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When Wang Zhenhe returned with a bag of corn cobs, he saw his wife and daughter coming back. His sunburnt face was filled with a smile. “Wife, you’re finally back. I was just about to go pick you up. It’s not the same living here without you.”
These past few days, Wang Zhenhe had been worrying about everything, and he finally felt relieved when he saw his wife and daughter return.
“Wife, I borrowed a hundred pounds of corn from the team. If someone comes to our house, we can’t just eat refined grains. We can use this to cover up. It’s also good to mix it with white flour to make steamed buns,” Wang Zhenhe said.
Even Wang Qian couldn’t help but admire her father’s thoughtfulness. She took out an ice pop from the basin and said, “Dad, this is a reward for your good performance these past few days. Enjoy it.”
Wang Zhenhe’s first reaction upon seeing the ice pop was to ask, “Wife, did you go into town today?”
Zhang Lan smiled and nodded at her not-so-stupid husband. “Yes, I went into town with your daughter and bought some fabric to make clothes for the children.”
Wang Zhenhe thought that his mother-in-law had given them some money again, and he felt a bit embarrassed. “Wife, when our family’s situation improves in the future, we should take good care of mother. It’s not easy for her either. She’s always supporting our family, and I feel guilty about it.”
Wang Qian didn’t say anything when she heard this. There were still some things that couldn’t be said at the moment because she wanted to see how her father would behave in the future.
“Brother, hurry up and finish the rest of the ice pops, or they’ll melt,” she said to her siblings.
After distributing the ice pops to her siblings, she went to lie down on the kang for a while. It had been a tiring day, and she felt a bit exhausted.
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Boat Festival arrived. Zhang Lan cooked chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs in the morning, distributing three chicken eggs, one duck egg, and one goose egg per child. The egg distribution was the most exciting part for the children. They were eager to participate in the traditional egg-balancing game with their classmates to see whose eggshell would remain intact.
The three siblings each hid their portion and only took one chicken egg to carry in their pockets. However, Wang Qian stopped them, saying, “Brother, sister, take these three eggs. I’ll keep the duck and goose eggs. If the egg-balancing game results in a broken egg, we’ll have a backup.”
Reluctant to accept, the siblings hesitated to take the eggs. Wang Qian had to place the eggs in their pockets herself. “Alright, off to school now. I’ll have a surprise for you at lunch,” she said.
Despite not knowing what the surprise would be, the three siblings cheerfully set off for school with their backpacks and red scarves.
Zhang Lan and her husband discussed the expected guests for the day. Wang Zhenhe had no objections, and the couple continued with their work. Wang Qian went to the station to pick up the guests. After waiting for a while, she finally saw the red public bus arrive. When Zuo He was the first to appear, she felt relieved that her wait hadn’t been in vain.
“I’m here, Qianqian,” the little boy exclaimed as he hopped off the bus, followed by the elderly lady carrying a bundle.
“Grandma Zuo, Zuo He, let’s head home,” she said, leading the elderly lady and the young boy back along the main road. Zuo He looked around curiously as they walked. It was his first time visiting the countryside. Previously, his family had always lived in the city, so everything seemed novel to him. This was where Wang Qian’s family lived, and it was also where her grandfather stayed.
“Qianqian, has your grandfather already gone to work?” the elderly lady asked anxiously. She was eager to see her husband, as it had been a long time since they had last met, and she was concerned about his well-being.
Understanding the elderly lady’s concerns, Wang Qian assured her that she would take them to see him later. Her mother had instructed her to take the elderly lady to the pigsty at the production team if she was anxious to see her husband. Although she was reluctant to let the elderly lady witness the dirty and tiring work, she believed that the resilient elderly lady, who had weathered many storms, would be able to accept the current situation with her husband.
Upon returning home and seeing the newly built house of the Wang family, the elderly lady understood why her granddaughter had taken such great risks to sell goods in the city. The house had been completed just this year, and the beams were made of fresh wood.
After setting down her bundle, she took her grandson and headed straight to the pigsty at the production team. She asked them to wait near the granary while she went to check on something.
Sure enough, Grandpa Zuo was cleaning the pig manure in the pigsty, looking quite disheveled. “Grandpa Zuo, could you come out for a moment? Grandma Zuo and Zuo He are waiting near the granary. When you have a moment, come out, and I’ll watch over things for you,” she said softly to Grandpa Zuo before quickly running off, pretending to play around like a mischievous child.
