“God bless Old Signior Liu! His grandson has become the County Lord!”

    “Liu Chunyu stands his frame upright now. Now he has become the county committee secretary!”

    “Rare fuss, rare fuss! The big official has emerged from Xianghe Village!”……

    In the Long Lane of Xianghe Village, men and women and children, young and old, ran around telling each other the news. Although Old Signior Liu Anran had passed away, his prestige among the villagers of Xianghe Village remained because he had been a private tutor for several years in his early years, and the villagers called him “Signior” to show their respect for him.

    True, a rare fuss. Except for the Great Scholar who came to recognize his ancestors in the early years, Xianghe Village had not produced any Great. The grandson of Liu Anran, and the son of Liu Chunyu——Liu Chengyin——should have actually become the county committee secretary, the No.1 of more than one million people in the whole county. A hanging matter of it. The villagers couldn’t even dream of it.

    Regardless of whether the villagers could dream it or not, when Liu Chengyin, his wife, and his son drove into Xianghe Village in a black Red-flag car and slowly traveled along Long Lane, almost all the villagers, from young to old, came out of their homes and hemmed it in on all sides, for a peep-show. Xianghe villagers knew that this was not a dream and they saw it all before them: After several years of studying and working outside of the county, Liu Chengyin came back to Chu County as CPC county secretary.

    When the Red-flag car stopped at the gate of the Liu family’s courtyard, firecrackers crackled and popped inside. Liu Chunyu and his wife Yang Xuehua were beaming as they distributed candies and cigarettes to the old folks and children around, and led their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson into the house. Even though Liu Chengyin preferred to drink tea, and even though it was not a holiday or festival, as a mother, Yang Xuehua deliberately prepared brown sugar tea for her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. When their own son became the “head of the county committee” and came back to share the good news, it was a great joy, and even holidays and festivals were nothing compared to this great news!

    The first thing Liu Chengyin did when he returned to his hometown was to sacrifice at his grandfather’s grave.

    “Grandpa, I’m back. I come to see you.” At the grave of Liu Anran in the Xianghe Village Cemetery, Liu Chengyin, accompanied by his parents, wife and son, paid his respects to his grandfather.

    On the autumnal fields, the leaves of the willow trees were turning rusty, drifting down to the wind, down to the ground, down to his grandfather’s grave. The willow branches rustling in the autumn wind moaned through Liu Chengyin with a dismal emotion. How he wished that his grandfather were here to see the achievements of his affectionate grandson!

    Not far away, on the cemetery of another family, there was a magpie nest on  a tall elm tree, where some gray-white feathered magpies with a pumping of wings  above or over their nest seemed to be flying yet not flying——“caw, caw caw, caw,” their skirls sent forth from time to time.

    “Mom, magpies, magpies on that tree!” Liu Yong, who rarely visited the countryside, was so excited to see the magpies on the elm tree that he yelled for Su Hua to see. Of course, he couldn’t empathize with his father’s sense of living nature at this time and place.

    “Liu Yong, kowtow to your great-grandfather!” Liu Chengyin simply bidded him.

    “Come, Little Yong, kowtow to your great-grandfather,” hearing her husband’s words, Su Hua quickly pulled her son to fall on knees.

    “Baibai, mama, your grandson speaks well now to be secretary of the county committee. The Liu house has been brightened!” Liu Chunyu and Yang Xuehua, burning paper money in front of the graves, also knelt before their parents’ graves. No matter how high his son had risen, Liu Chunyu, as a father, still spoke in the local dialect. When he said “baibai”,he didn’t mean his father’s brother or his uncle, but his father himself. At this moment, Liu Chunyu mentioned his mother, who had departed from life when he was young. His father had single-handedly raised him and his other two siblings. His mother’s grave should be for both with his father’s after he had exited.

    Liu Chengyin naturally had no memories of his grandmother, but differentiated it from his grandfather, who had lived with him in Xianghe and given him so many cherished guides.

