Fang Xiaoqin’s feelings toward her youngest daughter, Aili, were somewhat complicated.
She had already been in her thirties when she became pregnant with Aili. At the time, neither she nor her husband had planned to have another child, because their eldest daughter was already old enough to take the university entrance exam, and they still had two sons to raise. However, her husband had been delighted by the unexpected new life. He kept saying that he hoped it would be a little girl who would grow up to be as intelligent and beautiful as her older sister.
During her pregnancy, she had no appetite. The only thing she could manage to eat was steamed egg custard.
Her husband searched everywhere for eggs. Egg ration coupons were in limited supply, and he even brought over every egg he could get from their hometown, though it was still not much.
Later, he wanted to buy eggs from his coworkers at the factory. That year, supplementary food was in such short supply that no one was willing to spare any of their ration coupons.
One coworker was planning to return home to visit his family, but because the factory’s workload was so heavy, he could not get leave. He asked Xu Dajiang to cover his shifts for a few days, and in return, he would transfer one and a half jin worth of egg coupons to him.
Xu Dajiang agreed without hesitation. When Fang Xiaoqin found out, she was extremely unwilling. She worried that her husband would exhaust himself working day and night. However, since he had already agreed, there was nothing she could do.
The accident happened on the very night he was covering those shifts. Because production quotas were so demanding, the textile factory had already been working overtime continuously for quite some time. Suddenly, sparks erupted in Workshop No. 3. Before anyone had time to react, the flames ignited the surrounding flammable materials, and the fire rapidly grew out of control. Everyone’s first instinct was to flee. One female worker had her leg injured after being knocked down in the chaos and was unable to get up. Xu Dajiang carried her out on his back.
After getting outside, he saw that the fire had become critical and would soon spread to the warehouse behind the workshop. Not only were the products they had worked overtime to produce stored there, but there was also a newly delivered batch of lubricating oil. If those caught fire, they could trigger a massive explosion, and the entire factory would be consumed by flames.
In a moment of impulse, Xu Dajiang rushed back into the blazing workshop area and pulled down the iron gate to slow the spread of the fire, buying time for the firefighters to arrive. However, he never made it back out.
Four workers died in that fire, including Aunt Liu’s husband. He had been taking his turn resting in the break room, and by the time he discovered the fire, it was already too late for him to escape.
When Fang Xiaoqin received the news and rushed to the factory, she saw her husband’s charred body, burned into a shriveled mass. She collapsed unconscious on the spot. Had her father not arrived at the hospital in time to save her, neither she nor the baby would have survived.
After giving birth to her youngest daughter, she remained dazed and absent-minded. She kept mumbling about one jin of eggs, saying that her husband had died because of that one jin of eggs. No matter how others tried to comfort her, it was useless. Only when Fang Yuan and her two younger brothers stood by her bedside crying their hearts out did she finally come back to her senses.
She had no breast milk after giving birth, and she neither looked at nor held the baby. Left with no other choice, Fang Yuan’s maternal grandfather asked Grandma Xu to take the child back to the countryside first, hoping there might be a nursing mother there who could spare the baby a little milk. He also asked his eldest daughter to find a way to obtain milk coupons and had them sent to the child.
After Xu Dajiang died, the person Fang Xiaoqin blamed most was herself. She believed that it was because she had wanted to eat eggs that her husband had lost his life. Countless times, she wondered whether, if she had not become pregnant, if she had not had her youngest daughter, her husband might not have died. Because that thought constantly haunted her, she could not help directing some of her resentment toward her youngest daughter.
As more time passed, the wound in her heart gradually healed, and she slowly let go of some of her burden. However, her feelings toward her youngest daughter became increasingly difficult to describe. Whenever she visited the child in the countryside, every meeting filled her with affection, but at the same time brought back those painful memories.
Leaving her youngest daughter in the countryside felt like the best arrangement for the child. She had no confidence that she could care for her better than her mother-in-law could. She had seen with her own eyes how much the elders in the Xu family cherished the little girl, and that was why she felt reassured.
However, after her eldest daughter returned to work in the county town, she had always wanted to bring her younger sister home. Fang Xiaoqin could not help feeling guilty and remorseful. The recent outbreak had finally made her resolve to do it, but Aili refused to come back with her and had even bitten her. That truly broke her heart.
When Fang Yuan got out of bed, she discovered that her mother was still asleep. It was the first time her mother had gotten up later than she had. She quietly went into the room, secretly checked her mother’s pulse, and only relaxed after confirming everything was fine. Then she went outside to light the coal stove, boil water, and prepare breakfast.
When Fang Xiaoqin woke up, she found that sunlight had already filled more than half the room. She hurriedly put on her clothes and came out, only to find Fang Yuan sneaking toward the door with a pot in her hands.
“Mom overslept today… What are you doing with that pot?” Fang Xiaoqin walked over and asked.
Fang Yuan tried to hide the pot behind her back, but it was too heavy. She could not hold it steady with one hand and nearly dropped it.
Fang Xiaoqin stepped forward to support it.
She leaned over for a look. The contents of the iron pot were an appalling mess of soup, and she was so angry that she laughed instead. “You’re trying to secretly dump it? Since when do you waste food like this?”
She no longer had the energy to complain. Her daughter had taken the initiative to make breakfast, which should have made her happy. But looking at the inedible pot of breakfast, she honestly did not know whether she should scold her for being so clumsy or tell her she did not have to work so hard.
She was obviously so good at studying, so how could she not even know how to cook a simple bowl of noodles?
“I followed the steps you taught me. You said every dish follows the same process. First add oil, then the vegetables, stir-fry them a little, then add water, and finally salt and seasonings. You also said to save oil and use only a little.” Fang Yuan spoke guiltily before guessing, “Maybe I used too little oil, so it got burnt.”
