When Chen Xiaoliu heard that they were all changing their names, she stopped playing with the bird inside and ran out. Her little face scrunched up, and she stamped her feet in protest, her voice soft and childish.
"I don't want to change my name. I want to be Chen Xiaoliu!"
Chen Xiaoqi followed her out and asked hesitantly, "Xiao Liu, can I be number six?"
He wanted to be the older brother, to be number six!
Mom and Dad always called his older sisters number three and number four, so couldn't they call him number six too? Wouldn't that make him seem older?
He wanted to be the older brother. Could Xiao Liu become Xiao Qi and be his little sister? He didn't know whether she'd hit him if he said so.
After speaking, Chen Xiaoqi watched Chen Xiaoliu warily, worried she would hit him and anxious about whether Mom and Dad would agree.
Chen Xiaoliu stared at him with wide eyes. "No! I'm the older sister! You'll always be the little brother!"
Chen Haichao was already laughing at the two little characters, rocking back and forth.
"Hahaha... You want to be number six?"
Chen Xiaoqi tilted his head up and looked hopefully at Mother Chen. "Mom? Can I?"
Mother Chen held back a laugh and patted his head. "No. Even if Xiao Liu was only born ten minutes before you, she's still the older sister."
Chen Xiaoliu gave a little huff and proudly tilted her chin up at a forty-five-degree angle. "Mom said I'll always be your older sister, so you have to listen to me."
Seeing how pleased with herself she looked, Mother Chen added, "You're not called Chen Xiaoliu either. You're Chen Xixi."
"No, I don't like it. I'm Xiao Liu!"
Chen Xiaoqi had already lowered his head in dejection.
Father Chen chuckled and interrupted their lively exchange. "All right, Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi are just as good. Hurry up and eat. Everyone's still hungry because we were waiting for you to come back."
Chen Haichao was the first to lift the lid off the pot. Seeing the rice covered with sweet potatoes, he sighed inwardly. Sweet potato rice again.
It was the third day since he had been reborn, and he had eaten sweet potato rice and sweet potato congee for three days, with lots of sweet potatoes and only a few grains of rice. The family still had two or three full burlap sacks of dried sweet potato strips!
They had eaten them as their staple food when he was little. Fortunately, he had eaten white rice for the later decades of his previous life, or the sight of sweet potatoes would have scared him.
Thank you, Grandpa Yuan!
He silently served rice for the whole family. Everyone else was still caught up in the joy of changing names and having new clothes made.
That afternoon, his parents went to the brigade to get certificates issued and make both older sisters' names official. Although the production brigade was off for the holiday, they could still issue certificates when needed, and the border defense station was still open.
On the way, Mother Chen took the opportunity to spread word of the sisters' new names. The villagers were curious why they had suddenly changed them, but they didn't say anything. There wasn't much discussion about it; everyone was still caught up in the juicy scandal of a couple being caught in the act the night before last and the big news of yesterday's marriage registration.
At any other time, the villagers would have asked a few more questions and passed the news around for most of the day. There wasn't much entertainment these days, after all, and the villagers would spread even the tiniest bit of news.
Chen Haichao thought that was fine too. Changing names was a family matter to begin with; it was enough to let the relatives, friends, and neighbors around them know the new names. If they kept talking about it, it would take on a different flavor and become gossip for people to chew over after meals.
Once the certificates were ready, his father took advantage of the free time to go to the border defense station and change the household register. Chen Sitian was eager to go along too, so she could visit the supply and marketing cooperative in town and soak up the New Year atmosphere.
Mother Chen thought three people weren't needed to cut the clothes that afternoon, so she had Chen Panpan stay and help her, and let Chen Sitian go along and have some fun.
Chen Haichao went to find his two friends in turn and took them to a deserted stretch of the shore to make good on his promise of cigarettes: two packs of Ride the Wind for each of them.
