Chapter 97 p2
Not long after Su Yandi was taken away, Wang Shijin crawled out of the corner with a lingering fear. He tremblingly cooked a meal for himself and his younger son. After the economy was liberalized, the labor force was no longer tied to the land. His second son had learned a trade from his crooked friends and had gone to the south to be a pickpocket. There had been no news of him since. His eldest son was old and couldn’t get a wife. He was disheartened and had simply taken the few yuan he had saved for a wife and gambled it all away. Wang Shijin had been so angry that he had kicked him out of the house. His old mother had also died a few years ago. Now, only he and his younger son were left at home. He was already in his fifties this year and was no longer young.
Wang Guixi was eating the half-cooked rice, his voice muffled. “Dad, when will Mom be released?”
“I don’t know! Just pretend she’s dead from now on!”
“Dad, do you think it’s because our family has committed too many sins that heaven is making us have bad luck? No matter how many bad things a person does, the old man in the sky is watching from above.”
Wang Guixi’s words made Wang Shijin’s hair stand on end, but he still glared at his younger son. “Pah! Stop talking nonsense here! What sins, what not sins!”
After eating, Wang Shijin didn’t even wash the bowls and lay back on the mat-covered kang.
Because of the hot weather, the wound on his leg had already started to fester. Wang Shijin fanned himself with a cattail fan and grunted twice before he slowly fell asleep.
In a half-asleep state, Wang Shijin heard the sound of a lock being opened by his ear.
Opening a lock? Opening what lock? Who is opening a lock? Where is the lock being opened?
In the darkness, he slightly opened his eyes and saw his eldest son, Wang Guide, bent over like a dog, opening the drawer where the family’s money was stored. This money was what he had earned by moving stones day and night at the construction site, just enough to buy fertilizer for the next quarter.
Wang Shijin’s anger flared up. He sat up abruptly. “Wang Laoda! You damn bastard, you dare to touch your old man’s money!”
Wang Guide was so scared that he trembled. He grabbed the money and turned to run out.
Wang Shijin’s entire chest was burning with anger. This anger spread from his chest to the top of his head. His eyes were as red as if they were on fire. How could he have given birth to this thing that was worse than a pig or a dog!
He got up to chase, but before he could reach the threshold, his vision suddenly went black. Half of his body suddenly felt as if it were filled with lead and couldn’t be lifted. The broom he had just picked up fell to the ground with a thud, and he fell to the threshold with a thud.
Wang Guide had taken the money and had already run away without a trace.
Wang Shijin lay on the cold ground. He could feel the blood rushing to his head, and his ears were ringing, but he couldn’t even say a single curse word. A sharp pain flooded his mind, and then, half of his body lost all feeling.
The news of Wang Shijin’s stroke spread throughout the Hongqi Commune. After meals, when the villagers discussed the old Wang family, they couldn’t help but spit: “Retribution.”
Wang Shijin had completely become a cripple. He would have to be paralyzed on the kang for the rest of his life. Half of his body was completely immobile, and he couldn’t speak clearly, only able to mumble a few single-syllable words. He couldn’t even take care of his own eating, drinking, and toilet needs.
…
The weather in the capital in June was as hot as a steamer. The salesclerks in the shops were drowsily dozing off, and even the small grass by the roadside was drooping listlessly.
In front of the train station, all kinds of people were constantly gathering, and the noisy sounds were constantly coming into their ears. Tangtang was wearing a grass-green dress and carrying a blue and white plaid cloth bag, looking eagerly into the station.
Her two slender fingers were almost twisted into a knot. Besides anticipation, there was also a hint of unspeakable nervousness in her heart.
Would her parents disown her because they thought she had other parents?
Zhou Shunian sensed her tense emotions and gently held her arm. “Uncle and Auntie have always loved and understood you. The things you’re worried about will not happen.”
Tangtang met his gentle eyes, which were like a clear wind and a bright moon. She pursed her lips, and after a long while, she nodded.
“Our parents are here!”
