【Chapter Sixteen】
1
After school, Wenyan, Wenying, and Baofeng got onto A-Yuan’s ox cart together and headed back to Lukou Village.
Baofeng asked, “Wenyan, you’re quite a prominent figure now. Instructor Ma probably wouldn’t dare trouble you anymore, right?”
Wenyan said, “Maybe? Actually, I don’t want this kind of limelight at all. This honor that fell from the sky is, to me, rather an embarrassing irony.”
Baofeng smiled and said, “I can understand how you feel. After all, we share similar experiences. I suppose you don’t plan to let your mother know about this matter, right?”
Wenyan said, “Mm! I don’t want things to become too complicated, so you have to keep it a secret for me.”
Baofeng said, “Alright! I won’t tell anyone.”
2
At the school-wide morning assembly of all teachers and students, Principal Shi Ji announced the matter:
“Teachers and students, over the past few days, major newspapers have successively reported on our first-year student, Yu Wenyan, who, disregarding his own safety, bravely protected the national flag. Our wise Director Chiang of the China Youth Corps, in recognition of Yu Wenyan, specially called the school to commend him. In the coming days, Director Chiang will personally receive him. Yu’s brave act has brought unprecedented honor and praise to Keelung High School. All students should learn from his patriotic spirit and follow his example… Now, I invite Yu to come up to the command platform to receive the school’s public commendation.”
Yu Wenyan, standing in the formation, once again became the focus of his classmates’ attention. Wenyan felt that this reward was so ridiculous that it made him want to laugh, yet he did not dare to actually laugh out loud.
“Wenyan, go! The principal is calling you up.” It was not until his homeroom teacher, Zhang Ronghua, reminded him that Wenyan seemed to be pulled back from a dream.
Wenyan quickly walked up to the platform and, in front of all the teachers, students, and cameras, received the honorary banner and certificate. However, he could not force even the slightest smile onto his face; instead, he seemed detached from the entire event from beginning to end.
3
Zhou Tian and Laichun were busy working in the tea plantation. Laichun wielded a hoe, leveling the ridges while removing weeds, while Zhou Tian held pruning shears, busy trimming the tea bushes. Their neighbor A-Xi was also occupied with preparing the field and clearing weeds.
At that moment, Village Chief Liao Qingwen appeared on a nearby mountain path, riding a bicycle. He parked his bike on the path, waved toward Laichun and her daughter-in-law, and walked over.
Laichun took off her bamboo hat and said, “Village Chief, what brings you here?”
Liao Qingwen smiled and said, “Congratulations, congratulations to you!”
Laichun and Zhou Tian were confused by his congratulations. Laichun asked, “Congratulations? What’s the matter?”
Qingwen said, “Your Wenyan was in the newspaper a few days ago, and today there’s another large report about him.”
Laichun asked nervously, “What bad thing did our Wenyan do to get printed in the newspaper?”
Qingwen laughed and said, “Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood! Your good son Wenyan did a great deed. In the future, he’ll even appear on television to receive public commendation.”
Zhou Tian complained, “You almost scared me out of my wits just now.”
Qingwen bowed slightly and said, “My apologies, Granny. Your grandson helped pick up a national flag on the road and was photographed by a passing reporter, which was then published in the newspaper. The government will commend him because of it.”
Laichun let out a sigh of relief and said, “So that’s what happened! I thought something had happened to Wenyan…”
Qingwen asked, “When your Wenyan came back, didn’t he mention this matter to you?”
Laichun shook her head and said, “No. With his personality, he wouldn’t tell me.”
Qingwen said, “Some important officials want to summon Wenyan. TV stations and newspaper reporters will come to interview him. Your good son is going to become very famous.”
Laichun said, “I would rather he focus on his studies. This kind of limelight is not a good thing for him.”
4
Inside the classroom, Zhang Ronghua was lecturing at the podium. After meeting Chiang Ching-kuo, Wenyan walked into the classroom from the corridor holding a trophy in his hands.
