1. Fight even if you can’t win
Xu Wenqiang walked out of the supermarket carrying a bag of sanitary napkins she had bought for her mother, Xu Yanmei. It was called a supermarket, but it was actually just a larger store, and everything inside was covered in a thin layer of black dust.
Here, a cluster of bungalows tumbled onto the edge of the urban sprawl, like a piece of chewing gum left untouched, already black and hardened. Xu Wenqiang and Xu Yanmei had lived here for as long as she could remember. In her memory, there was no such thing as a father. She didn't know who he was, where he was, or even whether he was alive or dead.
In this area of flats, there's a medium-sized farmers' market, where Xu Yanmei sells seafood. This market sells everything from chicken, duck, fish, and meat to pots, pans, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, clothing, shoes, and socks... but no one sells sanitary napkins.
Xu Wenqiang was packing up at home when Xu Yanmei called her home landline with her newly bought mobile phone. She said that her electronic scale was broken and asked Xu Wenqiang to go to the market to help and buy her a pack of sanitary napkins to bring back.
In the early 2000s, the era of the mobile phone faded into obscurity, and mobile phones became ubiquitous. However, foreign brands were expensive, leading to the emergence of a variety of domestic knockoffs that flooded the market. Xu Yanmei spent a few hundred yuan to buy a flip phone from a mobile phone shop at a farmers' market. She was known to flip the lid every time she made or received a call.
Xu Yanmei was yelling and cursing on the phone, and Xu Wenqiang wanted to curse too. Xu Yanmei had no idea what was wrong with her lately; her period had been irregular. It came today, then disappeared tomorrow. A few days later, it came again... Xu Yanmei was utterly annoyed, constantly on the edge of her seat, and Xu Wenqiang's life naturally wasn't much better either.
After hanging up the phone, Xu Wenqiang searched the mess again but still couldn't find the admission letter.
Xu Wenqiang had just finished her high school entrance exam. Her grades had been average, but she performed exceptionally well on the test and was accepted into Qingshi No. 1 High School, the best high school in Qingshi. Tomorrow was the first day of school, but she couldn't find her acceptance letter.
I don't know if I can still go to high school without the admission letter...
Xu Wenqiang piled the things under the bed, took the money and went out.
After exiting the supermarket, it's about a ten-minute walk to the farmers' market. A large, rusty green sign bears the equally golden characters: "Qingshi Farmers' Market." Looking through the gate, the lights are dim, and the constant shouting of vendors fills the air.
A scorching breeze blew by, bringing with it the lingering, decaying odor of the farmers' market. It was a nauseating smell. Xu Wenqiang had smelled it since she was a child, and every time she smelled it, she still felt sick.
"Wen Qiang is here!" A middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth greeted Xu Wen Qiang at the door.
"What are you holding in your hand?" the man asked, staring at what Xu Wenqiang was holding.
The appearance of the sanitary napkin in the transparent plastic bag was obvious; the man did it on purpose.
"Is it yours or your mother's?" the man asked with a shameless grin.
Just as Xu Wenqiang was about to explode, Xu Yanmei suddenly appeared behind the man and kicked him ferociously.
"It's your great aunt's stuff."
"Auntie, please spare my life!"
The man dodged and ran away with a playful grin.
"Why are you here so late? You've been dawdling all day long." Xu Yanmei took the sanitary napkin while cursing and left.
"Mom, have you seen my notice?" Xu Wenqiang asked from behind.
"What notice? I haven't seen it before. Go watch over the stall." Xu Yanmei hurried to the public toilet.
Xu Wenqiang walked deeper into the market. The seafood stall was at the very back of the market.
When she passed by the vegetable stall, she saw Su Xiaoshan.
Su Xiaoshan's parents sell vegetables at the farmers' market and live in this bungalow area. Su Xiaoshan and Xu Wenqiang are the same age and have been classmates since elementary school and junior high school, so they grew up together.
Su Xiaoshan also saw Xu Wenqiang, but he just glanced at the cabbage on the ground and turned around to do his own thing.
Su Xiaoshan had been acting like this for the past few years. When he was a child, he'd shamelessly run around the streets with her, shouting and screaming, climbing over walls and throwing bricks with her. But as he grew older, he stopped playing with her.
Xu Wenqiang ignored him and greeted his parents with a smile. Su Xiaoshan's father, Su Kun, was usually silent, and a "hmm" was his response. Su Xiaoshan's mother, Xu Hui, was the gentlest person in the market. She stopped what she was doing and came over to ask, "Wenqiang, school starts tomorrow. Have you packed your things?"
"I've packed it." Xu Wenqiang laughed dryly, remembering that she hadn't found the notice yet.
"I wonder if you and Xiaoshan can be assigned to the same class." Xu Hui said with a smile.
Su Xiaoshan also got into No. 1 Middle School. But unlike Xu Wenqiang, who only got in through last-minute cramming and exceptional performance, he got in based on his own strength and ability. I remember when the high school entrance exam results came out, the homeroom teacher looked at Su Xiaoshan's nearly perfect score and cried bitterly while hugging him.
"Being assigned to the same class again is also fate." Xu Wenqiang continued to laugh dryly, thinking, what kind of bad fate is this!
After chatting with Xu Hui for a while, Xu Wenqiang went to Xu Yanmei's seafood stall. The seafood stall had the strongest smell in the whole market, and everyone had to cover their noses when passing by.
