That morning, while completing paperwork at the Finance Department, Fang Yuan received this month’s ration coupons. Looking at the two jin of meat coupons in her hand, she smiled until her eyes narrowed into crescents. With these, they could improve the family’s meals again.
“Today’s cafeteria is serving braised pork meatballs. The meat coupons you just got will come in handy,” Yao Hongying said with a smile as she nudged Fang Yuan’s elbow.
“The cafeteria’s meatballs are all made from lean meat. If you buy fresh meat yourself, you can ask for more fatty cuts. And if you don’t mind the strong smell of pork offal, one jin worth of meat coupons can buy three jin of intestines. That’s enough for the whole family to eat until their mouths are shiny with grease,” Nurse Xu suggested with a smile, holding her aluminum lunch box as she stood in line behind them.
“Mm, I’ll have my younger brother go queue at the meat stall early tomorrow morning,” Fang Yuan nodded in agreement. If you didn’t get there early to buy meat, it would all be sold out in no time. Although Da Mao loved sleeping in, the moment he heard there was meat to eat, he would definitely be the first one there. Her mother disliked preparing pork offal, and Fang Yuan did not know how to handle it either. They could buy more pork bones instead. Simmered together with radishes, they would be both nutritious and delicious.
After getting their food, the three of them found an empty table, sat down, and chatted happily while they ate.
“Look, isn’t Doctor Zhang coming over this way?” Yao Hongying suddenly lowered her head and whispered.
Fang Yuan looked up and saw that Doctor Zhang really was walking toward them with a broad smile on her face. She quickly lowered her head as well.
Fortunately, halfway over, Doctor Zhang was stopped by acquaintances from the hospital and was pulled over to sit at their table instead.
The two of them let out sighs of relief at the same time.
Nurse Xu laughed so hard that she nearly choked on her coarse grain rice. “Doctor Zhang only looks for you doctors. She doesn’t even spare us little nurses a glance.”
“Whether doctors or nurses, we’re only divided by different revolutionary duties. Everyone is equal,” Yao Hongying said seriously after clearing her throat. “Even Director Lin says that he’s just an ordinary medical worker. After work, he tells everyone to call him Old Lin instead of Director Lin.”
“Director Lin really is an excellent leader,” Fang Yuan said sincerely.
That afternoon, Doctor Jiang had an appendectomy scheduled. Since Fang Yuan had only just arrived, he did not let her enter the operating room. Instead, he had her study the hospital regulations and the clinical procedures manual first.
Fang Yuan’s desk was placed in Outpatient Consultation Room One. It was a large shared office where both the internal medicine and surgery residents and medical assistants worked. Even so, there were only six or seven people altogether.
Fang Yuan sat in a corner by the window. Each consultation area was separated by a gray curtain to protect patients’ privacy during consultations and examinations.
Outside the window, cicadas chirped without pause. The air was hot and stifling, without the slightest breeze. Resting her chin on one hand, Fang Yuan flipped through the reference materials. From the other side of the curtain, crying could occasionally be heard, probably from patients or their family members reacting to their diagnoses.
The afternoon passed in a flash, and before long, it was time to get off work.
Fang Yuan tidied up her desk, picked up her cloth bag, and placed her lunch box inside. She reminded herself to bring her enamel mug tomorrow. That afternoon she had been forced to use her lunch box to fetch hot water.
After saying goodbye to her coworkers, she headed out. She wanted to say goodbye to Doctor Jiang as well, but found that he had not returned yet, so she went home first.
As she entered the alley, she saw her eldest younger brother, the thirteen year old Da Mao, playing one leg wrestling with a group of seven and eight year old children. Balancing on one leg, he charged straight at them and knocked several children over at once, laughing triumphantly.
“Da Mao.”
Da Mao turned around when he saw Fang Yuan. The smile had not yet left his face. He had the bright, handsome features of the Xu family, but he was far too mischievous. Every day he came home covered in dirt, always chasing chickens and teasing dogs, making people forget that he was actually quite a handsome young fellow.
“Fat Yuan, what do you want?!”
Fang Yuan’s beautiful eyes immediately widened with anger, and she ground her teeth. Other people needed a beating every three days before climbing onto the roof to tear off tiles. This rascal could get beaten with bamboo switches every single day, and it still did no good.
Seeing his sister glaring at him furiously, Da Mao grinned even wider. As he backed away, he shouted, “Fat Yuanzi, la la la, when you grow up you’ll become a noodle…”
What kind of nonsense was that? Fang Yuan decided that when they bought pork tomorrow, she would not leave him a single piece. He could chew on pig hair instead.
