Just as the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon, Fang Yuan was awakened by her mother.
“Get up now. Set off early. You still have two hours of cycling ahead of you.” After gently nudging her daughter awake, Fang Xiaoqin went out to finish packing the gifts she was bringing to the countryside.
Still half asleep, Fang Yuan sat up. One of her long braids hung loosely across her chest. She stretched out her fair arms, rubbed her eyes, picked up the watch beside her pillow, and glanced at the time. It was five thirty.
She mumbled something and lay back down again.
Fang Xiaoqin packed everything into two nylon bags. After weighing them in her hands and deciding the load would not be too heavy for her daughter to carry on the bicycle, she thought for a moment before adding the two jin of pastries that Aunt Chen had brought over earlier.
After preparing a basin of water for washing up and squeezing toothpaste onto the toothbrush, she lifted the cloth curtain and discovered that Fang Yuan had lain back down again. She could not help laughing in exasperation. With her daughter acting like this, she still claimed she could help take care of someone.
She walked over, gently stroked her daughter’s soft, fair cheek, and said softly, “Wake up now. Are you going or not?”
Fang Yuan slowly opened her eyes and, acting spoiled, wrapped her arms around her mother as she sat up.
“You’re already nineteen, not nine. Outside the house, you’re as proper as any adult, but at home you’re still like a little child,” Fang Xiaoqin muttered.
“Mom, wake Da Mao up too. He said yesterday that he wanted to come with me.”
“Absolutely not. He just wants to ride the bicycle. Whether you’re carrying him or he’s carrying you, I wouldn’t feel at ease. I’ll take him back another time before school starts next month,” Fang Xiaoqin replied as she handed Fang Yuan the neatly folded clothes that had been placed on the stool.
Fang Yuan accepted them and was about to remove the short-sleeved floral undershirt she was wearing when she noticed her mother was still standing there. She immediately protested, “Mom, hurry and go out. I need to change.”
Fang Xiaoqin snorted. “I’m your mother. I’ve seen every part of you. And now you’re acting shy around me.”
Even so, she got up and went outside.
“Hurry up. I’m putting the noodles on now. Don’t dawdle, or they’ll get soggy.”
After getting dressed, Fang Yuan sat in front of the small round mirror and combed her hair, tying the yellow ribbons she had not worn since starting work back onto her two braids. Only after seeing her bright eyes, white teeth, and neat, refreshed appearance reflected in the mirror did she stand up in satisfaction.
On the small bed beyond the curtain, the two brothers were sprawled out asleep with drool running from the corners of their mouths. Fang Yuan tiptoed past them, gently closed the door behind her, and saw a steaming bowl of noodles already waiting on the dining table.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she walked over. The aroma of the noodles made her stomach finally begin to growl with hunger.
“Mom, these are refined wheat noodles,” Fang Yuan exclaimed.
“Mmm. That’s the last handful we had. You’re riding for so long today, so you’ll need the strength.” Fang Xiaoqin handed the chopsticks to her.
Fang Yuan accepted them with a cheerful smile, blew on the noodle soup, and happily began eating.
“Mom, what did you pack?” Fang Yuan asked, pointing at the three bags on the table.
“Malted milk, a few pieces of cloth, two pairs of Liberation shoes, brown sugar, and some pastries,” Fang Xiaoqin replied.
“Who are they all for?” Since her Grandpa, Grandma, Eldest Uncle, and Youngest Uncle all lived together, she wanted to ask first to avoid giving them to the wrong people.
“Just give everything to your grandmother and let her distribute it. Everyone will appreciate her kindness.” Her parents-in-law in the countryside had always treated her well, and Fang Xiaoqin was grateful for that. Her youngest daughter was also being cared for by her mother-in-law now, so she never went to the countryside empty-handed.
She took out a handkerchief-wrapped bundle of cash from her pocket, counted out four bills, and handed them over. “Take these twenty yuan to your grandmother. Tell her it’s from you as a token of your filial respect.”
