April, 1950—
Widow Xu Hehua found a skinny, frail eight-year-old girl in the mountains behind her house.
Xu Hehua couldn’t read, and since the peach blossoms were blooming behind her house, she simply named the child “Taohua” (Peach Blossom).
Their neighbor, a cultured doctor, scoffed at the name, calling it tacky. Since April was the tail end of spring, he suggested the name “Wanchun” (Late Spring) instead.
Xu Hehua had always admired educated folks, and knowing how to seize an opportunity, she shamelessly used the goodwill from the naming suggestion to insist on sending her adopted daughter off…