Chapter 30: Talking Nonsense, Dad, Mom Bought a Lot of Ugly Monsters!…

**Chapter 30: Rambling Dad, Mom Buys Ugly Stuff!**

Tuan Tuan bounded in: "Mom, I'm home!" He suddenly stopped short upon entering the room. "Dad?"

Zhang Huaimin picked him up: "Don’t you know your own dad?"

Tuan Tuan squirmed to get down: "Dad, aren’t you busy? Dad, you go do your work. Tuan Tuan will take care of Mom."

Zhang Huaimin laughed in exasperation: "So you’re saying I’m in the way by coming back?"

Tuan Tuan shook his head: "Tuan Tuan and Mom shouldn’t disturb Dad’s work."

"Dad doesn’t care if you bother him." Zhang Huaimin carried the little one to the kitchen. "Let’s see what yummy stuff Mom’s cooking."

In early spring, the north was scarce on fresh produce, but the southern coast had seafood and spring bamboo shoots. Su Xiaoxiao had grown tired of boiled seafood and snow cabbage stir-fried with bamboo shoots, so she decided to combine the two. She washed some leafy greens and made seafood noodles.

She stir-fried shredded bamboo shoots in lard, added water, and tossed in hand-pulled noodles. Finally, she added delicate seafood and greens.

Without much oil in their diet, seafood didn’t taste as flavorful, but with lard, the broth turned rich, the noodles fragrant. Tuan Tuan loved it, Su Xiaoxiao loved it, and Zhang Huaimin even drank every last drop of the broth.

The clammy rainy season called for ginger. Su Xiaoxiao added a few slices, and Tuan Tuan at first whined about the heat. She coaxed him, saying it would keep him warm and less likely to fall sick. Not wanting to visit the clinic, Tuan Tuan took a few more sips with his noodles and found it actually tasted pretty good.

After dinner, Su Xiaoxiao told Tuan Tuan to go play with his friends.

Tuan Tuan asked curiously, "Mom, why do you always tell me to go play?"

Su Xiaoxiao replied, "If I don’t let you go out, you sulk. When I do, you get all puzzled. So tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"Play with me."

"Like what?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.

Tuan Tuan thought and thought, realizing that the games he played with his older siblings would seem strange if his mom joined. "Mom, let me think about it. Mom, you go about your business. I’ll think first." With that, he headed outside.

It had rained in the afternoon, leaving the ground damp. Zhang Huaimin followed him out, watching until his son safely joined a group of children before returning inside.

Su Xiaoxiao turned at the sound of footsteps. "Where’d he go?"

"To the east," Zhang Huaimin said. "Those kids play there every day. That tree’s basically their clubhouse now."

Su Xiaoxiao glanced out the window. Seeing no passersby or visitors, she shared her promotion news with Zhang Huaimin.

Zhang Huaimin looked surprised, clearly not expecting any follow-up to the matter. Su Xiaoxiao was even more taken aback by his reaction. "You didn’t know?"

Zhang Huaimin had no idea. "When did this happen?"

"Today," Su Xiaoxiao laughed, recalling the director’s stunned expression. "When the army announced she’d only handle finances from now on and that a bureau chief would be assigned, her face went through more changes than a Sichuan opera mask—flashing white, then beet-red. I nearly wanted to dig her a hole to hide in."

"For someone who ducks responsibility so hard," Zhang Huaimin couldn’t help but ask, "she still wanted to be bureau chief?"

"She doesn’t think she’s avoiding anything. In her words, she ‘doesn’t want to burden the army brass.’ She probably even thinks she’s clever and that none of us noticed her fear of responsibility."

"Putting the reporting decision on you," Zhang Huaimin said, "without mentioning rewards or punishments—who’s fooled by her little game?"

"She might genuinely believe no one noticed," Su Xiaoxiao chuckled. "I guess in the past, people weren’t ‘astute’ like her. Even if Sister Shuang saw through it, she figured as a temp, she shouldn’t argue with a permanent worker, so she let it slide. Over time, the director really started believing she was smart. But she’s not stupid—she’s bound to connect my promotion to that letter."

Zhang Huaimin worried, "She won’t make things difficult for you from time to time, will she?"

