On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Shugen's mother carried a basket full of candles, incense, and paper money to the Buddhist temple.
Upon entering the creaking, peeling temple door, the thick smell of smoke filled the air, and the temple was packed with devout men and women from several nearby villages.
Some kneel before Buddha and silently recite prayers, while others keep secrets known only to Buddha, such as Fang Shugen's mother's wish.
The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for everyone to visit relatives.
Fang Damiao carried a pot of yellow wine and a box of pastries, while Fang Meixiang carried Fang Dongqiang to her parents' home.
"Da Miao, are you going to your mother-in-law's house to pay New Year's respects so early? What good things are you bringing for your father-in-law?"
Fang Damiao chuckled and lifted the rice wine in his hand higher.
As soon as Fang Dongqiang saw this road, he knew he was going to his grandmother's house. He playfully twisted his body in Fang Meixiang's arms.
At Fang San Di's house, "Ji Hong, you said you'd take photos in the first month of the lunar calendar, when are you going?"
"Let's go today."
Yu Jihong wore a floral jacket and a pink hair clip.
Fang Sandi wore a dark brown corduroy jacket over his old cotton-padded coat.
The crisp air carried the gunpowder smell of firecracker debris, and the thin frost on the field ridges was half-melted by the sun, making a crunching sound when stepped on.
There were villagers walking to their relatives' homes along the way, and occasionally a few bicycles would pass by.
Watching the bicycles disappear into the distance, leaving clear tire tracks on the road.
“If we had a bicycle, Fang Yu could sit in front and I could sit in the back, then we wouldn’t have to walk.” Yu Jihong held her braids hanging over her shoulders with both hands, tilting her head as if she were really sitting on the back of a bicycle.
Fang San Di didn't respond, but he remembered it.
There were many people taking photos in the photo studio during the first month of the lunar year. After the three of them took one, "Fang Yu and I also took one," Yu Jihong said.
"Oh," Fang San Di hesitated for a moment, "it costs two yuan to take two photos."
"Okay." Fang San Di agreed, and he would do whatever Yu Ji Hong wanted as long as he could.
The boss gave them a prop: a children's tricycle.
Fang Yu sat on the tricycle, and Yu Jihong sat on the stool next to her, her hand on Fang Yu's shoulder. "Fang Yu, look ahead. Smile when you take pictures."
Yu Jihong herself softened her expression, her lips slightly upturned, and she looked at the camera.
The warmth of the first month of the lunar calendar had not yet faded, but figures carrying farm tools were already appearing on the ridges of the fields.
The unburnt firecracker debris from the threshing ground was swept to the corner of the wall, piled up with dry grass, like a faint end to the New Year celebrations.
The New Year is over, and it's time to get back to daily life and start another year of work.
After a few busy months, the weather gradually got warmer, and people wore less and less clothing. Hua Mei noticed that she had gained weight.
In the middle of the night, Fang Shugen's mother knocked on Fang Shugen's door and called softly in a low voice, "Shugen, Shugen."
Fang Shugen and Hua Mei got up sleepily. Fang Shugen picked up a bag of clothes that Hua Mei and Hua Hua had packed.
"Take these bags of food and my clothes with you first." Fang Shugen's mother put several bags on the cart. "Hurry up, you have to be back before dawn."
"Hua Mei, Shu Gen will take you to your aunt's house for one night. We'll bring Hua Hua over tomorrow and we'll go up the mountain together."
Hua Mei looked at her daughter on the bed, standing there unwilling to leave.
Fang Shugen's mother gestured with her chin towards Fang Shugen, indicating that he should persuade Hua Mei.
“Hua Mei, it’s dark now, and Hua Hua will be scared if you take her there. I’ll bring her to you tomorrow.” Fang Shugen pulled Hua Mei onto the cart.
When they reached the door, they fell silent, afraid that their neighbors would hear them.
As night deepened, the creaking of the cart sounded particularly clear on the quiet country road.
Fang Shugen held his breath, trying to control the noise of the cart to be as quiet as he moved forward nervously.
"Flower girl! Flower girl!"
