Chapter 46
◎Su Juesheng’s Family Visit Leave◎
Starting from his second year, Su Juesheng had a fifteen-day family visit leave every year. In March and April, he took leave and returned to Yuhuai Village.
Yu Juanfang and the others hadn’t expected Su Juesheng to come back so suddenly. This made their family overjoyed.
Before returning, Su Juesheng had spent all the money he had saved to buy gifts for his family. There was tea, pastries, dried meat, a tin of lotus root starch, and also Victory brand fountain pens for his three younger siblings.
He took out a piece of floral cloth, about a dozen feet long, from his box and stuffed it into Yu Juanfang’s hand, smiling and revealing a mouthful of white teeth. “I saw this floral cloth in a store in the provincial capital. I had to wait in a long line to buy it. You can use it to make a new set of clothes for yourself and Tangtang.”
Yu Juanfang caressed the floral cloth in her hand. The cloth was a red and black plaid, the colors were bright, and it felt good to the touch. It was clearly not cheap. A happy smile appeared on her face, but she still couldn’t help but put on a stern face. “It’s good enough that you’re back. Why bring gifts for the family? Your monthly subsidy is only a few yuan. You should keep it to buy something for yourself.”
The cloth was a full dozen feet long, enough to make two sets of clothes.
“The army provides food and lodging, and the clothes, shoes, and socks are all issued by the army. I only need to keep one or two yuan a month for daily necessities.” Su Juesheng had been away for more than half a year. When he returned home and saw that his younger brother and sister had grown taller, and the family’s life was getting better and better, he was relieved.
Compared to the delicate skin he had when he first joined the army, after spending more than half a year in the army, Juesheng seemed to have matured a lot. He was wearing a military uniform, looked much taller, and was also tanned. Only in front of his family would he occasionally show his childish side.
“You can’t say that. You’re a grown-up now. You should always have some money on you. In case you have a headache or a fever one day, or want to buy an enamel mug or a new pair of shoes, don’t always think about sending it home. Your dad and I just hope you can live well outside.”
“Oh, don’t nag anymore. I know.”
“It’s not easy to come back. For these fifteen days, just tell Mom what you want to eat, and Mom will make it for you.”
Su Juesheng thought seriously for a moment. “Chive pancakes!”
“Alright, I’ll make them for you tonight. I’ll beat two eggs… no, three eggs.” Yu Juanfang remembered that before the family was divided, she was reluctant to put eggs in the chive pancakes she made. Now, their family had several laying hens, and she could beat as many eggs as she wanted.
Tangtang and Juesheng gathered around their big brother, their eyes sparkling.
A smile appeared on Su Huimin’s face. “Juesheng, tell your younger brother and sister about things in the army.”
“Yes, Brother Juesheng. We want to hear about your time in the army.”
Su Juesheng patted Tangtang’s head and sat down on the kang.
“A group of us new recruits got on a green train and rumbled south. The scenery outside the window became unrecognizable. First, the gullies and ravines of the Loess Plateau receded, then the boundless plains, and finally, green mountains. When the new recruits first entered the camp, there was a three-month military training…”
“On the first day, we stood at attention for a whole day. Then the training intensity became greater and greater. During tactical training, we had to crawl on the ground full of gravel and weeds… Once, I accidentally hit a sharp stone, and my knee was bleeding profusely. But the squad leader didn’t give us a chance to rest at all and roared at us angrily: ‘Will the enemy give you time to rest on the battlefield? Continue!'”
“The most unforgettable was the field training. We carried dozens of catties of equipment and walked for dozens of kilometers in the deep mountains and old forests. The mountain roads were steep and slippery. Several times, I almost fell off a cliff… On the last day of the field training, it was pouring rain. We were cold and hungry, but no one complained of being tired. When we finally reached our destination and saw the tired but determined expressions on our comrades’ faces, I suddenly understood what willpower was.”
“The sun in the north is fierce, but at least there’s a cool breeze. Over there, even the air is sticky, and you breathe in a bit of moisture. The winter is also damp and cold, and it often rains. The clothes and pants can’t be dried. Lying on a hard bed with damp pants, I really missed our hard kang at home.”
Hearing about lying on a hard bed with damp pants, a vivid image inexplicably appeared in Tangtang’s mind, and she couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Big Brother, do they also eat buns and dry rations in the south like we do in the north?”
“They do, but not much. They still mainly eat rice, rice cooked in bamboo tubes. When you lift the lid, it’s full of the fragrance of osmanthus. Once, during a field training in the mountains, we got lost. The local villagers gave us a handful of taro. It was so soft and glutinous, even softer than the fried cakes we eat at New Year’s.”
The things Su Juesheng talked about were incredibly new to Tangtang and the others. It wasn’t until Yu Juanfang called them to set the table for dinner that the three siblings reluctantly dispersed.
Before going to bed at night, Tangtang brought a basin of water for Su Juesheng to wash his feet.
Su Juesheng was tidying something up in the room. Seeing her come in, he said, “Tangtang.”
Tangtang’s eyes sparkled. “Brother Juesheng.”
“I only found out later about Auntie Chunlan’s passing. I didn’t make it back in time for the mourning.”
“You were in the army at that time. Brother Shunian will definitely understand you.” Tangtang pursed her lips, and her lowered eyelashes cast a fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids.
Su Juesheng said, “A few days ago, I heard that Uncle Zhou has already remarried. His new wife is an accountant at the county hospital, seven or eight years younger than him.”
“But Auntie Wang passed away less than a year ago.” Tangtang’s eyes widened, and the image of Zhou Shunian’s lonely figure getting on the train to Wanqiu appeared in her mind. “Brother Shunian… does he know?”
Su Juesheng sighed with a bitter smile. “That’s his biological father. He definitely knows.”