The Daily Life of a Stepmother in the 1980s
Zhao Weiguo spent his first night in Shanghai without incident, and the tension that Xu Tao had felt after being reminded by him also disappeared.
The days passed normally and warmly, but Zhao Weiguo suddenly wasn't home, and both Xu Tao and Zhao Linan felt a bit uneasy. Zhao Linan, in particular, was the most affected. After not seeing his father for two days, he curiously asked Xu Tao.
"Where's dad?" Zhao Linan usually went to bed early and got up late, so he didn't see Zhao Weiguo often.
But after two consecutive days of not seeing his father in the morning or at dinner, the little one naturally grew puzzled.
"Your dad went to work!" Xu Tao casually responded.
She still remembered Zhao Weiguo's reminder. Since Zhao Linan was just a child, there was no need to explain his father's whereabouts, lest the little one start talking about it.
"Oh!" Zhao Linan didn't continue to question, not suspecting that Xu Tao was lying to him.
Xu Tao didn't feel wrong in brushing off the child, and when Zhao Linan finished eating and went out to play with the other kids in the alley, she continued to write her novel. Every day seemed to be rather leisurely.
By late afternoon, around three o'clock, Xu Tao changed into a different outfit and went out to take Zhao Weiguo's call.
"Xiao Nan, mommy is going to take a phone call. Are you coming?" Xu Tao closed the windows and doors, then asked the little one, who was playing games with Shitou and the others.
The kids in the alley were easy to entertain, playing different games every day—yesterday it was hide-and-seek, today it was hopscotch. The little games were always enjoyed with great enthusiasm.
"Hmm?" Zhao Linan looked at Xu Tao with a conflicted expression.
Xu Tao didn't let the little one worry. She was just going to take a call, which shouldn't take too long: "You stay and play with your brothers. Mommy will go alone, and you can't run off, okay?"
These days, she hadn’t been constantly watching over the child. At first, she was worried about the safety of playing in the alley, occasionally checking in on the situation, but now she felt much more at ease. Especially after talking with the neighbor, Fan Qiumei, she knew that the latter only called her son, Shitou, home for meals and didn't monitor him otherwise.
Xu Tao wasn't as carefree as Fan Qiumei, but she wasn't overly worried about taking a call either.
"Okay," Zhao Linan nodded.
Xu Tao patted his little head and then went to the public phone booth on Shuiyin Road, Old Eight Alley, to take the call. Though it's called a phone booth, it was just a simple stand with a phone, with a middle-aged man sitting beside it collecting fees. There was cardboard nearby with the price list:
One yuan per minute for making a call, and fifty cents per minute for receiving a call.
Zhao Weiguo was punctual. Xu Tao had barely stood next to the phone booth for a moment before it rang. The middle-aged man picked up the receiver and glanced at Xu Tao.
"Is Xu Tao there?" Though the phone booth was simple, it was somewhat of a local landmark, and several people were standing nearby.
"I'm here," Xu Tao immediately replied.
"Your call," the middle-aged man set the receiver down: "This is a long-distance call. If you talk for more than two minutes, it will cost an extra twenty cents."
"Alright," Xu Tao thought the call was expensive but still agreed cheerfully, picking up the receiver and placing it to her ear: "Hello?"
"Xu Tao, it's me." Zhao Weiguo's voice came through, sounding a bit muffled and distant.
"Hmm, you arrived?"
"Yes."
"..." Xu Tao was silent, unsure of what to say.
Zhao Weiguo paused on the other end as well: "Shanghai is very lively. If we have the chance, I’ll bring you and Xiao Nan to visit."
"Okay!"
"Then I'll hang up the phone."
"Mm." Xu Tao naturally nodded.
The conversation between them was very brief, lasting a little over a minute, costing one yuan. After paying, Xu Tao went across the street to a small shop. The shop didn’t sell much, but outside, there was a foam box with the words "Ice Cream" written on it.
"Boss, how much is an ice cream?"
"Plain flavor is five cents per stick, cream flavor is eight cents per stick." The boss immediately opened the foam box and lifted the thick blanket covering it.
Xu Tao hesitated for a moment when she heard the prices, then said, "Give me six plain ones."
"Okay." The boss counted out six sticks of ice cream and handed them to Xu Tao. After she paid, she took the ice creams and walked home, eating one as she went.
By the time she had finished one, she had just arrived back at Lao Ba Alley, where she saw a group of children playing happily, all sweaty from jumping around.
"I bought ice cream, everyone." Xu Tao called out as she saw the ice cream starting to melt.
The children noticed her right away, and when they heard her mention ice cream, their eyes lit up, and they rushed toward her.
"Ice cream!"
The children were eager, as they had become familiar with Xu Tao recently, and it was either snacks or dumplings they were eating every day, so they had long since dropped the politeness they had initially shown.
Xu Tao divided the ice creams, giving one to each child, leaving the last one for Zhao Linan, who was the youngest and most adorable. While she was giving them out, the little one didn’t rush or act selfishly but quietly watched. Xu Tao was pleased with his generosity and carefully peeled off the plastic film from his ice cream.
"So delicious."
"Mm, so sweet."
