Chapter 65 Letters from Shanghai
As the year draws to a close, one heavy snowfall after another has completely covered the livestock farm. The world is a vast expanse of white, and the wind whips up snowflakes that swirl across the rooftops of the dugouts.
With less time spent at work, people stayed indoors more, tending to the fireplace and taking a rare break throughout the year.
Shu Ran's cough has finally gotten better, but she is still thin.
She was sitting in the classroom, tending a small stove, teaching a few children who had stayed behind in the company for the winter how to cut paper snowflakes. The red paper was rough, and the scissors weren't very sharp, but the children were cutting with great concentration, their eyes full of anticipation for the New Year.
"Teacher Shu, do you think the 'Spring' character I cut out looks like it?" The little girl held up a crooked piece of red paper.
"It looks just like it! It's really beautiful!" Shu Ran encouraged her with a smile, helping her to tidy up the edges.
Just then, a young man from the department entrance rushed in, covered in snow and wind, holding up an envelope with worn edges and several faded postmarks. He shouted, "Teacher Shu! Teacher Shu! There's a letter for you! It's from Shanghai! You've been gone for over a month!"
Shanghai?
These two words stirred ripples in Shu Ran's heart. The children in the classroom also quieted down, looking curiously at the letter that had come from afar.
Shu Ran thanked him and took the letter. The envelope was thin, but the paper was much better than what the Corps usually used. The handwriting on it was delicate yet unfamiliar, belonging to the mother of this body.
She took the letter and walked back to the fireplace.
The fire crackled in the stove, and the children resumed their chattering as they cut paper snowflakes, but Shu Ran's attention was completely elsewhere. She carefully tore open the envelope.
The letter was only one page long, with densely packed handwriting, written very carefully. It began with a customary greeting, the tone cautious, even somewhat polite and distant.
Then, the author shifts focus, subtly mentioning the current situation in Shanghai, saying, "Everything is fine at home, don't worry," but a sense of oppression and tension permeates the words.
Then, he repeatedly asked her whether she had truly "adapted" to life on the frontier, whether she was well-fed, warmly dressed, and whether the work was extremely arduous, and repeatedly emphasized that "if it is really difficult, the family will find a way," but this revealed a sense of helplessness.
At the end of the letter, the mother wrote: "...Ranran, all that happened in the past is like smoke. Now that you are far away on the frontier, you must be down-to-earth, careful with your words and actions, and protect yourself. Do not harbor any more outdated thoughts; accepting the present moment is the greatest comfort you can give your parents..."
Shu Ran slowly put down the letter and turned her gaze to the world outside the window, blurred by the wind and snow.
The remnants of the original owner's family memories surfaced in her mind—the capitalist's daughter's affluent yet oppressive life, the cautious and anxious faces of her parents... all intertwined with the harsh yet vibrant frontier landscape before her.
Do I feel sympathy? A little. That family is being torn apart by the tides of the times.
Does she miss it? No. That doesn't belong to her, Shu Ran. She comes from a more distant future, an era of material abundance where one can also lose oneself.
While the conditions here are tough, every gain is real, and every breath carries the scent of freedom and creation.
The phrase "accept it with peace of mind" in the letter stung her. She wasn't just "accepting"; she was forging a new path, creating value.
"Teacher Shu, is Shanghai fun? Are there lots and lots of candy and pretty clothes?" The little girl came closer, tilting her head up to ask, interrupting her thoughts.
Shu Ran came to her senses and looked into the child's clear eyes, and the emotions in her heart suddenly settled down.
She patted the little girl's head and smiled, saying, "Shanghai is very big, with many buildings and many people. But," she paused, "it doesn't have a sky as blue or snow as white as ours, and it doesn't have smart and sensible children like you."
She picked up the letter, carefully folded it, and put it back in the envelope.
After Shu Ran returned to the dugout, she had just put the envelope into the drawer when the curtain of the dugout was lifted, and a gust of cold wind carried Xu Junjun's figure in.
She stamped the snow off her feet, took off her scarf, and breathed out white smoke, saying, "I'm freezing! I'm freezing! Shuran, I still have some licorice tablets left, I'll get them for you... Huh? What's wrong?"
Xu Junjun's words came to an abrupt halt as she keenly noticed Shu Ran's small gesture of hurriedly closing the drawer.
