Chapter 99: Light

After lunch, the mother and daughter stayed for a while before taking the car back home. Before leaving, they bought some snacks. The children, including Mingcheng, had never had snacks before. This time, with the money they earned, Zhang Lan didn’t hesitate to buy a pack of biscuits and a pack of candy for each child, along with a new pencil for each of them.

When the children returned from school, Zhang Lan took out the gifts she had bought for them. “Wow, biscuits and candy? Mom, are these for us to eat?” Mingyuan asked uncertainly.

Zhang Lan smiled and patted the child’s head. “Yes, I bought these especially for you. Don’t wait, come and have some.” She gave each child a biscuit and a handful of candy, which they tucked into their little pockets.

Mingyuan couldn’t wait to take a bite of the biscuit and savored it like a little rabbit. “Mom, the biscuits are really delicious. No wonder Uncle and Aunt often eat them. This is the taste.”

The child’s words made Zhang Lan feel deeply saddened. In the past, the good things in the house always ended up in the mouths of those two, and very little reached the children. No wonder Mingyuan didn’t remember the taste of biscuits.

“Good son, these are all for you to eat. When you’re craving them, Mom will buy more for you,” Zhang Lan said.

She opened the paper package containing the biscuits and distributed the rest to the siblings. “Zuo He, your grandmother said she can come on Sunday. Don’t forget to go to the station to pick her up. You and your brothers can go out to play, but don’t forget to come back for dinner.”

Zhang Lan sent the three boys out to play and asked her eldest daughter to stay and help her with the cooking. Wang Qian, feeling tired, lay down to rest on the heated brick bed.

For dinner, Zhang Lan made white flour pancakes. With the recent harvest in the space, she wanted the children to taste the flavor of the newly ground white flour.

Zhao Xia, from the front yard, caught a whiff of the delicious aroma coming from the Wang household and called out from the back window, “Sister Lan, what are you cooking? It smells so good!”

Zhang Lan knew that Zhao Xia had a keen sense of smell and was a food lover. Although she was poor and didn’t have much good food to eat, she was known for her voracious appetite in the village. In Wang Qian’s view, Zhao Xia was someone who knew how to indulge herself. After all, there was nothing wrong with enjoying food, as long as it wasn’t at the expense of others. Everyone gets hungry, but it’s just a matter of how it’s expressed.

Zhang Lan smiled and replied, “I’m not cooking anything special. I just added a few extra drops of oil when stir-frying. Have you finished cooking at your place?”

“Not yet, I’m going to do it now.”

Wang Qian said as she watched Zhao Xia leave the back window. “Mom, is she really in no hurry. She waits until it’s almost dark to start cooking. I wonder if she’s in a rush or not.”

Seeing her daughter’s head peeking out from the heated brick bed, Zhang Lan knew she had rested well. She felt sorry for her daughter, who had been through a lot these past few days, working in the space at such a young age. It pained her to see her daughter working so hard.

After preparing the meal, Wang Xuan went outside to feed the chickens, ducks, and geese, while Wang Qian remembered the remaining roots in the space that hadn’t been dug up yet. “Mom, what should we do with those roots? Should we dig them up when we go in next time and plant another crop?”

Before Zhang Lan could respond, an exciting announcement came over the loudspeaker from the mountaintop. “Attention, all community members, please note that our commune will be have access to electricity tomorrow. Each household should have someone available at home to facilitate the electrician’s installation of the wiring.”

Even Wang Qian could sense the excitement in the voice delivering the message, which was repeated three times before it concluded.

“Electricity! We’re getting electricity!” The children’s cheers echoed through the streets as Mingcheng rushed back to the yard with his younger siblings.

“Mom, did you hear that? We can use electric lights from now on. We won’t need kerosene lamps anymore,” Mingcheng exclaimed.

The siblings were particularly excited upon hearing the news. They could finally use electric lights for their homework. They had been eagerly anticipating this for a long time.

Wang Zhenhe also ran back home, feeling especially excited upon hearing the news. With electricity, the children wouldn’t have to strain their eyes when studying with the elderly gentlemen. Seeing the excitement on their faces, Zhang Lan couldn’t help but smile and said, “Husband, things will only get better from now on. Maybe in the future, we’ll even be able to live in a house with electric lights.”

Wang Zhenhe didn’t dare to think about that. He hadn’t even anticipated the current situation, so he didn’t dare to think about the future.

“Kids, we have electricity now. You won’t have to strain your eyes anymore. Dad is worried about your eyes. I don’t want you to end up like Old Chen, wearing glasses. It’s not fun at all. Have you seen how Old Chen can’t see anything clearly without his glasses?” Wang Zhenhe chuckled at the thought of Old Chen without his glasses.

“Dad, we need to buy light bulbs for our home. Without them, the electricity won’t be of much use,” Wang Qian added.

Wang Qian’s reminder made the couple realize that they hadn’t bought light bulbs yet. “Qianqian, Mom will go buy them tomorrow. We’ll be able to use electric lights in the evening.”