Fang Yuan pushed the money back and said unhappily, “I have money of my own. I’ll give Grandma some myself.”
“You haven’t received your salary yet, so just take it. And remember, don’t touch the money in the box,” Fang Xiaoqin reminded her once again.
Fang Yuan secretly rolled her eyes. Having her mother know every detail about her private savings really was terrible. She had no freedom at all when it came to spending money.
“Should I bring something for my little sister too?” Fang Yuan asked softly, taking another bite of noodles and looking up at her mother.
“Your grandmother won’t neglect your sister, so don’t worry. Besides, didn’t you already buy her a present?” Fang Xiaoqin pointed toward Fang Yuan’s bulging military satchel.
Although her elder sister had given two packets of malted milk for her youngest daughter, she had asked Fang Yuan to take them without specifically saying they were meant for the little girl. Still, she knew her mother-in-law would certainly not treat her daughter unfairly.
The noise of Fang Yuan pushing the bicycle out the door woke Da Mao, who was sleeping in the inner room.
“Big Sis, are you leaving already? Wait for me…” Having just awakened from sleep, Da Mao cried out in alarm, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps.
“Go, go. Don’t let him catch up,” Fang Xiaoqin urged, waving at the hesitant Fang Yuan.
After riding the bicycle about a hundred meters away, Fang Yuan turned around and saw Fang Xiaoqin holding back Da Mao, who had run out wearing only a sleeveless undershirt and shorts.
She stuck out her tongue. Feeling a little sorry for little Xu Xinguo, she still quickly pedaled away.
The morning sunlight filtered through the willow branches along the riverbank, scattering specks of light across the stone-paved road. A gentle breeze brushed against Fang Yuan’s face, making the yellow ribbons on her braids flutter in the wind.
Riding the bicycle, she passed the meat stall where people were already lined up in a long queue. The crowd resembled a gray-blue river, both quiet and bustling.
Soon she reached the textile factory, the largest factory in Yuyang County, employing more than a thousand workers. Its gray factory buildings occupied a large section of the bustling old town. Beside it stood the county cultural palace, where movies were shown at the end of every month. Whenever that happened, enormous crowds gathered as people from all over the county flocked there.
Painted across the factory walls were the large slogans, “Learn from Daqing in Industry, Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture.” Bathed in the morning sunlight, the characters glowed with a lively orange hue. Although it was the weekend, the area in front of the factory remained crowded with people, including workers putting in overtime and employees living in the factory dormitories.
After leaving the county town, the road became much rougher. Long stretches of gravel road left Fang Yuan’s backside aching from the constant jolting. The pedestrians she encountered along the way wore increasingly worn-out clothing, with more and more patches sewn onto them.
By a little after seven, the sun overhead had become hot. Fang Yuan stopped the bicycle, put on the straw hat hanging from the handlebars, took a drink from her water bottle, and continued on her way.
The farther she rode, the worse the road became. In some places she even had to get off and push the bicycle. Yet looking at the endless stretches of golden rice fields on both sides of the road, her spirits lifted. This year would surely be a good harvest. As long as people did not go hungry and could eat white rice every day, that was already a happy life.
Fang Yuan had never experienced hunger herself. She knew that during the Three Years of Hardship, many people in other provinces had starved to death. Zhejiang Province was blessed with mountains and rivers. During those difficult years, although rural families had dug up wild vegetables, mixed more coarse grains into their staple food, and even eaten rice bran, she had never heard of anyone starving to death.
When Fang Yuan had visited the countryside a few years earlier, she had eaten communal meals with the production team. She had noticed that a great deal of food was thrown away. She remembered her grandfather clicking his tongue in distress and sighing that people never cherished grain that did not come from their own labor. Later, the communal kitchens were dismantled and families once again cooked in their own pots, with grain distributed according to work points. Her grandfather’s family even had enough surplus grain to send some to Fang Yuan’s family in the county.