“Report!”
Zhang Ronghua happily said, “Wenyan, you’re back. Hurry and return to your seat.”
The students below whispered among themselves, all paying attention to the gleaming trophy. Wenyan, however, had an expressionless face and walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Ronghua said, “Quiet! Anyone who keeps talking will stand for the lesson! Alright, just now we mentioned what Han Yu said: ‘A teacher is one who transmits the Way, imparts knowledge, and resolves doubts…’”
At lunchtime, Mingdao and Yutang came over to Wenyan.
Mingdao smiled and asked, “Was it fun going to meet Director Chiang?”
Wenyan said, “Boring to death. Just waiting and waiting—waiting for the reporters to get into position, waiting for Director Chiang to enter the conference hall, waiting for the banquet to begin, and finally waiting for a car to take me back to school. It was really a waste of time.”
Yutang also laughed and said, “You’re like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden—never seen a big scene before. So many people want to meet Director Chiang and never get the chance. You, sir, had such an opportunity, yet instead of appreciating it, you’re full of complaints!”
Wenyan shrugged. “Director Chiang? I don’t see what’s so great about meeting him.”
Cheng Weiming, Lu Junting, and Wu Jinglun approached the three of them.
Cheng Weiming said sarcastically, “Oh? Just a few days ago you were reading banned books, and now you’ve become a patriotic youth?”
Lu Junting added, “Didn’t expect you to be such a good actor.”
Wu Jinglun followed, “Yeah, were you standing by the roadside on purpose, waiting for reporters to pass by before picking up the national flag?”
Their round of mockery made Mingdao dissatisfied. He said, “Hey? What do you mean by that? Can’t stand seeing someone else doing well, is that it?”
Cheng Weiming shrugged and said, “No particular meaning. Just don’t like him.”
Lu Junting said, “He knows very well himself.”
Yutang, who sat in front of Wenyan to the left, could not hold back and stood up. “You’d better watch your words. Don’t go too far.”
Wu Jinglun said contemptuously, “People from this province sure talk tough. I’m so scared.”
Wenyan said, “Mingdao, Yutang, don’t argue with them. Save your energy.”
Cheng Weiming said, “Oh? Just because you went up on stage to receive a certificate, you’re acting so arrogant?”
Wenyan took out the certificate from his desk drawer. “I don’t care about this certificate at all. You want it, don’t you?” He crumpled it into a ball and threw it at Cheng Weiming’s face. “Here, take it! Yutang, Mingdao, let’s go play ball.”
Wenyan, Yutang, and Mingdao walked out of the classroom, leaving Weiming and the other two standing there in shock.
5
When Wenyan returned home, he took the trophy out of his schoolbag and was worrying about where to hide it, completely unaware that Laichun was already standing at the doorway.
“Mother! When did you come? You startled me!” Wenyan complained, quickly hiding the trophy behind his back, feeling uneasy.
Laichun said calmly, “The matter of you being publicly commended by the authorities has already been told to me by Village Chief Liao.”
Seeing his mother’s calm expression, Wenyan felt somewhat relieved. “Mother, it’s not that I like to be in the limelight. This matter was an accident.”
Laichun said, “I know. The authorities are making such a big show of commending you—you’re on television and in the newspapers. I’m only worried that it will cause misunderstandings among the villagers about us. We villagers live quiet lives; appearing on television and standing out will only bring trouble upon us.”
Wenyan said, “Mother, I understand.”
With reddened eyes and a choked voice, Laichun said, “You must always remember, your father was executed by the authorities.”
Wenyan lowered his head and said, “Mother…”
6
On the playground of Keelung High School, during military training class, Instructor Ma Weide was leading the students in singing military songs.
Ma Weide said, “Students, when you sing, you must raise your heads, straighten your chests, and keep your steps in order. Imagine yourselves as valiant revolutionary soldiers. I will sing it once first, and then everyone open your mouths and follow me.”
