Fulfilling a vow

The day I went to report to Cangshui Middle School, the sun was shining brightly.

Wen Sheng sat at the back of the oxcart, her schoolbag in her arms. Her shoes were clean and white, having been washed by Chunhua the night before, making them look like old shoes.

The driver was Uncle Li from the village entrance, and her father, Wen Dazhi, sat in front. At the speed of the oxcart, it would take half an hour to get to the town. No one spoke along the way.

Wen Dazhi lit a cigarette, coughed several times, and finally stubbed it out, flicking it into the roadside grass.

The oxcart stopped at the town's crossroads. He jumped off first, then turned around and took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to Uncle Li.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Uncle Li took the cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and laughed, "Your daughter is promising. She went to study in the county. She won't be from this poor place anymore."

Wen Dazhi snorted and said to Wen Sheng, who was sitting in the back, "Hurry up and get down!"

Wen Sheng quickly jumped off the oxcart, patted the dry grass off his trousers, and Chunhua's cloth shoes, which she had just washed, were now covered in mud again.

The journey was so bumpy that she feels nauseous and her mouth tastes bitter.

They set off very early, and when they arrived in town, the sun had just risen, the sky was bright, and the air was filled with the smells of fried dough sticks, pickled vegetables, and a little bit of kerosene and diesel. These smells mixed together, making them even more nauseous.

The oxcart turned around and left, raising a cloud of dust with its hooves. Wen Dazhi reached out to shield it, then casually took the cigarette from behind his ear, twirled it in his hand a couple of times, glanced at Wen Sheng, and finally didn't light it.

He carried the rice and blankets and walked towards the station.

It was a bag of rice in an old-fashioned woven bag, weighing a full thirty pounds, with the edges sewn shut by Ye Caifeng. The cotton wadding inside the quilt had just been added in the spring, wrapped in red cloth, its bright color standing out conspicuously among the group of drab luggage.

The fabric was saved up by Ye Caifeng during the Lunar New Year and was originally intended to make new clothes for her two younger brothers. However, after hearing that Wen Sheng had been admitted to the county high school, she changed her mind and took the clothes apart to make a new quilt cover.

The town's bus station was a low cement building. The paint on the door had peeled off, leaving only the three red characters "Bus Station" faintly visible. A crooked fluorescent light tube hung under the eaves, and a faded "Civilized Bus Riding Initiative" was pasted on the cement wall next to it.

Wen Dazhi put the rice bag and quilt aside and stood in front of the ticket window for a long time, staring at the train numbers and platforms covered in densely packed small characters, making his eyes dizzy. He pointed to one line and asked loudly in his thick local accent, "Is this train going to Cangshui County?"

The female ticket seller at the window was eating sunflower seeds and said impatiently, "Just tell me where you're going."

Wen Dazhi said "Oh," and took out a few crumpled bills from his pocket and handed them over. "Go to the county high school. My daughter is registering today."

"Cangshui County Middle School?" The female ticket seller finally looked up at him. "What time do you need?"

"The earliest one is fine."

"Around 6:15, the bus will depart in about ten minutes."

The female ticket seller tore the ticket off with a "snap," and said, "The station is the third shed on the left. Hurry up and wait there, don't miss it."

Wen Dazhi took the ticket, turned around, picked up the bag of rice at his feet, and took two steps toward the platform before realizing that Wen Sheng hadn't followed. He looked back and saw that she was still standing there looking at the breakfast stall next to her.

"What are you daydreaming about?" he frowned. "Er Ya, keep up."

Wen Sheng glanced at the steamed buns in the steamer, her stomach growled twice, and she could only hug her quilt tightly and jog after them.

Wen Dazhi chose a shady corner far from the shed, put the rice bag at his feet, and looked down at the train ticket. Although he couldn't recognize a single word, he still pretended to flip through it a couple of times and muttered to himself, "Printed so small, is it intentionally meant to be incomprehensible?"

"Er Ya, why are you moving so slowly?"

"The car is about to leave, and you're still dawdling."

"I am coming."

