Along the way, between Grandma's coercion and Xiao Man's playful pestering, Grandpa was finally forced to make three promises. First, he would no longer climb high cliffs or venture deep into the mountain gullies. Second, he had to come home every single day, no matter what. In the past, while guarding the reservoir and gathering herbs, he often stayed out all night, sometimes disappearing into the deep mountains for three to five days at a time. Third, after this year, he would quit his job as the reservoir guard.
Grandpa agreed readily, but he was genuinely sad to lose the job. His good friend, Secretary Mo, had secured it for him. The work was easy, earning him a steady seven work points a day, and it left him plenty of time to head into the mountains for herbs. It was the perfect job!
He tried to put up a fight, but the two women of the house—one old, one young—were unyielding. It was two against one. His protest was overruled.
The reason Mo Xiaoman didn't want Grandpa to continue guarding the reservoir was that she knew a new national policy was on the horizon. 'The year after next at the latest, the work point system will be abolished in rural areas across the country. The land will be contracted out directly to individual households. Farmers will be in charge of their own fields—they'll be able to plant whatever they want! Since Grandpa knows so much about herbs, he can just grow them at home instead of going into the mountains!'
As for Grandma, her reasons were simpler: she just didn't want Grandpa guarding the reservoir. He was getting old, living all by himself out in the wilderness. She couldn't rest easy, and her heart was always in a flutter with worry. If he didn't guard the reservoir, he could work with the production team. Even if he earned a little less, at least the family could be together every day.
Listening to Grandma ramble on, Grandpa's face filled with guilt again. He fell completely silent, his mind racing. 'I worked so hard to save that money. I was planning to take Great-Grandma to the city to get her eyes treated once the weather cooled down, but now it's all gone. We can't get her eyes fixed after all. My old woman has suffered enough because of Mo Laoer's family. Now that we have Xiao Man, she doesn't want me living at the reservoir. She just wants a normal family life. All these years, I've worked myself to the bone to earn money, all so those two brothers from the Mo family could get married and start their own lives, but it's been so hard on her. When I was finally able to save a little money to get her eyes treated, one thing after another kept getting in the way... She's right. How much longer do we have? What's the point of having enough money if the person you saved it for is gone? We should just stay together. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters! As for the money, I can save it up again slowly. We have a house now, and Xiao Man's schooling won't cost much. Saving up for three to five years should be enough!'
Grandpa drove the ox-cart loaded with their new belongings straight to the Knowledge Youth House. The house was enclosed by a large courtyard with a man-high, rammed-earth wall. The wall had been coated with plaster and then a layer of whitewash. Since it was right next to the main road, a slogan had been painted on it in red. But after years of being weathered by the wind and rain, the paint had faded. That, combined with smudges and doodles from local children, made the words impossible to read.
The double-plank wooden gate was thick and solid, secured with a padlock. Grandpa took out a key, unlocked it, and pushed the gate open. He smiled and boomed, "Grandma, Xiao Man, this is our home! We're home!"
Beaming, Grandma reached out her hand to Grandpa. With Xiao Man supporting her on the other side, the family of three entered the courtyard, their faces wreathed in smiles.
Just as she remembered from her past life, the courtyard was incredibly spacious. It had a main building with three rooms and a left wing with four, making seven tile-roofed rooms in total. An area as wide as the house itself had been paved with concrete; this was the grain-sunning patio that Fifth Auntie and Grandpa had mentioned. Because it was so large, the production team used it as one of their grain-drying spots every summer and autumn. A large pear tree stood on the right side of the courtyard. Its fruit had already been picked, leaving only a canopy of lush green leaves to dance in the wind.
