Chapter 3: My father’s request

After my parents decided to ask Mrs. Zhou to come and see me, my father often went to Mrs. Zhou’s house. To avoid gossip, my father always chose to go after 9:00 p.m.

There was not much entertainment in the countryside, and it got dark early in the winter. Mrs. Zhou’s home was at the western end of the village, and my home was at the eastern end. The road to her home was narrow and bumpy, and because my father was so cautious, he didn’t even dare to use a flashlight. He fell many times on the way back and forth, but still couldn’t get Mrs. Zhou to come.

Was it because I wasn’t sincere enough? No! Every time my father went, he always brought gifts, including milk powder, hard candy, and even the old bacon that the family didn’t want to eat. He even promised to give half of the family’s grain.

But every time, Mrs. Zhou’s answer was almost the same: “Well… Old Chen… Well… the folks in the neighborhood… Well… if I can help… Well… you, how dare I accept… Well… so much stuff from you… Well… what kind of world is this now… You know better than I do… If something happens to me… not only will my children be fatherless… but they will also suffer… and my husband’s family will also be affected… so please don’t make things difficult for me…

Mrs. Zhou’s answer was as unpleasant as her hiccups, but what could my father do? He could only go there again and again.

In the end, my father went so often that it finally aroused the suspicion of the Zhou family. They called the widow Zhou over to ask her about it and learned the reason for the matter. First, the old man Zhou said, “Old Chen, you’re not being fair. You’re not doing us any favors. Let’s not talk about whether my daughter-in-law can take care of your child. Even if she can, can we dare to let her? Your child is your life, but aren’t we all a part of this family? Go, go…”

My father was not willing to give up, and went back. On Tuesday, he took a hoe and started to beat him up. It seemed that the matter had reached an impasse.

My body was still weak, especially when I cried. The intermittent sound of my crying, as if someone was choking me, was more like a dirge for my family, reflecting the gloom of my family.

It was still winter, and my family still felt no warmth in their hearts, including my two little sisters, who were very worried. Whenever I cried, they would look at my parents in fear, afraid of hearing my father’s heavy sighs and seeing my mother’s sad eyes.

Another burst of sobbing, and the little me began to cry again. This time it seemed particularly serious. My mother, as usual, hugged me and patted me, but the situation did not improve at all.

“Could it be that the baby is hungry? Give the baby some milk. I went to get some today, and there’s still some left. I’ll heat it up.” It was common knowledge in rural areas that if a child was crying a lot, it was usually because it was hungry. My father heard my crying, which sounded like someone was strangling me, and it really made him feel bad. He got up and got some milk, which he put on the stove to heat up.

The atmosphere at home was even more heavy, no one spoke, except for the sound of my sobbing, which was hard to listen to, and my mother’s low voice coaxing me…

Finally, the milk was ready to be poured into the bottle. My father took the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it to my mother. The whole family looked at the bottle in my mother’s hands with anticipation, hoping that I would feel better after drinking a little milk, because my crying was really heartbreaking.

A minute later, my mother’s panicked, shrill voice broke the temporary calm in the house: “Old Chen, Old Chen… what’s wrong with our youngest?”

My mother’s lips were trembling, and my father ran over in a few big steps. As soon as he saw it, his whole face turned ashen.

The milk I just fed him didn’t even get into my stomach. As soon as it reached my mouth, it was choked out by my coughing. This wasn’t the coughing of an ordinary child, it was simply not drinkable.

My whole face was ashen, and the sound of “hiccup, hiccup” was like an old man. This was the most serious situation since I was born. Looking at the bulging blue veins on my little neck, my father was also panicked for the first time.

My mother kept patting me to make me feel better, and my two sisters even burst into tears because of the situation. I was afraid that my parents would be upset, so I didn’t dare to cry out loud. My father began to breathe heavily, and his eyes turned red. People who knew my father well knew that he was angry.

After a few seconds of silence, my father suddenly rushed out of the house, rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and rushed back, waving it around the house like a madman.

“Fuck you, I, Chen Junhong, have never done anything dishonest in my life. What are you doing to my son? If you want to do something, come at me, come at me, don’t mess with my son! Fuck you, you can do it, a little kid, you can do it! Come out, you son of a bitch, come out, I’ll fight you!”

