Chapter 16: Master of Deception

Dabao wanted to shut himself off: “Can’t you help me just once?”

Geng Zhiyé: “Doesn’t your mom realize why she can’t do this or that?”

Dabao looked down at himself, so small that he could drown if he fell into the kitchen sink, and didn’t want to respond to his dad, who kept saying things that hit him right in the heart.

Geng Zhiyé put down Erbao, gave her a stool, told her to sit next to Dabao, then took the vegetables out of the cupboard.

Dabao reminded him that there were clams in the basin under the cutting board.

“Why did you buy clams again?” Geng Zhiyé carried the basin out.

Dabao: “Mom only knows the few things you taught her. I want long fish, but mom doesn’t know how to cook that.”

“Ribbon fish? It’s good when fried. We’re almost out of oil.” Geng Zhiyé thought for a moment about what other fish to buy, “I’ll get fragrant snails and oysters tomorrow, and also buy a—”

Dabao: “Crucian carp!”

“Too many bones, you two won’t be able to eat it.”

“But grandma made it before.”

Geng Zhiyé: “Crucian carp is fatty in winter. In the capital, there’s not much seafood, so your grandma didn’t have many options. Let’s just buy shrimp. Has mom made it before?”

Dabao huffed angrily: “Boiled in water. Mom said it’s delicious. Of course, it’s delicious when she makes it.”

Geng Zhiyé wanted to laugh: “Are you saying shrimp doesn’t taste good, touching your little conscience?”

Dabao thought it didn’t taste good, but strangely enough, it was delicious even when boiled in just water: “Dad, mom doesn’t know how to cook.”

Geng Zhiyé caught the implication in his words. Ye Fan’s cooking skills weren’t quite at the level where boiled shrimp would taste good: “Fresh ingredients don’t need a lot of seasoning. Take the sea bass I bought before I left for home—when we steamed it, we didn’t add much to it.”

Dabao was puzzled: “Isn’t the food in the capital bad?”

Geng Zhiyé: “Here, the fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs take at least three hours from being caught to being served on the table—maybe two hours. Seafood in the capital hasn’t even made it out of the Tianjin area after two or three hours.”

Dabao half-understood: “Isn’t it because mom’s cooking got better?”

Geng Zhiyé was confused: “Is mom’s cooking good? Even though dad’s a regiment commander and a soldier who has to patrol ships for days, if mom didn’t know how to cook, what would you eat?”

Such a simple idea, Dabao couldn’t fail to understand: “Mom’s cooking is good, her tail is so high it could reach the sky.”

Geng Zhiyé could easily imagine Ye Fan, full of pride, taking advantage of the opportunity to teach Geng Dabao a lesson: “You can pretend not to notice, eat and drink as usual. Anyway, your mom won’t let you go hungry.”

“She dares! No one can stop her, Ye Fan dares to do anything!” Dabao shouted loudly.

Geng Zhiyé pulled out the cleaned clams: “Unless you’re going to be rebellious again. Otherwise, your mom wouldn’t dare.”

“I understand her.”

“I understand her!”

Geng Zhiyé: “She’s my wife, and we’ve known each other for seven years. Where were you seven years ago?”

“I— Seven years ago, Dabao was standing in line at the Naihe Bridge waiting to be reincarnated.”

Dabao: “I’m not coming out! You’re helping mom bully me! I’m going to tell grandma, grandpa, grandpa and grandma, and my aunt and uncle!”

Geng Zhiyé poured the dirty water into the bucket and started washing vegetables: “Dabao, I don’t think the vegetables are from the market?”

“I don’t know!” Dabao said without even looking.

When children are upset, they should vent their feelings; otherwise, if they bottle it up too long, it might cause distance between them and their parents. Geng Zhiyé smiled indifferently: “Erbao, tell dad.”

“No talking!”

Geng Zhiyé: “It seems they weren’t bought. Who sent them? The Chief of Staff’s wife is a worker’s child and isn’t good at growing vegetables. Commissar Liao’s vegetables haven’t even sprouted yet. It’s been four months since the reinforcements came, and the family members have been here for less than three months. Anyone who could grow vegetables in such a short time must be not only hardworking but also skilled—Comrade Liu Guihua.”

Dabao’s eyes widened as he covered his mouth.

