Zhong Dawa and Zhong Erwa returned after washing their faces, only to see four dishes on the small square table. They gaped in surprise and asked in unison, “Is today New Year’s?”
“It’s not New Year’s, but the Dragon Boat Festival is coming up in a few days. I’ll find someone to trade for some glutinous rice so I can make you some zongzi,” Song Zhaodi said. “The festival falls at the end of the month, so we’ll use up the remaining meat ration tickets and I’ll make you some braised pork.”
Dawa and Erwa grinned from ear to ear.
Sanwa, not quite understanding why his brothers were so happy, couldn’t help but giggle along with them.
Seeing the children so delighted, Song Zhaodi also smiled. “Hurry up and eat before the meat gets cold.” Then, glancing up at Zhong Jianguo, who was deep in thought, she was surprised. “What are you thinking about instead of eating?”
“I’m calculating whether I’ll be home at the end of the month,” Zhong Jianguo replied.
Song Zhaodi sighed, exasperated by how much this man loved meat. “Plans never keep up with changes. You’re just guessing for nothing.” After a pause, she asked, “Are you heading to the base today?”
“I’ll go in the afternoon,” Zhong Jianguo said. “Do you need something?”
Song Zhaodi replied, “No. I’m making you a pair of slippers. You can try them on later to see if they fit.”
“Dad, look at my sandals!” Dawa stretched out his foot. “Ma Zhenxing is really envious. He even said—”
Song Zhaodi quickly interrupted, “Don’t tell me you promised Ma Zhenxing that I’d make him a pair too?”
“No, no.” Dawa shook his head like a rattle drum. “I told him to ask you himself. But Ma Zhenxing doesn’t dare. He’s afraid of you.”
Song Zhaodi was curious. “Why is he afraid of me? He barely comes over, and we haven’t talked much.”
“Because you’re a teacher,” Zhong Dawa said. “Lin Zhong is afraid of you too.”
Song Zhaodi quickly asked, “You didn’t brag about your shoes to Lin Zhong, did you?”
“Lin Zhong asked if my shoes were made by a professional cobbler. I said no, my mom made them,” Zhong Dawa said, then suddenly widened his eyes and cautiously added, “Mom, I was wrong.”
Song Zhaodi chuckled. “It’s fine. Your dad is always busy, and I raise the three of you on my own. They won’t come asking me to make shoes for them.”
The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, May 30th, just after eleven in the morning, Song Zhaodi had just returned from school when Lin Zhong’s mother, Chen dasao, arrived with some shoe soles and fabric.
Seeing the items in her hands, Song Zhaodi couldn’t help but laugh. As expected, some people really had thick skin. “Sister, do you need something?”
“I saw Dawa’s shoes and thought they were nice. I wanted to ask if you could make a pair for Lin Zhong,” Chen dasao said with an awkward smile.
Song Zhaodi replied with a smile, “Saozi, you came at a bad time. I’m about to knead dough and steam mantou.”
“The afternoon is fine too,” Chen dasao blurted out.
Song Zhaodi’s expression didn’t change, but she cursed inwardly. Keeping her smile, she said, “I knead the dough in the morning and steam the mantou in the afternoon.” After a pause, she added, “I’ve already arranged for Aunt Liu to watch Sanwa for me.” Before Chen dasao could say anything, she continued, “I also need to trade for some glutinous rice on the island. I’ll have to soak it in the evening to make zongzi tomorrow. Isn’t your family making zongzi?”
Chen dasao pretended to suddenly remember. “Oh, my memory is so bad. I forgot tomorrow is the festival. Sorry, Xiao Song.”
“No problem,” Song Zhaodi said. “If anyone should apologise, it’s me.” She picked up a bucket of water meant for indoor use and instead poured it into the cucumber patch, silently telling Chen dasao that she still had a vegetable garden to tend to and was very busy. “If you’re in a hurry, you can have Dawa take off his shoes at your place. You can copy them for Lin Zhong.”
“That works too,” Chen dasao said, looking a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t have the heart to admit that she’d already seen Dawa’s shoes and could make a pair without needing to borrow them.
