Chapter 31: A Fight for Life

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Wang Hongbing brought Yu Qiang, who was tightly bound, to his cattle shed and tied him to the stake. Then he took the bag of peanuts over as evidence of stealing grain.

Wang Hongbing locked the door, while Caiyun begged him from outside to release the boy.

“You little runt, how dare you bite me? Today I’ll teach you a lesson,” Wang Hongbing snarled.

With that, he grabbed Yu Qiang’s hair and pressed his head into a pile of cow dung. Shouting loudly to Caiyun outside the door, he said, “Your son is hungry, and here’s some cow dung. I’m making him eat it! Eat! Eat! You eat it too!”

Wang Hongbing forced Yu Qiang’s head down into the dung, pressing, rubbing, and smearing it so that he was forced to eat it.

“You bastard! You’re a bastard!” Yu Qiang weakly cursed when Wang Hongbing finally lifted his head.

Caiyun’s heart was torn to pieces outside the door. She knew it was her fault that her son was suffering. She shouted into the room, “Captain Wang, if you release my son, I will agree to all your demands.”

“It’s too late. If you had served me better earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. You brought this on yourself. Serves you right!”

“Son, you must hold on. At dawn, I’ll come to save you!”

Desperate and at a loss, Caiyun thought of Fa Fu’s parting advice to consult him if trouble arose. She took a flashlight and headed to the water conservancy construction site to find Fa Fu.

The site was ten miles away. Though Caiyun had been there once before, at night she could only make out a general direction. It wasn’t until breakfast at the construction site canteen that she found Fa Fu.

“Sis-in-law, what brings you here?” Fa Fu asked.

Caiyun told him about Yu Qiang’s situation. Fa Fu comforted her, saying, “Don’t worry. Eat this porridge first and let me think.”

“I’ll take it back to the children,” she said.

“No, there are checkpoints everywhere. It’s hard to smuggle food and grain out of the site.”

Fa Fu paced a few times, then said, “Not long ago, I carried Accountant Li to the hospital when he had a stomach ache. I’ll find him and ask for help.”

“Will Secretary Yang listen to him?”

“He should. His sister has a relationship with Secretary Yang.”

“Then hurry and find him.”

Accountant Li readily agreed. The three hurried to the brigade office. Upon meeting Secretary Yang, they learned Yu Qiang had been locked inside Swallow Cave. Secretary Yang said that stealing seed was an aggravated offense and he could not be released.

Li asked Caiyun and Fa Fu to step aside and had a long private talk with Secretary Yang. When he came out, he was pleased and told Caiyun, “Let’s go to Swallow Cave. Here is the secretary’s approval; he has agreed to release him.”

Swallow Cave, at the foot of the Western Hills, had a small entrance but was spacious and deep inside. It later became a complex detention place for bad elements arrested by the commune and brigade.

The guards took the secretary’s note and led them into a narrow, dark chamber where there was an iron gate. This was reportedly where grain thieves and leaders of famine flight were held.

After the guards opened the door, Caiyun shone her flashlight and called loudly, “Yu Qiang, where are you? Mom came to save you!”

Except for the clear sound of flowing water, there was no reply. Caiyun and Fa Fu followed the water channel ahead. Whether from fear or cold, Caiyun shivered uncontrollably.

Not far on, she finally heard a faint “Mom!” She rushed toward the sound and saw Yu Qiang resting his chin on the water channel’s edge in a low spot. Fa Fu immediately lifted Yu Qiang up, untied him, removed his soaked clothes, and gave him his own cotton jacket. Together with Caiyun, they carried Yu Qiang home.

Caiyun saw that Yu Qiang’s nostrils were clogged with cow dung and his mouth was full too. She thoroughly cleaned him with warm water.

When Wang Hongbing found out, he went to Secretary Yang to protest but was reprimanded for disregarding the organization and interfering with leadership decisions. Ashamed, Wang Hongbing left quietly.

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At noon, when Caiyun went to the canteen for food, she was informed that the family’s meal rations were suspended for three days.

Caiyun thought, the children were starving to this point; even two days would be hard to survive, let alone three. This was clearly an attempt to wipe out her entire family.

She pleaded with Wang Hongbing to show mercy and leave the children a way out, but Wang spoke sternly: “This is according to regulations. If you disagree, see Secretary Yang.”

Caiyun knew the captain had no authority to imprison anyone in Swallow Cave but had the power, granted by Secretary Yang, to withhold meals for up to three days. So she didn’t seek out Secretary Yang.

Returning home with empty bowls, she found Yu Jun lying motionless on the doorstep, his head drooped. She was terrified and hurried to shake him. Yu Jun lifted his head slightly, and her tense heart sank a bit. She helped him up and asked, “Yu Jun, why are you lying here?”

“I want to go inside, but my legs won’t move.”

She helped him stand, supporting the wall and encouraging him to take steps. Finally, he managed to walk in, then looked up and smiled at his mother.

She said to him, “Son, remember, ‘As long as you don’t lie down, there’s no hurdle you can’t overcome.’”

That night, after a day of hunger, Yu Qiang and Yu Jun lay still on the bed. She feared they might not make it through to the next day.