Su Xiaoxiao said, "She wouldn’t dare. Have you forgotten? The army’s sending someone soon. As a military dependent, she must think soldiers and their families stick together. She’s probably worried I’ll talk trash about her to the new boss and make her life difficult."

"That’s good," Zhang Huaimin relaxed. "By the way, do you want to know the details?"

Su Xiaoxiao wiped the bowl clean and put it in the cupboard. "Yes! To be honest, I’ve been wondering these past few days who taught him to write like that. But I just can’t figure it out."

Zhang Huaimin said, "You’re way off. He learned on his own."

"On his own? He’d need something to copy though. When I asked a colleague to buy picture story books for Tuan Tuan, I also asked them to look for calligraphy books. But they searched the whole bookstore and only found a few brush calligraphy books. They thought Tuan Tuan was too young to handle a brush, so they didn’t buy any. Brushwork and penmanship are completely different. Besides, brushes and calligraphy paper are much more expensive than pencils and notebooks."

Zhang Huaimin said, "He didn’t buy calligraphy books. He went to a junk yard and bought many used notebooks with neat handwriting. Those notebooks belonged to high school or college students, and the handwriting was quite good. He first traced the characters to get a feel for them, then practiced writing on his own."

"That actually worked?" Su Xiaoxiao was shocked.

Zhang Huaimin nodded. "My buddy said his home has dozens of notebooks like that. He started by tracing with a pencil, and only later, when he earned some money, did he buy ink and a pen."

"Wait, I don’t get it. Why did he even think of practicing handwriting? He could’ve spent that time doing something else."

Zhang Huaimin chuckled at the memory. "He felt guilty for not providing valuable clues and was embarrassed by his messy handwriting in the letters he sent. He worried people wouldn’t cooperate with him, so he took it upon himself to practice calligraphy diligently."

"Talk about dedication!" Su Xiaoxiao said, half impressed, half exasperated. "Didn’t the people he contacted find it strange when his handwriting suddenly improved?"

Zhang Huaimin shook his head. "They actually praised him for his ambition."

Su Xiaoxiao was at a loss for words. "Each generation’s dumber than the last! Ambition in something like this? Didn’t they stop to think how odd it is for an uneducated fisherman to have such good handwriting? If he worked in the city, where he’d use a pen often and be around educated people, it’d make sense for him to care about his handwriting. But who cares about writing when you’re out fishing or planting rice?"

Zhang Huaimin laughed. "Exactly. My buddy said when they took his statement and asked him to sign it, he asked how they caught him. My buddy replied, 'Look at my handwriting, then look at your signature. Who else would we suspect?'"

Su Xiaoxiao nearly choked laughing. "That’s what they call too clever by half!"

Seeing her take the kettle off, Zhang Huaimin placed a steel pot filled with water on the stove. Spotting the metal rack nearby, he asked, "How much use’ve you gotten outta this since it was welded?"

Su Xiaoxiao held up three fingers.

Zhang Huaimin was speechless but amused. "At this rate, you won’t even use it twelve times a year. By the time I’m transferred or discharged, this rack might still look brand new."

Su Xiaoxiao said, "Then we’ll leave it for the next person."

"Fair enough!" Zhang Huaimin nudged her out and turned off the kitchen light.

Su Xiaoxiao turned to look at him.

Zhang Huaimin slung an arm over her shoulder and led her outside. "Let’s take a walk."

"Wait, let me roll up my sleeves." Su Xiaoxiao also put on a hat and scarf.

Zhang Huaimin couldn’t help but ask, "Is it really that cold?"

Su Xiaoxiao said, "Not the cold—I feel like the wind here carries seawater. After a short walk, my hair and clothes get damp. When I was frying snacks before, both Sister Shuang and Auntie Wang next door warned me not to make too much because they’d go stale within a week. The sesame crackers I made for Tuan Tuan went soft in three days flat. He turned his nose up at them, so I had to refry them. And that was in winter. Now, with Tomb-Sweeping Festival coming up, there’s even more rain."

"I think he’s had enough," Zhang Huaimin said. "Next time he says he doesn’t like it, give it to me. I’ll haul it to the mess hall."

