Chapter 23 "Comrade, do you have a national flag?"...

On Monday morning, a thin mist rose from the saline land under the rising sun. Shu Ran carefully stretched her back; the dull pain had subsided by more than half, leaving only a slight soreness.

She lifted the tattered blanket from her dugout, washed up, and went to the canteen.

The portly cook saw her carrying an enamel basin, but didn't even look up. His large iron bucket sank to the bottom, and he scooped up a full spoonful of carrot porridge. "Teacher Shu, while it's hot," he said in a deep voice, as a greeting.

Shu Ran nodded in thanks, ordered two more vegetable buns, and found a corner to sit down.

She ate quickly, her mind preoccupied with something else.

When Shu Ran arrived at the tool shed, Shi Tou, Hu Zi, Da Mao, and a few other boys who had arrived early were playing around the few simple long benches.

Ayman squatted by the door, diligently drawing on the ground with a small stick. Adil leaned against the adobe wall with his arms crossed, his eyes vacant, lost in thought.

"Stone!" Shu Ran called out to the class monitor, who was gesturing as if she were wrestling with Hu Zi.

“Here! Teacher Shu!” Shi Tou stood up straight immediately.

"Keep an eye on everyone, don't wander off. The teacher is going to the supply and marketing cooperative, I'll be right back."

"yes!"

Shu Ran strode towards the row of adobe houses in the center of the company. The door of the supply and marketing cooperative was open, and the female sales clerk wearing arm sleeves was yawning as she organized the shelves.

"Comrade, do you have a national flag?" Shu Ran asked hopefully.

The saleswoman lifted her eyelids and looked her up and down as if she were a monster: "National flag? Are you kidding me! You can't just get any kind of thing like that. Only regimental and battalion headquarters have them! And they're only hung up on important days. What would our little company need that for?"

She shook her head and continued fiddling with the abacus beads. "No, no! But I do have soap, matches, needles, and thread."

Shu Ran was not discouraged. If there were no new ones, the old ones would do! She immediately turned and walked quickly towards the company's warehouse.

At the warehouse entrance, the old storekeeper was talking to a tall figure. The figure, with his back to Shu Ran, wore a dark blue uniform and had a straight back; it was Chen Yuanjiang. He seemed to be giving instructions, and the old storekeeper nodded repeatedly.

Shu Ran paused for a moment, then walked over: "Storekeeper, Manager Chen."

The two turned around at the sound. Chen Yuanjiang's gaze fell on Shu Ran, still with his usual scrutiny, but it seemed to have lost some of its initial coldness.

The old custodian put on a smile: "Oh, Ms. Shu, so early? Is something the matter?"

"Storekeeper, I'd like to ask if we have any old national flags, or red cloth would also be fine?" Shu Ran got straight to the point, her tone filled with anticipation. "I want to make a flagpole for Qiming Elementary School so I can raise the flag with the children every Monday."

"National flag? Red cloth?" The old storekeeper was stunned for a moment, subconsciously looked at Chen Yuanjiang, and then shook his head. "No, no! How could the company have any of those things in stock? There's even less red cloth! How many cloth coupons would that require? The warehouse only has some dusty canvas and burlap at most."

Shu Ran pressed on, unwilling to give up, "Not even a single red scrap? Even a palm-sized piece will do..."

“Teacher Shu,” Chen Yuanjiang suddenly spoke, interrupting her conversation with the old storekeeper. He walked to the wooden door on the side of the warehouse that had a sign for the spare supplies area and gestured to the old storekeeper, “Open the door.”

"Huh? Oh, oh!" The old storekeeper quickly took out his key, picked out the brass key with a clatter, and opened the door to the spare supplies warehouse.

Chen Yuanjiang went in first. The room was dimly lit, and the air was thick with the smell of dust and rust. He had a clear goal and went straight to a pile of long, rectangular objects covered with an oilcloth in the corner. He lifted a corner of the oilcloth to reveal several wooden poles, each about two meters long and as thick as a wrist, that were relatively smooth and straight.

He pulled out one of them, weighed it in his hand, and then tapped it with his knuckles, making a dull thud.

"Flagpole material." He said succinctly, handing the wooden pole to Shu Ran.

Shu Ran's eyes lit up: "That's great! Thank you, Officer Chen!"

