1983, Northeast China

Chapter 58 Learning Characters Through Pictures

Aunt Wang helped Chen Xiulan onto the sled and tucked Xiaoman's blanket in tightly.

Ya Ya stood at the entrance of the commune courtyard, staring blankly at a small storefront across the street.

Chen Shi followed her gaze.

The storefront wasn't large, and there were a few colorful pieces of paper pasted on the windows. Several children with schoolbags were playing near the entrance.

Xinhua Bookstore.

Ya Ya didn't say anything, she just watched, her eyes full of envy.

Chen Shi patted his pocket. "Wait for me."

Chen Shi went into the bookstore.

The woman behind the counter raised her eyelids and glanced at him: "What do you want to buy?"

"Something inexpensive, for kids to learn to read."

The woman nodded knowingly, bent down, and pulled out a thin picture book from underneath. The cover was slightly creased, and there was a white mark pressed into the corner.

"This one's crumpled, I'll sell it to you for a discount, 18 cents."

Chen Shi opened it and took a look.

The first page has a large word: Home.

There is a small house painted next to it, with smoke coming out of the roof.

"That's it."

He placed the money on the counter, had it wrapped in old newspapers, and then put it in his pocket.

When he came out, Ya Ya was still standing there. When she saw him come out, her eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly moved away.

Chen Shi walked up to her, took the newspaper package out of his pocket, and stuffed it into her hand.

"Take it."

Ya Ya paused for a moment, then looked down and tore open a corner of the book. When she saw the word "home" on the cover, her eyes lit up instantly. She hugged the book to her chest, looked up at him, her lips curled up, wanting to laugh but holding it back, while her eyes were a little red.

"I'll look at it when I get home," Chen Shi said.

Ya Ya nodded vigorously, stuffed the book into her cotton-padded coat, and pulled her coat tighter, just like him.

When the horse-drawn sled returned to Kaoshantun, it was already past noon.

Chen Xiulan's face was pale, and her lips were completely bloodless. Aunt Wang urged her to go home and lie down, but she shook her head.

"Let's go to the brigade first." Chen Xiulan hugged Xiaoman tightly. "This is the last step. Let's get it done."

When Zhao Defa saw them come in, he quickly moved the stools closer to the stove. "Why don't you go back and rest first?"

Chen Xiulan did not answer, but only looked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi placed the completion certificate issued by the police station, the explanation stamped by the commune, and the brigade certificate on the table one by one.

Zhao Defa picked it up and looked at it, confirming it several times, before finally letting out a long sigh.

"That's it, we're safe now."

He opened the brigade's registration book.

The paper was yellowed and the edges were curled. It was covered with dense writing of the names, rations, population, and land plots of each family in Kaoshantun.

"Chen Xiulan, listed as a separate household." Zhao Defa read it aloud once, then picked up his pen and wrote it down.

Chen Xiulan looked at her name written on the notebook, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

"Chen Ting." Zhao Defa wrote this, then glanced at Ya Ya, "Former name, Ya Ya."

"Chen Xiaoman".

Zhao Defa wrote again: The two children live with their mother, and their food rations follow Chen Xiulan's household.

Just as the pen tip touched the next line, someone coughed outside the door. The cough wasn't loud, but it was deliberately drawn out.

Tian Guizhi lifted the curtain and came in, her shoulders covered in snow and her face blue with cold. She first looked at the people in the room, then her gaze fell on a few sheets of paper on the table.

"Oh, even the police went?"

No one in the house paid any attention to her.

Tian Guizhi took two steps forward, her eyes fixed on Xiaoman in Chen Xiulan's arms, then glancing at Yaya.

"No matter what, the child is still a member of the Han family. Changing the surname is such a big deal, and you think one trip to the commune is enough?"

Ya Ya took a half-step behind Aunt Wang.

"Why are you like a leech? You've only been quiet for a few days." Aunt Wang didn't care if she heard, she put her arm around Ya Ya who had come to hide and said.

