Chapter 42

Mingbei watched as Li Muwu snapped the tape measure with a sound like cracking whips, and his legs began to tremble again. He shook his legs and hid half of his head behind the door, stammering in rebuttal, “How could the ruler measure a few centimeters of difference? And before I came back, I clearly straightened the handlebars; it can’t possibly be that far off.”

Zhenzhen, who had been crouched by the window, couldn’t bear to watch and covered her face. Sure enough, as soon as Li Muwu heard this, he got angry: “You’ve already given yourself away! The moment you stepped in, I could tell you were guilty. Let me tell you, you little bastard, I can tell even if you drop a few eggs when you squat, I know everything. As for this bike, I don’t know how many times I wipe it every day. I practically measure it eight times a day. I can even spot a speck of mud on the wheel. You think you can hide a fall from me? Dream on!”

Zhenzhen stared in shock at Li Muwu, never expecting her usually taciturn father to be so capable. Not only did he measure the bike for fun, but he also managed to get the truth out of her foolish brother with a few cleverly framed questions.

Watching Li Muwu carefully straighten the bike and hang it back on the wall of the barn, Mingbei couldn’t help but shout at him: “Dad, you should not be using this skill to carry sacks in the granary, it’s a waste of time. You’d be better off becoming a cop and catching spies, you’d definitely catch them all.” Li Muwu grabbed a stick and sneered coldly: “Still running your mouth? Looks like you’re asking for a beating.” He charged toward Mingbei.

Mingbei screamed, hugging his head and ran into the house, but by the time Li Muwu entered the room, Mingbei had already jumped out the window and fled. The neighbors, who had heard the commotion, came over to watch the drama. It could be said that while Mingbei had been riding his bike proudly in front of his house earlier that morning, by evening, he was being chased by Li Muwu in a much more embarrassing manner.

Zhenzhen sat at the windowsill, enjoying her sunflower seeds while watching the father and son circle the front and back yards. Li Laotai, who had been watching with her, suddenly realized something was wrong. She quickly put down her smoking pot, grabbed Zhenzhen, and began to check her over: “Did your brother really fall off the bike? Did you get hurt? Did your leg hit anything?”

“No!” Zhenzhen quickly moved her arms and legs to let Li Laotai check. “I jumped off as soon as my brother rode onto the stone.”

“Jumped off from that high? Didn’t your feet hurt?” Li Laotai looked at Zhenzhen’s small feet with concern. Seeing there were no bruises or dark spots on her feet, she sighed in relief. As she saw Li Muwu chasing Mingbei past the window, Li Laotai angrily shouted, “Give that kid a good beating. He actually rode onto the stone and almost fell on Zhenzhen. This little bastard really needs a good lesson.”

When Li Muwu, who had just stopped to catch his breath, heard that Mingbei had ridden onto the stone and almost hurt his daughter, he didn’t know whether to be more upset over the bike or Zhenzhen. He grabbed a thicker stick from the yard and continued to chase Mingbei.

Mingbei was at the age when he could run and jump, but it still wasn’t enough to outlast running around the yard. To make matters worse, Li Laotai was blocking his way with her smoking pot. After running several laps, Mingbei was beginning to tire. He accidentally got hit a few times on the backside with the smoking pot. Taking advantage of a moment when neither Li Muwu nor Li Laotai were near, Mingbei dashed through the vegetable garden and climbed over the fence into the yard, then made a break for the gate.

Li Laotai, walking toward the gate, shouted at his fleeing back: “If you have the guts, don’t come back. I’ll let your mom make dumplings tonight, with mushroom and pork filling.”

Mingbei stopped in his tracks, turning around and looking conflicted at his home. Go back, and he’d surely get a beating; but if he didn’t go back, he wouldn’t get to eat dumplings. The last time they made dumplings was two months ago, with pork and cabbage filling—it smelled so good.

Mingbei sighed, wishing he could hide out for a while to avoid the beating. His biggest worry was that if he waited too long, not only would he miss the dumplings, but he would eventually get beaten even worse. He hesitated, torn between getting punished and eating dumplings.

