Chapter 25: Immature, Speak Properly, No Shouting!…

**Chapter 25: Childishness**

Talk nicely—no shouting!

The co-op store didn’t carry milk powder, only rice cereal, and it was sold exclusively to families with young children. If Su Xiaoxiao wanted milk powder or milk sweets, she had to go all the way to Yongcheng. So this time, she simply bought a pack of soy milk mix.

Tuan Tuan heard the word “milk” and assumed cow’s milk and soy milk must be similar. As soon as they got back to the post office, he asked his mom to make him a cup to try.

Su Xiaoxiao used her enamel mug to mix half a cup. Tuan Tuan held the warm mug carefully with both hands, gloves on, and took it to the backyard to show off to the veteran on shift. When the man said he’d like to taste some, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but perk up listening. She heard Tuan Tuan tell him to grab a cup so he could share half with him.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and chuckled.

A colleague at the counter wiped the surface with a cloth. Hearing Tuan Tuan’s sweet little voice, she said, “Tuan Tuan is such a polite kid. And so outgoing too. Sister Su, are all kids from the north this cheerful?”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. “Back home there were bikes and buses everywhere. I was afraid he’d get hit by a car, so I never let him out. Kept him shut in the house so long he became a fraidy-cat—he even needed me to hold him when we rode the bus. But here on the island, not many people ride bikes, and I don’t have to worry about someone kidnapping him, so I let him go play with others. Now he doesn’t even need me to take him—he goes out on his own after meals and comes back when it’s almost time to eat.”

“You’re really not worried, even though he’s so small?”

Su Xiaoxiao: “Everyone in the neighborhood knows him. If he ran toward the beach alone, someone would stop him. It’s fine.”

Tuan Tuan came back in. “Mom, the soy milk is so hot!”

“Of course it’s hot—it was made with boiling water.” Su Xiaoxiao asked, “Didn’t I tell you to wait a bit before drinking it?”

Tuan Tuan handed it back and pouted, “I’m not drinking it anymore!”

Su Xiaoxiao took the mug and opened the lid. “Go play. Come back in ten minutes.”

“Aren’t I working?” The child widened his eyes. “Play, play, play—all you care about is playing!”

Su Xiaoxiao sucked in a breath, ready to scold him. “Su Tuantuan, is that any way to talk to me?”

The little troublemaker turned and ran off.

Su Xiaoxiao called after him, worried, “Slow down, don’t trip!”

The clerk, wondering if she was imagining things, remarked, “Tuan Tuan sounds a bit like Sister Shuang.”

Su Xiaoxiao said with a sigh. “He does. With that loud voice of hers, I can hear her yelling even through closed doors and windows. Her three kids must be used to it—they never argue back, but they just keep doing their own thing anyway!”

The clerk laughed. “Doesn’t Sister Shuang realize that shouting only makes her angrier?”

Su Xiaoxiao: “She’s got built-up frustration, and letting off steam helps her feel better. But if the kids talk back, it just adds fuel to the fire.”

The clerk coughed. Su Xiaoxiao was about to ask if she was feeling unwell when she heard the clatter of a bike outside. Looking out, she saw Wu Shuang parking her old bicycle by the entrance.

Wu Shuang walked in, scarf removed, and announced, “I’m late.”

The clerk followed up, “Overslept?”

“Nope. I was already washed up by the time Little Su’s family opened their door.” Wu Shuang stamped her freezing, numb feet and took off her gloves. “It’s freezing here in winter.” She closed one of the doors, saw that the counter area was already clean and no parcels needed sorting, so she sat down across from Su Xiaoxiao.

Su Xiaoxiao suspected she’d gotten sidetracked by the commotion. “Sister Shuang, when I left, I saw a lot of people heading south. What happened?”

“You saw it too?” Wu Shuang leaned forward like she’d found an ally, looking like a spy exchanging intel.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. “Tuan Tuan wanted soy milk mix, so I rushed to the co-op store and didn’t look around.”

The clerk, curious and idle, leaned in. “What’s going on? You act like you’ve never seen anything like it.” Wu Shuang: “Actually, it’s no big deal. Dr. Zheng from the clinic just had a fight with her husband.”

The clerk was a local from the island and knew everyone at the clinic: "Weren't they supposed to have a good relationship? Her husband is a teacher—so mild-tempered he wouldn’t say boo to a goose. What were they fighting about?"

Wu Shuang said regretfully, "Not sure. When I asked why, both stayed tight-lipped like clams. I suspect it has something to do with Teacher Gao’s family history. His family used to own several fishing boats, which elsewhere would’ve labeled them rich peasants. I heard it was Dr. Zheng who pursued him back then. They got married just two or three years before the Cultural Revolution. Teacher Gao wasn’t persecuted, but Dr. Zheng always felt second-rate. Once when she came to get medicine for my youngest, I heard her complain about her hard luck. She probably grumbled at home too, and Teacher Gao got fed up. Today she brought it up again, and they ended up fighting."