"We really get cigarettes? And Ride the Wind at that? You're splashing out! Nice. We got to watch a show and get cigarettes too. Call us next time there's a good deal like this."
Li Zhengjun happily took the cigarettes and opened a pack. He pulled out two for Chen Haichao, then took one for himself and sniffed it under his nose. "That's the smell."
Xiaoqiang also pulled out a cigarette and tucked it behind one ear, then took another and sniffed it. "You're a real pal, brother! These cigarettes smell better. And they're Ride the Wind, too-much better than smoking tobacco rolled in paper."
"I couldn't let you two work for nothing."
"Good brother! Just say the word next time you want to deal with someone!" Xiaoqiang said, sniffing the tobacco with an intoxicated look.
"Anyone?"
"Anyone who offends you offends us!"
"Even the brigade captain?"
"Huh?"
Both men jumped in fright and dropped their cigarettes. They hurriedly picked them up and asked in surprise,
"Are you serious?"
Seeing their incredulous expressions, Chen Haichao smiled. "No, I'm kidding."
How could it be so easy to get the brigade captain removed? (Waiting online. Anyone got any ideas?)
"You scared me. I thought you were serious."
"Exactly. Didn't you just save his little grandson? You're their family's great benefactor. They can't thank you enough, so how would they offend you?"
"I reckon after the New Year, you won't have to do heavy work anymore. They'll make you the team's work-point recorder. Easy work and full work points-what a life."
"You're so lucky. How come you were the one who ran into it?"
Chen Haichao didn't answer their questions. Holding his cigarette, he asked them for a match.
The three sat on rocks by the sea, surrounded by smoke. He was about to say something when he noticed several uncommon seabirds by the water and narrowed his eyes for a closer look.
Cormorants?
"Do you recognize those seabirds over there? Have there been a lot of them lately?"
The two followed his gaze.
Xiaoqiang said, "What birds are those? They don't look like seagulls, and they're not as big as albatrosses."
Li Zhengjun said, "I don't know. Never seen them before. I don't think they were here before the holiday, either. I reckon they must have flown in from somewhere these past couple of days. Nothing surprising about it. They're just seabirds, and there are plenty of them. Every so often, all year round, a big flock flies in from somewhere."
Chen Haichao rubbed his chin, thinking of Xiao Ba, the cormorant at home. Could he be a chick they had lost?
Xiaoqiang wasn't interested in seabirds. He turned and asked him, "Why did your sister suddenly change her name when it was perfectly fine?"
"None of your damn business."
"You're turning on me already? Can't I even ask out of curiosity? Her new name is pretty good. Panpan sounds nice and blessed..."
Chen Haichao brandished his fist in front of him. "You think you can call her Panpan? Call her big sister!"
Xiaoqiang clasped his fist and smiled apologetically. "I was complimenting her. Big Sister Panpan's new name is a good one. She'll definitely find someone better in the future."
"That's more like it."
"Like me..." As soon as he said it, he took to his heels.
Chen Haichao couldn't even catch up to him. "You fucking..."
Li Zhengjun stood up too, tossed away his cigarette butt, and ground out the ember. "If there's nothing else, I'm heading home too. My aunt set me up on a blind date. I'm going to get a haircut and clean myself up so I can meet her tomorrow."
"You're going on a blind date too?"
"Of course. The bed's too cold with just one person in it~"
"Pfft. With two people, it lets in even more drafts."
"If you hold each other, there won't be any drafts. It'll be warmer." Li Zhengjun crossed his arms over his chest, an intoxicated expression briefly appearing on his face.
Chen Haichao looked at him with disgust. "Gross."
"I'm off."
He waved, tossed away his own cigarette butt, and ground it out. He watched with curiosity as the flock ahead of him occasionally swooped down over the sea. If only he could tame them all and have them catch fish for him. He had heard these birds were excellent at fishing.
Then he wouldn't have to do anything at all. He could just sit there and have fish fall from the sky.