My father looked like he had been possessed by a demon, but it wasn’t his fault. Because the health center in the village didn’t find anything, my father was not convinced and took me to several hospitals, not only in the town, but also in the city. The doctors all said I was not sick, but that I was malnourished.

Since there was no disease, especially respiratory disease, how could I explain my appearance? And not only my parents, but also according to the memories of my two sisters, they all said that the way I looked was no different from being strangled!

Because of what the midwife said, my father had already begun to believe that something was after me. Coupled with the situation, my father had already decided that something was after his own son, which was the reason why he went crazy that night.

My father’s outburst finally scared my two sisters to tears, and the situation in the house became even worse. At this point, my mother showed a unique, flexible strength that only a woman can have. She was the calmest of all.

She patted me on the back while grabbing my father’s hand, which was still waving the kitchen knife. “Chen, there are more than just the youngest child in the family. If you keep behaving like this, how will we survive as a family? Look at your eldest and second daughters, they are so scared. You need to calm down.”

My mother’s words finally made my father sober up. But the strange thing was that after his violent outburst, my condition actually improved a little.

I no longer had difficulty breathing, the distressing crying gradually stopped, and my face returned to its usual pale appearance from the ashen color it had taken on. Seeing that I was better, my father finally calmed down completely.

My mother put me to bed, comforted my sisters, and sent them to their room to sleep.

Back in the house, my mother looked at my father and said very calmly, “Old Chen, I’m going to find Mrs. Zhou, tonight.”

“It is said that ghosts fear the wicked. Xiu Yun, I have completely cleared up the situation with my son. I think so too. We will go tonight. If we delay any longer, I am afraid we will lose our son.” My father agreed with my mother’s words.

Since they had made up their minds, my parents no longer hesitated. This time they were determined. They immediately set off with me in their arms. It was probably the situation that had just happened to me that had stimulated them. My father had never before used a flashlight, but now he was determined to get to Mrs. Zhou’s house as quickly as possible.

Braving the cold wind, they didn’t say a word the whole way. It usually took them 20 minutes to walk to Mrs. Zhou’s house, but my parents hurriedly arrived in just 10 minutes. When I grew up, I often wondered if they would have arrived even faster if they hadn’t been carrying me.

People have unlimited potential. The word “mountain” in metaphysics refers to self-cultivation, which is simply to say that it is about stimulating potential.

When we arrived at the Zhou family, it was only eight or nine o’clock in the morning. However, there were no entertainment activities in the countryside, and at this time of year in the winter, the doors of every household were tightly shut.

The door to the Zhou family was also closed, and my father didn’t say a word. He rushed forward and knocked on the door very loudly. In this quiet night, the loud knocking was particularly piercing.

Perhaps he knocked too hard and too loudly, but soon there was a voice in the courtyard of the Zhou family. It was the voice of Tuesday: “Which one is it?”

My father didn’t say anything, and he didn’t let my mother say anything either. He just knocked on the door even more urgently. Because he was afraid that Tuesday would hear that it was my family and not open the door, my father’s persistence at this time really annoyed and annoyed the Zhou family.

“Which son of a bitch is it? Say something.” Tuesday’s voice grew louder, obviously angry at this behavior.

My father continued to knock insistently, and Tuesday shouted, “If you don’t say anything, I won’t open the door.”

My mother was a little worried and whispered, “Old Chen, just say something.”

“What the hell, Tuesday’s character is notoriously single-minded. If he really knows it’s us, he won’t open it. I’ll just keep knocking until he’s annoyed. He still can’t make up his mind. He’ll definitely open it. You know, he’s bold (not very bold, so how dare he sneak into the west wing at night?).” My father’s character also has a bit of a rogue’s spirit, but it’s not obvious on weekdays.

Sure enough, as my father had predicted, after ten minutes of knocking persistently, Tuesday opened the door angrily, holding a hatchet in his hand. He must have thought that our family was causing trouble.

Seeing that Tuesday had opened the door, my father pushed his way in, which startled Tuesday. Who is this? He’s like a fool!