Su Xiaoxiao laughed, "That’s one way to see it. If she feels wronged, she could just divorce him. No one’s stopping her."

The clerk shook her head slightly, "Sister Su, you’re new here, so you might not know. Teacher Gao is also from the island, and he was neighbors with Dr. Zheng’s sister. I heard it was her sister who introduced them back then. If they divorced now, people wouldn’t just say she only stays when things are good—they’d also make her sister lose face in front of the old neighbors."

Su Xiaoxiao said, "Then they should try to work things out."

Wu Shuang nodded, "I’ve told her that. But she thinks I don’t understand her pain. Like her suffering could hold a candle to mine. When I was a kid, forget food and clothes—just making it to tomorrow was a crapshoot."

Su Xiaoxiao did the math—Wu Shuang’s childhood overlapped with the Japanese invasion. "Is Dr. Zheng younger than you?"

Wu Shuang thought for a moment, "About the same age as your Regimental Commander Zhang, born in 1942."

Su Xiaoxiao, "So she never saw the Japanese soldiers growing up? And by the time she was older, the civil war was over too—she never experienced any war?"

Wu Shuang, "Exactly! That’s why she thinks I can’t understand her pain."

The clerk chimed in, "If you bring up the past, she’ll probably say she’d rather have died during the war."

Wu Shuang, "Maybe. Not that I’m wishing her ill, but if she keeps complaining like this, Teacher Gao won’t stick around much longer."

The clerk didn’t agree—who else would dare marry Teacher Gao if they split?

Seeing her doubt, Wu Shuang asked, "Don’t believe me? My eldest once said Teacher Gao sticks strictly to teaching and never talks nonsense in class. A teacher like him, even divorced from a fisherman’s daughter like Dr. Zheng, wouldn’t be mistreated. Otherwise, Teacher Song would be the first to speak up."

Su Xiaoxiao was curious, "What’s Teacher Song’s story?"

Wu Shuang, "Teacher Song comes from a politically impeccable background. Plus, she’s the only college graduate in the whole school. The brass rely on her to teach their grandchildren. If Teacher Song got angry and refused to teach, do you think the brass would let anyone mess with her?"

Su Xiaoxiao understood.

Wu Shuang added, "Take you, for example. If you raised an issue with the brass, they’d listen. But if I tried, they’d say, ‘You’re illiterate but full of opinions? Go take a hike!’"

Another clerk, just back from the restroom, laughed, "You actually admit that?"

Wu Shuang turned and saw it was the post office director, so she swallowed her retort. "That’s why I stay out of the brass’s way."

Su Xiaoxiao had another question, "From what you’re saying, Dr. Zheng’s family wasn’t as well-off as Teacher Gao’s. How’d her folks scrape together school fees?"

Wu Shuang, "That’s a long story..."

In the early days after the founding of the PRC, the government called for nationwide literacy campaigns. Back then, few people could read. In a village of hundreds, you could count the teachers on one hand. On the island, a fishing village might have fewer than ten literate people, with only one or two willing and able to teach.

Even those few had to make a living, so teaching took a backseat to fishing or farming. When that didn’t pan out, the government encouraged sent-down youth to rural areas. It was all voluntary back then. There was a famous Yu opera, *Chao Yang Gou*, about a city girl moving to the countryside.

Though Wengzhou Island was remote and hard to reach, some sent-down youth still came. A few set up the school here, stayed for two or three years, then left when others arrived. This went on off and on for about eight years, letting Dr. Zheng go from elementary through middle school.

After marrying Teacher Gao, his father arranged for her to work at the clinic. A relative of the Gao family there mentored her for years. When that relative retired—his children all working in the city—he handed the job to Dr. Zheng.

Dr. Zheng dares not divorce because without the Gao family, she’d be nowhere.

After saying all this, Wu Shuang couldn’t help adding, "Folks always want more. She doesn’t realize that without the Gao family’s money and connections, she wouldn’t even land a gig teaching first grade."

Su Xiaoxiao was about to respond when she noticed someone entering from the corner of her eye. She turned immediately to greet them, "Hey there, come on in! Mailing or picking up?"

The newcomer was a woman, looked about four or five years older than Su Xiaoxiao. She entered with a shy smile, approached the counter, and asked softly, "I heard the post office writes letters for people now?"

Su Xiaoxiao paused briefly, thinking, *Is she illiterate despite being so young?* Noticing her embarrassment, she replied directly, "Yes. Do you need to write a letter home?"