Erbao looked at his brother with confusion, but Erbao didn’t say anything.

Geng Zhiyé smiled and asked, “Do you want to know how dad guessed?”

Dabao wanted to know, but didn’t want to give in.

The four-year-old didn’t need to be lectured like this. Geng Zhiyé continued, “Your mom didn’t have any friends when she first arrived here, and the number of people who brought her vegetables is very few. It should be those who were waiting to fetch water. Among them, only Liu Guihua had been in the countryside before coming with the army. Almost everyone in the countryside knows how to grow crops.”

Dabao wasn’t convinced: “Miaomiao Jie’s family has vegetables.”

“They haven’t grown yet. These vegetables, without the roots, are this long, and with the roots, they’re this tall.”

Geng Zhiyé gestured on the ground. “Geng Dabao, dad’s giving you another lesson. What should you say?”

Geng Dabao: “You’re my dad, you, you—”

“Should I teach you?”

Geng Dabao nodded: “Yes! Also, what Uncle said, I forgot.” He looked frustrated saying the last three words.

Geng Zhiyé: “Is it my duty to guide you?”

Dabao’s eyes lit up: “Dad knows?”

“Everything your uncle knows, I know. And anything he doesn’t know, I know too.” Geng Zhiyé opened the cupboard again. “Rice or noodles?”

Dabao: “I want steamed buns!”

Looks like his son really didn’t like rice. Geng Zhiyé asked, “Has Fanfan ever made fried rice?”

Dabao and Erbao both shook their heads: “Fanfan can’t cook!”

Ye Fan came in.

“What can’t I do?”

Dabao: “Dad didn’t teach you, can you make tofu fish?”

Ye Fan wanted to sew his little mouth shut. He was only four years old, but he could talk more than someone forty.

“I can knit sweaters, can your dad?”

Dabao shook his head: “Dad didn’t say he could.”

Ye Fan’s heart skipped a beat: “Geng Zhiyé, go to the hospital and get yourself a more obedient one.”

Dabao, looking curious, asked: “I wasn’t picked up from a garbage heap, was I?”

Ye Fan was immediately so angry her body swayed. Geng Zhiyé instinctively reached out to steady her, but Ye Fan froze for a moment, clearly not expecting him to act. Geng Zhiyé realized she was pretending, both angry and amused: “Stand properly.”

“Geng Dabao can’t be kept anymore.”

Geng Zhiyé took out the steamed buns: “Let me ask you first, did you tell him nonsense again?”

Dabao nodded: “Dad, when you’re not at home, mom lies to me and Erbao every day. Yesterday, she said me and Erbao were picked up from a garbage heap. The day before, she said we were picked up at the train station. She also said someone gave us to her. Mom, I want a little brother, can you go pick one up?”

Ye Fan was really annoyed.

“Geng Dabao, aren’t you tired of saying so much?”

Dabao wasn’t tired, but he was thirsty. But mom wouldn’t let him pour water by himself, so he told dad he was thirsty.

Ye Fan: “Tough it out!”

“What are you saying?” Geng Zhiyé tugged at her, “Heat up the steamed buns. Come on, you two.” He waved to the children. “Follow me.”

Dabao and Erbao went to the living room.

Both thermoses were under the coffee table. Geng Zhiyé moved them to the dining table, which was against the wall: “Fanfan, don’t put the thermoses under the coffee table in the future, it’s easy to kick them over.”

“Got it.” Ye Fan used to not worry about such small things. “Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?”

Geng Zhiyé looked around: “Be more careful usually, don’t let Dabao and Erbao get to the scissors or the kitchen knife.”

Dabao: “I won’t touch them!”

Erbao nodded: “Cut hands!”

Geng Zhiyé: “You two are good kids. Do you want some milk powder?”

Dabao went to his room, opened his little cabinet, and took out a box of milk powder: “Mom said we can’t drink too much.”

“Fanfan is worried that you and Erbao will drink too much and won’t be hungry. If you want to grow as tall as mom and dad, you need to eat more food, more vegetables, and meat. Dabao, do you know why mom likes to make fish and shrimp?”

Dabao nodded: “Because they have meat. But I want to eat, I want to eat marinated chicken.”

