PCJ – Chapter 140 It’s Snowing

For Zhang Jiaohua, the first-grade exam was actually not difficult. If he could remember long spells, how could he not remember “Spring dawn unaware”? If he could calculate birth dates and fortune, how could he not solve one plus one equals two? The final exam consisted of only two subjects. Which of the Chinese or math exams could be hard for him?

On the way, Dumb excitedly told Zhang Jiaohua that he had been memorizing texts and doing math homework these past few days.

Zhang Jiaohua looked at the sky, which was gray and cloudy, with no sign of the sun. The temperature was very low, and everyone’s breath turned into white vapor as they spoke.

“It’s going to snow,” Zhang Jiaohua said, looking forward to the snowfall.

“Ah? It’s going to snow. That’s great,” Dumb was also very excited. He didn’t question Zhang Jiaohua’s words at all; he believed them unconditionally.

While the children eagerly anticipated the snow, the adults were worried.

“Recently, I’ve been hearing wolves from the Meishan area at night. It’s unsettling,” Zhang Jiwang, who was out for a walk early in the morning, told Zhang Dechun when they met on the road.

“Yes, the snow is about to fall. Once the snow seals the mountains, these big green wolves will go hungry. They might come into the village,” Zhang Dechun, the village secretary of Meizitao, felt the pressure on his shoulders increase significantly.

“Dechun, you village cadres need to think of a solution. I remember back in the sixties, the team organized a militia to patrol everywhere during the day before winter arrived. Now that these big green wolves are here, you village cadres should also think of something. Maybe organize a militia team again?” Zhang Jiwang asked after some thought.

“In the past, militia patrols earned work points. Now, with land divided among households, who would work for free? The village has no way to make money. If we call a militia team now, who would come? It’s cold, and everyone wants to stay warm with their wives,” Zhang Dechun smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Things were different now; his authority as the village secretary was not as it used to be. He used to be very influential in Meizitao, but now his words didn’t carry as much weight.

Zhang Jiwang, experienced as he was, couldn’t ignore the changing situation. Still, he reluctantly asked, “Are you just going to ignore it? If something happens, can you, as the village secretary, feel at ease?”

“I didn’t say I’d do nothing. I’ll strengthen publicity and mobilize villagers to organize patrol teams. The main thing is to raise awareness,” Zhang Dechun had no choice but to use these standard responses to deal with Zhang Jiwang.

Zhang Jiwang left angrily with his beard bristling.

“Is it easy for me?” Zhang Dechun said plaintively, throwing away the stub of his wild mountain tea cigarette and striding toward the village office.

The last leaf on the peach tree in Zhang Jiaohua’s yard in Meizitang fell in the cold wind, tumbling for a while before landing in the gutter under the eaves.

Liu Qiaoye was sitting by the fire cabinet, sewing clothes. A pile of clothes lay on the wooden frame of the fire cabinet.

Liu Qiaoye and her husband had decided to go to Guangdong for work with Luo Ximei’s brother-in-law after the Lunar New Year. They wouldn’t return until before winter next year. She planned to use this time to prepare clothes for her son for the next year. Her son was growing fast, and none of last year’s clothes fit him anymore. Liu Qiaoye had bought some fabric in town to make several sets of clothes for him and also planned to alter some of her husband’s clothes for her son. She heard that the weather in Guangdong was warm all year round, so they wouldn’t need to bring many clothes, but her son’s clothes had to be ready.

Thinking about her son living alone for a year, she couldn’t help but stop. He was only seven years old, yet he was about to face living alone. But what choice did they have? Many people in the village had earned a lot of money from Guangdong and built new houses in just a year or two. Their house was built not too long ago, but trends were changing quickly. The wooden loft was outdated, and the new trend was brick houses. Brick houses were sturdy, looked grand, didn’t make noise when walking upstairs, and had better sound insulation. Couples didn’t have to wait for their children to fall asleep to do intimate things. Thinking of this made Liu Qiaoye blush.

Zhang Youping returned from outside, looking like an old man with white hair.

“Is it snowing outside?” Liu Qiaoye saw the snow on her husband’s head and quickly got up from the fire cabinet to get a dry towel for him.

“Forget it. You don’t have to come out. It’s just a bit of snow. You don’t need to prepare so many clothes for our son. When we get paid, we can send money back for my dad to buy him ready-made clothes in town. He might outgrow these clothes anyway,” Zhang Youping grabbed a dry towel and wiped the snow off himself.

“I was just worrying about our son. We’re going away for at least a year. How can I be sure he’ll be warm and well-fed? He doesn’t want to stay with our parents. How can I feel at ease?” Liu Qiaoye’s eyes turned red as she spoke.

“Here we go again. Didn’t I tell you? Even if he doesn’t stay with my parents, they won’t neglect him. My mom said she’d check on him daily and cook for him. He won’t go hungry or be cold,” Zhang Youping smiled wryly at his wife.

It wasn’t just the two of them preparing to go south. The villagers were tired of poverty and eager to earn money in Guangdong. Young people in the village were all thinking about going to Guangdong, but they had never been out of the mountains, couldn’t speak Mandarin well, and couldn’t read much. They were afraid to venture out without someone to guide them.

Zhang Qigao and his wife were also planning to go to Guangdong after the New Year. But during a meal, his wife, Xie Chun’e, suddenly rushed to the back of the house to vomit. Chen Meijuan, his mother, immediately realized that her daughter-in-law was pregnant.

For Zhang Qigao’s family, continuing the family line was the most important issue.

“Going to Guangdong can wait a year. Having a grandson is more important,” Chen Meijuan directly vetoed their plan to go south.

“Chun’e will be taken care of at home. I have to go out and work. Otherwise, I won’t even have money to buy clothes for my child,” Zhang Qigao was determined to go south.