Su Xiaoxiao nodded.

Zhang Huaimin was about to say more when he noticed Political Commissar Zhang’s family next door and Wu Shuang’s family on the other side piling outside. He bit his tongue. Su Xiaoxiao and Zhang Huaimin parted ways—she drifted over to chat with Wu Shuang, while he shot the breeze with Political Commissar Zhang.

The children from both families ran off to join the other kids.

After about half an hour outside, Su Xiaoxiao hollered for Tuan Tuan to come home.

Su Xiaoxiao had reminded Tuan Tuan several times that if he listened to his mother, she would listen to him in return. So when Tuan Tuan wanted to play a little longer, he didn’t make his mother wait too long. After Su Xiaoxiao called him twice, he ran over with a pout, "Mom, I'm not sleepy!"

Su Xiaoxiao: "I’m not asking you to go to bed either."

"Then why are we going back?"

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t waste time arguing. She picked him up and headed straight home. Once there, she pointed at his colorful schoolbag. "Figured it out yet? Why do you think the older kids at Political Commissar Zhang’s and Staff Officer Zhou’s houses go out to play so late?"

Tuan Tuan ventured a guess: "They finish their homework before playing?"

"Exactly!" Taking advantage of his energy and excitement, Su Xiaoxiao took out his books.

Zhang Huaimin couldn’t help asking, "Is this first-grade stuff? Will he even care by first grade?"

Su Xiaoxiao: "I’ve heard people say that over time, he’ll forget most of this stuff. There are still two years before first grade—by then, he’ll probably have forgotten most of it. But it’ll stick in his subconscious."

Tuan Tuan understood: "Mom, I won’t forget!"

"Mom doesn’t want you to forget either," Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile. "Ready to start?"

Tuan Tuan: "I already know addition and subtraction within ten."

"You know what three plus four is, but if I say two plus five, you don’t. That doesn’t count as knowing, does it?"

Tuan Tuan had nothing to say—his mom had just gone over these problems that afternoon, and he’d even gotten two plus five wrong, insisting it was eight.

Seeing his son so obedient, Zhang Huaimin didn’t tease him on purpose. Hearing the kettle boil in the kitchen, he quietly went in, then carried hot water outside to wash his face, brush his teeth, and soak his feet. Afterward, he returned to tend to the stove and fill the hot-water bottle.

Zhang Huaimin’s watch was on the dining table. Noticing they’d been studying for over twenty minutes, Su Xiaoxiao told Tuan Tuan to put his books away. After washing up, Tuan Tuan snuggled into his warm bed upstairs and couldn’t help yawning.

Zhang Huaimin, seeing him sleeping in the middle, remarked, "Once it gets hotter, he should sleep on his own."

Su Xiaoxiao: "It’d need to be scorching for that."

Zhang Huaimin thought for a moment. "I have an idea!"

When the hottest days of summer arrived, Zhang Huaimin made sure to come home and slept hugging his son at night. Within a week, Tuan Tuan grumbled that three people in one bed was too hot and crowded, insisting on moving to the next room with his mom.

Tuan Tuan slept soundly—whatever position he fell asleep in, he’d wake up the same way, barely disturbing the covers. Su Xiaoxiao was fine with him sleeping alone, so she had him try it first. Then she and Zhang Huaimin moved their bed closer to the wall of the adjacent room, just a wall away from Tuan Tuan.

When Tuan Tuan talked in the next room, Su Xiaoxiao could hear him clearly. Tuan Tuan tapped the wall with his picture storybook, and Su Xiaoxiao responded with a few pats. Feeling his mom nearby, Tuan Tuan fell asleep like always.

Within about a week, Tuan Tuan found out how fun it was to sleep alone—he could toss and turn freely, drape a knit blanket over his shoulders to pretend he was the Monkey King, or even spread his picture storybooks across half the bed, picking whichever one he wanted to read.

As soon as Zhang Huaimin noticed his son wasn’t begging for his mom, he teased him on purpose: "Tuan Tuan, sleep with Mom and Dad tonight."

"No!" Tuan Tuan dashed into the next room and shut the door.