Song Zhaodi pretended not to notice and called inside, “Dawa, go with Aunt Chen to her house.” Then she added, “Take Sanwa with you.”
“Okay!” Dawa, who had been worried that Song Zhaodi might refuse to cook again and make his dad do it, was overjoyed when she turned down Chen dasao. He quickly grabbed Sanwa and dragged Erwa along as they ran outside.
Nearby, Duan dasao was tending to her own vegetable garden. Since neither Song Zhaodi nor Chen dasao had lowered their voices, she overheard everything from behind the fence.
After Chen dasao left, Duan dasao stood up and called out to Song Zhaodi in a low voice, “She came to bother you again?”
“She probably thinks I’m young and too soft-hearted to refuse,” Song Zhaodi said. “Last time I helped her cut fabric because Jianguo agreed to it. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Her whole family’s clothes are made by her,” Duan dasao said. “I agree, the clothes you made for Dawa look nice, but for someone as skilled as her, copying them is easy. Just looking at them twice is enough.”
“Exactly. Even an old woman like me could figure it out after one look,” Duan dasao said. “Too bad my grandkids, Liu Ping and Liu Wei, don’t want them. They said the clothes are for kids.”
Song Zhaodi nodded. “That’s true. They do look better on children. Liu Wei is practically a young man now—he should dress more maturely. By the way, saozi, Liu Ping is graduating in a month, and Liu Wei will graduate next year. What are your plans for them?”
“Your Uncle Liu wants Liu Ping to be a nurse,” Duan dasao said. “But she’s lazy and doesn’t want to. She insists on going to high school. The problem is, there’s no high school on our island. She’d have to go to the mainland.”
Song Zhaodi frowned. “So the high schools out there have reopened?”
“A couple of years ago, they were all shut down. But recently, I heard that one might reopen in the fall,” Duan dasao said. “But I don’t believe it. Just the other day, we saw people being paraded through the streets with ‘Stinking Intellectual’ signs around their necks. Teachers are being criticised all the time—how could they have the energy to teach? She’d be wasting her time in school when she could be learning something useful.”
Song Zhaodi wanted to agree but thought of how Liu Ping didn’t seem to like her much. “You can’t force a cow to drink water. You should talk it over with her properly. In the end, it’s her life, and we can’t live it for her.”
“She won’t listen, and I’m too tired to argue,” Duan dasao sighed. “She’s not even half as sensible as the Lin family girls.”
Song Zhaodi chuckled. “That’s because you’ve spoiled her. Oh, right, Auntie, I’m heading to the post office this afternoon.”
“I’ll bring my things over in a bit,” Duan dasao said and went inside to grab some dried eggplants and beans.
That afternoon, after putting the children down for their nap, Song Zhaodi took a half-bag of supplies to the post office. On her way back, she ran into Ma Zhenxing’s mother, Zhou Shufen.
Seeing Zhou Shufen’s shy smile, Song Zhaodi felt a headache coming on. But she couldn’t pretend not to see her, so she asked, “Where are you off to?”
“Zhenxing really likes Dawa’s sandals and insists I make him a pair,” Zhou Shufen said. “I figured you’re busy taking care of the kids while the commander is away, so I wanted to ask how to make them.”
Song Zhaodi said, “Perfect timing. Dawa and Erwa are napping inside right now. Their shoes are outside in the yard drying. Just use Dawa’s shoes as a reference.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Teacher Song.” Zhou Shufen wasn’t skilled at sewing, but Ma Zhenxing had been pestering her for a pair of shoes. She was annoyed and couldn’t help but grumble about Song Zhaodi—of all the things to keep busy with, why make sandals for the children?
But she also understood. The weather was getting hot, and cloth shoes were stifling. On the island, parents who knew how to make sandals would sew several pairs for their children to swap between. Seeing that everyone else’s kids had sandals while hers didn’t, Zhou Shufen couldn’t bear it. She waited until everyone was resting indoors before going to find Song Zhaodi.
Song Zhaodi wouldn’t make sandals for Lin Zhong, let alone Ma Zhenxing, so she continued stitching Zhong Jianguo’s shoe soles while instructing Zhou Shufen on how to sew.
