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◎1st update + 2nd update + 3rd update ◎
When Xue Lijun heard this, he felt a sinking feeling in his heart. He had been in this position for many years; how could he not understand the implication of Chen Siming’s words? Looking at the names of Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen above, he felt puzzled. Did these two people offend the factory director’s son?
“Director Chen, this matter was just brought to me by the factory employees, and I am still investigating the procedures. Look, I’ve only written a few words, when you came here.”
“Then that means I came just at the right time Director Xue. I happened to discover a big problem for you.” Chen Siming pulled out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out, and handed it to him. “Can a job position from over ten years ago be transferred just like that? Her name is Ding Xiaoxia, right? This comrade might have some objections. Besides, even if it were finalized, it would be impossible to complete the procedures right away.”
Holding the cigarette, Xue Lijun put it between his ears and went over Chen Siming’s words in his mind. He understood and said, “That’s right. We still need to sort out the situation carefully.”
“Yes, that’s reasonable.” Chen Siming said something to the other person and then left the factory director’s office.
Chen Siming, who was originally going back to his office, turned around and went straight to the spinning workshop.
***
After work, Xu Shengjie went to Hong Saner’s house first.
Hong Saner’s father, Hong Jixiang, had seen Xu Shengjie grow up. After losing his parents at a young age, he knew that Xu Shengjie would inevitably face some hardships. But despite his own difficulties as a child, he remained kind-hearted. There’s even a time where he carried Hong Saner, who had been bitten by a snake to the hospital. Since then, Hong Jixiang has treated Xu Shengjie as a family member.
“Xiaojie is here? Hurry, hurry, I’ve saved you a pound of pork offal.”
The meat processing factory offers good benefits. They give their employees the opportunity to get pig offal and other scraps without asking for meat tickets. Even if it’s not as good as fresh pork, it can at least fill your stomach and be considered a taste of meat.
That’s why so many people in the city are scrambling to get into the meat processing factory —after all, having enough to eat is the most important thing.
“Thank you, uncle!” Xu Shengjie took out fifty cents and handed it over. Pork costs ninety cents per pound, so this discounted price is nearly half off. Even the employees of the meat processing factory had to fight for it.
“Old Xu, don’t be polite. If Father manages to get some meat. We, as his sons, should only appreciate how quick the old man is.”
“Look at you!” Hong Jixiang indeed treats Xu Shengjie like a half-son. Thinking of his marriage, he added, “Xiaojie, when your aunt returns, bring your wife over for a meal.”
“Okay, I’ll bring Baozhen over for a meal then.”
Xu Shengjie carried the pound of pig offal home. By the time he reached the gate, it was exactly six thirty. Xu Shengwei was playing marbles with his two brothers Xiaolong and Xiaohu in the open space. When he saw his eldest brother coming back, he jumped up excitedly, “Brother, you’re back! I’ll help you carry it!”
After saying that, he snatched the pig offal from his eldest brother and hopped home, “Grandma, sister-in-law, brother is back.”
Pig offal has a strong smell, so Liang Baozhen washed it several times, blanched it, and then stir-fried it with chili peppers. This suppressed the smell, and finally after a few minutes. It now smelled of a delightful mix of chili and meat.
“Sister-in-law, it’s delicious.”
Xu Shengwei buried his head in the bowl and swallowed the spicy offal mixed with the chili pepper. Xu Shengya next to him couldn’t handle spice, so she prepared a bowl of plain water for her to drink. The little girl’s mouth was red from spice, but she was also very satisfied.
After spending some time with her granddaughter-in-law, Zhou Yun discovered that she was a good cook, and she felt that his grandson was blessed. “After dinner, you two should wash the dishes. Your sister-in-law has worked hard cooking for you.”
“Of course!” Xu Shengwei patted his chest. “Grandma, even if you didn’t tell me, I would have taken the initiative to wash the dishes today… one, two, three, four… Oh, why are there so many?”
Xu Shengjie’s smiled as he looked at his brother, “More bowls means more dishes. In the past, life was hard, and there were only three or four bowls, which means there wasn’t much to eat.”
“That’s true. It’s okay. I’m full, so I have the energy to work!”