    Looking at the newly engraved gravestone and the freshly repaired tomb in front of his grandfather’s grave, Liu Chengyin was somewhat comforted. It was only last year, when he strongly insisted, that his father and uncle agreed to let him repair the grave and all cost was on him alone.

    When Liu Chengyin first plugged the idea, his father was bewildered. As a father, he was naturally happy that his son had such filial piety, but he had to consult with his elder brother. As a straight old rule game, his older brother also had a son, Xiaolong, who was also the grandson of Liu Anran.

    Liu Chungen, the elder brother, was open-minded and allowed his nephew to repair the grave. He could lethis son, Xiaolong, repair the ancestral grave separately in a few years. Among the grandchildren, Liu Chengyin was the oldest and came up with this idea first, so it made sense for him to repair the grave first. Liu Chungen ran a shipping company and was often away from home, so he and his family rarely had the chance to return to Xianghe.

    “Xianghe Village, a true place for best minds.” Grandfather’s words echoed in  Liu Chengyin’s ears at this moment. Indeed, when Liu Anran was alive, whenever he  advised his grandson to study hard as an aspirant, he would always say this sentence.  Liu Anran would also tell him the story of “the Great Scholar recognizes his clans,” and although Liu Chengyin knew this story by heart, he still listened carefully every  time.

    Xianghe Village is no longer the same as it used to be.

    After returning from sacrificing at his grandfather’s grave, Su Hua, his wife, and the driver Xiaohuang helped his parents prepare dinner at home. Yang Xuehua and her husband not only killed a fowl but also “beat the meat”①. The word “beat” vividly describes the process of the slaughterhouse master cutting the meat, which is quite graphic. Nowadays, it is different from before——every village has a slaughterhouse, mainly selling pork to make it more convenient for the villagers,which makes pork no longer a rare item only for festivals and celebrations. Nevertheless, most villagers don’t spend money at the slaughterhouse in ordinary days because they don’t have much money on hand). Although busy, they were happy and determined to cook a delicious meal for their son, the county committee secretary. Liu Chengyin could only watch his parents skelter. Instead, Su Hua repeatedly told her mother-in-law not to buy these or those unnecessary, but to pick a few vegetables from their own fields which were better than those chicken, duck, fish, or meat. She also said that every time they brought vegetables from Xianghe Village into the town, Liu Yong would always jump at the dinner table with his father.

    “Not even a good official can settle family troubles. Today’s meal is entirely up to you, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Whatever to prepare, we eat. Spend money or not, and how much to spend, we have no objection. Come on, Liu Yong, accompany your father to inspect the village.” Liu Chengyin understood that his parents were pleased today, willing to blow some bucks. If he stemmed them excessively, it’d look sullen instead.

    By the time, Liu Chengyin, locked hand in hand with his son, walking along Long Lane with a learned spirit. The bare, smooth cobblestones weathered by time were gone, replaced by the cement roads much flatter and easier to walk on, but the feeling of steps on the cobblestones could no longer be found. The number of houses on both sides of Long Lane had increased. These two-story buildings looked square and straight,which satisfied the generations of farmers who had lived and planted there. But in Liu Chengyin’s eyes, this kind of house looked like a fortress built by the Japanese in movies, coming too short of the shady charms of the village houses under the green trees ever seen before.

    Those willowy poplar trees on both sides of Xianghe River had been lost, by the littered snags, reminding Liu Chengyin of the once shade sprawl of serene water here.

    Fortunately, the brigade office (the village committee now) maintained its original look, with the red brick and tiles of both front and back doors. There were still some minute holes on the front mud wall of the house, whose tag ends of memories bobbed up about the busy summer days when wild bees used to be roaming around here.

