Chapter 79: Chapter 70: Opening the Bundle
The sky seemed to sense Xiao Man’s mood. The stars vanished, and the night became pitch-black. Grandpa lit a lantern and hung it on the front of the cart. As the oxcart ambled along, a sudden downpour began. Thankfully, Grandpa was prepared. He took out two sheets of plastic film, draping one over Xiao Man and the other over his own back, ensuring the two of them wouldn’t get soaked.
She had no idea how the people down by the mountain ridge were faring. ’They’re government officials, after all. They probably have better gear—big umbrellas, standard-issue raincoats... they should have all that.’
The rain fell harder and harder. Unable to sleep, Xiao Man sat up. In the downpour, the water buffalo actually picked up its pace. They returned to Gongdao Village much sooner than Xiao Man had expected.
Grandpa took Xiao Man home first. Grandma hadn’t slept at all. After Grandpa called out just twice, he heard her reply loudly, "Coming, coming!"
After they unloaded the cart, Grandpa went out again. Their family didn’t have an ox pen, so he had to return the ox and cart to Secretary Mo’s courtyard. They had an arrangement—Secretary Mo would leave the gate open for him.
Grandma had hot water waiting on the stove and urged Xiao Man to hurry and take a bath so she could heat another pot for Grandpa.
Xiao Man said, "Grandma, didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t use the fire when we’re not home?"
Grandma laughed. "Your Second Granny Qiu helped me start it. Besides, this is a fuel-efficient stove. I tossed in two pieces of firewood, closed the little iron door, and that was it. It’s perfectly safe, nothing happened!"
"It’s still better to be careful!"
"I know, I know," Grandma said. "Now, hurry and wash up! Your hair didn’t get wet, did it? You can’t wash your hair this late. Just towel it dry for now. Take a bath so you can get to sleep. You can wash your hair tomorrow morning."
"Okay. We had those plastic sheets, so we stayed dry."
"That’s good."
By the time Grandpa returned, Xiao Man had already finished her bath and been shooed off to her room by Grandma to sleep.
Grandma said that staying up late was bad for children and that it would stunt their growth. Whatever they had to talk about could wait until morning.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day, Xiao Man slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up on her own. Grandpa and Grandma didn’t disturb her, letting her sleep in.
She meticulously brushed her teeth with her new toothbrush. The clean, fresh feeling was absolutely wonderful.
Grandpa and Grandma had already eaten breakfast and were in the courtyard, each busy with their own tasks. A bamboo food cover on the kitchen table protected the meal they had saved for Xiao Man. Lifting it, she saw there was even a steamed bun. Xiao Man couldn’t help but find it amusing. ’Grandpa, really... he said he’d save the bun for me, and he actually did.’
After breakfast, Xiao Man shook the thermos. Sure enough, Grandpa had already boiled water and filled it. She poured out half and topped it off with spiritual spring water. Since the weather was hot, the water in the thermos wouldn’t cool down too quickly, and she would finish it all within the day anyway.
She filled two bowls with water and brought them out to the courtyard for Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa didn’t want to drink just yet; his hands were busy weaving a carrying basket. "I’m making this one smaller, for my Xiao Man. The rice pestles, mountain chestnuts, and mountain walnuts in the woods have ripened and fallen. Have you finished all those rice pestles we gathered last time? Grandpa will take you to get more. We can dry them and keep them, so you’ll have snacks to munch on!"
"Grandpa, drink your water first."
"Ah, you child. You’re always making us drink water. We just had porridge; I’m not thirsty."
Grandma swallowed a mouthful of water and chided him, "If Xiao Man brings you water, you drink it. So many words. Look at the Mo family, all of them, young and old. In all these years, has a single one of them ever brought you water to drink? Never mind when you’re well—even if you were in trouble, it’s not certain they’d bring you any!"
Grandpa laughed, took the bowl, and drained it in one gulp. "Grandma’s right. Water from our Xiao Man is just sweeter!"
