Chapter Twenty-Five: The Family’s Astonishment

Rounding the mountain, he caught sight of his own house—a few rooms with blue tiles, weathered and quietly nestled halfway up the slope. The house belonged to the Xuan family, built when his parents married, and now stood for more than a decade. Three main rooms faced the front, with several side rooms flanking them; the space was quite large.

Yet with his parents, his younger sister, and his grandparents, six people lived together under one roof. Add to that the assortment of farming tools and household items, and the place had grown increasingly cramped.

So, by 1998—the coming year—his father had already planned to build a new house. Xuan hoped that during this return home, he could persuade his parents to abandon that idea and instead find a project, start a small business in the county town. It would be far better than farming at home.

He hadn’t reached the house when the family’s mongrel dog came bounding over, circling him with excitement. The dog had been part of the family for years, always friendly toward Xuan.

“My, Da Huang, you’ve grown again,” Xuan greeted the dog, heading toward the house.

Inside, his grandparents were present: his grandmother boiling water and preparing dinner, his grandfather weaving a bamboo basket. Seeing them again was deeply comforting; he set down his bag and backpack, immediately going to help his grandmother stoke the fire.

He brought out the meat he’d bought in the county, asking his grandmother to cut and cook it. Seeing such a large piece, she asked how he'd gotten the money. Xuan replied that he’d earned it by writing articles.

His grandmother admonished him not to waste money just because he’d made a little, urging him to save some for school meals. Xuan reassured her, saying he still had a thousand or two—more than enough.

This surprised his grandmother so much that she insisted on questioning him thoroughly when his parents returned.

About half an hour later, his sister came home. Seeing the little girl, Xuan hurried over and scooped her up. “Did you miss your brother?”

“I did!” she replied brightly. She was already in kindergarten, usually home early in the afternoon, but had gone off to play with some neighbors, returning with her clothes dirty from head to toe.

Holding his sister, Xuan went inside and took out the sweets and snacks he’d bought, laying them all before her.

“Take whatever you like,” he said.

Seeing so many treats, she was instantly thrilled. “Brother’s the best! I want this one!” she pointed to a milk candy.

“Ha! You always love milk candy. Let me unwrap it for you,” Xuan said, peeling the wrapper and gently placing it in her mouth.

Just then, his father returned. Seeing all the things Xuan had bought, he was surprised. “Xuan, where did you get the money for all this?”

There was worry and urgency in his father’s voice, fearful Xuan might have done something unlawful.

After decades, to see his father from memory again nearly brought Xuan to tears, but he held back and explained, “Dad, I earned it myself. Your son would never do anything bad.”

“Really? You’re not lying? What did you do, and how much did you earn?” His father relaxed a little—so long as it wasn’t something wrong.

Xuan pulled out the remittance slip and two sample magazines, handing them to his father. “Dad, your son is a writer now. I submitted articles to magazines; after review, they thought my work was good and paid me. Look, here’s the remittance slip.”

His father took it, half skeptical, and was astonished by the numbers. “How is it so much?”

The two remittance slips added up to 4,600 yuan—a considerable sum. Next year, they’d spent just over 30,000 to build a house. At this time, the family couldn’t even save four thousand.

“If you write more, you earn more. Dad, trust me—it’ll only increase in the future,” Xuan said, gazing at his father’s face, not yet aged.

His father was not yet forty, no gray hair showing. But after forty, the gray would sprout one by one, making Xuan ache with regret, wishing he’d shown more filial piety.

Though happy at Xuan’s words, his father still admonished, “You should focus on your grades first. How did you do in last month’s test?”

Asked about grades, Xuan was embarrassed. “Dad, do you mean September or October?”

“Both. Is that a problem? You didn’t do badly, did you?”

Xuan smiled. “I’m not sure how to say it—afraid it might shock you.”

“Hmph, brat. Even if you can earn money, without good grades, it’s useless.”

Xuan sighed inwardly—at this stage, parents always put grades first.

“Dad, I ranked two hundred and fiftieth in September, but in October’s test this week, I was seventh in the grade. Not bad, right?”

“You’re not lying?” His father still doubted him.

After a year with no improvement—only decline—it was hard to believe Xuan could suddenly jump to seventh in just one month.

“It’s true. When you come to the parent-teacher meeting next week, you’ll see. Why would I lie?”

“Haha, that’s good. At last, you’re working hard. You slipped through all of eighth grade—scared us half to death.” Hearing Xuan had really improved, his father was overjoyed.

Xuan pointed at the package of clothes he’d bought. “Dad, I got a set for each of you. The weather’s turning cold, so please wear more and don’t catch a cold.”

His father was delighted but kept a stern face. “Why waste so much money? We can buy clothes ourselves. You should save it for good meals at school. You’re in ninth grade now, with sports exams ahead—don’t neglect your health.”

Such words warmed Xuan’s heart.

Soon after, his mother returned. Hearing Xuan had placed seventh and earned several thousand yuan, she was over the moon, bustling off to slice preserved meat and sausage, determined to treat him well.

Watching everyone gathered around the table, eating and talking, Xuan thought: except for New Year, it had been ages since the family was this happy.

Now that he could earn money, he vowed to ensure his parents, grandparents, and sister would all live well.

After dinner, Xuan brought out the clothes he’d bought, letting everyone try them on.

His sister was the happiest—new clothes to wear, and her brother had brought her all her favorite snacks. Xuan promised to bring treats every month when he came home, making her exuberant with joy.