    The autumn sun shined warmly on the mud wall, giving a cozy feeling. “Daddy,daddy, look, bees.” Liu Yong shuffled off after his father with a tepid interest in it. From the solemn look about him, he didn’t know why his dad, who was rollicking when they left home,suddenly said little, and, changeling. But as they stared at the mud wall, laughing eyes came back to his father again. The occasional bees that flew by also took with little Liu Yong. It seemed that in front of this mud wall, this father and son found a common amusement.

    “Brother Xizi, this hole here looks sallowish, so bee feces must be inside. Believe me. Come and dig out.” Was that Xiaoying shouting?

    “Tee-tee…… Xizi, got you now. You used the reeds on the roof of the brigade office to dig for bee feces. That’s breaking the communal property. I’ll tell Teacher Wang!” Was that the gloating voice of Fish-feeler? Oh no, it must be him, that scoundrel Fish-feeler. If it were Zhang Lata, even if he had such boldness, he wouldn’t dare to make such a fuss……

    “Daddy, daddy, I found honey. Look, look.” Liu Yong held some grains of bee feces in his hands and raised them up to Liu Chengyin.

    “Well done, well done. Keep digging, son. Let me tell you, the honey made here is very sweet.” Liu Chengyin tatted at his son’s head and spirited him up, while he continued to think about his own thoughts.

    To be honest, this mud wall stirred nostalgic memories of Liu Chengyin’s childhood. No, not just this wall. In Xianghe, every place had such memories stored away in Liu Chengyin and his childhood friends. The memories were awakened today by this wall in front of him. Liu Chengyin remembered clearly, after school every day, they would either go to the tall field on the north side of the river to collect pigweeds, or go to the newly spooned-up muddy pool by the Xianghe River to collect snails and clams, or carry a fishing net to catch fish and shrimp like adults.

    Once, Liu Chengyin and Xiaoying went to the Tall Rampart on the northside of the river to dig up rabbit seedlings①  which are very tender and pigs love to eat, which was the ideal place for collecting pigweed. As a result, no matter how much pigweed was on that field, it offered scant the digging-out by the children every other day or so. Don’t be fooled by the sprats like simians, they were all skilled fishers, and pigweed collectors. In addition, there were “green worms” in the family plot on this Tall Rampart, which would satisfy their appetite.

    The “green worms” actually referred to the green peas hanging in the branches and leaves of the broad beans that, grown to a certain stage, would bloom into black-and-white or purple-and-red flowers. The petals and stamens formed vivid “butterflies”, like the lightness of dancing butterflies among the green leaves. After the flowers fell off, the tender beans grew on the broad bean stems. Before these tender peas tangled with the clinging vines became mature, they looked very similar to the common green worms in the country. That was why they were called “green worms.” For those rural simians①, to pick pigweed and green worms was common as a home-cooked meal, or in all probability. Children who are originally focused on picking pigweed couldn’t help but slaver over the sight of the hanging strings of green peas. They picked and shelled the peas before popping them into their mouths, savoring the fresh taste.

    However, there was a cooking method that, although a bit more troublesome, gave the green peas a unique soft incense hundreds of times better than in their green state. This method was to roast the green peas——found space, dug a little hollow over which was placed a slightly larger tile, and collected some dried twigs, hay, or other fuels. All being ready, put the green broad bean seeds on the tile and lit a fire to roast them. When the fire died, the beans were cooked, one could devour one grain after another in the utmost possible latitude. The best part was the hot, fragrant green peas, that exuded a tempting aroma when taking a bite. However, those simians had to pay dearly for this pleasure. Adults working on the nearby farmland could catch the culprit red-handed by the smell of it, and they had no choice but to admit their wrongdoing. Nonetheless, they still couldn’t resist catching “green worms” the next time they entered the broad beanfield. There was a nursery rhyme that described the children in the country after eating the roasted green peas, recorded as follows:

    Little scrubs,

    Long dark beards,

    Married new brides.

    A slip of a girl,

    Long dark beards,

    Couldn’t leave her house.

