Chapter Forty-Two: Ten Miles of Red for You

Ping’an Village.
December 21st, 1989, by the lunar calendar.
As the New Year approached, every household grew busy with preparations.
“New Year”—a simple day, yet brimming with warmth and joy—had come and gone, gone and come again, in the dreams of countless children.
Lu Kun called over his two little girls, Big Ya and Little Ya, and the three of them huddled together, whispering and plotting for quite a while.
Soon enough, the two children scampered off, giggling, back to their own room.
Liu Liping found this a bit odd.
Lu Kun had been acting mysterious these past few days, often gathering with the children as if conspiring about something.
Besides, he’d paid far too many visits to Shitou’s place lately.
...
Knock, knock, knock.
“Knew it was you, rascal.” At the sound of three knocks on the courtyard gate, Shitou opened up.
“Is everything ready?” Lu Kun’s heart fluttered with nerves.
Liu Liping had been with him for seven or eight years, bore him children, shared his hardships—he truly owed her much.
Now, Lu Kun wanted to make up for it all with a grand wedding, to give her the acknowledgment she deserved.
Back then, Liu Liping became pregnant before marriage, enduring much gossip and slander.
Lu Kun and Liu Liping: in the wrong time, they had loved the right person. An unexpected romance had set their hearts on a stubborn path toward the future.
“Relax. Just enjoy being the groom!”
Shitou clapped Lu Kun’s shoulder, giving him an encouraging pat.
Lu Kun’s own courtyard was small, his rooms too few, so all the wedding goods were stored here for now.
In the unused spare room at Shitou’s house, every inch was now packed with wedding gifts:
A brand-new bicycle, sewing machine, radio, wristwatch... Even a pair of enormous pork knuckles for the betrothal feast had been prepared.
Lu Kun meant to do it all in one go—skipping the formal engagement, but not the proper rituals.
When he first married Liu Liping, she was barely sixteen, and he wore the label of a good-for-nothing. No elder in the village cared enough to offer advice; in truth, he’d practically snatched the Liu girl away.
Young and foolish, with no way to earn a living.

This time, he would see everything done right.
As for Liu Liping’s family, the moment her mother heard the news sent by Lu Kun, she bustled about with her own packed lunch, looking less like a mother marrying off her daughter and more like a mother welcoming a daughter-in-law.
Lu Kun had already spread the word among the villagers days before, inviting everyone for wedding wine that evening.
Many village men grinned on the surface but cursed inwardly, blaming Lu Kun for wasting money and forcing them to chip in for wedding gifts right before the New Year.
The young women and wives, however, gazed at Lu Kun with shining eyes; some of the bolder, more eager ones even wiped their lips with handkerchiefs at the sight of him.
“Ugh—” Lu Kun fled in embarrassment, leaving the longing women to their daydreams.
...
Years ago, many relatives, fearful of being implicated, had already severed all ties with his family.
So now, at this wedding feast, Lu Kun had almost no relatives—just the villagers to share a drink.
He did hesitate about whether to inform his elder sister in the county, but in the end decided against it. There wasn’t enough time, and he didn’t want to trouble her or himself.
By midday, the village matchmakers and matrons bustled into the courtyard, declaring they’d come to do Liu Liping’s hair and makeup. It took her a moment to process it all.
The village women—none too crafty—set to work quickly, helping to arrange the bridal chamber.
There were many customs to observe, and no one dared be careless:
“The bed faces the window, the wardrobe along the wall, door not facing wardrobe, mirror not facing the bed.”
After making the bed—spreading sheets, hanging drapes, turning down the covers—they scattered peanuts, dried longan, red dates, lotus seeds, and chestnuts on it, wishing for many children to come.
Lu Kun and Liu Liping had gotten on the “carriage” before buying the “ticket,” but the rituals could not be skipped.
Liu Liping was still in a daze.
Though she and Lu Kun had lived together for seven or eight years and had three children, these wedding customs were a first for her—a maiden on her bridal sedan.
Lu Kun now wore a white shirt and a small suit jacket, a boutonnière pinned to his chest, black slacks, and shiny leather shoes. His whole face glowed with excitement.
Big Ya and Little Ya had bathed early and changed into new clothes.
They were beside themselves with joy.
Never had their home been so lively; all their friends had come to play.
“Big Ya, Little Ya, aren’t you going to see your dad? My mom says your dad’s marrying a new wife!” shouted a snot-nosed boy at the two girls.
“No, he’s not! My dad’s marrying my mom. My dad says this is a wedding, and after the wedding, my mom can give me a little brother!” Little Ya shot the boy a proud look, hands on her hips.
The boy scratched his head, puzzling over how adults made children.

Perplexed but determined to find out, he ran to his mother and asked, “Mom, where did I come from?”
His mother, busy beyond belief, shooed him away. “Go ask your dad,” she called over her shoulder, vanishing before he could see her face.
The boy was left aggrieved.
“Dad, where did I come from?” he persisted, tugging at his father’s trouser leg as the man played cards, eyes wide with sincerity.
“Where’d you come from?” The man blinked. “I shot you out, of course,” he replied, pushing the boy aside and returning to his game.
The boy was left speechless.
(╥﹏╥)
This time, Liu Liping still had to return to her family home, and Lu Kun would come to fetch her—a formality to complete.
The Liu family had once opposed their union, disdaining Lu Kun for lacking proper etiquette and shamed by their daughter’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Now, Lu Kun had done everything right, and there was nothing left to object to.
Besides, their children were already in school; whether the marriage was approved or not, it hardly mattered anymore.
That day, from afternoon onward, firecrackers never ceased in Ping’an Village.
Strings of red firecrackers stretched from Lu Kun’s door all the way to the Liu family’s, ten miles unbroken.
The explosions scattered crimson paper, weaving a fiery red carpet.
Lu Kun had rented nine wedding cars, each adorned with a giant red bow, forming a grand procession to fetch his bride.
...
Lu Kun opened the car door and smiled at Liu Liping.
“Do you remember that year I promised you a wedding parade ten miles long? Today I keep my vow, coming to marry you for all the world to see.” Lu Kun’s brow quivered, tears streaming as he reached for Liu’s hand, his own trembling.
Liu Liping tilted her head, tears flowing endlessly, and choked out, “Why are you acting like a child?”
With that, she hooked her arms around his neck and wept on his shoulder.
“A man, before the woman he loves, is forever a child,” Lu Kun said, wiping his tears, voice trembling.
...