After dinner, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya worked together to wash the dishes. Xu Shengjie stayed in the room with his grandmother and wife to discuss work matters.
“I spoke with Director Xue this afternoon. From what he said, there shouldn’t be any problems. Once he confirms everything, he will proceed with processing the formalities, then he’ll let me know in a few days.”
“That’s good.” Zhou Yun was satisfied. With her son married and her granddaughter-in-law’s job secured, life was definitely getting better.
Liang Baozhen felt a little dazed after hearing this. “That’s so fast? Do I need to make any preparations?”
She had never worked in a state-owned factory, and she wasn’t sure about the details and wanted to be prepared.
“No need. Once your job is confirmed, I’ll take you to transfer your household registration. Then you can just go to the factory to get the labor protection supplies.”
After talking, Zhou Yun took a palm-leaf fan and went next door to chat with the neighbors. The young couple was the only ones left in the house. Xu Shengjie was about to explain more about the situation in the State Cotton Factory to Liang Baozhen when he heard a loud voice at the door.
“Brother, Biaozi is back, we’ll go out and play for a while.” Xu Shengwei shouted at the door.
“Okay, don’t stay out too late.”
Liang Baozhen saw Xiaowei and Xiaoya leaving with a few kids and felt a bit puzzled. “Who’s this Biaozi?”
“Biaozi is the grandson of Old Man Wei from the main house next door. He’s their precious little one. He went back to his mother’s family for a while, so you haven’t seen him. I remember him from a few years ago when I visited home. Biaozi kept on pestering me, saying he wanted to join the army. That kid really wanted to be a soldier.”
A neighbor’s kid who wanted to be a soldier? Biaozi? Liang Baozhen felt it sounded familiar. After searching her memory for a while, she finally remembered him! In her dream, she had heard Xu Shengjie talk about this child.
At that time, it was already the 1990s. Xu Shengjie had mentioned a neighbor’s child who dreamed of being a soldier, but unfortunately, he drowned in the river when he was only ten. A group of children went out together, and by the time the adults found them, the boy was already gone… It seemed that the boy’s name was Biaozi.
“How old is Biaozi this year?” Liang Baozhen’s voice trembled a little when she asked this question. Her heart seemed to pound anxiously.
“This year, he should be ten years old. He is three years younger than Xiaowei.”
Ten years old, the summer when Xu Shengjie’s younger siblings started junior high, a group of kids went out together…
Liang Baozhen suddenly stood up and it startled Xu Shengjie. The man grabbed her arm and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Is there a river nearby where you can swim?” The more Liang Baozhen thought about it, the more she felt something bad was going to happen. According to Xu Shengjie, a child drowned, and two other children choked on the water and were hospitalized for more than half a month. No matter what, she had to go and check. It was a matter of life and death.
“The canal flows through Dongdangtou, and there is a place where you can go down to the river, but something happened there two years ago, so it has been blocked off now.” Xu Shengjie saw Liang Baozhen’s anxious expression and was a little puzzled. “What’s wrong? Why are you asking this suddenly?”
“Let’s go over and take a look.” Liang Baozhen didn’t know how to explain suddenly, so she could only lie. “I seemed to hear those kids saying that the weather was too hot this afternoon and they wanted to go down to the river to cool off. My eyelids have been twitching, and I’m worried that something might happen to them. It’s so dangerous to go down to the river.”
Xu Shengjie’s expression changed. He quickly headed outside the courtyard. Usually, these kids played in the open space or at the alley entrance. However, today, the alley was empty, and there wasn’t a single child in sight.
Thinking back to what Liang Baozhen said, it would never hurt to go and take a look.
“How is it?” Liang Baozhen rushed out immediately and felt even worse when she saw that the children were not there.
“Let’s go and take a look.” Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen headed towards Dongdangtou.
——
About seven or eight miles west of Crescent Alley, there is a canal passing by. It is located in a remote area. After climbing over the guardrail, there is a gravel road. The river entrance is low. In previous years, children have had accidents there while trying to cool off in the river to take a bath. As a result, they died.
Because of that, there’s now a wooden sign at that spot with large characters painted in red—’No entering the river. Enter at your own risk.’