As soon as Su Juesheng’s voice fell, Tangtang looked up and saw a middle-aged couple walking out of the train station’s exit. Su Huimin was wearing a dark gray tunic suit, and the rolled-up cuffs showed signs of wear. Yu Juanfang was wearing a white and red floral dress with a pair of navy blue khaki trousers. The toes of her black cloth shoes were slightly worn, and her hair was coiled at the back of her head with a hairnet. She was also carrying a large bundle in her hand.
The couple had been on the train for a day and a night and were inevitably a little tired. It was hot in June, and they were covered in a sour smell of sweat. But they still tried to tidy themselves up, wanting to present their best image to their children.
The crowd at the exit was very large, and Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang were almost drowned in the crowd. From a distance, she caught a glimpse of the wrinkles at the corners of her parents’ eyes and the white hair at their temples. For the first time, Tangtang so deeply realized that her parents were no longer young. Her feet felt as if they were rooted to the spot, and her eyes turned red.
Perhaps because they hadn’t expected there to be so many passengers at the capital’s train station, the Su Huimin couple kept looking this way, their eyes both eager and reserved.
Tangtang and Juesheng quickly went forward. “Dad, Mom!”
“Tangtang, Juesheng.” Seeing the two children, the Su Huimin couple finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The family of four had not seen each other for a long time. Yu Juanfang couldn’t help but touch Tangtang’s thin and delicate face with concern.
Tangtang’s face was pressed against her mother’s dry and warm palm. Her eyes immediately turned red, and the heart that had been in her throat settled in her stomach.
Brother Shunian was right. Her parents had always loved her and understood her.
“Uncle Su, Auntie Yu.” Seeing this, Zhou Shunian quickly took the large bundle from Yu Juanfang’s hand.
“Little Zhou.” Su Huimin patted his shoulder. They had already learned from Tangtang’s letter that the two children were already together.
Tangtang’s relationship was a big deal, but there were more important things at hand.
“Tangtang, what’s going on? How are your biological parents’ family? Are they really reliable? You wrote so vaguely in your letter. You should tell me and your mother the whole story again…” Su Huimin asked his daughter.
Tangtang said, “Dad, Mom, I’ve already booked a room for you at a guest house near the school. You’ve been on the train for a day and a night. You must be exhausted. Let’s go and rest now. You can eat something hot first, and I’ll tell you while we’re at it.”
The taxi that Zhou Shunian had booked in advance was already waiting at the exit. He put the heavy large bundle in the trunk and then opened the car door for Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang to get in.
This was a green taxi. The soft seats were covered with washed-out blue cloth covers. The windows were open. As soon as the car started with a “chug chug,” the wind from outside rushed in. Although it wasn’t very cool, it was still much better than being outside. The car didn’t shake either, and it was very comfortable to sit in. You could see the endless stream of people outside.
“I didn’t expect us to be able to take a car. In the past, this was a privilege for leaders.” Su Huimin bounced on his seat and couldn’t help but sigh. “This is much more comfortable than the public bus in our commune. It’s not bumpy at all!”
“There are so many people in the capital. It’s a sea of people everywhere, and all kinds of tall buildings. My eyes are dazzled.” The furthest place Yu Juanfang had been in her life was Yuanlin County. She had never thought that one day her feet would be on the soil of the capital. Her chest was still pounding fast. “Little Zhou, this won’t be very expensive, will it?”
Zhou Shunian was sitting in the front passenger seat. Hearing this, he smiled. “Auntie, you can sit at ease. It’s very cheap.”
The guest house was right next to Capital University. It was convenient to go to both Capital University and the University of Transportation. Tangtang had specially booked a single room for her parents. In the small room were two iron-frame beds with white quilts with the guest house’s red characters printed on them. A black and white television was placed between the two beds. The walls and ceiling were painted snow-white. The only regret was that there was no bathroom. To wash up and go to the toilet, they had to go to the water room on the first floor.
There was an enamel washbasin under the bed. Tangtang went to get a basin of hot water for her parents to wash up. After a day and a night on the train, they would feel much more comfortable after washing their faces. Su Juesheng, on the other hand, was putting away his parents’ luggage. Most of it was dried braised meat that they had brought for the two of them. Zhou Shunian had gone out to buy lunch.