After watching the excitement, Zhenzhen finished her last pine nut and slowly came out to persuade Li Laotai: “Grandma, I really didn’t fall. Don’t beat my brother. He’s already not very smart, and if you beat him, he’ll become even more foolish.”

Li Laotai, seeing that Zhenzhen really wasn’t hurt, glanced at Mingbei, who looked so pitiful, and snorted coldly: “I won’t beat him, but whether his dad beats him or not is up to him.”

Mingbei, watching from afar as Zhenzhen convinced Li Laotai, let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Muwu hadn’t come out. He waved frantically at Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen turned around, saw Li Muwu leaning against the wall catching his breath, and quickly dashed to Mingbei, giving him a thumbs-up in admiration: “Brother, you really won’t stop until you’re beaten, huh? You just keep provoking Dad.”

“I just couldn’t stop myself from talking back,” Mingbei said regretfully. He tugged at Zhenzhen’s little braid and suggested, “Can you talk to Dad about changing the stick? That one is too thick. I won’t be able to get off the bed for three days.”

Zhenzhen grabbed her braid back, puffing up her chubby cheeks and glaring at him: “I don’t think you’re worried at all. I just convinced Grandma not to hit you, and you turn around and pull my braid.”

Mingbei quickly slapped his own hand, smiling sheepishly: “I couldn’t help it!” He patted Zhenzhen’s shoulder and squatted down to negotiate: “Little sis, can you talk to Dad? If he’s willing to use a thinner stick, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “Alright, I’ll talk to Dad.”

Mingbei watched Zhenzhen enter the house, then quickly ran to the door and peeked inside. He didn’t know what she had said to Li Muwu, but Li Muwu did seem to have calmed down. He tossed aside the thick stick and grabbed one as thick as a cucumber. He shouted toward the door, “Come in.”

Mingbei heard the sound of Guihua in the kitchen chopping meat for the dumplings and hurried inside, stopping about three or four meters away from Li Muwu. Li Muwu glared at him and struck him hard on the backside twice with the stick, then tossed it aside, snorting: “Don’t think you can ride my bike again. If you touch it, I’ll hit you.”

Mingbei stood dumbfounded, watching Li Muwu walk away, unable to resist asking, “What if my sister wants to go to the hydrolysis plant to watch a movie?”

Li Muwu paused, turned back, and gave him a sidelong glance: “I’ll take Zhenzhen there on the bike. You can run behind!”

In that instant, Mingbei wailed: “Dad, I’m your real son!”

As it turned out, Li Muwu had quite a few sons, and he didn’t have much affection for his biological son, Mingbei. Since that day, he had bought a chain lock to secure the bicycle tightly. Mingbei tried several times to sneak out the bicycle to show off, but all his attempts ended in failure.

Zhenzhen really couldn’t stand Mingbei’s constant bragging and jumping around, so she used the condition Mingbei had promised her that day, forcing him to sit at the desk and review his lessons. She watched as he copied his first and second-year textbooks and answered the exercises from his homework, only then allowing him two days off.

After Mingbei had been forced to copy books for more than ten days by Zhenzhen, he was finally freed. He immediately went to find Wang Sufen to discuss money for going to the movies.

Wang Sufen impatiently looked at him while nodding: “Mingdong, Mingxi, and Mingnan all studied better than you when they were in school. They never said they needed to watch movies to relax. Look at you, showing off. Do you think you can score a hundred or something?”

“I just want to relax a bit,” Mingbei retorted confidently. “Besides, I want to go around the water hydrolysis plant more, so I’ll be more prepared when they start recruiting.”

Wang Sufen didn’t know much about factory work except for when she attended night school briefly in the early 1950s to learn to read. Most of the time, she was either busy with housework or farming with Grandma Li. Hearing Mingbei use the job recruitment excuse made her hesitate: “Really? Don’t try to fool me!”

“Yes, yes, really!” Mingbei stretched out his hand. “Give me fifty cents, and I’ll take Zhenzhen to watch a movie and have a good time.”

Wang Sufen slapped his hand away, wiped the water from her hands, and went inside to ask Zhenzhen, “Baobao, your brother wants to watch a movie again. Do you want to go?”