Rushing all the way there, Xu Shengjie’s mind was filled with events from more than ten years ago. Even though he was usually calm and composed, he was currently panicking inside.
When they arrived at the lower river entrance, Liang Baozhen looked around and saw that the surrounding area was an abandoned vacant lot covered with stones. Both sides were full of short tree stumps and thorny bushes. Because they were near the river, they grew densely.
In the distance, a hand was flailing in the river and there’s water splashing everywhere. A group of children on the shore anxiously tried to jump in and save that person.
“Help… Help me!” Wei Guobiao struggled in the river. Although he could swim, his legs cramped as he dived in to catch fish, and he felt his body sinking. He couldn’t swim at all and the river’s current flowed steadily and was about to submerge his head.
“Biaozi, wait a minute! We’ll come to rescue you right away!”
“I’ll get him out! I can swim!” Xiaolong, who was desperate to help, was about to jump in.
“Don’t move!” Xu Shengjie rushed to the shore and shouted at the children on the shore. Seeing Xiaowei and Xiaoya, he felt relieved and then dived into the river and swam towards Wei Guobiao.
“Be careful.” Liang Baozhen shouted while standing on the shore. She comforted the other children while keeping a close eye on the river. She didn’t know how well Xu Shengjie could swim.
In the river, Xu Shengjie reached Wei Guobiao, grabbed him with one arm, and started pulling him toward the shore. Fortunately, Xu Shengjie was strong. The drowning child held on to his rescuer tightly; if he had been less strong, he might have been dragged down.
Wei Guobiao, who had been rescued, was pale and unconscious. Liang Baozhen quickly moved forward, placed his abdomen on her left knee, and firmly patted his back several times. Fortunately, he hadn’t been in the water for long. After a while, he suddenly coughed up some water and slowly regained consciousness.
“Ugh…” Wei Guobiao spat out a few mouthfuls of dirty water. He kept gasping for fresh air and his eyes were still a little confused.
“Biaozi, how are you?”
“Brother, sister-in-law, is Biaozi okay?”
The other children gathered around, each of them were terrified and pale. They were still trembling when they spoke. The way Biaozi struggled in the river just now was too scary.
“Hurry, hurry, there’s a child in the water!”
“Go and have a look.”
Not far away, voices could be heard as a middle-aged woman and a young man ran ahead, followed by several adults. They rushed to the shore, only to find that the drowning child had already been rescued.
The woman anxiously looked ahead. “The child was rescued? That’s good. I just went to the roadside to find someone who could swim.”
It turned out that just after Wei Guobiao fell into the water, Xiaoya went to the roadside to look for help. She happened to see an aunt picking wild vegetables nearby. However, the aunt could not swim, so she helped to find someone. Not long after she walked, she met a young comrade who said he could swim, so she hurried over to bring that person.
“That’s good. Oh, if something happens again, they might have had to fill this place in.”
“This place is dangerous. Children shouldn’t be here.”
A lot of people who had heard about the incident rushed over. Seeing that the child had been rescued, they breathed a sigh of relief. The young man also stepped forward to check, “How is he? If needed, I can help take him to the hospital.”
Looking up, Liang Baozhen saw a handsome man with a gentle expression. She was startled when she made eye contact with him while holding Biaozi.
This person is Chen Siming’s biological brother, the male protagonist of this period novel—Chen Sixian.
The book briefly mentioned that Chen Sixian, in the spirit of learning from Lei Feng, did a good deed by saving a drowning child. Although he came a little late and failed to save Biaozi, he saved the lives of Xiaolong and Xiaohu who fell into the water later. He became very famous and was not only featured in the Beijing Daily but was also awarded the title of Model Citizen for Learning from Lei Feng, which added to his halo as the male protagonist.
But now that Liang Baozhen and Xu Shengjie saved the child early, Biaozi’s life was spared, and Xiaolong and Xiaohu, who were supposed to go into the water didn’t go and could not be rescued by Chen Sixian. Liang Baozhen looked at the male protagonist in the book in front of her and shook her head, “We’re from the same courtyard. We can take him ourselves.”
In this period novel, many people were destined to become tools to establish the male lead’s positive image. After thinking for a while, Liang Baozhen decided it was best to stay away from this person.