Erbao loudly added: “Roast duck!”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head: “There’s no roast duck or marinated chicken here. But we can ask Fanfan to take you to…”

“Let’s go to the fishing village and take a look.” He handed the milk powder back to Dabao, who took it back to his room. Geng Zhiyé then led the two kids back to the kitchen. “Fanfan, although we can’t privately trade, we can barter.”

Ye Fan immediately understood: “I’ll talk to the commune secretary tomorrow.”

Geng Zhiyé nearly bit his tongue: “That’s not what I meant.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have more experience in this matter than you. I’ll make sure no one can pick on it.” Ye Fan looked at the two kids, “Just now outside, what were you two blabbering about me?”

Dabao took a sip of milk powder and held the bottle up to his sister’s mouth: “Quick, drink.”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head and laughed: “Why are there so many people today? You didn’t invite them, right?”

Ye Fan went outside with the bucket to fetch water and prepare for cooking, just as Liao Miaomiao came with her younger siblings to play with Dabao and Erbao. The young girl was warm-hearted and wanted to help Ye Fan fetch water. Ye Fan casually mentioned that they could come to her house to fetch water in the future.

As the golden sun set, many military wives came out to fetch water. Liao Miaomiao’s mother, Zhuang Qiuyue, was one of them. Liao Miaomiao waved at her mom. Liu Guihua, who lived behind the Geng family, passed by the Geng house and saw this scene. Since no one called her in, she felt embarrassed to enter but asked the wife of the chief of staff next door if there was any water left in the jar.

Liu Guihua spoke so loudly in front of the Geng house that it was as if she had a loudspeaker, and Ye Fan could hear her clearly from the courtyard. Not wanting to pretend she didn’t hear, Ye Fan called them in to fetch water from their own home. Only Zhuang Qiuyue came in, the others felt too shy. But when there were more people, the awkwardness was shared—soon seven or eight military wives and a group of children arrived.

By the time Geng Zhiyé got home, several people had already finished fetching water and were heading back.

Liu Guihua thought the Geng family’s water was private and felt guilty about taking it. She planned to give Ye Fan some of her homegrown vegetables in return.

It was Liu Guihua’s first time using the water well, and she thought, like a regular well, many people fetching water would eventually dry it up. Her family still needed four buckets of water, so in her hurry and impatience, she grabbed a large handful of vegetables with a sickle.

When Geng Zhiyé heard Ye Fan mention this, he couldn’t help but interrupt: “No wonder the vegetables have no roots. Hey, wait a minute, how do you know she was worried the water in the well would run out?”

Dabao replied, “Aunt Guihua said so. Aunt Guihua was all loud, saying there’s still water.”

Geng Zhiyé looked at Ye Fan: “All loud?”

Ye Fan rolled her eyes at him: “Could I say that in front of so many people? Miaomiao said she has a loud voice, always being so noisy.”

Dabao nodded: “Aunt Zhuang doesn’t let Miaomiao say that.”

Ye Fan asked, “Then why did you say it?”

“There was no one else around. Daddy, are you going to tell Aunt Guihua?”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head: “But you still shouldn’t say it. Because there are ears on the other side of the wall. Fanfan, turn on the small stove.”

“I’ll cook.”

Liu Guihua’s vegetables were very tender. Ye Fan told Geng Zhiyé to cook the clams and vegetables in plain water.

Dabao, furious, suddenly stood up: “Mom!”

Ye Fan jumped in surprise: “What—what’s wrong with you?”

Geng Zhiyé told his son to sit down: “What’s the hurry? I’m cooking. Just because Mom says to cook it in water, I’m going to cook it in water?”

Dabao looked at him sideways. His expression was exactly like Ye Fan’s sometimes. Geng Zhiyé couldn’t help but laugh: “Dad guarantees it will be different from what Mom does.”

Ye Fan understood: “So you don’t want it boiled in water? Geng Dabao, ungrateful little brat! I’m doing it to preserve the original taste of the ingredients.”

Dabao didn’t understand: “You can only talk, you can’t cook.”

Ye Fan was taken aback: “Are you rebelling? I never saw you be picky before! Geng D—”

“Fanfan!” Geng Zhiyé interrupted. “How many times have you cooked? How old are you? How old is Dabao?”

Dabao nodded: “Mom’s bullying me because I’m younger!”

