5. The haunting
At four in the morning, Xu Wenqiang woke up. Looking through the crack in the door, she saw the lights on in the living room; Xu Yanmei was already up.
Every day at this time, Xu Yanmei would leave home to go to the seaside dock to stock up, and Xu Wenqiang would wake up on time. After the high school entrance exam, she had always followed Xu Yanmei to stock up. But today was the first day of school at Qingshi No. 1 Middle School, so she didn't need to go with her anymore.
It took about half an hour to drive from their home to the beach. Once there, selecting the goods, negotiating prices, and packing them took about an hour. By the time they got back to the farmers' market and set up their stall, they were just in time for the 6 a.m. morning market.
Xu Wenqiang had no father, so naturally, no grandparents. Her grandparents did show up once, but Xu Yanmei later said they were all dead. With no elderly people in the family, Xu Wenqiang had no one to look after her when she was little. Xu Yanmei took her with her to pick up the goods. Spring and summer were okay, but winter was the hardest. She was woken up in the early morning, put on layer after layer of cotton clothes, and then sat in a small truck that was like an ice cellar. The temperature was so low that the truck, which was about 80% old, took half a day to start. Xu Wenqiang leaned against the truck, half asleep and half awake, listening to Xu Yanmei's constant scolding.
Once, half an hour had passed and the car still hadn't started. Xu Yanmei started cursing more and more fiercely, and scared Xu Wenqiang to tears.
"Why are you crying?" Xu Yanmei glared at Xu Wenqiang fiercely.
Xu Wenqiang didn't move, her frozen face pale, her eyes clearly black and white, looking at Xu Yanmei with tears in her eyes.
"Why are you glaring at me?" Xu Yanmei slapped him.
Before Xu Wenqiang felt any pain, a second slap landed on her face. Then, four or five more slaps landed on her face.
After beating Xu Wenqiang, Xu Yanmei hugged her and started crying.
Hearing the whimpers coming from Xu Yanmei's body, Xu Wenqiang's face finally felt the pain, but she was too cold to cry.
Eventually, the car started up. Mother and daughter set off in the darkness as usual, one driving with a blank expression, the other timidly surveying the dark world outside the window. When they reached the beach, Xu Yanmei shoved her wallet into Xu Wenqiang's arms and got out to get busy. Xu Wenqiang sat in the car, clutching her wallet, watching Xu Yanmei squeeze through the crowd, scrambling to grab the goods, haggling with her hands on her hips and spitting, then jogging back to get the money, then finally, hunching over and exerting all her strength to lug back the boxes of seafood.
On the way back, Xu Wenqiang couldn't hold on and fell asleep. When they arrived at the farmers' market, Xu Yanmei woke her up and had a quick bite at a breakfast stall. Then Xu Yanmei took Xu Wenqiang to kindergarten.
After Xu Wenqiang went to elementary school, Xu Yanmei said, you don’t have to follow me to buy goods anymore, just go to school by yourself when the time comes.
Xu Wenqiang felt that she was abandoned, so she asked in a tearful voice, "Then who will show you the wallet?"
Xu Yanmei lifted up her clothes, patted the shriveled waist bag tied around her waist and said, "Let me see for myself."
Xu Wenqiang closed her eyes, thought about random things for a while, and fell asleep again.
When she woke up again, it was already seven in the morning. She washed up, made herself a bowl of noodles, packed up, got on her bicycle, and set off for Qingshi No. 1 Middle School.
Qingshi No. 1 Middle School is located in the north of Qingshi City. The Qingshi Railway Station is two blocks behind the school. The farmers' market is in the southeast. If you ride a bicycle, it takes about 20 minutes to get to No. 1 Middle School.
Turning out of the farmers' market's bungalow area, Xu Wenqiang spotted Su Xiaoshan waiting for the traffic light at the intersection. He was riding a brand-new bicycle, from the handlebars to the tires—so new that Xu Wenqiang could smell the pungent odor of paint and leather.
Xu Wenqiang rode over slowly and indeed smelled the smell she had imagined.
"Good morning."
"morning."
Xu Wenqiang greeted Su Xiaoshan and waited for the green light without saying anything else. After a while, Su Xiaoshan spoke up: "Xu Wenqiang, since you're going to No. 1 Middle School, don't waste the next three years."