The woman nodded and whispered, "How much does a letter cost?"

"Huh? It's free. Well, the envelope and stamp cost money, but the paper doesn’t." Su Xiaoxiao grabbed some office paper from the drawer. "We use this kind—not formal letter paper. Is that okay?"

The woman nodded repeatedly.

Su Xiaoxiao asked, "Do you want to write it now or another day?"

The woman glanced around hesitantly. "Can we do it now?"

"Of course." Su Xiaoxiao took out a pen. "It’s good timing—it’s quiet right now."

"Mom!"

Su Xiaoxiao jumped and turned to scold, "Tuan Tuan!"

The boy startled.

Wu Shuang, worried he might cry, quickly picked him up. "It’s okay, it’s okay. Tuan Tuan, Mom was helping the lady. You startled her by shouting. Don’t do that again, okay?"

Tuan Tuan nodded obediently.

Su Xiaoxiao sighed and reached out. "What’s wrong?"

Wu Shuang passed him over. Once in his mother’s arms, he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Mommy, don’t be mad, okay?"

"Didn’t you see I was working?"

Tuan Tuan hadn’t noticed. Remembering his mother’s rule against shouting, he guiltily said, "Mommy, I’m thirsty."

Su Xiaoxiao put him down and handed him a cup. "Try it—Not too cold?"

He took a sip. "It’s not cold."

"Drink slowly. Mommy has to work now."

Tuan Tuan nodded. Wu Shuang beckoned him over, and he stood by her leg, sipping soy milk drink while watching his mother help the woman write the letter.

After finishing, Su Xiaoxiao read it back to check everything. The woman paid for the envelope and stamp. Su Xiaoxiao stamped it and placed it with the letters received the previous afternoon, waiting for the mail boat to collect them.

After the woman left, two more customers came, but by late morning business slowed down.

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly felt her job was too easy, so she picked up Tuan Tuan and read the newspaper to him.

In the evening, back home, Su Xiaoxiao made half a cup of soy milk for Tuan Tuan to snack on while she made dough for fried maye (crispy fried dough twists)—a snack Wu Shuang had taught her.

Just as she finished cutting the dough and before frying, Zhang Huaimin returned. Su Xiaoxiao asked in surprise, "I thought you said you wouldn’t be back tonight?"

Zhang Huaimin replied, "That was for last night, not tonight."

"Aren’t you running training?"

He nodded. "If I get up early to run there tomorrow, I won’t miss it. Making snacks again?"

"Tuan Tuan said the last batch didn’t taste good." She pointed to the cupboard. "The newspaper-wrapped ones are there. Grab some if you want."

Zhang Huaimin washed his hands and pulled out a handful of fried dough twists, "Don't these smell good?"

The kid sitting on a small stool nearby, sipping soy milk powder, shook his head, "They don’t smell good!"

Zhang Huaimin: "You're spoiled with good food."

"They just don't smell good!" the child yelled.

Su Xiaoxiao looked over, "Tuan Tuan, what did Mom say? Use your words, no shouting!"

Tuan Tuan mumbled under his breath, "They just don’t."

Zhang Huaimin poked his son's forehead, "Good thing you're our only child. If we had another like Commander Zhong’s—"

Su Xiaoxiao quickly cut in, "Don’t even mention Commander Zhong. He tried better ones at his house and now he thinks mine aren't tasty."

Zhang Huaimin was surprised, "Teacher Song can cook that well?"

"Commander Liu’s wife helped make them," Su Xiaoxiao shot her son a glance, "and he drank milk there too. You’re getting awfully comfortable, huh?"

Tuan Tuan only half-understood but could tell it wasn’t anything good, so he pretended not to hear.

Although they had plenty of oil, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t make too much, worried it would get soggy if they didn’t eat it all within a week. She was done frying in half an hour.

After draining the oil, she used the same pot to boil some noodles. After dinner, everyone cleaned up and went upstairs.

Tuan Tuan wanted to go play for a bit, but since dinner was late and already past seven, Su Xiaoxiao worried Zhang Huaimin wouldn’t get his sleep and wouldn’t wake up early the next day, so she said she was cold and ready for bed.

Tuan Tuan didn’t want Mom making him sleep alone, but he didn’t dare complain.

Once in bed, Tuan Tuan lay right in the middle, making his mom sleep on the edge and sending his dad to the other room.

Zhang Huaimin moved the boy to the far side and took the middle spot himself next to Su Xiaoxiao. Tuan Tuan got mad and threw off the covers—then nobody gets to sleep!

Shivering from the cold, Su Xiaoxiao snapped, "Zhang Huaimin, he's being childish, but you too?"