“Xiaowei, run back quickly to inform Uncle Wei and his family to go to the People’s Hospital. Your sister-in-law and I will take Biaozi there first.” Xu Shengjie instructed his brother, turned around, picked up Biaozi and prepared to go to the hospital.
***
In the courtyard, a lot of people were sitting in the yard with their palm-leaf fans to enjoy the cool air. Everyone moved their bench to sit and chat together.
Zhang Rong had been busy these days trying to find a job for her son. Five years ago, her son had gone to the countryside as an educated youth in the south and rarely had the chance to come home. Now that the policy had loosened a bit, there were rumors that those with work arrangements could secure a spot to return to the city. Naturally, Zhang Rong wasn’t sitting idle.
Unfortunately, her sister, who worked at the neighborhood committee, couldn’t help her secure a job. The competition was fierce, and finding work was tough. However, her husband, Old Zhou, had been with the state-owned cotton factory for years and managed to secure a temporary position for their son. The couple had been busy running back and forth with paperwork to get their son back to the city.
“Zhang Rong, is your Qingdang coming back soon?” Aunt Li asked while waving a palm-leaf fan. Her family was lucky. When they were asked to go to the countryside, both her sons had jobs, and her youngest daughter was still in school. She used some connections to avoid the situation and kept all her children in the city.
“Yes, within this month!” Zhang Rong was in high spirits. Her daughter had gotten married last year, and now her son was coming back, so she and her husband wouldn’t be so lonely anymore.
“That’s great. When the time comes, your Qingdang will find a wife and give birth to a baby, and you and Old Zhou can enjoy having a grandchild.”
“That would be wonderful. If we could have a grandchild as strong and clever as your Biaozi, that would also be perfect.”
Hearing her neighbor praising her grandson, Aunt Li smiled so widely that her eyes almost disappeared; how could she not be happy? But it was already dark today; why hadn’t Biaozi come back yet?
Liu Nianhua was looking around. Xiaolong and Xiaohu had gone out to play after dinner. She said to Aunt Li, “These kids must have gone to play marbles and forgotten to come back.”
“Biaozi just came back to the courtyard so that’s normal. They must have been having so much fun that they forgot what time it was.”
As they were talking, Aunt Liu from the neighboring courtyard came running in while looking anxious.
“Where’s Li Zhengxia? Is she home?”
Aunt Liu shouted so loudly that everyone in the courtyard could hear her. Widow Chen asked, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan, “Aunt Liu, why are you so anxious? Look at how sweaty you are.”
“Go check quickly. I just heard on the road that one of your kids fell into the river!”
“What?!”
There were quite a few people cooling off in the yard, and upon hearing this, they all became anxious. A child falling into the river was no small matter. “Whose child fell into the river?”
How could Aunt Liu know? She waved her hands and said, “I don’t know. I just heard it from someone on the street. You all go check it out. It’s near Dongdangtou! That place is really prone to accidents!”
Aunt Liu’s words caused a huge uproar in the courtyard. Those with children who hadn’t returned yet hurried out and ran all the way, feeling extremely worried.
Zhou Yun, hearing this, also became anxious. When she checked, she found that her eldest grandson and granddaughter-in-law were also missing. Without thinking too much, she joined the others in heading outside.
***
After dinner today, a group of children disappeared. They were probably going down to the river together. Liu Nianhua’s husband Zhou Guoping hasn’t returned from his work yet. Xiaolong and Xiaohu went out to play and she doesn’t know what’s going on with them now. She thought that if her two children really fell into the river and something happened, she would not want to live anymore!
“Aunt Yun, what do you think we should do? Could it really be Xiaolong and Xiaohu?” Liu Nianhua and Zhou Yun, walked together while supporting each other.
“No, no.” Zhou Yun’s heart was in her throat. She believed that Xiaowei and Xiaoya would definitely not go to the river to play because her second son and his wife drowned a few years ago, which left a big psychological shadow on Xu Shengjie, who was only 12 years old at that time. Later, he never let his younger siblings go to the river. To teach them a lesson, he even hit Xu Shengwei’s palm when he secretly went to the river to play in the water.
