Bai Xuchu
After Father’s burial in their hometown, Cheng Gang suggested that Mother go live with him in Changsha. Stubbornly, Mother turned down the offer, claiming that she liked the quiet of the countryside and would not be able to handle the noise of a city. But Cheng Gang knew the real reason. Mother couldn’t bear to leave Father to sleep his eternal sleep alone in his grave. Before Cheng Gang left, he said to Mother that even though she hadn’t let him send home money before, he would be sending her 200 yuan each month from now on. “It doesn’t take much to live in the country,” Mother responded. “One hundred yuan is plenty.”
The village where Mother lived was a remote place where the postman called only once or twice a month. Since in those days a great many villagers had left to work elsewhere, the elderly family members who stayed behind were always yearning for news of loved ones from afar. The days when the postman visited had become occasions for celebration. Every time he arrived, a crowd of aunties and grannies would immediately surround him, rushing to ask whether their family members had sent mail. Moments after, they would gather in groups of threes or fives, sharing their joy or rejoicing in the happiness of others.
One day when the postman arrived, Mother was harvesting vegetables in the garden behind her house. She didn’t hear Aunt Zhang, one of her neighbors, call for her until the woman had shouted several times. Mother rushed out and got a piece of paper from the postman—it was a money order. Beaming with joy, she announced it was from her son Cheng Gang. Aunt Zhang snatched the money order from Mother and checked it over many times, green with envy: “It’s a whopping 2,400 yuan!” Her exclamation drew people over. The large money order passed from hand to hand among the aunties as a rare treasure, and envious admiration was written all over their faces.
Having received so much money this first time from her son, Mother was so happy that she could not sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and wrote her son a letter. Although Mother had no formal education, Father, who had been the village elementary school teacher, had taught her to read and write simple characters. The letter was only a few lines long. It simply asked Cheng Gang why he had sent so much money when they had agreed to 100 yuan each month. Chang Gang replied, saying that since the postman went only once or twice a month, he couldn’t bear the thought of Mother’s money not arriving on time. Cheng Gang also added that he earned a good salary and that the agreement was 200 yuan every month. The extra, he explained, was because it might not be a bad idea for Mother to have money in hand for an emergency. After reading Cheng Gang’s letter, Mother smiled happily.
A few months passed before Cheng Gang heard back from Mother. The letter was, again, only a few sentences long, admonishing Cheng Gang that he should not send the stipend for a whole year all at once, and that next year he must agree to do it monthly.
A year passed in the blink of an eye. Cheng Gang, caught up in a project with a hard deadline, could not go home to visit Mother as planned. He wanted to send her money every month as she requested, but he was afraid that he would inconvenience her if he forgot when work got busy. He decided to go to the post office and mail her the 2,400 yuan all at once again.
Twenty-odd days later, Cheng Gang got a money order for 2,200 yuan from Mother. After his initial surprise, Cheng Gang thought long and hard about the matter, but couldn’t figure out why she had done this. Just as he was going to write to ask her about it, Mother’s letter arrived. Once again, she instructed him that if he insisted on sending her money, he had to do it in once a month increments; otherwise she wouldn’t accept a penny.
One day in Changsha, Cheng Gang ran into a migrant worker from his village. Cheng Gang treated him to a meal and took the opportunity to inquire about Mother. The fellow villager told Cheng Gang that although his mother lived alone, she was very happy, especially on the days when the postman came from town. “She is as joyous as if celebrating a holiday. A money order from you is enough to make her elated for days.”
Tears ran down Cheng Gang’s face as he listened. He had come to realize that Mother insisted on a monthly schedule because she wanted to enjoy this happiness twelve times a year. Mother didn’t care about the money; she missed hearing from her son.