Ma Weide sang loudly:
“Nine brave men in one squad, nine brave men in one squad,
Fight when told to fight, act when told to act,
Never mind the blood and sweat; never mind the blood and sweat.
One, two, three, four, orders must be obeyed absolutely,
No fear of difficult missions, adventure is the tradition of revolution,
Endurance is a daily routine.
Nine brave men in one squad, nine brave men in one squad.”
The students followed along, but different lyrics suddenly appeared within the formation:
“Nine fools eating lunchboxes, nine fools eating lunchboxes,
Chicken legs, braised eggs, salted fish, dried tofu,
Eat too slow and you’ll go hungry, eat too slow and you’ll go hungry.
One, two, three, four, finish your lunch while it’s hot,
Then have another bowl of hot soup,
Shouting commands is a boring instructor,
Exams are a daily routine.
Nine fools eating lunchboxes—after eating, you’ll go see the King of Hell.”
The students began to chuckle one after another. By the last two lines, everyone had stopped singing and was laughing, leaving only Wenyan singing alone.
Ma Weide said with a half-smile, “Got you. It was you. Yu Wenyan, step out.”
Wenyan stepped out of the formation and stood in front of Instructor Ma.
Ma Weide asked with a forced smile, “Yu Wenyan, sing what you just sang again.”
Wenyan said, “Reporting to Instructor Ma, I’ve already forgotten what I sang just now.”
Ma Weide sneered, “Oh? Yu Wenyan, you forgot so quickly? Aren’t you supposed to be very talented and good at making things up? Sing it again.”
The students snickered, waiting to see Wenyan make a fool of himself. Yutang and Mingdao frowned, worried about him.
Wenyan said, “Reporting to Instructor Ma, I can’t recall it for the moment.”
Ma Weide said, “If you can’t recall it, how dare you show off? Punishment: fifty push-ups on the spot, and fifty squat jumps.”
Wenyan muttered softly, “Lucky me, I got a good deal.”
Ma Weide heard it and turned around, glaring. “Yu Wenyan, what are you muttering about?”
Wenyan said, “Reporting to Instructor Ma, the weather is very good today, the sun is big, and the moon is small.”
The students burst into another round of suppressed laughter.
7
Xiao Qiao asked Wenyan out to watch a movie to relax. The two came out of the cinema.
Xiao Qiao said, “I think The Shooting Star of Love (‘Koi no Nagareboshi’) is really good. Li Xianglan is so beautiful.”
Wenyan scratched his head and said, “It’s just like that. I think it’s so-so.”
Xiao Qiao said, “Oh! You really don’t know how to appreciate things! Don’t you think their love story is very beautiful? And the theme song Meteor is also very nice. ‘Because you quietly drifted away, even so, even until death, I still keep thinking of you. Because you quietly drifted away, I cannot forget my feelings—such painful yet lingering attachment…’” Xiao Qiao began to sing while speaking.
When they passed in front of a small inn, they bumped into Instructor Ma Weide, who was wearing Huangpu-style underwear and holding his leather shoes in both hands in a miserable state. When Ma Weide saw Wenyan and the girl, he looked completely stunned, while Xiao Qiao hurriedly covered her face with both hands.
Wenyan shouted loudly, “Good day, Instructor!”
Ma Weide quickly covered his face and said, “Ah! This student, you’ve mistaken me for someone else!”
At this moment, an enraged prostitute threw the military uniform and peaked cap out from the window sill. With her hands on her hips, she cursed loudly: “Trying to get a free lay?! What’s so great about being an officer?! No money and still acting like a big shot—don’t think I’m easy to bully!”
Wenyan looked coldly at the instructor and asked, “Instructor, do you want to put your clothes on first?”
Instructor Ma hurriedly put on his uniform in panic, so embarrassed that he had nowhere to hide.
8
Xiao Qiao was reading a newspaper in the library when she saw Wenyan’s article published in the literary supplement. She took the supplement back to her seat and read Wenyan’s article, while Baofeng was sitting beside her.