When Zhenzhen left the movie theater last time, she had asked the staff and learned that for the past month or two, they had been showing “Landmine Warfare.” Although “Landmine Warfare” was good, she didn’t enjoy watching the same movie repeatedly. So when Wang Sufen asked, Zhenzhen immediately shook her head.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s reluctance, Mingbei quickly winked at her. “Didn’t you promise to go play with Yu Wanqiu last time? How can you go back on your word?”

Zhenzhen, seeing Mingbei’s eager look, couldn’t help but laugh. She bit into a persimmon and looked at Mingbei: “Sister Wanqiu was just being polite. I’m a six-year-old little kid, ten years younger than her. What’s so fun about hanging out together?”

With one sentence, she shut Mingbei up. He opened his mouth but couldn’t think of anything else to say. Looking at Zhenzhen, who was grinning mischievously, Mingbei truly didn’t understand why his little sister had so many tricks up her sleeve. She wasn’t cute at all.

“If Zhenzhen doesn’t want to go, then you stay home and be good. Last time, didn’t your father give you a good beating?” Wang Sufen shot a glance at Li Mingbei and shouted, “Go study. When your sister wants to go, you two can go together!”

Just when Mingbei was about to agree with Wang Sufen, Zhenzhen’s words ruined everything. He immediately grabbed Wang Sufen’s arm and turned to Zhenzhen. “How about Mom gives you the money?”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier!” Zhenzhen threw the persimmon stem into the basin and cheerfully stretched out her hand. “Mom, I want to go watch a movie.”

“Goodness, you’ve got so many tricks.” Wang Sufen laughed as she opened the box, took out a handkerchief, and pulled out one yuan along with half a pound of ration tickets, handing them to Zhenzhen. “Your father won’t let your brother ride his bicycle anymore. You two can walk. After watching the movie, have some food at the factory and let your brother wander around the factory more so he knows how to improve himself.”

Seeing Zhenzhen happily take the money and ration tickets, Wang Sufen still felt uneasy, so she couldn’t help but remind her: “You’d better save some of that money. We don’t have a lot of spare cash for you to go to the movies every now and then. If you’re really craving something, buy two cakes, one for you and one for Meat Bun. Your grandmother and I won’t eat that stuff.” Wang Sufen shot a glare at her youngest son, who was staring greedily at the money, and added, “Don’t buy your brother any. It’ll be a waste.”

“I know,” Zhenzhen said as she got off the bed, not wearing her plastic sandals, but instead pulling out the small cloth shoes that Guihua made for her. Only then did she leave with Mingbei urging her.

During these days at home studying, Mingbei couldn’t stop thinking about going to the hydrolysis plant. He couldn’t figure out whether he was looking forward to watching the movie or meeting Yu Wanqiu. Yu Wanqiu was much prettier than the girls in Mingbei’s school. She was the type of girl who seemed to have never suffered much. Her skin was very fair, and her hands looked soft and tender. She had a traditional goose-egg face and a pair of exceptionally captivating large eyes. Mingbei couldn’t help but feel a flutter in his heart when he looked at her.

Every time Mingbei had some free time, he couldn’t help but think of the scene where Yu Wanqiu sat next to him watching a movie, remembering her beautiful, watery eyes. However, thinking about that pretty girl made Mingbei feel a bit embarrassed. He was a grown boy, just starting to have feelings, but he was too shy to talk to his family about it. It was really hard to keep these feelings bottled up inside.

Fortunately, Zhenzhen, after Mingbei’s repeated hints, finally stood by him. The two siblings, carrying a water bottle and some snacks, headed toward the hydrolysis plant. The hydrolysis plant was far from the Li family’s home, and it would take about an hour to walk there. Fortunately, neither of them minded walking. They often climbed mountains for two to three hours without feeling tired, not to mention the flat road ahead.

After walking for an hour, they finally reached the office building of the hydrolysis plant. Seeing the familiar building, Mingbei noticeably slowed down. He walked while looking around, as if searching for something.

