Chapter 616 — Childhood Playmates
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Hello? Xixing Village, who are you looking for?" Widow Wang's voice came over the line, her Mandarin thick with the tang of the countryside.
"Auntie Wang, this is Xiaoyi, from Old Lin's family. Could you call Erdoudan to the phone for me?" Wei Zhao said.
"Ah? Xiaoyi from Old Lin's household! Hang on, I'll go fetch him right now!" Widow Wang answered, and set the receiver down.
Xixing Village was a small place; practically everyone knew everyone, and everyone bought their goods from Widow Wang's shop, so she was happy enough to let folks take their calls at her counter.
Right beside Widow Wang's grocery store stood the village office, and inside it was a loudspeaker. Out in the village, finding someone came down to shouting, plain and simple — one blast from that loudspeaker could jolt a sleeping man awake.
"Erdoudan, it's your Auntie Wang — come take a call!" Widow Wang bellowed into the loudspeaker, then went back into the store.
Before long a man built like an ox came running into the shop. That was Erdoudan. One meter eighty-five of him, planted in the doorway like a wall. "Auntie Wang, a call for me?"
He had run all the way from his family's fields, a good kilometer of it, and his face was not flushed, his heart was not pounding — he was not even breathing hard. Anyone could see the man was cut from uncommon cloth.
"It's Xiaoyi on the line. Hurry up and answer — he's calling long-distance, and that costs money!" Widow Wang said, pointing at the telephone on the table.
"Brother Wei Zhao?" The moment Erdoudan heard Wei Zhao's name, he rubbed his hands together in excitement and picked up the receiver. "This is Erdoudan!"
"Heh... Erdoudan." Wei Zhao laughed. "Keeping busy back home?"
"Not too bad. We sowed a while back, and now it's all hoeing and fertilizing, just waiting on the autumn harvest. I reckon we'll have a good crop this year!" Erdoudan said.
"Good. Got yourself a girlfriend yet?" Wei Zhao asked, smiling.
"Who'd ever fancy the likes of me?" Erdoudan gave a simple, honest laugh. "My family's this poor, and I'm no oil painting either. I'll die a bachelor, sure enough!"
"Well then, if you've got nothing on your hands these days, come by my place. The old man at home has my address — bring a few things over for me, and it's a fine chance to see a bit of the world besides," Wei Zhao said with a laugh.
"Huh? Really? That's wonderful!" Hearing that Wei Zhao wanted him to go see the big city, Erdoudan was beside himself with joy. "Then I'll set out as soon as I finish up the farm work in a few days... Only, Brother Wei Zhao, we haven't had our autumn harvest yet, so I've no money for the journey!"
Erdoudan and Wei Zhao had played together since they were small, so there was no awkwardness between them at all. No money was no money; there was no shame in it.
"Heh. The old man at home will get your travel money ready. Whatever you need, just tell me before you set off," Wei Zhao said. "No standing on ceremony with me."
"Course not. You're my Brother Wei Zhao — course I won't be polite!" Erdoudan had a one-track mind, and always had, ever since he was a boy: apart from his father's word, he obeyed Wei Zhao's.
So in Erdoudan's eyes, Wei Zhao stood about where his own father did, and it was only natural that Wei Zhao should give him money to spend.
"Heh..." Wei Zhao laughed. How many years had it been since he last played with Erdoudan? Those childhood days of catching fish and scooping up shrimp were long gone, never to return.
Even after he hung up, Wei Zhao was still sunk in memory... If there was one thing he could say of his life, it was that its happiest hours numbered three.
The second of those hours had been at the training camp, with his few comrades — he had been the squad captain, leading six others through one gate and past one general after another, until in the end they came out on top. Those years had been bitter and exhausting, but they had also been the fullest he had ever lived.