99.099 Ready (Er Ya's perspective)
“Xiao Yuan and Ping An aren’t home,” Yu Anxiu said in a muffled voice.
"Oh, then I'll play with Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua for a while," Er Ya said softly, forcing herself to speak. She went to the doghouse to scratch the dogs tied to the post, using it as a way to hide herself. Her father next door closed the door and left, his coughing growing fainter in the distance. She smoothed the dogs' fur, then asked with her hands tucked in, "Grandma Su, is there anything I can help you with?"
Yu Anxiu didn't look up, nor did her hands stop sewing the shoe soles. She said, "My grandson will take care of anything."
"Then I'll go out. If you need any help, just call out from the yard, and I'll come over when I hear you." She fiddled with the patch on her pants, lowered her head, and quickly walked out, closing the door behind her. It wasn't safe for an old woman to leave the door open at home.
Er Ya stood in the alley, glanced at her padlocked door, paused for a moment, and walked to the east side of the alley. When she reached the end of the alley, she heard Xiao Hu's loud voice.
"Second sister, have you finished your homework? Did you come to see me?" Xiao Hu ran over, clutching a sandbag, grabbed his second sister's finger, and hopped forward on one foot while leaning against her.
"I came to see if you've lost your eldest sister." Er Ya hugged his neck and let him bounce around as they walked towards the big stone pier, where Da Ya was leaning against it, basking in the sun.
“My eldest sister has been sitting there the whole time. I kept an eye on her and didn’t let her run around.” Xiao Hu stopped hopping on one foot and reached into his second sister’s pocket, calling out to the big stone block, “Eldest sister, second sister is here to see you.”
"Time to cook?" Daya stood up and looked up at the sky, a little confused. "It's not even noon yet. Erya, are you hungry? I'll go back and cook for you. Have you memorized your books?"
Daya never went to school and couldn't read, but she knew that her second sister was going to university and would be a college student. As soon as Erya took out her books, she would take Xiaohu out so that Xiaohu wouldn't disturb her. She even neatly arranged Erya's discarded draft paper full of writing and put it under her pillow.
"Sister, is there a man in Datang Village with a centipede scar between his left little finger and finger? We call him Uncle, and he's a relative within five degrees of kinship with us." Er Ya gestured with her hand.
Daya stretched out her swollen, red hand, just like Erya's, touched her left little finger and thought for a while before shaking her head and saying, "I've never seen it before."
"Come with me to Datang Village this afternoon. We'll go at noon and come back before dinner. Xiaohu can play at home. Your second sister will buy you milk candy. If anyone asks about me and your eldest sister, just say we went out to collect firewood, okay?" Er Ya said to Xiaohu with her head down.
Xiao Hu swallowed hard, pressed his face against Er Ya's clothes, and said, "I don't want candy."
"Yes, kids can eat candy. If you stay home and don't run around, your second sister will buy you candy."
"I won't run around, I won't go near the water, and I won't get into fights," Xiao Hu grinned, repeating what his second sister often told him.
Daya stood aside without saying a word. She was used to being told what to do and never asked what to do, where to go, or what to do.
Er Ya had never been to Datang Village before. She asked Daya to point out the area in the village where her clansmen lived. Then she left Daya to wait outside the village while she went in and wandered around, peeking through the open doors.
"Girl, where are you from? Who are you looking for?" an old woman asked.
Er Ya touched her face, then walked over like Aunt Su, her brows slightly furrowed, and said, "Hello, Grandma, I'm from town. I'm looking for an older man. He's quite tall, and he has a scar on his left little finger between the fingers and his palm that looks like a centipede. Where does he live?"
Without explaining the reasons, the more you say, the more loopholes there will be, and it will also make you seem guilty.
She asked directly, "Where does he live?" This made the old woman sunbathing against the wall forget about who she was or what she wanted. Instead, she whispered among herself, "Who in the village has a centipede scar on their left hand? Da Han? No, he has scars all over the back of his hand. Who else?"