Noticing a pair of Liberation shoes in the corner, Zhou Shufen was surprised. “Your husband, Regiment Commander Zhong, is back?”
“You didn’t know?” Song Zhaodi found it odd.
Zhou Shufen hesitated. “No, it’s just that my Old Ma didn’t mention it.”
“He came back last week,” Song Zhaodi said. “Maybe Regiment Commander Ma was too busy and didn’t hear about it. Oh, by the way, Old Zhong mentioned that he came back to swap places with another regiment for an offshore mission. It’s not your Old Ma, is it?”
Zhou Shufen shook her head. “No, it’s someone from another division.” At that, she understood. “My Old Ma is always eager to earn merits. This time, Commander Liu sent Regiment Commander Zhong instead of someone from our regiment. He’s probably upset about it.”
Song Zhaodi chuckled. “My Old Zhong is the complete opposite of your husband. He’d be happy to never go out to sea again.”
“You two just got married. It’s normal that Regiment Commander Zhong wouldn’t want to leave.” Zhou Shufen sighed. “But Old Ma and I have been together for years. To be honest, it’s a little embarrassing, but at this point, he’s more excited to see a gun than to see me. It wasn’t like this before. We used to be so in love—if we didn’t see each other for a day, it felt like we’d been apart for three years.”
Song Zhaodi laughed. “We’ll probably end up like you two. What’s that saying? Even the loftiest romance eventually turns into the daily grind of cooking and chores.
“I remember someone once said that love won’t last if it doesn’t settle into the mundane realities of life—eating, sleeping, counting money. And besides, there was never any love between me and Old Zhong to begin with. We skipped the romance and went straight to reality. Who knows, we might not even last until next year.”
“Love?” Zhou Shufen shook her head. “I used to think love was wonderful too. But after what happened with Teacher Yao, I realised that living a peaceful and stable life is more important than anything else.”
Song Zhaodi nodded. “Exactly. What’s that other saying? ‘The most romantic thing I can think of is growing old with you.’ But that’s not my line—I heard it from someone else.”
“That’s a beautiful sentiment.” Zhou Shufen admired her. “You went to college, so you’re different from me. You can just say things like that off the top of your head.”
Song Zhaodi replied modestly, “I just have a good memory.”
Just then, the sound of a child crying interrupted their conversation. “That must be Sanwa waking up and not seeing me. I’ll go check on him.”
Zhou Shufen opened her mouth to say, “Go ahead,” but before she could even get the words out, Song Zhaodi had already dashed up the stairs. That night, Zhou Shufen told Ma Zhonghua, “Song Zhaodi is such a good person. Zhong Jianguo is really lucky.”
Zhong Jianguo had never worn slippers before.
Before marriage, there was no one to make them for him. After marriage, Bai Hua didn’t know how to sew. Besides, Zhong Jianguo spent all his time at the military camp and had never given slippers a second thought.
Now, after taking a bath in the evening, he put on a pair of open-toed slippers. Taking the three kids out for a walk, he made sure to show off their matching footwear to the other soldiers watching their children. It was unbelievably satisfying.
In her past life, Song Zhaodi had barely ever stopped moving—either flying around on business trips or buried in fashion design. She thought she wouldn’t be able to get used to a life revolving around children and the kitchen.
But every time she saw the kids slump back in their chairs after a meal, looking utterly content, or saw Zhong Jianguo pause mid-bite to cautiously ask what was for the next meal, as if afraid she’d be annoyed, she found herself enjoying this kind of life.
If Zhong Jianguo didn’t stir up trouble, living a peaceful and uneventful life like this wouldn’t be so bad.
Unfortunately, some people just couldn’t stand to see her at ease.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Song Zhaodi received a letter. At first, she thought it was from Xiao Song Village, likely her parents scolding her about sending money home. But when she checked the envelope, she saw it was from Binhai. A bad feeling crept over her.
She opened the letter. The moment she saw the greeting, she relaxed a little—it was from Zhong Jianguo’s eldest brother. But after reading the contents, she couldn’t help cursing Zhong Jianguo’s parents.
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