Chapter 2, Returning Home

After crying for a while, Mother calmed down. She looked around and could still hear the rustling sound of wolves running in the distance. Mother knew that these Zhang San were extremely hungry and were unwilling to give up the fat meat within their reach

But when my mother rushed out, the wolves behind her came running towards me. At that moment, my mother turned around and saw the pack of wolves pouncing on me from behind. She was only about ten steps away from me, but those ten steps made it impossible for her to save me in time

In the following days, I was subjected to inhumane treatment, receiving a bowl of castor oil in the morning and another in the evening. My stomach was filled with oil, and even my underwear was soaked in it daily. If you ask why, just try drinking oil every day; even a fart could produce oil droplets.

The elder said: "Which village is your father-in-law's family from? What is it called? The one in front is Xie Family Village, called Wang certain someone."

When it comes to the warmth of meeting relatives from Northeast China, it is truly remarkable. In that era, the chickens, ducks, and geese from my two aunts' homes would lay eggs throughout the year, yet they would not bear to eat even one. On the day we visited, they boiled a whole basin full.

This is how rural life is; everyone in the town knows each other. The old man said, "Alright, you are the wife of the fifth son (my father is the fifth in the family), it's quite dark now, let me take you and your mother back home. The old man took out a flashlight and led my mother and me to my grandfather's house.

Because people in the countryside go to bed early, it was still dark in the middle of the night. After a long while, an old man finally came out and hoarsely asked, "Who is it?" My mother replied, "Sir, I apologize for the disturbance. My daughter and I just got off the train and are heading to Xie Family Village. On the way, we ran into Zhang San and came to your house to take shelter."

My mother tightly grasped my hand and quietly told me: "Son, listen to your mother, there is a big dog ahead. If it charges out, just ignore it and keep running along the railway until you reach a house, understood?"

As I turned around, I saw several large dogs baring their teeth and drooling, rushing towards my face. In that moment of utmost urgency, two figures suddenly appeared beside me. I say they were figures because I could not see them clearly; no matter how I looked, they remained indistinct. Yet, by instinct, they resembled the two people I had seen during the New Year when burning paper offerings. I saw these two individuals let out a piercing scream directed at the pack of wolves, and even now, I still feel as if that scream is ringing in my ears. It was a sound that could only be produced when one is crying or laughing to the extreme, sharp and jarring. The wolf pack, upon hearing this cry, fled into the underbrush without looking back.

Upon arriving at my grandfather's house, it was only natural to express my heartfelt gratitude to that warm-hearted old man, and my grandfather, in turn, rarely spoke a few words to my mother. Due to the exhausting experiences of that night, including the long journey and the encounter with wolves, my mother and I were utterly worn out, so we hurried to wash up and go to bed without further discussion. The next morning, as soon as we got up, my aunts and uncles from the same village came to my grandfather's house with their families.

Just as I was looking around, two green dots suddenly appeared in front of me, and I was completely startled. I said, "Mom, what is that? Why is it so frightening?"

As summer approaches, the mugwort grass grows waist-high on both sides of the railway, swaying in the wind. Walking along the dark path already makes me anxious, and this anxiety causes me to look around restlessly.

It was at that time that my aunt gave me an elegant courtesy name, "Cuanxi." My eldest aunt's family has two children, a daughter and a son, who are my cousins, and they are about the same age as I am

However, this trick is quite effective, and the remaining journey can be considered smooth. I am also afraid, after all, these are a bunch of big dogs. When I was a child, I used to play at Huang Laoxie's house, and his dog would always chase me. Later, I got a firecracker to scare that dog away. My mother is even more afraid, as she knows what this is; this thing really doesn't spare you!

I don't know whether it was out of fear or something else, but as we were walking, my mother suddenly began to sing loudly. To this day, I still remember the song my mother sang at that time, which was called "The County Chief Comes to Our Home" from the genre of Er Ren Zhuan.

At that time, I rarely went to the countryside, and when I did, I forgot all about my stomachache. Every day, I was like a monkey climbing to the sky, jumping up and down.

My brother looked into the woods after I finished speaking, turned back, and said to me, "Where is anyone?" I took a closer look and indeed saw no one. Could it be that I was seeing things? I rubbed my eyes and looked again. How could it just disappear like that? Is this old lady playing hide and seek with me? Last time, she helped me scare away the wolves, and after that, she ran off. This time, she waved at me and vanished again. I thought to myself, next time, I will definitely catch you and see who you really are. Last time, she helped me scare away the wolves, and after that, she ran off. This time, she waved at me and vanished again. I thought to myself, next time, I will definitely catch you and see who you really are.