"Girl, what's the name of the person you're looking for? Tell us your name so we can know."
"Her surname is Zhang, and she's from the same clan as Zhang Qijun. She's his cousin, but they're still within the fifth degree of kinship." Zhang Qijun is her grandfather's name.
"Who is Zhang Qijun? Da Mao Nai, is that your brother-in-law's name?" someone asked.
“Yes, Old Lame’s full name is Zhang Qijun. Their generation is the Qi generation.” The old lady called Da Mao Nai nodded. She stared at Er Ya with wide eyes and said thoughtfully, “None of our cousins have centipede scars on their hands. They are all experienced farmers. No one would hurt their hands.”
Er Ya tensed up under the old lady's watchful gaze. She was surprised to find that the old lady had come up to her in the main hall. Fortunately, she had never been to the village before and no one knew her.
"Girl, you look familiar. What's your father's name?"
Er Ya nearly choked on her saliva. She made up a name and asked, "Is this Banbei Village? The person I'm looking for is from Banbei Village."
“Go west, cross a village and you’ll arrive, but I’ve never heard of anyone named Zhang Qijun in Banbei Village.”
Er Ya laughed haphazardly, stood up and walked towards the village entrance. The previous unease was finally confirmed. Her father was already the most successful person in the clan—he had settled down and started a family in the town. Why would he be so attentive to a cousin who was a farmer? And no one would be overly concerned about a cousin niece they hadn't seen or recognized for one or two decades. Moreover, it was more like concern for her grades than concern for her. No, it wasn't the feeling of concern; it was more like Xiao Yuan's attitude towards her—based on the bicycle.
The bicycle belonged to Aunt Su, so it was understandable that Grandma Yuan treated her that way. But the grades were her own; that person was simply insane. Did he think her grades were his?
"Shall we go back?" Daya asked her younger sister, who was standing still, while she tied up the firewood on the ground.
"Go back." Er Ya came to her senses and saw that Da Ya had already collected a bundle of firewood while she was in the village. She pulled up the person who was about to carry the firewood and said, "Don't take it with you. We'll collect it outside the town. It's too far from the town. It'll be too tiring to carry it back."
"I don't mind being tired." Daya refused to leave, unwilling to throw away a bundle of firewood.
“This firewood is no good. It’s already dry and won’t burn well. It’s also thin and it’s emitting white smoke.” Er Ya’s face turned disgusted. Da Ya didn’t dare to argue anymore. She was most afraid of being criticized. “Then don’t want it. I’ll go back and pick out some thick firewood,” she said.
“Okay, let’s go. I’ll gather some more when we get back. Two bundles of firewood will be enough for two days.” Er Ya pulled her arm and walked back. Daya was relieved when she saw that her complexion had improved.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I came to the village?" Er Ya asked, trying to make conversation.
"What are you doing in the village?" Daya asked, following her instructions.
"About my reading."
"Oh." Daya didn't ask any more questions.
Seeing her stubborn nature, Er Ya sighed and said, "Sister, what will you do when I go to school? You'll be bullied to death and won't even know how to fight back, you won't even know how to cry."
"I'll take care of Xiaohu, and when you earn money, you'll take me to see a doctor."
Er Ya turned her head and stared at her, then chuckled and said, "I thought you were a simpleton. You still remember?" She usually looks dull and silly.
"You won't go back on your word, will you?" Daya asked anxiously, gripping her hand.
"I promise, then you stay home and take care of Xiaohu. I'll take you to see a doctor once I earn some money," Er Ya said firmly. Feeling the grip loosen, she gave a weak laugh. See? People like them have a knack for persuasion. They know who's good to them. It's like they've found a lifeline; once they grab on, they don't want to let go. Aunt Su was like that to her, and she was like that to Daya. She just didn't know what Xiaohu's mentality was. He shouldn't be like her and Daya. He had a baby between his legs and was the youngest, so he had never been abused or wronged.
