Accidentally-Born-C19

Chapter 19

Guihua’s birth mother, Liu Chunhua, had once been the daughter of a wealthy family and lived a rather affluent life during her youth. Not only did she attend a girls’ school and learn to read, but she also studied painting and English. It is said that she even ate steak with a knife and fork, making her a very fashionable person.

Pampered and spoiled at home until the age of eighteen, Liu Chunhua married Wu, the young master of a family with similar financial circumstances. They had four sons and one daughter, and lived comfortably for a few years. However, when the liberation came, families like the Wu family were among the first to be criticized. After being paraded through the streets and subjected to public humiliation, the family was separated and sent to various locations for labor reform. Wu, the young master, and his family were sent to Beicha Forest Farm to do hard labor.

The entire family’s possessions when they first arrived at the farm consisted of a dilapidated, nearly collapsed mud house and a bed with exposed cotton stuffing. In the frigid environment of Beicha, where the cold could freeze one’s breath, the family would have frozen to death in no time with nothing but this house and the broken quilt.

Faced with such a dire situation, Wu, the young master, was at a loss and could only wipe away his tears. It was Liu Chunhua, with her boldness, who risked her life to go to a separate courtyard where Wu, the young master, used to rest when hunting in Beicha. The house was secluded, looking unremarkable from the outside, and with no neighbors around, it had been preserved.

Liu Chunhua found several clean cotton quilts, then tore up a few old sheets from the servants’ quarters and sewed them onto the quilts. She also retrieved some thick winter clothes, intentionally tore them up a bit, and, over several nights, carefully moved them to her small, dilapidated house. On her last trip back, Liu Chunhua glanced at her unfinished hunting painting, lit a stove, and burned it, only taking away the small box containing her painting tools.

With the rice and quilts she retrieved from the separate courtyard, the Wu family was finally able to avoid freezing or starving in the harsh winter. Moreover, since winters in Beicha were so cold, most of the families in the forest rarely ventured outside except to gather firewood or hunt. Some of the families nearby, though they could smell the porridge cooking at the Wu family’s house, looked at the family with pity and chose to turn a blind eye, with no one reporting them. Sometimes, when they caught more game, they would throw a rabbit leg or a piece of roe deer meat to the Wu family.

Grandma Li was aware of the Wu family’s situation. When she brought Guihua back, it was the second year of the Wu family’s labor reform at the forest farm. Grandma Li saw Liu Chunhua, a frail woman, exerting strength to carry logs like a man, and she felt that the Wu family’s daughter must be a good person.

After instructing Guihua to invite her mother to paint the kangqin, Grandma Li went out to help Wang Sufen with drying corn. Mingnan and Mingbei, both shirtless, were in the backyard, one pouring corn into the grinding stone and the other pushing the stone. They took turns when they got tired.

Guihua did not follow Grandma Li but instead found a rag and started wiping the dust off the kangqin and the chest. Looking at the new furniture in the room, Guihua couldn’t help but daydream until Grandma Li called her for lunch, snapping her back to reality.

The next morning, Guihua brought some dried food and went to her mother’s house to ask her to paint the kangqin. Liu Chunhua, nearly fifty, no longer carried logs but did some odd jobs. Recently, many wild vegetables and fruits had ripened on the mountain, and the forest farm had given workers some time off to store food and gather firewood for the winter. Liu Chunhua had a few days off and collected a basket of wild vegetables, sitting outside her house to sort them.

“Didn’t you come back last month? Why are you back again?” Liu Chunhua said without looking up. “Don’t think just because your in-laws are good, you can treat yourself like family. If they send you back, we don’t have a place for you here.”

Guihua bit her lip, went inside, and grabbed a small stool to sit opposite Liu Chunhua. She quickly picked the roots off the wild vegetables and tossed the cleaned vegetables into a nearby basin.

Liu Chunhua paused for a moment, then asked in a hoarse voice, “What is it this time? Did they really send you back?”

“No.” Guihua kept her head down. “I’m getting married. We’re having the wedding at the end of the year.”

Liu Chunhua couldn’t help but laugh. She looked at Guihua, and her tone suddenly became light. “The Li family is good. You’re lucky to be marrying into such a family.”

Guihua finished sorting the last bunch of vegetables, looked up at Liu Chunhua, and softly asked, “Mom, could you help me paint the kangqin?”

Liu Chunhua’s smile froze on her face, laced with sarcasm. “I can’t paint. I’m just someone who carries logs.” She quickly stood up, holding the basin, and was about to go inside, but Guihua quickly stopped her. “Mom, this is the happiest thing of my life.”

Liu Chunhua lowered her head, looking at the wild vegetables in the basin with an unreadable expression. Guihua couldn’t help but shed tears, choking as she said, “Can you treat the painting as my dowry?”

It seemed that these words touched Liu Chunhua. She raised her head and glanced at Guihua, then smiled self-deprecatingly. “When I got married, my dowry was two hundred silver coins and a box of gold and silver jewelry. But now, my daughter can settle for just one painting.”

“Mom…” Guihua stretched out her voice, pleading with a hint of desperation.

Liu Chunhua looked at Guihua and finally couldn’t bear to refuse her. “Fine, I’ll paint it for you.”

After washing her hands and face, Liu Chunhua neatly combed her hair into a bun and changed into a clean but slightly worn outfit. Finally, she pulled out a small box from the bottom of her chest, a box that had been kept for over ten years and had developed a slight shine from being handled often in private.

Liu Chunhua wrapped the box in a shabby cloth, then took out a charcoal pencil and a small piece of white paper to write a note before following her daughter out.

