LW chapter 1

 

Nights in the mountain village were always quiet. A rooster crowed, breaking the silence. Chen Qing woke up, got dressed, and calmly stepped out of his room, only to hear the sound of firewood crackling in the kitchen.

“Mom, why are you up so early?” Chen Qing rubbed his eyes and saw Aunt Sun sitting by the kitchen door.

Aunt Sun got up from the stove. “Today we have to plow the land on the hill. I borrowed an ox from the village chief. You should eat something quickly so we can head out together.”

Chen Qing went into the yard and washed his face with a handful of water. His reflection appeared on the water tank.

He was a bit rounder than he’d been five years ago, but he was still thin. He was always shorter than the other people his age and had a baby face. He was the last person to be selected by the human traffickers. People who checked him out always said he was too small to do hard work, and that his waist was too thin to be able to have children. In the end, he met Aunt Sun.

Chen Qing was very thankful to Aunt Sun. She had taken him in, and now he had a place to live. Aunt Sun’s late husband’s last name was Meng. She had lost him young and raised her son, Meng Tao, by herself.

Chen Qing wasn’t born in Luohe Village. His family had been poor, and his father died early. He and his little father had to leave their home and live a very hard life. He was quiet and didn’t like to talk or share his thoughts, just like his little father. After cooking him a final meal of meat, his little father let Chen Qing eat until he was full. Then, the next morning, he jumped into the river.

The quiet Chen Qing had gone to his grandmother’s house, hoping they would help arrange a funeral. His grandmother looked at him and said that if he was willing to become the mistress of an old widower, they would give his father a straw mat and bury him among the Chen family. Chen Qing knew that the widower was cruel. He also knew that if he went there, he would be in danger.

Little Father body lay in that house for two days. Everyone thought Chen Qing would give in, but in the end, he sold himself to a human trafficker and used the two taels of silver to let Little Father leave with dignity. However, the trafficker couldn’t sell him anywhere. Five years ago, he ended up stuck in Luohe Village, where Aunt Sun bought him back for three taels, saying he would become the husband of her son, Meng Tao.

In Luohe Village, it was common for couples to not meet before the wedding. Chen Qing spent the night at the village chief’s house. He was waiting for the ceremony the next day. But the imperial court unexpectedly came to recruit soldiers, and he was taken away before he ever saw Meng Tao.

At first, Aunt Sun said she would wait for Meng Tao to return and have the wedding. But the villagers insisted that since the feast was already ready, canceling it would only waste the money. Chen Qing was dressed in simple wedding clothes and carrying a rooster when he completed the ceremony alone and was married into the Meng family.

Five years went by very quickly.

Chen Qing and Aunt Sun were both hard-working. They worked together to keep their small courtyard clean and orderly. They didn’t have enough money to use blue bricks, so they used yellow mud bricks instead.

A bamboo fence surrounded the house. Chen Qing built it himself during the slow season. He was good at his job and always worked hard. He told the village chief that he had dug up some land outside to plant vegetables. He had enough land to grow vegetables for the two of them to eat each day.

Luohe Village was located near mountains and rivers, with limited fertile land for farming. Even the flatter hillsides were divided up so that villagers could grow crops, and the Meng family had been given a piece of land like that.

Aunt Sun lifted the lid of the pot. Inside were two steamed corn buns. A pot of boiling water bubbled below, and two eggs cooked in it. Chen Qing took a piece of pickled cabbage from the jar next to the stove, sliced it thin, and put it on the small table in the courtyard.

They ate their breakfast quietly. After that, Chen Qing carried a basket and two hoes, closed the gate behind them, and left with Aunt Sun. Before they left, Aunt Sun gave him the eggs.

When they got to the village chief’s house, Aunt Sun looked at Chen Qing and said, “I’ll go up the mountain first. You go borrow the ox.”

Chen Qing showed that he was unsure. He looked at his mother and said, “Mother, can you go instead?”

Aunt Sun didn’t say anything. She gave him the eggs and went up the mountain by herself.

Chen Qing stood in front of the chief’s door, pacing back and forth. Then he took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself, and knocked on the door, forcing a smile onto his face. “Auntie, my mother spoke with the chief yesterday about borrowing the ox to plow.”

The chief’s wife, Aunt Wang, looked surprised. “So early in the morning!”

Chen Qing’s face turned red. He remembered the eggs Aunt Sun had given him, and he quickly held them out. “Xiaobao is growing. I hope you won’t mind.”

Aunt Wang looked a little less upset as she thought about the eggs. “You’d better bring it back by noon.”

Chen Qing nodded quickly. “I’ll make sure to return it on time so that your family can continue their work without delay.”

Aunt Wang’s face remained expressionless as she gave him the ox’s rope and went to get the plow. Chen Qing put the plow on his shoulder, grabbed the ox by the lead, and started to go up the hill.

He was small and looked tired, but he walked steadily.

When he arrived, Aunt Sun was already working the soil. Chen Qing hitched the plow to the ox and started turning the earth. With the ox, they finished quickly, and by then, the sun had just begun to shine over them.

“Mom, please take the ox back to the chief’s house. I’ll go get some firewood.” He really didn’t want to face Aunt Wang again. If he could help it, Chen Qing didn’t want to deal with anyone.

Aunt Sun nodded her head in agreement. “Don’t go too deep into the mountains.” She led the ox away. Chen Qing gathered his things and went towards the mountain.

