Under the Hawthorn Tree Read Free Page A

some water and to start preparing the food for the city guests. Jingqiu saw that he didn’t resemble Sen, his older brother, but looked more like Mr Zhang. She was surprised. How could two brothers and two sisters look so different? It was as if when making the first son and daughter, the parents used up all the best possible ingredients so that by the time they came round to the next two, they’d just put them together any old how.
    Jingqiu, feeling awkward, said, ‘I’ll help you collect water.’
    â€˜Can you manage?’ Lin said quietly.
    â€˜Of course I can. I often come to the countryside to work on the land.’
    Auntie Zhang said, ‘You want to help him? I’ll just cut some greens, and you can wash them in the river.’ She picked up a bamboo basket and left the room.
    Lin, left alone with Jingqiu, turned and scuttled off to the back of the house to get the water buckets. Auntie returned with two bundles of vegetables and gave them to Jingqiu.
    Back with the buckets, eyes cast down to avoid her gaze, Lin said, ‘Let’s go.’ Jingqiu picked up the basket and followed him, tracing the small road towards the river. Halfway, they bumped into a few young boys from the village who teased Lin. ‘Your dad’s got you a little bride, has he?’ ‘Oooh, she’s from the city.’ ‘Things are looking up!’
    Lin dropped the buckets and chased after the boys. Jingqiu called, ‘Don’t listen to them!’ Lin returned, picked up the buckets, and flew off down the road. Jingqiu was confused, what did the boys mean? Why did they make a joke like that?
    At the river Lin decided the water was too cold for Jingqiu, it would freeze her hands solid, he said. Jingqiu couldn’t convince him otherwise, and so stood waiting and watching from the riverbank. Once he had finished washing the greens, he filled up the two buckets.
    Jingqiu insisted that she should carry them. ‘You didn’t let me wash the vegetables, at least let me carry the water.’ But Lin wouldn’t let her, he picked up the buckets himself, and darted off towards home. And not long after they got back to the house, Lin quickly left.
    Jingqiu tried to help Auntie cook but, again, wasn’t given the opportunity. By now Lin’s little nephew, Huan Huan, who had been sleeping next door, had woken up, and Auntie instructed him, ‘Take your Aunt Jingqiu to fetch Uncle Old Third for dinner.’
    Jingqiu didn’t know that there was yet another son in the family. She asked Huan Huan, ‘Do you know where Uncle Old Third is?’
    â€˜Yes, he’s at the geobology camp.’
    â€˜The geobology camp?’
    â€˜He means the geological unit’s camp,’ Auntie explained smiling. The boy doesn’t speak very clearly.’
    Huan Huan pulled at Jingqiu’s hand. ‘Let’s go, let’s go, Old Third has sweets . . .’
    Jingqiu followed Huan Huan only to find that after a very short while Huan Huan refused to walk. Opening his arms he said, ‘Feet hurt. Can’t move.’
    Jingqiu started laughing and lifted him up. He might have looked small, but he was heavy. She’d already spent the best part of a day walking and carrying her bags, but if Huan Huan would not walk, she had no choice but to carry him a little way, put him down to rest, then lift him up and carry on, asking constantly, ‘Are we nearly there yet? Have you forgotten the way?’
    They had walked a long stretch of road and Jingqiu was just about to take another rest when she heard from far off the sounds of an accordion. Her instrument! She stopped and listened.
    It was indeed an accordion, playing ‘The Song of the Cavalryman’, a tune that Jingqiu had played before, though she could really only play the right-hand part. This musician, however, played both parts very well. When they got to the rousing sections it sounded just like ten thousand