100 Tips to Improve the Quality of Junior High School Entrance Exam Essays

Author: Wang Shuqing, Hu Man / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The Mysterious Disappearance of a Wife and Child on Dragon Boat Festival Eve
There are still two days to go before the Dragon Boat Festival, and the people of Fugui Village are busy. This Fugui Village, though named as such, is actually a poor and remote mountain village. Occasionally, a few "golden phoenixes" fly out, and Xiao Shun is one of them. Just last year, he graduated from medical school and was fulfilling his duty in the city hospital. At home, he has an elderly mother and a pregnant wife. They don’t know where Xiao Shun works because the village is so isolated—the only connection to the outside world is the postman who comes only once a month.
Every year, Xiao Shun would send a letter home a month before the Dragon Boat Festival, so his mother and wife would receive it in time to prepare for his return. But this year is different. With only two days to go before the festival, his letter still hasn’t arrived. The mother and daughter-in-law aren’t too worried, thinking he might be busy and forgot to write, but they’re sure he’ll come home for the festival anyway, just like every year.
The Dragon Boat Festival comes around quickly. The village head, following tradition, buys a long string of firecrackers with money collected from every household and sets them off with a deafening bang. According to their customs, all the men in the village must kneel in a circle 4 meters away from the firecrackers and pray. But when they realize Xiao Shun isn’t there, the village head sends someone to fetch him. Then, all the men in the village know—Xiao Shun didn’t come back. Soon after, all the women in the village know—Xiao Shun didn’t come home for the Dragon Boat Festival! In this poor mountain village with little news, the women begin to spread the story in their unique way, vividly recounting this "extraordinary report."
Now, the news spreads like wildfire: Xiao Shun, the fake filial son, has abandoned his wife and child and is living a carefree life in the city, even keeping a mistress! The mother and daughter-in-law of the Xiao family stay indoors all day. The wife, who had always trusted her husband, is now overwhelmed with tears, her big belly a constant reminder of the rumors. She can’t believe it but can’t help but doubt. Only the mother-in-law firmly believes her son wouldn’t do such a thing. She constantly comforts her daughter-in-law with a resolute voice: "Xiao Shun wouldn’t do it, he wouldn’t!"
One day, the mother-in-law hears another village woman talking about her son outside. Ignoring her daughter-in-law’s pleas, she stubbornly uses her cane to slowly make her way to the door, opens it, and says just one thing: "Xiao Shun wouldn’t do it, he wouldn’t!" Before she finishes speaking, Xiao Shun stands right in front of his mother!
It turns out that Xiao Shun, who had been working on the front lines against the "non-classical pneumonia" epidemic, had just finished his duty and was quarantined in a hotel for more than a week before rushing home, which is why he was late. So, the women start saying, "Xiao Shun is truly filial!" The wife begins to say, "He is my husband." And the mother-in-law still insists, "He wouldn’t do something like that!"
Insightful Review
"Why didn’t the son come back?" This blank point has kept people’s attention and is one of the highlights of this article. P8-P10