Xu Wenqiang didn't know what to say for a moment. Just then, the green light came on and Su Xiaoshan rode forward.
Watching Su Xiaoshan ride off, Xu Wenqiang breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't given any thought to what the next three years would hold. She had even less idea of what it meant to not waste time. So even though she knew Su Xiaoshan's sudden reminder was for her own good, Xu Wenqiang felt she might be letting him down.
On the rest of the road, Xu Wenqiang fell behind Su Xiaoshan and no longer walked with him.
On the first day of school, Xu Wenqiang had imagined a crowd at No. 1 Middle School's gate, but she hadn't expected such a sea of people. As she followed the throng through the school gates, she looked out at the straight road, the lush sycamore trees lining the road, and the square teaching buildings. For a moment, she didn't know where to go.
Fortunately, someone approached her and asked, "Are you a freshman in high school?"
Xu Wenqiang nodded and agreed: "Teacher, I am."
Unexpectedly, the man was unhappy: "Teacher? Do I look that old?"
Xu Wenqiang took a closer look. The man was wearing a pair of black-framed glasses and had a layer of green stubble on his mouth. He really looked very old. Could he be a student if he wasn't a teacher?
Seeing Xu Wenqiang looking at him without saying anything, the man said angrily, "I'm a sophomore, here to welcome the new students."
"Oh, it's senior brother, it's senior brother." Xu Wenqiang hurriedly changed the words.
"Put your bicycle in the parking shed on the left side of the school gate and find a place to put it down first. Then sign in at the registration desk in front to see which class you are assigned to. Once you know which class you are in, just go to the first teaching building to find your classroom." Although the senior brother was angry, he still did his job conscientiously.
"Okay, thank you, teacher, brother."
The senior brother looked like he wanted to curse, so Xu Wenqiang quickly slipped away.
Xu Wenqiang put down her bicycle and went to the registration office. Although the registration office was also crowded, it was more orderly than the school gate.
"Everyone line up!"
"Don't crowd, come one by one!"
......
All the lines were winding and twisting. Xu Wenqiang found a line that looked small, but in fact it wasn't much smaller, and stood there. Then she waited for more than half an hour before it was finally her turn.
The people at the registration desk were probably there to help welcome the new students. They looked much more youthful than the older students. They collected Xu Wenqiang's admission notice, checked it, and said, "Student, let's check which class you are in. Please wait a moment."
"Yeah, okay."
Xu Wenqiang watched her notice casually tucked into a pile of other notices, feeling a pang of melancholy. When she had it, she hadn't treasured it, but she cherished it. After all, she'd only had it for so many years, from elementary school to middle school. Now, mixed in with the pile of notices, it was just a piece of paper.
Xu Wenqiang was feeling sad when she heard a commotion behind her.
"Why are you cutting in line?"
"Who said I cut in line? I came here to look for someone."
"Classmate, please line up!"
"I'm looking for someone, looking for someone."
Xu Wenqiang looked back and saw the lingering Chen Yang.
"Xu Wenqiang, which class are you assigned to?" Chen Yang shamelessly approached Xu Wenqiang.
Then I heard the person at the registration desk say, "Xu Wenqiang, Class 4, Grade 1. Student, please sign your name."
Xu Wenqiang lowered her head to sign. Chen Yang approached with a playful smile and said, "Seniors, my name is Chen Yang. Can you help me check which class I'm in?"
"Classmate, please go back and line up." The person at the registration desk said to Chen Yang rudely.
Chen Yang, however, acted like a scoundrel: "I just queued up here."
"Student, do you think he cut in line?" the person at the registration office asked Xu Wenqiang.
After signing, Xu Wenqiang handed the form back and said, "He just cut in line."
"Hey, Xu Wenqiang, we grew up together, how can you be so disloyal?" Chen Yang yelled.
"I've never seen such a shameless person, cutting in line and trying to make connections." Xu Wenqiang clicked her tongue twice and prepared to leave with a look of disgust on her face.
"Hey, Xu Wenqiang, where are you going?" Chen Yang reached out and grabbed Xu Wenqiang.
Xu Wenqiang stumbled a bit after being dragged down. After she regained her balance, she turned around and looked at Chen Yang, who was looking for trouble. "Why, today is the first day of school, and you're planning to fight me in public?"
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