Chapter 2, Little Ke

Hao Quezi has a younger brother who has already started working to help support the family. The family is poor, and even having enough food to eat is a problem; they simply cannot afford the expenses of sending two people to school, so only one can go. Originally, as the elder brother, he should be helping the family by working and earning some money. But what can a cripple do? The younger brother, being able-bodied, actively requested to go to school. Their parents also felt somewhat guilty for not being able to treat his leg in time, so they wanted him to learn some culture and find a clerical job after graduation. But what can a cripple do? The younger brother, being able-bodied, actively requested to go to school. Their parents also felt somewhat guilty for not being able to treat his leg in time, so they wanted him to learn some culture and find a clerical job after graduation. Unfortunately, he was not cut out for it; he felt dizzy as soon as he attended class. (At that time, most people in China were still illiterate, and educated individuals were highly respected. If one were fortunate enough to be admitted to university, it would be a significant achievement. If a child from the countryside could become a university student, the entire village would celebrate, and the whole village would feel honored.) If one were fortunate enough to be admitted to university, it would be a significant achievement. If a child from the countryside could become a university student, the entire village would celebrate, and the whole village would feel honored.

The water in winter is bone-chilling. Xiao Ke boiled some water and cleaned the underwear he and his siblings had changed out of, filling the water tank to the brim. After completing all the household chores, Xiao Ke greedily inhaled the lingering scent of the dry tobacco smoked by his second uncle and second aunt, indulging in a moment of pleasure before lying down on the kang to sleep. (Many people from the south believe that northeastern women who smoke must have questionable morals, which is a misconception. Before the liberation, it was common for sixteen-year-old girls in Northeast China to be seen with large tobacco pipes.) The kang was very cramped; his cousin's family was not well-off, and on that small kang, there were four members of his cousin's family plus him, leaving no room to turn over. He lay down on the kang and fell asleep. (Many people from the south believe that northeastern women who smoke must have questionable morals, which is a misconception. Before the liberation, it was common for sixteen-year-old girls in Northeast China to be seen with large tobacco pipes.) The kang was very cramped; his cousin's family was not well-off, and on that small kang, there were four members of his cousin's family plus him, leaving no room to turn over. He did not dare to move around, maintaining one position until dawn.

Class is about to start, and Xiao Ke hurriedly walked into the classroom. He sat in the second-to-last row, and his deskmate, whose surname is Hao, is a disabled person. Only in front of his deskmate can Xiao Ke regain a bit of self-esteem. This is how people are; seeing others in a worse situation than themselves brings a certain psychological balance. What could be worse than being disabled

Xiao Ke, whose real name is Wang Weifan, is fourteen years old this year. He comes from a rural background, and his entire family relies on a mere one mu and three fen of land for their livelihood. Due to the family's poverty, his older brother, now in his twenties, remains single. (In this era, men in their twenties in rural Northeast China often already have children.) The money for schooling comes from the hard-earned savings of Xiao Ke's parents, who sell some agricultural products at the market every Saturday, using the proceeds to buy essential goods. Before coming to school, Xiao Ke had never even brushed his teeth; for the farmers and villagers, brushing teeth is a foreign concept. (In this era, men in their twenties in rural Northeast China often already have children.) The money for schooling comes from the hard-earned savings of Xiao Ke's parents, who sell some agricultural products at the market every Saturday, using the proceeds to buy essential goods. Before coming to school, Xiao Ke had never even brushed his teeth; for the farmers and villagers, brushing teeth is a foreign concept. Yet, these hardworking farmers selflessly send the white flour they harvest to the city for others to enjoy, while they themselves earn labor points, subsisting on coarse, yellowish grains and smoking low-quality tobacco, toiling from dawn till dusk. However, no one respects them; Xiao Ke has never received the respect he deserves. He longs to eat a bowl of white rice like most of his classmates, but this remains a mere wish. This is an era of absolute inequality, where rural people are looked down upon, and how many children from farming families have been heartbroken over the loss of a city household registration.

