After a two- or three-hour drive, when I returned to Shanghe Village, a family was slaughtering a pig for the New Year, and the village was bustling with activity!
"These two girls must be Li Yumei's daughters!"
"It should be. The younger one seems to be Xi Hua. Her family came back the year before last. I remember. She's changed a lot. She's much prettier now!"
The Chen sisters greeted several people talking by the roadside, saying, "Hello, grandpas and grandmas! Hello, uncles and aunties!"
We drove back to the old house, opened the door, and found it very clean inside. It must have been cleaned by the village chief's aunt who often came over to help!
Chen Xihua and Chen Jinhua each took a bag of candy and biscuits and went to the village chief's house first. "Aunt Wang, she's washing the benches!"
When we arrived at the village chief's house, Aunt Wang, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village chief, was washing things. Before the New Year, she was cleaning the house, and she washed everything, including the dining table and benches, with water, not just wiping them with a rag!
"Oh my, Xihua is back! Come in quickly, and who is this?" Aunt Wang looked up when she heard the voice and saw two teenage girls walking in. She recognized the younger one as Xihua from Li Yumei's family, and the older one was... which sister was she again?
“Aunt Wang, I’m the second son, my name is Chen Jinhua. You can call me Er Yatou or Jinhua, it’s fine with you!” Chen Jinhua said loudly and cheerfully!
"Okay, okay, Er Yatou." Aunt Wang wiped her hands with her apron, then took the two sisters by the hand and led them into the main room.
Chen Xihua placed the candies and cookies on the table, saying, "Aunt Wang, this is just a little something from us, a treat for your family!"
"You're such a picky little girl!" Aunt Wang glanced at Chen Xihua and tapped her forehead. This girl is so sensible. When she was three or four years old, she would run over to bring her food and say that it was pastries made by her grandma!
"Are you hungry? I'll cook you both a bowl of noodles!" Aunt Wang turned around and headed to the kitchen!
"No need, Aunt Wang, don't rush, we still need to go to the old village secretary's house!" Chen Xihua said, gesturing to her second sister, and the two of them ran out!
"Come over for lunch later, this girl runs really fast!" Aunt Wang called out as she chased after her!
Chen Xihua, who had already walked a distance, turned back and said, "Okay, thank you, Aunt Wang!"
I went home and got another bag of candy and biscuits. I went to the old village secretary's house, but there seemed to be no one there. Just as I was about to head home, I ran into the old village secretary, Fifth Grandfather, who was over seventy years old and was slowly walking back, looking exhausted.
"Great-Grandpa, hello!" Chen Xihua immediately stepped forward to help the man walk! Chen Jinhua also came over and supported the old man on the other side! "Great-Grandpa, hello!"
"Xi'er, I heard someone say you're back on the way here. I looked from afar and it looked a bit like you. My eyesight isn't good anymore, I can't see very far!" The old village secretary's voice was a little hoarse and he was a little out of breath!
"Have your parents not come back?"
Chen Xihua: "No, I'm still busy with the pastry shop!"
"Great-Grandpa, please sit down and rest. We'll go for a walk around the village first, and then we'll visit the old headmaster's house!" Seeing that the old man was very tired, Chen Xihua didn't say much. In less than two minutes, he put down his things and left.
"Good, good, come back and visit more often!" The old man's voice came slowly.
After Chen Jinhua came out, she patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know what to say to such an old woman. She felt that if she raised her voice, it would be as strong as her strength and she might knock her over!
Finally, the two sisters arrived at the end of the village, at the old headmaster's house!
"Principal, Principal, I'm back!" Chen Xihua shouted loudly from outside the door. Things should have changed after a few years, and she was different from the original owner of this body, so she might as well make it more obvious!
"I heard it, I heard it! This girl has grown up, and she's so lively!" The old principal walked out slowly, his head covered with more white hair, but he was still in good health, around sixty years old!
"Old Principal, this is my second sister, Chen Jinhua!" Chen Xihua introduced her second sister first.
"Hello, Principal!" Chen Jinhua was a little reserved. She was most afraid of teachers, let alone the principal.
It wasn't that she was afraid of being punished or scolded by the teacher; she was afraid of being called on by the teacher. She wasn't stupid; she just didn't want to study. But her fifth sister kept emphasizing the importance of studying and used various tricks to tempt her, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and keep studying!
"Come in, write a few words for me to see!" The old principal didn't waste any words. This girl had changed a lot in the two or three years since he last saw her!
Chen Xihua walked to the desk with a guilty conscience, hesitated for a moment, and then began to write!