Wen Sheng hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and her mind was foggy. In the middle of summer, the blanket in her hands was hot, and her body was sticky with sweat. She felt dizzy after standing for a short while.

Wen Dazhi cursed, but still reached out and snatched the blanket away: "You don't even have this much strength, and you dare to go to school alone?"

Just then, a car drove up, and a strong fumes of exhaust fumes hit us.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." Wen Dazhi quickly turned to the side and raised his hand to fan his nose vigorously. "This broken car is never fixed, it stinks to death."

The smells of diesel, rust, leather, and dust kicked up from the ground all filled Wen Sheng's nostrils. He was already feeling unwell, and now his stomach was churning even more, and he was sweating profusely.

He turned to look at Wen Sheng, then glanced at the steaming breakfast stall next to him, hesitated for a moment, and then walked towards the stall. "Wait for me here."

The stall owner was a middle-aged woman wearing an apron. As soon as she lifted the lid of the steamer, a cloud of white steam rushed towards her face, making her face flush red from the heat. "What would you like?"

Wen Dazhi stood in front of the stall, looked down and rummaged through his pockets for a long time before finally pulling out three coins.

"Give me three steamed buns, plain, no vegetables or meat."

The steamed bun was wrapped in oil paper and handed to him. He took it without even glancing at it, then turned around and walked back to Wen Sheng's side, stuffing the steaming bun into her arms. "Take this, eat it on the way, or you'll faint from hunger again."

Wen Sheng lowered her head and took a bite of the steamed bun, finally feeling a little better in her stomach.

It was almost time for the bus to depart. Wen Dazhi carried the blanket and rice bag into the carriage, then said to Wen Sheng, who was standing at the door, "If you're not feeling well, sit in the front. Don't miss your stop. When you get off at school, have the driver call you. Be smart, okay?"

Wen Sheng hummed in agreement and had just stepped onto the car steps when she heard him call out to her again, "Wait a minute."

She turned around.

Wen Dazhi lowered his head, took out a neatly folded stack of banknotes from one of his trouser pockets. The stack consisted of 1-mao and 5-mao notes. He counted them with his rough little finger, then took out a few coins from the other side, weighed them in his hand, and finally stuffed them all into the small pocket on the outside of his schoolbag.

"Don't waste money at school."

"Thank you, Father," Wen Sheng said.

Wen Dazhi turned his head, coughed, and said:

"No one will care about you at school. Don't wander around at night. Wear a thermal undershirt if you're cold. Don't tough it out just for the sake of looking good."

"Don't tear off that piece of cloth your mother sewed to the corner of the quilt. If you're really cold, take it out and use it as a pad. I know it's old, so just make do with it."

"The most important thing for a girl when she's out is to stay safe. Don't cause trouble, and don't let anyone bully you."

"If you really run into someone who's unreasonable, don't hold back. Show the same stubbornness you have at home, and don't let them think you're easy to bully."

"But don't always glare at people. You're an educated person; you should be reasonable."

Wen Sheng interrupted his lecture: "Father, I know all of this."

Wen Dazhi also realized he had been a bit long-winded. He stared at her backpack for a couple of seconds, then reached out to help her tighten the zipper, muttering under his breath, "Why can't you ever tighten this zipper properly? What if you lose your money?"

"Alright, get on the bus, don't be late for departure."

After Wen Sheng sat down, he took a cigarette from behind his ear and handed it to the driver.

"Master, when you get to Cangshui County Middle School, please call out to this girl for me. It's her first time traveling so far, and I'm afraid she might miss her stop."

The driver took the cigarette, smiled, and nodded: "Don't worry."

Wen Dazhi then took two steps back, stood by the platform, and glanced out the train window.

Wen Sheng sat by the window, holding her schoolbag in her arms and clutching the train ticket in her hand, looking out at him as well.

The father and daughter were separated by a glass partition, and neither of them spoke.

The next second, the bus lurched, the engine roared, and it slowly drove away from the station, leaving behind a lingering smell of exhaust fumes.