The sky grew an even deeper blue, the land stretched endlessly into the distance, and the air carried a faint sweetness. Beside a grassy area above a small irrigation ditch stood a large stone engraved with the three characters “Qingwan Village.” In less than two hours, she had arrived at her family’s old home in the countryside.
Old men carrying hoes, women carrying buckets of pig slop, and teenage boys leading water buffalo all stopped in the village entrance to curiously stare at Fang Yuan as she pushed her bicycle into the village.
After entering the village, more and more people noticed Fang Yuan. They gathered in groups, pointing at her and whispering among themselves, though no one dared approach to ask who she was.
“Oh my, aren’t you Old Master Xu’s second granddaughter?” A woman standing outside a low earthen house, using a towel to wash a child’s face, spotted Fang Yuan and cried out in delight.
Fang Yuan smiled and nodded. “Yes. My father is Xu Dajiang, and I’m his daughter, Fang Yuan… You’re Second Aunt, aren’t you?”
Fang Yuan had not returned to the village many times, but she had an excellent memory. She recognized the woman as the wife of one of her grandfather’s brother’s sons, so she addressed her as Second Aunt.
“That’s right, that’s right. I never expected you to remember me. Hurry, I’ll go tell your grandmother that her university student granddaughter is back.” Releasing her son while still holding the towel, she hurried toward Fang Yuan’s grandparents’ house. As she walked, she called out to the people nearby, “You don’t recognize her, do you? She’s Brother Dajiang’s daughter, a girl from the county, a university student!”
She sounded as though she took great pride in it herself, enthusiastically telling everyone she met along the way.
Following behind her, Fang Yuan felt her face grow slightly warm.
A group of children quickly gathered around the bicycle. One mischievous boy suddenly jumped onto the rear seat, nearly causing Fang Yuan to lose her balance and let go of the handlebars.
The child was quickly pulled down by someone nearby, but more and more people came forward to ask questions.
“Old Master Xu’s granddaughter, I’m your grandaunt. Do you remember me?”
“University student, what did you bring for your grandfather’s family? You’ve got several bags there.”
People all around her spoke over one another. The smile on Fang Yuan’s face was beginning to stiffen. Surrounded by so many villagers, she could barely push the bicycle forward and could only inch along amid the enthusiastic greetings.
“Ah Yuan.”
Fang Yuan looked up and saw her younger male cousin waving excitedly as he ran toward her with a broad smile.
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Little Cousin.” She called out sweetly.
“Why didn’t you ask someone to send word ahead? We could’ve gone to meet you. The road here isn’t easy, is it?” As her younger cousin approached and squeezed through the crowd, he finally noticed the bicycle she was pushing. “You’re amazing. You actually rode a bicycle here.”
His eyes lit up as he examined it. “It’s a Forever bicycle, isn’t it? Even the commune secretary has one just like this.”[1]T/N: Forever (永久牌, Yǒngjiǔ Pái) was one of China’s most famous bicycle brands. In the 1960s, owning one was considered a sign of a relatively well-off household, as bicycles were … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2960581_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2960581_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
“It belongs to my eldest uncle by marriage. My mom borrowed it,” Fang Yuan explained.
“What a beauty! Let me push it for you.” Her younger cousin looked eager to give it a try.
Fang Yuan smiled and nodded, handing him the handlebars. Even in the county there were not many bicycles. They were expensive valuables, requiring a bicycle coupon as well as a high price, so very few families could afford one.
Most of the houses in the village were earthen homes, with some poorer families still living in thatched cottages. When a pair of adjoining two-story houses built from blue bricks and concrete came into view, they stood out as particularly grand and imposing.
This “luxurious mansion” of the village belonged to her grandfather’s family.
The Xu family had always been ordinary commune members. A few years earlier, Eldest Uncle Xu had been chosen as the production team’s captain, but his responsibilities were limited to organizing production and recording work points, which certainly was not enough to build concrete houses. These two buildings, to be more accurate, had been left behind for the family by Fang Yuan’s father, Xu Dajiang.
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