The next morning, Fang Shugen's mother went around the village calling for Hua Mei.
"Sister-in-law, have you seen Hua Mei?"
"Auntie, did Hua Mei pass by your house?"
Fang Shugen's mother, holding Huahua, asked everyone she met.
The news that Hua Mei had gone missing spread quickly throughout the village.
"I heard that Hua Mei disappeared early this morning." This news became the topic of conversation during breakfast.
"When Hua Mei first arrived, she went crazy a few times. After having her daughter, apart from not talking to outsiders, she didn't neglect any work at home or in the fields. She's quite normal now."
"Yeah, why did it suddenly start wandering around?"
Ultimately, the work in the fields was the most important thing, so after chatting for a while, everyone went back to their own business.
That day, Fang Shugen's door was closed.
Everyone assumed they had all gone to find Hua Mei.
But Fang Shugen was at home again the next day.
"Tree Root, have you found Flower Girl yet?"
"No, my mother said we can't leave the work in the fields unfinished, otherwise we won't have anything to eat. She's out looking for it, I came back first."
Where is my daughter?
"They're outside too."
"Oh!" The neighbors all knew that Fang Shugen's mother wasn't very kind to Hua Mei, so why was she looking for her outside like this this time?
A hint of doubt crossed my mind, but it was someone else's business, just something to talk about over tea.
At this moment, Fang Shugen's mother and Hua Mei were already at the mountain forest ranger Ren Lutong's place.
The house was a simple wooden cabin built on a clearing in the dense forest. The roof was thatched, which could block the wind and rain but could not keep out the heat and cold.
Fortunately, it wasn't the height of summer or the depths of winter.
In the corner of the outer room, there was a simple stove made of stones, with straw raincoats, bamboo hats, and bundles of firewood piled up next to it.
A new wooden bed has been set up in one corner for Hua Mei and Hua Hua to sleep on.
The inner room was cramped, with a wooden bed taking up most of it. Several wires stretched from one end of the wall to the other, with clothes hanging on them.
Ren Lutong was a friend of Fang Shugen's father. Ren Lutong's wife passed away a few years ago, and his children have started their own families. He became a forest ranger all by himself.
In the 1980s, my country's family planning policy was in full implementation, and the enforcement of family planning was relatively strict.
Fang Shugen's mother racked her brains trying to figure out where to hide, and then she thought of him.
Last year, Fang Shugen's mother inquired and found her way up the mountain.
Ren Lutong was quite surprised by Fang Meigen's mother's arrival.
Having a previous acquaintance with Fang Shugen's father, Ren Lutong readily agreed.
Of course, Ren Lutong also had his own thoughts. He was alone in the deep mountains and forests when a woman came to his door, and what was bound to happen happened.
Fang Shugen's mother had been a widow for many years, and this was a perfect time for her.
Fang Shugen's mother, who originally planned to explain the situation and make arrangements before returning, ended up staying here several days longer than originally planned last year.
During the day, Ren Lutong would go up the mountain to patrol as soon as it was light, carrying a machete and some dry food.
Fang Shugen's mother got up early to make him breakfast.
Hua Mei lived next to the stove and got up to help.
"Hua Mei, why are you up so early? Sleep a little longer, there's nothing to do on the mountain."
When Ren Lutong was around, Fang Shugen's mother spoke to Hua Mei more gently.
During meals, Fang Shugen's mother would chat with Ren Lutong about the interesting things happening down in the mountains, and Ren Lutong would listen attentively.
They were chatting and laughing, and Hua Mei had never seen her mother-in-law smile so much before.
A small open space was set up next to the cottage, where some seasonal vegetables were planted.
There wasn't much work to do on the mountain, so Fang Shugen's mother would help carry the flowers when she had free time.
During the time they were here, Fang Shugen's mother hugged Huahua the most.
"I wonder how Shugen is doing at home. He has to cook for himself when he comes back from the fields all by himself." Fang Shugen's mother would often talk about Fang Shugen in front of Huamei.
Hua Mei stared into the distance, missing Fang Shugen as well.
Hua Mei got up early in the morning and sat by the door with Hua Hua in her arms, watching the eastern hills slowly turn orange-red.
