Chapter 37: Visitors (1)
The days at home were warm and comfortable. One day, I accidentally went to weigh myself and found that I had gained five pounds. When I got off the scale, my mother was so happy that her face was all smiles: “My silly son has finally gotten fat.”
Am I really that skinny? I’m not fat, but I’m not thin either. It’s kind of funny. I said to my mother, “Mom, you’re raising a fat pig. You’re happy when he gains weight.”
“What nonsense! A boy needs to be strong to be a man (understood as powerful), and to be liked by girls.” My mother smiled.
I was sweating profusely. How old was I? My mother was already talking about what little girls like.
My eldest sister laughed and said, “Mom, are you already worrying about Sanwa’s marriage? He’s not an ancient person.”
My second sister said in a gentle tone, “You can’t blame mom for this. You see, Sanwa spends all day in the mountains, and he’s almost become a primitive. He doesn’t even know “Shaolin Temple.”
I was a little embarrassed because I told my family about listening to music on the road, mainly because the song was so beautiful, but I was laughed at.
My family was also very angry. My mother took me by the hand and said, “Come on, Sanwa, I’ll go to the street and buy you a pair of jeans. Our family is better off than the upper class and worse off than the lower class! What’s a pair of jeans?”
Then, my mother really bought me a pair of jeans, and my older sister and younger sister took me to see Shaolin Temple.
Actually, I really wanted to defend myself. I did go to the movies, and very occasionally, I would go to town with the master. I would also go to the movies, but the town was so far away from the county seat that it was really quite remote.
The sunlight on the street was dazzling, and I didn’t argue with the three women in my family who were teasing me. I looked up and squinted at the sunlight, and I felt a faint sense of happiness fill my heart. Life at home was really good.
I don’t have to cook, and my mother is so eager to bring me food that she would bring it to my bed.
I don’t have to do the laundry myself, my sisters do it for me. I feel that my life on the mountain was hard and I can’t compare it to theirs.
Even when I go out for a stroll, my father has to take me on his bicycle.
Five catties of meat, this five catties of meat should be the five catties of meat of happiness! If… if the master were here, it would be even better.
What is the Master doing? Has he finished preparing the Hungry Ghost Tomb? Has he met the person he was waiting for? All of this makes me very worried.
“Sanwa, what are you thinking about? Let’s go,” my eldest sister took my hand and led me away. I only realized then that I had been daydreaming, and that my mother and second sister had already gone ahead.
Today we came out to buy some New Year’s goods. In two or three days it will be New Year’s Eve.
My father was very sorry that he couldn’t come along. The family had long planned to open a new store. Recently, they finally found a suitable storefront and rented it. After that, my father was busy painting and didn’t want to hire any workers to help.
I smiled and walked down the street happily with my eldest sister holding my hand. My eldest sister was wearing a red scarf and a purple space suit, and my second sister was wearing a red space suit and a pink scarf. They looked so beautiful and attracted so much attention when they walked down the street.
Looking at my mother, she also seemed to have aged a few years, and she knew how to perm her hair. I also thought about my father, who was busy with the new store, and I realized that our family was really getting better and better.
I owe it all to my master. That year, how could I forget going to the provincial capital with him to sell jade?
“Sanwa, slow down, ah, Sanwa, wait for me to run into the house!” My sister’s scream came with the sound of crackling firecrackers, while I was standing in the alley laughing, holding a cigarette to light the firecrackers.
It was New Year’s Eve, and before the reunion dinner, it was customary to set off firecrackers. My eldest sister was not afraid of anything, but she was afraid of setting off firecrackers!
It was rare to see my sister like this, so of course I was very happy.
After the firecrackers had finished going off, my sister suddenly jumped out and grabbed my ear, shouting, “You’re going to die, Sanwa! Look what I’m going to do to you now!”
“Big sister, big sister, I’m sorry.” I quickly begged for mercy.
My sister and I were fighting, and my parents and my second sister were all laughing. At this time, a slovenly voice came into our ears: “Please let an old man like me have a reunion dinner. Look at the cold weather.”
I was stunned, and when I turned around, I saw an old man wearing a torn jacket and a wretched look on his face walking towards our house. Who could that be if not my master?
I jumped three feet high and immediately ran towards my master, jumping on him in one go: “Master!”
“Go, go, go. You’re not a little girl anymore. Don’t come near me. Do you think you’re still a child?” Old Master Jiang didn’t give me any face and kicked me down. My parents just laughed.
