Chapter 2: Major Decisions
Chapter 2: Major Decisions
People say that God takes back a person's memories from before the age of three. Fang Yue Nian felt that God was particularly harsh on her, as if He had taken back all her memories from before the age of five.
Only one item remained.
This happened when Fang Yuenian was two and a half years old. In the words of Fang's grandmother, Hongya's mother, it could be summed up in two words: betrayal! Fang Yuenian's older sister, Fang Junjun, actually ran away from this family!
However, when Fang Yuenian grows up and becomes sensible, whenever she thinks of this matter, she will always say: Farewell!
He remembered it, but he was also quite confused about the specific process.
That day, Fang Junjun seemed to have gotten into some trouble outside, and people came to her door demanding an explanation. It was quite a scene; everyone had a ferocious expression, shouting, crying, clapping, and hitting their legs. In her rage, Old Lady Fang pushed her granddaughter, the culprit, into the Shuibi River.
Speaking of which, the Shuibi River is truly an extraordinary river. It not only bears the heavy responsibility of providing drinking and water for both banks, but it also frequently gets involved in some messy disputes. Fang Junjun was pushed into the water and almost drowned, while on the opposite bank, the wharf was filled with people craning their necks to watch the spectacle (Note 1).
Cheng Qiuyan accidentally wandered in and discovered that her ex-husband's family was up to their old tricks again. Unwilling to watch the spectacle, she pulled her daughter home. However, Cheng Xiaoxiao refused to leave. Not only did she refuse to go, but she also quickly went down the steps, stood at the very top of her family's waterfront, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted to Fang Junjun, who was soaking in the water on the opposite bank: "Junjun! Swim over here! Swim over here!"
This is a sentence that Fang Yuenian kept deep in her memory.
"Swim over here!"
Fang Yuenian was unaware of what happened next.
It was mostly just arguing and making a scene. The older generation would step in to mediate, and the village secretary and team leader would come to discuss it. Then the arguing and making a scene would continue until things got out of hand. He seemed to have been carried to the other side of the river once, but there were just too many people, and everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs. He couldn't remember the time when his father later described it as "negotiating adoption in a gentle and polite manner."
Fang Junjun never came back, just like Cheng Qiuyan and Cheng Xiaoxiao back then.
September arrived, and she finally started elementary school. Her name on her school record was Cheng Junjun.
She is no longer a member of the Fang family.
That's all I remember about my childhood; everything else is too blurry. The only thing that never stopped was the noise.
Each New Year's Eve brings a year of growth, and in the blink of an eye, Fang Yuenian will be five years old.
On my birthday on New Year's Eve, I have plenty to eat and wear. Not only do people give me lucky money, but my mother and grandmother also won't scold or beat me because of the strange name "New Year's Eve". Even if my hands and mouth really itched, my grandfather would say, "It's New Year's Eve, what's all the noise about?" and they would swallow their anger and rest for a few days before retaliating.
Fang Yue Nian felt that there was no time more joyful than the New Year, which she had been looking forward to for so long and which had passed by so quickly.
There was no custom of eating birthday cakes in the family, which was considered quite Western at the time. The whole family gathered to eat longevity noodles for Fang Yuenian, and then burned incense to inform the ancestors, praying that he would grow up healthy and strong in the coming year. That was considered celebrating his birthday. They left the red firecracker wrappers that had been scattered all over the floor and the pervasive smell of gunpowder outside the door, and set out the New Year's Eve dinner.
This year's New Year's Eve dinner at the Fang family's home was more sumptuous than in previous years. In addition to the usual hot pot with chicken, duck, fish, meatballs, and meat sauce, a new dish was added: pickled fish.
Before the meal, Wang Jing first announced a major family event: after the Lunar New Year, Fang Yuenian would be sent to the village primary school's "preschool class".
She explained her considerations in detail.
First of all, Fang Yuenian is already five years old. According to the traditional Chinese age reckoning, tomorrow is the first day of the new year, so she'll be seven! Seven-year-olds can start primary school. According to the lunar calendar, Fang Yuenian's birth month is younger, so generally speaking, her age isn't an advantage. But preschool is different. If she performs well, she might go directly to first grade in the second half of the year! We can't underestimate this year and a half; when children grow up and enter society, year after year is incomparable. Besides, preschool teaches some writing and drawing, so she'll adapt to primary school more quickly.
Most importantly, she became mysterious and said, "I heard that other families in the village are also planning to send their children to preschool, the same age as Yue Nian."
The people at the table could easily figure out who in the village was the same age and in the same situation as Fang Yuenian.
Old Mrs. Fang had always had a grudge against the Cheng family, and upon hearing this, she even forgot her usual habit of arguing with her daughter-in-law.
"How much is the tuition and book fee for this preschool?" she asked, addressing the only thing on her mind.
"Two hundred per semester, including all textbooks." Wang Jing had already found out.
In the east-facing seat, Teacher Fang kept tugging at the sleeve of her new dress, feeling it was a bit short and making it difficult to move her shoulders. Wang Jing, still respectful to her father-in-law, called out, "Dad, Dad?" drawing his attention from the cuff of her sleeve. "You've heard the rumors at school, haven't you?"
“Ah, ah,” Teacher Fang rubbed his pockets, “they didn’t mention anything about elementary school in junior high.”
