Lin Xiaocao patted Mai Zi’s head, looking at her helplessly.
“Mai Ya, I’m not going back to my parents. If I do, they’ll beat me half to death. I want to run away. Mai Ya, come with me!” Lin Xiaocao said calmly as she wove a straw mat.
Mai Zi’s eyes lit up. She had never intended to leave with the people of Dajing Village in the first place. If Xiaocao went with her, she could both help guard against the incoming refugees and prevent Xiaocao from being abused by those beasts in her family.
After a moment of thought, she realized there wasn’t a single edible wild plant left on the mountain. The earlier they fled, the farther they would be from the □□. The key question was how far two girls like them could run, with so many refugees on the road. Besides, the bean cakes she had now weren’t even enough for her alone. They needed to find a way to get more food before leaving.
Mai Zi shared her thoughts with Lin Xiaocao. Lin Xiaocao placed the finished dry straw mat on Mai Zi’s wooden plank bed. “I have a plan. Tomorrow night, we’ll leave under cover of darkness. Meet me at the mountain pass.”
Mai Zi spread the bedding on the bed, and she and Xiaocao lay side by side, heads touching and shoulders pressed together. The roof had already been torn open by fierce winds, leaving gaping holes.
Through the holes, they could see the stars twinkling in the dark night sky. The summer wind blew in, still stifling and restless, much like the hearts of these two young girls, eager to leap out of this poor, oppressive mountain hollow.
Mai Zi had already devised a swift plan in her mind—one that was absolutely foolproof.
At dawn, accompanied by the crowing of roosters, Xiaocao got up to boil water and cook wild vegetables, adding a small handful of beans. She then saw Mai Zi making exaggerated, exaggerated movements:
“Mai Ya, are you performing a shaman dance?”
Mai Zi knew Xiaocao would tease her. She grabbed Xiaocao and taught her this enhanced version of calisthenics:
Side-point punches, cross open-and-close movements, elbow lifts, palm pushes and leg kicks, double-elbow knee taps, leg lifts with punches, open-and-close upward raises…
Once Xiaocao learned that these strange movements could strengthen the body, she followed along earnestly. On the road of escape, physical health was the most important thing. She didn’t want Mai Ya, so young herself, to have to take care of her along the way.
By noon, Mai Zi went to fetch water as usual and, as always, encountered Zhang Shi and the others chatting by the well. When they saw Mai Zi coming, they didn’t even greet her. Instead, each picked up two large buckets of water and leisurely walked back toward the village houses.
Mai Zi finished fetching her water and left as well. She stopped to rest in front of Old Man Chen’s house—the same man who had once considered using well water to irrigate his fields.
She saw Aunt Chen sitting at the entrance of the main house, sewing shoe insoles. Aunt Chen’s youngest daughter, Chen Baoya, was embroidering flowers on a handkerchief with her delicate hands. Mai Zi looked at her own dark, peeling hands and sighed quietly. She feared she would never be able to embroider such flowers in this lifetime.
Chen Baoya noticed Mai Zi staring straight at her and pouted in displeasure. With a disdainful snort, she walked into the house and returned with an even more exquisite piece of embroidery. Her mother had told her this handkerchief could sell for a full fifty wen.
Seeing Chen Baoya’s smug expression, Mai Zi couldn’t help but chuckle. When she looked up, she met the proud gaze of the little girl.
“Mai Ya, fetching water at noon? Don’t fall into the well! There’s no one at home to help you, and that well is deep!”
Aunt Chen, noticing Mai Ya sitting at the entrance with wide, envious eyes fixed on her youngest daughter, couldn’t help but say these words.
Usually, that mouth which loved to mock others also uttered a few kind words of concern for the little girl.
Chen Baoya nudged her mother's hand, displeased that her mother was showing concern for the destitute family in the village.
"Auntie! It's fine! I've been going to the village entrance to fetch water at noon lately. Aunt Zhang and the other aunties are all there fetching water too! I was worried the water might run out, so I usually fetch a bit extra! The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and I'm afraid there won't be much water left later!"
Mai Zi said with a cheerful laugh, her dark little face showing a hint of worry.
Aunt Chen looked at the fine beads of sweat on Mai Zi's forehead and pondered her words, feeling a surge of anxiety herself. If the heavens didn't send rain, even with their family's dozen or so acres of poor farmland, they would suffer even more.
She had no mind to entertain Mai Zi any longer and hurriedly called out her five sons, who were sound asleep, to go fetch water from the village entrance. They needed to store more water. Having lived for over half a century, she had rarely seen such a severe drought—only one light rain had fallen throughout spring and summer! Alas!
Chen Baoya watched as her brothers, who had just been sleeping soundly, were now forced to fetch water under the scorching sun, and she felt resentful. It was all because of Mai Zi and her muttering.
She ran straight to the door and slammed it shut with a bang. Aunt Chen saw it but said nothing, her heart even more anxious, hoping the heavens would send at least a little rain!
The land, like a steamer, had baked the grass and trees until they were barely clinging to life, let alone the crops in the fields, which had already begun to wither. In the entire village, perhaps only the five Chen brothers had been able to sleep.