However, nothing was certain. Zhou Yun just hoped nothing serious had happened. She squeezed Liu Nianhua’s hand and comforted her, “It won’t happen, it definitely won’t! Let’s not scare ourselves.”
“It can’t be our Xiaoyue!” Qian Jingjing, who lived in the back house, almost fainted. She and Xu Hai were a blended family. They got married, one with a daughter and the other with a son, and they didn’t have any children after marriage. If her own daughter was gone like this, she would definitely not want to live.
Xu Hai grabbed her hand and reassured her, “No, don’t think too much. Xiaoyue and Xiaojun must be fine.”
A group of people were rushing towards Dongdangtou. When they were halfway there, they happened to meet Xu Shengwei who was going to the courtyard to inform the news!
Seeing him, Wei Jinrong was the first to rush over, “Xiaowei, what’s the situation? Did a child from our courtyard fall into the river?”
Xu Shengwei who had been running all the way, was out of breath and found it hard to speak clearly. He nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes, Biaozi fell into the river.”
“What? Biaozi!”
“My Biaozi!” Aunt Li started crying out.
The Wei family almost lost their balance when they heard this, and then they heard Xu Shengwei gasping for breath started speaking again, “My brother rescued him and he is now in the People’s Hospital. I just wanted to go back and inform you.”
“He’s been rescued; that’s good. Is he okay?”
“Let’s go, let’s go to the People’s Hospital!”
A group of people immediately changed direction and headed towards the Municipal People’s Hospital.
***
Municipal People’s Hospital
Wei Guobiao, who had just been examined, leaned back in his chair, looking much calmer. The doctor, wearing a white coat, addressed the two adults present. “The child choked on water, but fortunately, he was rescued in time. A bit later, and it could have been dangerous. He’s okay now, but he’s clearly scared. Let him rest at home.”
“Okay, thank you, Doctor.”
“But I just want to add. It’s important to keep a close watch on your children. Parents have a heavy responsibility and need to teach them well.” The doctor, a woman in her thirties with glasses, had seen many children brought to the hospital for sneaking into the river and suffering as a result. “If something had really happened, there would be no place for the two of you to cry.”
Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen, who were misunderstood, looked at each other. Before they could even respond, the doctor had already moved to see her next patient.
Liang Baozhen muttered something, feeling speechless after being scolded as Biaozi’s parent, but it wasn’t a major issue at the moment. “Biaozi, do you feel better now?”
Wei Guobiao nodded dumbly with tears in his eyes. But with so many people around, he sniffed and tried to hold back his tears, “I’m fine now. I’m a man.”
“Don’t go down to the river anymore, understand?” Xu Shengjie leaned over to Wei Guobiao and warned him, “If it happens again, you might not be so lucky.”
“Got it! Thank you, Brother Xu, and Sister Baozhen.” Wei Guobiao scratched his head, looked at his friends behind Xu Shengjie, jumped off the chair, and hurriedly joined everyone to leave.
“Biaozi, you just scared me!”
“It’s so scary. I thought you were about to be swallowed by the river.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay now.”
“Biaozi! What happened to you?” The Wei family finally arrived at the hospital entrance and saw Wei Guobiao who had survived the river. Biaozi’s mother, Dong Xiufen, rushed over and hugged her son tightly. “Let Mother see. How are you? Are you still feeling unwell?”
“Mother~” When Biaozi saw his mother and was wrapped in a warm embrace, a feeling of grievance and fear suddenly surged into his heart. The sadness that he had been suppressing before could no longer be held back. He put his arms around Dong Xiufen’s waist and burst into tears, “I thought I was going to die and would never see you again! Wuuuu”
“My poor Biaozi!” Li Zhengxia felt sad seeing her grandson crying, but fortunately, the child was fine.
“Xiaolong, Xiaohu, how are you? Are you okay?” Liu Nianhua was relieved to see that her two children were safe and sound. She had been worried all the way here.
“Mother, we’re fine.”
Each family looked at their children and checked them from head to toe. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.
Wei Jinrong learned the whole situation and walked up to Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen to thank the two younger generations. “Xiao Xu, Xiao Liang, we owe you so much today. If anything had happened to Biaozi, our family would have been ruined. You are truly our great benefactors.”