    It went without saying that Liu Chengyin and Xiaoying had also done such  things before. This time, when they came back to the Tall Rampart, it was Xiaoying’s  mother, Wang Xiaoqin (when she was a girl, most villagers did not call her Wang  Xiaoqin, but Qin Yatou), who reminded Xiaoying that the rabbit seedlings on the  Tall Rampart of the northern riverbank had grown wild and if they didn’t go to  dig them up soon, someone else would, and there would be no lout root. “No lout  root” was a metaphor used in a stretch of country, meaning that “won’t get one’s  share” or similarly “nothing left.” How could Xiaoying only keep such good news  to herself? She naturally had to tell Xizi. Xizi was the infant name of Liu Chengyin.  When this Xizi heard about it, he was, of course, willing to go with her. He knew  that there were quite a few households on the Tall Rampart that grew “green worms” in their fields. Just thinking about it was enough to make his mouth water. The two  of them agreed to first dig some rabbit seedlings and then leisurely catch some  “green worms.” Liu Chengyin was burying his head in the pigweed when Xiaoying  suddenly boggled.

    “Anon, anon?” Liu Chengyin stood up from not far away and saw a water snake about a foot long at Xiaoying’s feet. This allowed him to showoff his masculinity in front of Xiaoying. Xiaoying watched as he grabbed the snake’s tail, and soon the water snake was “swished” into the air.

    “Xizi, what to do? Careful, the snakebites,” Xiaoying said, stunned behind Liu Chengyin.

    “Bite me? Watch, in a moment, I will send it to go west,” Liu Chengyin elated, shaking the snake’s body. His wrist was given a rousing shake, and the water snake was tossed to the ground after a short while, dead motionless.

    “Xizi, magic. You hit it not, but shakes, it dies. True pusher!” Xiaoying said in admiration.

    “This is called dissipating the snake’s bones. My grandfather once taught me,” Liu Chengyin continued to dig up the rabbit seedlings at the height of glory while  Xiaoying looked on admiringly. The tempting “green worms” were still waiting for  them.

    Looking back now, the most enjoyable time was summer, when Xianghe River became a natural swimming pool for Liu Chengyin and his little companions. On Sundays, no need to go to school, the simians would pull a bathtub with a long rope and swim, have water fights, and catch clams and “white rice shrimps” in Xianghe River. It was said that eating raw white rice shrimp could help children learn to swim faster. So when the kids caught this type of shrimps, all treated like treasures. Some of them even left the shrimp’s antennae on and let the whole shrimp jump into their throats. Most girls swerved from it, but the boys were temerarious. Who didn’t want to learn to swim early? Who didn’t want to be the best swimmer? Despite this, a little girl sent the white rice shrimps by no easy means she had caught twice and again into Xizi’s mouth.

    Under normal circumstances, Liu Chengyin in team swam, and outlived its playfulness in Xianghe River. However, it stumbled. Once, Tan Saihu the dapper, known as the “Fish-feeler”, should have really shafted.

    While catching the clams, he somehow got his little toe fastened in teeth, smarted badly and screamed like a pig to be stuck. Liu Chengyin, taking up with his clams not far away and preparing to defy Fish-feeler, heard his screams and the cries of Xiaoyingzi and other children, immediately threw down his bathtub, swam directly to the flashpoint, dived deep into the water, split open that clam upper on Fish-feeler’s toe, and lifted it out of the water. The crowd on the surface declared a ringing hail.

    Fish-feeler was not usually a worse swimmer than Xizi, now had his bitten foot  exposed above the water. He let Xizi take a look and asked, “My little toe breaks  off?” Liu Chengyin replied, “So full of hot air, a half-grown clam bite off your toe?” He then threw the clam into Fish-feeler’s bathtub, as they were wrestling to see who  could catch more clams. If he didn’t throw that clam into it, Fish-feeler would say he  was that kind of fudging off.