The comrades supervising the work of these people had never imagined that such a young child already possessed the potential of an underground party member.
Grandpa Zuo smiled. Finally, Grandma Zuo had come. It had been a long time since he had seen his grandson, and he had been feeling anxious.
“Report, I need to go urinate,” Grandpa Zuo announced.
His sudden announcement startled the comrades who were chatting nearby. One of them glared at him and said, “You lazy donkey, hurry up. You produce so much waste. Today, you need to clear all this manure.”
With permission granted, Grandpa Zuo dropped the shovel and leaped over the low fence. Some of the older workers nearby teased, “What’s gotten into Old Zuo? He’s so energetic. How can he jump so high? He looks like a greenhorn, but he can jump so high. He’s really something, coming from a military background. He’s quite agile.”
Zuo Zanshan ran to the place his granddaughter had mentioned, and there, standing under the granary, were his wife and grandson. The two looked towards him, and as their eyes met, there was a mix of tenderness and tears. “Old man, you’ve lost weight. Have you been hurt?” the elderly lady asked, concerned about any injuries on her husband.
Zuo Zanshan smiled and reassured her, “I haven’t been hurt. Besides work and inspections, everything else is fine. I’m just worried about you two. Zuo He, do you miss grandpa?”
The old man lifted his beloved grandson and said, “Grandpa, I miss you.” Zuo He buried his face in his grandfather’s arms and sobbed quietly.
“Silly boy, your grandpa is fine. Men don’t cry,” Zuo Zanshan said, patting his grandson’s back affectionately.
Zuo He wiped his tears and said, “Grandpa, I’m not crying. I’m just worried.” His eyes welled up again as he spoke.
In a gentle voice, the old man comforted him, “Zuo He, when I fought the Japanese invaders as a young man, it was much harder than it is now. We have food and a place to sleep. It’s not bad. By the way, where are you staying tonight?”
Not aware that the elderly lady and Zuo He were guests of the Wang family, the old man asked out of concern, not wanting them to leave so soon, as there were things he hadn’t said yet.
“Old man, we’re staying at Qianqian’s house. You go back for now, and we’ll come to see you tonight,” the elderly lady said, concerned that the old man’s prolonged absence might raise suspicions.
“Alright, let Qianqian bring you over. She knows the way. I have to go now. Give your grandpa a kiss,” the satisfied old man said, walking back with large strides. Wang Qian, who had been watching from a distance, quickly ran over and led the elderly lady and Zuo He out of the production team’s compound.
It was the elderly lady’s first visit, so Wang Qian took them for a stroll near the village and then led Zuo He to the river to catch fish. It was Zuo He’s first time, and his actions made them all chuckle. Eventually, even the elderly lady was persuaded to join in the fishing, under the pretext of reliving her childhood memories.
The three caught plenty of small fish and shrimp, wrapping the shrimp in oak leaves and stringing the fish on grass for Zuo He to carry. As they walked home along the embankment, Zuo He discovered two goose eggs, perfect for a shrimp stir-fry at lunch. From the moment he found the eggs, Zuo He’s attention waned, as he searched the bushes, hoping to find more treasures waiting for him to discover. The elderly lady chuckled and advised him to pay attention, as there wouldn’t be any more eggs to find, as they were all from the villagers’ homes, not from the wild.
Initially, Zuo He was skeptical, but eventually had to give up. Finding two eggs was already considered lucky. “Qianqian, I envy you for being able to play like this every day. It’s so nice. In the city, there’s nowhere to play, and the other kids there aren’t as good as you guys,” Zuo He confided. Since leaving their old home and coming here, today was the happiest he had been.
Seeing her grandson’s smile, the elderly lady felt reassured that they had made the right decision. She worried that the city might stifle the child, as she rarely heard him talk about his classmates, indicating that he might not get along with them.
Wang Qian, observing the envy on the boy’s face, said, “Zuo He, even though we have fun, we also have to work hard and get tired. You don’t have to do that in the city.”
At the mention of work, Zuo He’s head drooped, but he quickly perked up. “I’m not afraid of working, but I don’t have the strength now. Grandpa said I’ll have strength when I grow up.”
Confident in his resilience, Zuo He believed he wasn’t afraid of hardship. Wang Qian smiled at the naive child and said, “Zuo He, come back in the fall and see how hard the farmers work. Don’t forget the line from ‘The Farmer’s Song’: ‘Who knows that every grain in the bowl is hard-earned.’ You’ll understand then.”