They really liked my master, and they were also really happy that my master could come on New Year’s Eve. My parents would never forget his kindness over the years, and my parents were originally very grateful people.
“Grandpa Jiang,” my two sisters called the old man affectionately. He had saved my second sister’s life and helped my first sister with her studies, so my sisters really liked him.
Old Jiang was delighted to see my two sisters: “That’s right, the girls are good. That brat, go away, go away, tut tut… what two pretty girls.”
What a load of nonsense! I sighed helplessly. This is the true nature of my master!
“Master Jiang, come in quickly, come in quickly…” my parents eagerly greeted him.
“Wait, I have to say something.” The old man became serious.
My parents were most afraid of Master Jiang’s seriousness, because when he got serious, it was basically a ghostly matter.
“Originally, I planned to let Sanwa stay for the winter vacation, but now things have changed. On the second day of the New Year, I have to take Sanwa to the mountains. That’s the matter,” said the old man with some embarrassment.
My parents were relieved at the same time. Although they were reluctant to let me go, they had gotten used to me learning things from the old man over the years. Compared to when I was a child, I am much more sensible now. I am good at learning, so what are they worried about?
“That’s it, take him away, take him away, this kid is a worry at home.” My father was very “generous.”
“It’s fine. He’s been staying here for a few days. Go get him. We’ll go see him in the mountains in a few days.” My mother was also very generous.
In front of Old Master Jiang, they had no hesitation in ‘selling’ me out.
Only my two sisters were reluctant. Old Jiang said with a smile, “Don’t be reluctant, girls. Just as your mother said, come up to the mountains to play. I’m afraid it’s been more than half a year since you’ve been here.”
My parents agreed, and my two sisters were overjoyed. They had long wanted to go to the mountains, but they were busy at home, taking care of the new store and the business at the storefront, and they wanted to help my parents more during the holidays.
My parents all agreed with this, so how could they not be happy?
We had a happy reunion dinner, and although it wasn’t anything fancy, I was extremely satisfied. This was the reunion dinner I had always dreamed of. With my family and my master there, I felt like I had almost everything I could ask for.
I don’t even want to talk about the way old Jiang ate. He ate the most and drank a lot, and after he finished eating, he even set off firecrackers to scare my two sisters.
Fortunately, our family knows him, otherwise we might think he was some crazy old man.
After midnight, my two sisters were tired and went to bed, and my parents also went to bed. I couldn’t sleep, so I went to talk to the master who lived in the other room, but I found that the master was sitting there with a strange look on his face, drinking wine by himself, with two snacks in front of him that my mother had made for him.
This old man can really eat. Didn’t he just have enough to eat at the reunion dinner?
“Master, what are you thinking about?” I shouted, and the old man was startled. When he came to his senses, he patted me on the head.
“I’m not thinking of anything. It’s not a problem to drink a little wine.” After patting me on the head, the old man answered angrily, as if my presence made him very unhappy.
“Nothing? Master… I feel… your expression is so weird? That’s it! I remember how to describe it. It’s like, like a weasel thinking about an old hen!” Yes, I think my description is extremely accurate. Master’s weird expression is clearly longing for something, but it’s not exactly that.
“Fuck your mother…” Old Jiang suddenly jumped up, and a vulgar expression came out uncontrollably, but I guess he thought he had accidentally cursed my mother, so he held back.
But I was in trouble. He picked me up and threw me onto the bed, then he held me down and slapped me a dozen times.
“Say, who is the weasel? Say, who is the old mother? I will beat you to death today, you unworthy disciple!”
I was so stunned by the beating that I didn’t understand why my master reacted so strongly to a joke.
After the old man Jiang had had his fun, he straightened his clothes and said, “On the morning of the second day, come with me to pick someone up. After that, we’ll go back to the mountain.”
I was already beaten to the point of confusion, and asked weakly, “Master, who are we picking up?”
“You’ll know when the time comes,” said the old man, taking a sip of wine and looking as if he didn’t want to bother with me.
I sat up with my messy hair and said, “Master, I don’t have to ask this, I’ll find out anyway. You said the situation has changed, what kind of change is it? You have to tell me about it.”
My master looked at me, then took a mouthful of food and finally said something that almost made me suffocate: “Guess?” Guess? Haha, I don’t even know what it is, let alone guess its changes? I just hate myself for not being born with the two meridians!