth Sun's son. The guy was under thirty, the only college student in the village, and looked thoroughly scholarly with his glasses on.
The village head stopped Master Ma, who was trying to work, and said, "Grandpa Ma, for so many years you've helped countless people. We've always wanted to thank you, but you always brushed us off. You're more educated than I am; you must know the story of Zilu ransoming the prisoner. You're doing the exact same thing now—refusing payment for helping people. Villages all over have been telling me that because you don't take money, everyone feels too embarrassed to ask for your help."
"What's the big deal? It's not much trouble."
"Exactly. And what's the big deal about renovating a house? It's no trouble at all."
...
You really need to be educated; facing the village head, Master Ma was completely at a loss for words.
Master Ma had accumulated plenty of good karma across the surrounding ten miles and eight villages. The next day, even more people showed up—easily a hundred or so.
With the ground covered in snow, a crowd of men chanted logging work-songs as they felled trees, humming snippets of Errentai local opera: "The setting sun sinks behind the western hills, while the fair lady returns to her embroidered chamber..." It truly was a breathtaking human landscape.
The owner of the brickyard sent over several four-wheel carts full of bricks, and carpenters and artisans from all the neighboring villages arrived.
They worked by day and drank by night, making for a wonderfully bustling atmosphere. In just three days, Master Ma's house took on a completely new look. The main rooms were thoroughly renovated, two brick extensions were added to the courtyard, the earthen stove and kang bed were rebuilt, and all the furniture was newly crafted.
During dinner every single night, the village head broadcasted another piece of news: from now on, consulting Master Ma for help would have a standardized price—fifty for minor matters, one hundred for major ones. Those with money could pay money, while those without could just bring a couple of eggs, and he would still help them out.
The village head also announced something even I hadn't known: on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year, Master Ma would be taking a wife.
I figured this whole arrangement had been plotted between the village head and Grandpa Fourth Sun, completely bypassing the need to notify Master Ma and Aunt Hua.
If you asked how much the house renovation cost?
It didn't cost a dime. Everyone worked for free in exchange for a few meals.
As for the pickled cabbage, there was plenty of it; the pork was provided by Grandpa Fourth Sun; the bricks were donated by the brickyard owner; and all the furniture was freshly made by the carpenters.
If you asked how much the timber cost?
Back then, you could freely cut trees on the mountain. In exchange for a few meals, dozens of men pitched in to help.
Twenty years ago, human relations in the rural Northeast were passionate and fierce.
Look at it now—those damn Snow Town profiteers, a bunch of scumbags where if you don't curse their mothers, they won't even deign to call you father.
They've completely ruined the reputation of the Northeast.
With a clear goal in mind, Master Ma stopped doing anything else and spent every waking moment pondering how to make money.
He read fortunes by day and kept watch at night over the deceased.
With the village head's official pricing in place, people from miles around came pouring in to find Master Ma.
Master Ma was busier than ever, thoroughly enjoying it. When a man is about to take a wife, he has endless drive.
But yours truly was in a different boat. Being young and full of fiery youthful vigor, combined with eating large portions of fish and meat at every single meal, my urine turned a scorching yellow and practically glued my shoes to the pavement.
That entire winter, Master Ma earned over ten thousand yuan. In his own words, ten thousand yuan would serve as the betrothal gift for Aunt Hua, and the remaining money would fund the wedding banquet.
Right, Master Ma gave not a single thought to his number-one disciple, yours truly.
It truly proved the old saying: once you have a stepmother, you get a stepfather.