Shu Ran instinctively tried to cover it up: "It's nothing."
Xu Junjun wasn't fooled. She glanced at the tightly closed drawer, then suddenly seemed to understand something. Her voice lowered, tinged with nervousness and anticipation: "Is it... a letter from Shanghai?"
Shu Ran paused for a moment, knowing she couldn't hide it from him, and nodded gently.
"Really?!" Xu Junjun's eyes lit up instantly. She immediately sat down by the bed, ignoring the cold, and asked anxiously in a low voice, "How are Uncle and Aunt? Is everything alright at home? What's the situation in Shanghai now?"
Seeing the anxious look in her friend's eyes, Shu Ran sighed inwardly. She reopened the drawer, took out the letter, and handed it to her: "Read it yourself."
Xu Junjun practically snatched it away, eagerly pulling out the letter to read it.
As she read on, her expression gradually changed from initial excitement and joy to seriousness, and her brows furrowed.
After reading it, she remained silent for a long time, slowly folding the letter.
Her eyes were filled with confusion and worry.
Her family's situation was similar to Shu Ran's; the rumors Shu Ran's family received likely meant that her family was also...
Silence fell over the dugout for a moment.
After a while, Xu Junjun handed the letter back to Shu Ran, her smile somewhat forced: "Uncle and Aunt are right... Our well-being here is the greatest comfort to them."
She paused, then looked at Shu Ran. "Don't overthink it. Things are different now. Here, we earn our living with our own hands, teach children to read, treat patients, and live with dignity. Shanghai... we can't go back, and we can't go back. This place... it's pretty good here too."
She seemed to be persuading Shu Ran, but also to persuade herself.
Shu Ran sensed the disappointment in her friend's voice. She grasped Xu Junjun's cold hand and nodded, "Yes, I know."
Xu Junjun grasped her hand in return and squeezed it tightly. The two looked at each other and smiled, a smile conveying a wealth of unspoken words.
"Alright, stop looking so gloomy." Xu Junjun stood up, regaining her usual briskness. "Quickly write back to your parents to let them know you're safe and sound, so they don't worry. I'll go brew some medicine for you; this cough has to be cured!"
After saying that, she hurriedly lifted the curtain and went out again.
That evening, under the dim kerosene lamp in the dugout, Shu Ran spread out the letter paper and began to reply.
She carefully chose her words, reporting only good news and not bad.
She described in detail, even with a touch of exaggeration, how Qiming Primary School was built from scratch, and how the children went from being illiterate to being able to read and write; she wrote about the enthusiastic Sister Wang, the meticulous Li Xiulan, and the straightforward Xu Junjun, and about the old Akhen's dombra and the intelligent sheepdog in the pastoral area; she wrote about the lively performance at the regiment headquarters and the glory of winning awards, emphasizing that "the organization's care, the camaraderie among comrades, everything is good."
Regarding the hardships, she only briefly mentioned, "It's cold here, but the heated walls are very warm." As for the labor, she wrote, "I ate, lived, and worked with the people here, which greatly educated me and improved my physical and mental health."
At the end of the letter, she wrote: “Dear parents, please do not worry. I am not here to accept the present, but to devote myself to a great and glorious cause—to build the frontier and educate the next generation. Life here is simple, but spiritually rich, and the future is bright. I hope you two will take care of yourselves and not worry about your daughter. I am doing well.”
After finishing writing, she checked it and felt that the tone was a bit distant, so she picked up her pen again and added a sentence at the end: "The Spring Festival is approaching, wishing you good health. Looking forward to your letter."
She found several propaganda stamps featuring the imagery of the Production and Construction Corps that Officer Yang Zhenhua had given her earlier—the stamps depicting towering poplar trees—and carefully affixed them to the envelope. These stamps might give her parents, far away in Shanghai, a little impression of her new world.
The next day, the snow lessened a bit, and Shu Ran handed the thick stack of replies to the messenger who was going to the regimental headquarters, instructing him to make sure they were mailed.
Watching the messenger's figure disappear into the snow, Shu Ran felt a strange sense of relief. The letter from the past hadn't stirred up homesickness; instead, it had given her a clearer view of her present and future direction.
The wind and snow continue, but spring will always come.