During dinner, the entire village was immersed in joy. After the meal, the excited residents couldn’t contain themselves and took to the streets to discuss the upcoming electrification. Everyone’s face was filled with excitement, and they were all looking forward to having electricity.

The next day, Wang Qian stayed at home by herself. Initially, Wang Zhenhe and his wife had planned to leave someone behind, but Wang Qian insisted on sending them off.

“Dad, you guys should go and do what you need to do. It’s just about getting electricity. I can handle it at home. If you’re really worried, you can come back halfway to check on me,” she said, waving her hand at her parents before turning back inside confidently.

With the couple off to work, leaving her alone at home, Wang Qian began to figure out how to install the electric lights. As their house was the first on the line, the electrician arrived at their home first. Seeing only a small child at home, the electrician couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned that the adults had left the child alone while they were getting electricity installed.

Not long after they left, Wang Zhenhe returned. He still couldn’t shake off his worry about leaving his daughter alone at home. Zhang Lan had full confidence in her daughter’s abilities, but she couldn’t ignore her husband’s concern.

When Wang Zhenhe entered the house, he saw his daughter directing the electrician on where to install the electric light wires.

The electricians, upon seeing the adults return, couldn’t help but joke, “Comrade, your little girl is really something. We’ve installed lights throughout the entire eastern part of the village, and we’ve never seen a child as imaginative as yours. In every household, the lights are installed above the door frame, but your daughter had a different request. She wanted the light to be installed in the center of the house. She said she was worried that her mom wouldn’t be able to see clearly while cooking. Quite interesting, isn’t it? Your daughter suggested that the light be installed in the center of the ceiling, and we followed her advice. This child, despite being young, seems quite remarkable.”

The electricians had installed lights in every household, with each one placed above the door frame. However, this family’s daughter had requested the light to be installed in the center of the house. Although it required extra effort, the adults were quite impressed by the girl’s creativity.

Wang Zhenhe was very pleased with his daughter’s arrangement and responded modestly to the praise, “Hehe, Comrade, as long as my daughter’s instructions were followed correctly, we’re grateful for your work and apologize for any inconvenience.”

As they worked, the electricians continued to chat and offer advice. Soon, the wires were threaded through the house and extended to the neighboring home. Before leaving, one of the electricians kindly reminded them to seal any holes in the walls to prevent drafts during the winter. They explained that to lay the wires, they had to pass through the walls of each household, leaving behind holes of various sizes.

Grateful for the advice, the father and daughter bid farewell to the electricians. After they left, Wang Zhenhe walked around the house and was satisfied with the placement of the lights.

Wang Zhenhe picked up his daughter and gave her a kiss. With her in the house, he felt at ease. “Daughter, I need to go do some work. I’ll install the light bulbs for you at noon. Take care of the house. I’ll be back soon.”

Wang Qian touched her face. Her father, though a bit absent-minded at times, loved his children and wasn’t so bad after all. She resolved to continue nurturing him and hoped to help him become a great father.

At night, every household was illuminated, and at this moment, no one was sparing any effort. After so many years in darkness, they could finally have their own light, just like the city folks.

After dinner, Wang Zhenhe took the children out for their studies as usual. In the front yard, Zhao Xia and the neighbors from the western courtyard of the Wang family gathered at the street entrance to enjoy the cool evening, engaging in casual conversation.

“Third Aunt, I saw your Younger brother-in-law walking with a girl today. I don’t know if she’s his girlfriend, but she looks decent,” Zhao Xia started gossiping. The neighbor was from the main branch of the Wang family, one generation younger than Wang Zhenhe, and they referred to Zhang Lan and her husband as Uncle and Aunt.

“Third Aunt, I don’t have high hopes for your brother-in-law. He doesn’t seem like someone who can handle life’s challenges. He’s fickle and unreliable. I wonder which girl would be foolish enough to be interested in him,” the neighbor added.

Everyone was aware of the situation in Zhang Lan’s family, so they didn’t hold back in expressing their opinions. Zhang Lan simply smiled and said, “Liu Hui, who knows what will happen with their family affairs? My mother-in-law is no ordinary person. I’ve suffered a lot at her hands. I’ve even brought suffering to my children.”

As they reminisced about the past, the two women comforted Zhang Lan. “Third Aunt, things are better now. Your family has separated, and you’ve moved out. The future will be better. Even if you have to give up everything, you don’t have to live with that mother-in-law of yours. Despite her smiling face in public, everyone knows who she really is.”

Liu Hui had heard her mother-in-law mention Zhu Qiyu’s past. When she was young, the old lady was no ordinary person; she was cunning and manipulative. Every recent incident in the Wang family had the shadow of the old lady behind it.

“By the way, Third Aunt, if your brother-in-law gets married, be careful that your mother-in-law doesn’t try to extort more from you. That old lady is not to be underestimated,” Liu Hui warned. She knew the neighbor’s situation, having experienced the hardships during the famine. If the old lady got involved again, the family would have no way out.

Hearing this, Zhang Lan also felt worried. “I don’t have that kind of money. Even if they force us, it won’t do any good.”