Sun Li Complete Works. Volume 4

Author: Sun Li / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Suddenly, a small child began crying out sharply in the corner of the kang. Gao Qingshan jumped, turned around, and saw a child who had just turned two waking up, crying with his hands and feet clutching and kicking. "What! Where did this child come from?" Qingshan stood up and looked at Qiufen. "Where did it come from?" Qiufen smiled. "From a long way away. Don't worry too much. This year, due to the heat, a woman from Guandong who had fled the war was bombed by Japanese planes at the estuary. Our father asked us to adopt this child. Otherwise, where would you get such an instant son?" Qingshan laughed, picked up the child, as if he were holding his disaster-ridden motherland, and his eyes grew moist.
During the meal, Gao Xiang arrived. The two old comrades met, shook hands for a long time without a word. Qingshan took out a letter from his inner pocket and handed it to Gao Xiang, saying, "This is my recommendation letter. The organization asked me to give it to you. They were also afraid it would be difficult to travel, so they asked me to change into casual clothes and catch up with a herd of goats. There was nothing wrong on the way, but I never expected to meet you so coincidentally." Gao Xiang read the letter and said, "You came at the right time. In terms of military experience, I have none, and the recent situation is very complex. You don’t need to go to Gaoyang first. Just help me complete a task here!" Qingshan was about to ask what the task was when Gao Xiang’s father came with a little girl to see his son. Qiufen asked the girl, "Who are you looking for?" The girl slowly said, "My dad!" Qiufen pointed to Gao Xiang, but the girl didn’t expect her father to be a complete stranger and didn’t dare to approach. Gao Xiang came over and picked her up. Qiufen teased her, "Who told you to look for your dad?" The girl smiled and said, "My mom!" This made everyone laugh.
Qingshan said to Gao Xiang, "I’ve never seen her grow this tall!" Qiufen said, "You’ve never seen her? You left when her mother just gave birth!" "Old people age quickly if they have children," Gao Sihai said with a smile. "Giving birth makes these children grow taller!" Gao Xiang said, "I think it’s still Qiufen’s wife who doesn’t show her age. She’s the same as when we left." Qiufen smiled. "That’s because you have poor eyesight. When I get old, you won’t be able to see me either. Don’t tease me like this. If you come back a few years later, I’ll be an old woman with white hair. There’s nothing to complain about then!" "That really takes the wind out of the hero’s sails!" Gao Xiang patted the child in his arms, placed him on the ground, and smiled. "That’s why revolutionaries shouldn’t go home easily. Without any benefits, you always have to leave with some burden when you leave."
"Is this still easy to go home?" Qiufen asked. "I’m not going to argue with you," Gao Xiang said with a smile. "I’m going to talk to Qingshan about the situation here and start working. You guys can go out and play for a while first." Gao Sihai and Gao Xiang’s father took the child outside. Qiufen pouted and said, "Can’t I listen too?" "No," Gao Xiang said. "We haven’t officially connected yet. We’ve been apart for ten years. I’ll have to check your history!" "I’m waiting for you to check!" Qiufen lit the lamp for them and turned to leave. The two of them talked in the room while Qiufen and the others waited on the embankment. Stars appeared in the sky. Gao Xiang’s little girl pointed. "Another one came out, Grandpa! Another one came out on the other side!"
Under these circumstances, the mobilization to clear the road was met with immediate response. Any family with land near the main road dug trenches according to the specified dimensions as instructed by the higher authorities. In the morning, the sun shone on the frost on the wheat, and the roads were filled with farmers swinging shovels and holding hoes. After Lao Wen recovered from his injury, he returned to work at Tian Dahi’s house. Through the mediation of others, Lao Chang also returned and took over as the village’s trade union director. Tian Dahi’s daughter had just given birth, and her in-laws came to report the good news. Tian Dahi’s wife busily prepared gifts—white flour, noodles, steamed buns, and filled four food boxes, which Lao Chang carried to deliver.
Lao Chang came in and said, "Today, the higher authorities ordered us to dig ditches. I can’t go." Tian Dahi’s wife frowned deeply. "Look at you, a worker! Are you paid by us or by your higher authorities? Everything you eat and drink comes from us. I don’t think your higher authorities even weighed you four ounces of tobacco. Why do you side with them? Which side is warmer?" Lao Chang said, "Digging ditches is for the country, for everyone. Naturally, we should lead the way. Your family has a lot of land near the road. If I don’t go, will you dig it yourself?" Tian Dahi’s wife pouted. "When have I ever touched a hoe? The hoe handle is square or round, I don’t know! Digging a few pits and ditches can stop the Japanese? I think you’re cursed to be poor and won’t enjoy your blessings. Take the food boxes and go. It’s better than wasting your time swinging a hoe in the cold wind."
