Dinner

A telegram from higher up: a special enlistment into the army. The villagers had never heard of such a thing and didn't really understand it, but they could tell it was impressive, and on the spot their imaginations ran wild. When their thoughts wandered too far and the heavens seemed too vast, they unconsciously lowered their voices, not daring to discuss it any further. This was likely the habitual mindset ingrained in the common folk of Huaxia over thousands of years. Meanwhile, Han Youshan offered his warm thanks while Zhang Jiexia brought out hot tea. The two cadres sat down, took a few sips, and looked up to ask, "Is your son not at home?" "That's right. Early this morning he went out to ask about—" Zhang Jiexia began, only for her husband to nudge her elbow from behind. She quickly corrected herself, "He went to see a classmate early this morning, and he still isn't back yet." One of the cadres joked, "A female classmate, eh? Haha." The other said, "He's about to head off to the military; it's only right that he says goodbye to his classmates." They didn't stay for a second pour of tea, let alone for dinner. After sitting for only a short while, the two cadres rose to take their leave. Before departing, they left behind a phone number, shaking hands and telling Han Qingyu's parents to contact them if they ever needed anything in the future. Only after the big jeep drove off did the villagers' voices ring out loud and clear once more. This, too, was another habit of everyday life. Crowding around the courtyard walls and outside the gate without dispersing, people chattered and asked over one another about Han Qingyu's special enlistment—what exactly a "special enlistment" was, why he was chosen, and the like. The Han couple knew what was going on in their hearts, but naturally, they couldn't openly admit that their son had pulled strings. As a result, they couldn't give a clear explanation, and their responses sounded somewhat evasive and disjointed. Fortunately, the joy in their hearts was genuine, filling them to the brim. When Han Qingyu arrived home, it was already past nine in the evening, and the neighbors gathered at the Han house had only just dispersed. With good fortune gracing the Han household, there had been no time to cook a feast for guests, so Han Youshan had brought out one of the two bottles of aged baijiu he had stashed away for years and popped it open, which finally managed to placate the congratulating, clamoring crowd for the time being. "What's going on, Dad? Mom?" Upon reaching home and seeing his parents, he seemed to temporarily detach from the events and emotions he had just experienced. Han Qingyu looked at the scene with some confusion. "What? You don't even know yourself?" His mother spoke with beaming delight and hurried into the house, bringing out his enlistment notice. Han Qingyu truly hadn't expected that the notice, which was supposed to arrive tomorrow, had been delivered this very evening—and that it hadn't been Lao Jian who brought it. "Look at that, the notice arrived before you did." Zhang Jiexia briefly explained what had happened earlier. "Um... Mom, Dad, come over here for a second." After hearing her out, Han Qingyu's expression suddenly turned anxious. Taking them by the arms, he pulled his parents back into the house and turned to shut the door tight. Only then, under his parents' bewildered gazes, did he ask in a hushed, urgent whisper, "Dad, Mom, when they delivered the notice, did they give us any money?" Han Youshan and Zhang Jiexia were stunned. "No. Why, were they supposed to give us money? That can't be right." Utter confusion filled Zhang Jiexia's eyes. Han Youshan chimed in, "Yeah, I've never heard of that. I've only ever heard of discharge pay when leaving the service." "Oh... I just asked around blindly before and thought special enlistees really got a subsidy. I was worried you two might let it slip and make people jealous." Han Qingyu covered it up and smoothed over the question. *It seems Lao Jian has the money on him,* he thought to himself. *When he comes tomorrow, I must remember to ask him for it.* He wanted money. At least with his current level of understanding, nothing in Han Qingyu's heart was more important than leaving a sum of money for his parents. If source energy blocks could be sold openly, he would have taken two of the ones he had gotten tonight to sell right away. ... Lights glowed across the mountain village as flying bugs battered against the windowpanes. Sun and moon rose over terraced mountain fields; snakes and rats bred; mountain folk lived and multiplied. Sitting on the threshold under the eave lamp, Han Qingyu looked at the "Enlistment Notice" in his hand. The notice was undoubtedly authentic. Brought in person by cadres from the People's Armed Forces Department, it was real and tangible, its words clear, stamped with a bold red seal. There was no flaw, and naturally no one would ever think to doubt it... Only Han Qingyu himself knew what unimaginable, terrifying things it was about to lead him to face. Behind him at this moment, his mother, brimming with excitement, briskly brought the dishes that had been warming in the wok to the table, the fragrant aroma of food rising amidst the rhythmic clatter. His father took drinking cups from the old wooden cupboard, pondered for a moment, and smiled, taking out an extra one today. Along the road outside the courtyard gate, neighbors and relatives occasionally passed by, stopping to call out greetings, offer congratulations, and ask a few more questions out of care or curiosity. The whole scene gave Han Qingyu a peculiar sensation, as if two worlds were quietly crossing paths: on one side, curling chimney smoke; on the other, bared fangs and brandished claws... standing in silent contrast across a curtain. Everything before his eyes was unmistakably the scene he knew better than anything else, bearing the most plain and unadorned appearance of his past life, just like any normal day. Yet behind the curtain was that hidden part of the world—the part