Xiao Qiao said, “Baofeng, look, this is Wenyan’s article published in the supplement. I feel that between the lines it is filled with sadness, helplessness, and longing. I suspect Wenyan seems to have gone through some major life change.”
Baofeng said, “To tell you the truth, this is the shared experience of all the villagers in Lukou Village, so I completely understand.”
Xiao Qiao asked in surprise, “Shared experience?! What happened in Lukou Village?”
Baofeng said, “When we were in second grade…”
Baofeng slowly recounted the tragedy that happened in Lukou Village back then, as well as the humiliation and discrimination the children of Lukou had endured over the years.
Baofeng said, “So we all study very hard, hoping to change our destiny.”
Listening, Xiao Qiao’s expression changed with emotion, and she gained a deeper understanding of Wenyan: “So that’s how it is…”
9
Xiao Qiao framed Wenyan’s article and went to the library to find him.
Xiao Qiao said, “Wenyan, I knew you would be here.”
Wenyan asked, “You’re here to read too?”
Xiao Qiao said, “No! I came specially to find you.”
Wenyan said, “Find me?”
Xiao Qiao took out the framed piece and said, “This is for you.”
Wenyan asked, “This is…”
Xiao Qiao said, “This is your article. I helped you frame it.”
Seeing his own framed article, Wenyan felt both surprised and deeply moved.
Xiao Qiao said, “I already know about what happened in Lukou Village.”
Wenyan asked, “How did you know?”
Xiao Qiao said, “Baofeng told me.”
Wenyan let out an “Oh.”
Xiao Qiao said, “I hope you can walk out of this shadow. I believe that the environment cannot defeat you.”
Wenyan said, “Thank you.” He was deeply touched by Xiao Qiao’s thoughtfulness.
Xiao Qiao asked, “I heard from Mingdao and the others that during military training class you acted silly with Instructor Ma and got punished.”
Wenyan said awkwardly, “You… you found out so quickly?”
Xiao Qiao said, “That’s good! Acting silly once in a while helps you relax. I’d rather you be happy every day than always keeping a straight face.”
10
Cheng Weiming and the other two brought the crumpled certificate to Instructor Ma Weide to report Wenyan.
Cheng Weiming said, “Reporting to Instructor!”
Instructor Ma asked, “You three, what is it?”
Wu Jinglun said, “Reporting to Instructor, Yu Wenyan crumpled the certificate issued by the school into a ball and threw it away like waste paper.”
Instructor Ma asked, “Did you see it with your own eyes?”
Lu Junting said, “Reporting to Instructor, look, this is the discarded certificate.”
Cheng Weiming said, “Reporting to Instructor, I think Yu Wenyan’s behavior of trampling on the school’s honor is very inappropriate. I hope the instructor will punish him properly.”
Instructor Ma thought to himself: “Damn it, this brat Yu Wenyan is really arrogant. But I’ve got leverage in his hands, so there’s nothing I can do about him.”
Instructor Ma asked, “Cheng Weiming, do you three have some kind of grudge against Yu Wenyan? Why are you reporting him?”
The three of them looked at each other, all surprised and confused by the instructor’s reaction.
Cheng Weiming couldn’t help asking, “Instructor, why are you saying that? Is Yu Wenyan’s behavior being tolerated?”
Instructor Ma said, “What do you know? Yu Wenyan is now the school’s big celebrity. Don’t cause me any more trouble. Understand? Alright, you may leave.”
The three of them responded in unison, “Understood.”
After leaving the instructor’s office, Cheng Weiming complained, “Even Instructor Ma is protecting Yu Wenyan. No wonder that guy is getting more and more arrogant.”
Wu Jinglun also said, “Instructor Ma seems like he took the wrong medicine today.”
11
In Chinese class, there was about one or two minutes left before dismissal.
