The World of Ping Dan - High School Part (Upper, Middle, Lower) - Revised Edition

Author: Lu Yao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In early February or March of 1975, on an ordinary day, fine rain mixed with a few snowflakes was drifting down toward the earth. The season was approaching spring, and the snow would naturally not last. Often, before it even landed, it had vanished without a trace. The harsh and long winter on the Loess Plateau seemed to be coming to an end, but the truly warm spring was still far off. On such rainy and snowy days, if there was nothing urgent to do, people would rather stay indoors all day. As a result, the streets and alleys of the county town were quieter than usual. In the shaded parts of the streets, the remaining snow and icicles from winter were melting under the raindrops, and dirty water was flowing everywhere on the stone-paved streets. The wind was still cold. Occasionally, an countryside person would walk by on the empty streets, wearing a worn felt hat to protect their head, with a basket of potatoes or radishes slung over their arm, weakly calling out for buyers. Alas, the city completely lost its vitality on such days, becoming utterly unattractive. Only in the large courtyard of the county high school at the halfway point of the mountain, was there a lively scene. Just as the lunch bell rang, groups of men and women ran out from the rows of uneven stone caves. They made a tremendous noise with their bowls and chopsticks, splashing through the courtyard, shouting and running toward the base of the wall of the administrative building on the south side. The vast courtyard was instantly trampled into a muddy mess by this chaotic crowd. Meanwhile, the day students from the city were also streaming out of the east gate of the school. Holding umbrellas, they chatted and laughed as they walked along a long downhill path paved with flat stones from years ago, soon disappearing into the city streets. At the base of the south wall in the schoolyard, several rows of students had already formed according to their classes. The class monitors were busy distributing food to everyone. Each person’s meal had been registered and paid for with meal tickets the day before, so the process was not complicated. Now, the monitors simply gave out the pre-ordered portion according to the meal schedule. The dishes were divided into three grades: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Class A mainly consisted of potatoes, cabbage, and vermicelli, with some mouth-watering slices of meat, costing three cents per portion. Class B was the same as Class A but without meat, costing one and a half cents per portion. Class C was far inferior, consisting of boiled white radishes—apparently, to hide how bland it was, a few drops of symbolic chili oil were added. However, the price was cheap, only five cents per portion. The Class A dishes were served in small bowls, indicating that few students could afford meat. The Class C dishes were also served in small bowls, showing that not many people ate this inferior meal. Only the Class B dishes were served in large porcelain foot bowls, filling them to the brim, clearly indicating that most people ate this meal that was neither luxurious nor shabby. The staple foods were also divided into three grades: white wheat buns, cornmeal buns, and millet buns; white, yellow, and black, with color indicating the difference. The students jokingly called them Europe, Asia, and Africa. From the dense crowd queuing, most of them came from rural areas, with traces of manual labor on their faces and bodies. Except for a few whose clothing was as rustic as their peasant parents, these young people, now regarded as "teachers" by their own parents, were dressed relatively decently. Although the farmers in the impoverished mountainous areas were often short on food and clothing, they would spare no expense to make a few decent clothes for their children, who were studying in the big city. Of course, there were a few well-off rural students in the crowd, whose clothing was no different from that of the children of urban cadres, and they often wore a shiny watch on their wrists. Some of these "foreigners" stood among the masses, like a crane among chickens, without hiding their superiority. They queued behind the extraordinary Class A dish bowls, though few in number, they stood out conspicuously. In the desolate and impoverished Loess Plateau, a county high school, even if it were the county’s highest institution of learning, could never afford to build a dining hall for the students. Whether the weather was good or bad, everyone ate outdoors. Fortunately, these young people all came from mountain villages, who hadn’t eaten in the wild mountains and fields? Therefore, they didn’t mind this at all. On sunny days, everyone would squat in groups with their close friends, laughing and finishing their meals. But today was different. Everyone who had received their meal used a straw hat or their elbow to protect their bowl, staggering through the courtyard like a muddy swamp, and ran back to their dormitories. In no time, there were few people left at the meal area. Most class monitors had also gone. Now, only the monitor of Class 1 (Grade 11) was left alone in the empty meal area. She was a short and plump girl. The three dish bowls in front of her were already empty, and there were only four black millet buns left in the basket. These black things were not hers, as she was holding a white wheat bun and a cornmeal bun, with what looked like Class B in her bowl. She held her meal, standing unhappily under the eaves, clearly waiting for the last latecomer—this must be a poor kid, who not only ate the worst staple food but couldn’t even afford a five-cent Class C dish! The snowflakes suddenly increased in the rain, making the distance increasingly indistinct. The city was silent. Faintly, the crow of a rooster could be heard from far away, adding a dreamlike gloom to the gray sky. At that moment, a tall and thin young man walked over from the northern end of the empty courtyard. He was holding a bowl in his armpit, hunching his shoulders as he stumbled through the mud. The boy had a yellow and thin face, with slightly sunken cheeks, giving his nose a tall and straight appearance like a Greek. His face seemed to have just shed its adolescent innocence—clearly, due to malnutrition, he had not yet radiated the youthful glow typical of his age. P3-5