“Stop talking!” Geng Zhiyé glared at his son. “I’ve seen siblings argue, but I’ve never seen a mother and son bickering every day. Are you proud of winning? Dabao, are you happy when you make your mom angry enough to make her sick?”

Dabao blinked. His mom was so strong—could he really make her sick?

Geng Zhiyé paused when he saw Dabao’s reaction. Dabao didn’t have that kind of power. Ye Fan wouldn’t tolerate it. If she got really angry, she would definitely give Dabao a few hits to vent.

Erbao stood up, grabbed his brother’s hand, and then pulled his mom’s hand: “Shake hands, good friends.”

Ye Fan and Dabao were both stunned.

Geng Zhiyé laughed out loud: “Look how well-behaved Erbao is. You two should learn from him.”

Erbao nodded: “Fanfan, Dabao, learn from me!”

“Dream on!”

The mother and son exchanged a look and pulled their hands back, glaring at Erbao.

Erbao looked helplessly at his dad. He had tried his best.

Geng Zhiyé sighed: “You should calm down too. Fanfan, put in two pieces of firewood. Dabao, keep an eye on the fire.”

Ye Fan stood up: “Why me?”

“I’m making a sauce. You watch.” Geng Zhiyé handed her a head of garlic. “From now on, we’ll use this sauce for boiling. I see sesame oil in the cabinet. Did you buy that recently?”

Ye Fan nodded: “It’s for steaming egg custard for them. It’s even more expensive than in the capital.”

Geng Zhiyé: “Anything that needs to be shipped from the shore is expensive. Dabao, doesn’t your mom love you?”

Dabao shook his head: “I didn’t say Mom doesn’t love me. Mom, can you stop making me angry?”

Ye Fan: “You could stop…”

“Are you trying to make me angry?”

Great, the conversation fell apart again. Geng Zhiyé helplessly wanted to laugh: “You two should just stop talking for a bit.” Seeing Ye Fan struggling to peel the garlic, Geng Zhiyé took it, smashed it with a knife, and handed it to her. Ye Fan suddenly realized: “No wonder Comrade Tao Chunlan always smashes the garlic first.”

Dabao, seeing that his mom didn’t understand, asked: “Dad, are you better at cooking than Mom?”

Geng Zhiyé replied: “Your mom used to be weak, and your grandparents didn’t let her do any work. When I was young, your aunt was small and needed someone to take care of her. Your grandma couldn’t cook, your grandpa was busy with work, and your eldest uncle was away at university. If it wasn’t me, it was your second uncle.”

Dabao looked at his mom: “But Mom is fine now.”

Geng Zhiyé nodded: “She’s fine now, but when she was your and Erbao’s age, she was often in the hospital.”

Dabao looked at him with suspicion.

Geng Zhiyé said: “You can ask Grandma to confirm.”

At this point, Dabao couldn’t help but believe him: “Fanfan, let’s make up.”

Ye Fan rolled her eyes at him, scooping the clams out, washing the pot, and adding water to blanch the vegetables.

Dabao spread his hands, looking at his dad: “You saw it, right?”

Geng Zhiyé said: “See, if we don’t talk, we won’t argue.”

“Dad, I don’t blame you for helping Fanfan.”

Geng Zhiyé didn’t respond: “Is there still fire under the pot?”

Dabao shoved a small stick into the fire: “There are only a few pieces of firewood left.”

Seizing the chance, Ye Fan said to Geng Zhiyé: “Miao Miao’s mom asked me to go up the mountain with her to collect firewood. But if I’m not at home, what will happen to the two of them?”

Geng Zhiyé asked Dabao: “The door is locked from the outside, and you and Erbao are playing in the yard?”

Dabao nodded: “Mom needs to come back quickly.”

Geng Zhiyé: “Dad will be back at noon.”

Dabao turned to Ye Fan: “Am I being good?”

Ye Fan ignored him. Geng Zhiyé praised him for being good and then told Ye Fan that he gave the kitchen staff a few dozen yuan. They would be bringing coal and the stove over in the next few days. Once he finished making the coal balls, they wouldn’t have to worry about running out of firewood at home.

“When are we going to build the toilet? The bricks and cement have already been delivered,” Ye Fan asked.

