Chapter 36: Guoqing’s Heartache

Zhang Guoqing was riding his bike toward the county town. The town looked like a colorless photograph: a gray, hazy sky, muddy roads, and big red slogans painted in bold characters all over the walls of the houses lining the streets. As soon as he entered the town and looked around carefully, he noticed that in the past few days, even more propaganda posters and large red slogans had appeared on the walls in every corner. Almost everyone on the street, young and old, was dressed in plain, patched-up clothes. Here and there, groups of people in yellow military uniforms, caps, red armbands, yellow satchels, and Liberation shoes walked by, carrying paint buckets and sprayers. They would paste pre-cut stencils to the walls and spray over them.

He hadn’t noticed in his morning rush, but now he saw many new slogans: “Work with all your might, strive to be the best, build socialism faster, better, and more economically,” and “Carry the anti-rightist struggle through to the end,” and so on. The bright red characters shimmered in the sunlight.

Along the county streets, some people were selling persimmons, pears, and wild fruits like “bitter maiden.” Zhang Guoqing stopped when he saw the “bitter maiden”—these wild fruits were especially sweet after the first frost. He bought some fruit, knowing Jiaojiao loved these treats.

Revolutionary songs blared from loudspeakers in every alley, accompanied by the crackling of mechanical tuning: “The East is Red, the sun rises…” Humming along, Zhang Guoqing pedaled toward the county textile factory.

The county textile factory was the largest in town, with over a thousand workers, including towel and cotton cloth workshops. It covered 20 hectares on the eastern outskirts of town. Before Liberation, it had belonged to a local capitalist named Wang Baiwan. After private businesses were nationalized, it became a state-owned collective enterprise.

Before Liberation, Wang Baiwan had made his fortune with this factory, owning an entire street of shops in the provincial capital’s busiest district. His cotton and towel products were sold throughout the three northeastern provinces.

Near the county, next to the factory, stood his ancestral home—a five-courtyard siheyuan. Many smaller courtyards nearby were built over the years by relatives who depended on him. In 1952, after his assets were confiscated, the siheyuan was divided up by local authorities and allocated to the first batch of textile factory workers.

Wang Baiwan’s life was full of twists and turns. His father died when he was young, his mother was sickly, and he had a much younger brother. As a youth, he ventured alone to Shanghai, where he made a name for himself through hard work and smarts, eventually marrying the only daughter of a prominent family. After his father-in-law passed away, he returned to Wangjia Village with his wife, children, and fortune, bought up the entire eastern suburb of the county, built the five-courtyard siheyuan, and founded what became the largest textile factory in the northeast. At its peak, his family employed over 2,000 people.

He had only one wife, with whom he had three sons and two daughters. When Yuan Shikai was about to proclaim himself emperor, Wang sent his youngest son and daughter to study in England, accompanied by his brother’s family.

He and his wife set strict family rules: every child, boy or girl, would be sent to study in England at age ten after mastering the Four Books and Five Classics. In the end, only the youngest son returned to stay with them; the other children came back only every three to five years. After the September 18th Incident, he sent the youngest son’s family abroad, while he and his wife stayed behind, reluctant to leave their homeland. Sensing the changing times, he closed most of his businesses, keeping only the county textile factory. When the Japanese arrived, they took over the factory. After the country’s liberation, Wang and his wife died around the time of the 1952 asset confiscations. He had saved countless lives, but the fate of his children and his fortune remained a mystery.

At the factory gate, the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, recognized Zhang Guoqing. He often saw him visiting his two older sisters and their husbands. Seeing him ride up, Old Zhang called out loudly, “What brings you here today? I heard you just got married! Why didn’t you invite me to your wedding banquet?”

“Uncle Zhang, you’re such a busy man. If I really asked you to come all the way to the countryside for a little guy like me, that wouldn’t be right. Whenever you’re free, let’s grab a drink together—just say the word, and I’ll be there,” Zhang Guoqing replied with a smile, parking his bike. “By the way, which workshop is my eldest brother-in-law in? I need to talk to him.”

“Alright, I’ll call him over the loudspeaker. You go in and wait,” said Old Zhang, heading inside.

A moment later, the loudspeaker blared: “Comrade Zhang Chunming, you have a visitor at the gatehouse. Comrade Zhang Chunming, please come to the gatehouse. Calling Comrade Zhang Chunming, you have a visitor waiting.”

The announcement repeated three times, making Zhang Guoqing blush—now the whole factory would know he was here.

“Uncle Zhang, is Huang Yaoguo, the driver, here today?”

Old Zhang thought for a moment. “Haven’t seen him today. Not sure. Want me to call him?”

“No need, it’s nothing urgent. I’ll just go to his house later. It’s not good to keep calling people away from work—if the leaders hear about it, you’ll get in trouble.”

“That’s what I like about you, always thinking of others. Just the other day, Master Huang from the towel workshop had me call out five people at once. The leader happened to be passing by and even I got a scolding,” Old Zhang sighed.

“Yeah, everyone’s got tasks to meet these days. Every minute counts for building socialism—every household is busy.”

From a distance, Zhang Chunming saw his brother-in-law Zhang Guoqing chatting warmly with Old Zhang at the gatehouse. Old Zhang was usually tight-lipped and stern, but Xiao Wu (Zhang Guoqing’s nickname) always managed to get him talking, no matter who it was.

“Xiao Wu, what’s up? Didn’t you just come by this morning?” he asked, puzzled. The baby’s three-day celebration was coming up soon—they’d see each other then. Why make a special trip?

Seeing him, Zhang Guoqing said to Old Zhang, “Uncle Zhang, when are you free? Let’s grab a drink together. I’ve found my brother-in-law, thanks for your help today.”

Zhang Guoqing led his brother-in-law to a quiet spot away from others. After making sure no one was around, he pulled out thirty ten-yuan bills and handed them over.

“Big brother-in-law, you really didn’t need to be so polite with me. I only found out from Second Sister that buying a house is a big deal. Here’s 300 yuan—count it. If it’s not enough, I’ve got another 200 in my pocket. I don’t need this money for a couple of years, so don’t worry about it. Don’t be too hard on my nephews and nieces. When you’ve got the money, just pay me back. You really should buy that big courtyard while you can—places like that are hard to come by, and the location is great. Besides, it’s getting cold soon, and my nephews shouldn’t have to sleep in the living room. When you move, remember to call us brothers over to help.”

Zhang Chunming counted the money, nodded, then shook his head. “Three hundred is enough. This morning, your sister and I went to see the courtyard, and we’ve already agreed with the seller. The guy’s straightforward—he said he’d leave all the furniture behind since he’s moving to his son’s place in the provincial capital and can’t take much with him, just food and clothes. He even dropped the price to 920 yuan. We’ve paid the deposit and agreed to transfer the deed on Monday. I won’t say any polite thank-yous. Don’t worry about us—between your sister’s and my wages, plus the rent from our old house, we’ll pay you back within a year, and we won’t be hard on the kids. No need to help with the move—the new place has everything. This place is small, so we don’t have much to move anyway. But when we have a housewarming, you all have to come for a drink.”

Zhang Guoqing grinned and nodded. “Alright, I’ll head off now. If you need anything, just let me know—I’m strong, you know. I still have to get to the supply and marketing cooperative. Go on back, and don’t forget to come early to help out on the baby’s third-day celebration.”

Zhang Chunming waved goodbye. “Sure, our family and your second sister’s will come early. Be careful on your bike.”

Zhang Guoqing waved to Old Zhang at the factory gate as he rode past, then headed toward the county supply and marketing cooperative."