Chapter Ninety-One: Four-Nine Zoo

A highly European-style gate stood there, with three arches. Hanging beside the largest central arch was the sign for Forty-Nine Zoo. On the two side arches, one bore the character for “welcome,” and the other bore the remaining character.

Xiao Weiguo took the initiative to buy the zoo tickets. Each ticket cost five cents, which was still fairly cheap.

On the back of the ticket was the zoo map.

After handing their tickets to the inspector, Xiao Weiguo and Quan Linglan walked inside with hearts full of anticipation.

They first arrived at a small courtyard in a Western style, then continued deeper inside.

Along the way they saw tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes, and more. The most delightful sight was the monkey hill, where little monkeys and old monkeys alike struck all manner of lively poses.

When they reached the peacock enclosure, Quan Linglan insisted on waiting to see a peacock spread its tail. The two of them actually waited for more than an hour before they finally saw it.

Doing something so boring together somehow did not feel boring at all. On the contrary, when their wish was finally fulfilled, they felt genuine delight.

After that, they went to see the giant pandas. In those days, apart from Sichuan and Chongqing, perhaps only Forty-Nine Zoo offered a chance to see giant pandas.

It was Quan Linglan’s first time seeing one, and she kept exclaiming how adorable it was.

Xiao Weiguo, meanwhile, kept looking at Quan Linglan beside him.

The adorable one was watching the adorable creature, but the most adorable of all was still her.

After a wild morning of fun, Xiao Weiguo glanced at his watch and saw that it was already around one in the afternoon. He quickly pulled at Quan Linglan, who was still playing with abandon, and said, “Linglan, we should eat something. It’s already one o’clock.”

He looked around and found a large rock by a lake. He and Quan Linglan walked over together, took out the food and drinks they had bought, and sat looking out over the scenery on the water. Surrounded by this animal paradise, with her opposite him, Xiao Weiguo ate the pastries in his hand and somehow found they seemed even sweeter.

Quan Linglan looked at Xiao Weiguo’s straight, fixed stare and laughed softly. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“You didn’t look at me. How would you know I was looking at you?” Xiao Weiguo hurriedly withdrew his gaze and instead stared at the plants by the lake.

“Dummy.” Quan Linglan did not press the matter. After calling him a fool, she silently went on eating the pastry in her hand.

For a moment, the two of them fell quiet.

“Weguo, do you have any plans for the future?” Quan Linglan suddenly asked.

“In the future? Work hard, start a family, and live on, I suppose,” Xiao Weiguo replied, thinking of his rough plans.

“And if you start a family... what kind of person would you want?” Quan Linglan asked, staring at his face and waiting for his answer.

Xiao Weiguo looked straight back at her, his eyes burning with heat. Quan Linglan could not bear that fiery gaze and turned instead to the lake, her little face blushing pink.

In her heart she thought, How annoying. Why are you suddenly being so direct?

Xiao Weiguo sighed inwardly. Knowing what the future held, he still could not think of a perfect solution.

There was an ideal plan, of course, but it would only matter if the other side was willing to accept it. At present, it seemed Quan Linglan’s mother, Zhao Shuxian, was very satisfied with the current situation and had no intention of leaving.

No. When the decisive moment came, he would still have to try his utmost. Such a wonderful girl could not simply be watched as she turned into the dust of the age.

And yet, in the end, this life might be one of crossed paths without shared destiny.

Just then, a girl’s voice came from nearby, speaking to Quan Linglan with open mockery. “Well, look who it is. So it’s our capitalist young lady. Why aren’t you staying in your Western-style house? What brought you to the proletariat’s turf?”

Xiao Weiguo turned and saw a group of five boys and girls, all around fifteen or sixteen years old. The one speaking was a girl with a sharp, mean face, and she seemed to be the leader of the group.

“What, does this zoo belong only to you, Zheng Xiangqin, and not to me?” Quan Linglan said as she stood up. After addressing them, she immediately took Xiao Weiguo by the hand and headed away, apparently trying to avoid them.

Xiao Weiguo could only follow.

Zheng Xiangqin called after him again. “Comrade, whatever your background may be, we proletarians are all one family. You should keep your distance from people like those capitalists. I hope you wake up in time.”

Xiao Weiguo stopped in his tracks and turned to the group. “The great man said that everyone is equal. Don’t you know that? Linglan isn’t some capitalist. She’s only your classmate. You keep hanging these words on your lips every day, and I don’t know how your teachers have taught you.

“Have they never taught you to be modest and prudent, to treat matters with equality, to accept others with humility, and to respect and love one another?”

Before they could answer, he took Quan Linglan by the arm and led her away.

If I can’t afford to offend you, I can at least avoid you.

A good trip should not be ruined by a bit of filth.

The two of them came to an open stretch of grass. Quan Linglan quietly explained to Xiao Weiguo, “They’re all classmates from my grade. Because their families are all workers, they go around boasting that their class is superior, and they keep attacking us with words.”

“Every day I leave home in a good mood, and by the time I get back from school, my mood is often terrible.

“Weguo, tell me, do we really carry some great sin on our backs?”

“Of course not. That’s their problem. They haven’t understood the great man’s meaning properly and are just attacking people recklessly. You should know that during the founding of the country, many great industrialists contributed enormous strength.

“Some even stood on the city walls when the country was founded.”

Xiao Weiguo comforted her, while inwardly adding that none of that would matter in the end anyway. Reckoning would still come; it was only a matter of time.

After hearing his words, Quan Linglan felt much better, and the two of them continued along the guide map to enjoy the rest of the zoo.

After seeing the wolf enclosure, Quan Linglan’s mood had improved quite a bit, and her face was bright with smiles again.

It had to be said, the girl truly had strong emotional resilience. In the present circumstances, anyone without that kind of strength would have long since shut themselves away at home and refused to step outside at all.

They would not have been like her, still going to school as usual, lively and lovely every day.

On the way back, they saw Zheng Xiangqin and the others renting two boats and rowing on the lake. When they spotted Xiao Weiguo and Quan Linglan on the shore, they wore looks of smug triumph.

They were probably showing off that they had even spent money to go boating.

Little did they know, the main purpose of the day had been to see the animals, not to row a boat, which was why Xiao Weiguo and Quan Linglan had not rented one.

They had discussed it together and decided against boating, because that would mean wasting a great deal of time on the lake. There were many lakes where one could row a boat, but there was only one zoo like this.

Seeing Zheng Xiangqin’s boat happen to be within ten meters of him, Xiao Weiguo had an idea.