After hearing Da Mao’s teasing, the other mischievous boys looked at one another. None of them dared to join in. They all knew Fang Yuan and knew she was the university student their parents constantly held up as an example, so they naturally felt a bit of awe toward her. Even though they did not dare shout along with Da Mao, they still laughed as they ran after him.
“Fat Yuanzi, la…” One of the younger boys, swept up by Da Mao’s infectious chanting, unconsciously began singing along. But before he could finish, someone grabbed him by the ear.
“Ow, ow!” he cried out in pain.
“Ah Yuan, don’t mind them. I’ll take this naughty brat home and give him a proper scolding,” the Chen family’s eldest son said apologetically. Tugging on his son’s ear, he gave Fang Yuan a slight bow.
“Brother Chen, it’s only because Da Mao is so mischievous,” Fang Yuan said with a smile. “How is your brother doing?”
“He’s doing great. He was full of energy first thing this morning, went straight to work, and spent the whole day running around as if nothing had happened. My parents have even stopped talking about getting him more traditional medicine. It’s all thanks to you. You’re truly a miracle doctor. Oh, right, my mother bought two jin of pig’s head meat and already sent it to your house.”
“Brother Chen, that’s really too generous of you…” Fang Yuan said awkwardly.
“Pig’s head meat!” Da Mao had especially sharp ears. The instant he heard there was meat to eat, he dashed home like the wind, afraid there would be none left if he was even a moment late.
Faced with such a gluttonous younger brother, Fang Yuan’s ears turned red. After saying goodbye to Brother Chen, she also quickened her pace toward home.
Aunt Chen was just coming out of the Xu family’s house. When she saw Fang Yuan return, she grabbed her hand and thanked her all over again.
When Fang Yuan entered the house, she saw Da Mao lunging toward a paper wrapped package. Fang Xiaoqin slapped his hand, making him obediently stop.
Smacking his lips, he asked, “Mom, is there pig’s head meat in here? What’s in the other package? Hurry up and open them.”
Fang Xiaoqin shot her son an exasperated look before saying to Fang Yuan, “Your Aunt Chen’s family is really too polite. I kept refusing, but they insisted on leaving everything behind. Tomorrow we’ll buy something in return.”
“Mm.” Fang Yuan nodded. Her mother would take care of such matters. She then turned to glare fiercely at Da Mao. “Xu Xinguo, were you making fun of me outside just now?”
“I heard Eldest Aunt say that when you were little, you were Fat Yuan, and now you’ve turned into a noodle. I wasn’t the one who said it,” Da Mao argued stubbornly with his neck stretched out.
“You little brat, what did you just call your sister? Are you itching for another beating?” Fang Xiaoqin reached out to grab him, but Da Mao nimbly jumped backward, leaving her clutching empty air.
“Mom, Da Mao is so annoying,” Fang Yuan pouted. She had wondered why her mother had been constantly yelling at Da Mao as soon as she got home. Now she understood. This fellow really was impossible.
“You’re the annoying one, annoying bug, bleh!” Da Mao made faces at Fang Yuan while sticking out his tongue.
Fang Yuan stamped her foot in anger.
Had this guy entered his rebellious phase? He had never been this irritating before. Fang Yuan genuinely wanted to drag him over and stick a couple of acupuncture needles into him.
At dinner, Da Mao and Xiao Mao focused entirely on devouring the bowl of pig’s head meat. The weather was hot, and meat would not keep for long, so Fang Xiaoqin did not stop them and simply let them eat as much as they wanted.
The other package Aunt Chen had brought contained pastries, about two jin in total.
Fang Xiaoqin asked her daughter how her first day at work had gone. Fang Yuan praised both the hospital and her coworkers. Finally, when she told her mother that her monthly salary was 32.2 yuan, Fang Xiaoqin smiled until her eyes became narrow slits.
“As expected of a university graduate, and someone in a technical profession. Your starting salary is already higher than workers who’ve been employed for five years.”
“Hehe.” Fang Yuan laughed happily as well.
“Big Sister, when you get your salary, can you buy me some pencils and new notebooks?” Xiao Mao asked with a mouthful of rice as he looked at Fang Yuan.
“Sure.” Fang Yuan rubbed Xiao Mao’s head and readily agreed. Then she glanced at the silent Da Mao and asked, “Xu Xinguo, what do you want?”