Since he arrived in Luohe Village, life had been so calm and simple that he sometimes almost forgot what he had experienced before. He was thankful to Aunt Sun for bringing him here.

But even after five years, he still sometimes wondered what Meng Tao looked like. At first, he asked Aunt Sun, who always praised her son. She said he was tall and strong, shy when speaking to girls and ger, and very filial. In short, she used every word she could to say good things about him. Sometimes, Chen Qing would hear bits from the villagers, too. No one ever said Meng Tao was a bad person, so he must be a good man.

In the quiet, lonely mountains, Chen Qing blushed.

Five years had passed. In the first two, Meng Tao had sent letters home. Chen Qing couldn’t read, so he would always go with Aunt Sun to the chief’s house. There, the chief’s son, Meng Xin, who had been to school, would help them read the letters.

Unfortunately, every time, there was never any message addressed to him.

It had been two years since any letter had come. Whenever Aunt Sun went to the market, she would stop by the post office to ask, only to return each time disappointed.

Chen Qing gathered some firewood, untied the rope at his waist, put the wood on his back, and went back to their field to get the rest of their tools before going back home.

This season was for planting corn. The previous year, Chen Qing had already prepared the corn seeds, selecting only the plumpest kernels. After all, in this village, people depended on the weather to survive.

When he returned, Aunt Sun was already busy again. They kept chickens and ducks, and she was out cutting grass for feed.

She was always quick and careful. When she saw Chen Qing come back, she said, “Ah Qing, tidy up the kitchen and the chicken coop. And don’t forget to drink the water on the table.”

Chen Qing nodded and watched her leave with the basket on her back.

He sorted the firewood, swept the kitchen and courtyard, and then went to the chicken coop to collect manure. It was good fertilizer and couldn’t be wasted.

After finishing, he sat at the small table to rest. He picked up the bowl of water Aunt Sun had left and drank. Its sweetness spread from his mouth into his heart.

He felt warm and happy. Aunt Sun was a quiet woman, and her hair was half black and half white. She wasn’t gentle, but she was capable and full of energy. Whenever she walked, she looked like she was moving with the wind. The village children were all afraid of her.

Chen Qing was afraid of her, too, when he first arrived. The wedding was a big disappointment. The groom didn’t show up. He wasn’t sure if the marriage was valid.

Aunt Sun had arranged for him to stay in Meng Tao’s old room. She told him there were no rules here and that he should wait patiently for Meng Tao to come back and live a good life together.

In less than three months, Chen Qing had figured out what Aunt Sun was like. She was honest with him and treated him well. The sweet water she’d given him today was something she’d done for him many times.

The spring sun wasn’t too hot. After drinking, Chen Qing felt refreshed. He weeded the vegetable patch in front of the house, fetched water from the Luo River to irrigate it, and then picked through the corn seed stockpile.

Now that the river had thawed, the water plants along its banks were doing well. Aunt Sun was carrying her basket and happened to run into another auntie gathering grass.

“So early?” the woman called out.

Aunt Sun was busy cutting the grass and only nodded.

Aunt Liu came closer. “Have you heard from your Taozi? I heard the post office just got a lot of news recently.”

Aunt Sun lifted her head from the grass. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll go to town tomorrow to ask.”

Aunt Liu wanted to say something mean, but when she looked into Aunt Sun’s steady gaze, she stopped. “Yes, maybe the delivery person just left it behind.”

Aunt Sun hummed in reply, moved to the side a little, and didn’t want to talk more.

She had just finished cutting the grass when, on her way back, she heard children at the village entrance crying out excitedly: “They’re back! Uncle Shuanzi is back!”

Shuanzi had been recruited with Meng Tao.

Aunt Sun’s basket fell from her shoulders with a thud. She was not as calm and in control as usual. She ran towards the entrance of the village. A crowd was gathering. She looked everywhere, but she couldn’t find the person she had been hoping to see.

The village chief came out, carrying two long strings of firecrackers, which he lit with a sputtering crackle.

Chen Qing was at home when he heard the noise. He stood up just as Aunt Liu came running to his door.

“Chen Qing, you’re still here? Didn’t you hear the commotion? Your husband is back.”

Chen Qing stopped moving. The basket of corn seeds fell from his hands. “What?”

“Hurry up—your mother already left.” Aunt Liu quickly put the basket she had been carrying into his arms. She was too busy watching the excitement to say more.

Chen Qing hurried to the door and looked down at his clothes. He patted the dust off and sniffed himself, feeling nervous. He had just cleaned the chicken coop and wasn’t sure if he smelled something.

His heart was beating very fast. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair, worried, and then hurried to the village entrance.

He saw the tallest man in the group. No one else was anywhere near that height. He remembered what Aunt Sun had said—Meng Tao was very tall.

Chen Qing looked down, but he seemed to still be looking at the figure in front of him. His arms went numb, and the tips of his ears burned.

There were cries all around. Five years ago, when the soldiers came, more than ten men from Luohe Village had been taken. Now, their families are all gathered here. Chen Qing looked for Aunt Sun in the crowd.

He was confused. He wondered why she wasn’t standing with Meng Tao. He made his way through the crowd and saw Aunt Sun crying on the road.

He hurried forward to help her. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Aunt Sun looked like she had finally found something to lean on. She stood up straight and walked toward the tall man. “Are you sure? My son—how could he have died in battle?”

Chen Qing’s face went pale. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was the one holding Aunt Sun up, or if she was holding him.

His husband… was dead?

 

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