As most of the people in the courtyard had left, Xiao Ke quickly walked forward to grab two sorghum flour buns to stave off hunger. He glanced around to see that no one was watching, swiftly dipped his hands into the remaining vegetable soup in the bowl, and ran to a corner of the courtyard to eat in the snow. The sorghum flour buns were the kind of food that the livestock of landlords consumed in the old society. The dark buns made Xiao Ke feel somewhat uncomfortable, not because the food was poor, but because he was very thin and had a small appetite, unable to eat much. His discomfort stemmed from being a self-deprecating rural person looked down upon by others, a rural individual who was always considered inferior to others. In this era, being an ordinary rural person meant having no qualifications for a job in the city, forced to tend to the barren fields and smoke low-quality dry tobacco for a lifetime, unless Xiao Ke could get into university, which would give him hope for a decent job, freeing him from that impoverished mountain valley.

Dishes are categorized into three levels: high, medium, and low. High-level dishes primarily consist of tofu, Chinese cabbage, and vermicelli, with some enticing large slices of meat floating on top, costing 10 yuan per month. Medium-level dishes have the same content as high-level dishes, except they do not include meat, costing 6 yuan per month. Low-level dishes are quite poor, featuring boiled Chinese cabbage in plain water, seemingly only to disguise the excessive blandness, with just a few drops of rapeseed oil floating in it symbolically. However, these dishes are inexpensive, costing 2 yuan per month. Each class serves only a small portion of high-level dishes in small basins, and very few students can afford meat dishes. Low-level dishes are also served in small basins, and there are not many who eat such beggar's fare. Only medium-level dishes are served in large ceramic basins, filled to the brim, indicating that the majority of people consume this type of food, which is neither extravagant nor too meager. The staple foods are divided into four categories: white rice, steamed buns made from white flour, cornmeal buns, and sorghum flour buns.

Both are lost souls in the same world, so why must we have known each other before meeting? Although Xiao Ke and Hao Quezi rarely converse, their shared sense of inferiority fosters a mutual understanding and appreciation. Friends and brothers are matters for a lifetime. A glance, a smile, can lead one to sacrifice their life for the other. Xiao Ke can understand Hao Quezi, and likewise, Hao Quezi can understand Xiao Ke. At this moment, Hao Quezi wrapped himself in his clothes and fell asleep on the table. Xiao Ke, on the other hand, endured the cold and listened attentively to the teacher's lecture; studying was his only way out, so he had to pay close attention. Whenever he felt drowsy and wanted to rest his head on the table, he would think of his parents' weathered faces. For the sake of his parents, he must persevere.

Dinner is served. Under the southern wall of the campus, several lines quickly formed according to class. The snow continued to fall, and the duty students from each class were busily distributing meals to everyone. Each person's meal had been registered at the end of the month and paid for with grain tickets or money, so the process was not complicated. The duty students were simply handing out the pre-ordered portions according to the meal schedule.

After school, Xiao He walked briskly on his way home. He had no place to stay in the city and could only squeeze into his relatives' home each day. The feeling of being a guest in someone else's house was not pleasant. Under someone else's roof, one must lower their head. Although his second uncle did not say much, he still had to face his second aunt's long, dark face every day. He ate very little at each meal, and the few pieces of meat that occasionally appeared in his bowl were from his cousin and younger cousin. After each meal, he had to quickly clean up the dishes. He scooped water from the jar to wash them. He chopped firewood, swept the floor, boiled water, and did laundry. Even so, his second aunt's expression remained unfriendly. Now, Xiao Ke's only hope was to obtain a diploma, find a good job, earn more credits, and contribute a little to the household expenses.

Hao Quezi, whose real name is Hao Weitao, is fifteen years old this year. Due to having polio in childhood and not receiving timely treatment, one of his legs is somewhat impaired. This has subjected him to bullying by normal children since he was young; he has not experienced happiness since he can remember. A disabled person, a forsaken child of God, a character destined for tragedy. At such a young age, Hao Quezi does not like to speak and has very few friends. He lives in the shadows all day, and his psychology is evidently distorted and perverse.