Su Xiaoxiao knocked. Tuan Tuan opened the door a crack, hesitated when he saw it was her, then let her in—but not his dad.

Su Xiaoxiao began clearing the stuff off his bed onto the desk. Tuan Tuan panicked: "Don’t take my stuff!"

"I’m wiping your mat!" Su Xiaoxiao bopped him on the forehead. "You put everything on your bed and never clean the mat. Aren’t you afraid of bugs biting you?"

Tuan Tuan: "I have mosquito coils."

"Mosquito coils kill mosquitoes, not bugs." Su Xiaoxiao flipped the towel and wiped the mat again, only putting Tuan Tuan’s things back after it dried.

Climbing onto the bed, Tuan Tuan frowned. "That’s not where they go. This picture storybook goes by my hand. I don’t want to read this one now—put it all the way in the back."

"I don’t know what you want to read today," Su Xiaoxiao said, handing the towel to Zhang Huaimin in the living room. "Wipe our side while you’re at it."

Zhang Huaimin took it and teased, "Leave him be, let him clean up his own mess."

Tuan Tuan heard this and shouted, "Mom made the mess, so Mom should clean it up. Mom, come quick!"

Su Xiaoxiao walked in and asked, "You don’t mind me moving your stuff?"

"I’ll show Mom how to put them away." Tuan Tuan had grown about five centimeters taller than last year but was still a little Xiao Tuantuan. The 1.2-meter-wide, 2-meter-long bed seemed huge to him. Su Xiaoxiao watched him crawl from one end to the other, spinning around like a top.

Once all the picture books were neatly placed and the woolen blanket for covering his belly at night was set, Tuan Tuan sat on the bed with a dramatic sigh, "That wore me out!"

Su Xiaoxiao picked up his sandals and carried him downstairs. "Ready for your bath?"

Uncomfortable from the sweat, Tuan Tuan nodded obediently.

When Zhang Huaimin came over during the bath, Tuan Tuan shrieked in alarm, "Not you, Dad!"

Wu Shuang and her family came out of their room, asking, "What’s wrong?"

Zhang Huaimin gave his son a light tap on the head and stood up. "Nothing. I tried to bathe him, but he says my hands are too rough!"

Tuan Tuan glared at his father. *You figured that out now?*

Zhang Huaimin had been careful, but he still managed to rub his son’s skin red. He crouched down. "Alright, wash yourself then, and I’ll help dry you off!"

"No! I want Mom!"

Zhang Huaimin pointed at his watch on the floor. "It’s past seven. Doesn’t Mom need to start dinner?"

With long summer days, it was nearly eight before dusk. Tuan Tuan, seeing the sunset in the west, thought it was only five or six. He reached out with wet hands, but Zhang Huaimin grabbed the watch first. "Wipe it off first!"

Tuan Tuan, still wanting to play, retreated into the basin. Seeing his mother come out to pick vegetables, he called out, "Mom, what’s for dinner?"

Su Xiaoxiao replied, "Tomato salad, smashed cucumber, and braised eggplant?"

Tuan Tuan licked his lips. "No meat today?"

Su Xiaoxiao teased, "You just had pork noodles for breakfast. Still craving meat?"

Tuan Tuan licked his lips again. "Can we?"

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Nope. The market only has meat in the mornings. How about I buy some razor clams to braise?"

Tuan Tuan, who liked clams, agreed. "Okay, Mom, go get some."

Su Xiaoxiao gave Zhang Huaimin a questioning look. He nodded, so she set the veggie basket under the eaves and went inside for money. At the Nonstaple Food Factory, she looked around first, buying two pounds of razor clams and a grouper. Since Tuan Tuan loved potato pancakes, she also picked up some fresh potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Back home, Su Xiaoxiao cooked the clams and fish on a wire rack, boiled sweet potato and millet rice porridge on the stove, and even had time to prepare a cucumber salad. The porridge turned out thick and sticky—just the way Tuan Tuan loved it. The cucumber got him hungry, so he ate only a few pieces of fish and clams.

After finishing, Tuan Tuan dropped his dishes in the kitchen and ran off to play with friends.

Zhang Huaimin looked at the food on the table and chuckled.

