Revisiting an Old Place

Shao Yun wore a bright, soft goose-yellow short-sleeved T-shirt beneath a loose pair of washed-blue denim overalls. She was slender, and the straps hung loosely from her shoulders. Her pant legs were rolled up slightly, revealing a stretch of slim, fair ankle.

On her feet was a pair of black-and-white Converse.

"Shao Yun, come here. Let me introduce you. This is your junior, Zhou Yuwen. He just arrived to register today."

Shao Yun was somewhat surprised by Yao Lan's introduction.

From a distance, she had seen Teacher Yao get out of the expensive-looking Mercedes-Benz and had assumed Zhou Yuwen and his mother were relatives or friends of hers.

But the tall young man behind the wheel was a freshman registering today?

What kind of freshman drove a Mercedes-Benz to registration?

"Hello, senior," Zhou Yuwen greeted Shao Yun with a smile.

Shao Yun held a stack of freshly printed freshman documents in her arms and gave Zhou Yuwen a slight nod.

Girls from the south tended to be a little shy, but once they got to know you, they showed another face: they could cry and make a fuss, and were even better at biting.

Shao Yun moved closer to Yao Lan and quietly told her that the freshman registration station had been chosen. She then showed her the sign-in sheet, the school meal cards, and the vouchers for collecting supplies.

Yao Lan checked the time and saw that it was already a little after nine. She explained apologetically that Zhou Yuwen had driven her over, and they had run into a bit of traffic on the way.

"I need to hurry and get ready. Please take Yuwen and his mother to sign in first. I'll make a few preparations and be over soon."

After saying that, Yao Lan gave Zhou Yuwen and his mother an apologetic nod. She made a point of saying a few more words to his mother before turning and hurrying away.

Once Yao Lan had returned to her office, Shao Yun helped Zhou Yuwen complete his registration right outside the administration building.

His mother didn't understand any of it and asked a few questions along the way, such as where he could shower and whether there was a laundry room.

Shao Yun gently answered each question in turn.

Zhou Yuwen filled out the information form and handed it to Shao Yun. His mother told him, "You'll be living here from now on. If there's anything you don't understand, remember to ask your senior for help."

"You two should add each other on WeChat first," his mother said.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't help chuckling. "Mom, she's in our class group chat."

"Oh, she is? Good, good!"

As they were about to part, Zhou Yuwen's mother took Shao Yun's hand and went on about how her son was rather shy and didn't know much about dealing with people. Since Shao Yun was his class assistant, she was sorry for the trouble, but asked her to look after him in the future.

Shao Yun was an honest girl and nodded repeatedly.

They parted ways there, and Zhou Yuwen drove his Mercedes-Benz E-Class around campus, looking for somewhere to park.

At Nanjing Forestry University, the trees grew lush and green.

The branches and leaves of the towering London plane trees on either side of the road intertwined, weaving broad patches of shifting shade across the pavement.

Scattered sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting wavering spots of light over the ground.

Freshmen arriving to register were everywhere on campus. Beneath the mingling light and shadows, their noise drifted closer from afar, somewhat clamorous, yet somehow not all that clamorous.

Zhou Yuwen drove the Mercedes-Benz steadily and slowly through the shifting green shade.

At times, he might not even have been moving as fast as the female students beside the road, pulling their suitcases as they came to register on their own.

His mother, sitting in the back seat, kept up a stream of chatter.

She told him that if he ran into any difficulties in Jinling, he should remember to tell Teacher Yao.

Teacher Yao was clearly a good person.

"And that girl just now, she's your class assistant, right?"

"She's so pretty!"

Zhou Yuwen chuckled. "You like her? If you do, I'll bring her home for you."

His mother pursed her lips. "There you go bragging again! Could you find yourself such a pretty girlfriend?"

Zhou Yuwen said his girlfriend was much prettier than her!

"Keep bragging!"

After joking with his mother for a bit, he followed the directions to the gymnasium to collect the supplies first: a set of bedding, two thermoses, two plastic washbasins, and some other miscellaneous charges.

Those things had been listed on the mailed admission notice. The tuition and miscellaneous fees seemed to be 800 yuan.

But Zhou Yuwen's tuition wasn't expensive. There seemed to be a subsidy for agricultural studies that year. In any case, his tuition for the year was only 2,200 yuan. With 1,200 yuan for accommodation and a jumble of other fees, he paid 5,300 yuan in total.

Later, they said the school had admitted too many freshmen that year and didn't have enough dorm rooms, so they had no choice but to put Zhou Yuwen and the others in the old dorms, a building converted from a guesthouse that was twenty or thirty years old.

After freshman year, 600 yuan of the original 1,200-yuan accommodation fee was refunded.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yuwen was assigned to the old dorm.

But he had been used to hard times since childhood, so he didn't think much of it.

The old dorm building wasn't without its advantages. After all, it had originally been a guesthouse built specifically to receive officials. It was four stories tall, with an exterior that had something of the flavor of a small Western-style house from the Republican era.

Open the window and there was a great stand of dawn redwoods, with exceptionally fresh air. The walls were thick and sturdy, and the soundproofing was good.

Zhou Yuwen took his mother to collect the living supplies, then found his dorm room.

Following the directions, he registered with the dorm supervisor and paid 20 yuan for the key.

Zhou Yuwen and his mother had arrived early, and his roommates had yet to show up.

Once his mother had confirmed which room was his, she got busy cleaning and making his bed.

The old dorm rooms were spacious, with four people to a room, two large shared desks, and bunk beds.

He opened the window. The sweet osmanthus was in full bloom.

A rich fragrance of sweet osmanthus soon filled the entire dorm building.

It wasn't yet ten o'clock, and it was still early morning.

In the dawn redwood grove outside the window, all kinds of nameless birds called out, each vying to be first.

There was a freshness in the air.

As Zhou Yuwen's mother made his bed, she laid down a mattress pad they had brought from home, smoothing it with great care, unwilling to leave a wrinkle in any corner.

After laying out their own mattress pad, she spread the thin autumn-and-winter quilt the school had issued.

To be honest, the school-issued autumn-and-winter quilt wasn't very good. His mother smoothed it out, only to discover a thin line of loose stitching at one corner. With just a slight tug, a gap appeared.

So his mother rummaged through the luggage she had helped Zhou Yuwen bring and found a small sewing kit.

She took out a needle and thread and sat close to one corner at the head of the bed.

By the faint morning light, she put the end of the thread in her mouth, moistened it slightly with her lips, then passed it through the fine needle.

Slightly hunched over, she carefully sewed the bedding back together, one stitch at a time.

Zhou Yuwen turned and saw the scene. He couldn't help chuckling. "Mom, you don't have to go to all that trouble. I might not even live here for long."

"What do you mean, you won't live here long? You'll be living here for the next four years. Honestly, this is your first time away from home, and I don't even know if you can take care of yourself."

His mother kept her head down, carefully sewing the bedding as she spoke to herself.

Zhou Yuwen said he planned to rent a place near the school and move out once military training was over.

His mother told him to try not to do that.

Over his four years at university, he needed to build good relationships with his roommates. They would all be part of his network in the future.

"Haven't I told you since you were little? One more friend means one more road. Look at your mom: I may not have much else, but I have plenty of friends!" His mother continued patiently guiding Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen merely chuckled and said nothing. Granny Liu in Dream of the Red Chamber had also thought she was friends with the Jia Residence.

His mother had been a university student in the nineties and did indeed have a few friends whose social standing wasn't low at this point.

But what use was that?

If you weren't strong enough yourself, those so-called friendships amounted to little more than something you could brag about over drinks: "When I was young..."