When my mother took a glance, she broke into a cold sweat, because at that time, the countryside had little pollution and no heavy industry, and there were still quite a few wolves around. My mother could tell at a glance that it was over; this was a run-in with Zhang San (in Northeast dialect, Zhang San refers to a wolf)

The green dots changed from two to four, and then from four to eight. I could vaguely see the head of the wolf that was closest to us. At this moment, my mother also realized that it would be quite difficult for the two of us to escape.

However, regardless of what you are, you must remember to never provoke a mother animal protecting her young, and even more so, do not provoke a human protecting their child

As the saying goes, a good tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves; a single wolf is not particularly frightening. Why is that? Because they emphasize collective combat. Generally, a single wolf does not dare to attack a person unless it is driven by extreme hunger. After all, our ancestors left a profound impression on them when they wielded large clubs to conquer the world.

That morning, my cousins and I, along with a group of village children, went up the mountain to play. In Northeast China, manure is not spread on the fields until May, so we, a group of friends, hopped on and off the manure cart pulled by oxen, having a great time. At that moment, we passed by my family's graveyard (at that time, I did not know it was my ancestral grave). In the graveyard, there were several pine trees, clearly aged.

When I was young, I didn't understand and really thought it was a big dog from someone’s house. I cheerfully said, "It's okay, Mom, I'm not afraid. The dog from our neighbor, Huang Laoxie (the shoemaker next door), runs away when it sees me. If a big dog comes, I'll hit it."

When it comes to Zhang San, there are countless stories about him in Northeast China

At this moment, my mother was completely enraged. She took off her outer garment and wrapped a stone in it, creating a makeshift meteor hammer. She swung it towards the wolf that was charging at us. It is often said that the timid fear the bold, and the bold fear those who are reckless, and this proved to be true, as the wolves in front of us turned and fled.

My mother bent down to pick up a stone and held it in her hand, while those two green dots followed us intermittently. As we walked, we heard a rustling sound not far away, followed by the howling of wolves rising and falling.

Because the nearest household is seven or eight li away, this stretch is all wasteland. I sensed that my mother was also frightened, her hand gripping mine was clammy with sweat

Mother said: "Isn't this being anxious? The child is sick and is going to stay at the grandfather's house for a while, coming here to find some castor oil for treatment. In this anxiety, we left overnight without thinking too much."

I hazily saw the old lady who helped me scare away the wolves last time waving at me in the woods. I said to my cousin, "Brother, do you see that old lady over there? Do you know her?"

Isn't it said that our farmers have a high level of awareness? The old man hurriedly opened the door and said: "Come in quickly, come in quickly. What are you doing out here at this hour with a child? Are you trying to risk your life? You could have stayed at the station for the night and left in the morning. This railway line often has wolves, and even those who seek help usually travel in groups. Your daughter really should be more careful; she might end up as wolf bait.

In the blink of an eye, the two people had vanished, and the entire railway track returned to its previous tranquility. At that moment, my mother also ran up to me, embraced me tightly, and began to cry.

I remember that at that time there were no cars, and my grandfather's home was in the countryside. My mother and I took the train late at night. We walked along the railway all the way to my grandfather's house

As soon as I saw that she was truly angry, I decided to follow along with my head down

My mother and I sang as we walked, and finally we saw a house. That group, including Zhang San, had no idea where they had gone. My mother hurriedly took me to the front of that house and knocked on the door

And those two shadows, who knows whether they are human or ghost! My mother's voice sounded particularly loud in such a pitch-black and silent night, even the slight tremor in her voice could be heard distinctly

My aunt has liked me since I was little, holding me tightly and never letting go. She took me to the small shop and told me to pick out whatever I wanted to buy. At that time, there weren't many snacks in the rural shop. After searching for a long time, we bought a bag of fried rice strips sprinkled with sugar. When I returned to my grandfather's house, my eldest aunt brought over castor oil, indicating that my mother had informed them about my illness.

As soon as my mother heard it, she got furious and said: "You little brat, let me tell you, if you want to run, just run. No need for all that nonsense. If you don't run, I'll make sure to skin you alive when you go to your grandfather's house."

Especially in the later stages, when the people across the nation took up arms against the wolves, it further suppressed their arrogant demeanor

At this moment, mother's clothes were completely soaked with sweat, and a thin layer of moisture could be felt on the fabric.

He hurriedly led me forward at a brisk pace