Guihua had been at the Li family for ten years, but this was the first time a family member had come to visit. When Grandma Li heard the door open, she quickly went out to greet Liu Chunhua. They exchanged pleasantries in the yard, and Mingnan and Mingbei, curious, came out to watch. Even Zhenzhen craned her neck to peek out the window.

Wang Sufen saw this and laughed, gently tapping Zhenzhen’s forehead. “What’s this? A little one curious about the gossip?” She then picked up Zhenzhen and went outside.

Zhenzhen knew about Guihua’s family background from bits and pieces of her family’s conversation. She curiously observed Liu Chunhua, noticing how cleanly dressed she was, with her hair neatly styled. Although her face bore the marks of hardship and her hands were calloused, her posture remained upright, exuding vitality.

Wang Sufen smiled and stepped aside to let her in. “In-laws, please come inside. This is the first time I’ve met you after all these years. Guihua looks just like you.”

Liu Chunhua smiled faintly. “I’ve always wanted to come visit you, but as you know, my family’s background isn’t great, so I feared I might cause trouble. Besides, when you bought Guihua and raised her, she really doesn’t have much to do with my family anymore. It’s your kindness that has kept her coming back to visit us, bringing things with her. We are already very content. How could we shamelessly call ourselves your in-laws?”

Wang Sufen didn’t know what to say in response. Li Laotai pulled out her pipe, filled it with tobacco leaves, struck a match to light it, and took a couple of puffs before speaking slowly. “Since we often let Guihua come back, it’s clear we don’t want her to forget her roots. Don’t overthink it. Come inside, rest a bit, and have some water.”

Liu Chunhua thanked her again before following Li Laotai into the house. Wang Sufen placed Zhenzhen on the kang and told Guihua to chat with her while she went to the kitchen to boil some water. She returned shortly after with a bowl of sugar water.

Liu Chunhua, well-educated and articulate, spoke with clarity and her voice was soft and gentle. Even drinking the sugar water, she carried herself as though enjoying an afternoon tea.

After finishing the sugar water and handing the bowl to Guihua, Liu Chunhua thanked Li Laotai once more and stood up. “Where’s the kangqin? I’ll go have a look and figure out what to paint.”

Li Laotai said, “I was going to suggest you rest more and look at it tomorrow, but you’re so impatient.”

Liu Chunhua shook her head. “I’m used to working; I can’t adapt to rest. Besides, it’s getting cold, and I’m sure you have plenty to do. I can’t stay here for too long.”

Li Laotai had met Liu Chunhua once when buying Guihua, so she understood that due to family circumstances, Liu Chunhua was a bit sensitive and self-conscious. She didn’t insist and instead led her to the backyard. “The small room we arranged for the young couple is at the back. It was originally meant for Dongzi’s fourth uncle, but after he married in Ice City, the room became vacant.”

Li Laotai opened the door to the room. Although small, it followed the traditional style of Beicha, with a kitchen just inside the door, and two rooms on either side.

Li Laotai pointed to the eastern room. “Let Dongzi and Guihua stay in the east room, and we’ll keep the west room for Mingxi.”

Liu Chunhua entered the room, noticing the layers of paper on the walls, freshly applied. There were sturdy, simple wooden boxes on the floor, and the kangqin was similarly plain, without any embellishments.

Liu Chunhua smiled as she admired the new, well-grained kangqin. “This is clearly good wood. Many people like to decorate their cabinets with intricate designs, but in my opinion, simple and elegant like this really shows the true beauty of the wood.”

Wang Sufen, somewhat puzzled, listened to her. The carpenter had only used the simplest design due to time constraints, but to Liu Chunhua, it seemed like a blessing.

Excited, Liu Chunhua opened her box and checked her paints. Some had dried up, and others had faded, but she was still glad to see there were many varieties. “These have been stored for too long, so they may not work well, but at least there’s a good selection. We can adjust the colors. What kind of painting would you like on here? Plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, or perhaps a proud pine in the snow?”

Li Laotai was taken aback, and it took her a moment to respond. “Something festive, maybe a red peony or lotus flowers—anything lively and colorful.”

Liu Chunhua paused as she selected a brush, then looked up at the kangqin, seeming slightly regretful. “The wood is too dark; a peony might not look good.”

“It’s fine,” Li Laotai reassured her with a smile. “The young couple’s wedding painting should have something like that.”

Since Li Laotai had decided, Liu Chunhua didn’t protest. However, she hadn’t painted in years, so her hand felt awkward at first. She asked Li Laotai for some old newspapers, mixed a little paint, and began sketching two familiar designs on the newspapers.

Neither Li Laotai nor Wang Sufen interrupted her, allowing her to paint in peace. When the sky darkened, Guihua called her to dinner. Later that night, Liu Chunhua and Guihua shared a room to sleep.

For the first time in over ten years, mother and daughter slept together. Lying side by side, neither of them could fall asleep. Suddenly, Liu Chunhua asked, “I noticed you’ve seemed unhappy these past few days. Is something wrong with the wedding?”

Guihua was silent for a long time, then murmured, “I see that Dongzi isn’t showing any joy. I’m afraid he doesn’t want to marry me.”

“Have you asked him?” Liu Chunhua turned to look at her. “If he truly doesn’t want to marry you, what will you do? Will you just give up?”

Guihua stared at the dark ceiling, silent for a long while.

The next morning, after Li Laotai woke up, she called for Guihua to fetch water from the east room to wash her face. Seeing Guihua dressed neatly, Li Laotai casually asked, “Why the formal clothes? Where are you going?”

“Grandma, I want to go to Ice City to find Mingdong!”