Chapter 41
◎Yellow Schoolbag◎
A smell of hospital disinfectant hit her face. Tangtang looked at the red-walled building with a sign that read “Hospital” and was a little confused. “Brother Shunian, why did you bring me to the hospital?”
“You’ll know when you get inside.” Zhou Shunian locked the bicycle with a lock and led her into the hospital, then turned and twisted through several corridors into the traditional Chinese medicine department.
The department was hot and quiet in the afternoon. The smell of hospital disinfectant lingered in the air. The old doctor in the department looked to be in his sixties, with a very peaceful face. He was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt under his white coat. His hair was all gray, and he had a two- or three-inch-long beard, but he didn’t have a strong sense of aging. He looked hale and hearty, and his steps were brisk.
The old Chinese medicine doctor took her pulse, and his other hand stroked his somewhat gray beard on his chin, his brows tightly furrowed.
Seeing this atmosphere, Tangtang’s heart couldn’t help but become nervous.
“Grandpa, how is it? Is it serious?” Zhou Shunian asked from the side.
Grandpa?
Tangtang’s gaze fell on the name tag of the old doctor in front of her. Only then did she realize that the name on it was Zhou Dinghe. She had heard from her brother that Zhou Shunian’s grandfather was a well-known old Chinese medicine doctor in Yuanlin County. When people within a hundred-mile radius mentioned “Dr. Zhou,” everyone would give a thumbs-up. If a child had a sudden high fever in the middle of the night, or if an old person’s old illness relapsed, the first person they would think of was Dr. Zhou. It was common for his medicine to cure the illness. The most precious thing was that when he encountered some poor families who couldn’t afford to see a doctor, he would not only not charge a penny but also generously give away the medicinal herbs he had collected.
Tangtang’s gaze fell on the wall behind him. “Miraculous hands that bring the dying back to life,” “A doctor’s benevolent heart.” Layers of brocade banners almost covered the white wall.
So the old man in front of her was Mr. Zhou Dinghe.
Mr. Zhou Dinghe was in high demand throughout Yuanlin County. The queue of people waiting for him probably stretched from the hospital gate to the stone bridge three li away. If it weren’t for Zhou Shunian’s connection, Tangtang estimated that she would not have been able to see Dr. Zhou so easily.
“The little girl was born with a weak constitution, and her body was not well-nourished when she was young, which has left a root cause of illness. That’s why her monthly period is particularly difficult. If it is not treated early, not only will she suffer now, but it may also be difficult for her to get married and have children in the future.” Zhou Dinghe stroked his beard and picked up a pen to dip in ink. “I’ll write a prescription. Two doses a day. You can take it for a while and see the effect.”
A weak constitution? Tangtang pursed her lips. Her biological mother, Su Yandi, was as wide as two people and physically strong. She was not afraid to fight with men. The three sons she gave birth to were also tall and strong, as strong as oxen. How could she be so unlucky as to be born with a weak constitution?
Tangtang had never thought about the problem of getting married and having children in the future, but her period was really painful now. For those few days every month, she had no energy to do anything. If it could be treated, that would be great.
Zhou Dinghe’s handwriting was very good, with a unique style in every stroke, and a faint scent of ink.
Zhou Shunian took the prescription. “Alright, I know. Thank you, Grandpa.”
Coming out of the county hospital, Zhou Shunian took Tangtang to the pharmacy to get the medicine. Tangtang had originally thought that since she hadn’t paid a consultation fee, she couldn’t let Zhou Shunian pay for the medicine for her. But she didn’t expect that a thin prescription could get so many large bags of medicine. Looking at the price, it was thirty-five yuan and sixty cents.
She was so scared that she almost fainted.
Tangtang only had five yuan with her. She could only stand by and watch as Zhou Shunian deftly took out forty yuan from his pocket, and the pharmacy clerk gave him four yuan and forty cents in change.
Coming out of the pharmacy, Tangtang hesitated for a moment and said, “Brother Shunian, I’ll pay you back later.”
She hadn’t expected the medicine to be so expensive. If she had known, she wouldn’t have gotten it treated. She could have just endured it.
But since she had already taken the medicine, she couldn’t let Zhou Shunian pay for it for her, no matter what.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not much money. It would be too formal to talk about money.” Zhou Shunian didn’t want to talk about money. He happened to see the medicine pot in the pharmacy and changed the subject. “Do you have a medicine pot at home?”
“Yes.” Tangtang thought for a moment. She would not stay at the school for the time being. It would be more convenient to brew the medicine at home in the morning and evening.
“It’s a rare trip to the county town. Do you want to go to the state-run canteen in the county for a good meal?”
Tangtang looked at the sign with the words “State-Run Restaurant” not far away, and her eyes lit up. “Alright.”
Tangtang had originally wanted to treat him, but Zhou Shunian wouldn’t let her pay. He had her sit quietly in the corner while he went to queue up for the food.
When Zhou Shunian returned, he was already carrying several dishes: stir-fried eggs with perilla and cucumber, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and fried lotus root and meatballs. The staple food was pumpkin and millet rice. The soft and glutinous millet was topped with golden pumpkin, which was very appetizing just by looking at it.
“Hurry up and eat. After you’ve eaten, I’ll take you back to school.” Zhou Shunian put the rice into her bowl.
“Mhm, mhm!”