“Those are the steps for stir-frying dishes. Who cooks noodles like that? You stir-fried the dried noodles together with the vegetables. Of course it turned out like this.” Fang Xiaoqin could not help raising her voice.
Fang Yuan blinked her large round eyes at her mother pitifully. “I know I was wrong.”
“Put the pot down. I’ll deal with it.” Fang Xiaoqin took the iron pot from her daughter’s hands. “Hurry up and get ready for work.”
“Mom, why don’t you take a break this morning? Our whole family can go eat breakfast at the state-owned restaurant up ahead today,” Fang Yuan seized the opportunity to suggest.
“I can have breakfast ready in no time. Don’t waste the money,” Fang Xiaoqin refused.
“I want to eat meat buns, youtiao, and doufunao.” Fang Yuan acted coquettishly.
Fang Xiaoqin hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then take Da Mao and Xiao Mao with you. I won’t go. Remember not to let them order whatever they want. The money and ration coupons you save could make several meals at home.”
“Got it!” Fang Yuan said happily. Then she went inside to wake the two little lazybones.
Walking into the morning sunshine with two excited Young Pioneers wearing bright red scarves, they headed toward the state-owned restaurant. The loudspeaker outside the restaurant was playing Ten Farewells to the Red Army. The passionate, uplifting song stirred everyone’s emotions, and Fang Yuan found her own steps becoming lighter. Da Mao and Xiao Mao had already run ahead, darting over to the restaurant counter to study the menu.
“All reactionaries are paper tigers.” The server recited the Chairman’s quotation expressionlessly, waiting for Da Mao and Xiao Mao to respond.
Da Mao scratched his ear anxiously before turning to look at Xiao Mao.
“The future is bright, the road is tortuous.” Xiao Mao calmly answered with another quotation.
After successfully exchanging the “password,” they were finally allowed to order.
After Fang Yuan came in, the three of them ordered meat buns, small wontons, doufunao, and youtiao. Several plates soon filled the table. Just as she was about to take out her money, a hand reached over from beside her and paid for the breakfast first.
“Uncle!” Fang Yuan and the other two cried out in delight.
None of them had expected to run into him here. The three of them gathered around their uncle and found an empty table to sit down together.
Fang Yuan’s eldest uncle by marriage, Lu Yongjun, was not very tall, but he had a sturdy build. He wore a crew cut, had a square face, and normally carried an imposing expression. At the moment, however, he was looking at the three siblings with a warm smile.
He reached out and ruffled Da Mao’s hair. “Eat slowly. If it isn’t enough, go get more.”
Da Mao wolfed down his food as though he had been starving for days. Fang Yuan and Xiao Mao could barely bear to watch. They almost wanted to pretend they did not know him.
“Uncle, do you eat breakfast here every morning?” Da Mao asked enviously, his cheeks puffed full of food as he looked up.
“I’m not some old landlord from the old days. How could I possibly eat at a restaurant every day?” Lu Yongjun laughed heartily. “Your aunt wasn’t feeling well when she got up this morning, so I came here for a quick bite, and I’ll bring a portion back for her too.”
“What’s wrong with Aunt? Is it serious?” Fang Yuan asked worriedly.
“Just a stomachache. It’s nothing serious. She’ll be fine after resting for half a day.”
“There have been quite a lot of schistosomiasis cases recently. All the beds in our hospital are full. Uncle, you should bring Aunt to the hospital for an examination,” Fang Yuan said.
“I’ve tried persuading her to go, but she won’t listen. The older your aunt gets, the more stubborn she becomes,” Lu Yongjun complained.
Fang Yuan pursed her lips and smiled. Not long ago, she had heard her aunt complaining that the older Uncle got, the more stubborn he became.
Was this what people meant by a married couple becoming more alike over time?
“I can’t get away during the day, so I’ll stop by your house tonight and examine Aunt,” Fang Yuan said, still worried about her aunt’s health.
“That works too. Your aunt was talking about you last night. She said she wanted to have a chat with you in the next couple of days.”
“What does Aunt want to talk to me about?” Fang Yuan asked curiously.
Lu Yongjun scratched his crew cut awkwardly and said, “That’s women’s business. Just ask your aunt tonight.”
After finishing breakfast, Lu Yongjun picked up the packed breakfast he had bought, wheeled his bicycle to the entrance, patted the rear rack, and waved at Da Mao and Xiao Mao.
With a cheer, Da Mao and Xiao Mao ran over. One jumped onto the back seat, while the other climbed onto the front crossbar. Both sat securely, waiting for the bicycle to set off.
“Uncle, the school is quite close. Let them go by themselves. You still need to bring breakfast back to Aunt,” Fang Yuan quickly tried to stop him.
“It’s fine. It’s only a short distance. We’ll be there in no time on a bicycle.” After saying that, Lu Yongjun waved to Fang Yuan, mounted the bicycle, and rode away with the two Young Pioneers.
When Fang Yuan arrived at the hospital, she changed into her white coat in the locker room. Instead of returning to the office, she first made a round of the wards. The doctors and nurses she encountered all greeted her, noticeably more warmly than usual.
When the patients’ family members in the wards saw her, they also stood up to thank her. Thanks to the effects of the acupuncture treatment she had given yesterday, the patients had suffered much less pain.
When she met Doctor Jiang in the corridor, he smiled at Fang Yuan and said, “The great doctor is here!”
Fang Yuan blushed with embarrassment.
Doctor Jiang became serious and said, “A patient with advanced schistosomiasis was admitted last night. Come to the office with me, and let’s discuss the treatment plan.”
Fang Yuan immediately nodded and followed him.
After a busy morning, Fang Yuan carried her lunch container to the cafeteria to get lunch, only to be warmly stopped by Doctor Zhang from the logistics department.