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Receiving his first phone call in his life, Wang Zhenhe felt a mix of novelty and nervousness. He wiped the sweat from his palms and awkwardly thanked Li Detian.
Li Detian noticed Wang Zhenhe’s nervous expression and found it amusing, but also couldn’t help but sigh. “Zhenhe, take your Auntie and Zuo He back. If there are any more calls, I will come and inform you. Zuo He, tell your uncle if you’re happy today.”
Seeing the little boy with teary eyes, Li Detian wanted to cheer him up. Zuo He raised his head and solemnly saluted. “Thank you, Uncle. Today is the happiest day for me. I heard my parents’ voices. Although I still miss them, I will listen to Uncle.”
As a parent himself, Li Detian understood the feeling of being unable to see one’s children. He squatted down, took Zuo He’s hand, and said, “Zuo He, you’re the best. You’re the bravest. You mustn’t cry from now on, okay?”
Li Detian couldn’t help but feel fond of Zuo He, who had regained his fair complexion. His own son often played with Zuo He and the others, so he was quite fond of this polite child.
As they left the Commune office, Zuo He couldn’t contain his excitement and ran ahead, with Hao Lianchun and Wang Zhenhe following behind. Both of them were equally excited, Hao Lianchun because she had spoken to her son, and Wang Zhenhe because of his first phone call.
“Auntie, why do I feel like your legs are faster than mine?” Wang Zhenhe teased.
Hao Lianchun, full of excitement, laughed and said to Wang Zhenhe, “Nephew, I feel like I’ve taken a magical pill today. I feel like I’m back to my younger days.”
Wang Zhenhe may not understand many profound truths, but he knows that the people living in his home are good-hearted and deserve good things. “Auntie, you are all good people. Good people will surely be rewarded. No one can predict the future. Who would have thought that we could drive the Japanese out of China? So, just stay here with peace of mind. I believe the government will give you the justice you deserve.”
Wang Zhenhe believes that life will only get better, and good people will receive their due rewards.
When Zuo Zhanshan heard that his son had called, he was particularly happy. It gave him a renewed sense of vigor.
Soon, the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year arrived. Zhang Lan didn’t want to buy tangyuan, as it was limited and wouldn’t be enough for their large family. After discussing with Hao Lianchun, they decided to make their own tangyuan. They used the elderly lady’s ration card to buy some glutinous rice, ground it into powder, and then mixed it with fragrant peanuts, sesame, sweetener, and lard. They wrapped the mixture in glutinous rice dough, rolled it into balls, and made tangyuan.
Mingcheng and the others helped out. Despite their young age, they were skilled and learned quickly from Zhang Lan. Working together to make tangyuan created a warm and comfortable atmosphere.
Wang Zhenhe brought a few small canned bottles from outside and tied the bottle necks with hemp rope, creating a long handle. Then, they carved radishes to fit the shape of the bottle bottoms and inserted a nail to hold a small red candle securely in place without tipping over.
The elderly men watched with envy and joined in to help. They had also been poor when they were young and had never played with such simple lanterns. Soon, they had made five small lanterns from the canned bottles.
Zuo He and the others quickly ran over to see their new toys. Wang Zhenhe inserted the small red candles he had bought and lit them. The bright red flames shone through the glass, creating a novel and enjoyable sight.
Zuo Zhanshan brought a few sturdy tree branches from outside and tied the ropes from the bottles onto the sticks. This way, the siblings could carry the lanterns and they looked even more like small lanterns.
Zuo He was excited as he proudly displayed his lantern. He had only seen lanterns made of paper before, so this was a new experience for him.
“Uncle, thank you. I really like this lantern. It’s much sturdier than the ones we buy,” Zuo He said.
Zuo Zhanshan patted his grandson’s head and said, “Zuo He, things made with love are more meaningful than those bought. Perhaps when you grow up, you will forget all the lanterns you bought, but you will remember this handmade lantern.”
Zuo He looked at his grandfather and nodded vigorously. “Grandpa, even when I grow up, I will remember this lantern made by Uncle. It’s not just because it’s special, but more importantly, it’s a heartfelt gift from Uncle. I won’t forget it.”
Wang Zhenhe was deeply moved by his words. Even a small child knew how to be grateful. How could his own children, the two little rascals, not compare to a child like this?