"Let your husband carry the food boxes," Lao Chang said. "We have to dig the ditches!" Tian Dahi’s wife said, "When has your husband ever carried anything? How can you let him lose face in front of his own family!" "Carrying a few food boxes isn’t losing face," Lao Chang said. "If we had as many people as you, we’d have lost face long ago!" Lao Chang said, "Otherwise, he’ll have to dig the ditches!" "Hmph!" Tian Dahi’s wife said. "The workers are telling the head of the household what to do!" "I’m your worker," Lao Chang said, "but I’m also a village official. We’ve assigned you some anti-Japanese work. You shouldn’t refuse. Think about it—would you rather carry food boxes to give gifts or go out on a mission to dig ditches?" Tian Dahi’s wife went into the inner room to discuss it. Although Tian Dahi was quite unhappy, he still chose to carry the food boxes. He thought it would be easier than digging ditches.
Lao Chang picked up the hoe and went to the street to gather people. Tian Dahi’s wife dressed her husband up, tied a rope around him, and put a pole on his shoulder. Tian Dahi started carrying the food boxes, but didn’t feel them heavy. He stepped out of the door, went down the steps, and into the hallway, then turned back. He couldn’t get out of the gate. He paced around the courtyard with the food boxes, like performing on a stage. His wife said, "What are you doing? It’s getting late. You should go to the other place in the afternoon to still look like you’re giving gifts." "This isn’t for fun," Tian Dahi said. "Even when giving birth, you don’t know the timing. If I don’t go, your daughter can go!" He got angry, dropped the pole, and the ropes on the food boxes weren’t tied properly. The lids came off, and the white steamed buns and rolls rolled all over the courtyard. His wife chased after the buns, picking them up one by one, brushing off the dust, and putting them back in the boxes. She pleaded, "You still have to go! I’ll go out and look for a chance for you to sneak out to the village!"
"Digging ditches everywhere, how can I fly over?" Tian Dahi shouted. "I’ll go get another worker back!" Tian Dahi said and went to the field. He saw Lao Wen swinging a big hoe, working with great vigor. He walked over and looked, saying, "I’m saving the wheat. How can I dig it piece by piece? Don’t you want me to eat wheat?" "There are measurements!" Lao Wen said. "This is just a superficial task for the authorities. It’s just to show off for the sake of appearances!" Tian Dahi said. "You can’t do it this way!" Lao Wen said. "The county magistrate will come to inspect later. If the measurements aren’t met, you’ll be criticized!" "You go give gifts to your in-laws!" Tian Dahi took the hoe and sent Lao Wen away. He filled in half of the already dug pit closer to the inside and extended it toward the main road. This way, he could preserve his own land and push the road to the neighboring land. Tian Dahi was skilled at farming other people’s land. In the Jizhou region, when two neighboring households shared a boundary, they would plant a small mulberry tree, called a "mulberry slope." Every spring when plowing, he would always remind the workers to push the mulberry slope outward. He would personally stand at the edge of the field to supervise, making the livestock push as hard as possible outward. Even if the plow hit the root of the mulberry tree and broke a few plowshares, he didn’t care. After all, he had to encroach on someone else’s land by a plot or two. The mulberry tree near Tian Dahi’s land never thrived. It was half dead on his side and half alive on the neighbor’s side. This made the children in the area, who wanted to raise silkworms in the spring, have no mulberry leaves to eat and had to climb the trees to pick elm leaves.
Gao Sihai pulled the cart into the road ditch and rode it, wobbling along. Spring looked at the main road leading to the city alone. On the road, except for the occasional whirlwind twisting sand and straw and jumping over the ditch into the wheat field, there wasn’t even a single bird to be seen. The villages everywhere seemed closed off. No smoke was rising from the roofs of any houses. Spring looked at the road and thought: If there were no enemies, this road would be filled with carts carrying manure and soil, the sounds of animals being driven, the cracking of whips, and children going out to cut grass and herd sheep. On such a fine day, women might dress up and go to nearby temple fairs, while men would take their savings and belongings to go into business. Their wives would see them off all the way to the roadside. On this road, there were often lively and festive wedding processions with drums and music. Those elderly musicians would always play cheerful and uplifting tunes. She thought: If the enemy occupied our country, we would have nothing left.
Spring opened the lid of the grenade and saw the Japanese cars. This child had never seen such strange vehicles before. They were carrying the enemy, cruelly trampling over her hometown’s land. The car drove through the wheat field that was in full bloom, the dense wheat bent down, leaving a long trail of grievances and pain behind the car. The girl was shaken. She bit her lips hard with force, one hand tightly gripping the tree trunk. The enemy’s vehicles and horses felt like they were crushing her chest!
Gao Sihai returned. "Uncle!" she called out to Gao Sihai. "The Japanese are coming. What do we do?" "Don’t panic!" Gao Sihai hid the cart and grass mat, tucked his pistol into his waistband, and took off his shoes. The old man climbed the tree as if he were a monkey. His two hands gripped the smooth body of the big leaf poplar, bending his body like walking. "It’s too late to send a message even if I go," Spring said anxiously. "We should throw a grenade to let the village know!" "Wait for me to count," Gao Sihai said, one hand holding a branch, stretching out to look. He said, "The enemy’s numbers aren’t large. Don’t alarm them!" "What if they burn down the village?" Spring said. "The army has already prepared for this. It’s like a pouch. Once they go in, we’ll close it!" Gao Sihai whispered.