Early the next morning, before the sky had even lightened, Jiang Jianguo rose without making a sound.
He glanced at his sleeping wife and daughter, moved with gentle care, and placed the packed large rabbit into his back basket. He closed the bedroom door softly, terrified that any noise might wake the others, and then quietly melted into the night.
The town was over ten miles from the village. Jiang Jianguo walked hurriedly, intentionally avoiding those in the village who were already up.
He had vaguely heard that the black market was at the east end of town, but once he arrived, he was still a bit lost. He first took out an old, worn scarf to cover his face, then carefully observed his surroundings for anyone carrying a back basket or a hand basket. Sure enough, he saw someone walking hurriedly from a distance, carrying a bamboo crate that appeared to have some weight to it.
He rushed forward to strike up a conversation and asked in a low voice, “Big sister, did you just come back from the black market?”
The woman looked at Jiang Jianguo with some wariness, but upon seeing the large basket on his back, her guard dropped slightly. Assuming he was there to sell something, she asked, “What good stuff do you have?”
Jiang Jianguo didn’t want to sell his goods carelessly; he wanted to visit the black market to gain some experience, which would make selling things easier in the future. He replied, “No, big sister. I heard the town’s black market is roughly in this area, but I’ve walked around several times and couldn’t find it. I just wanted to ask where exactly it is and how to get in.”
As he spoke, he took two dimes from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand. “Look, big sister, I don’t want you to tell me for free. Please take this as a token of my appreciation.”
Looking at the two dimes in her hand, the woman hesitated, still somewhat reluctant to part with the money. Finally, she said to him, “Follow this path along the ditch. Keep walking until you see a patch of abandoned brick kilns. Don’t go inside; just stay by the small woods next to it. People often ‘take a stroll’ there. Someone will approach you, and you have to use the secret code to trade. Usually, the greeting is, ‘Do you have any extra grain at home?’ and the response is, ‘A little bit of mountain goods.'”
Having received the information, Jiang Jianguo thanked the woman and headed in that direction.
He paced the edge of the woods for a while and, sure enough, saw a few figures—some squatting, some standing—not talking to each other, but occasionally scanning their surroundings with vigilant eyes.
Jiang Jianguo took a deep breath and walked over, bracing himself. As soon as he approached, a man squatting under a tree root smoking a cigarette looked up, his sharp gaze assessing him and the noticeably heavy basket on his back.
“A little bit of mountain goods,” Jiang Jianguo said in a low, concise voice. He slightly lifted the leaves covering his basket.
The man didn’t speak but leaned over to take a look, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He held up three fingers, then flipped his hand.
Jiang Jianguo did a quick mental calculation: was that three yuan or three dimes? He tentatively whispered, “Big brother, it’s fresh and plump. My child is sick at home and I need money for medicine. Could you please…” He displayed just the right amount of anxiety and pleading.
The man frowned, looked at the rabbit again, and finally lowered his voice, speaking with a raspy tone: “Three yuan and five dimes. Do you want cash or ration coupons?”
Three yuan and five dimes! Jiang Jianguo’s heart skipped a beat; this was much more than he had expected! He suppressed his excitement and answered without hesitation, “Both work!”
In the end, he traded the rabbit for five jin of local grain coupons and two yuan and five dimes. The man quickly transferred the rabbit into his own crate, covered it with grass, and disappeared into the depths of the willow woods as silently as he had arrived.
Jiang Jianguo clutched the money and coupons he had just earned, his palms sweating. He didn’t dare stay, and it wasn’t until he had walked several miles out of town and stepped onto the road back to the village that his heart finally settled.
It was already noon when Jiang Jianguo stepped through his front door with his “small fortune.” He hadn’t yet had a chance to share the joy with Lin Wanting when he heard Grandma Jiang’s rare voice of praise coming from the main room:
“Oh, my dear grandson! You must go to town for junior high. Once you study, you can earn commodity grain in the future, sit in an office—how respectable that is!”