“Just give me money. I’ll buy it myself,” Da Mao said, giving her a sidelong glance.
“…All right. From now on, I’ll give you pocket money every month,” Fang Yuan said after thinking it over. She had once been a child herself and knew the advantages of having a little spending money.
“Me too! I want pocket money too. Can I?” Xiao Mao asked.
“Xiao Mao gets pocket money too,” Fang Yuan said with a smile when she saw the hopeful look in Xiao Mao’s eyes.
“Hehe, hehe.” The two brothers grinned foolishly in unison and attacked the pig’s head meat with even greater enthusiasm.
“Save whatever money you have instead of wasting it. What use do little children have for money?” Fang Xiaoqin said.
The moment they heard that, both brothers immediately looked nervously at Fang Yuan.
“I won’t give them much. Just enough to buy a few snacks and school supplies,” Fang Yuan said.
That night, Fang Yuan pulled her small bed away from the wall and removed two bricks from the corner beneath it. From inside, she took out a heavy box.
After unwrapping the layer of blue cloth around it, a rectangular sandalwood box appeared. On the upper level of the box were several thick bundles of cash, more than one thousand six hundred yuan in total, along with some ration coupons. One thousand five hundred yuan had come from her grandfather’s inheritance, while the remaining one hundred plus yuan had been saved from the stipends she received during university. Beside the money were two sets of gold and silver acupuncture needles that had once belonged to her grandfather.
Beneath the divider lay several gold bars and several pieces of jade, also left behind by her grandfather. They had been left only to her. Neither her eldest aunt nor her mother had received any.
Just then, the cloth curtain covering the small room was suddenly lifted. Fang Yuan was so startled that she nearly dropped the box.
“You child, why did you take it out again? Hurry up and hide it,” Fang Xiaoqin said urgently in a lowered voice as soon as she came in and saw it.
“I wanted to take out the silver needles.” Seeing that it was her mother, Fang Yuan finally calmed down and patted her chest to steady herself.
“Hurry up and put everything away.” Fang Xiaoqin sat down on the edge of the bed. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Wait, let me see how much cash you still have.”
“Mom, I’ve saved it all. I haven’t touched any of it,” Fang Yuan pouted in dissatisfaction.
Fang Xiaoqin still checked anyway. After counting the five bundles of cash and confirming they were all still there, she finally said, “Mom believes you. Put it away.”
Fang Yuan took out the silver needles, wrapped the box up again, returned it to the corner, replaced the two bricks, and pushed the small bed back into place.
“Where are you going? I still have something to tell you,” Fang Xiaoqin called out when she saw her daughter getting up to leave.
“I’m just going to wash my hands. I’ll be right back.”
“Why is your obsession with cleanliness getting worse and worse?” Fang Xiaoqin sighed.
After Fang Yuan returned, Fang Xiaoqin asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to take out the silver needles?”
“I think I’ll need them.”
Fang Xiaoqin nodded. “Now that you’ve come back and started working, go visit your grandfather and grandmother in the old village this weekend and tell them the good news. The last time your eldest uncle came to the county to deliver grain, he even asked about you.”
“Mm, I was already planning to visit Grandma this weekend… Mom, now that I’ve graduated, when are we bringing my little sister home? I can help take care of her now. We can’t leave her in the countryside forever and have Grandma keep looking after her,” Fang Yuan said, looking at Fang Xiaoqin with her bright, dark eyes.
Fang Xiaoqin was stunned for a moment. After a long silence, she finally said, “Your little sister is only four years old. She’s still too young for primary school. If we bring her back now, there’ll be no one to look after her.”
“The textile factory has a daycare. She can stay there. You can drop her off before work and pick her up after work.”
“The factory’s workload is heavy right now. The Finance Department often has to work overtime. I can barely manage your two younger brothers as it is. How could I possibly take care of another little one?” Fang Xiaoqin said irritably.
“But you still have me.”
“You’re still half a child yourself. Aside from being diligent about washing things, if I ask you to cook a meal, even the rice comes out half cooked.”
Blushing, Fang Yuan protested loudly, “I can learn.” She had grown up doted on by her family. Before she started school at the age of five, people still carried her in their arms. At home, she had never been made to do any housework. It was only after going to university that she learned how to wash her own clothes.
“We’ll talk about it later. For now, just do your job well.” After saying that, Fang Xiaoqin stood up and left.
“Mom…” Fang Yuan called after her unhappily, frowning.