Returning Home

Zhao Danshi's plan to go to H City was temporarily shelved when he suddenly received a phone call that day.

An aged, familiar voice came from the other end. After calling out several times, it finally asked, "Yun Yun, is that you?"

After so much time had passed, hearing that aged voice brought the kind, familiar face buried deep in his memories back to mind.

Zhao Danshi's nose immediately stung. He took a deep breath and answered thickly through his nasal voice, "It's me, Grandpa. It's me."

The old man sighed. That sigh felt like a heavy weight pressing down on Zhao Danshi's heart, leaving it with an indescribable ache and numbness.

The old man said reproachfully over the phone, "You've graduated from college, haven't you? How come you haven't come back all these years?"

Zhao Danshi had fallen out with his family long ago over the fact that he was gay. He had attended college in another city, and since starting college, he had only gone back once—to handle the paperwork for transferring his household registration and related documents at the police station. While he was at it, he changed his name as well.

It was inconvenient for Zhao Danshi to explain. He was afraid of frightening the old man.

But the old man said, "I already know about your situation. Don't carry such a heavy burden in your heart. That's just how life is. Yun Yun, all Grandpa wants is for you to be safe and happy. Nothing else matters that much."

Zhao Danshi choked up at once. Hearing him cry over the phone, the old man could not help shedding tears as well. "All right, you're a grown man now. Stop crying. Where are you now? How are you doing? Grandpa will come see you."

"I'm in X City, and I'm doing quite well. Don't worry, Grandpa. I've graduated from college and found a decent job. After the insurance and housing fund deductions, I still take home more than six thousand a month."

"Then how are you managing meals and lodging? Isn't eating and staying outside expensive?"

"Not expensive, not expensive. My rent is only a little over a thousand now, and my landlady is especially nice to me. Whenever she makes dumplings at home, she invites me over to eat." Zhao Danshi only told the good news, not the bad, cutting his rent in half. "I can save four or five thousand every month."

"Don't mistreat yourself out there. Eat what you should eat and drink what you should drink. Don't be too frugal."

"I know. Grandpa, how about you? How has your health been these past two years?"

"Pretty good. I can eat and sleep well." The old man said, "Where are you spending the New Year? Why not come back to your hometown?"

Zhao Danshi's father and grandfather were both extremely stubborn men. They had never gotten along when they were younger and often argued, leaving their relationship terribly strained. Zhao Danshi had still visited fairly often when he was little, but by the time he was in his teens, the two sides barely spoke to each other. At most, they saw each other once during the New Year.

Later, his grandmother died after suffering a stroke, leaving his grandfather alone.

His grandfather could not bear to leave the old house and was unwilling to live with his son and daughter-in-law. At least when Zhao Danshi left home, his father and grandfather had not yet reconciled.

Come to think of it, Zhao Danshi had not seen his grandfather in many years either.

He had not felt it when they were not talking, but now that they were chatting, his homesickness was suddenly hooked out of him. Holding back his tears, he said, "Grandpa, I'm free now. I'll come see you tomorrow."

The old man was overjoyed and repeatedly asked, "Really? You don't have to work tomorrow?"

"No. I haven't taken leave in a long time, so I can apply for some time off."

"Ah, good, good. What time will you arrive tomorrow? Grandpa will wash the quilts and dry them in the sun, then wait for you to come home." The old man clutched the phone tightly. "Yun Yun, what do you want to eat? Grandpa will make it for you."

"Anything is fine. As long as Grandpa makes it, I'll like it." Zhao Danshi comforted him. "It'd be even better if there's meat."

The old man laughed heartily. "Yes, yes, yes! Braised pork knuckle, steamed ribs, red-braised chicken, pickled cabbage fish—Grandpa will make sure there's plenty."

The grandfather and grandson chatted on the phone for a long time. Zhao Danshi hung up reluctantly, then immediately opened his phone and booked a ticket home.

His hometown was a small village in the southwest, built against the mountains. The roads were not very accessible, and the village was relatively isolated. After taking the train, Zhao Danshi had to transfer to a bus, then to a small three-wheeled vehicle. From the city to the county seat, then to the town and village, the mountain roads twisted and turned. The journey alone took an entire day.

Zhao Danshi's father had been among the first to rise out of poverty through education. He tested his way out of that small mountain village, settled down in the city afterward, and almost never returned. Zhao Danshi had at least grown up with his parents in town, only coming back occasionally for a month or two during summer and winter vacations.

The tricycle driver was waiting for passengers at the Three-Way Junction. They had to fill the vehicle before they could head back to the village.

Zhao Danshi was neatly dressed, and every item on him was expensive. He looked completely out of place in this small town.

With nothing better to do, the tricycle driver, Zhao Liwei, smiled and struck up a conversation. "Young man, where are you from? Are you here to visit someone or see family?"

Zhao Danshi smiled. "I'm from here. I'm coming home this time."

"Oh, impossible, isn't it? I know everyone in all the villages around here. I've never seen you before. Whose boy are you?"

"Manzigong's grandson. He's my grandfather."

Zhao Liwei suddenly understood. "No wonder you looked a little familiar. You look like your grandmother."

Zhao Danshi smiled.

Zhao Liwei asked with interest, "How long are you planning to stay this time? Your grandfather has really been looking forward to you coming back. I saw him going to the market early this morning to buy meat and vegetables. I was wondering which honored guest he was preparing to entertain. Turns out it was you coming home?"

Zhao Danshi said, "I'm not sure yet. I'll stay for a week first."

