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墨書 Inktalez
I often ran wildly to the back mountain, and my mother worried that one day I would fall or get bitten by snakes or insects. She strictly forbade me while asking my grandmother to keep a close watch on me, but I couldn't resist. In desperation, my mother often took time to bring me to Grandma's House.
However, it was quite troublesome for my mother to take me to Grandma's House. The production team had work every day, so she could only wait until evening when work was done. In a hurry, she would pull me along and carry my younger brother and sister in a pair of baskets, rushing five or six miles before it got completely dark. At home, she also had to entrust Grandma or someone else to feed and take care of the livestock.
One time, after much effort, the four of us finally arrived at the large house under the eaves of Grandma's House just as it was getting dark. I ran towards the house without paying attention to the path beneath my feet and fell hard, crying loudly. For a long time afterward, I was afraid to go to Grandma's House.
Before long, my heart began to itch again. Taking advantage of my mother's absence, I secretly ran toward Grandma's House. My little brother, only two or three years old, wanted to follow me. When I firmly refused to take him along, he told Grandma. Just as I reached the ridge in front of the yard, Grandma chased after me and warned me not to go to Grandma's alone while repeatedly telling the story of the bear grandma who ate people, trying to scare away my restless thoughts.
Indeed, Grandma's House was five or six miles from Zhu Shan Bay. First, I had to cross the ridge in front of the yard, then climb over the Twin Peaks opposite Shibaochong and Mount Meru. After that, I would pass through the middle of the yard in New House and then sneak around the edge of the old house's yard before finally catching sight of the large courtyard of Grandma's House. Much of the path wound through the ridge, barely two feet wide, twisting and turning without any straight sections, making it easy for a child to trip. Moreover, both New House and the old house had yards where nearly every household kept dogs. Whenever they saw strangers passing by, they would bark fiercely; if one felt timid and tried to hide, they might even pounce.
Grandma's House was located in Tangjiazhai, a courtyard more than twice the size of our Zhu Shan Bay. At that time, it was divided into two production teams: the upper and lower teams. The courtyard was built on a flat land surrounded by mountains on three sides and housed around two or three hundred people. The two production teams shared one courtyard but each had its own threshing ground. Besides Grandma's main room, that was my favorite place to go. It served as both the team office and grain storage; there were always many people there. During busy harvest times, one could pick up beans, and during the slow winter months, it was a great spot for playing hide-and-seek.
Grandma's House is famous for miles around, built by my great-grandfather's generation. The main hall alone is as large as four rows of three rooms in my own house. On either side of the hall, there are four rows of rooms, each divided into front and back sections. But that’s not all; at both ends of the main house, there are also four additional rooms, and behind the main house, a row of storage rooms serves as toilets and utility spaces, where several black coffins are kept. I usually avoid going in there; sometimes when I can't hold it anymore, I'd rather step outside to relieve myself. The height of the house is also unusual; from the main beam to the ground, each room has a loft, making two levels. The upper level is mainly used for storing farming tools and is generally not inhabited.
My grandfather had five brothers. I have met my eldest uncle, and my grandmother lives next to the main hall. She gave birth to six sons, occupying most of the left side of the house. My third uncle has three sons who live in two rows of the main house on the right side; the front two rows of their additional rooms also belong to them. He and my third aunt love children; she often pulls me close, stuffing candies into my mouth while patting my frail body, saying, "The children from the Qingmei family are so unfortunate; even their waistbands are black." My grandfather is fourth in line and has two uncles; two aunts have already married off. Due to having fewer sons and my grandfather working at Forest Farm, their family only occupies the far-right row of the main house along with two additional rooms.
My second uncle and late grandfather do not live in this large house: my second uncle built his own house across a small canal with his two sons. During the war against Japan, my late grandfather attended Whampoa Military Academy and was responsible for horses and supplies in the army. After liberation, he became a veterinarian specializing in treating cattle and pigs. He was adopted by his uncle at a young age and lived in another courtyard.
Grandma's house is truly a large family. Roughly counting, there are almost twenty uncles, and as for the number of aunts, only my mother could keep track. As for the cousins I know, they are already nearing fifty, and those I don't know, my mother might not be clear about either. With so many people in the family and such a big place, what attracts me to venture there alone despite the difficult journey and the barking of fierce dogs are two things that children crave the most: play and food.
The older generation, including my grandfather and my uncles and aunts, treat us just like their own children. They tease us, feed us, and take care of us, making me never feel like an outsider. For instance, my great-grandmother looks at my thin body with a loving gaze and words of concern. My uncles play with us like children; Uncle Da Zhang performs Lion Dance for us nephews; Uncle Da Yuan helps us sew new clothes every year; and Uncle Da Xian, who just started working at Forest Farm, describes the wonders of the forest to me. He said that "even a thick novel could not fully depict it," which ignited my dream of writing. There are countless stories to tell.
The cousins around my age, like Xing Nan, Xing Peng, Xing Lie, Xing You, and Xing Chang, always join me to play whenever I visit. The small canal that runs through the yard, the spacious production team's drying yard and warehouse, and the wide ridge are all great places for us to have fun. Especially when we walk over a mile out of the yard to a large reservoir during hot weather, we all go to play together. Since I can't swim, there are always two or three cousins who keep me safe at the edge of the water, allowing me to enjoy its coolness while sparing me from the fear of drowning.
In fact, the journey to Grandma's House, despite its various dangers, also offers some joys that cannot be experienced at home. As I pass through the yard of the New House, I often encounter a few familiar or unfamiliar children. I can join their group and play joyfully for a while before continuing on my way. After passing through the New House, I need to cross the "Mother River" of the the Long Clan, the Qingxi River. Although it's called a river, in most places it is only three or four meters wide, with shallow areas that barely reach a child's knees. When I reach this spot, I shake off my fear of deep water and step into the stream, letting my bare feet soak in the cool, clear water as I tread on the smooth pebbles beneath.
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