A mountain breeze carrying the crisp scent of pine needles swept over, causing Hua Hua to shrink her neck. She pointed her little finger at the mountain sparrows flitting through the mist in the distance, gesturing for Hua Mei to look.
As the sun begins to set in the west at dusk, the shadows of the mountains are stretched long.
Hua Mei is holding Hua Hua, who is clutching a dandelion in her hand.
A gust of wind blew by, and Hua Mei raised her hand, causing the white fluff of the dandelion to scatter and float up like little umbrellas.
It made Hua Mei and Hua Hua laugh out loud.
The mountain breeze gradually softened, carrying the fragrance of late-blooming wild roses.
Hua Mei touched her belly, thinking that a child she loved, just like Hua Hua, would also emerge from there.
When Ren Lutong returned, everyone ate dinner, and it felt just like a small family.
After finishing her meal, Hua Mei habitually went to wash the dishes.
“Let me do it, let me do it. You’re so pregnant, I’ll wash you. After you’ve eaten, take Huahua and rest.” Fang Shugen’s mother always insisted on washing the clothes.
Fang Shugen's mother was a completely different person on the mountain and at home, which made Hua Mei feel rather surprised and astonished.
What kind of person was Ren Lutong? He was the kind of person who would come home, have dinner, prepare to go to sleep, and then get up early the next morning, have breakfast, and go out again.
Hua Mei's impression of her was that she ate breakfast and dinner here, and heard the sounds of her and Fang Shugen's mother in the inner room at night.
Fang Shugen's mother washed the dishes, tidied up, and went to the inner room with Ren Lutong. Hua Mei held her daughter and lay on the wooden bed in the outer room.
On clear nights, the sound of mountain winds whistling through the treetops is heard; on rainy nights, the sound of raindrops pattering on the leaves and exterior walls is heard.
These sounds were occasionally mixed with the creaking of the wooden bed in the inner room and the moans and groans of Fang Shugen's mother.
Hua Mei also wanted to find a tree root.
Before leaving, Fang Shugen said that he would come to pick them up after the baby in her belly was born.
Hua Mei touched her belly, which was getting bigger every day; the baby was about to be born.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the summer nights are as stuffy as a sealed steamer. Only the mountain breeze occasionally blows through the woods, bringing a few chirps of insects.
Hua Mei curled up on the hard bed. Her stomach was starting to feel strange, but she could bear it and didn't make a sound.
I drifted off to sleep again in a daze.
In the middle of the night, a sharp abdominal pain suddenly gripped her.
She cried out in pain.
Fang Shugen's mother and Ren Lutong were awakened and groped to light the kerosene lamp in the dark.
She might give birth tonight.
In the dim light, Fang Shugen's mother's hands trembled uncontrollably, but she still tried to remain calm as she stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth, saying, "If you shout too loudly, you'll wake Huahua up."
Hua Mei bit the cloth, and really stopped screaming. Cold sweat had soaked her temples.
The abdominal pain came in waves, and Hua Mei's fingernails dug deeply into the cracks of the bed, her knuckles turning white.
Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the wooden planks of the window, falling on her sweat-drenched face and reflecting the tears she couldn't hold back in her eyes.
"Will it be dangerous? Should I go down the mountain and call a midwife?" Ren Lutong said, glancing over from time to time as he boiled water in front of the stove.
"It should be fine. Hua Hua had her first pregnancy and gave birth after only a short time of labor, so this second pregnancy should be even faster."
"Push harder, Hua Mei, like when you gave birth to Hua Hua..." Fang Shugen's mother's voice trembled, but it revealed a fierce determination.
After an unknown amount of time, as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, a faint yet clear cry suddenly broke the silence of the mountain forest.
Hua Mei collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted.
When Fang Shugen's mother saw the child, she frowned, "Another girl."
The newborn daughter lay next to Hua Mei, who smiled as she looked at her. Fang Shugen would be coming to pick them up after the baby's birth.
Why does my eye itch? Hua Mei wiped it with her hand and found it was tears.
