Volume One, Chapter 10: The Spoon Girl

“Dad! Mom! The announcement on the radio just now—it really was big brother!” Zhang Xuewen burst into the yard, shouting with excitement.

He’d recognized Zhang Shengli’s voice on the broadcast earlier and had run out to brag about it, but no one believed him. Now that it was confirmed, Zhang Xuewen wanted nothing more than to shout it to the whole world.

“What? They really put you in charge of the radio?” asked Zhang Yongtai, who was smoking in the yard.

Wang Taoxiang and Dongmei, washing pots in the kitchen, quickly came out as well. “What happened? Are they still letting you cook?” they asked.

“Yesterday, Huang Shigui’s brother-in-law gave everyone at the township government food poisoning. The township wants me to keep cooking but were afraid I’d lose time going back and forth, so they assigned me the radio room as a dormitory. While I’m there, I’m also in charge of the radio…”

Zhang Shengli gave a brief account of the events but didn’t mention Zhou Yun’s suggestion that he enroll in correspondence courses at the technical school. That was far from settled; he didn’t want his family worrying over it.

“Oh, it’s you, boy—you’ve really got talent! Much better than your old man!” Zhang Yongtai said delightedly, rubbing his head.

But Zhang Shengli frowned and said, “If I’m living at the township, I can’t come home every day to help out. The three acres of wheat in the alfalfa field are almost all yellow now. I’ll have to wait until the weekend to come back and harvest them.”

“Don’t worry about the work at home. We can manage!” Zhang Yongtai waved a hand dismissively. “The township giving you a dorm room is a sign of respect—they’re treating you like a formal staff member. You settle in and cook for them. After a while, no one will have the heart to send you away. It’ll become a permanent job!”

“Your father’s right. Even if you didn’t get a government post, you’re still eating from the government’s rice bowl. That’s not easy—you must do well and not give them a reason to send you back…” Wang Taoxiang said. “I’ll go pack your bedding right now!”

“No need, I can do it myself,” replied Zhang Shengli. Back in middle school, he’d carried his own bedding and lived at Qinghu Township Middle School. Packing up was routine for him.

He rolled up his bedding and some clothes, wrapped them in felt, tied them with a camel-hair rope in a crisscross, and packed his thermos, washbasin, and toothbrush mug into a nylon net bag. Suddenly, he frowned and asked, “Where’s my book?”

“You mean ‘Ordinary World’? Fourth Sister’s been reading it—she’s totally absorbed!” Zhang Xuewen, always quick to speak, chimed in.

“What kind of book is that? Lan’s obsessed—she reads it day and night, at meals, before bed…” Wang Taoxiang sighed. “Just now, while she was helping me with the fire, she kept reading, and I had to remind her to add firewood. I’d already dropped the noodles in the pot! She’s probably still in the kitchen, hiding and reading.”

“Oh…” Only then did Zhang Shengli realize that while everyone was helping him pack, Fourth Sister Zhang Chunlan was nowhere to be seen.

He went into the kitchen and sure enough, Chunlan was sitting there, utterly engrossed in ‘Ordinary World,’ oblivious to his entrance.

Wang Taoxiang snatched the book from Chunlan. “Enough! You’ll turn into a fool if you keep reading!”

“Huh?!” Chunlan startled, finally emerging from the world of the book, and gazed blankly at her mother and brother. “Why won’t you let me read?”

“Your brother’s moving to the township; he needs to take the book with him!” Wang Taoxiang said.

“What? I haven’t finished it yet!” Chunlan grew anxious, grabbing Zhang Shengli’s hand. “Big Brother, let me read it for two more days—I’m almost done!”

“No more reading!” Wang Taoxiang snapped. “You’re already obsessed and you haven’t even finished—if you do finish, you’ll go mad!”

“Mom, let her read. It’s an inspiring book—she’ll learn a lot from it!” Zhang Shengli took the book and handed it back to Chunlan. “Don’t worry, take your time. When you’re done, I’ll come collect it.”

