Chapter 56: Departing at Dawn

“All right, if it’s that convenient, then you might as well stay at home every day. The commune won’t have to spend money finding a place for you to stay,” Grandpa said as he walked ahead.

“I could probably stay at the commune guesthouse, the factory will reimburse me. I’ll see how things go—maybe split my time between both places, Grandpa,” Xiao Weiguo replied, following after him.

When they got home, they were surprised to find Xiao Pingle already there, sitting under the kerosene lamp in the main room, sipping chicken soup and nibbling on the leftover chicken that Xiao Weijun and Xiao Hongmei had left behind.

Grandma was in the kitchen, stoking the fire with a heavy heart, planning to reheat the half bowl of braised pork she’d brought and let her third son have it.

Seeing her old man return, she quickly left the stove and came to meet him, asking, “How did it go, are they not getting divorced? What will we do if they split up? So many kids, how will our third son manage on his own? Ask him anything and he won’t say a word, just keeps everything to himself.”

Grandpa sat down in his lounge chair, the flickering firelight from the stove illuminating his dark, weathered face as he said, “Don’t worry so much. The kids are grown now. Even Hongmei could manage to look after the younger ones herself.”

“What do you mean by that? Does that mean they’re going to get divorced?” Grandma pressed.

Seeing that neither Grandpa nor Father wanted to talk about it, Xiao Weiguo interjected, “Yes, Grandma. Uncle Gonglin will help handle the paperwork tomorrow. The specifics will have to wait until then.”

Grandma sat back down by the stove, her face clouded with sorrow, and murmured, “What sin have we committed? How will we manage after this?”

“Grandma, where are Hongmei, Weijun, and Lianxin? Have they eaten?” Xiao Weiguo asked, noticing the younger children were nowhere to be seen.

“Playing in your room,” Grandma replied as she added more firewood. “They’ve all eaten. Finished off the rest of the chicken, left only a bit of soup. Your father’s drinking that now. I’ll warm up two more cornbread buns and the braised pork for him—it’s enough. He upsets me every day and still expects to eat so well.”

Xiao Weiguo went to his room and found Hongmei holding a kerosene lamp, while Weijun and Lianxin played with the little boy sitting on the bed—his youngest brother, Xiao Qigong.

“Why aren’t you playing in the yard? What are you doing hiding in my room?” Xiao Weiguo asked.

As soon as Hongmei saw him, she jumped up and greeted him with delight, “Big Brother!”

Weijun wasn’t as reserved—he ran over and hugged Xiao Weiguo around the waist.

Lianxin, however, stood in place, head lowered, looking lost and unsure.

Seeing this, Xiao Weiguo walked over and gently patted Lianxin’s head. “Why aren’t you calling me Big Brother?”

“B-big brother, am I going to have to leave our family?” Lianxin whispered. “Last time I left like this too.”

“Why would you think that? You’ll always be our little sister!” Xiao Weiguo comforted her, though in his heart he knew that if Wang Tiehua wanted to take Lianxin away, she would be allowed to. The same went for the youngest, who could also be taken away.

Thinking of the youngest, Xiao Weiguo began to study the little boy sitting on the bed. He was chubby and adorable, a sturdy little tiger, clearly well cared for by Wang Tiehua—though, of course, that was at the expense of the other children.

Xiao Weiguo walked over and scooped up the youngest. The child didn’t resist, just wrapped his arms around Xiao Weiguo’s neck and nestled his face into his brother’s chest.

After holding him for a while and teasing him, Xiao Weiguo set him down on the bed again. “Once your father’s done eating, you all head home together. For now, stay here and play. I’m going to talk to Grandpa and Grandma.”

Weijun suddenly looked up, eyes full of hope. “Big brother, you’ll be home tomorrow, right? Can you take us fishing? The others are hopeless—they never catch anything!”

“Don’t go near the river, you hear me? What if you drown?” Xiao Weiguo replied sternly, his gaze sharp and serious.

Weijun, chastened, muttered, “I know.”

“Hongmei, keep an eye on him,” Xiao Weiguo instructed before leaving the room and heading to the main hall.

“Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, I have something to say. I don’t care how the rest is divided up tomorrow, but what about Lianxin and Qigong? What’s the plan for the two of them?” he asked.

