Chapter 5: The State-run Canteen
The commune to which Yuhuai Village belonged was called the Red Flag Commune, encompassing more than ten villages in total. After crossing an earthen slope, a dilapidated street about fifty meters long came into view on the opposite side of a river. The most popular spot on this street was the supply and marketing cooperative’s retail store—two buildings of blue brick with a wooden sign hanging by the door, the words “Red Flag Commune Supply and Marketing Cooperative” written in green ink.
To the north on this street was a small state-run canteen. One could often see passing truck drivers hop down from their cabs, swagger in, and order a plate of pork head meat and half a catty of noodles with braised sauce. At moments like these, onlookers would cast envious glances their way. For people who spent their days enduring hunger, being able to eat meat with abandon was the greatest happiness imaginable.
Further on was the Red Flag Commune’s only middle school. A few gray classrooms housed the two to three hundred junior high students from the entire commune. The school only went up to junior high; to continue on to high school, one had to go to the school in the county seat.
The commune also had a simple clinic with only two or three doctors and a few nurses. People rarely came here for minor aches and pains, either toughing it out or going straight to the county hospital, where the medical standards and facilities were much better.
Yu Juanfang parked the bicycle in front of an elm tree, locked it, and then said to Tangtang, “Let’s go to the state-run canteen to get something to eat first, then I’ll take you to the cooperative.”
Tangtang was taken aback. She had been fully prepared to be sent to another family, but her aunt was talking about taking her to eat at the canteen. “Huh?”
“What are you standing there for? Let’s go.”
This was Tangtang’s first time in a place like a state-run canteen. Through the glass window, she could see a stout chef inside pulling noodles. A small, two-foot-square sign hung by the door, with the day’s main dishes and menu written on it in chalk.
Yu Juanfang asked Tangtang what she wanted to eat. Since Tangtang couldn’t read, she just pointed randomly at the small blackboard.
Yu Juanfang ordered two different bowls of noodles—one with pork tripe and one with pork ribs—and paid with money and grain coupons. The cook handed them a small numbered plaque.
It wasn’t a market day, so the canteen wasn’t crowded. Yu Juanfang led Tangtang to a corner table.
The pork tripe noodles were made with thinly sliced, spicy braised tripe that looked tantalizingly hot. The pork rib noodles had pieces of meat coated in a thick, dark, glossy sauce that looked so tender it would fall off the bone. The sight alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.
Tangtang realized she had chosen the pork tripe noodles. It was a heaping bowl, sprinkled with bright green scallions. Only after she saw Yu Juanfang start eating did she pick up her own chopsticks. The noodles were made from fine white flour, a rare luxury. They were smooth and springy. The spicy pork tripe had been stir-fried in lard, making it wonderfully crisp and tender, infusing the entire bowl with its savory aroma.
Tangtang didn’t even let the smallest noodle scrap go to waste, drinking down the fragrant broth until her stomach was round and full. She had never eaten such delicious noodles in her life. She was so happy and satisfied she wanted to cry.
…
After finishing their meal, they left the canteen and Yu Juanfang took Tangtang to the supply and marketing cooperative at the head of the street.
The retail store was quite large on the inside, with two or three clerks. It was divided into several sections, selling daily necessities, food, stationery, and fabric.
The daily necessities section was dominated by oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, matches, and candles. The food section had cheap fruit-flavored hard candies and fermented biscuits. A glass case held freshly baked sponge cakes, their rich, eggy aroma filling the air. The sign above read eighty cents per catty. The fabric section displayed several bolts of cloth in different colors and patterns.
Yu Juanfang took a look. It was mostly cotton fabric from the city mills. The colors were bright and the texture was soft. “Go on, pick one you like.”
A look of utter disbelief washed over Tangtang’s face. She stood frozen for a moment, wiped her hands on her clothes, and then stepped forward to look at the bolts of fabric.
There was yellow, pink, blue, green, and white. They felt so soft in her hands and had a pleasant, clean smell. In the end, Tangtang chose a yellow fabric with a small floral print.
Yu Juanfang had the clerk measure out six chi of the fabric, enough for Tangtang’s size, and also bought three chi of a dark blue cloth.
In addition, she bought salt and soy sauce, which the family desperately needed, two red strings for Tangtang to tie her hair with, and some ink and notebooks for the children. Since it was a rare trip, she decided to buy a small treat for the kids and had the clerk weigh out some of the cheapest fruit hard candies.
With their errands done, Yu Juanfang pedaled the bicycle with Tangtang on the back, just as they had come.
On the way back, Tangtang sat on the rear seat, her hand tightly gripping the corner of Yu Juanfang’s shirt. She kept her head down, her eyes red. When her aunt wasn’t looking, she quickly wiped away her tears.