*
The days slipped by into the year-end amidst the pristine white snow. The flavor of the New Year in the livestock company wasn't enhanced by neon lights and bustling markets, but rather revealed in the early aroma of oil wafting from the canteen, the small amount of white flour that each household occasionally saved, the rare new patches on the children's clothes, and the new cotton soles that the women worked through the night to make.
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Shu Ran's dugout was unusually lively.
Xu Junjun, Sister Wang, and Li Xiulan squeezed in. The small space was warmed by the fire wall and filled with the laughter of the women.
"Teacher Shu, do you think my dumpling filling is alright?" Sister Wang held up a large bowl of radish and mutton filling and eagerly asked Shu Ran to smell it.
That was meat from a few sheep that the company had specially slaughtered at the end of the year, mixed with finely chopped green radishes, and it smelled delicious.
"Oh my! It smells delicious! We're in for a treat!" Shu Ran replied with a smile, which made everyone laugh.
Li Xiulan was carefully kneading a piece of finely ground white dough, preparing to roll out dumpling wrappers.
Xu Junjun was washing a few dried red dates that she had been saving for a long time, preparing to stuff them into a few dumplings for good luck.
“This means the four of us are celebrating the New Year together!” Xu Junjun said while washing dates. “Back in Shanghai, I never imagined the New Year would be like this.”
Sister Wang chimed in, "Yes, back in my hometown, the whole family would gather around a big pot on New Year's Eve. Even though we were poor, it was lively. Now...sigh, I wonder how my mother and the others are doing." There was a hint of melancholy in her voice.
Li Xiulan whispered, "I just want to eat some of the sweet cake my mother makes..."
The atmosphere became somewhat melancholic for a moment. Shu Ran quickly changed the subject, holding up a red date: "Come on, let's see who's lucky enough to eat a dumpling filled with dates! Next year will surely be prosperous!"
As they were talking and laughing, the door of the dugout was gently knocked on, then lifted a crack, and a blast of cold air rushed in.
Chen Yuanjiang stood at the door, showing no intention of coming in, carrying a small cloth bag in his hand.
"Officer Chen?" Shu Ran was somewhat surprised and quickly stood up.
Chen Yuanjiang's gaze swept quickly over the four women in the room, finally landing on Shu Ran's face. His tone was as calm as ever: "When the logistics warehouse is being checked, there are some extra peanuts and melon seeds. Company Commander Ma, give them to... to those comrades who are in need."
As he spoke, he handed over the small cloth bag. The bag wasn't big, but in those days, these snacks were a rare treat.
Shu Ran took the bag; it was heavy, and inside were clearly roasted peanuts and melon seeds, emitting a faint aroma of roasting.
"Thank you, Company Commander, and thank you, Officer Chen." She knew in her heart that this was probably not Company Commander Ma's idea, or at least not entirely.
Chen Yuanjiang hummed in agreement, his gaze seemingly lingering for a moment on her slightly thin cotton-padded coat before quickly shifting away, as if casually adding, "It'll get colder tonight, so make sure the stove burns brighter."
After saying that, without waiting for Shu Ran to say anything more, he lowered the curtain, and his footsteps quickly disappeared into the wind and snow.
Sister Wang leaned over and glanced at the bag, clicking her tongue twice: "Wow, these peanuts are quite big! Special Envoy Chen may seem cold, but he's actually quite thoughtful."
Xu Junjun pouted and lowered her voice to say to Shu Ran, "I think it was specially made for you. What logistics inventory? Who are you trying to fool?"
Shu Ran's face flushed slightly. She didn't reply, but instead poured some of the peanuts and melon seeds from the bag into an enamel plate: "Come on, let's make dumplings and eat at the same time!"
With snacks, the atmosphere became lively again.
As they made dumplings, everyone chatted and shared their hometown's New Year customs. Shu Ran listened, occasionally interjecting with a few words about her memories of "Shanghai's New Year celebrations"—naturally, these were filtered and blurred.
After the dumplings were wrapped, they were put into the pot to boil. Steam filled the small dugout, mingling with the aroma of flour, meat, and the laughter of the women, keeping the cold outside far away.
This was Shu Ran's first New Year's Eve on the frontier—simple, yet filled with the warmth of cuddling together.
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