Chapter 17: Seven Years Later (1)

Seven years, in the rushing torrent of passing time, may not seem like much, but seven years is enough to change many things, just like how the world outside the mountain village has gradually become calm again, no longer as wild as it once was, and like my family, where my two sisters have grown into half grown little girls, and I am now a second grade primary school student.

Chen Chengyi, nickname San Wa Er. The naughtiest kid in the village, with school grades far worse than my two sisters, that is how people in the village describe me.

Of course, sometimes they also talk about how I was very weak as a child, but luckily my father was capable and managed to get me a lot of nutritious food, so now I have grown into something like a little bull calf.

Yes, ever since first grade, I have been the tallest boy in my class, and also quite strong. Why say I am the tallest boy? Because girls develop earlier than boys, and there was still one girl in my class who was taller than me.

Because of that, I often bullied her, so it was common for her parents to come to our house to complain.

In September that year, not long after the semester started, the summer heat had not completely faded. At around four in the afternoon after school, many boys agreed to go soak in the river ditch. Unlike the small stream in our village, that ditch was dug by villagers specifically to divert water for irrigation. The deepest part was no more than one meter, so soaking in it was not dangerous. Because of that, parents and teachers never bothered with it.

In the past I was always the most enthusiastic about this kind of thing, but today I had no mood at all. No matter who invited me, I refused them all, because I had made a huge mistake at school today, and I did not dare to go home. I was thinking about what to do.

The matter was actually simple. Before leaving for school this morning, I stole a box of my dad’s matches and brought it to school to show off. At that time, matches were still a rare thing among rural kids.

The effect was exactly as I expected. Everyone was envious that I had a box of matches and gathered around me. It was only when the school bell was rung by the principal that everyone reluctantly dispersed.

I was naturally an active and restless kid, and I got excited easily. When class started, others calmed down, but I was still excited. Once excited, the class felt especially boring. I was not someone who could listen carefully in class anyway, so I secretly struck matches when the teacher was not paying attention.

Coincidentally, the girl sitting in front of me was the one I hated most, the girl who was taller than me. Looking at her back and her two thick black braids, I do not know what I was thinking, but after striking a lit match, I reached out and burned her braid.

I swear I only meant it as a prank. Heaven knows how her hair could catch so easily. The match lit up instantly, and a foul burnt smell filled the classroom, but she was still completely focused on listening to the lesson.

I panicked because the students around us had already started snickering. If it attracted the teacher who was writing on the blackboard, I would be finished.

At first I blew hard, trying to put the fire out, but it burned too happily. In a panic, I even spat on her hair, but obviously I was nowhere near as effective as a faucet.

The surrounding kids burst into laughter. The girl with smoke coming from her head still did not notice anything, but the commotion was enough to attract the teacher’s attention. The young female teacher turned around and saw a student with smoke rising from her head, looking like she was cultivating immortality. When she looked closer, she could not help but scream.

Then she grabbed a textbook from the lectern and rushed down, not even having time to ask what happened, and slammed it hard onto the girl’s head. The girl was startled and nearly cried.

Later, someone shouted, “Liu Chunyan, your hair is on fire.” Only then did she realize what had happened and immediately burst into tears.

“Help! A few students go get water!” The young teacher’s voice turned sharp with anger. After her shout, everyone reacted. Students nearby grabbed books and started patting her head in chaos, while several others ran out of the classroom pretending to fetch water.

In short, a perfectly normal class was ruined by me in less than a minute.

In fact, the fire was not big. A few chaotic slaps would have put it out, but when the students who went for water came back, they did not check the situation at all and, without thinking, splashed water directly onto her head.

The already collapsing girl finally went from crying to screaming, which even drew students from the next class over to watch.

In the end, one of her braids was burned down to half its length, and she was sent home by several girl classmates all soaked through. Of course, before that, the teacher had already found out that I was the culprit.

So I was made to stand for the entire morning. During lunch break, apart from eating, I still had to stand. Yes, while others napped on their desks, I stood at the back of the classroom.

The teacher also announced that I had to bring my parents to school the next day, because I was simply too outrageous.