“I’m not going! Those characters know me, but I don’t know them! Sitting in a classroom makes my butt ache!” a voice with a cracking, duck-like tone shouted—it was the eldest son of the first branch, Jiang Yaozu, who had just graduated from elementary school. “I’m not going to work in the fields either! It’ll bake me black as charcoal; it’s exhausting!”
“Okay, okay, okay, don’t go, don’t go. Let’s think of something else, let’s think about it,” Grandma Jiang coaxed him immediately.
Jiang Jianguo curled his lips and headed straight to his room. Lin Wanting was stitching a shoe sole and gave him an inquiring look upon his return. Jiang Jianguo quietly stuffed the coupons and money into her hand and quickly whispered what had happened. Lin Wanting’s eyes lit up as she looked at the money and coupons.
Just then, Jiang Yaozu’s impatient roar came from the outer room: “So annoying! Leave me alone!” This was followed by the sound of a slamming door.
Clearly, the disagreement between Jiang Yaozu and the old lady had ended unpleasantly. He didn’t want to continue studying, nor did he want to work in the fields, effectively becoming a “slacker” hanging around the house.
In the evening, Jiang Tangtang was in the yard watching her father build a nest for a small rabbit using an old basket and some tree branches. Jiang Yaozu came shuffling over in his worn cloth shoes, looking listless and indifferent. He was already in a bad mood, and upon seeing Jiang Tangtang squatting on the ground with the fluffy little rabbit, his temper flared up.
“You money-losing goods! Where did you get that rabbit?” He took a step forward, raising his foot as if to kick the small rabbit.
Jiang Tangtang reacted instantly, pulling the rabbit into her arms and standing up to glare at him vigilantly.
“Oh? You dare glare at me?” Relying on his height and brawn, Jiang Yaozu reached out to grab Jiang Tangtang’s braid. “Give me that rabbit to play with!”
Though she was in pain, Jiang Tangtang didn’t cry. Instead, she bit down hard on Jiang Yaozu’s wrist.
“Ah! You stinky brat, you actually dare to bite me!” Jiang Yaozu howled in pain. He shook his hand off, and upon seeing the clear tooth marks on his wrist, he became enraged and shoved Jiang Tangtang hard.
Small and weak as she was, Jiang Tangtang stumbled and fell to the ground, yet she still clutched the trembling little rabbit tightly in her arms.
Just then, Jiang Jianguo rushed out of the house like an enraged lion. He had seen everything clearly from inside.
“Jiang Yaozu! You damn bastard, how dare you touch my daughter!” Jiang Jianguo let out a roar that seemed to make the very courtyard shake. He grabbed Jiang Yaozu by the collar, his eyes looking as fierce as if he were ready to eat someone. “I think you’re tired of living! Not learning a single good thing, acting like a common pest, and now you dare to bully my daughter? Do you believe I won’t beat you to a pulp?”
Though Jiang Jianguo was usually laid-back, he was an adult man, and in his current rage, he was terrifying. Jiang Yaozu was lifted off his feet, his face turning pale with fright. His previous arrogance vanished instantly, and he stammered, “Th-Third Uncle… I-I was just playing around with her…”
“Playing around?” Jiang Jianguo slammed him to the ground. “If I ever catch you laying a finger on Tangtang again, I’ll break your legs! Get lost!”
Jiang Yaozu scrambled away, not even daring to look back.
Jiang Jianguo hurriedly helped his daughter up, brushed the dirt off her, and asked with heartache, “Tangtang, are you hurt? Where does it hurt?”
Jiang Tangtang shook her head and held the little rabbit up to him. Her small face still held a trace of lingering fear, but she forced a smile. “Daddy, the rabbit is fine.”
Lin Wanting, having heard the commotion, also came out and hugged her daughter tightly.
Jiang Jianguo looked at his wife and daughter, then glanced toward the tightly shut door of the eldest branch of the family, his expression turning dark. He knew this wasn’t over. Jiang Yaozu was definitely still plotting something malicious.