Su Xiaoxiao asked, "What’s so funny?"

Zhang Huaimin said, "Political Commissar Zhang said his kids keep eating more and more, leaving him nothing if he’s slow. Suddenly, having fewer kids seems better."

Su Xiaoxiao replied, "That’s because he and his wife don’t eat enough. Look at Regiment Commander Zhong’s family—they buy a whole basket of clams when they’re in season. The vendors say Zhong Dawa comes early to pick the best potatoes and sweet potatoes, plus a string of crabs. I’d bet the Zhongs spend seven or eight yuan a day just on food."

Zhang Huaimin shook his head: "Sweet potatoes cost two cents per jin, so a hundred jin would only be two yuan. He can buy half a sack—50 jin—for one yuan, which lasts two days. Potatoes are about the same, around one yuan. Clams and crabs are cheap, at most four yuan. That comes out to five yuan a day. Besides, they don’t eat like this every day. The Zhong family’s yard is full of fruits and vegetables, and sometimes they just buy a few pork bones to make soup."

Su Xiaoxiao: "Even five yuan a day wouldn’t be covered by Regiment Commander Zhong’s pay."

"Regiment Commander Zhong is a few years older than me and has served longer. He became an officer straight out of military school, and after all these years, with his seniority and various allowances, I think his total pay is almost at the level of a deputy division commander."

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but ask: "Just tell me how much he earns."

Zhang Huaimin: "At least a hundred sixty."

Su Xiaoxiao gaped.

Zhang Huaimin fed her a piece of fish.

After swallowing, Su Xiaoxiao said, "Even then, how can they afford it? Don’t they buy clothes or shoes?"

Zhang Huaimin: "Teacher Song isn’t the principal in name, but she acts like one. She handles a lot of responsibilities, and with her high qualifications, her bonuses add up. She makes at least seventy or eighty yuan."

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned: "No wonder Da Wa and the others eat so well."

Zhang Huaimin: "The two kids from Regimental Commander Ma’s family also receive pension benefits. Back then, his wife worried that once someone’s gone, it’s like they never existed. If anything happened later, the military might not take care of her and the kids. When they offered the benefits, they asked if she wanted a lump sum or monthly payments, and she chose the latter."

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but say: "That wife was smart. By dealing with the military monthly, she stayed on their radar."

"Exactly! But it seems Regiment Commander Zhong never used the money for those two kids," Zhang Huaimin said. "He didn’t use the money we all pitched in for his wife, either."

Su Xiaoxiao: "How do you know about this?"

"The postman mentioned it. They once saw Teacher Song bringing Zhen Xing and Zhen Gang to the bank," Zhang Huaimin said.

Su Xiaoxiao was surprised: "Even if he used it, no one would say anything, right?"

Zhang Huaimin: "We were surprised too when we first heard. But then we thought about Teacher Song’s high salary—she doesn’t need the money—and her high moral standards as an intellectual. She likely thought it wasn’t worth alienating the kids over money, so she didn’t spend a cent."

Su Xiaoxiao admired her: "If not for the Cultural Revolution, when few urban families with decent backgrounds escaped criticism, and dating was a minefield, Teacher Song never would’ve ended up with Regiment Commander Zhong, let alone willingly stayed with him on this island for so many years."

Zhang Huaimin had always wondered how someone like Teacher Song, with her qualifications and character, could have chosen Regiment Commander Zhong. Not that Zhong was a bad match—he just figured she could have easily married a doctor, a police officer, or a state-owned enterprise worker. Hearing her words, Zhang Huaimin suddenly understood: "Right. Back when she was searching for a husband, the city was in chaos—"

"Wait!" Su Xiaoxiao interrupted. "Is Da Wa thirteen or fourteen this year? Over ten years ago hadn’t the revolution even started yet? No wonder something felt off to me."

Zhang Huaimin: "Da Wa isn’t Teacher Song’s own child. None of the seven Zhong kids are hers by blood. Teacher Song was a college junior when the revolution started, and classes were suspended. Although the school later arranged placements for some students, she went ahead and married Regiment Commander Zhong before that."

Su Xiaoxiao was shocked. "Teacher Song was a stepmom?"