    “Swash…,” Liu Chengyin’s back was turned, swam with all his strength towards his floating bathtub about one good spit from, in which he had stored most of his hard-earned clams……

    Liu Chengyin wondered how Xiaoying’s home had changed in the past few years. It couldn’t be the same old house with mud walls, could it? Looking at how the houses of the villagers on both sides of Long Lane had all changed, Liu Chengyin really wanted to go and see her house. But would Auntie Xiaoqin welcome him? Would she give face to a county committee secretary and let him in for a drink of water? If it weren’t for her strenuous opposition back then, today……Liu Chengyin looked up into the blue sky, exhaled a long breath, and turned to look at Liu Yong, who was self-absorbed in scooping honey. Today……today he would call someone else “mom” instead of Su Hua!

    What was going on today? As elders often said, “the water has long flowed over the eight-mu field.” What was in it for all the past? Liu Yong, Liu Chengyin and Su Hua’s son. If he didn’t call Su Hua “mom”, then whom would he call? If…, impulse to refer Lu Xiaoying? Then there would exist another Liu Yong, and this Liu Yong wouldn’t be that Liu Yong! Besides, that “if” no longer be there. After all, where in this world were there so many “ifs”?

    It was then that Liu Chengyin realized that some of his semblables, ever to the village primary school and then to Yanwu Middle School with him together, had severed their last remaining ties to him several years. Over these years, they had all changed quite a lot. Liu Chengyin knew more or less about some of their situations. Naturally, he was most concerned about Xiaoying, who was now the deputy party secretary in Yuduo Town——his subordinate. This was something that Liu Chengyin never expected. After he started working in Chu County, he had always wanted to see her, but he also got a little scary. He had saved so much talking to her, but he didn’t knowhow to express them. No dilemma ever arose before the million people he led in the county, but all obstacles before this one person. This had almost become a thorn of despair in his heart.

    Liu Chengyin heard Fish-feeler——Tan Saihu had taken up the profitable doings of real estate in Chu County. He was providentially good at catching fish and shrimp since childhood. He inherited his grandfather’s skills and was even more a quiz kid than Liu Chengyin. Now that he had become a boss, Liu Chengyin didn’t find it preposterous at all. To him, it’s as easy as snot running into the mouth. Liu Chengyin really wanted to meet this childhood playmate, as he had many assumptions about the reconditioning of Chu County’s urban area, and perhaps Tan Saihu could really help.

    Liu Chengyin ruminated on this so far and found that there was only one person he could meet now. That was Wang Yuexiang, who dropped out of high school for storekeeping in the village. At that time, a girl took over a consignment store from her father. In just a few years, “Xiangxiang Shop” was noted by the propinquity villages, peerless from any other small shops in Xianghe Village, even the girls and boys from nearby villages would come over to buy some gadgets quite up to par at “Xiangxiang Shop.” Yes, to see the owner of “Xiangxiang Shop”, Wang Yuexiang. He couldn’t let her say that he had forgotten his little pal after becoming the county committee secretary. She and Lu Xiaoying were both girl-students. Perhaps they kept in touch more often than others in normal times, and maybe Liu Chengyin could be serendipitous from Wang Yuexiang.

    “Little Yong, home for dinner!” Liu Chengyin was still lost in scattered thoughts when a crisp, sweet voice rang in his ear. It was his wife, Su Hua, who had been scavenging for them along Long Lane, apparently calling them for dinner.

    “Mama, mama, I collected so much honey! Taste it, really sweet. Daddy, try too.” Little Liu Yong held out his small hands, offering the parents his treasure of labor.

    “Really not bad. Very sweet. Go back, grandma put it in a small bottle.” Su Hua took a symbolic taste of the honey her son had collected and prompted him greatly.

    Liu Chengyin, on the other hand, left a moment for inattention but distracted by his wife’s rash, felt a bit shy. He quickly brushed off his son’s offer, “Mom has already tasted it. Let’s go, grandpa and grandma regale us with the best of everything.”

    The three of them walked hand in hand back home. Su Hua noticed that her husband’s heart was still not with her and their son.