Chapter 2 A lean and towering ten...
Dozens of sheep crowded onto the narrow dirt road, rolling and surging downwards, with the lead wild boy rushing down the road, raising clouds of dust.
Li Jiacong saw it from afar; the hill was shrouded in dust. Based on Li Jiacong's judgment, he should have seen the young man's handlebars break, his whole body thrown out, his mouth covered in blood, in the next second. But soon, the other man's shout severely "humiliated" him, and Li Jiacong became furious. He cursed and stood up.
In a very short time, the speeding bicycle came up in front of him, and the two looked at each other—a boy about the same age as him.
However, the moment the other person saw him, a look of surprise flashed across their face. Li Jiacong was about to utter a curse when, instead of braking, the man pedaled twice and sped away!
Li Jiacong stumbled and climbed up the ridge, took a few steps, and was immediately surrounded by the flock of sheep that had lost their leader.
Don't they even want the sheep anymore?
Li Jiacong: "Damn it, don't let me catch you!"
After uttering his harsh words, he realized he was surrounded by sheep. A sense of fear washed over him. Sheep were usually docile animals, but the bleating of a flock of fat, dirty sheep sounded primal and unfamiliar. Their mouths opened, revealing a row of neat teeth on their lower jaws, and a few unruly sheep even tugged at his clothes.
Li Jiacong panicked. He used his thigh to pry open a gap in the flock of sheep and hurriedly ran back.
At the courtyard gate, Li Jiacong's grandmother stood with her hands on her hips, looking around. Seeing him emerge disheveled from behind the house, she asked, "Where have you been? What happened?"
"I went for a walk around the back," he said, barely able to hide his displeasure. "Whose sheep are these?"
The flock of sheep came trotting up from behind and turned into the path that bordered the land. She laughed and said, "That's Li Laowu's family. You saw that family when you were little, right? They're another branch of the Li family, not closely related to ours, but according to the village's seniority system, you call them Fifth Uncle, remember?"
Li Jiacong said impatiently, "I don't remember! Why would I remember so many useless people? You didn't even watch the sheep properly."
He stood on tiptoe to look: "It must be his son, Xiao Shengzi, who went down the mountain to herd sheep. Is he not here?"
Li Jiacong frowned: "Little Leftover?" Leftover? Dog Leftover? Li Jiacong thought the name suited the other person quite well.
“His full name is Li Sheng. Normally, in your generation, his name should be Li Jiasheng,” his grandmother said, pulling him into the house. “But now nobody cares about that anymore. Family trees are pasted on the windows. There’s only him and his grandfather in his family. Poor Shengzi…”
Li Jiacong: "...That's enough milk."
His grandmother continued to chatter on: "You don't know, he's different from other children!"
"That's enough, that's enough, Xiuying," Li Jiacong interrupted her.
"You brat! Who are you calling Xiuying?! Xiuying is not someone you can call anyone!"
Li Jiacong put his arm around his grandmother's shoulder and waved her away, trying to stop her from continuing. He genuinely thought Xiuying was a good grandmother, but he couldn't stand her starting to talk and then going on and on about a hundred family matters with just one person—he suddenly understood why his grandfather never said a word all day long.
Back inside, the meal was ready: stewed cabbage with pork and vermicelli, plus stir-fried cauliflower with pork. It looked unappetizing, a dull yellow, but it smelled delicious. He took the chopsticks and rice from his grandmother, sat down at the small table where he had to curl up his legs, gritted his teeth, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.
Li Sheng drifted to a stop right in front of his house. The wind had been so strong while he was riding his bike that his clothes had already dried off, but seeing the man's face made a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. He stood there for a while, saw that the sheep were on the road and he didn't see the man again, then went back, herded the sheep back into their pen, and finally pushed his bike into his house.
Li Sheng's house is a small courtyard with land on both sides planted with scallions and a grape trellis in the middle, covered with vines that create a shady green space.
He walked to the large water vat beside the yard, scooped up a ladle of water, and rinsed his hair. The dripping water washed away the sweat. Staring at the trickle of water flowing into the ditch at his feet, recalling the scene just now, Li Sheng felt as if he had seen... a familiar yet unfamiliar face.
That person shouldn't be there, right? Maybe I'm mistaken?
"Sheng, you're back." His grandfather's trembling voice came from a small room on the west side.
Li Sheng snapped out of his daze: "You're back!"
"Go to the field and pick two scallions."
"Hey." Li Sheng stepped over the low wall and into the vegetable garden in the yard, squatted down and picked two scallions.
There were sounds of pots and pans clattering inside. Li Sheng came in through the door and went straight to the back. The kitchen was at the back of the house, a long, dark space without windows, lit by a dim yellow light. A thin, short old man was cooking.
"Is there meat today?" Li Sheng was a little excited when he saw a piece of meat on the cutting board.
"It's what I got for fixing the roof," his grandfather said with a smile, glancing at him. "Greedy, aren't you?"
“Climbing onto the roof is too dangerous, call me next time,” Li Sheng said casually as he tossed the scallions next to the cutting board after returning home. “Isn’t that the place over there, where Dadi is Li Jun’s house?”
"Li Jun? Yes, what's wrong?" His grandfather chopped vegetables with a "thump, thump, thump".
