Sun Li Complete Works (Volume 4)

Author: Sun Li
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. "What! Where did this child come from?" Gao 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?" Gao Qingshan laughed, picked up the child, as if he were embracing his disaster-ridden motherland, and his eyes grew moist.
At mealtime, Gao Xiang arrived. The two old comrades met, shook hands, and were speechless for a long time. Gao 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've come 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!" Gao Qingshan was about to ask what the task was when Gao Xiang's father came with a little girl to see his son. Qiufen pulled the little girl and asked, "Who are you looking for?" The little 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 little girl smiled and said, "My mom!" This made everyone laugh. Gao Qingshan said to Gao Xiang, "I don't think I've ever seen her grow this tall!" Qiufen said, "You've never seen her? When you left, her mother had just given birth!" "It's because of these children that adults age so quickly," Gao Hai said with a smile. "Giving birth pushes them up!" Gao Xiang said, "I think it's still Qiufen's sister 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 had come back a few years later, I would have become a white-haired old woman. 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 carry some burden when leaving." "You still consider this easy to go home?" Qiufen asked. "I'm not going to argue with you," Gao Xiang smiled, "I'm going to talk to Gao Qingshan about the situation here and start working. You can go outside and play for a while first." Gao Hai 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. The sky was filled with stars. 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. Whichever family had land near the main road, they dug frozen pits according to the dimensions specified by the higher authorities. In the morning, the sun shone on the frost on the wheat, and the roads were filled with farmers swinging hoes and holding shovels. After Lao Wen recovered from his injury, he returned to work at Tian Daxiazi's house. Through the mediation of others, Lao Chang also returned and was appointed as the village's trade union director. Tian Daxiazi's daughter had given birth, and her in-laws came to announce the good news. Tian Daxiazi's wife busily prepared gifts—white flour, noodles, and steamed buns, filling four food boxes, which Lao Chang carried to deliver. Lao Chang entered and said, "Today, the higher authorities ordered us to dig ditches. I can't go." Tian Daxiazi's wife frowned and said, "Look at you, working! Are you paid by us or by your higher authorities? Everything you eat and drink comes from us. I don't even think your higher authorities have weighed you four ounces of tobacco. Why do you side with them? Which side is warmer?" Lao Chang said, "Digging ditches is a national matter, a matter for everyone. Naturally, we should lead the way. Your family has more land near the road. If I don't go, will you dig it yourself?" Tian Daxiazi's wife pouted, "When have I ever touched an iron hoe? The hoe handle is square or round, I don't know! Digging a pit or a trench can stop the Japanese? I think you're being pushed by poverty and not enjoying your blessings. Take the food boxes and go. You'll surely get two ounces of celebratory wine. Isn't that better than whistling in the cold wind and swinging a big hoe?" "Let your husband carry the food boxes and go," Lao Chang said. "When has your husband ever carried anything?" Tian Daxiazi's wife said, "At his own doorstep, he can't bear to lose face!" "Carrying a few things doesn't mean losing face," Lao Chang said. "If we had that many people, we'd have lost face long ago!" Lao Chang said, "Otherwise, he has to dig the ditches!" "Hmph!" Tian Daxiazi's wife said, "The laborer is telling the head of the household what to do!" "I am your family's laborer," Lao Chang said, "But I am also a village cadre. 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 Daxiazi's wife went into the inner room to discuss it. Although Tian Daxiazi was not very happy, he still chose to carry the food boxes. He thought this was easier than digging ditches. Lao Chang picked up the iron hoe and went to the street to gather people. Tian Daxiazi's wife dressed her husband up, tied a rope around him, and inserted the carrying pole. Tian Daxiazi started carrying the food boxes, but didn't feel them heavy. He stepped out of the door, went down the steps, into the corridor, and 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 after noon to still look like someone giving gifts!" "This isn't for fun," Tian Daxiazi 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 carrying pole, and the ropes on the food boxes weren't tied properly. The lid came off, and the white steamed buns 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 box. She pleaded, "You still have to go! I'll go outside and look for a time when no one is around, and you can go to the village!" "There are people digging ditches all over the field. How can I fly over?" Tian Daxiazi shouted, "I'll go and get the laborer back!" Tian Daxiazi said and went to the field. He saw Lao Wen swinging a big hoe, working with great vigor. He walked over, looked, and said, "I'm leaving the wheat, how can I dig it piece by piece? Don't you want me to eat wheat?" "There are dimensions!" Lao Wen said. "It's just a matter of water running over the ground, just to make a show for the moment!" Tian Daxiazi said. "You can't do that!" Lao Wen said, "The county magistrate will come to inspect later. If the dimensions aren't met, we'll be criticized!" "You go give gifts at home!" Tian Daxiazi took the hoe and sent Lao Wen away. He filled half of the already dug pit closer to the inside and extended it towards the main road. This way, he could preserve his own land and push the road to the neighboring field. Tian Daxiazi was skilled at renting and cultivating other people's land. In the customs of Jizhong, at the boundary between two neighboring fields, they would plant a small mulberry tree, called a "mulberry slope." Every spring when plowing, he would always remind the laborers 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 half a plot or a half a plot. The small mulberry tree by Tian Daxiazi'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 raised silkworms in the spring, have no mulberry leaves to eat. They had to climb the trees to pick mulberry leaves.
Gao Hai pulled the cart into the ditch and rode it, wobbling along. Spring watched the main road leading to the city alone. On the road, apart from 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, there would be carts carrying manure and soil on this road at this time, the sound of animals being driven, the sound of whips cracking in succession, and children going out to cut grass and herd sheep. On such a fine day, perhaps some women would dress up and go to nearby temple fairs, and some men would go out with their savings and luggage to do business. Their wives would see them off all the way to the roadside. On this road, there were often lively and festive flower carriages and music for wedding processions. 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 on her hometown's land. The car drove through the wheat field where the wheat was in flower, 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 her teeth, one hand tightly gripping the tree trunk. The enemy's vehicles and horses felt like they were crushing her chest!
Gao Hai returned. "Uncle!" she called out to Gao Hai. "The Japanese are coming. What do we do?" "Don't panic!" Gao Hai hid the cart and grass mat, tucked his pistol into his waistband, and took off his shoes. This old man climbed the tree as if he were a monkey. His two hands gripped the smooth body of the big-leaved poplar tree, bending his body like walking. "It's too late even to deliver a letter," Spring said anxiously. "Let's throw a grenade and let the village know!" "Wait for me to count," Gao Hai 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 made preparations. This is like a pouch. Once they go in, we'll close it!" Gao Hai whispered.