Xu Yanmei hadn't come back yet, and she probably ran into someone again. Remembering Xu Yanmei saying the electronic scale was broken, Xu Wenqiang got bored and squatted on the ground to tinker with it.
"Hey, isn't this Xu Wenqiang, the top female student in our market?"
A demanding voice came from above her head, but Xu Wenqiang ignored it.
"What? Just because you got into No. 1 Middle School, you're so arrogant? You're not going to sell these rotten fish and shrimp anymore?"
The second voice was even more annoying. Xu Wenqiang stood up and said, "Yu Yong, Chen Yang, are you buying fish or shrimp? If not, get out of here!"
"Chen Yang, our female champion's attitude is a bit bad!" Yu Yong said nonchalantly.
"Bah, that rubbish female top scorer," Chen Yang spat on the ground. "She got in just by the admission score of No. 1 Middle School, and even if she got in, she would still be last."
"I came in last, and I didn't spend a penny of Xu Yanmei's money. This is definitely better than you, Chen Yang, having to pay your dad's money to get into No. 1 Middle School, right?" Xu Wenqiang said with a smile.
Chen Yang's father, Chen Long, sells braised food at a farmers' market, renowned for its delicious flavor. Business is booming, and so is the income. Chen Long has only one son, Chen Yang, and he's eager for him to succeed, hoping he'll get into a good university and bring honor to the family. But Chen Yang has little interest in studying. He's a grade above Xu Wenqiang, but last year, he scored less than 200 on the high school entrance exam, so his father forced him to repeat the year. This year, Chen Yang took the exam again, but also scored less than 100. His father, giving up hope, spent a fortune and got him into No. 1 Middle School.
"I'm happy to pay compensation!" Chen Yang was so angry that he grabbed the fish at hand and threw it at Xu Wenqiang.
Xu Wenqiang was hit by the fish. She picked up a plastic basket from the ground and rushed out: "Chen Yang, pick up the fish for me!"
Seeing this, Yu Yong and the other man quickly stepped back.
Chen Yang reached out to block the plastic basket Xu Wenqiang was throwing down, cursing, "Xu Wenqiang, you crazy woman! You still want to fight me? Can you beat me?"
Chen Yang was pulling the plastic basket and couldn't get it back, so Xu Wenqiang kicked it: "Even if we can't beat him, we have to fight. Pick up the fish for me!"
After being kicked several times by Xu Wenqiang, Chen Yang, utterly furious, threw both the plastic frame and Xu Wenqiang to the ground with a powerful force. The ground at the farmers' market was never clean year-round; it was covered in water and mud. When Xu Wenqiang got up, her body and face were smeared with mud and water. She wiped her face and found blood on her hands.
Xu Wenqiang cursed, picked up the plastic basket again, and threw it at Chen Yang again: "Pick up the fish for me."
Chen Yang took aim and kicked, smashing Xu Wenqiang's plastic basket into pieces.
Xu Wenqiang threw away the plastic basket and saw the knife Xu Yanmei used to clean the fish.
Chen Yang also saw the knife and his face changed.
The knife won't work - Xu Wenqiang retracted her gaze and looked up just in time to see the fear on Chen Yang's face, and couldn't help but sneered.
Chen Yang heard this, glared at Xu Wenqiang fiercely, and swung his fist at her. Xu Wenqiang had fought Chen Yang countless times and knew his moves well. As soon as Chen Yang raised his arm, she rushed towards him.
Xu Wenqiang lunged with all her might. Chen Yang stumbled and lost his balance, and they both fell to the ground.
"Xu Wenqiang, I'm going to beat you to death today!" Chen Yang got up first. He grabbed Xu Wenqiang's collar and pulled her up from the ground.
Xu Wenqiang groaned as Chen Yang's fist hit her stomach.
"You want to fight with me? You'll only get beaten!" Chen Yang shouted.
The people gathered in a circle to watch the excitement in the market. Xu Wenqiang and Chen Yang had been fighting since they were young, a small fight every three days and a big fight every five days. Everyone was used to it.
"Chen Long, did your son Chen Yang beat up Xu Wenqiang again?" Someone called out to Chen Long, who shouted at the top of his lungs, "As long as he's not dead, that's fine."
There was a burst of laughter all around.
Xu Wenqiang forced herself to raise her head, looking angrily at those who were mocking her, but she found Xu Yanmei turning away in the crowd...
"Mom——" Xu Wenqiang murmured as she looked in the direction Xu Yanmei left.
Chen Yang heard this and laughed so hard that his whole body trembled: "Xu Wenqiang, I don't know where your mother has hidden herself."
Xu Wenqiang was exhausted, but couldn't bear to see Chen Yang's complacency, so she whispered, "Chen Yang, at least I still have a mother, what about you?"
"You're looking for death!" Chen Yang went crazy, and his fists hit Xu Wenqiang like dense hammers.
The people watching the excitement were all panicked for a moment, but no one wanted to cause trouble. All they could think of was to call for help.
"Chen Long, come and take care of your son!"
"Where's Xu Yanmei? Where did Xu Yanmei go?"
......
"Stop fighting!"
In the chaos, Xu Wenqiang heard Su Xiaoshan's voice.
"Stop fighting."
There was also a woman's voice mixed in.
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