“Uncle Wei, don’t mention it. Just make sure Biaozi gets some rest. He was scared today, and the doctor said he needs to rest properly.”
“Okay, let’s all head back. It’s late, and everyone’s been quite shaken.”
***
After a chaotic drowning incident, it was already getting dark when they returned to the courtyard. Everyone took their children back home. Both adults and children were frightened today and had to talk to each other behind closed doors.
Zhou Yun checked the two children from head to toe and was relieved to make sure that they were fine at all. She wiped her eyes and was coaxed to sleep by Liang Baozhen. The old lady had been quite shaken today and her body couldn’t hold on any longer.
After closing the door, Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen sat on the bench and watched the two children drinking water in big gulps. It was obvious that they were thirsty from the anxiety just now.
Gulp, gulp, ah~
Xu Shengya wiped her mouth and put down the enamel cup. Her sister-in-law poured her another cup and reminded her, “Drink slowly.”
After the two of them finished drinking the water and calmed down a little, Xu Shengjie finally asked about what had happened.
“Xu Shengwei, Xu Shengya, who suggested on going to the river when you two went out to play today?”
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya exchanged uneasy glances but didn’t dare to speak. They both looked at their brother. Xu Shengjie had been very strict with them when they were young. He didn’t allow them to play with fire or water because their parents had drowned in an accident one night.
That’s why going to the river was a taboo for the Xu family.
Now that the two had gone to the river, they felt they had caused a big problem and were too scared to speak. Their older brother’s serious face made them even more afraid.
Liang Baozhen glanced at her husband, noting the icy look in his eyes that made her uneasy. She knew that Xu Shengjie was angry out of concern, but his demeanor made it hard for the children to speak.
She nudged his arm, “Why don’t you go back to the room first? I’ll talk to them.”
Xu Shengjie was just about to teach the two of them a lesson, especially Xu Shengwei, who would not learn his lesson unless he was beaten up. But now his wife was telling him to go back to their room?
“You go to the room. I’ll talk to them.” Xu Shengjie, who was unusually firm, was determined to discipline them.
The fact that his parents drowned in the water has always been a shadow that Xu Shengjie could not get rid of. No matter how much he doted on his younger siblings, he would not compromise on this matter.
“Put out your hands.” Xu Shengjie usually preferred to reason with his siblings rather than resort to physical punishment, but in this case, he felt a lesson was necessary.
The two, feeling guilty, stretched out their hands and pouted their lips as if they were about to cry.
Liang Baozhen, watching from the side, was shocked by Xu Shengjie’s fierce demeanor. Whether in her dreams or from their courtship to marriage, she had never seen him this angry.
He was holding a piece of wood in his hand and was about to raise his hand to hit Xu Shengwei’s palm when he was interrupted.
Liang Baozhen grabbed Xu Shengjie’s arm and pleaded, “Xiaowei and Xiaoya just need proper guidance. They’re still young; why resort to hitting them?”
“You…” Xu Shengjie looked at Liang Baozhen with a stern face. If it were someone else, he would have told them to get out of the way, but this person was his wife, so he opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything harsh.
Seeing their sister-in-law’s protection, Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya quickly moved to her side, following Liang Baozhen like little tails and only sticking out their heads to look at their eldest brother.
“Brother, we didn’t go into the water.”
“We just stayed nearby. Xiaolong and the others insisted on going. Everyone originally said they wouldn’t go into the water!”
Liang Baozhen protected Xiaowei and Xiaoya behind her and spoke carefully, “They remember what you said and know not to go into the water. Today, those kids all went to play in the water, and only these two have their trouser legs dry. Don’t just hit them right away; talk it out if you have something to say.”
Seeing his brother really put down the piece of wood and slam it onto the table, Xu Shengwei breathed a sigh of relief. In the past, when he had done something wrong, not even Grandma could stop his brother from hitting him.
My sister-in-law is really capable! Thinking of this, he moved a few inches away from his sister-in-law’s direction. Seeing that his second brother had moved, Xiaoya also moved with him. The two of them were completely blocked by Liang Baozhen.
Xu Shengjie had a cold expression at first, but when he saw his brother and sister moving step by step behind his wife, he couldn’t help but smile. His expression eased a little, “Okay, come here.”