“Brother, what are you looking for?” Zhenzhen took out her water bottle and sipped some honey water, teasing Mingbei. “Are you looking for Sister Wanqiu?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I’m not even familiar with her,” Mingbei’s face turned slightly red, and he seemed to feel his previous words lacked confidence. He awkwardly added, “What would a grown man like me need to do with a little girl, huh!”

“Such a liar.” Zhenzhen rolled her eyes and quickly scanned the whole hydrolysis plant with her senses. Soon, she spotted Yu Wanqiu. She tapped the dumb Mingbei, who was still looking around, and pointed to the three-story building nearby. “Brother, what’s that? Let’s go take a look.”

Mingbei glanced lazily at it and looked elsewhere. “That’s the workers’ family building.”

“I’ve never seen an apartment building. Let’s go check it out.” Zhenzhen said, pulling him toward the family building. There were four three-story buildings in this area, arranged in a square with seven or eight rows of storage rooms in the middle, each with ten rooms. Every household on the upper floors had a storage room to store miscellaneous items.

Zhenzhen dragged Mingbei’s hand and circled around the back of the building. They saw a group of seven or eight-year-old children running around playfully while Yu Wanqiu sat at the door of a storage room reading. From time to time, she would glance up at a little boy running around.

Mingbei, with his mind on other matters, was still looking behind him as Zhenzhen dragged him over. He accidentally bumped into a small boy running blindly, causing him to trip and fall.

Yu Wanqiu, having finished a page of her book, looked up just in time to see the boy fall. She rushed over. “Wan Sheng, are you alright?”

Just as Mingbei was helping Yu Wan Sheng up, he heard a familiar voice. Looking up, he saw Yu Wanqiu standing in front of him. He was both happy and a little nervous. He scratched his head, not sure what to say. “Uh, what are you doing here?”

“This should be my question to ask you,” Yu Wanqiu said helplessly, looking at him. “Why don’t you ever watch where you’re going? Last time, you crashed into a stone while riding a bike, and now you’ve bumped into my little brother while walking. What do you usually think about?” Mingbei blushed and scratched the back of his head. After a long pause, he muttered, “I… I wasn’t thinking about anything…”

Zhen Zhen quickly tried to smooth things over. Holding Yu Wanqiu’s hand, she smiled sweetly and said, “My brother and I came to the factory for fun. It’s my first time seeing buildings like these, so I asked my brother to bring me here for a look. Who would have thought we’d run into Sister Wanqiu?”

“I live here.” Yu Wanqiu pointed to the middle unit. “The apartment in the center on the third floor. You came all the way from the south side of the railway tracks, right? Why don’t you come up to my place for some water?”

“No need, no need, I brought my own water.” Zhen Zhen quickly declined.

Yu Wanqiu picked up Zhen Zhen’s water bottle and gave it a shake. “It’s almost empty. Don’t be so polite. Come on up and have a seat at my place.”

Zhen Zhen glanced at Ming Bei, noticing his lowered head and silence. She understood what he was thinking and said, “Then I’ll trouble you, Sister Wanqiu.”

“Since you’re calling me ‘sister,’ there’s no need to be so formal.” Yu Wanqiu laughed heartily, then greeted Yu Wansheng. “You stay down here and play. I’ll take them upstairs for some water.”

Since arriving in the 1960s, it was Zhen Zhen’s first time seeing a building like this. She curiously observed everything around her. Each floor had three households. Yu Wanqiu’s family lived on the third floor. When they opened the door, they were greeted by a kitchen, which contained a chicken cage with a few chickens stretching their necks to eat. The apartment had two rooms, one on the east and one on the west. The eastern room was slightly larger and contained a dining table and a large desk in the corner with many books on it.

Zhen Zhen walked over to take a look and noticed the textbooks on the desk looked familiar. “Sister Wanqiu, are you in eighth grade too? These textbooks look just like my brother’s.”

“Yes, I’ll be starting ninth grade when school reopens.” Yu Wanqiu brought a thermos from the kitchen and poured cups of water for Ming Bei and Zhen Zhen, then refilled Zhen Zhen’s water bottle.

“Are you planning to go to high school after graduating from middle school?” Zhen Zhen asked.