Teacher Zhang Ronghua took out a newspaper clipping and said, “With one or two minutes left before class ends, the class affairs officer Yu Wenyan published an article in the newspaper supplement a few days ago. It is the same essay My Father we wrote in class before. This article is very sincere and moving. I will have the class monitor post it on the bulletin board at the back; everyone can read it in their free time.”
Zhang Ronghua said, “Monitor, take it and post it.”
Ouyang Mingdao stood up, walked to the podium, took the clipping, returned to his seat, and then the bell rang.
Mingdao called out the command: “Stand up. Attention. Salute.”
More than ten students crowded around the bulletin board as Mingdao posted the article.
Wu Jinglun sneered, “What is this anyway? Worth showing off like that?”
Lu Junting said, “Just published an article and got a bit of manuscript fee, that’s all.”
Liao Yutang said unhappily, “Are you jealous or what? Why are you speaking so sourly? If you’re so capable, write an article and submit it too. You just can’t stand seeing others do well.”
Cheng Weiming said disdainfully, “This article is written so tearfully and snotty, like Taiwanese opera singing—it’s irritating just to look at.”
Cheng Weiming reached out his hand to tear down the clipping, but a large hand pressed it firmly against the wall.
Guo Dezhu said sternly, “You are not allowed to touch it!”
Cheng Weiming asked, “Da Zhuzi, what are you doing?”
Guo Dezhu said seriously, “You are not qualified to touch it! If you had a father imprisoned in Green Island like I do, you would understand Wenyan’s feelings.”
Cheng Weiming said, “So what?”
Mingdao on the side said, “That means you are very immature and lack empathy.”
Cheng Weiming said, “You say I lack empathy? Ouyang Mingdao, don’t forget your father is from the mainland.”
Guo Dezhu said, “My whole family is from the mainland. My father was also falsely accused and sent to Green Island prison. Does being a mainlander make you immune?”
Mingdao said, “Da Zhuzi is right. In these times, whether local or mainlander, if you’re unlucky, you can be arrested. Wenyan’s father was just unlucky and never came back alive.”
Guo Dezhu said, “So even if you cannot understand the feelings of families like ours who suffered, don’t stand there making cold remarks.”
Cheng Weiming retorted, “So what if I make cold remarks?”
Guo Dezhu glared and said, “Nothing much—but I’ll turn on you and beat you up.”
12
During the lunch break, most students were taking a nap, while only a few were reading or spacing out. On Wenyan’s desk lay open An Anthology of Classical Chinese Prose (Guwen Guanzhi), and he was reading it with full concentration. The class monitor, Ouyang Mingdao, who was responsible for maintaining order, walked down from the podium and, passing Wenyan’s seat, leaned over curiously to take a look. Mingdao lowered his voice and said, “Wow! Wenyan, seeing how absorbed you are, I thought you were reading a wuxia novel! I didn’t expect you to actually be reading such heavy classical prose. Could it be that you want to apply for a university Chinese department?”
Wenyan smiled and said, “Indeed, I do want to apply for Chinese Literature, so I try to use my time to strengthen my knowledge of classical Chinese and build a foundation early.”
Mingdao said, “With your writing skills, applying for Chinese Literature seems only natural. It’s just that classical texts are full of all those ‘zhi, hu, zhe, ye’ particles. They’re verbose and often half-understandable. I’d rather use that time to memorize more English vocabulary and phrases.”
Wenyan said, “What you’re referring to should be argumentative essays selected from works like Strategies of the Warring States (Zhanguo Ce) and Zuo Zhuan. But in fact, I think the prose of the Song dynasty writers like Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi is not verbose at all; instead, it is smooth in structure and elegant in vocabulary. Our Chinese textbooks already include several essays from Tang and Song writers.”
Mingdao shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “On this point, we are completely opposite. Whenever I encounter classical texts that need to be memorized, my head just splits into two.”
13
After class, Wenyan left the classroom. After a while, the homeroom teacher Zhang Ronghua entered the classroom holding a kraft paper envelope. He first looked at Wenyan’s empty seat, then scanned the classroom and asked Mingdao, “Monitor, where did student Yu Wenyan from the class affairs position go?”