he had just witnessed firsthand and was about to take part in, completely beyond the belief of ordinary people. "Wash your face and eat," his father said affectionately, leaning down and patting Han Qingyu's shoulder. "Ah... okay." Han Qingyu stood up and placed the enlistment notice on the table. While he washed his face at the stand, his parents sat by the table waiting. Han Qingyu wrung out the towel, turned his head, and gazed intently for a long while at his parents sitting in the yellow lamplight. "I'm sorry, Dad, Mom," he finally couldn't help saying a moment later. "If only I'd passed the exams back then... that would've been so much better." Having said that, Han Qingyu hastily tilted his head back, draping the spread-out wet towel over his face. He thought that if he had passed the exams back then, none of these subsequent events would have happened. And he was afraid—afraid that once he left, he might never return. "What nonsense are you talking, silly child? What's there to be sorry for? Serving in the army is good too! When you come back from the military, you might even get placed in a police substation. A few years back, that fellow from Shanglong Village came back and joined the police substation as an officer, and yours is a special enlistment!" his mother said. "That's right. If you perform well in the troops, I hear you can even be promoted to officer," his dad added. "...Yeah." When Han Qingyu took the towel off, he wiped his face vigorously, inconspicuously rubbing his eyes, and broke into a bright smile under his parents' gaze. "Dad, Mom, don't worry. When I get there, I'll definitely do my best. You two take good care of yourselves too, and don't work too hard." The treacherous road ahead lay behind countless mountain passes, yet there was not a single person he could tell. His parents said, "Good, good, good. Don't worry about home either." The family of three sat down. "This bit of liquor is what's left over from just now." His father, Han Youshan, shook the baijiu bottle and said, "By the way, about your special enlistment, did you really not have to give Xiao Fei any gifts?" "Not at all," Han Qingyu quickly said. "It was probably just good timing. The army happened to urgently need some special recruits, and my exam scores weren't bad, especially in math, physics, and chemistry... So among the people who didn't get into college but still met the physical requirements, I was probably considered a rare find." Relief immediately washed over Han Youshan and Zhang Jiexia's faces, and they nodded. "That's good, then." "Come, I'll pour a bit for you today too." His father poured half a finger of baijiu for Han Qingyu, then turned around and poured a sip for his wife, Zhang Jiexia, saying with a smile, "You have a little taste as well." The rest he poured for himself. Raising his cup, he pondered for a long time, yet only two words came out: "So happy." They clinked cups, and each of the three took a sip. The fiery burn made both Zhang Jiexia and Han Qingyu furrow their brows. "Hahaha!" Seeing their expressions, Han Youshan burst into hearty laughter on the spot. Turning to Han Qingyu, he said, "Back then, because I heard alcohol fries your brain and I was afraid it'd hurt your studies, I never let you drink..." "Now you're in trouble," he went on laughing. "I hear folks in the military can really hold their liquor, hahaha!" How to describe it? In this moment, the honest peasant father's laughter carried a hint of gloating amusement. "It's too late to train you now, hahaha... But no matter, you'll be fine once you get drunk a few times." Finally, he offered a solution, then clinked his cup against his son's once more. Throughout dinner, they talked almost constantly. Just as usual, his mother brought up village neighbors, relatives, and all the local gossip. "Oh, right, your cousin went on a blind date yesterday..." she said. "Did it work out? Did she tell you?" Even if it was just idle gossip, Han Qingyu enthusiastically played along and chatted with his mother today. His mother said, "No, looked to me like she just ate till she was stuffed." "Ate till she was stuffed? Shouldn't meeting up have been quite pleasant then? Why didn't it work out?" "Silly boy, if you're so bored on a blind date that you can only focus on eating until you're stuffed, do you really think it worked out?" His mother chuckled and said, "If two people really hit it off, let me tell you, they're either so nervous they can hardly speak, or they have endless things to say." "That... actually sounds pretty reasonable, Mom." "Of course! Your mother has real experience. Back when your dad and I went on our blind date, the two of us left a whole table of food untouched... It was only after we parted and I was walking down the road that I felt hungry. I thought I'd buy a sesame flatbread... and wouldn't you know, right at the flatbread stall, I ran into your dad again..." "I was starving too," Han Youshan chimed in with an embarrassed laugh. The family of three clinked cups again. "Anyway, your mother understands plenty about the ways of the world—I just haven't had time to teach you all of it yet." Putting down her cup, his mother laughed merrily with pride. After laughing for a moment, her laughter suddenly faded. Turning her head, she fell silent for a few seconds, then abruptly said in a different tone, "I just never thought you'd be leaving home so soon." To that, Han Qingyu had no reply. All in all, the atmosphere of this dinner was like a downward-sloping line. After the initial joy and fervor faded, his parents began to gradually realize that their son was finally leaving their side. This departure would be for at least three years, perhaps even many more. Words of advice and caution were repeated over and over. His mother's eyes grew red as she spoke. His dad lit a cigarette and waved his hand in a manly, magnanimous gesture to comfort her. "Look at you, what's all this? Qingzi's grown up now. A man's got to make his way out in the world..." And then he blamed today's smoke for stinging his eyes.