Zhou Shunian had gone to the canteen next door and had brought back a lot of food: potato stew with beef brisket, stir-fried pork liver, stir-fried lettuce with wood ear mushrooms, sweet and sour cabbage, stir-fried tomatoes with eggs, and loofah and egg soup. The staple food was white flour steamed buns.
While they were eating, Tangtang told her parents in detail how she and her brother had met Lu Junshan on the train, how she had met Sheng Ruiru in a lecture class at Capital University, and how she had helped the low-blood-sugar Old Mr. Lu near a bookstore, and thus had established a relationship with the Lu family…
Even Su Huimin and Yu Juanfang couldn’t help but marvel at the heavenly fate.
“I don’t know what to do now. Dad, Mom, for so many years, you have raised me as your own daughter and have been better to me than to my brothers. I have also always regarded you as my only parents. I want to listen to you on this matter. If you are even a little bit unwilling, I will not acknowledge these biological parents. We will still live as a family as before,” Tangtang said.
Su Huimin and his wife looked at each other, and their hands paused.
“Silly child, your biological parents have found you. This is a good thing. They are your biological parents. Your biological mother carried you for ten months and gave birth to you. How can you not acknowledge them?”
“Your dad and I don’t care if you have biological parents or not. Back then, when that Wang Shijin and Su Yandi were alive and well, your dad and I never cared, did we?”
“Tangtang, you are Dad and Mom’s daughter. This will never change. Our love for you will not change because of the existence of your biological parents.”
“Mom.” Tangtang couldn’t help but throw herself into Yu Juanfang’s arms.
“I have the best mother in the world.”
Yu Juanfang scraped her nose. “Silly child.”
After lunch, the few of them tidied up and were about to set off for the Lu family’s house. Yu Juanfang changed into a navy blue polyester shirt with a dark pattern. Her hair was also re-combed, and she looked much more energetic.
Noticing her daughter’s gaze on her, Yu Juanfang smiled embarrassedly and tucked the stray hair at her temples behind her ear. “This piece of fabric was a gift from Little Zhou when he came for the New Year. I had originally planned to save it for you to make a new set of clothes when you came back for the summer vacation. But we had to come to the capital on short notice, and there were no better fabrics in the commune or the county. I heard that the Lu family is not an ordinary family. To meet your biological parents, I have to dress a little better. Although our family’s conditions are very different from others, we can’t look like we’re from the countryside to take advantage of them. So I used this piece of fabric to make a set of clothes for myself and a tunic suit for your dad.”
“I have plenty of clothes. I can’t even wear them all. Last time, when Brother Juesheng came to the capital, he even took me to the department store to buy a lot.” Tangtang held her mother’s arm. “It’s beautiful. These clothes are so well-made, and Mom looks beautiful in them. No wonder my three brothers are all so handsome. They all took after your good looks!”
Tangtang’s words were true. Su Juesheng, Su Juexiao, and Su Juesheng were all outstandingly handsome.
“That’s right. When your mother was young, she was the flower of the Hongqi Commune.” Yu Juanfang was so coaxed that her eyes crinkled with a smile.
Zhou Shunian smiled. “Auntie, that fabric was originally a gift for you. You look very beautiful in it.”
Tangtang was young, and her personality was also quite lively and cheerful. She usually wore light-colored clothes, such as pink, yellow, white, purple, and green. This piece of fabric was specially chosen by Zhou Shunian to give to Yu Juanfang.
“My scholarship for this semester has come down. In a couple of days, I’ll take Dad and Mom to the department store to buy a few more new and fashionable clothes. Mom only ever thinks of making clothes for us and has neglected to make a new set for herself.” Since she was little, Tangtang had never lacked clothes for all four seasons, but the number of times her mother had made clothes for herself could be counted on one hand.
“Tangtang is right. Mom only ever makes new clothes for us and has rarely made any for herself. I still have twenty or thirty yuan saved up. At that time, we can go to the shopping mall together and buy new clothes,” Su Juesheng said.
Hearing the two children’s words, although Yu Juanfang muttered, “Don’t waste money. Your dad and I have plenty of clothes,” she was still moved in her heart.
…