“His…his family, that…” Li Sheng hesitated, “It seems like someone came back. I saw them when I came down the mountain.”
“There’s no holiday now,” his grandfather said, basking in the aroma of the pot. “Do you even remember what people look like?”
Li Sheng said, "I vaguely remember."
"Then they've probably come back. They live in the city, and so many people envy them."
With a sizzle, his grandfather poured the meat into the blackened pot. Li Sheng, standing to the side, hesitated, wanting to say something, but after standing there blankly for a moment, he swallowed his words.
"The popsicle vendor just came, and I bought two skewers of big white sugar," his grandfather said. "They're on the table in my room, go eat them."
Li Sheng's house has only one room, but it is divided into two spaces by a partition, one large and one small. The larger one on the south side has a kang (a heated brick bed), a table, and a low wooden cabinet. The larger one on the north side has only a wooden bed and a small window.
He picked up the popsicles on the table in the main room, and touched them; they were already melted and watery. "Grandpa! Where are you two? They'll melt if you don't eat them."
Li Sheng held the simple packaging bag, tore off a corner, and put it in his mouth to suck out the sweet water that flowed out. It had melted, but it was still cold, and it dripped down the corner of his lips. Before he could wipe it away, suddenly there was a loud "bang" from the kitchen.
"What's wrong!" Li Sheng shouted in a panic.
No one answered.
Li Sheng rushed into the kitchen like an arrow and saw his grandfather lying on the floor. "Grandpa!" He didn't dare to move. His grandfather was convulsing, as if he was trying to catch his breath. He pinched his grandfather's philtrum. "Grandpa—!"
…
Pork stew with vermicelli. Li Jiacong had a different opinion of this dish today. He lay contentedly in the house, looking at the ceiling, and heard a "thump-thump" sound; it must be mice running around.
There were crickets chirping, noisily chirping around the houses, and dogs barking, their barking echoing in layers, as if someone from afar had startled the dogs from house to house, rising and falling in waves. Li Jiacong rubbed his temples and commented, "Very good, a symphony."
Li Jiacong sat up from the kang (a heated brick bed). He was craving a cigarette after the meal, especially since the one he had just smoked had been broken. It was pitch black now, and he figured no one could see him, so he went outside, sat on the stone bench by the front door, and lit another one.
On the other side of the path in front of his courtyard gate was a wall made of red bricks, on which a spider was crawling, one end connected to the edge of the wall and the other end to the bushes, weaving a web at a winding angle.
Li Jiacong had excellent eyesight and could see the spider silk clearly. He stared at it idly, a scarlet dot on his lips, which turned white and fell onto his thigh after a while.
He casually patted his pants with his head down when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps kicking sand as he approached. When he looked up, there was suddenly a person in front of him, and the next second, that person knelt down!
"Holy crap!!!" Li Jiacong's eyes widened in horror. Why such a grand gesture? He recognized him and realized it was the shepherd boy from earlier.
The other person looked up, the light from the front yard shining on his face, revealing a long, slanted scar above the corner of his left eye. He pursed his lips, restraining his emotions.
Li Jiacong was taken aback.
Slowly, the person in front of him kowtowed and said, "My grandfather, my grandfather is gone..." The rest of his words were choked with sobs.
"..." Li Jiacong threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground, stood up and shouted, "Grandpa! Grandma! Come out quickly!"
It was customary to kowtow before entering someone's house to announce a death, and Li Jiacong only then learned of this custom. Moreover, the person receiving the announcement was expected to return a piece of pastry. His grandmother immediately ladled some out and presented it to Li Sheng on a plate. However, Li Sheng's hands were trembling so badly that he couldn't even hold the pastry properly several times.
Li Jiacong was getting anxious watching this, so he picked it up for him and brought it to his mouth. Li Sheng tilted his head back for a moment, then opened his mouth and took a small bite.
Xiuying commanded, "Eat it and then throw it away!"
Li Jiacong casually tossed it far away.
"Sheng, did you call him Father?"
Li Jiacong asked in bewilderment, "Father?"
No one paid him any attention. Li Sheng stood there blankly, his face streaked with clear tears, reflecting a sorrowful light amidst the insects in the lamplight. He answered Xiuying, "Not yet."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid," Xiuying comforted her. "I'll go to your house with your Uncle Li Jun to help you take care of things. After we announce the death, we'll go and call the priest."
Li Sheng nodded and went along the road to find the next relative he knew.
Li Jiacong's gaze involuntarily followed Li Sheng. He had never seen such a person, such a scene: the low, crooked walls on either side contrasted sharply with the boy's straight back. He knelt outside the dimly lit iron gate, repeating those words in a low voice. Li Jiacong sensed the desperate effort hidden beneath those slender bones.
"Go to sleep early, tonight's going to be a whirlwind." Xiuying went back to change her clothes and came out again, her grandfather also holding a white cloth in preparation.
Li Jiacong snapped out of his daze and casually asked, "Grandma, there's a church here, where is it?"
His grandmother raised her hand and pointed to the east. Li Jiacong looked over and saw a slender and towering cross-shaped spire in mid-air, pointing upwards as if indicating heaven.
A note from the author:
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