Back to school

Once the eighth day of the first lunar month has passed, the festive atmosphere gradually fades.

Firecracker paper on the streets and alleys was soaked by snowmelt and could not be washed clean with water. It stuck wetly to the bluestone pavement, and you could smell a faint gunpowder smell when you stepped on it. The Spring Festival couplets pasted on the door had lost their original brightness and the ink had spread on the red paper.

Several snowfalls occurred during the first month of the lunar calendar. At dawn, a thin layer of snow would cover the roof of each household, which would melt into water droplets by noon and drip down from the eaves into the water tanks in their own yards.

On the path at the village entrance, more and more people are carrying schoolbags.

The first day of school has arrived.

Early in the morning, Wen Sheng carried his schoolbag on his back and a cloth bag filled with rice and pickled vegetables in his hand. The bag was tied tightly with hemp rope. The rice bag was heavy and hurt his palms. The strap was also rough, so he had to switch hands every few steps.

The house still retained the atmosphere of the Lunar New Year. The cured fish and meat hanging by the stove were glistening with oil, and there were piles of candies and peanuts that could not be eaten in the corner.

Wen Dazhi squatted at the entrance of the main room, smoking. Through the swirling smoke, he frowned and said to Wen Sheng, "Be obedient at school, don't cause trouble, and study hard."

Wen Chunhua was already waiting at the door, wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, with a floral scarf casually around her neck. As soon as he finished speaking, she quickly stepped forward and snatched the rice bag from Wen Sheng's hands: "I'll take you to the town's bus station. Hurry up, it'll be troublesome if you miss the bus."

Before leaving, Wen Sheng was forced to eat two eggs. "If you get hungry on the way, peel them and eat them."

Did you bring motion sickness medicine?

"I brought them, I already ate them," Wen Sheng replied with a smile, stuffing the eggs into her side pocket.

The courtyard gate opened, and the two walked side by side toward the town's bus station, their figures gradually swallowed up by the morning mist.

"Chunhua, remember to read the book I brought you," Wen Sheng reminded her.

Wen Chunhua pouted and lifted the rice bag on her shoulder: "Oh dear, I don't have your patience at all, reading all day long."

“How can you not look at it? I picked out the easy-to-understand ones for you,” Wen Sheng said earnestly.

"Okay, okay, I'll look back later," Wen Chunhua said with a smile.

As they passed the village chief's house, the gate was half-open, and chickens were flapping their wings and flying around in the yard. The village chief was squatting at the door chopping wood. When he saw the two sisters walk by, he looked up and smiled, "Er Ya, school's starting already? Is Chun Hua going to the factory tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Sheng turned to look at the person next to her in surprise.

Wen Chunhua's eyes darted around, looking at the sky, the ground, and the village chief, but refusing to look at Wen Sheng. She coughed, hoisted the cloth bag onto her shoulder, and forced a smile, saying, "Village chief, you're really well-informed..."

The village chief laughed heartily and casually slammed his axe on the ground: "Hey, of course! This job was specially asked of your mother to keep an eye out for me. This textile factory is newly built, and luckily there are still some openings. Chunhua, you've caught a lucky break."

Wen Chunhua forced a smile, nodded hurriedly in response, and then urged, "Er Ya, let's go, let's go, hurry up!"

After being dragged past the village chief's house, Wen Sheng suddenly stopped and wouldn't budge no matter how much Wen Chunhua pulled.

Wen Chunhua was pulled back and smiled guiltily: "What are you standing there for?"

Wen Sheng didn't move, staring at her with a cool and indifferent gaze, and asked, "When did this happen?"

Wen Chunhua's forced smile slowly froze. She looked away, staring at the muddy dirt road beneath her feet, and stammered, "It's just...it's just recently."

She took a deep breath and added casually, "Besides, isn't Laifu a bit too old? Mother just wants me to go to the factory to earn some money."

"Why did you hide it from me?" Wen Sheng's voice suddenly turned cold.

"I'm afraid you'll overthink it... Your most important thing right now is to study. What good will it do to know these things? It will only make you more upset."

“Chunhua, you are my sister, but you didn’t tell me anything. Mother kept it from me, and you kept it from me too.”

She wasn't angry that Chunhua was going to work in the factory, but that all of this had been kept from her. If the village chief hadn't let it slip today, she might not have known about it even after starting school.

"And then what? This time it's working in a factory, what's next? Getting married? Will I have to listen to other people's comments when I come back from my vacation to find out that your life has already been decided?"

“But Er Ya… I don’t have your courage… You dare to talk back, you dare to resist, but I can’t.” Wen Chunhua didn’t dare to look Wen Sheng in the eye, her head was always lowered, and she only stared at the muddy dirt road under her feet.

"I am the eldest sister, and my birth destined me to give way first and suffer losses first."

Her voice trailed off, tears welling in her eyes, "Er Ya, the reason I asked Mother to keep this from you is because I was afraid you would encourage me to rebel."

Wen Sheng gripped Wen Chunhua's shoulders, making her look directly into his eyes, "Sister, look at me."

"Why do you think you're born to suffer losses? Is that what your mother said? Or your grandmother?"

"Chunhua, you are a flower of spring, and spring will not blame a flower that blooms late. If you feel that you are powerless to resist now, that's okay. Go to the factory if you want; having some savings will give you confidence."

She paused, then continued, "But this is not resignation. You are only temporarily on this path, not the only path you can take forever."

Wen Chunhua was stunned, tears finally streaming down her face. She choked out, "Er Ya, why are you more like my older sister than I am?"

Wen Sheng was taken aback by what she said, and subconsciously touched her nose. "Let's go, we need to catch the train."