The two walked outside the town, picked up some rough branches, bundled them up, and carried them home. Xiao Hu opened the door and said, "Mom and Dad, Da Bao and Er Bao haven't come back."
"Okay, I'll buy you candy in a couple of days."
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuan and Ping An started shouting loudly next door, followed by Xiao Yuan's grandmother's kind and aged voice, speaking slowly and gently without being annoying.
"Sister Er Ya." Xiao Yuan knocked on the door and peeked inside.
“It’s just the three of us siblings at home,” Er Ya said to Xiao Yuan, whose face was beaming with joy.
Hearing this, Xiao Yuan stretched out his hand from behind his back, holding a yellow paper package that he couldn't hold in both hands. "Here, this is what my mom brought for you."
"Aunt Su is back?" She lifted her foot to go out.
"No, this is what she sent back." Xiao Yuan smiled and his eyes narrowed. "My mom isn't coming back. We're going to the Northeast for the Chinese New Year and will come back before school starts after the holiday. We'll leave again when my dad comes back."
"No wonder you're all so happy." Er Ya took the paper package, pressed Xiao Hu's head back down, and asked, "Is the Northeast good?"
"It's really good." Xiao Yuan nodded repeatedly. He wanted to leave after delivering the things. He and Er Ya went to the same school and were neighbors after returning home. They would bump into each other from time to time, but he didn't intend to talk to her much.
"I'm going home to pack my things, Sister Er Ya. Happy New Year to you first!" He ruffled Xiao Hu's hair and turned to go back into the house happily.
The "Happy New Year" that hadn't been uttered was stuck in her throat. Er Ya stared at the empty doorway and made a decision.
The three of them secretly hid the bag of sugar, chocolate, hazelnuts, and cookies in the sisters' little house. Little Tiger also squeezed in between the two of them to sleep, just so that he could secretly eat the food at night without being discovered.
Before the last piece of candy was finished, the quiet courtyard next door, which had been quiet for more than a month, became noisy again. First, the old man and woman led their two dogs back to town, and there were sounds of quilts being patted in the yard. Then, Xiao Yuan and Ping An came back with Ping An's father, and there were excited barks from the dogs in the yard. The old man and woman also started talking more. Two days later, Ping An's father went out to work, Xiao Yuan and Ping An started school, and Er Ya also came over again to ride her bicycle to school alone.
As spring warmed up, the swelling in Da Ya and Er Ya's fingers suddenly subsided one day, leaving only hard scabs and grayish-brown flesh as proof that these were hands that had endured much suffering. After studying at home all winter, Er Ya, who had been secretly building up her strength, climbed back into the top five in her grade in the mid-term exams of the second semester of her first year of high school. The uncle who had mysteriously appeared before the New Year came to visit again. Afterwards, Er Ya was taken to the police station by her father to change her name. Zhang Er Ya became Zhang Bao Zhi.
Er Ya didn't say a word from beginning to end, nor did she try to find out any more information. She just followed her father into the house after he went back to put away the household registration book, holding a test paper that he had just pulled out. She said, "Dad, can you sign this for me? The teacher asked the parents to sign it."
"Okay, coming right away." Er Ya's father put the household registration booklet in the box containing cotton-padded clothes, not paying much attention to it. He happily took the test paper and proudly signed his name on the score.
Afterwards, Er Ya asked Xiao Yuan for an envelope containing a letter from his mother. She asked, "Xiao Yuan, is your mother's address fixed? If we send a letter to this address, will the item definitely reach her?"
"Okay, you want to send her a letter? Give it to me, and I'll mail it for you."
"No, I'm just taking a look, just in case, and you'll be leaving in two or three months anyway." Er Ya stared at the words on the envelope and silently repeated them to herself.
"Okay, take the envelope with you. If you want to send a letter, fill in this address."
Er Ya smiled and put the envelope in her pocket. Two days later, she was sure she hadn't misremembered. The envelope went into the stove hole and turned to ashes while she was tending the fire.
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