Around nine o’clock, after the children had gone to bed, Song Zhaodi sat on the bed, unable to sleep, waiting for Zhong Jianguo.
When she saw Zhong Jianguo enter the room with damp hair, she frowned. “Dry your hair before getting into bed.”
“My hair is short; it doesn’t need drying.” Zhong Jianguo casually rubbed his hair with a towel, then tossed it onto a chair and lifted the blanket to lie down.
Song Zhaodi kicked his leg. “Dry your hair first.”
“You’re so picky.” Zhong Jianguo sighed and sat up.
Song Zhaodi shot him a glance. “Before dinner, you said something about the kids. What did you mean? I’m warning you, Zhong Jianguo, if you get me two more children again, we’re getting a divorce.”
“I’d love to have two daughters.” Zhong Jianguo glanced at her belly. “It’s about Zili and Gengsheng.”
Song Zhaodi instinctively looked toward the door. Seeing that it was closed, she still wasn’t reassured and lowered her voice. “Did something happen to General Qi?”
“Only a handful of people know his current condition,” Zhong Jianguo said. “Yesterday, Head Nurse Liang came to our house because the commander overheard someone saying that Dawa got into a fight when he got off the ship.
“The commander was worried about Zili and Gengsheng, so he sent Head Nurse Liang over to check on them. He was so focused on them that he forgot about what he had heard in the capital.”
Song Zhaodi asked, “The commander went to the capital for a meeting again?”
“Yes,” Zhong Jianguo replied. “He didn’t dare make a phone call, so he had his guard call me over and told me that Zili and Gengsheng’s biological mother has remarried. There’s talk that she’s already pregnant with her new husband’s child, but the commander didn’t dare investigate further, so we can’t confirm whether it’s true or not.”
Song Zhaodi understood why Zhong Jianguo didn’t want the children to know. “Zili and Gengsheng may resent their maternal relatives for being heartless, but deep down, they still hope their mother will remember them. If they find out about this, they’ll probably cry for days.”
“My thought was not to tell them for now,” Zhong Jianguo said. “But we can’t hide something this big forever. If they grow up and find out we knew all along, even if they don’t resent us, they’ll feel upset.”
Song Zhaodi sighed. “That woman really couldn’t wait.”
Zhong Jianguo studied Song Zhaodi’s face. Seeing no anger, only contempt, he raised an eyebrow. “Comrade Xiao Song, if Zili’s mother is like this, does that mean she’s completely out of the picture now?”
“The higher they jump, the harder they fall,” Song Zhaodi replied. “I don’t know much about that period in history since it’s too far removed from the era I lived in. But I do know that circumstances change over time.”
Zhong Jianguo thought for a moment. “So, you’re saying that if her life falls apart, she might come looking for Zili and Gengsheng?”
“She definitely will,” Song Zhaodi said. “Zili and Gengsheng are too soft-hearted. If they were as headstrong as Dawa, I’d actually be more worried for that heartless woman.”
After a brief silence, Zhong Jianguo said, “I’ll talk to Dawa about this one of these days.”
Worried he might forget, the next morning, when he got up to buy groceries, Zhong Jianguo dragged Dawa along.
Back when Song Zhaodi first told Zhong Dawa that their family would be adopting two boys, he had asked if they were obedient. Song Zhaodi had said they were.
Dawa had been sceptical at first, but after realising that Zili and Gengsheng were indeed very well-behaved, he was satisfied. Now, having come to see them as his own family, he felt dissatisfied with their personalities, too soft, not at all like his, Zhong Dawa’s, brothers.
On the way to the grocery store, Zhong Jianguo told Dawa that he was worried about what would happen if one day Dawa wasn’t around to look after them, and they got bullied. Then he asked whether they should just keep Zili and Gengsheng locked up at home.
Dawa thought his dad was as insightful as ever, thinking just like him. But he was also curious. “Dad, why did you suddenly decide to talk to me about Zili and Gengsheng?”
“Because every Saturday and Sunday, the kids on the island have nothing to do and just run around causing trouble,” Zhong Jianguo explained. “I’m worried that if you’re not around, Zili and Gengsheng might get beaten up and not dare to fight back.”
Zhong Dawa nodded. “Dad, you’re right. I’m already worried that even first graders might bully Gengsheng.”
“Son, some first graders are older than you,” Zhong Jianguo said. “You talk like a little adult, where did you learn that?”
Zhong Dawa blurted, “From you.”
Zhong Jianguo smacked the back of his head. “I’m counting on you to toughen up Zili and Gengsheng. If you can teach them to fear nothing except me and your mother, I’ll use my food coupons to buy pork belly every time and have your mom make braised pork for you.”
“Dad, I’m not afraid of you,” Zhong Dawa reminded him.
Zhong Jianguo choked on his words. “Then… are you afraid of the belt?”
Zhong Dawa fell silent.
At the grocery store, knowing his dad ‘needed a favour’, Dawa pointed at the sea bass and demanded that Zhong Jianguo buy six, three for lunch and three for dinner.
The vendors and shoppers were shocked, worried that Zhong Jianguo would grab Dawa and beat him on the spot. Instead, he calmly took out his money and bought all six fish.
Before the father and son even made it home, the news that Zhong Jianguo was even more indulgent than Teacher Song had spread throughout the entire military family compound.