Actually, I was not afraid of being punished or made to stand. What I feared most was my parents coming to school.

At that time, I deeply hated my father. He was gentle with my two sisters, but often used his fists on me. After this incident, I could already imagine it would not just be my father’s fists, and my mother would probably join in for a mixed beating.

I was worried, but also had a bit of relief, because I studied in the village school, which was far from home. It took about an hour and a half to walk there. So even if my parents knew, they could not come in the afternoon. At most they would wait for me to go home. That meant I still had an afternoon to think of a solution. The teacher also said to bring my parents tomorrow.

So I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon thinking of a way out, but by the afternoon, Liu Chunyan’s return completely destroyed my hope.

I was a troublemaking student, while Liu Chunyan was a good student. No matter how big the incident, it could not stop her enthusiasm for studying. She was the perfect proof of that. After being sent home in such a miserable state in the morning, she came back in the afternoon with a boyish haircut, marching proudly back into class.

“Chen Chengyi, listen up. I already told your mom and dad. Your father said when you get home you are definitely going to get a good beating. Just wait,” Liu Chunyan said as soon as she entered the classroom, giving me an immediate warning.

This was a village school with students from several villages, and we were from the same village at least. Why were you doing this to me?

I glanced at her disdainfully on the surface, but inside I was tangled up like a knot. Just thinking about my father’s heavy fists and my mother’s iron palm made my legs tremble.

In the afternoon I was allowed to sit in class, but I did not feel grateful for it at all. I scratched my scalp until it almost broke, but still could not think of a good solution.

So how could I be in the mood to go soak in the river ditch? For the first time, I felt school was so lovely that I did not want to leave it at all. I just wanted to stay there forever.

“San Wa Er, you really are not going?” the speaker was Su Lai Fu, my closest friend when I was young. Because he loved eating, he was a rare chubby kid in those days, nicknamed Su Rou.

“Go my foot. You do not know how hard my dad hits me. Just thinking about it makes me annoyed,” I said.

Su Rou was the kind of friend I could speak freely with, so I did not mind sharing my troubles with him.

“Then even more reason to go. Since you do not want to go home, just have fun before going back. When my dad hits me, I usually tell him to wait until I am full before he hits me. San Wa Er, are you really so scared that you will not even go play?” Su Rou said carelessly. Only at such a young age could someone come up with something like eating before being beaten. That line became a long lasting joke in our village.

I was the type who hated being provoked the most. I could not stand people saying I had no courage, especially that I would not become a battle hero because of it. Besides, what he said did make sense. Since I was going to get beaten anyway and did not want to go home, why not go play?

Thinking of this, I felt a surge of boldness. I stuffed my books messily into my yellow satchel and said, “If you are afraid of death, you are not a Communist Party member. Chairman Mao is still waiting for me to become his glorious battle hero. Let’s go, Su Rou, to the river ditch.”

So we went to soak in the river ditch.

Soaking in the river ditch was a joyful thing. More than ten boys stripped naked and jumped in. Once the fun started, everything was forgotten, even the fact that time passed quickly.

I do not know how long we played in the water. Gradually, some boys began to go home. As fewer and fewer remained, I started to feel uneasy. In the end, only Su Rou and I were left.

Su Rou was soaking in the water, his lips already turning pale. Although the summer heat had not fully retreated, the temperature dropped quickly in the evening. At that moment, the sky was already dimming and the sun was about to set, so the water was naturally cold.

“San Wa Er, I cannot take it anymore. It is too cold. I am hungry too. I want to go home and eat,” Su Rou said pitifully, hesitating as he looked at me. Even though he was just a kid, he was still loyal and did not want to leave me alone.

“Let’s get out first,” I said, also unable to stand the cold anymore. My lips were probably as pale as his.

After getting ashore, the two of us shivered while putting on our clothes, finally feeling a little better. By then, the sun had already set.

“San Wa Er, why do we not go home now? You cannot stay away forever anyway,” Su Rou said. He could not go hungry for long. At that moment, cooking smoke was already rising from village homes, and the smell of food drifted far across the empty fields. Su Rou could not resist it at all after smelling it.