Fang Shugen's mother cooked breakfast with a stiff face, and Ren Lutong went down the mountain after he finished eating.
Hua Mei was waiting for Fang Shugen, but he didn't come.
It was a couple; the man was carrying a bag, and when he saw the child, a smile spread across his face.
Fang Shugen's mother deftly wrapped the baby in coarse cloth.
Hua Mei's gaze followed the movement of the cloth, "Nan, Nan!"
The man handed the bag to the woman, took the child, and the woman gave Fang Shugen's mother a red envelope. They then carried the child and walked out.
Hua Mei chased after him barefoot.
Fang Shugen's mother quickly closed the door.
"My daughter, my daughter!"
Fang Shugen's mother leaned against the door without moving. "Lu Tong, come here."
Ren Lu came over and blocked the door with his body.
Fang Shugen's mother pulled Hua Mei to the bed, saying, "Hua Mei, let's go to their house. There's good food there. Take good care of Hua Hua, and we'll have another one."
The sound of a child crying came from outside the door, and Hua Mei pushed Fang Shugen's mother away.
She grabbed Ren Lutong's arm, trying to push him away.
Hua Mei couldn't push Ren Lutong away, and she stomped her feet in frustration.
Looking up at the roof, he cried, "My daughter, my daughter!"
Ren Lutong turned his face away to the side, leaning against the door, unable to bear looking at Hua Mei's appearance.
Hua Hua was so frightened that she started crying.
The child's cries outside the door grew fainter and fainter, eventually being swallowed up by the mountain wind.
After all the commotion last night, Hua Mei was exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
Leaning against the leg of the stool, head tilted back, mouth agape, empty and dull eyes filled with despair and sorrow.
After a while, she suddenly sat up, grinned, and laughed so hard she was shaking. "Nan is going to eat something delicious."
“Yes, Hua Mei, go eat something delicious.” Fang Shugen’s mother chimed in, “Shugen will come to pick us up tomorrow. Be good, have another one with Shugen.”
Hua Mei didn't eat anything that day.
That night, Fang Shugen's mother, worried that she would run around, told her and Huahua to sleep in the inner room.
The sound of the bed shaking came from the outer room again. "When Hua Mei has another child, I won't care about sons or daughters anymore. I've fulfilled my responsibilities to Shu Gen's father and to this family."
“Okay, come with me, let’s live together. I really hate to see you go,” Ren Lutong said softly.
Fang Shugen's mother leaned on Ren Lutong's shoulder; this period was also a happy time for her.
Fang Shugen brought some grain, oil, rice, and flour to the mountain.
Hua Mei burst into tears as soon as she saw Fang Shugen, crying, "My dear, my dear!"
Fang Shugen's mother rolled her eyes at her. "You need to keep a close eye on her when you get back. Things are getting a little strange here again." Fang Shugen's mother tapped her temple with her finger.
"Huahua, Huahua seems to have grown up." Fang Shugen reached out to hug Huahua.
Hua Hua seemed to know she could go home, and danced around in Fang Shugen's arms.
Ren Lutong also returned early that day.
Fang Shugen was holding Huahua, Fang Shugen's mother was carrying luggage, and Huamei had a handkerchief wrapped around her head.
Ren Lutong stood at the door watching them leave.
Even after walking a distance, Fang Shugen's mother would occasionally turn back to look.
With tears in his eyes, he sighed and continued on his way.
Ren Lutong turned and walked towards the room.
The wooden bed outside has been dismantled, and the bed frame is placed against the wall.
The stove was neatly arranged.
The clothes that used to hang haphazardly on the wire in the inner room were no longer there; they were all neatly folded in a corner of the wooden bed.
There seemed to be the sounds of Hua Hua's laughter and Fang Shugen's mother telling stories of fun things that happened down the mountain.
Ren Lutong looked at the bed board again. Just yesterday morning, such a thrilling moment had occurred.
He shook his head, sighed, walked outside, and sat alone by the door, gazing into the distance.
As darkness fell, he went into the inner room, looked at the bed, and knew he was about to begin living alone again.
This period of time felt like a dream, a beautiful dream, but upon waking, it turned into a nightmare.
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