Tangtang took a bite of the rice. It was indeed as fresh and sweet as she had imagined. The stir-fried eggs with perilla and cucumber were very refreshing. The perilla had a unique fragrance, and the cucumber was crisp and tender. Any dish stir-fried with eggs would be delicious. As for the sweet and sour pork tenderloin, the sweet and sour sauce was just right. Taking a bite and then a mouthful of rice, it was incredibly fragrant.
The fried lotus root and meatballs were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The meat filling was mixed with chopped lotus root. The clear sweetness and crispness of the lotus root perfectly neutralized the greasiness of the meat filling, making it fragrant but not greasy.
The two of them ate all the food. Coming out of the state-run restaurant, Zhou Shunian rode his bicycle to take Tangtang back, just as he had come. By the time they returned to the commune middle school, it was almost dark.
Zhou Shunian handed Tangtang the yellow schoolbag that he had asked his father to buy from the provincial capital.
This yellow schoolbag was made of a very thick twill cloth. There were four or five large pockets on the back, with a large red stripe sewn on the pockets. It was a double-shoulder style, and the two shoulder straps were specially reinforced. The space inside the schoolbag was very large, and it could hold a lot of miscellaneous things. The bottom of the schoolbag was also reinforced with a layer of dark brown cowhide, and the seams were densely studded with copper rivets. Even if it was full of textbooks, there was no need to worry about it being worn through.
Tangtang estimated that this yellow schoolbag was not cheap. It would cost at least twenty yuan to buy.
“This yellow schoolbag is for you.”
“Huh?” Tangtang held the schoolbag in her hand, her eyes wide.
“This blue schoolbag is for Juesheng. Please give it to him for me.” Zhou Shunian patted her head. “You don’t have to pay me back for the medicine. Just think of it as the last thing Brother Shunian can do for you before I leave.”
Zhou Shunian was the only son in his family. During the time he stayed at the Su family’s house, he had established a very close relationship with them. He was very envious of the atmosphere at the Su family’s house and also regarded Su Juesheng and Tangtang as his own younger brother and sister.
“Brother Shunian, where are you going?” Tangtang was so shocked by the sudden news that the schoolbag almost slipped from her fingers.
Zhou Shunian’s figure was stretched long by the setting sun. The young man looked up at the slightly swaying branches above his head, and a faint sigh was also blown into the autumn wind. “I’ve actually been graduated for a while. My old classmates have all gone their separate ways. Some have been recruited for work, some have returned to their hometowns to farm, some have been recruited for work, and some have been sent to the countryside to work as educated youth. I can’t just stay at home as an unemployed person. I’m going to Wanqiu to work as an educated youth.”
After the college entrance examination was canceled, most of the large number of high school graduates each year, except for a small number who were recruited for work, all went to the fields.
Tangtang’s expression was a little dazed. She listened to this unfamiliar place name and searched in her mind, but she couldn’t find any relevant clues. “Wanqiu, how far is Wanqiu from Yuanlin County?”
“More than a thousand li.” Zhou Shunian’s eyes also showed a hint of loneliness.
Tangtang lowered her head in silence. It was more than ten li from Yuhuai Village to the commune, and more than forty li from Yuhuai Village to the county town. More than a thousand li, how far was that? How many round trips from Yuhuai Village to the county town would that be?
She opened her mouth again. “Brother Shunian, when are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
When her brother, Juesheng, left, although Tangtang was reluctant to part with him, her heart was still mostly filled with joy, because she knew that joining the army was her brother Juesheng’s dream, and it was also one of the few good ways out for rural children. But for Brother Shunian to go to Wanqiu to work as an educated youth, the feeling in her heart was like swallowing a sour fruit with thorns.
She clutched the strap of her schoolbag and stood there, watching Zhou Shunian’s shadow grow longer and longer in the setting sun. She suddenly remembered two years ago when Zhou Shunian had stayed at their house. The young man at that time was sitting in front of a vast field, with fireflies dancing around, and had treated her to a cool soda. Starting from tomorrow, he would be going to a strange land a thousand li away to scrape a living from the soil.
This parting was not towards glory, but to press the hands of these young people into the soil, so that the hands that were stained with the fragrance of ink would also be stained with mud that could not be washed clean.
…
At nine in the evening, Zhou Shunian had already packed his luggage. He tied up a roll of bedding. The next morning, he would take the train to Wanqiu.
“When you get to Wanqiu, you must write to us. If you’re short of anything, just tell us, you know?” Thinking that her son was leaving home tomorrow, Wang Chunlan couldn’t help but her eyes turn red. “I’ve exchanged all the grain coupons for national grain coupons. They’re in the black pocket with the money. I’ve made you a dozen pairs of cloth shoes, and some common medicines are also in the box.”
“I know.”
Zhou Shunian said, “You should also take care of your health at home.”
“I don’t know when you became taller than Mom.”
Wang Chunlan wiped away her tears and looked up at Zhou Shunian, who was almost as tall as the door frame. She could vaguely see him standing on his tiptoes in front of the stove as a child. She wanted to say some more nagging words like “add clothes when it’s cold” and “don’t be too hard on yourself,” but as soon as her trembling lips opened, she felt as if something was stuck in her chest. A rusty taste rose in her throat. Her son’s figure in front of her began to distort, and her vision flickered. The whole room spun.
Before Wang Chunlan lost consciousness, the last thing she saw was her son Zhou Shunian’s shocked and nervous expression, and his worried cry.