The children started licking their ice creams, praising them in all sorts of ways.
"It’s hot, don’t run around in the sun, okay?" Xu Tao smiled as she saw the children happily eating and casually reminded them before returning home to continue writing her novel, Destiny Is So Close.
At this point, the novel had already reached around twenty to thirty thousand words. With a few more days of writing, she could send it to the publisher.
"Wow! I want ice cream, Grandma, I want ice cream." The loud cry of Lin Xiaoqiang from next door could be heard.
"Hmph! Xiaoqiang doesn’t get ice cream!" Shitou's teasing voice followed.
Xu Tao sat inside and could roughly guess what was happening outside. It was obvious that Lin Xiaoqiang from next door was crying for ice cream again.
Sure enough, not long after, the sharp voice of the elderly woman from the Lin family could be heard: "You little brats, go away! Always teasing my Xiaoqiang, what a bunch of bad kids!"
"Ugh!" Shitou, along with several other children, pretended to gag, and then they rushed to Xu Tao’s house.
Xu Tao watched as the children ran to her yard, sitting on the doorstep, eating their ice creams and deliberately teasing Lin Xiaoqiang, enjoying the fun.
Xu Tao sat in the small living room, watching the children, but she didn’t go outside. She smiled and continued writing her novel, not minding the children's little feud with the elderly woman from next door.
o0o
The weather was hot, and in the blink of an eye, Zhao Weiguo had been in Shanghai for six days.
Xu Tao took care of the daily meals for her son and herself, and when she had free time, she continued writing her novel. The word count for Destiny Is So Close had grown from over 30,000 to more than 50,000 words.
After finishing the manuscript, Xu Tao went out to mail it.
The post office on Shuiyin Road wasn’t far. From Lao Ba Alley, it would take about ten minutes to walk, and after passing a nearby zoo, she would arrive.
She had already organized the manuscript and written down the address. With the mailing slip in hand, she filled out the address carefully and went to the counter.
"Hmph!" As Xu Tao stood at the counter, she heard a soft hum. Looking over, she saw Lin Fang sitting at a nearby window, looking quite smug.
Xu Tao glanced at her, but didn’t pay much attention. She smiled at the young female worker behind the counter. "Thank you."
"Mm." These days, many of the workers had quite an arrogant attitude, and this particular worker was young, not particularly good-looking, but her attitude was extremely impatient.
Xu Tao didn’t care much. After following the procedures to mail her items, she was about to head home.
“Stop right there!” Lin Fang, displeased with Xu Tao’s attitude, called out to her from the window.
Xu Tao heard but pretended not to.
“Hey!” Lin Fang raised her voice, drawing the attention of everyone in the post office.
Xu Tao couldn’t hold back a roll of her eyes and then stopped, turning around. “Is there something you need?”
Lin Fang, fuming with anger, glared at Xu Tao. She saw that Xu Tao had stopped and, clearly annoyed, stood up and walked through a gate-like door next to the small glass window.
“Why haven’t I seen Zhao Da Ge around lately?” Lin Fang, aware of the taboo, lowered her voice, nervously glancing around to check if anyone was listening.
Heh! Xu Tao gave Lin Fang an unapologetic stare, sizing her up as though inspecting an item, and then sneered. “You really seem to care about my husband”
Lin Fang, her face flushed with anger, glared back at Xu Tao.
She didn’t even understand what had gotten into her. Knowing Zhao Weiguo was married, she should have let go, but she just couldn’t.
These past few days, she had been unable to resist waiting until just the right moment to get off work, hoping to bump into Zhao Weiguo like she had that day. She didn’t want to feel this way, but she couldn’t help it. She longed to see him and talk to him.
But for several days, her hopes were dashed. Even when she peeked into the yard, he wasn’t there.
Her heart had been twisted with longing for days, and now, seeing Xu Tao, the impulse to ask about him was too strong to suppress.
“Mind your own business,” Lin Fang replied, rolling her eyes at Xu Tao.
Xu Tao clicked her tongue in disbelief. She could see right through Lin Fang’s intentions. The woman hadn’t even tried to hide her motives, yet still had the nerve to question Xu Tao as though the roles were reversed. Was she seriously going to pretend to be oblivious?
Xu Tao sneered lightly. “You really are a Lin family member, just as shameless and blatant as that old woman.”
“I’m asking you a question! Don’t give me nonsense,” Lin Fang urged impatiently, her tone defensive.
Xu Tao’s expression and attitude seemed to provoke her.
“Am I your mother?”
“What do you mean by that?!” Lin Fang glared at Xu Tao, feeling frustrated by her lack of respect.
“I’m not your mother! Why should I answer every question you ask?” Xu Tao mocked coldly, turning to leave sarcastically.
“Stop right there!” Lin Fang, still angry, shouted at Xu Tao.
But Xu Tao ignored her, walking away without a second glance, leaving Lin Fang standing there, fuming with rage.
Although Xu Tao had gone out with a good mood to mail her novel, meeting this strange woman completely soured her mood. To Xu Tao, Lin Fang was like a mosquito that was always buzzing in his ears, not biting, but still very annoying.
o0o
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