Liang Baozhen saw him curl the corners of his mouth, she led the two little ones out and reassured them again before asking about what had happened today.
“Today, we had planned to play in the courtyard, but Biaozi and Zhibin wanted to go out. When we were walking, we reached the canal, and they said they wanted to go in the water. My second brother and I told them not to go in because they would choke, but they didn’t listen.” Xu Shengya said, still feeling wronged, she had tried to persuade them several times.
“You did a good job.” Liang Baozhen shot Xu Shengjie a reproachful look and mouthed, “See, they remembered what you said.”
Xu Shengjie pressed his lips together, avoiding eye contact with his wife, and asked his brother, “Then what happened?”
“Then they played by the river for a while, while Xiaoya and I played with stones on the shore. We didn’t know when Biaozi disappeared!” Xu Shengwei’s voice gradually grew louder as he recalled the scene. “Biaozi was playing in the river and making splashes everywhere. He said he was a good swimmer and insisted on swimming in the water, but suddenly he yelled for help. Xiaoya went to the roadside to look for an adult, but that auntie couldn’t swim and said she would go get help. Xiaolong and Xiaohu were originally planning to go down by themselves. Then, you and sister-in-law came.”
Thinking of his elder brother going into the river to save people and his sister-in-law helping Biaozi, who had choked on water, Xu Shengwei looked proud and said, “Brother, sister-in-law, you’re amazing!”
Xu Shengjie glanced over again, and Xu Shengwei remembered that he was still in danger, so he quickly pulled the corners of his mouth together and lowered his head.
After hearing what his brother and sister said, Xu Shengjie didn’t say anything, but his expression wasn’t as ugly as before. After all, the two remembered his repeated instructions. “Stay away from the river next time. If there are a few kids in the courtyard who want to go there, you have to help stop them. You saw how Biaozi looked in the water today; it’s no joke when something happens in the river—it’s very dangerous.”
Xu Shengjie spoke the last few words very softly and slowly. Liang Baozhen looked at him and remembered the reason why his parents died and understood the sadness in his words.
“Xiaowei and Xiaoya will definitely remember, right?”
“I remember.”
“We won’t go into the water.”
Liang Baozhen listened to what the two had just said and quickly grasped a key detail. “Do they both know how to swim?”
Xu Shengjie looked over, “No, they don’t.”
Since they were young, he never allowed his younger siblings to go near the river. As for himself, he only learned to swim during military training, since it was required; otherwise, he would probably never go near a river in his entire life.
“In fact, I think they should learn it.” Liang Baozhen noticed Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya’s eyes light up as soon as she said this. No matter how much you say, it’s natural for children to be curious and excited about swimming. It’s just that their family is strict, so they suppressed it.
But it will be useless if Xu Shengjie disagrees.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Liang Baozhen was not seeking for the kids benefit alone. “Being able to swim isn’t just for fun; think about it—if something really happens, it’s a life-saving skill. You should let them learn to swim, rather than avoiding water. Of course, I am also against going into the river casually. It is indeed too dangerous.”
Xu Shengjie blinked a few times, listening to Liang Baozhen’s words, and recalled that when he first joined the army, he had to learn swimming during his training. At that time, he was extremely resistant. When he saw the river, he thought of his parents who drowned. Other recruits jumped in, but he was the only one who didn’t dare to move.
At that time, the veteran who led him said, “The more you fear something, the more you should conquer it. You can’t always avoid it.”
“Let’s talk about it later.” Xu Shengjie did not express his opinion, but only said to his younger brother and sister, “Go wash yourself and go to bed early.”
“Okay!”
Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya finally breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could move a step, they heard a child crying and shouting in the courtyard. They didn’t know which family was cooking stir-fried pork with wooden sticks.
“You still dare to go into the river by yourself?! You never really learn! Nothing serious happened today, but if something did, let’s see what you’d do.” A neighbor from the east courtyard was scolding their child.
Fang Hongming took a wooden stick and hit his son Fang Zhibin, which made his wife Jin Hong feel very distressed.
“That’s enough. If you keep hitting him, he won’t be able to get up to go to school tomorrow.”