“Ask your father,” Grandpa said, glancing at Xiao Pingle, who was still chewing cornbread.

Swallowing his bite, Xiao Pingle thought for a moment and answered, “The fourth one—she’ll have to go with her. She was never really a Xiao, anyway. As for the fifth, I want to raise him myself. He’s such a good boy.”

“That’s right. The fifth must stay—he’s a male child of the Xiao family. There’s no way she’s taking him. As for Lianxin, she was never ours to begin with,” Grandpa added.

Xiao Weiguo thought of Lianxin’s little face earlier and felt a pang of pity. If she left again, she’d have three different surnames in her life.

“If possible, let’s keep Lianxin too. Once you become a Xiao, you’re a Xiao for life!” he said earnestly.

Grandpa considered this. “That could work. She’s grown now, and in a few years it’ll be time to marry her off. But it depends on Wang Tiehua. If she insists, we have no say in it.”

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. But if Wang Tiehua doesn’t care much, or isn’t insistent, I suggest we keep Lianxin. She’s a good kid,” Xiao Weiguo added.

“All right, don’t worry about it. Just focus on your job tomorrow. Soon as you’re done, go to bed—I’ll wake you up in the morning,” Grandpa said, waving him off.

Xiao Pingle finished his food, let out a long, contented burp, and looked thoroughly satisfied.

Grandpa scowled and stomped on the leg of Xiao Pingle’s stool, scolding, “The sight of you makes me mad! Go to bed right after you finish eating!”

Xiao Pingle didn’t dare linger; he called to Hongmei and the others and led them home, their figures weaving through the darkness.

The next day, while Xiao Weiguo was still fast asleep, Grandpa opened his door and called for him to get up.

Looking out at the pitch-black sky, Xiao Weiguo felt a wave of confusion. It was so early—there were still at least one or two hours before dawn. The journey would only take a little over an hour. There was no rush; he could easily leave after sunrise.

Besides, in the pitch dark, he could ride his bike straight into a ditch and not even realize it.

“Come on, grandson, get up now. It’s your first day on the job—you can’t be late. The city’s far away, you need to set out early,” Grandma said, entering with a kerosene lamp.

Resigned, Xiao Weiguo got up, washed his face, brushed his teeth with his fingers, and headed to the main room. There, he saw Grandma had already made breakfast—a thick bowl of rice porridge, just one bowl, plus a boiled egg and some pickled vegetables.

“Grandpa, Grandma, have you eaten? Let’s eat together,” he said, grabbing two more bowls from the kitchen.

“We’ve already eaten, dear. You eat up—you need to get on the road soon,” Grandma said, sitting on a stool and looking at him kindly.

Ignoring her protests, Xiao Weiguo divided the porridge into three portions and pushed two bowls in front of them.

He quickly finished his share along with the egg and chewed a couple of pieces of pickled vegetables.

“You really should just eat by yourself,” Grandma said, trying to pour her share of porridge back into his bowl—but to no avail.

At that moment, Grandpa carried the bicycle into the yard, inspecting it as if he were an expert.

“Grandpa, you know a thing or two about bikes, huh?” Xiao Weiguo asked, walking over.

“Of course! I rode the brigade’s bicycle for two days—almost learned how to do it,” Grandpa replied with pride.

“How close is ‘almost’? I’ll get you your own one day,” Xiao Weiguo joked.

“Heavens, no! A bicycle is too expensive. Weiguo, you need to save your money for a wife,” Grandpa quickly objected.

Xiao Weiguo checked the tires and the chain. Satisfied, he prepared to set off.

Turning to Grandpa and Grandma, he said, “I’m off now. You two go get some more sleep.”

He waved goodbye and pushed the bicycle out of the yard.

Using the moonlight to guide him, Xiao Weiguo pedaled carefully down the road. After about a hundred meters, he looked back and saw Grandpa holding the lantern, standing at the gate with Grandma. They still hadn’t gone back inside.

He waved at them once more, then turned resolutely and rode off into the distance.

His receding figure on the bicycle and the silhouettes of his grandparents standing at the gate together formed the very first scene of this village’s day.