“Stop! What are you doing? Why are you barging into other people’s homes?” My father pushed his way past Tuesday and into the courtyard. Tuesday shouted in alarm.

My father was also very quick to react. He pulled my mother in and then turned around and closed the door. Only then did he say, “Tuesday, it’s me, Old Chen.”

“I said, you old Chen, what are you…” Tuesday was relieved. It seems that he wasn’t looking for trouble. These days, who isn’t afraid of a group of people suddenly coming in and smashing up the house?

But Tuesday was obviously still angry and amused by my father’s behavior. So, the tone was not so good.

“Tuesday, we’re neighbors, let’s go inside and talk. You know I can’t force you to do anything, but you have to let me finish my sentence tonight. You tell me, am I a good person in the village, and have I ever treated you or your family badly in the past?” My father’s words were a mixture of soft and hard tactics. It was difficult for him, a country man, to raise the art of speaking to such a level.

The good-natured father, who was well-liked by the villagers, often visited the Zhou family in the past. This obviously softened Zhou’s heart. People’s emotions were simple at that time, and the sentence “I can’t force you to do anything” made Zhou’s face relax. He said in a muffled voice, “Then come in and talk. I can’t do anything about you.”

My father let out a sigh of relief. The most difficult person in the Zhou family to deal with was Tuesday. If he could get past him tonight, it seemed that there was still hope.

When I entered the house, the Zhou family was all gathered in the main room, warming themselves by the fire. There were also a few sweet potatoes piled up next to the stove. This family was quite capable of keeping warm in the winter, with the hot stove and the steaming sweet potatoes…

Grandpa Zhou seemed to have recognized my father, and looked up at him. He gave a wooden expression, snorted lightly through his nose, but then saw my mother holding the baby, and his expression softened slightly, but he couldn’t help but sigh.

The widow Zhou wanted to say something, but she could only burp twice and then shut up.

Biting on a cigarette holder, taking a puff of tobacco, Grandpa Zhou said, “Yueshuang, take Zhou Qiang and Zhou Hongjun to bed.”

Yueshuang is the daughter-in-law of Zhou Er, and when she heard the old man’s order, she quickly said, “Oh,” and took Zhou Qiang and Zhou Jun to go out. Zhou Qiang is the posthumous son of Zhou Da, and Zhou Jun is the son of Zhou Er. Both children are in elementary school.

“No, Grandpa, I want to eat the roasted sweet potatoes before I go to sleep.” Zhou Qiang refused.

“I want to eat it before I go to sleep, too.” Seeing his brother say that, Zhou Jun also joined in the commotion.

Tuesday glared at them and shouted, “Roasted sweet potatoes won’t grow legs and fly away. Go to sleep, or I’ll give you a beating!”

It seems that Zhou Er still has a lot of authority. After he shouted, the two children stopped talking and were obediently led out by Zhou Er’s wife.

“Junhong, I know what you’re here for this time. I’ve made myself clear. You can’t force our family to do this, you’re just a neighbor.” Mr. Zhou puffed on his pipe and said calmly, his tone not the slightest bit conciliatory.

It’s not that they are heartless. Not to mention whether they can handle this, just the situation alone is enough to make them a pariah if someone were to say anything.

My father stared at Grandpa Zhou with pleading eyes, his teeth clenched tightly, as if he was making a decision. After a few seconds of silence, my father’s tears flowed out, and then he knelt down before Grandpa Zhou. My mother followed my father, and she and I knelt down as well.

A man doesn’t cry easily, but only when he’s deeply saddened.

My father had never cried more than a few times in his life, but this time, it seemed that he was really sad. He was sad that his only son had become like this, and he was sad that one day he, a man who stood tall and straight, would have to kneel down for others.

This is such a heavy debt of gratitude, and it is truly the most difficult karma to repay in every life. Therefore, filial piety is the foremost of all virtues. To wrong one’s parents is the greatest evil.

“Junhong, what are you doing? You’re a child, why are you kneeling?” Old Madam Zhou obviously didn’t expect my father to do this, and she immediately stood up, her tone a little flustered.

The older generation in the countryside is most particular about this. To be kneeled to by someone for no reason is to bring bad luck.