Xiao Weiguo returned home to find that Xiao Shanshan had already lulled the two younger children to sleep.
She sat alone on a small wooden stool in the main room, cupping her chin in her hands, lost in troubled thoughts.
Four years had passed since a plague took both of their parents.
For four years, her greatest hope was that her older brother would mend his ways, learn to support the household, and help her look after their young siblings.
Yet, all she received in return was disappointment after disappointment. Instead of improving, her brother had grown increasingly worse.
Beating and scolding them was a daily routine, and he had even driven their fourteen-year-old younger brother to run away from home.
Living under such a shadow, Xiao Shanshan was nearly in despair.
Surrounded by a sea of suffering on all sides, she could never find the shore.
Agreeing to marry the village chief's foolish nephew was a way out for her, a way to escape reality.
She was truly exhausted; at just seventeen years old, her shoulders bore far too much.
Yet today, her oldest brother's behavior had completely exceeded her expectations.
Not only had he stood like a man in front of his sister to drive away the wedding procession, but he had also learned how to do business and earned money.
She could hardly imagine that the older brother who had previously looked down on them would thoughtfully buy so many things for them.
Xiao Shanshan seemed to catch a glimpse of light.
Had her brother truly changed for the better? How she hoped all of this wasn't a dream.
The front gate gave a soft click, and Xiao Weiguo walked in.
"Shanshan, you're still awake?"
He asked with a smile toward his younger sister, the anger that had filled him at Xiao Changsuo's house instantly melting away the moment he saw her.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. How did things go?"
She stood up and handed a clean, worn set of clothes to her older brother.
"You've had a tiring day, and you got caught in the rain. Wash up and change into some dry clothes."
"Ah, yes, good! Thank you, Shanshan."
Xiao Weiguo hurriedly took them. What a sensible younger sister she was—how could his past self have been such a bastard?
"Shanshan, everything is settled. The money has been refunded to them. Don't worry, no one will ever force you again."
The weather remained stiflingly hot. Xiao Weiguo rubbed his aching nose and walked out into the courtyard.
He pumped a large bucket of cold water from the hand pump, lifted it, and poured it straight over his head.
A refreshing chill spread through his body from head to toe.
Ah, it felt wonderful! 1986, I love you! Xiao Weiguo felt an urge to throw his arms up and shout for joy.
After bathing and changing into dry clothes, Xiao Weiguo returned to the main room to check on the twin younger siblings fast asleep on the brick bed.
Even though the weather was scorching and their faces and bodies were still slick with sweat, they slept with absolute sweetness. Xiao Yue's pretty little lips twitched gently from time to time, revealing a half-smile as if she were having a wonderful dream.
Beside them, Shanshan held a cattail leaf fan, gently fanning the two little ones while swatting away mosquitoes.
This was his home, his family. Dilapidated and poor as it was, having them here was enough. Xiao Weiguo felt a surge of drive fill his entire being.
Returning to his small room at the far west end, Xiao Weiguo sat on the bed, staring blankly out the window at the moon in the sky.
Everything had come back, but Xiao Jiang—the younger brother he missed the most—had not yet returned.
Last spring, Xiao Weiguo had gotten drunk and beaten Xiao Jiang severely for reasons he could no longer remember. Back then, whether to Xiao Weiguo or the other siblings, such violence was just an everyday occurrence.
Who could have known that this time, the usually obedient Xiao Jiang would finally snap?
He fought back desperately with his older brother, though being three years younger, how could he possibly be a match for Xiao Weiguo?
Covered in bruises after taking a beating, Xiao Jiang fell into despair.
The only things this home gave him were coldness and cruelty, and he felt his life was worse than that of an ox or a horse.
That night, he left home. He took nothing with him, only turning to hurl a single sentence at his oldest brother:
"I won't settle accounts with you over my own matters, but you'd better take good care of our sister and younger siblings. Otherwise, sooner or later, I will kill you."
With that, he turned and walked away, never returning from that day on.
In his past life, after Xiao Weiguo grew rich, it wasn't as though he hadn't looked for him, but there had never been any news.
He had never expected that Xiao Jiang would keep his word; when they finally met again, Xiao Jiang ended his life with a dagger, fulfilling his promise.
This human tragedy of brothers turning against each other had been entirely of Xiao Weiguo's own making.
In this lifetime, he was determined to find his younger brother, and the family would never be separated again.
At the first break of dawn, Xiao Weiguo woke from his dream to the sound of Shanshan bustling about outside.
He dressed and walked into the courtyard. Xiao Shanshan, who was tidying up, looked up and smiled.
"You're up, Brother."
Xiao Weiguo was somewhat stunned to see breakfast already laid out on the small wooden table in the main room.
"Shanshan, you got up so early?"
"Oh, I'm used to it. Eat your meal first, I'll go wake Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue."
Before dawn, Xiao Shanshan had already gotten up. First, she used a sieve to sort through the rice and flour her oldest brother had bought yesterday, then she lit the stove and cooked breakfast. To her, this was simply routine.
As long as there was food to fill her family's bellies, no matter how early she rose, Xiao Shanshan felt no grievance at all.
"Shanshan, you've worked hard."
Xiao Weiguo could understand his sister's exhaustion. How difficult it must be; in other families, a girl this age would still be acting spoiled beside her parents.
Xiao Shanshan said nothing. She merely looked up at her older brother for a moment before hurrying inside to wake Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue.
Breakfast was simple: a bowl of millet porridge, several flatbreads, and a plate of homemade pickled vegetables for each of them.
Yet the siblings gathered around the table ate with immense joy.
"Shanshan, I don't have anything to do today. Are there any chores in the fields? I'll go help you with them."
Liu Ye's socks had completely sold out. Even if Liu Ye persuaded her father, new stock wouldn't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. With a whole day of free time, Xiao Weiguo hadn't yet thought of anything else to do.
"Huh?"
Xiao Shanshan could hardly believe her ears.
"You're coming to the fields with me?"
How many years had it been since her oldest brother had done any farm work? She could barely remember.
"That's right. I'm in great shape—can't I handle a little work in the fields?"
Xiao Weiguo flexed his arm, showing his younger sister his bulging biceps.
"There are bugs in the cornfield. If you're not afraid of the heat, you can come with me to catch them."
In this era, rural areas weren't yet accustomed to using chemical pesticides. When pests appeared in the fields, people mostly relied on picking them off by hand.
"Good!"
Xiao Weiguo agreed instantly and sped up his eating.
"I want to go too! I want to go too!"
Seeing this, the two younger ones chimed in with cheers and joined the excitement.
"You two stay properly at home. It's so hot in the fields, and there are ditches everywhere—if you're not careful, you'll fall right in. What would you go for?"
Xiao Shanshan put on a stern face to scold the two little ones.
Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yue stuck their tongues out at each other, hurriedly lowering their heads to eat without daring to say another word.
"If they want to go, let them. There's tree shade at the edge of the field; can't the two of us adults keep an eye on two kids?"
Xiao Weiguo laughed as he pleaded on behalf of the little duo.
After finishing the meal and clearing the bowls and chopsticks, the four siblings each took an empty glass bottle in hand and marched off in a grand procession toward their cornfield.
The scorching heat of the seventh lunar month was truly no joke.
As soon as the sun came up, the weather suddenly turned exceptionally sweltering.
Scarcely had they stepped out of the house when Xiao Weiguo already experienced what it meant to face unbearable heat.
Thinking of his younger sister having to labor under such a sun every day made Xiao Weiguo's heart ache all the more.