He thought for a moment, then felt he needed to express his opinion as the head of the household, so he coughed and said, "If he's always playing wildly at home, it'll definitely be a problem if he suddenly has to go to school and be supervised. Since there are orientation classes, sending him there is a good idea. Look at Junjun's first two years, wasn't that how it was..."
Upon hearing this name, Old Mrs. Fang's face immediately fell.
The new clothes and the joy of her grandson starting school couldn't calm her temper. Her face, almost bark-like, flushed with rage. Pointing at Teacher Fang, she yelled, "Look, look! What the hell are you looking at? What do you know? All you do is sit around with your teacup, acting like a patriarch. All the gossip and trouble in the house, I'm the one who handles it all! You don't see any of the important things, all you do is gossip about those XXXX things! What does it matter to you what other people do? Does anyone call you 'Grandpa' or will they carry you to your grave?"
Fang Wu stared at the fragrant pickled fish for a long time. Seeing the old lady cursing so hard that her spittle was flying everywhere, he quickly moved the cup closer to her and moved the fish away a bit. "Mom, why did you boil it again? You know how talkative Dad is. Quick, quick, drink some of this orange juice. It's cool and refreshing, it'll cool you down."
Wang Jing rarely spoke a few soft words, "Oh, Mom, don't say such things. Your father-in-law is a cultured man all his life, he doesn't interfere in family matters, and you've been doing just fine as long as you're in charge, haven't you?"
Teacher Fang had long since shut down her five senses and started tearing at her clothes again.
Fang Yuenian was unaware that he had sparked this verbal dispute. He was also craving the dish he had never tasted before, which had a wonderfully tangy and spicy aroma. So he nudged his grandmother's arm and said, "Grandma! Grandma! Stop talking, I want to eat!"
The little grandson was still young and adorable, and hadn't caused much trouble. Grandma Fang doted on him, so she immediately stopped talking about it. "Alright, alright, eat your vegetables, my little treasure will eat vegetables!" She smiled kindly. "Which one do you want to eat? Grandma will pick it for you."
"That one!" Fang Yuenian pointed in the right direction.
Grandma Fang raised her hand and tapped her son's hand with her chopsticks as he was about to pick up a piece of tender, white fish. "All you know is how to eat! You're such a grown man, and you're trying to take food from your son!"
Fang Wu winced in pain, "He ate such a huge bowl all by himself?!"
"You shouldn't have eaten first. Your dad hasn't even touched his chopsticks yet. Don't you know the rules?"
Finally, Teacher Fang started the meal by picking up her chopsticks. Everyone tasted the new dish, and it was indeed very delicious.
However, during the meal, Wang Jing mentioned that the blackfish was a gift from her neighbor Hongmei, and as a token of goodwill, she asked Fang Wu to come to her house in a few days to help with dredging the pond embankment. Dredging the pond embankment involves removing the accumulated silt from the fishpond and piling it on the surrounding embankment. This serves two purposes: clearing away the silt and stagnant water, and reinforcing the embankment, which tends to collapse year after year.
This was hard work, and Fang Wu immediately became unhappy. He was still thinking about playing mahjong a few more times, so he kept nagging. Grandma Fang hooked her arm around her grandson and laughed at her son: "Xiao Bao, look at your father, he's not as sensible as you. You already know how to water the vegetable garden and can help the adults with chores."
Fang Yuenian's mouth was greasy with meat and vegetables, but she didn't forget to rub her face with her fingers to show her embarrassment.
After the lively meal and the distribution of New Year's money, Teacher Fang left with her cup in hand.
Wang Jing finally settled the preschool arrangements. She was busy with all sorts of things but didn't feel tired. However, her father-in-law mentioned the girl who ran to someone else's house, which made her a little unhappy.
Grandma Fang handed over the chores to her daughter-in-law and then held Fang Yuenian captive in the main room, earnestly instructing him: "Little Bao, Grandma is telling you, when you get to school, you have to listen to your teacher and not run around. If anyone bullies you... you can't be too obedient. You have to fight back if you should, especially that Cheng Bing..."
Wang Jing came out carrying a loofah for scrubbing pots, the greasy dishwater dripping all over the floor. "Niannian!" she called to her son, "Go to your room and call your dad out to set up the table. Tonight, set out the tea and fruit dishes. You help him!"
Upon receiving the order, Fang Yuenian ran off on her little legs.
Grandma's teachings didn't resonate with Fang Yuenian. Adults always had a lot to say and do. He already knew he would be starting school soon, and he often saw older children going to school together, which seemed quite fun.
So, in this last month of the lunar calendar when he could let loose, Fang Yuenian received his schoolbag, along with many other things, such as pens and erasers, all brightly colored. His initial excitement wore off quickly; he mostly chewed on them and then tossed them aside.
Meanwhile, Cheng Bing, the child from the Cheng family on the other side of the river, was also preparing to start school.
He had always been a quiet and reserved person, but he was clearly happy about going to school, and carefully placed the small schoolbag that Cheng Qiuyan had sewn by hand on his bed.
As for the two girls in the Cheng family, Cheng Junjun was already in the third grade at this time. She was now another Cheng Xiaoxiao with outstanding grades at school, while Cheng Xiaoxiao had entered junior high school and started boarding at school.
However, before they could even meet at school, just two days later, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Yuenian met Cheng Bing.
—Let's put it this way for now. Even when he encountered Cheng Bing in the village before, he was always dragged around by the arms by adults and never got to speak to her.
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