"Of course it is," Xiao Man said. "And in a bit, I’m going to bring water for washing faces! It’ll make you all pretty and fair-skinned. Do you want some, Grandpa?"
Grandpa waved his hands in a hurry. "Let your Grandma be the beautiful one! I don’t need it!"
Grandma’s laughter was crisp and clear.
After washing Grandma’s eyes with the spiritual spring water, Xiao Man went to the main hall and brought out the large bundle from Sister-in-law Sun. She placed it on the stone table under the pear tree and called for Grandpa and Grandma to come and see.
Grandpa continued with his work, unfazed. "You two go ahead and look," he said. "Just tell me what it is. We must remember Mr. Sun’s kindness."
Xiao Man untied the bundle and took the items out one by one, talking to Grandma as she went. Grandma felt each item with her hands, the two of them murmuring to each other. Finally, Grandma couldn’t take it anymore and yelled toward Grandpa, "Old man, come over here!"
Grandpa put down his work and walked over. He too was stunned when he saw the items spread all over the stone table.
No wonder the bundle had felt so heavy on his back in town; it was packed with so many things. There were six pieces of clothing alone: two new sweaters, a small red vest, and a lime-green, long-sleeved shirt with a round collar. The stitching was dense and the pattern exquisite; just by touching it, Grandma could tell it was made of cashmere. There was also a set of thermal underwear, a red corduroy babydoll top with a white flower pattern, and a pair of dark green corduroy pants.
They were all clothes suited for a teenage girl. Sister-in-law Sun had even mentioned they were autumn outfits originally intended for her grandniece and were worth a lot of money.
Tucked among the clothes were two gift boxes of cookies, though the boxes had been crushed flat. There were also two one-pound sealed bags of candy. Through the clear plastic, the candy wrappers looked very fancy, nothing like what was sold at the village’s general store. Xiao Man read the description on the bag and realized they were filled candies, which were probably a rare treat in the countryside.
In addition to all that, there was a smaller bundle inside the large one. This smaller bundle held six medical books and two leather cases. When she opened them, she found one case was filled with silver needles, and the other was filled with Golden Needles!
There was a rectangular box. Inside was a rubber doll over a foot tall, which was covered in dense, pin-sized characters. Xiao Man knew its purpose the moment she saw it!
There were two strings of wooden beads, which Xiao Man recognized from the black wood box. They were said to have been blessed by an eminent monk. ’These are rare and have great sentimental value... Mr. Sun said he was going to pass them down to his children and grandchildren. How could I get a share? And he gave me two strings!’
When Grandpa and Grandma heard Xiao Man recount her conversation with Mr. Sun in his courtyard—that Mr. Sun knew she wanted to study medicine and was very supportive, promising to give her these books, telling her to visit Wancheng periodically so he could teach her, and encouraging her to eventually apply to medical school—the two elders were so shocked they didn’t know how to react.
When Grandpa recovered, he said, "Xiao Man, Mr. Sun has been sick for a long time. He can’t even take a patient’s pulse anymore, so how is he going to teach you? Studying medicine is incredibly difficult, especially traditional Chinese medicine. Just memorizing thousands of herbs and their properties is a massive undertaking, let alone learning about pathologies, the four diagnostic methods of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, or how to write prescriptions and combine herbs... Many people fail to become full-fledged practitioners even with a master guiding them every day. And you think you can succeed with just a few books? That’s pure fantasy!"
Grandma, however, said, "Child, studying medicine is difficult, but as long as your heart is in it, you shouldn’t be afraid. Your Grandpa never had a good master, so he could only gather herbs his whole life without learning how to treat people. If Mr. Sun is willing to teach you, becoming his student is a wonderful thing. You should do it! Later, when you’re older and go to medical school, you’ll already know so much more than everyone else. Your classes won’t be a struggle at all!"
Grandpa sighed. "Oh, wife..."
Grandma retorted, "Xiao Man wants to learn, so why shouldn’t we let her?"
