Fang Yi followed Uncle Fang's opera troupe on the way to Zhangjiazhuang deep in the mountains.
To arrive in the mountains before dark, everyone unconsciously quickened their pace. The thirty-odd li journey had no decent main road; it wound round and round, consisting entirely of crooked, weed-choked dirt paths. They crossed fields covered in lingering snow, skirted rivers paved with thin ice, rounded thorn-grown hillsides, and climbed ridges echoing with the sound of pines...
Along the way, everyone kept praising Fang Yi for his strong physique and good foot-speed, saying he was far better than other boys his age. Fang Yi couldn't help feeling secretly proud inside. What did this little distance amount to? No matter how far the road, it couldn't stump these legs of his.
Chen Geng pondered as he walked: unless someone had specifically trained their body, it was simply impossible to achieve such a good physical state. A fifteen-year-old boy had walked over a dozen li of bumpy, uneven dirt paths without stopping once, and he wasn't even out of breath.
When the road beneath their feet turned into pale yellow sandy soil, Uncle Fang knew they were nearing the mountains. At that moment, the slanting rays of the setting sun cast a golden glow, birds were returning to the woods, and it was growing late. Lifting his chin slightly, he could see towering, verdant mountains blocking the path ahead.
"Everyone take a rest here for a moment. We're about to enter the mountains." Uncle Fang waved to the group, signaling them to rest where they stood.
Fang Yi hurried to take out a few roasted sweet potatoes, a few strips of crispy pickled radishes, and several scorched-rice rice balls from the cloth bag on his back, distributing them to everyone one by one. This thrilled the group immensely, and they began joking with cheeky grins: "From now on, wherever we go, we're bringing Fang Yi along! As long as he's here, we'll have good food!" But when Uncle Fang turned around, none of them dared to speak another word.
These dry rations had been prepared by Auntie Li before they left. Although it was the first month of the lunar year, the family really couldn't scrape together any decent food besides these coarse grains. Even these rough chewables had been saved out of the mouths of the nine children. Auntie Li had been truly worried about letting Fang Yi come to the mountains to perform—after all, this was Fang Yi's first time traveling far from home—but Chen Geng's leg was genuinely injured, so she had no choice.
Fang Yi gnawed on a scorched-rice rice ball with water from his canteen, eating with great relish. At that moment, Chen Geng quietly walked over and sat down beside him on the withered yellow grass.
"Tell me, Young Master Fang, be honest with me: did you study under a master and learn some real skills?" Chen Geng asked cautiously and softly.
Fang Yi was startled at first, but quickly gathered his composure and smiled as he replied, "Yes, I did."
"I knew it! At such a young age, your stamina and endurance are amazing! And what about that stage over a meter high—you just gave a light leap and landed right on top, practically like Shaolin lightweight kung fu. Out with it now, who on earth is your master?" Chen Geng's interest was suddenly piqued, and he pressed Fang Yi to tell the truth.
Fang Yi chuckled, "Naturally, I learned from the six masters! Singing, reciting, acting, fighting, hands, eyes, body, and stance—every single one of you is an expert. How could I... not... secretly pick up a thing or two?"
Chen Geng paused, half-believing him. "Good lad, playing dumb with me again. You definitely didn't tell the truth."
Just then, Uncle Fang had already stood up and called out from the front, "Let's move! Watch out, or it'll get dark soon and you'll all be fed to the wolves."
Everyone patted the dust off their bottoms, dragged themselves up lazily from the grassy ground, and continued on their way. Fortunately, they were almost there; otherwise, with all the carrying and shouldering they had done along the way, they probably wouldn't have lasted much longer.
Between the two mountains ahead lay a mountain path sloping upward, looking rather steep. Climbing it bare-handed would have been fine, but carrying loads on a shoulder pole was definitely going to be tough.
Helping one another, the group took a long time to climb to the top of the mountain, and then began groping their way down. Fortunately, going downhill wasn't too exhausting.
Once inside the mountains, treading on the unmelted snow with deep and shallow footsteps, they passed through a pear orchard, a chestnut orchard, and a plum orchard before finally arriving, stumbling and slanting, at the entrance of Zhangjiazhuang.
Luckily Uncle Fang had visited this place once before; otherwise, wandering around blindly in forests woven entirely from white snow, they might have lost their way long ago.
Just as everyone felt their legs losing strength, a figure approached them from afar. Uncle Fang wiped his eyes and looked closely, recognizing Zhang Qiang.
