Xu Changqing was startled awake by the clatter of pots and pans.
When she cracked open her eyes—it was light out?
The sight of the sky outside the window scared her so much she scrambled up from the kang.
“You’re up?
Go wash your face.” Uncharacteristically, Xu Qiguang, who was home for the wheat harvest, hadn’t gone to work this morning.
Instead, he was tidying up the outer room.
Xu Changqing hadn’t slept a wink last night, drifting in and out of a dazed sleep filled with dreams.
Now, seeing her father had even pulled out the cupboards to organize them, she was stunned.
“We leave in half an hour.”
That’s right.
Xu Changqing finally remembered her agreement with her father from last night—she had to go with him to the county town to meet someone.
‘All these dreams…
I’m becoming forgetful.’
“What, can’t bear to miss out on the work points?”
‘She was, in fact, a little reluctant.
The work points were higher than usual these days.
She had been planning to use her points to exchange for more grain rations this year, and then maybe go up the mountain to try her luck.’
‘If possible, by her dad’s fortieth birthday next year—no, by the end of this year—she wanted to see if she could save up for a bicycle for him as a birthday present.
It would make his travels so much more convenient.’
‘No need to say that out loud, though.’
‘Before, or even just before today, seeing her father, who had worked for so many years but still couldn’t bring himself to buy a bicycle, would have made her heart ache with frustration.’
But ever since her dad had explicitly said they had money at home for emergencies, her heart was at ease.
‘If I miss work, I miss work.
Besides, I have things to deal with today, so a day off is fine.’ Seeing her father glare at her in displeasure, Xu Changqing smiled and changed the subject.
“Did Mom go to work again?”
“She left first thing this morning.” ‘She probably got worried again and snuck off to her precious elder daughter’s place,’ Xu Qiguang thought, but he couldn’t be bothered to bring it up.
“She’s always worrying for nothing.
Your grandma will take good care of your mother.”
Xu Changqing nodded silently.
She deftly grabbed a hanging towel, slung it over her shoulder, picked up a chipped enamel cup with her toothpaste and toothbrush, and walked out of the outer room.
In the morning light, she could clearly see that several new trellises had been set up in their small vegetable and fruit garden.
She had been thinking just yesterday morning about grabbing some branches for that while she was out chopping firewood, but the job was already finished.
As she brushed her teeth, Xu Changqing scanned the courtyard.
Her gaze fell on the outbuilding—the storeroom—by the eastern gable wall, its roof ridge no higher than the eaves of their five-bay, partially brick-built main house.
‘Seeing its two doors were closed, she knew her dad’s tidying of the cupboards was really about finding a place to hide money in the outer room.
The most likely spot was behind those cupboards.’
‘It wasn’t that she was speaking ill of her own father, but his money-hiding skills were…
something else.
The only reason she hadn’t found it before was that she’d never even suspected they had savings.
Otherwise, she’d have found it on the first try, guaranteed.’
“Dad, how much is there?”
Back in the outer room, Xu Changqing saw her father standing with one hand on his hip and the other stroking his chin, contemplating the cupboards he had tidied and pushed against the wall.
She couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.
“It’s definitely enough to raise you.” Xu Qiguang glanced sideways at her, then pointed with the hand that had been on his chin toward the square table in the main hall, gesturing for her to eat breakfast.
‘That line again…’ Xu Changqing shook her head.
Seeing only one pair of chopsticks on the table, she knew her dad had already eaten.
As she walked over, she asked, “Ten thousand?”
Xu Qiguang chuckled.
“I never noticed, but my girl sure talks big.
It costs ten thousand yuan to raise you?
If that’s the case, then your old man here really can’t afford it.”
“Half that?”
‘Hah!
This kid is really fixated on this today.
Doesn’t she usually not even care to ask how much money we have?’ Xu Qiguang thought, secretly shaking his head.
“Half that again.”
What?
‘Son of a bitch!’
‘If she hadn’t been home yesterday afternoon, wouldn’t that bastard have stolen all twenty-five hundred?
Xu Changqing was filled with regret.
She should have just taken a knife to him yesterday!’
‘If she didn’t scare that bastard off for good, he’d definitely try to rob her family again!
Luckily, he was stuck around here, which meant there would be plenty of opportunities to teach him a lesson.’
‘And he still dreamed of returning to the city?’
‘Dream on!’
Picking up her chopsticks and bowl, Xu Changqing thought for a moment, then turned her head to her approaching father.
“How did our family get so much money?
You didn’t borrow it from my Master for emergencies, did you?”
“No.”
“But we still shouldn’t have this much.” She paused.
“Never mind that we don’t have enough grain and have to buy more every year…
just for this family…
our social obligations alone are a huge expense every year.”
“We get some of that back, too.
It’s not always just going out.”
‘How is that possible!
As long as she could remember, her family had never had any major celebration that would warrant relatives or her Master’s family showing up with large red envelopes of cash.’
‘On the contrary, it was always their relatives who needed money: this one for building a house or having a baby, that one for a son’s wedding, or someone in the clan needing a hand after falling on hard times.’
‘Even her maternal uncle, whose family was dual-income with only two children, complained so much that everyone knew they couldn’t save a dime.’
‘Meanwhile, her own family, thanks to her paternal grandmother’s “selflessness” during the family division, had started with practically nothing.
Her father had to rely solely on his own salary to support his parent and children, build a five-bay, partially brick house that was one of the best in the village, and keep both his daughters in school.
Xu Baimei had only dropped out when she was getting married last year.’
‘And that wasn’t even counting the money her dad had to spend on social obligations for his work.
She’d tried to calculate the family’s annual expenses before, and no matter how she did the math, the total was always terrifying.’
‘Okay, she was getting sidetracked again.’
Xu Changqing quickly pulled her thoughts back and asked again, as if nonchalantly, “Are you sure you didn’t borrow it from Master?
It’s fine if you did.
I can start working in a couple of years.”
‘This kid still doesn’t believe me.’ Xu Qiguang was speechless.
‘Borrow money?
From her Master?
That old man’s wife holds the purse strings.
Him, lend me money?’
‘The other way around would be more likely.’
“Alright, just tell me what is it you really want to ask?”
The moment he said that, Xu Changqing knew this was not going well.
‘With her little schemes, she couldn’t possibly try to outsmart a master, could she?’ She quickly shook her head and began to drink her porridge.
‘He won’t tell me?’
‘Fine.
She refused to believe she couldn’t get the truth out of the old man later.
If her father really did entrust something to him, then that dream…
couldn’t be dismissed as just a dream anymore.’
“Dad, how many days can you stay home this time?”
Xu Qiguang was just lifting a bowl of steamed egg custard to hand to his daughter.
Hearing her question, he gave her a meaningful look.
“Five days.
Focus on your studies and stop mulling over pointless things.”
‘Five days?’
‘That’s good.’
‘That’s plenty of time.’
Xu Changqing selectively ignored the last part of his sentence.
Without another word, she took the bowl from her father and dug into the steamed egg custard, which was starting to get cold.
“Eat slower.” Xu Qiguang patted his daughter’s head.
“You’ve already dealt with him, so let the matter drop.
Don’t stir up more trouble and make things difficult for your uncle.”
“Oh.”
“You are not to cause any trouble before your mother gives birth, can you promise me that?
If you can’t, you might as well come with me to my work unit and go straight back to school when your break is over.”
“…”