"You have a good grasp of the pressure, but this stroke... you haven't practiced much with that calligraphy book, have you? Many strokes are written a bit casually, and it doesn't look like cursive script." The old principal analyzed. This girl has always been quiet and reserved since she was little, and you can tell from the care she takes when she puts her pen down. But if you look closely, each character is completed very quickly, as if it were written in one stroke!
I feel there's something contradictory about this. Maybe it's because this girl has become more lively and cheerful since returning to her parents' side, and her handwriting has become more casual and light!
"I did practice, but not much. Last year I had to take the entrance exam for junior high school, so I was quite busy with my studies!" Chen Xihua felt a little ashamed, but she still had to find an excuse, otherwise she would disappoint the old principal! After all, the old principal had high expectations for her.
Although Chen Xihua didn't fully know what the old principal was thinking, judging from the old principal's thoughtful expression, he could roughly guess that the old principal had seen through him.
Judging a person by their handwriting is like judging them by their character. No matter how much they try to hide it, you can still see something about them, even if they try not to carry a pen and write in the style of normal calligraphy.
When she was in college, one of her professors taught a course without PowerPoint slides; he just lectured, and he lectured very quickly. Students had to take notes, not only listening attentively but also writing rapidly. Many of the characters' strokes almost became his own creations! He'd just gloss over them, not using real cursive script!
Chen Jinhua couldn't stay inside for long, so he quietly went out to watch people slaughter pigs in the village!
Chen Xihua put down her calligraphy brush and looked at the old principal, asking, "Old Principal, how have you been lately?"
Thinking back to how the old principal was sent down to Shanghe Village and hadn't left for twenty-seven or twenty-eight years.
I remember my grandmother telling me that the old principal could have returned to the provincial capital of the south in 1976, but he didn't. In 1983, several people from Beijing came to find him and asked him to return to Beijing, but he didn't go back either. He said at the time that he would still be teaching there!
The old principal, seeing Chen Xihua hesitate, grew impatient. "Just say what you want to say! Why are you beating around the bush? You're such a naive kid!"
"Old Principal, you're retiring next year, right? Will you still be living in Shanghe Village?" Chen Xihua didn't mince words and asked directly!
"What, you're disgusted with this old man? Don't you want me to stay in Shanghe Village?" The old headmaster's tone was unfriendly, and his eyes seemed to say: If you answer yes, I'm going to get angry!
Chen Xihua feigned guilt, swallowed hard, and said ingratiatingly, "How could that be? I was just thinking that after you retire, you'll definitely be bored and have nothing to do. If you run away from home and have a great time, you won't know how to come back. The country is so big, where would I find you!"
"Hmph, you want to ask me if I will leave, and if I leave, whether I will come back, and where I will go if I leave? In the end, you blame me, saying I ran away from home? You're so cunning, where did you learn to be so bad?" The old headmaster was so angry that he was about to blow his nose and glare.
Chen Xihua chuckled sheepishly. "Old Principal, what are you saying? I was just worried about you!"
The old principal didn't want to talk to Chen Xihua. He sat in his chair and calmed himself down. This brat, she's not even twelve years old yet, but she's so cunning!
Originally, he planned to continue teaching after retirement. Many teachers in this rural primary school were unwilling to teach there, but he was able and willing to.
However, some time ago, the county education bureau notified us that a new principal would be coming to Shanghe Village Primary School next year, saying that they wanted to give young people more experience and learning opportunities!
If he retires but stays at the school to teach, the new principal might easily misunderstand and wonder if there's something wrong with the teaching management, making him uneasy. Elementary schools are small places, and you'll see each other all the time.
So he did consider whether he should go out and travel after he retires. He's been here for almost thirty years, and those old feelings about it are long gone!
But where could he go all by himself?
Chen Xihua watched as the old principal pondered silently, and sure enough, he was able to speak naturally and without hesitation about whether or not to leave.
This shows that the former headmaster really intends to leave!
Sensing the somewhat somber atmosphere, Chen Xihua said in a serious tone, "Principal, you can go wherever you want."
"However, you must tell me the address of your 'new home in another town'."
"Or, you could come back to Shanghe Village once a year, or even go to the county!"
“Otherwise…otherwise, I’ll return that calligraphy copybook to you or throw it away!” Chen Xihua paused, but before the principal could speak, she continued, deliberately emphasizing the words ‘new home in a foreign land’.
"Hey, you little brat, how dare you cheat!" After hearing this, the old principal glared at Chen Xihua again. "A new home in another place? If he leaves and goes back, that will be his real hometown!"
Chen Xihua said nonchalantly, "How is that cheating!"