“You want him to get away with it. Sooner or later, something will really happen. If he dares to go into the river today, he’ll dare to hit people tomorrow.”
“Father, I never hit anyone!” Fang Zhibin covered his butt and howled.
“You’re still talking back?!!” Fang Hongming threatened to hit again, scaring Fang Zhibin so much that he begged for mercy.
In the end, it was Jin Hong who stopped the man and allowed Fang Zhibin to quickly slip away.
When Xu Shengwei and Xu Shengya went out to wash their faces, they happened to meet Fang Zhibin, who was limping out with a bruise on his bottom. The three of them looked at each other in the dark for a while.
“Fang Zhibin, how are you?”
“It’s okay. I’m not going to die.”
“Does your bottom hurt?” Xu Shengya saw him covering his bottom with both hands and grimacing in pain.
Fang Zhibin shook his head vigorously, “It doesn’t hurt, I’m a man.”
***
The sounds of scolding and comforting children in the courtyard gradually died down, and the frightened people finally fell asleep. Xu Shengjie and Liang Baozhen bolted the door and prepared to go back to the house to rest.
After this incident, Liang Baozhen felt exhausted both physically and mentally and just wanted to take off her coat and lie down on the bed.
“How did you know today that a child from our courtyard would go into the river? And that something might happen?”
From behind, Xu Shengjie’s voice came. Liang Baozhen paused while unbuttoning her clothes and slowly turned her head to look over.
Xu Shengjie had a serious expression, and there was a hint of doubt in his eyes when he looked at her.
Liang Baozhen thought about what she had said earlier and wondered if she had let anything slip. However, his gaze was so sharp that that she felt her legs get weak.
No wonder Xiaowei and Xiaoya were so scared just now.
“What? Do you still want to interrogate me like what you did to Xiaowei and Xiaoya?” Liang Baozhen smiled, then took off her clothes, opened the quilt, and lay down, smiling at Xu Shengjie. “You don’t want to hit my palm with a wooden stick too, do you?”
Xu Shengjie listened to his wife’s jokes and couldn’t help but smile unconsciously. He also lay down. The kerosene lamp was still on, and it cast a warm yellow light around the room. He looked ahead and said what he was thinking, “I just feel that if you hadn’t said those words today, Biaozi and the others would really be in big trouble.”
If Liang Baozhen hadn’t suddenly suspected the kids might go into the river, and if they hadn’t rushed over right away, they might not have saved Biaozi in time. According to the time when the aunt brought the young man who could swim, Biaozi might have already drowned, and maybe even two more kids could have gone into the river.
In short, his wife’s sudden action in the afternoon seemed very coincidental, as if they had been just in time to prevent a disaster.
Xu Shengjie had been a soldier for several years. He had good observation and thinking abilities, but he always felt something was off.
Liang Baozhen lay on the bed; her heart was beating fast. The man beside her seemed to sense that something.
In the afternoon, her sudden and forceful request for him to go to the river had indeed been too abrupt.
“If I say I had a dream.” Liang Baozhen turned over and looked at Xu Shengjie and said to him sincerely, “I dreamed that a child in the courtyard fell into the river and got into trouble. Would you believe it?”
The two looked at each other for a long time. Liang Baozhen didn’t speak again after she finished speaking. She kept staring at Xu Shengjie. She saw the man curl his lips slowly, and his eyes seemed to be shining when he looked at her again. “What time is it? Do you still believe in these outdated superstitions? We are getting rid of the old ways. Be careful not to get caught.”
“What’s wrong with a dream I had?” Liang Baozhen pouted and continued, “I’ve had more than just this dream. I also dreamed about marrying you. Do you believe it?”
After saying that, her long eyelashes fluttered a few times which made her almond-shaped eyes look even more watery. When she smiled brightly in the dim kerosene light, she looked even more charming. Xu Shengjie looked at her and listened to her red lips opening and closing as she spoke some incoherent words. Although the words were incoherent, they were quite pleasant to the ears.
“I believe that.” He leaned over, put his arm around his wife’s shoulders, and gently kissed her red lips. “You can have more dreams like this.”
The author has something to say:
Xu Shengjie: I always feel like something is wrong
Liang Baozhen: Sincerity is always a surefire weapon.
***
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