Chapter 014: The Boarding School

On the branches of the banyan tree by the pond, cicadas sing the arrival of summer; on the swings by the playground, only a butterfly has come to rest. The teacher’s chalk on the blackboard continues its tireless, chirping dance…

It was September 1, 1994. Victory Junior High School welcomed the start of a new semester and the arrival of new students. The campus radio played Lo Ta-yu’s “Childhood.” This was the best middle school in Luohe Town, where Great Willow Village was located. Only the top two hundred students in the town’s elementary school graduation exam could enter as quota students. Of course, there were also out-of-quota admissions, but the tuition was much higher.

Only five students from Red Star Primary School made it into Victory Middle School as quota students, including Yang Tian and Huang Juan. They arrived for registration, accompanied by the couples Yang Tian’s parents and Huang Juan’s parents. Yang Xueling came too, eager for a day of fun in the town.

As he gazed at the familiar campus, Yang Tian’s heart was full of conflicting emotions. In his previous life, he had attended this same school, but as a non-quota student; his parents, Yang Bao and his wife, had paid a hefty sum to get him in. This time, however, he had been admitted fair and square, and the feeling was undoubtedly different. Seeing the beaming smiles on his parents’ faces, warmth blossomed inside him. When they’d just left Great Willow Village, the neighbors had either praised the couple for their good fortune in having such an outstanding son or scolded their own children for not being as promising as Yang Tian. Though his parents said little, Yang Tian could see the pride shining in their eyes.

“Wow, Victory Middle School is so much prettier than Red Star Primary! I want to study hard and come here too, so I can play with my brother and Sister Juan!” Yang Xueling ran around the flower beds near the school gate, making everyone burst into laughter.

“Victory Middle School has a closed-campus policy,” Yang Bao said with concern. “All students must board at school, and you’ll only be able to go home once a week at most. Are you both ready for that, Tian, Juan? This will be your first time away from your families.”

“We’re already prepared!” Huang Juan replied excitedly. “I checked, and I’m in the same class as Yang Tian. We can look out for each other—eat together, study together, and on weekends, we can go out and have fun…” Her excitement faded when she saw her parents’ surprised expressions, and a blush crept up her cheeks.

Today, she wore a plaid fitted top her Aunt Qian had bought her and light blue jeans that showed off her figure just beginning to bloom. Yang Tian wanted to admire her a bit longer, but worried that his mature mind might wander into inappropriate thoughts, he pretended instead to curiously observe the campus. This made Huang Juan feel a little vexed, thinking he didn’t care about her outfit.

“You’re still young; focus on your studies. There will be plenty of chances to have fun once you get into a good high school and university!” Huang Juan’s mother, Zhong Hehua, said with a smile.

The implication of her words was clear to everyone, and Huang Juan’s face reddened further. Yang Tian, however, remained unfazed—they were only twelve, still children, and the adult world was a distant concern.

“If you don’t have anything useful to say, then don’t say it!” Huang Juan’s father, Huang Biao, cut in cheerfully. “Tian, do you remember the boxing moves I taught you? Practice when you can—it’ll do you good. When you’re home for the weekend, you can spar with your uncle!”

“Understood, Uncle Huang. I’ll come home with Juan every weekend!” Yang Tian understood the adults’ hopes; with so few children at home, the house would feel empty without them. In the past, he hadn’t realized this and only returned when he ran out of money. Now, he had quietly resolved to come home often, whenever he could.

“There’s no need to come home every week; your studies come first,” Li Xiuying, his mother, said with a gentle smile.

“If we have time, we’ll come to visit you at school instead,” Yang Bao added.

Yang Tian and Huang Juan both understood the sentiment behind their words.

The registration process for seventh grade was simple: pay the tuition, find out which class you’d been assigned to, and then locate your dormitory.

There were six classes in the grade. As before, Yang Tian and Huang Juan were both placed in Class Five. Yang Tian’s dorm was in the eastern wing, the boys’ dormitory. Huang Juan’s was in the south, in the girls’ dormitory. The two buildings were about three hundred meters apart, separated by the playground and the cafeteria.

Compared to high school or college dorms, the junior high accommodations were much poorer. Even though Victory Middle School was the best in Luohe Town, the town itself was poor, so the facilities weren’t much to boast about—the true strength lay in the students and teachers.

The girls’ dorms were standard eight-person rooms, while the boys’ dormitory had been converted from an old school building; each room was large enough for all the boys in a class to share. The twenty-five boys of Yang Tian’s class all slept under the same roof.

Inside, there were only bunk beds, desks that doubled as dining tables, and stands for washbasins. There weren’t even any wardrobes—everyone kept their clothes in suitcases brought from home.

Yang Tian’s bed was at the far end of the dorm, a lower bunk. His parents placed his black suitcase under the bed and helped him settle in.

“Are you from Great Willow Village?” a middle-aged man in an old-fashioned gray suit asked Yang Bao with a smile. He looked like a fellow villager, bringing his child to school in town.

“Yes,” Yang Bao replied, sharing a glance with his wife. They didn’t recognize the man but returned his smile politely.

“I remember you! In the summer of ’91, you came to our village to buy rice—you made a tidy profit, didn’t you? Tell me, brother, how did you know the price of grain would go up at the end of that year?” The man pulled Yang Bao to sit on Yang Tian’s bed, eyes full of admiration.

“My son told me,” Yang Bao replied, pleased. He realized the man’s family must live near Great Willow Village. The memory of that year still brought a sweet satisfaction.

“Really? Him?” The man looked at Yang Tian in surprise. “So much insight at such a young age—he’ll go far! You’re lucky to have such a son. Not like my kid, who only cares about playing around.” He nodded toward the boy opposite Yang Tian.

The boy was slightly shorter than Yang Tian, wore glasses, and was holding an English dictionary. He smiled politely at Yang Bao and his wife, then at Yang Tian.

Yang Tian recognized him immediately. The boy was Chen Ming, who would be his bunkmate and later his deskmate. The middle-aged man was Chen Ming’s father, Chen Yong, from Chen Family Village not far from Great Willow Village. Chen Ming was the only child from his village to be admitted to Victory Middle School. He was smart and diligent.

“You’re too kind. Anyone who gets into Victory Middle School is a top student,” Yang Bao replied modestly. Although his heart swelled with pride whenever others praised Yang Tian, he and his wife remained humble, never boasting about their son.

“Let me tell you from the bottom of my heart,” Chen Yong said, slapping his thigh with a hearty laugh, “I don’t expect much from him—just that he won’t end up spending his whole life laboring in the fields like me.” It was clear that hearing praise for his son made him happy, for Chen Ming was indeed his pride.

Chen Yong had little talent and had grown used to poverty, never able to hold his head high in Chen Family Village. But Chen Ming changed all that. Throughout primary school, he ranked first in every exam and was named an exemplary student year after year.

He continued to do well in junior high and high school, always in the top five of his class. Even the villagers of Chen Family Village began to envy Chen Yong, and he walked with new pride, vowing that even if he had to sell everything, he would ensure Chen Ming finished his education.