At eleven o’clock, as the school bell rang, Ma Zhenxing, one of Dawa’s classmates, blocked his path and asked, “Dawa, why does your dad listen to you so much? Why did he buy you six big fish?”
“Why do you want to know?” Zhong Dawa countered.
Ma Zhenxing said, “I want my dad to buy them for me too.”
“Then just ask him,” Zhong Dawa said. “Both our dads are regiment commanders. Tell your dad that since Commander Zhong bought fish for his son, why can’t he buy them for you?”
“You think that will work?” Ma Zhenxing couldn’t believe it.
“Of course!” Zhong Dawa declared. “I, Zhong Dawa, never lie. My dad says your dad cares a lot about his reputation. He definitely won’t want to be outdone.”
The boy walking ahead of him suddenly turned around and said, “Dawa, if my dad buys me fish too, I’ll give you a piece of candy.”
Dawa wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want your candy. Yours is too hard. It’s not as good as mine.”
“Your candy isn’t hard?” Ma Zhenxing asked.
“Nope,” Dawa said. “My mom bought White Rabbit candies from the city. They’re really good. If you want some, tell your mom to buy them for you.”
“My mom won’t buy them,” Ma Zhenxing said. “She says they’re too expensive.”
Dawa’s eyes darted around. “Then just say that your mom isn’t as good as Zhong Dawa’s stepmother.”
“Hey, Zhong Dawa, that’s a good idea! My mom always says your stepmother is only nice to you to put on a show for everyone.”
Zhong Dawa turned to the speaker and thought for a moment. He had never played with this kid before, so they weren’t friends. There was no need to be polite. “Then your mom must be sick in the head.”
“Your mom is the one who’s sick in the head!” the boy instinctively retorted.
Zhong Dawa smirked. “That’s right. My mom is really sick in the head, she buys me good food, buys me milk candy. Your mom, on the other hand, isn’t crazy, she just hoards money and doesn’t even know how to make it grow. Too bad she doesn’t even understand that money can make more money.” He snorted at the boy, then grabbed Zili’s arm. “Let’s go. Stay away from people who aren’t crazy.”
“Dawa, have you forgotten what Mom said?” In front of outsiders, Zili always referred to Song Zhaodi as ‘Mom’. “No picking fights.”
Dawa wrapped his arm around Zili’s neck. “Don’t worry, he started it. Even if Mom finds out, she won’t scold me.” He pointed to the boy on the left.
“But Auntie will be upset,” Zili whispered.
Zhong Dawa shrugged. “Mom’s not that petty. Zili, stop worrying so much. Before you and Gengsheng came, we were always getting into trouble, and Mom never got mad. But if I actually beat someone up and their mom comes looking for her, then she’ll be mad.
“When Mom’s angry, she doesn’t hit anyone, she just makes Dad cook. And since I hate his cooking, that’s the only reason I don’t want to make her mad. It’s not like I’m scared of her being angry.”
“Uncle Zhong’s cooking isn’t that bad,” Zili thought for a moment. “It’s not exactly delicious, but it’s edible.”
Zhong Dawa scoffed. “That’s now. Back then, eating his food would give you diarrhoea.”
Just then, Gengsheng arrived, and Dawa waved him over. The three of them headed off to pick up Erwa and Sanwa.
That morning, before heading to school, Zhong Dawa had told Song Zhaodi that he wanted to eat braised bass with tofu.
So when Song Zhaodi got back from work, she killed three fish and made a big pot of braised bass with tofu. While the five Zhong kids were happily eating their fish and tofu, one of Dawa’s classmates was in the middle of a family argument.
Since Song Zhaodi rarely went out when she had free time, she didn’t hear about what Dawa had done until much later. By the time she found out, it was already September 1970.
Zili and Gengsheng, once fair-skinned and clean, had now turned just as tanned as Dawa. Not to mention their grandfather, even if Zili’s biological father came back to life, he might not even recognise Zili and Gengsheng.
After spending the whole summer running around with Dawa, the two boys had become wilder and bolder. They were no longer as timid as when they had first arrived. They didn’t just silently endure when others provoked them, they fought back.
Song Zhaodi credited Dawa for helping them open up, so she didn’t hold him accountable for the nonsense he spouted in front of his classmates.
The day before Zili’s tenth birthday, he told Song Zhaodi that he wanted a cake for his birthday.
Song Zhaodi was surprised because this was the first time Zili had ever asked for something.
She felt the time was right, so that night, she discussed with Zhong Jianguo whether they should finally tell Zili and Gengsheng that their mother had remarried.
Zhong Jianguo thought it was too cruel. “Tomorrow is Zili’s birthday,” he told Song Zhaodi. “Let’s wait until after he’s celebrated.”
“But on his birthday, Zili will definitely think about his mother,” Song Zhaodi countered. “He might even worry about whether she’s doing well. Instead of letting him spiral into endless fantasies, we should put an end to them.”
Zhong Jianguo frowned. “Have you considered that if you tell him tomorrow, he might never want to celebrate his birthday again?”
“So you mean we should wait until the day after?” Song Zhaodi raised an eyebrow. “Zhong Jianguo, have I ever told you that I’m not some kindhearted saint?”
Zhong Jianguo sighed. “You’ve said it before, that if a saint entered your world, they’d be devoured until not even their bones remained.”
“Then you should be able to guess that I have my reasons for doing this,” Song Zhaodi replied.
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