Zhang Huaimin: "Is it that hard to believe?"

"She doesn’t act like a stepmom."

Zhang Huaimin chuckled: "When Teacher Song married Regiment Commander Zhong, San Wa was too young to remember. To him, she’s his only mother. Da Wa is a little older than Tuan Tuan now, and Er Wa is a little younger. Ask Da Wa about his birth mother, and he’d probably draw a blank."

"Did Regiment Commander Zhong’s first wife die of illness?"

Zhang Huaimin shook his head: "If it had been due to childbirth complications or exhaustion from raising kids, Regiment Commander Zhong and Teacher Song’s relationship wouldn’t be as strong as a first marriage. His ex-wife—" He suddenly remembered that Su Xiaoxiao used to be as close as sisters with Regiment Commander Zhong’s ex-wife. "Don’t take this the wrong way, but she was a lot like you used to be."

Even though Su Xiaoxiao knew Zhang Huaimin was talking about her past self, she couldn’t help feeling ashamed: "And then?"

"Her family called her back home. She brushed off the typhoon warning and was hit by a falling tree on her way to the city. By the time Regiment Commander Zhong found her, she was barely identifiable," Zhang Huaimin said.

Su Xiaoxiao: "How did the kids survive?"

"She left the kids with our neighbor Auntie Duan. At least you're better than her in that way—you never gave up the house Grandpa left for Tuan Tuan, no matter how much your parents pushed."

Su Xiaoxiao felt guilty: "Come on, eat before the food gets cold."

Zhang Huaimin didn't want her to misunderstand: "I'm not blaming you. They're your own parents—it's natural you'd be close to them and end up listening."

"I wasn't just listening to them," Su Xiaoxiao said. "I just thought keeping the peace was best. I never expected they’d get greedier the more I let slide."

Zhang Huaimin didn’t want to dwell either: "Better late than never."

"See?" she said. "I stopped humoring them last year, and now they don’t even bother writing."

"I'll drop your aunt a letter later," Zhang Huaimin replied, "and ask if Dad went to see her. By now, he must know she has our spare key."

Thinking of Liu Dajun’s temper, Su Xiaoxiao worried he might cause a scene at her aunt’s place. After dinner, she told Zhang Huaimin to wash the dishes while she went upstairs to write.

Once done, she called Tuan Tuan back.

Autumn wind rising, crabs at their plumpest—Su Xiaoxiao bought a bagful. Tuan Tuan frowned, pointing at them: "How can we eat so many? I won’t eat them. Mom, crabs are so ugly—eating too many will make you ugly too. Mom, I don’t want you to turn into a monster. Let’s give them to Da Wa instead."

Tuan Tuan got a smack on the head.

Thinking it was his mom, he turned and saw Zhong Dawa instead. Covering his mouth, he stammered, "Da Wa, I didn’t mean it!"

Zhong Dawa also carried a bag of crabs: "I heard you! You want me to turn into a monster!"

"No, no! I was only kidding!" Tuan Tuan ran over and hugged his arm. "Da Wa, I was joking!"

"Let go!"

"Not gonna!"

Su Xiaoxiao massaged her forehead: "How’s Da Wa supposed to leave if you won’t let go? Or do you want to go with him?"

Tuan Tuan finally let go but added anxiously, "Da Wa, I’ll come over after dinner, alright?"

Zhong Dawa just shrugged him off.

Assuming that meant yes, Tuan Tuan turned and scolded his mom: "Why didn’t you warn me Da Wa was right there?"

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself, *Su Tuan Tuan, look at you—no stuttering even with that mouthful!* Aloud, she said, "I figured you knew and were just messing with him."

"I had no idea!" Su Tuan Tuan pouted. He stormed home, shouting at the door, "Dad, Mom brought home a bunch of freaky crabs!"

Zhang Huaimin came out: "What freaky crabs?"

Su Xiaoxiao walked in with the bag.

Zhang Huaimin gave his son a light flick on the forehead. "Don’t be ridiculous." He took the crabs and handed Su Xiaoxiao a letter. "Your aunt wrote back. Looks like your cousin did the writing."

"Took forever—almost a month just to hear back," she muttered as she opened it.