"It's Xiao Chun."
The phone screen shook for a moment, then an old man appeared on the video. He had a short, bristly mustache, a face etched with deep wrinkles, sunken brown eyes, and a head of unruly gray-white hair.
"Mhm, Grandpa. It's me, Xiao Chun."
"I called you this afternoon, but no one answered. Hei Wa Er kept telling me you had to be in class."
Mo Jingchun nodded and smiled. "I was in class."
Hei Wa Er was the nickname of Mo Jingchun's eldest uncle, Zhou Xing. These past few years, Grandpa was the only one who still called him that.
The first time Mo Jingchun heard his eldest uncle's nickname, he'd laughed for ages and even been made to stand as punishment by his dad. If Grandpa hadn't protected him, he might've been strung up and beaten.
If Mo Jingchun had to guess, his eldest uncle was probably scowling right now.
"Xiao Chun, are you and your little sister doing all right in the Capital City?"
"Grandpa, we're both doing really well. The teachers and our classmates take good care of us."
"Ah, that's good. You're both good kids. Xiao Chun, remember everyone who helps you. They're all kind people who gave you a hand when you were at your lowest."
Mo Jingchun nodded earnestly. "I know, Grandpa."
"That's good."
"They say people in the north eat wheat. You must not be used to the food there."
Mo Jingchun adjusted Candy in his arms to a more comfortable position, then smiled. "Not at all. You can get anything you want here—rice, steamed buns, noodles. Take your pick."
"Tsk. Big cities really are something else."
Mo Jingchun saw the longing in his grandpa's cloudy eyes. He knew why Grandpa was so fascinated by big cities: in all his life, from the day he was born until now, he'd never left An Province. He'd only been to the Provincial Capital a handful of times—few enough to count on one hand.
Whenever they sat together around the stove to keep warm, Grandpa would always tell stories about his youth.
He told much the same stories every time, but no one sitting around the stove, young or old, ever interrupted him. They all listened quietly.
The generation of Mo Jingchun's parents listened because they understood. They'd suffered through the same hardships as children, though their lives had been a little better than Grandpa's generation.
The younger generation, meanwhile, listened with rapt attention to stories that were vivid and real. They had no real concept of just how hard life had been for their elders.
After all, although Mo Jingchun's generation might not have had the food or clothes they had now when they were young, they'd never gone hungry or been left out in the cold.
That was a blessing, one the older generations had won for those who came after them with their very lives.
Grandpa had once said that he wanted to see the big cities outside their hometown. But Mo Jingchun's eldest uncle and the others had all shot the idea down. Grandpa's health couldn't withstand a long journey.
If anything happened along the way, no one could take responsibility. Besides, in the countryside, people believed in returning to their roots.
"Xiao Chun, do you have enough money over there? It costs a lot to live in a big city. Save where you can, but don't go pinching pennies where you shouldn't."
"You and your sister are still growing, so don't skimp on food."
"If you run short, just call and tell me. I've got a little money put away."
Mo Jingchun quickly refused. "You don't need to give me money, Grandpa. I've still got plenty. There's enough for my sister and me to get through college. Once I graduate and find a job, there'll be nothing to worry about."
Even if he ran short, Mo Jingchun would only borrow money from his grandpa. He'd never ask him to give it to him.
Mo Jingchun knew Grandpa had a little money. Everyone knew.
He no longer had the strength to work, so where would his money come from? Every year, at New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, Mo Jingchun's mother, Big Aunt, and the others gave him some.
It was never much, usually only five hundred yuan, but Grandpa saved every bit of it.
Mo Jingchun's grandpa sighed and said nothing.
That day, he'd personally escorted his daughter up the mountain as her father. The heartbreak of a white-haired father burying his daughter was beyond imagining.
"Xiao Chun, I happened to spot a prickly ash tree a few days ago. I thought I'd make Candy a Teething Stick. I've finished it now, so I wanted to call and ask you to send me your shipping address. I'll have Hei Wa Er make a trip in the next couple of days and send it to you."
As soon as Grandpa finished speaking, Mo Jingchun heard his eldest uncle Zhou Xing's voice through the video.
"Your grandpa went up someone else's mountain and chopped it down without even telling them. I had to swallow my pride and go apologize to the owner."
Mo Jingchun rubbed his nose and kept quiet. Chopping down a small tree in the countryside could be a big deal or nothing at all. If you let the owner know beforehand, they usually wouldn't mind.
But you did have to give them a heads-up, so it was no wonder his eldest uncle was annoyed.
"What's wrong with me cutting down one of Zhang Tieping's prickly ash trees? Even when his old man, Zhang Jixiang, was alive, he had to call me 'Grandpa' whenever he saw me."
"Sure, sure. You're the best."
Grandpa turned away from arguing with his eldest uncle and spoke to Mo Jingchun. "That's about it. Get some rest over there, and don't get sick and pass it on to Candy. You don't have anyone nearby to look after you."
"I know, Grandpa. You take care of yourself at home, too. Go out and have some fun when you can, and stop running up the mountain all the time. As for that Fu Ling, just let my eldest uncle keep an eye on it."
"All right, all right. I'm hanging up."
The phone screen shook again, and the phone returned to his eldest uncle's hand.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up. Your aunt's cooking dinner, and it'll be ready soon."
"All right."
Beep~
After the WeChat Video call ended, Mo Jingchun leaned back on the sofa and sat quietly for a while. Then he sent his eldest uncle Zhou Xing the school's mailing address.
"Guo-ge."
"Big brother."
"Guo-ge."
"Big brother."
At the kitchen doorway, Candy clutched her baby bottle and called "Guo-ge" indistinctly. Inside the kitchen, Mo Jingchun wore an apron and stir-fried dinner over high heat.
There was only one dish again today, but it had meat: Mo Jingchun's favorite, shredded pork with green peppers.
Dinner, dishes, and bathing his little sister Candy—that was Mo Jingchun's daily afternoon routine after he got back to the apartment.
At night, the little one nestled in Mo Jingchun's arms had fallen asleep without him noticing. The tip of her tiny tongue poked out, making her unbearably cute.
Mo Jingchun's hands flew over his laptop keyboard. He'd realized that he'd come to love the feeling of typing, and his little sister Candy had grown used to the sound, too. The tapping of the keys was like a lullaby, sending the little one off to sleep.
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