In the middle of the night, she recalled seeing Big Head Langzi watching peanuts in the west drying yard. He was Wang Hongbing’s cousin, Wang Honglei, a reckless man known as the “live troublemaker.” He had beaten his wife to death just a month after their marriage. Later, Caiyun introduced another woman to him, but he rejected her because she was mute. Now in his thirties, he was still a bachelor.

Caiyun thought if she could get some peanuts, it would be best—they had high nutritional value and could be eaten raw. She decided to try.

Big Head Langzi slept in the warehouse at night. Caiyun cautiously knocked on the door, her heart pounding as if it would burst. She pressed her hand hard against her chest.

“Secretary, I’m here,” Big Head Langzi thought it was Secretary Yang. When he opened the door and saw Caiyun, he asked coldly, “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”

Seizing the opportunity, Caiyun barged in. “Uncle, the children are near death. Please, give me some peanuts to save their lives. Can you help?”

“No can do. Without Secretary Yang’s approval, no one can touch them.”

“The county official isn’t as good as the current guard. If you show mercy and let me take some, no one will know.”

“There’s no way out without permission. But if you’re willing to sleep with me, I might let you have some.” With that, he dragged Caiyun onto the bed.

“Let me go, or I’ll scream!”

“Don’t… don’t scream! I’ll let you go. Hurry, get out!” Big Head Langzi pushed and shoved her out the door.

Back home, Caiyun was uneasy. She nudged Yu Qiang—no response. She nudged again, still none. Panic overwhelmed her as she grabbed Yu Qiang and begged, “Yu Qiang, what’s wrong? Speak to me!”

After a while, Yu Qiang’s lips twitched, and she faintly heard him call, “Mom!” Caiyun’s tightly wound heart finally relaxed. He was alive. She told him, “Son, you must hold on. I’ll get you something to eat right away.”

At that moment, Caiyun remembered how a mother hen shields her chicks by spreading her wings and calling them under her protection when danger comes. She thought no matter human or animal, a mother’s nature was the same.

Seeing Yu Jun was alive too, she made a crucial decision: to fight for life!

To save her children’s lives, she would risk her own to overcome this obstinate old bachelor.

When she saw Big Head Langzi again, her mind had only one thought: take the peanuts to save the children!

Big Head Langzi brightened when he saw her again and smiled, “So? You’ve changed your mind?”

“As long as you let me take some peanuts, I’ll do whatever you want.”

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“Really?” Big Head Langzi was a little skeptical.

“Really!” Caiyun answered firmly.

“All right. If you’re sincere and satisfy me, I can give you a pound of peanuts to take away.”

“But I’m too hungry and weak. I need to eat some peanuts first.”

“No problem,” Big Head Langzi agreed without hesitation.

He took out a small cloth bag hidden in the peanut stash, containing about a pound of peanut kernels, and handed it to Caiyun. “These are the ones I secretly shelled at night. I couldn’t even bear to eat them myself. You better behave.”

Caiyun took it and tried to put it in her pocket, but Big Head Langzi emptied it all out and urged her to eat quickly, saying he couldn’t wait.

Driven by immense determination, human potential can reach its peak. Caiyun’s fight for life was a great success. Big Head Langzi not only let her fill both her pockets with peanuts but also took out a small bag hidden under his pillow and tied it around her waist. He told her to come again next time. Caiyun looked—it was three to four pounds in all. She hadn’t expected this fool to be so generous when in a good mood.

Back home, Caiyun crushed the peanuts and fed them to Yu Qiang. At first, he didn’t react, so she gently pried his lips open and fed him little by little.

Soon, his lips began to move and swallow. Before long, Yu Qiang opened his eyes. Caiyun fed Yu Jun the same way, and soon both boys were able to eat by themselves.

Those peanuts were like a lifesaving elixir. Both children recovered, and Caiyun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Yulan brought the peanuts her mother gave her to Caiyun’s mouth. “Mom, I’m not hungry. You eat it.”

Caiyun said, “Good child. You look healthy, so I gave you less. Are you upset?”

“No, I’m really not hungry. Why don’t you eat it?”

“I’m not hungry either.”

“You’re lying. Last time when you fainted, you scared me. Dad’s gone; we can’t lose you!”

“I’m fine. Mom wants to ask you, where did the porridge you fed me last time come from?”

“That wasn’t porridge. It was scorched rice soaked in water.”

“Where did you get scorched rice?”

“My little cousin gave it to me. He told me to keep it secret and said if I fed you, he wouldn’t give me any more.”

“What else did he give you?”

“Peanuts, dried yam, and carrots. He said if I couldn’t eat it, I couldn’t keep it at home. I had to hide it in his haystack.”

Caiyun often taught the children not to accept things from others lightly, but in this emergency, anything that could save their lives was allowed.

Where to hide the remaining peanuts? This troubled Caiyun deeply. She knew Wang Hongbing was an expert at hiding and searching for grain. These peanuts were bought with her dignity and life itself and must not be found.

Yulan’s earlier words reminded her of a place that could evade Wang Hongbing’s search.