Geng Zhiyé: “Around the middle of the month, when the moon is bright, the political commissar and the chief of staff and I can finish it in one or two hours. Once ours is done, we’ll help build for the other two families.”

Ye Fan remembered hearing Commissar Liao exclaiming “There’s a typhoon!” that day. “Wasn’t Commissar Liao raised by the sea?”

“His hometown has mountains, not the sea. He grew up by a lake. He was stationed in the southwest before. The chief of staff is from the northern seaside city, and his wife is too. If you don’t know how to cook the seafood you bought, you can ask them.” Geng Zhiyé poured some sauce over the clams, and left a little to pour over the vegetables.

Dabao pulled his sister to the living room to move the table and stools.

Geng Zhiyé heard the noise and glanced at the living room, softly saying, “Dabao is so thoughtful.”

“He’s just too thoughtful.” Ye Fan couldn’t help but mutter softly, “He treats himself like an adult every day. He doesn’t act like a child at all.”

Geng Zhiyé chuckled, “Don’t be ungrateful. There are all kinds of people. Besides, would you be happy if he called you every day to hold him, or to go potty and play in the mud?”

Ye Fan imagined it and shivered.

Geng Zhiyé handed her two bowls of vegetables, “Wash Dabao and Erbao’s hands. I’ll get the buns out. Don’t come in here.”

Ye Fan took them to the water well, holding the pump with one hand and holding Dabao’s hand with the other to wash his hands. After cleaning his hands, she washed Erbao’s hands. The water from washing their hands flowed into the vegetable garden.

Geng Zhiyé came out to find the three of them and saw the land between the water well and the fence had been planted with vegetables. “Did you plant this?”

Ye Fan: “Miaomiao’s mom helped me plant it. I plan to plant the entire area on the east side these next few days.”

“Take it slow. Dabao and Erbao are still young. I’m often not home, and buying food won’t cost much.” Geng Zhiyé picked up Dabao, and Ye Fan carried Erbao. The family returned to the house to eat.

After the meal, Geng Zhiyé cleaned up the kitchen and then heated water.

The family washed up, and the firewood was neatly used. For the first time, Geng Zhiyé realized he needed to hurry up and make coal balls. But before that, there was something else. Geng Zhiyé coaxed the two children to sleep and then handed Ye Fan a letter once they were in the bedroom.

Ye Fan looked at the creases on the letter, “I thought you weren’t planning to give this to me.”

Geng Zhiyé was shocked: “How did you know???”

Ye Fan spoke as she opened the letter: “When you were cooking, the envelope peeked out from your pants pocket. We just left the house, and your dad wouldn’t be in such a hurry to write you a letter. If it was something important from Aunt Yu or Xiaoqin, they would send a telegram. A letter from your friends or comrades isn’t something you’d wait to open when you got back. If you eliminate the impossible, only one possibility remains.”

Geng Zhiyé lifted the blanket and sat up: “I’m afraid your mother misses you and wants you to go back.”

“She’s inconsiderate, but my sister-in-law and dad wouldn’t indulge her.”

Geng Zhiyé asked, “What does the letter say?”

Ye Fan frowned: “It seems like… a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Geng Zhiyé took the letter and began reading. The beginning said that she was worried Ye Fan wouldn’t know how to sew the quilts, so she sent them two new ones. Geng Zhiyé wasn’t surprised at all; in Tao Chunlan’s eyes, Ye Fan was still a little girl who needed looking after, even at eighty years old.

In the middle, the letter expressed longing for Dabao and Erbao. It said that with Dabao and Erbao not at home, the house was so quiet that even speaking made the sound echo. Geng Zhiyé thought to himself that in the future, Dabao could become a judge—plaintiffs, defendants, and lawyers would all be at his mercy.

He was rendered speechless by what he said, and the efficiency of case decisions was greatly improved. It would certainly save the country a lot of manpower, material, and financial resources.

Upon seeing the words “Chen Xiaohui,” Geng Zhiyé raised an eyebrow and turned to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan asked, “Did you see it?”

“Chen Xiaohui goes straight to her room after work and won’t come out if she’s not called for dinner? Does my mother-in-law think she’s like a maid? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? You used to—”

Ye Fan nodded: “I didn’t do much laundry or cooking, but when Tao Chunlan was washing clothes, I pumped the water. When she was stir-frying, I handed her the spatula. When she washed dishes and pots, I chatted with her.”