——

On the same morning, at Aunt Wang's house.

The mentally challenged child cried and made a fuss last night, saying he wanted to see his mother. Chen Tianying had no choice but to bring Xu Jianing over in the early hours of the morning.

His eyes were swollen from crying, and he only calmed down when he saw Chen Tianying. He held onto her sleeve tightly, calling out "Mother" intermittently until the fool cried himself to sleep, at which point she finally let go.

Xu Jianing had already packed her schoolbag and was waiting. Her black hair was wet from the water dripping from the eaves, and her eyes still showed the fatigue of not having slept all night.

"Let's go, I'll walk you to the bridge." Chen Tianying pulled her old cotton-padded coat tighter around her neck, wrapped her scarf around her neck again, and walked ahead first.

The mother and son walked one after the other on the dusty road in the misty morning. The mist shrouded the stream and the fields, making the world seem hazy. The soil under their feet was sticky from the snowmelt, and their shoes would bring down a thick layer of mud with each step.

Halfway there, Chen Tianying suddenly spoke up: "A-Ning, your mother has something to ask you."

Xu Jianing looked at her back, which was blurred by the fog, and softly hummed in agreement.

Chen Tianying didn't turn around. She carefully chose her words and slowly said, "Tell me, what do you think if your mother opened a small shop in town?"

"Why do you think that, Mother?" Xu Jianing asked.

“Now we have to take care of Tiezhu.” Chen Tianying sighed. “Your father refuses to pay for it, saying that it’s useless to raise a fool. But he is a poor child, and we can’t just abandon him. If your mother opens a small shop in town, she can keep an eye on Tiezhu and earn some money to help support the family.”

Xu Jianing nodded thoughtfully and said in a deep voice that he strongly supported opening a shop, but what kind of shop to open was a question.

“If Mother really wants to do it, let’s open a teahouse.” He thought for a moment and added, “Sell some tea, peanuts and melon seeds, and also take in people who are resting. That way we can earn some money and still have time to take care of Tiezhu.”

At this point, he suddenly stopped and asked Chen Tianying, "But... has Mother prepared the money to open the shop?"

Chen Tianying also stopped and glanced back at him before quickly looking away. "There's no such thing as being prepared or not. The little bit of cloth coupons and grain coupons that my family has saved up can barely get by with the money we can exchange for. But I have no idea how much money we'll actually need."

She continued, "I heard that renting a small shop in town costs five to ten yuan a month, and even more for a better location. You have to hire a carpenter to make tables and chairs, and you also need to stock up on tea, peanuts, and candy in advance. All in all, it will cost at least seventy or eighty yuan."

Seventy or eighty yuan is a large sum of money in rural areas.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jianing silently did some mental calculations.

After a year of farming, and deducting food rations and social obligations, the family would only have about a hundred yuan left in cash. After deducting his high school tuition, he might only have a few dozen yuan left to actually use.

A few dozen yuan is barely enough to cover the rent, but there are still expenses like tables, chairs, tea, and candy to consider.

Xu Jianing asked, "Does Dad know about this?"

"Him? He's always complaining about trouble." Chen Tianying gave a bitter smile. She was used to hearing such words. Xu Guoqiang always thought she was meddling, and any idea she came up with was either ridiculed or rejected.

"Mom, don't rush to make a decision. I'll go to the school and ask around to see how much it costs to rent a shop in town and how much it costs to buy tea and melon seeds. That way, we'll have a better idea of ​​what to expect."

Chen Tianying asked, "A-Ning, do you think I should borrow some money from Honglian?"

Xu Jianing was taken aback.

Xu Honglian was the eldest sister, five years older than him. After finishing high school, she stopped studying and, through a matchmaker, married someone from the next town. Her husband's family owned a woodworking shop, and although they weren't extremely wealthy, they were better off than the villagers. When she returned to her parents' home for holidays, she would bring some cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts.

Xu Jianing loved her eldest sister the most when she was a child, but after she got married, her eldest sister spent less and less time at home and always considered her husband's family when she spoke and acted. Gradually, the distance between Xu Jianing and her sister grew.

He shook his head and said, "Mom, my sister's family is really struggling. Asking her for money would put her in a difficult position."

Chen Tianying sighed, as if she had expected him to say that, and forced a smile: "Mother was just saying it casually, how could I bear to really cause her trouble?"

Xu Jianing thought for a moment, then asked, "What about my brother?"

Chen Tianying gave a cold laugh: "Your brother? If he doesn't keep asking me for money to buy a motorcycle, I'd be thanking my lucky stars. He's always complaining that having a motorcycle will help him get married. It's so annoying."

“Mom, I earned some money at the town market before the Lunar New Year, and I’ll do my part too,” Xu Jianing said.

Chen Tianying paused for a moment, then wiped her eyes with her scarf, forced a smile, and simply replied softly, "Okay."

As we walked, the morning breeze began to rise, and the fog that had permeated the entire journey finally dissipated, making our vision clearer, because the road ahead was right there.

When they reached the bridge, Chen Tianying stopped, hoisted the cloth bag in her hand onto her son's shoulder, and instructed him, "A-Ning, study hard."

She couldn't help but reach out to straighten the strap of his canvas bag, only to find that her youngest son had grown so much taller that she could no longer reach it.

Xu Jianing leaned down slightly so that her hand could reach and straighten the crooked straps.

"Mother, I will."

Xu Jianing, carrying her schoolbag and cloth bag, waved goodbye to Chen Tianying. She stood at the bridgehead, watching his figure gradually recede into the distance until he disappeared on the other side of the bridge.