“Of course.” Wanqiu smiled. “My dad wants me to apply to No. 2 Secondary School at the Water Refinery Factory. He says it’s easier to get into the factory’s technical school or directly into the factory after graduating from there.”

Zhen Zhen glanced at Ming Bei with an implied message. “Sister Wanqiu has long-term plans, unlike my brother, who’s still thinking about hauling timber at the forest management station after middle school.”

“I’m not!” Ming Bei quickly interrupted, stealing a glance at Yu Wanqiu. He stammered, “I’m going to high school too.” After a pause, he added, “I’m also applying to No. 2 Secondary School at the hydrolysis Factory.”

Yu Wanqiu smiled at him. “Good luck!”

With a goal in mind, Ming Bei seemed like a different person after returning from the hydrolysis Factory. Every day, without Zhen Zhen’s urging, he would sit at the desk by the window and study. When Ming Nan returned home for vacation, Ming Bei even asked him to go over the textbooks for seventh and eighth grades. Grandma Li, watching her grandson act like a changed person, thought he might have been possessed by a yellow weasel spirit.

As September approached, Li Muwu went to Steel Elementary School near their home and finally got Zhen Zhen enrolled. He paid the tuition and textbook fees and brought back a set of textbooks.

The whole family was very supportive of Zhen Zhen starting school. Grandma Li went to the market and bought her a military-style backpack, along with notebooks, pencils, erasers, and other supplies. These were much more complete than what Ming Nan and Ming Bei had when they started school.

At that time, there weren’t many subjects, just two textbooks: one for language and one for arithmetic. The language textbook was filled with stories reflective of the era, including tales of the Anti-Japanese War, frugality, and Mao Zedong’s quotations.

After flipping through the textbooks, Zhen Zhen called Ming Bei over to teach her how to write her name. He wrote the first two characters well enough, but when it came to “Zhen,” he went through half a page without getting it right. Zhen Zhen stared at the misshapen characters, either missing strokes or misaligned, and couldn’t help knocking on the desk. “I’m your sister, after all. How can you not know how to write my name?”

Ming Bei scratched his head in frustration. “This is too hard. I think Big Brother must have been out of his mind to give you this name. I bet you won’t even be able to write it by fifth grade. How about you change it? The ‘Zhen’ from ‘truth’ is simple and easy to write. Let me show you.”

Zhen Zhen smirked. “My ‘Zhen’ means lush and thriving, symbolizing prosperity. I won’t change it.”

“Why does it have to be so complicated? How about a name like ‘Cao Dui’ (Grass Pile)? Li Cao Dui also means lots of grass.”

“Why not call me ‘Li Shu Lin’ (Forest) then? That means lots of trees!” Zhen Zhen was both annoyed and amused. If not for the need to blend in, she wouldn’t have bothered asking this idiot for help. Watching Ming Bei’s self-righteous expression, she couldn’t help wanting to knock him down a peg. “Forget it. I won’t ask you to teach me anymore. You have no education, yet you’re thinking of taking the high school entrance exam? Sister Wanqiu is a great student; you won’t even come close to catching up to her. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the hydrolysis Factory and ask Sister Wanqiu for help.”

“Don’t! Don’t!” Ming Bei panicked. He had a vague fondness for Wanqiu and didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her. Gritting his teeth, he slapped the table. “I’ll make sure you learn to write your name!” He raised his voice and shouted, “Grandma, get the household registry book for me. I refuse to believe I can’t learn to write Zhen Zhen’s name!”

Zhen Zhen: “…”

———

—The Yellow Weasel Spirit is a mythical or supernatural being in Chinese folklore, often associated with trickery or cunning. Weasels are seen as elusive creatures, and the “yellow” may symbolize power or deceit. In folklore, this spirit might shape-shift or influence people’s lives, and in modern stories, it may be portrayed as either a mischievous or malevolent entity.

—Mao Zedong (1893–1976) was the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. As leader of the Chinese Communist Party, he oversaw the Chinese Civil War, the establishment of the PRC, and major campaigns like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which brought both transformation and turmoil to China. His legacy is deeply controversial.