The tangyuan that evening was especially fragrant and sweet. For Wang Qian, the tangyuan they ate that day was the most delicious, not just because they made it themselves, but because the tangyuan itself was exceptionally sweet and fragrant.
Before they finished their dinner, the children from Uncle’s house and Zhao Xia’s house came over to play. Each of them held a small lantern just like the ones the family had made. Next door, Liu Hui shouted in the yard, “Sister-in-law, have Mingcheng and the others wait for a moment and take our two children out to play.”
In no time, Liu Hui’s eldest daughter, Wang Qin, led her younger brother, Wang Tao, over with paper lanterns. Wang Qian could tell that their lanterns were bought from the cooperative. The pleated paper lanterns had beautiful colors, but they were not very sturdy. However, when lit with candles, the paper lanterns had a hazy feeling, giving the impression of being transported back to ancient times.
The evening of the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year belonged to the children. Mingcheng led a large group to meet with Xiao Xiang and Xiao Hu. Everyone carried various types of lanterns, creating a long, shimmering procession along the main road.
In the evening, the children in the village played hide and seek. One person was chosen to seek, and after counting to ten, the others would hide with their lanterns, making sure to extinguish the candles inside.
The seeker had a hard time, wandering around with a small lantern in the dark. It was quite a challenge, but some were eventually found. Some hid in haystacks, while others found refuge in nearby outhouses. As long as there was a place to hide, the children would find it.
For those who couldn’t be found, the seeker would loudly declare, “Come out, I give up this time.”
In reality, no one took the game too seriously. It was just a way for the children to have fun and enjoy each other’s company.
The night passed with continuous hiding and seeking until it was very late. Mingcheng finally led the small group back home. However, the paper lanterns of Liu Hui’s children had burned out, and the canned bottle lanterns of Zhao Xia’s sons had already broken. Nevertheless, the lanterns of Mingcheng and his group remained intact.
The fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year had come and gone, but Wang Qian truly missed the scene of carrying lanterns and playing around.
After the fifteenth day, those who had stayed home during the festival gradually emerged. During the day, Mingcheng and the others would collect cow dung using a dung basket. The school had a requirement that at the end of the winter break, each student had to submit 50 kilograms of cow dung as part of their holiday assignment.
Wang Qian also went out to help. The five of them carried shovels and baskets, and began searching for cow dung along the roadside. When they couldn’t find any on the road, they started looking in the fields.
Finally, Wang Zhenhe felt sorry for them and advised, “Mingcheng, the school said 50 kilograms, but that’s just an estimate. They won’t weigh it one by one. I asked Teacher Liu. If you fill a basket, it will be considered 100 kilograms. Look at how much you’ve collected in the past few days.”
This time, Wang Zhenhe brought good news. Mingcheng and the others quickly went outside to see how much they had collected. Wang Qian estimated that it was almost enough.
“Brother, I think it’s enough. If you’re still worried, we can collect for one more day. I don’t think Xiao Xiang and the others have collected as much as we have,” Mingcheng said.
Wang Zhenhe took a look and said, “No need to collect more. This is enough. You won’t be able to carry more than this.”
With the dung collection completed, the siblings turned their attention to gathering hay for the family, which wouldn’t last the entire year.
The elderly men took the news particularly seriously, sitting on the kang every day to listen to the news.
However, the changing political situation did not affect the children’s mood. They continued with their activities, not understanding or wanting to understand those matters. Life had to go on.
As the school reopening day approached, today was the day for the students to gather at the school. The four siblings took the collected cow dung to the school to fulfill their assignment, and Wang Qian went along to join in the fun.
On the way to the school, students were seen carrying dung baskets, their spirits high after a winter’s nourishment.
Along the way, they compared who had collected the most dung. Upon reaching the school, many students were already queuing up for the teachers to assess the dung. As Wang Zhenhe had said, there were no scales used, just a visual estimation. Wang Qian felt that the school was trying to instill a habit of hard work in the students.
Mingcheng and the others finally passed the inspection of their dung, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Qian couldn’t help but marvel at the large pile of dung behind the school’s dry toilet. She realized the power of unity in numbers. If one school could collect so much cow dung, then the amount collected by an entire commune would be quite substantial.
While Mingcheng and the others went to the classroom to listen to the teacher’s instructions, Wang Qian wandered around the playground. This place would be her school in the future, so she wanted to familiarize herself with it first.