Nine days had passed since Xu Qingzhou returned to duty and not a single word from him. The fateful date drew nearer with every hour, and Fang Yao’s dread deepened. Her hands trembled so that she knitted stitch after stitch incorrectly; it was only when Wang Hua pointed out the mistakes that she noticed, unpicked the rows, and began again.
Wang Hua, long accustomed to her son’s life in the service, thought nothing of ten days without word or a month away. But seeing her daughter-in-law grow pale and distracted, she too began to worry. She understood Fang Yao’s heartache for Xu Manjiang and Li Xuemiao were together every day, side by side, constant and visible.
So after breakfast, she spoke casually, as though the thought had only just come to her. “Qingzhou has been back these many days. I wonder how he fares? Yao Yao would you ride into town and telephone him for me? Ask after his welfare. And if he can be spared beg him to come home and see his grandmother. The years weigh heavy upon her. While we may yet show devotion, let us show it lest we regret it too late.”
Fang Yao had been longing to do exactly that, yet had found no reason to give. Now she nodded at once.
“I will go at once, Mother.”
She set aside her knitting, pulled on her thickest coat, wrapped scarf and mittens tight, and wheeled her bicycle toward town.
Late winter was softening into spring. The rutted roads had thawed into soft, yielding mud. Her wheels sank deep; she strained against the pedals, breathless and sweating by the time she reached the town.
She paused to loosen her scarf, beads of moisture cooling her forehead. Spotting a telephone booth nearby, she readied her five-cent coin, stepped inside, lifted the receiver, and inserted the coin.
The final number pressed then a dull hum, and a clear, steady voice answered.
“Good morning. Whom do you wish to speak with?”
“Good morning. May I speak to Xu Qingzhou? I am his wife.” Fang Yao smiled, thinking how strange and wonderful it was to speak to someone so far away, across wires and miles.
“One moment, please. I shall ask Lieutenant Xu to return your call.”
The line went dead.
Some ten minutes later, the telephone beside her rang. She lifted it quickly to her ear.
A low, familiar “Hello” warm and steady even through the static. Fang Yao’s heart gave a sudden, unsteady beat. For a moment she forgot what she had meant to say.
“Xu Qingzhou… when will you be coming home?”
All the carefully chosen words she had rehearsed along the way vanished. She spoke straight to the heart of it.
“Do you miss me?” He laughed softly, and she could picture him clearly the faint, teasing curve of his eyes, that warm, knowing smile that seemed to draw her in.
A delicate flush rose to her cheeks, yet her tone remained firm. “I do not! Mother asked me to call and ask after you. And… Grandmother has fallen ill. You should come home to see her.”
She spoke deliberately making it sound serious, so that he would come. Only thus might he be spared the fate awaiting him.
Xu Qingzhou’s voice turned grave. “She was in good health when I left. What has happened? Is something amiss at home?”
Fang Yao told him everything of Xu Manjiang and the Li family’s conspiracy, of their bullying while he was gone. “They waited until you were away to descend upon us! I have learned this truth: without a man in the house, even distant kin grow bold enough to trample upon you! And Grandmother while she lay helpless these past days, Mother tended her faithfully day and night. Yet in the end, we were blamed for everything. As for me she has not spoken a single word to me since that day! I thought… perhaps if you came home, you might help mend things…”
On the other end of the line, Xu Qingzhou pressed his fingers to his brow, kneading the tension away. He had not imagined such strife could break out so soon after his departure that his new bride should bear it all alone.
“I have failed to secure your peace,” he said quietly, his voice heavy with regret and tenderness. “You have suffered wrongfully. I shall speak to my superiors at once. If leave may be granted I shall come home.”
Relief washed over her. She steadied her voice, keeping the tremor barely contained. “Good. Go quickly. Mother and I shall wait for you.”
“I shall. Take care.”
The line went dead. Fang Yao replaced the receiver, drew a long, steadying breath, and rode home to tell Wang Hua. And in her heart she prayed: Let him come. Let him be spared. Let him escape this ruin that draws near.
Meanwhile.
Xu Qingzhou walked straight from the communications office to his commanding officer only to be met at the door by the orderly.
“Lieutenant Xu General Assembly has been called. All officers are reporting to the conference room. You are the last to arrive.”
Xu Qingzhou hurried to the hall. As he stepped through the door, he saw the gravity upon every face and the deep furrow in his instructor’s brow. At once he knew. His request for leave would be denied.
“Apologies, Sir I was answering an urgent call.” He nodded respectfully to his superior.
The instructor sighed a heavy, weary sound that cast a shadow over the room. “Take your place. I shall restate the orders…”
The meeting stretched on for more than ten hours. When Xu Qingzhou and his fellow officers emerged, it was already past eleven o’clock at night.
At six the following morning, the entire unit would depart on deployment. Xu Qingzhou valued, trusted, marked for advancement had been assigned to lead a special detail. His presence was required. No exceptions could be made.
As he walked toward his quarters, he paused and glanced back toward the communications office. His heart spoke silently: When this is done… I shall return. And I will make it all up to you.
Fang Yao waited two days. He did not come. The hope she had clung to faltered and died. Her heart rose once more into her throat, heavy and unsteady.
On the third day, she told Wang Hua she was going out and rode once more into town to the telephone booth. She dialled the familiar number.
When the line was answered, she spoke quickly, urgency in her voice. “Hello may I speak to Lieutenant Xu Qingzhou? It is urgent.”
“And what is your relation to the Lieutenant?” The voice was different this time thick with a heavy, unfamiliar accent. A new operator.
Fang Yao noticed nothing. “I am his wife. My surname is Fang Fang Yao.”
Then came the reply clear and distinct, yet to her ears sounding distant, as though drifting further and further away.
“I am very sorry. Due to special circumstances, Lieutenant Xu cannot come to the telephone at this time. If your matter is urgent… you may leave a message. I shall ensure it is delivered…”