Zhang Qiang had taken off his heavy cotton-padded coat, wearing only a cotton vest, and hurried over eagerly. After exchanging polite pleasantries with Uncle Fang, he warmly took over the heavy load from Chen Geng's shoulder and led the way forward.
About the time it takes to smoke half a cigarette, they arrived in front of the Zhang family's gate.
The Zhang family residence faced south, backed against a large mountain, and the open area in front of the gate was exceptionally bright. Several red plum trees inside a wooden fence were blooming brilliantly. On the dry, spacious threshing floor, bamboo sieves of various sizes were filled with colorful dried goods, all drying in the sun, releasing a faint, lingering fragrance from afar. Facing them was a row of six brand-new thatched houses, with bright red spring couplets pasted on the doors and windows of every room, looking exceptionally dazzling in the sunlight. The courtyard was filled with a joyful, festive atmosphere.
Zhang Qiang's family hurriedly came out to welcome them. At the same time, villagers who loved excitement crowded around in a dense mass, pointing and chattering at the Fang Family Opera Troupe as if watching monkeys perform tricks.
About an hour and a half later, the Fang Family Opera Troupe was completely settled in at the Zhang family home. The stage was built, and everything was ready, waiting only for the Jiangnan people to return home to visit relatives and watch the opera.
As someone traveling far from home for the very first time, Fang Yi experienced an unprecedented shock to his heart upon seeing everything at the Zhang household. He had never seen red plums blooming so brightly in the snowy weather, never seen such a variety of mountain goods that could be eaten, and never seen hunters' shiny hunting rifles or the wolf skins, rabbit skins, and roe deer skins hanging on the wall... Only then did he realize that life could actually be lived this way, that people could actually eat their fill, and that Zhangjiazhuang in the mountains was a new world countless times better than Baijia Village. When would Baijia Village ever be able to live a decent life like this?
Seeing the look of desolation on Fang Yi's face, Uncle Fang was extremely displeased. He walked over and complained, "Look at you! You're here as a guest in someone else's home, but you don't look like a guest at all. Pulling such a long face makes everything look unpleasant to anyone who sees it."
Fang Yi curled his lips and tilted his head. "We aren't here as guests anyway, we're here to make a living..." His heart was filled with such conflict that his voice was extremely low, dropping almost down into the mud beneath his feet.
Uncle Fang instantly flared up. "What's wrong with making a living? Aren't people who make a living human beings? If I didn't toil around everywhere trying to earn a living like this, wouldn't most of you nine have starved to death long ago?"
Chen Geng, who was carefully inspecting the opera stage, vaguely heard Uncle Fang shouting behind him. He hastily turned his head to look, and seeing Uncle Fang's face full of anger, he hurried over.
"Fang Yi, didn't you just ask me about another style of staff play? How did you run over here and stir up trouble in the blink of an eye? Hurry up and come with me." With that, Chen Geng grabbed Fang Yi's sleeve and dragged him over to the edge of the stage.
Uncle Fang felt depressed in his heart, fished a cigarette out from his tunic, and puffed on it continuously. Although he didn't like what Fang Yi had said, he understood in his heart what Fang Yi was thinking, and these were precisely the pains he had buried deep in his own heart for many years. But was there any better way? If there were, he would even be willing to trade a reduction in his lifespan for it. A whole big household of people—the moment they woke up every day, they needed mouths to feed! Could it be that he should sell off a few of them to lighten the burden?
Supper had already been served on the table. Zhang Qiang and his wife had prepared a rich dinner for everyone, featuring several platters of fresh rabbit meat, roe deer meat, and fish. That aroma was enough to coax the gluttonous worms right out of a person's stomach from a hundred li away.
"Master Fang, I just whipped up some simple dishes tonight. If there's anything lacking in our hospitality, please don't take offense!" Zhang Qiang grinned broadly, revealing a flash of white teeth against his naturally dark face.
Uncle Fang hurriedly expressed his thanks: "Such a huge table of dishes—you've really gone to too much trouble for us!"
Zhang Qiang's wife was overjoyed and warmly greeted everyone from the side. "Everyone, help yourselves to whatever you like. If anything doesn't suit your taste, just let me know and I'll cook something else." She even deliberately picked out some tree ear fungus and rabbit meat, placing them right into Fang Yi's bowl. It was clear she was exceptionally fond of this delicate-looking young master.