Seven or eight steps from the pear tree was a well ringed with bluestone slabs. A row of holly trees grew along the wall by the entrance. Their dense, green foliage had been left to grow wild, reaching high above the wall and forming a natural barrier against the dust from the road. Along the wall opposite the main house was a row of climbing roses, not growing against the wall itself but carefully trained onto a trellis. Then she saw the two osmanthus trees on an empty patch of ground to the left, and five or six vegetable plots, all neatly organized with soil so finely tilled there wasn't a single clod in sight. Xiao Man was amazed. 'It looks like one or two of the knowledge youth who used to live here knew a thing or two about gardening and had a real zest for life. Even though they were sent down to the countryside to suffer, they didn't just wallow in self-pity. It seems like they actually had a good time and made the best of it!'
Beyond the vegetable plots lay a large sweet potato patch, its vines growing in a tangled, vigorous mass. The edge of the patch was lined with plants whose large, round leaves were packed together like those of lotuses in a pond. They were taro plants.
Who knows where the knowledge youth had procured them, but they had laid long stone slabs to form a path leading to the far end of the sweet potato patch. There stood three small, tile-roofed outbuildings: two were toilets, and one was a washroom.
Xiao Man looked all around, describing everything to Grandma, who was also very pleased with their new yard.
Next, Xiao Man and Grandpa opened up all seven rooms to inspect and clean them. Aside from some peeling plaster on the walls of two rooms in the side wing, everything was in good shape. They wouldn't be able to use all the space anyway. The family decided to use those two rooms as a storeroom for odds and ends. Since every room already had a bed frame, they could also serve as guest rooms. As for the other two rooms in the wing, one would become a temporary kitchen, while Grandpa claimed the other for storing his herbs, saying it would need to be kept locked.
The family of three would live in the main building. The central room would serve as their living room, with Grandpa and Grandma taking one of the adjoining rooms and Xiao Man taking the other.
Since the house had been a dormitory for the knowledge youth, it came with bed frames. However, they were all single beds. Grandpa selected a few of the sturdier wooden frames. After a while of banging and sawing with the hammer, saw, and nails he had just bought, he skillfully converted them into two double beds—one for him and Grandma, and one for Xiao Man. Grandma said that most children were restless sleepers, so a wider bed was better. That way, Xiao Man could toss and turn as much as she liked without worrying about falling out.
Upon hearing that, Grandpa immediately decided to add guardrails to both sides of Xiao Man's bed. Xiao Man frantically refused. She was eleven years old; how could she possibly fall out of bed? 'If people saw me sleeping in a bed with guardrails, I'd be a laughingstock!'
The two of them bickered back and forth—one insisting on installing the rails, the other refusing—their noisy argument punctuated by Grandma's cheerful chuckles. The once quiet, empty courtyard was now filled with their boisterous, lively energy.
In the end, Grandma put in a good word for her, and Xiao Man was finally spared the trouble of sleeping in a "giant crib."
They worked busily all afternoon, and before they knew it, it was five o'clock. A gentle breeze drifted by, but the concrete patio had been baking in the sun all day and was now radiating waves of heat, making the courtyard feel stuffy. Xiao Man ran to the well, drew a dozen or so buckets of water, and splashed them across the concrete, instantly chasing away much of the sweltering heat.
Grandpa came over to inspect the small, grey-brick well. He said that in a couple of days, he would ask a few of the young lads from the village to help clean it out. They would drain it completely and then lay down a fresh layer of clean sand and gravel. Xiao Man had been planning to add some of her Spiritual Spring water to the well, but after hearing Grandpa's plan, she decided to hold off for now.
Grandpa took the ox-cart to Secretary Mo's house to bring back the rest of their things and then returned the cart. Grandma took out the two pounds of fruit candies she had bought at the commune cooperative and the two pounds of roasted peanuts and sunflower seeds from the market. She told Grandpa to take them over to Secretary Mo's children as a gift.
As for the various snacks they had bought for Xiao Man—the bean cakes, fried dough balls, and smiling dates—she had already nibbled her way through most of them on the ride home. Grandpa hung the basket with the few remaining treats on the wall, telling Xiao Man to help herself whenever she felt hungry.