“If she doesn’t want to go back to the Ye family, she can stay in Shencheng. If my father-in-law and mother-in-law were a bit more decisive, when Chen Xiaohui said she was just coming to have a look, my mother-in-law would have told her to make herself comfortable. Chen Xiaohui’s mixed signals—this is something Ye Fan had told Geng Zhiyé, ‘She wants both sides. My mother-in-law hasn’t said anything, though.’”

Ye Fan continued, “When we came here that day, she knew to use the car to carry the package. She waited for us to get on the bus before leaving, so it didn’t seem like she thought of herself as some young lady. Maybe there’s a misunderstanding? When people suddenly have free time, they start to overthink. Moreover, my mom has had a problem with Chen Xiaohui’s attitude from the start. You can send a letter to Xiaoqin and ask her what happened.”

Geng Zhiyé nodded, “I’ll write it right now.”

The next morning, Geng Zhiyé received a letter from his sister.

Politician Liao handed over the schedule for next month: “You can look at it after work; for now, take a look at this.”

Geng Zhiyé glanced at it and shook his head, “You, me, and the chief of staff—each of us will take one week, each with a battalion commander.”

“What about Deputy Commander Niu? If we don’t let him do duty, he’ll complain and say we look down on him. As for on-the-spot command, he’s better than both me and the chief of staff combined.”

“What about Deputy Commander Niu? If we don’t let him do duty, he’ll complain and say we look down on him. As for on-the-spot command, he’s better than both me and the chief of staff combined.”

Geng Zhiyé replied, “He has more military honors than I do. When I just graduated from military academy and went to the front lines, he was already a company commander. But why is it that I’m the one with the rank, and he’s the deputy?”

Politician Liao immediately replied without hesitation, “Impulsive!”

“When we patrol and run into bald people, they’ll deliberately provoke us. What do you think Old Niu would do?”

“F*** them!” Politician Liao thought of Deputy Commander Niu’s catchphrase. If the same situation happened to the three of them, they’d shout back with a loudspeaker. It was a cowardly move, but with their current strength, they had no choice.

“Are you going to explain this to him?”

Geng Zhiyé stuffed the letter into his pocket, grabbed the patrol schedule, and crossed out the name “Niu Dayong.” “Old Niu’s temper is foul and stubborn, but he’s easy to handle. When we board the ship, just say someone has to stay behind at home. When we’re on duty, say that if everyone is constantly switching between day and night shifts, we might not be able to think clearly in case of an emergency. Someone has to stay alert at all times.”

Politician Liao responded, “And if they ask why it’s him?”

“Why him?”

“Experienced, physically fit, I feel at ease with him around. Besides, didn’t we let him off duty for the holidays?”

Politician Liao’s expression was complicated. “During the holidays, all the officers have to stand guard.”

“That’s just sophistry!”

Geng Zhiyé stood his ground, “If you can’t say it, then take him along during the patrols, or ask the chief of staff to take him along.”

Politician Liao scratched his nose and softly suggested, “Actually, none of us need to board the ship.”

Geng Zhiyé exclaimed in surprise, “Still seasick?”

“Who said I’m seasick?” Politician Liao hurriedly asked.

The office door was pushed open, and Deputy Commander Niu walked in with large strides. “Talking about me? And you grew up by the lake?”

“The lake’s not the same as the sea!” Politician Liao shouted in defense, but his argument lacked strength.

Geng Zhiyé calmly stood up and draped his arm around Deputy Commander Niu’s shoulder, as if they were good friends. “Don’t mind him. He still talks tough. Just the right time, we’re discussing the duty schedule. Old Liao thinks you should lead a team, but I disagree. You should patrol together and help him adjust. I don’t trust him leading the team.”

Deputy Commander Niu glanced at the duty schedule, his name crossed out. “As expected of the commander, thinking ahead. I’m also not at ease with him. He gets seasick at the slightest wave. If he was sold back to his hometown in the foot basin, he’d think he was meeting a fellow villager.”

“Who are you calling a little devil?” Politician Liao slammed the table in anger. “Just listen to him. Next time, if you get sold, you’ll still thank him happily.”