Tian Guizhi looked smug, probably thinking that the matter had been settled, and immediately started causing trouble again.

"Han Changgui has already been buried, and you're all in such a hurry to separate households, change surnames, and cut off debts. If outsiders heard this, wouldn't they say the Chen family is too ruthless?" She paused, then suddenly laughed. "Besides, the children are all fine, aren't they? Nothing's missing, so why are you running to the police station like this?"

Chen Shi didn't want to talk to the widow, so he pushed the certificate from the police station in front of Zhao Defa.

"Uncle Zhao, the household registration has been processed by the police. The team should register the food rations."

He then took another, thinner notebook from Zhao Defa's hand and placed it next to the registration book.

"Uncle Zhao, is this a mediation book?"

Zhao Defa nodded. "Yes."

Tian Guizhi immediately became alert. "What do you mean?"

Chen Shi finally looked at her properly. "You're standing up for the Han family, saying the child belongs to them. Tell me, will the Han family provide food? Will they make cotton-padded coats? Will they take care of Xiaoman's medical care, her breastfeeding, and Yaya's schooling in the future?"

After saying that, Chen Shi didn't care what she thought, and just pushed the mediation book half an inch in front of Zhao Defa.

"Uncle Zhao, write down whichever way she says to carry it."

Zhao Defa looked up at Tian Guizhi.

Aunt Wang sneered, "Guizhi, if you truly care about the children, this is a good thing. Write it down: from now on, if Yaya and Xiaoman are cold or hungry, they can go to your room."

Tian Guizhi's face twitched. "How could I possibly have such great abilities? I'm just saying that the child has the blood of the Han family flowing in his veins."

Chen Shizhen was really annoyed by her nagging. "Names go in the ledger, rations go in the grain sacks. If you want to put the child under the Han family's name, then write down the responsibilities the Han family should bear as well. The Han family is empty now, so why don't you change your surname to Han?"

Tian Guizhi's face flushed red. "Chen Shi, don't push your luck."

She stood there silently for a long time, and no one paid any attention to her. Finally, she glared at Chen Xiulan.

"Fine, you've got guts. Don't regret it later."

She turned around and lifted the curtain, letting in the wind and snow, which was then blocked by the curtain.

Zhao Defa dipped his brush in ink again.

He wrote in the register that Chen Xiulan was a separate household, that the two children lived with their mother, and that Han Changgui's personal debts could not be deducted from Chen Xiulan's and the two children's food rations.

Zhao Defa tore another page from the letter of introduction book and wrote it according to the format.

Chen Shi from Kaoshantun assisted in patrolling the mountains to protect the village, delivering legitimate mountain products, and selling them to the purchasing station with a letter of introduction from the brigade.

After he finished writing, he stamped the document with the brigade seal and handed the paper to Chen Shi.

"Keep this safe. The police seal is for household registration, the commune seal is for information, and the brigade seal is for when you go to the purchasing station."

Chen Shi took it, first looked at the seal, then at the date.

When she got home, Chen Xiulan was almost at her breaking point.

Aunt Wang helped her onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and wiped her hands with a hot towel. Xiaoman was put into the cradle, hummed a couple of times, and then fell asleep again.

Ya Ya helped Chen Xiulan onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and after she lay down comfortably, she happily said, "Mom, Uncle bought me books!"

He carefully took the newspaper package out of his pocket and peeled it off layer by layer, as if he were unwrapping a precious treasure. The newspaper unfolded, revealing the thin picture book "Learn Characters by Looking at Pictures".

"Grandma, look!" She held the book up to her grandmother.

Aunt Wang leaned closer, squinting as she looked: "Oh, what's this?"

"A book! For learning to read!" Ya Ya flipped to the first page. "This is a little house, and there's smoke coming out of the roof!"

Aunt Wang smiled and reached out to pat her head: "Our Yaya is going to be a student."