(2002)
VOCABULARY AND USAGE
| 办丧事 |
bàn sāngshì |
make funeral arrangement and conduct burial service |
为父母办理好丧事是儿女的义务。 |
| 执意 |
zhíyì |
insist on |
下雨了，她却执意不打伞。 |
| 舍不得 |
shĕbùdé |
hate to part with |
妈妈舍不得我去美国。 |
| 长眠 |
cháng mián |
eternal sleep; die |
昨天爷爷在医院阖眼长眠。 |
| 开销 |
kāixiāo |
expenditure |
城里的开销比乡下大。 |
| 偏僻 |
piānpì |
out of the way |
我的住地偏僻却很安静。 |
| 盼望 |
pànwàng |
long for; hope for |
儿子一结婚我就盼望着抱孙子。 |
| 留守 |
liúshŏu |
stay behind |
乡下的留守儿童很可怜。 |
| 争先恐后 |
zhēngxiānkŏnghòu |
strive to be the first and fear to lag behind |
在北京坐地铁，上车时一定要争先恐后。 |
| 传递 |
chuándì |
pass on; hand around |
他参加了奥运会火炬传递。 |
| 汇款单 |
huìkuăndān |
remittance order |
汇款单也传递亲情。 |
| 稀罕 |
xīhan |
rare |
这物件稀罕，买不到的。 |
| 羡慕 |
xiànmù |
admire and envy |
我羡慕她的好成绩。 |
| 乖乖！ |
guàiguai |
Good gracious! |
乖乖！这雷声真响！ |
| 钦羡 |
qīnxiàn |
respect and admire |
我对他的能力钦羡无比。 |
| 脱身 |
tuōshēn |
get away |
我正在上课，没法脱身。 |
| 误事 |
wù shì |
cause delay; hold things up |
不用心学习会误大事的。 |
| 百思不得其解 |
băi sī bù dé qí jiĕ |
have thought hard and still cannot make sense of it |
让他百思不得其解的是母亲要避开简单找麻烦。 |
| 招待 |
zhāodài |
entertain guest(s) |
请好好招待来访的客人。 |
| 顺便 |
shùnbiàn |
conveniently |
我路过一个加油站，就顺便进去买了包烟。 |
| 老乡 |
lăoxiāng |
fellow villager; fellow townsman |
我们是老乡，家住一个村。 |
| 孤单 |
gūdān |
alone; lonely |
我跟家人天天视频不孤单！ |
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Describe in your own words this mother-son relationship. How is it different from your relationship with your parents?
2. Do you find Mother demanding or unreasonable?
3. What needs does Mother have beyond daily necessities?
4. Has Cheng Gang failed as a son in any way? What did he do wrong?
5. In what sphere of life does Mother’s “authority” reside?
6. Why doesn’t Mother simply tell her son the real reason for her demand?
7. What caused Cheng Gang’s tears at the end?
1. 请用你自己的话描述一下这里的母子关系。你与父母的关系跟他们有什么不同？
2. 你会不会觉得母亲的要求有点儿过分或是不近情理？
3. 除了生存必需品外，母亲还有什么需求？
4. 成刚这个儿子是不是有不合格的地方？他哪儿做错了？
5. 故事中母亲的”权威”来自何方？
6. 母亲为什么不直截了当告诉儿子她所提要求的真正原因呢？
7. 结尾时成刚为何泪流满面？
AUTHOR BIO
Aili Mu interviewed Bai Xuchu (1941–) in 2008. When she asked him whether Mother’s request wasn’t a bit unreasonable, he was angered by the question but kept his cool. We often associate xiao with providing for our parents in their old age. Bai Xuchu disagrees. He stays faithful to the Book of Rites (礼记) and insists that xiao is making our best effort to understand our parents’ hearts and minds and not to go against their wishes.15 For Bai Xuchu, adhering to xiao qualifies one as a decent human being and grants one the opportunity to feel good in life.
Published in Changde Evening News (常德晚报) in June 2002, this story has been reprinted many times nationwide. By 2006 it had appeared in more than fifteen different anthologies. It has even been adapted into a picture book.
Born into a family of scholars, Bai Xuchu was only able to get a middle school education during the Cultural Revolution. He started his career doing chores in a pickle factory but retired as an accomplished journalist for the Changde television station and a freelance short-short story writer of national repute. He attributes his professional success and happy life to his passion for reading and writing. Bai Xuchu has written and edited a few collections of short-short stories; among them is the Ding Ling Literature Award (丁玲文学奖) winner Dance Partners (夫妻舞伴). Bai is known for his insightful details and for his concern with ordinary people, especially how changing values impact their daily life.