“Wonderful! I knew you were the best, Big Brother!” Overjoyed, Chunlan took the book and sat by the stove, reading with relish.

“This silly girl… She won’t really lose her mind, will she?” Wang Taoxiang was still uneasy.

“Don’t worry, reading just broadens the mind—it can’t hurt.” Zhang Shengli left the kitchen, shouldered his bedding, washbasin, and thermos, mounted the tailless donkey, and, under the cover of night, jingled and clattered his way to the township office.

He unlocked the radio room, made his bed, arranged his thermos, basin, and toothbrush mug, and finally lay down, satisfied. The rickety little wooden bed squeaked and groaned, newspapers fluttered in tatters from the ceiling, and plaster peeled from the walls, but Zhang Shengli slept soundly.

The next morning, Zhang Shengli rose early, cleaned the radio room and swept the yard, and then went to the kitchen to boil water.

People in Qinghu Township were used to having tea and steamed buns for breakfast, so Zhang Shengli only needed to provide hot water—no breakfast to cook.

At noon he made rice and two large dishes, one meat and one vegetable. Everyone’s stomachs had recovered from yesterday’s ordeal; today, he was sure appetites would return, so he made enough for a proper meal.

As usual, Zhang Shengli brought two meals to Zhou Yun’s office and found Zhou Ling already there.

“How’s your new home? Need any help?” Zhou Ling smiled at him.

“No, no, it’s all settled!” Zhang Shengli hurriedly declined.

“Is that so? I’ll have to come by and take a look later!” Zhou Ling said with lively interest.

Zhang Shengli smiled awkwardly, then returned to the kitchen to serve the others.

After lunch, when Zhang Shengli had tidied up the kitchen and returned to the radio room, he found Zhou Ling waiting at the door.

“It’s a mess inside, really not cleaned up yet…” he said, embarrassed, fumbling for his keys.

Zhou Ling stepped in, took a look around, and smiled, “You’ve got it all neat and tidy. But the plaster’s falling, and that ceiling needs patching. And… your bed and stove—what antiques are those? Are they still usable? Let me come help you fix up tonight!”

“No need, it’s fine as it is…” Zhang Shengli quickly declined again, “I’m just a temp here; being allowed to stay at the township is already a privilege.”

“We’re friends, aren’t we? Why so formal? Well, I’m off for a nap. I’ll come by tonight!” Zhou Ling gave him a bright smile and left.

Zhang Shengli stood there, lost in thought, unable to come back to himself for a long while.

That afternoon, after dinner, as Zhang Shengli was cleaning up in the kitchen, Zhou Ling walked in with a large stack of newspapers and a big bag. “Mix up some paste and let’s patch your ceiling,” she said.

“Uh… okay.” Zhang Shengli added water and flour to the pot to make paste, scooped it into a bowl, and went with Zhou Ling to the radio room to start patching the ceiling.

“You stand on the stool and paste up top; I’ll hand you the newspapers and brush the paste,” Zhou Ling directed, taking charge as always.

“I’ll make you a hat first, or the dust will get all over your hair…” Zhang Shengli deftly folded a hat from newspaper and gave it to her.

Zhou Ling put on the hat, took a mirror from her bag, and turned this way and that, laughing, “Wow! With this hat, I look just like Ji Gong from TV! Can you fold a fan? Make me a fan!”

“I can.” Zhang Shengli folded a fan from newspaper.

“Ji Gong’s fan was tattered—let’s rip a few holes in it…” Zhou Ling tore a few holes in the fan and, twisting her body, fanned herself, imitating Ji Gong’s swagger and singing, “Shoes are worn, hat is torn, my robe is ragged and old, you laugh at me, he laughs at me, with just a broken fan… Ha ha ha!”

Zhang Shengli, meanwhile, stood silently, head bowed.

Zhou Ling frowned, “Why aren’t you laughing? Don’t I look like Ji Gong?”

“We don’t have a TV at home. I’ve never seen Ji Gong…” Zhang Shengli looked up with a smile, “Let’s get back to patching that ceiling.”