…
Back home, Yu Juanfang took a soft measuring tape from the bottom of her chest and told Tangtang to stand straight with her arms outstretched. “Shoulders 28, length 44, hem 55…”
“Spring is coming, so you won’t be able to wear your padded jacket for much longer. And I assume you can’t wear those old rags from the Wang family anymore. I’ll make you a light spring outfit.”
As Yu Juanfang bent down to measure her waist, the soft tape measure seemed to encircle Tangtang in an embrace. She smelled of plant ash, which they used for washing hair and clothes. It had a faint, clean fragrance.
Tangtang couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. They flowed out as if a floodgate had opened. In her entire life, this was the first time someone had ever measured her to make new clothes. She had been so sure she was being sent away, but instead, her aunt had taken her to the commune to buy fabric for a new outfit. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and hugging Yu Juanfang tightly around the waist.
“Mom, from now on, you are my only mother… You are the best mom in the whole world to me. When I grow up, I’ll take care of you and Uncle, only you and Uncle. I promise I’ll be good to you both…”
“I thought I made a mistake and you were going to send me to another family. I really, really like the Su family. I like my brothers here, and I like my dad and mom here…”
Yu Juanfang was stunned by the sudden embrace. After a moment, she finally spoke. “Since your uncle brought you back, the Su family is your home. Unless you yourself no longer want to be here, no one can ever send you away.”
…
Using the yellow floral fabric, Yu Juanfang made Tangtang a long-sleeved spring blouse and trousers. With the dark blue fabric, she made a new pinafore dress. Tangtang’s skin was fair, and the fresh, bright yellow outfit looked exceptionally pretty on her.
However, whenever it was time to feed the chickens, gather firewood, or cut pig feed, Tangtang would change back into the old clothes Wani had given her. She couldn’t bear to ruin her new outfit.
With a heart full of security, Tangtang truly accepted the Su family as her own. She no longer had to worry about being sent away for making a mistake.
…
After spring began, the older Su children all went back to school, leaving only Tangtang and Su Juesheng at home. After gathering a basket of pig feed, the two of them ran up into the mountains to dig for mushrooms, wild vegetables, and spring bamboo shoots.
The mountain behind Yuhuai Village was called Threshing Grain Mountain. Spring was a season of renewal, and there was much more to eat in the mountains. As long as one was diligent, one wouldn’t go hungry.
They wandered for a while, and a small pile of greens and mushrooms soon formed in their baskets.
As they went deeper, sunlight dappled through the leaves. Tangtang spotted several tender bamboo shoots under a thicket not far away, but it was overgrown with thorns and ferns. Getting to them would not be easy.
She gritted her teeth, took off her basket, rolled up her sleeves, and carefully ducked under the bamboo branches. She finally managed to get inside and snap off the shoots one by one. There were ten or twenty of them, enough for a whole dish.
Tangtang’s mouth watered just thinking of the delicious taste of stir-fried bamboo shoots. As she was about to crawl back out, she saw a gray-feathered wild chicken, which had appeared from nowhere, pecking at the wild berries in her basket.
She held her breath. Remembering something, she took a handful of shriveled grain from her pocket—leftover from feeding the chickens that morning—and scattered it in the grass nearby.
As expected, the chicken was drawn to the grain. Though young, Tangtang was clever. She quietly circled around behind it, and with a swift motion, slammed her basket down over it. Just like that, the wild chicken was hers.
It was a truly bountiful trip.
“Brother Juesheng, we have chicken to eat tonight!” Tangtang shouldered her basket and ran towards Su Juesheng, holding the chicken.
“A wild chicken?!” Su Juesheng’s eyes went wide when he saw it. “Tangtang, you’re amazing! I’ve never caught a wild chicken before. They’re so hard to catch on this mountain. How did you do it?”
“I was in that bamboo grove picking shoots when this chicken ran out. I remembered that our chickens love grain, and I happened to have some in my pocket. I scattered it on the ground, then trapped it with my basket!” Tangtang was still excited, gesturing animatedly as she explained.
“I picked some pine mushrooms. They’ll be perfect for stewing with the chicken!”
At the thought of delicious chicken and mushroom stew, both of them swallowed hard. It had been a long time since they had eaten any meat, and they were ravenous for it.
Before heading down the mountain, they conferred. Worried about attracting attention, they moved all the vegetables and bamboo shoots into Su Juesheng’s basket. Tangtang lined the bottom of her own basket with dry grass, placed the chicken with its feet and wings tied inside, and then covered it with another layer of wild grass. That way, no one would be able to see what was inside.