Wen Dazhi stood there motionless, a cigarette still dangling from his lips, until the car had completely turned the corner and disappeared from sight, before turning away.

As soon as the bus stopped, the driver patted Wen Sheng on the back of her seat: "Little girl, we've arrived at Cangshui Middle School."

Wen Sheng opened her eyes groggily, her face deathly pale. She nodded and slowly got out of the car. As soon as she stepped onto the ground, a strong smell of diesel fuel hit her, making her stomach churn even more violently.

The driver was quite kind. Seeing that she was thin and panting with her hand on her forehead, he helped her carry out the blankets and rice bags from the carriage and placed them in the shade at the school gate, saying, "Keep them safe, I have to go."

Wen Sheng nodded, but couldn't even say "thank you" because she was already feeling dizzy again. She leaned against the wall next to the door to catch her breath for a while.

She is now facing a difficult problem.

There were two large bags on the ground: a woven bag of rice, weighing at least thirty pounds; and a cotton quilt, which was bulging and heavy.

Wen Sheng tried to drape the blanket over her shoulders first, then reached for the rice bag with both hands. As soon as she bent down, her stomach cramped, and she quickly steadied herself by holding onto the wall, covering her mouth and dry heaving a few times.

I can't vomit anything now, my mouth tastes bitter, and I can't see anything clearly.

With no other option, she had to drag the quilt a few steps, put it down, and then turn back to pull the rice bag. After two trips, she had only moved it two or three meters. Her palms were already red from the friction, and her arms were so sore that she could barely lift them.

Wen Sheng gestured, indicating that there was still quite a distance from where she was standing to the school gate. At her current speed, she would have to spend the entire morning moving things.

Looking around, I noticed that most of the students who came to register were accompanied by their parents, either helping to carry their luggage or simply carrying their blankets and walking ahead.

She thought to herself: Maybe I should ask the security guard if he has a small trolley?

Just then, a pair of hands reached out from the side and effortlessly lifted the sack of rice.

Wen Sheng froze, then subconsciously looked up.

The morning sunlight was a bit too bright, so she squinted and saw a tall boy in a white shirt standing against the light, blocking most of the light as he turned to the side.

It was him.

The senior she bowed to that day in front of the bulletin board.

"you......"

Xu Jianing had already started walking forward when he realized that she hadn't followed. He turned around and saw that her face was deathly pale, her lips were bloodless, and she was leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths.

"Senior, you go in first, don't worry about me, I'll be fine in a bit."

Xu Jianing: "Wait here for me."

A few minutes later, he returned with a bottle of room-temperature mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to me: "Drink some water first, it's not cold."

Wen Sheng took it, a little surprised: "Senior, did you go out of your way to buy this?"

Xu Jianing hummed in agreement, then took out a small packet of motion sickness medicine from her pocket and handed it to her, saying, "I just bought it on the way. It'll make you feel better after you take it."

"Thank you, senior, you're such a kind person." She took a few sips of water, then took out a steamed bun from her bag and ate a few bites. Her originally pale face finally regained some color.

"You rest for a while. I'll carry the rice bag inside first, then come back to get the blankets," Xu Jianing suggested.

"No need!" Wen Sheng quickly picked up the blanket. "I've recovered. I can really lift it. If you don't believe me, watch me lift it with one hand."

After saying that, she actually lifted herself up with one hand to prove that she had recovered.

Xu Jianing looked at her with some skepticism, but seeing that her complexion was indeed much better than before, and that she looked like she was "really fine," he had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, then follow me." He said, picking up the rice bag first and walking towards the cafeteria.

Wen Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, hugged the blanket and followed. She really wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.

You can't exactly say, "Thank you for letting me pray; I'm here to fulfill a vow." That would be too embarrassing.

The other person wasn't walking fast. He carried the incredibly heavy bag of rice with ease, without even flinching. His arm was as steady as if he were used to carrying heavy objects. Every few steps, he would slightly turn to make sure she was still behind him.

The two walked one after the other without saying a word, but it was as if they had known each other for a long time.

Even though we've only met once, it's as if I've rehearsed this encounter countless times in my mind.