"That makes sense. Young people like you all have jobs outside, so you can't get away easily. But since you're back, spend some proper time with your grandfather. He's lived alone in the village all these years. It must be lonely."

Zhao Liwei rolled a packet of home-cut tobacco in white paper and sighed. "Nobody has it easy these days. Every village is like this. Young people go out to work, leaving the elderly behind. It's fine when nothing happens, but if something does happen, they can call to heaven and earth and get no answer. There isn't even anyone around to lend a hand."

Zhao Danshi asked, "Are there many elderly people left behind in the village?"

"Lots! Of course there are. In some families, both the elderly and children are left here. In others, it's just the elderly. Several nearby villages have become left-behind villages. How few young people are there around here? Let me put it this way: whenever the New Year approaches, little thieves keep coming to the countryside. They ride motorcycles around stealing chickens and whatever else they can get their hands on. Even if someone sees them, they aren't afraid. These old people have trouble getting around and can't catch them at all."

An incredulous expression appeared on Zhao Danshi's face. "How is that stealing? Isn't that outright robbery?"

"Exactly. They come to rob you, so what can you do? They grab a chicken or steal some cured meat. Even if you call the police, there's nothing the police can do when they arrive."

"Then what can be done? Isn't that too dangerous? What if they hurt someone?"

"What can be done? A worthless life, that's all. Whoever gets hurt just has to accept their bad luck." Zhao Liwei sighed as well. "If there were more young people in the village, they could chase the thieves down and beat them up. Beat them into behaving, and no thief would dare come again. But now there are only old people left. There's nothing to be done..."

As they talked, people gradually came over and got into the vehicle. Most of them carried things, either baskets or woven plastic sacks. The space around Zhao Danshi's feet was soon stuffed full, and he could not even move his legs.

Zhao Danshi noticed that most of the passengers were women, and all of them were middle-aged or elderly women over forty or fifty.

Zhao Liwei turned and asked a woman he knew well, "Yazi Mei, how did your vegetables sell today?"

Yazi Mei smiled happily. Her dark skin made her teeth look even whiter, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes all crinkled up. "Pretty well. I sold almost all my vegetables today, with only a few tomatoes left. Who's this young man? He looks strangely familiar."

Zhao Liwei chuckled. "Guess. He's from your village."

Yazi Mei narrowed her eyes and looked Zhao Danshi up and down for a long while, but she still could not remember which family he belonged to. "Young man, whose boy are you?"

Meeting that simple, honest smile, Zhao Danshi said, "I'm Manzigong's grandson."

"I knew you looked familiar!" Yazi Mei asked with a smile, "You haven't come back in many years, have you?"

The others in the vehicle heard them and turned to look at Zhao Danshi with interest. Yazi Mei smiled at him. "You're such a handsome young man. You look like you were carved from the same mold as your grandmother."

"Now that you mention it, he really does look like her. His grandmother was a famous beauty in all the surrounding villages when she was young."

"Yes, when his grandmother married into the village, we children even walked dozens of miles along mountain roads just to watch the excitement."

Someone asked Zhao Danshi, "Young man, are you studying now or working?"

"I'm already working."

"Oh, where do you work? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Zhao Danshi answered vaguely, "In X City."

"X City is great. I heard people there make especially good money. Is that true?"

The villagers had no real concept of privacy. Whatever they wanted to ask, they asked directly and briskly, without caring how Zhao Danshi might feel.

Zhao Danshi was questioned all the way there. They nearly dug out even his elementary school graduation exam scores.

The tricycle chugged along, and before long, they arrived at the village.

Zhao Liwei joked, "You haven't come back in so long. Do you still remember which way your grandfather's front door faces?"

"I remember." Zhao Danshi opened his wallet, took out two yuan in change, and handed it over. "Two yuan for the fare?"

Zhao Liwei pushed his hand back. "Why would I charge you when it's your first time riding in my vehicle? Hurry home. Your grandfather is waiting for you."

Zhao Danshi forced the money back into his hand. "You're running a business. How can you not take payment?"

Yazi Mei, who got off at the same place as him, pulled out a wad of money from a hidden pocket in the waistband of her pants. She carefully counted out one one-yuan note and two fifty-cent notes for Zhao Liwei, then turned and stuffed several tomatoes into Zhao Danshi's hands. Laughing heartily, she said, "You've finally come back after so long. Auntie will treat you to some tomatoes."

"Oh, no need, no need."

"It's fine, it's fine. Just don't mind how they look. They may not be pretty, but I grew these tomatoes myself. They're sweet and juicy. You'll know once you taste them. Take them home and give them a try."

Zhao Danshi held five tomatoes and was just about to return them when she had already turned away, carrying her basket on her shoulder.

Zhao Liwei started the vehicle again and chugged deeper into the village with the remaining passengers.

They had stopped on the main road, and Zhao Danshi still had to walk quite a stretch down a small path to reach his grandfather's home.

It was already past four in the afternoon. The sun outside was warm but not scorching, and standing in it felt so comfortable that even sweating was pleasant. Zhao Danshi looked around. Fields surrounded him, and farther away were mountains that nearly enclosed the entire village.

It was early autumn now. The mountains were lush and green, soothing to the eyes.

Zhao Danshi slung his bag over his shoulder and carried the tomatoes down the path when Watcher suddenly said in his mind, "This place is quite nice. It has plenty of energy."

Time to start farming~

This was still going to be a slow-paced farming novel (~￣▽￣)~