Dawn broke, and farmers led their oxen toward the fields in a steady stream, plows slung over their shoulders.
More than a dozen uncles and cousins from the Chen Household came to see them off. They followed them far beyond the town, across the wooden bridge, all the way to the slope where the yellow dirt road bent toward the foot of the mountain, and still kept edging forward.
After this parting, who knew what year they might meet again?
The donkey in front walked impatiently, carrying He Ning and her modest bundle of belongings. Behind it came the donkey the Chen Household had prepared for the boy, its back padded with well-worn bedding to make the journey easier on him.
The boy looked back and heard his mother sobbing. His younger sister was crying too, while his eldest brother urged him to write home often.
His father stood straight as a silent tree, saying very little.
Once they rounded the hill, those familiar figures vanished from sight.
On the yellow dirt road, the two donkeys traveled one behind the other at an unhurried pace.
He Ning led the Chen Household boy onward in silence. She knew his heart was full of the ache of leaving home. That feeling was most tormenting at first; only after they had traveled for a while would the sorrow of parting from his family begin to fade.
The boy was frail and had to stop to rest before they had gone very far.
Strangely enough, since leaving home, his aches and illnesses had eased considerably.
The sun gradually climbed higher.
A little dry heat crept into the air.
Tender shoots had already sprouted among the grass and trees. He Ning dug up wild greens as they went, washing the soil off when they passed