Chen Yuanjiang didn't respond, his gaze sweeping across the warehouse. He walked to the corner where canvas sacks were piled up, bent down and rummaged through them for a moment, pulling out a piece of thick canvas about a meter square, dark and worn, but still recognizable as originally a bright red piece. The cloth was stained with oil and dust, and the edges were somewhat worn and frayed.

"This," he handed the red canvas to Shu Ran, "is an old one, but it can be used after cleaning."

Shu Ran took the canvas; it was old, but usable. "Great! Thank you, Officer Chen!" She then hesitated, "But... the national flag still needs..."

“A five-pointed star,” Chen Yuanjiang continued, raising his hand to unfasten a small buckle above the left breast pocket of his uniform, reaching inside to pull out a small roll of bright yellow cloth about a finger's width.

Shu Ran stared in surprise at the rolled-up yellow cloth. Who would carry something like that around?

He picked up the roll of yellow cloth, cut five strips of equal length with his dagger, and then took a small tin box from a small side pocket of his tool kit. Inside the box were needles and thread.

Shu Ran was very perceptive. She picked up the needle and thread, twisted the end of the thread tightly between her fingers, and threaded it through the eye of the needle.

Chen Yuanjiang picked up a strip of yellow cloth, folded it in half, then in half again, and used a dagger to make several precise creases and cutting lines along the folds. In a few quick movements, he cut the strip of yellow cloth into a standard equilateral five-pointed star.

He repeated the action, and soon, four small five-pointed stars were made.

The old custodian watched in stunned silence.

Chen Yuanjiang gestured the five five-pointed stars in the upper left corner of the red canvas, quickly determining the position of the four smaller stars surrounding the larger star.

He took the needle and thread from Shu Ran and began to sew. He sewed very quickly, pulling the thread straight. Five five-pointed stars were soon fixed on the red canvas. Although the arrangement was not perfectly regular, it had its own simple and solemn charm.

After finishing the last stitch, he cut the thread with a dagger.

"That's enough." Chen Yuanjiang put away the dagger and sewing kit and walked out of the storeroom. Shu Ran, carrying the wooden pole and red cloth, quickly followed.

Back outside the tool shed, Chen Yuanjiang looked around at the small open space in front of it. He chose a slightly elevated spot facing the shed door and used his foot to clear away the pebbles and weeds. Then he squatted down and pulled a short-handled entrenching tool from the leather tool sheath hanging from his waist.

Shu Ran watched his skillful movements with some surprise. She saw Chen Yuanjiang draw a cross on the ground with his entrenching tool, then exert force with his wrist, and the tip of the tool pierced the soil.

The soil and gravel were quickly cleared away, and a pit about half a meter deep was soon formed.

He stood up, erected the wooden flagpole, and placed the bottom end into the pit.

Then, he walked to a pile of broken adobe bricks, picked out a few of the largest ones, carried them over, and smashed them into the pit, tightly stuffing them around the base of the flagpole.

Finally, he picked up an entrenching tool, mixed the excavated soil with gravel, and filled the pit back in, tamping it down with his feet.

The whole process was smooth and efficient, without a single wasted word, and he didn't even glance at Shu Ran. As he straightened up and dusted off his hands, a straight and sturdy flagpole stood in front of the tool shed.

“A rope.” He held out his hand.

Shu Ran was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She quickly ran into the shed, rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner, and pulled out a piece of relatively sturdy thick hemp rope, which she handed to him.

Chen Yuanjiang took the rope, tied a sturdy loop half a foot below the top of the flagpole, and threaded the rope through. Then he picked up the old red canvas and spread it on the relatively flat adobe platform. He took out his dagger and cut off the excess, irregular edges of the red canvas, shaping it into a relatively neat rectangle.

Next, he used a dagger to poke two evenly spaced small holes along the upper edge of the red cloth. He threaded one end of the hemp rope through the holes and tied a knot. The other end hung down.

Chen Yuanjiang wrapped the other end of the rope around the flagpole a few times and tied a slipknot to secure it. He stepped back and checked the stability of the flagpole and the smoothness of the rope.

"Alright." He sheathed his dagger and glanced at Shu Ran. "Raising the flag requires ceremony. What needs to be taught must be done clearly."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He turned and walked towards the company headquarters, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the adobe house.