"I'm four or five years old, a tiny little thing. You see how smart and cute I am, and you always insist on making me read and write with you, and even want me to practice calligraphy. Now you've just thrown me a tattered calligraphy copybook and want to abandon me. What's the point of me practicing calligraphy then?!"
The old headmaster was so angry at the little girl's self-righteous and shameless words that he laughed! "What kind of lousy calligraphy copybook is this? That's a rare copy that I've treasured for decades! And don't you know how to respect your teacher?"
"I don't know where everyone has gone, who am I supposed to find to respect my teacher and the Way? I don't like calligraphy anymore!" Chen Xihua said, as if he had nothing to lose.
"Alright, I won't leave, I'll stay in Shanghe Village!" The old headmaster thought it was good to have a reason not to go back!
"Actually, there's another option. You can wait for me for a few years, until I get into university, and then I'll take you to live in Beijing!" Chen Xihua decided that she would take the old principal to Beijing in the future, as she guessed that the old principal's home was in Beijing!
"Beijing!" The old principal's eyes flickered upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged. "You're going to stay in Beijing? Where will you stay?"
“Buy a house to live in! When I make money, I’ll buy a big courtyard house, and you can live in whichever room you want! I’ll take care of you in your old age. But there might be a lot of people then, six of us siblings, plus our parents, so I’m afraid you’ll find it noisy!” Chen Xihua said very seriously. She knew that the book was a rare one and would be very valuable in the future. She wouldn’t accept it back from him, and besides, the old headmaster had always been very good to her, both the original owner and the current her!
"You're buying a house? A big courtyard house at that! You've got quite the nerve!" The old principal was suddenly touched. The young girl said she would take care of him in his old age. Whether she could actually do it or not, he felt very gratified and comforted. He was content that she had this intention!
"You have to believe me, we might not be able to buy a courtyard house so soon, but we definitely won't let you sleep on the streets!" Chen Xihua assured him!
The old headmaster nodded. "Alright, let's keep an eye on this little girl a bit longer. And you know what? Without him watching her, she might actually stop practicing!"
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, Aunt Wang is calling us for dinner!" Chen Jinhua suddenly ran in from outside the door.
Chen Xihua felt embarrassed, realizing she had forgotten the time. "Principal, what would you like to eat for lunch? We haven't started cooking yet! How about I cook rice for you first?"
"It's alright, you go ahead. I'm going to your Uncle Li's house for dinner later. They're having a pig-slaughtering feast today!" The old principal waved his hand at Chen Xihua, urging them to leave quickly, as he didn't want to see her for the time being!
In Shanghe Village, besides the village party secretary and the village head's family, the old principal was quite familiar with Li Jiuye, who used to be in charge of driving the oxcart in the village's cowshed!
"Principal, we'll be going now!" Chen Xihua nudged Chen Jinhua, who had just run in but immediately stood up straight as if being punished, and the two walked out.
After having lunch at the village chief's house, Chen Xihua and Chen Jinhua returned to their old house at 2 p.m. They tidied up, closed the door, and prepared to return to the county town.
As I left the village, I turned a corner and went to Old Man Li's house, where I handed over the two hundred yuan that Li Yumei had asked me to bring to Old Lady Li.
When they arrived, Old Lady Li was sitting at the door with a dark face. She wasn't as healthy as she had been a few years ago, and although her eyes were cloudy, they were full of calculation. "Why is it still two hundred? Did you two little black-hearted bastards steal it?"
"Grandma Li, my mother gave me two hundred!" Chen Xihua gave her the money, turned around and left without lingering, ignoring the unpleasant words that followed.
"You little bitch, she doesn't even call her own grandmother, just like her mother, heartless, doesn't recognize her own parents, may she be struck by lightning... Only two hundred... She has money but won't give more to her younger brother!"
"Xiao Wu, aren't you angry?" Chen Jinhua saw that her younger sister was very calm, and she swallowed the words she was about to say back!
"Second sister, if you yell back, they'll just get more worked up. And we won't even get a good look. If a junior argues with an old lady, people will say we're ill-mannered. This is just arguing, not reasoning!" Chen Xihua said helplessly. Did her second sister really think she would argue with people regardless of the time or place?
"Okay!" Chen Jinhua's little hope was dashed. Xiao Wu hadn't teased anyone in a long time!
Seeing her second sister's somewhat regretful expression, Chen Xihua chuckled inwardly at her little scheme. She really thought her sister was being treated like a shrew, always eager to stir up trouble!
It was already six o'clock in the evening when they got back to the county. Winter days are short and the weather is cold. As soon as they got home, they both took a hot shower!
Two or three days before the Lunar New Year, Chen Xihua and her six siblings spent their time cleaning and washing!
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