Chapter 42: Play with Fire and You'll Get Burned
Yang Jiabo's bamboo house was completed just before school break. He planned to move there with Yang Qing, only to face strong opposition from Yang Jianjun. Having assumed his father would support all his decisions, Yang Jiabo was stunned. He had forgotten to discuss it beforehand.
"Dad, Yang Qing has nowhere else to go. Besides, the farm needs someone to keep an eye on things as we expand." Yang Jiabo couldn’t understand his father’s objection.
"Jiajia, you’re still a kid. The farm’s perimeter only has barbed wire, the thorny vines aren’t grown yet, there’s no proper gate, and the phone line isn’t connected. What if something happens?"
Relieved it was just a safety concern (and not dislike for Yang Qing), Yang Jiabo relaxed. "We can fix all that. I’ll get the phone installed tomorrow, then buy two dogs. That should solve it, right?"
"Big dogs take time to train, small ones are useless." Yang Jianjun chuckled at his son’s naivety.
"Then what? I already promised Yang Qing, I can’t abandon him." Yang Jiabo saw his father’s point, but Yang Qing’s situation remained.
"I’ll move with you. The farm does need guarding." Yang Jianjun had already considered this.
"But what about Mom? She’s too scared to stay home alone." Yang Jiabo scratched his head.
Li Guizhen was superstitious, though less obvious compared to Grandma Yang. She feared ghosts and burglars, making her fierce attitude toward her husband and son oddly contradictory.
Yang Jianjun smiled. "Your aunt’s been renting since her divorce, and money’s tight. We have a spare room, your mom wants her to move in and save on rent."
"Fine, once the farm is ready, Mom can join us if she wants." Yang Jiabo agreed.
Auntie, Li Guizhen’s youngest sister, was kind, hardworking, and conventionally minded but pleasant. More importantly, she was frugal, a counterbalance to Li Guizhen’s spendthrift habits.
With plans settled, Yang Jianjun discussed it with Li Guizhen. Seeing both men focused on earning, she didn’t object. Soon, Auntie moved in, quitting her grueling hospital janitorial job to help with the stall.
At the farm, Yang Jianjun took the guest room, while Yang Jiabo and Yang Qing shared a suite. Yang Qing beamed with excitement at the prospect of having his own bamboo house, a promise that clearly delighted him.
But his joy was short-lived. Discovering Yang Qing’s poor grades, Yang Jiabo became a relentless tutor.
"Jiajia, it’s vacation! Let me rest...or even help with work!" Yang Qing pleaded.
"You’ll get breaks and your favorite braised pork." Yang Jiabo dangled rewards.
"Too much studying ruins even meat." Yang Qing groaned.
"No excuses. Study hard, get into college like Aunt Qiaohui." The only member of the Yang family with a degree, she was his model.
"Back then, college was assigned - two years of middle school, then state-sponsored ‘Worker-Peasant-Soldier’ university with stipends!" Yang Qing sighed wistfully.
[工农兵大学 (Gōng-Nóng-Bīng Dàxué): Worker-Peasant-Soldier Universities (1970-76), colleges where enrollment was based on political status/quotas rather than exams, part of Mao-era reforms.]
Yang Jiabo scoffed. "Oh sure, also no food, no oil in meals, no snacks, no new clothes, no cartoons, no soda..."
"Okay, okay! I’ll study!" Yang Qing surrendered.
"Get into college, and I’ll support you all the way. Since I can’t go, you’ll experience it for me." Yang Jiabo’s voice cracked.
"Jiajia, your eyes are red," Yang Jianjun noted as he walked by.
"Dust." Yang Jiabo rubbed them.
"Both eyes?"
"Double dust."
Shrugging, Yang Jianjun left.
Life at the farm was hectic but progressive. Yang Qing’s grades improved to 80+ though elite high school remained distant. Weekends, he happily endured tutoring for a home.
Yang Jiabo and Wei Jing’s monthly calls continued. One day, Yang Jiabo grumbled, "Landlines suck. We need video calls, free and convenient!"
"China barely has cell towers, dreamer," Wei Jing laughed.
"Cell phones exist, and so does the internet. Video calls are inevitable, never underestimate tech!" Yang Jiabo rambled futuristically.
After hanging up, Auntie called urgently: "Come home! Your parents are divorcing!"
Yang Jianjun’s motorcycle was gone, so Yang Jiabo pedaled furiously home. Before entering, he heard:
"We’re divorcing, no arguments!" Yang Jianjun roared.
"It’s just a friend! Nothing happened!" Li Guizhen shot back.
Yang Jiabo froze at the door. History was repeating itself.
In his previous life, after Yang Jianjun’s factory closed, a relative offered him a kitchen job in Beijing. It failed, and he returned penniless. Years later, he caught Li Guizhen alone with another man. Despite their conflicts, they managed to maintain their marriage.
However, Yang Jiabo later discovered her affair via texts. He forced her to cut ties, but after his father’s death, he never knew if she complied.
Now, facing the same betrayal, Yang Jiabo stepped inside, his heart was heavy.
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