Mingdao said, “Teacher, Wenyan is probably in the library. Do you want me to go find him and bring him back?”
Zhang Ronghua said, “No need for now. You take this envelope and give it to him. Tell him to read it, and tomorrow during lunch break, come to my office to find me.”
Mingdao said, “Yes, teacher.”
14
After school, in the corridor outside the classroom, Mingdao handed the kraft paper envelope to Wenyan: “The homeroom teacher said you should read the contents of the envelope first, and tomorrow during lunch break go to his office.”
Wenyan let out an “oh,” opened the envelope, took out the contents, and read it for a while. He said, “The teacher wants me to participate in a national essay competition.”
Mingdao asked, “A national essay competition? Which organization is hosting it? What topic is it?”
Wenyan said, “It is organized by the Confucius–Mencius Association, on a topic related to filial piety, and it is required to be written in classical Chinese.”
As soon as Mingdao heard “classical Chinese,” he exclaimed loudly, “Written in classical Chinese? Wow! We’re not living in ancient times—why write in classical Chinese?”
“It’s written like that in the competition rules. If you don’t believe me, take a look yourself.” Wenyan said as he handed the essay notice to Mingdao.
Mingdao said, “It’s really true! Writing in classical Chinese—this is probably something only you are capable of, right?”
Wenyan said, “Actually, I’m not very confident either. Although I’ve read a lot of classical texts, I’ve never written in classical Chinese before.”
Mingdao asked doubtfully, “No way? If even you are not confident, then looking across our whole school, who else has that ability?”
Wenyan said with a wry smile, “You seem to already treat me as a ‘modern-day ancient scholar.’”
15
During lunch break, Wenyan brought the envelope to the homeroom teacher’s office.
Zhang Ronghua asked, “Wenyan, you’ve finished reading the essay guidelines, right?”
Wenyan said, “Teacher, thank you for your encouragement. But I have never written an argumentative essay in classical Chinese form, so I really have no confidence.”
Zhang Ronghua said, “You don’t need to worry about that. All participants are the same as you—high school students, and most of them have never written classical Chinese either.”
Wenyan said, “Alright then, teacher, I’ll give it a try.”
Zhang Ronghua took out a book and said, “You can do it. I have a copy of the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing) here. Take it back and read it thoroughly, and appropriately quote from it in your essay.”
Wenyan said, “Thank you, teacher.”
Zhang Ronghua said, “After you finish your first draft, bring it to me. I will help you review it and make necessary revisions and polishing.”
Wenyan said, “Alright, teacher.”
16
In the library, Xiao Qiao ran into senior student Shao Yanling.
“Xiao Qiao, you’re here to borrow books too?” Yanling was holding a stack of books in her arms.
Xiao Qiao said, “I often come to the library. I study here with a few classmates.”
Yanling asked, “By the way, Xiao Qiao, I heard from your classmates that there is a junior student in your group named Yu Wenyan, and that his writing is quite good—is that true?”
Xiao Qiao said, “Yes, there is such a person. How did senior notice Wenyan?”
Yanling smiled and said, “That ‘flag-protecting patriotic student’ not long ago—Wenyan has already become a well-known figure in our Keelung High School. Recently, our school magazine club president Mu and I read several of his prose pieces and poems published in newspaper supplements. We not only admire his writing style, but are also curious about his background. Since I happened to meet you today, I thought I’d ask you about this talented student.”
Xiao Qiao said, “Wenyan’s writing is indeed very good. I can introduce him to you, senior.”
Yanling said, “That would be great. Our school magazine club is currently recruiting new members. If you can bring Wenyan into the club, our publication will definitely become even better in the future.”
Xiao Qiao said, “Since senior thinks so highly of Wenyan, I will pass on your message when I see him next time.”
Yanling said, “Then I’ll trouble you, junior.”
