"And once you've done that, you can leave. But I was born and bred here, so even if I become a state teacher I'll never leave." Deng Youmi suddenly changed the subject. "Station-Head Wan must have let you in on it: when will the next intake of state teachers be announced?"
"He hasn't said a word. He's a good Communist and an honourable man."
"Ah, but you're only his sister's son, so you're not as close as proper family," Cheng Ju commented.
Deng Youmi stared at her. "What the hell do you know? Go and get the food." Then, to Yingcai, "With my age, length of service and performance, I meet the criteria for state teacher status several times over. I just need your uncle to bestow his favour on me."
Cheng Ju placed a bowl of vermicelli noodles, with two pieces of cured pork balanced on top, in front of Yingcai.
"Didn't I tell you to get some booze?" Deng Youmi asked.
"It was too late, I couldn't get any. But it's not as if he's here for one night only, he's staying a while. So if you don't mind, Teacher Zhang, I'll make sure there's a table full of rice wine next time you come."
"Don't worry about it," her husband said. "You can see from the look on his face he's not going to give you trouble about it."
Yingcai knew this was all for show: there was no alcohol. His parents often put on the same act when they had guests at home. He was starving, as he hadn't had much to eat at Principal Yu's earlier, so he picked up his bowl and polished it off instead of politely leaving a little.
After he'd eaten, Deng Youmi saw him back, flashlight in hand, and told him a bit more about Sun Sihai. Sun Sihai pretended that the children had to work to pay their school tuition fees, and made them pick medicinal plants, particularly ones like honeysuckle, on their way to and from school every day. He then handed them over to a woman called Wang Xiaolan and when there was enough, she took the plants to market. Sun Sihai wasn't married, because he and Wang Xiaolan had been lovers ever since he came to Jieling. Not long after she got married, her husband became paralysed. Li Zhiwu was now bed-bound and unable to do a thing for himself. The family relied on Sun Sihai's support. Deng Youmi also told him that if he heard a flute playing at night, it meant that Wang Xiaolan had just left Sun Sihai's room.
Yingcai would have felt nothing but contempt for Sun Sihai if it hadn't been for that last statement. It gave the man a sort of poetic romance, like the youths in his favourite novel. He mulled this over for a long time before finally saying, "Deputy Deng, my uncle doesn't like people who tell tales, he feels that it reflects badly on the gossiper."
After hearing this, Deng Youmi didn't mention Sun Sihai again. Instead he talked about his own shortcomings. They had reached the school's playground, so Yingcai suggested that he head back home.
Back in his room, Yingcai lit his lamp and tried to read his book, but found he couldn't focus on the words after a few lines. He put it down and picked up the zither to play "Our Lives Are Filled With Sunshine" . He found it hard to remember the notes and it took five attempts before he was happy with his efforts. He noticed what was written on the zither's case: A parting gift for my colleague, Ming Aifen.
Principal Yu knocked on the door.
Yingcai opened up and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Principal Yu started to speak, then hesitated. "It can get cold up here. Make sure you wrap up warm."
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Who is the Ming Aifen whose name is on this case?"
There was a long silence. Eventually, Principal Yu replied, "My wife."
"Will she be angry that I played her instrument without asking permission?"
