The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

There was a movie showing tonight, and Grandpa had to leave early for the reservoir, so they had dinner a little earlier than usual. They finished eating around five-thirty. Grandpa didn’t have time for the movie, but he told Xiao Man to take Grandma along, reminding her that even though Grandma couldn’t see, she could still listen.

Xiao Man agreed, and Grandma smiled her assent. She had planned on staying to watch the house, but since both the young and the old wanted her to go, she figured she might as well.

As usual, she filled a bamboo tube with spiritual spring water, adding two roasted sweet potatoes and a piece of fruit candy for Grandpa’s late-night snack. After seeing him off, Grandma had Xiao Man and Xiaoju wash their hair, bathe, and do laundry. Once all the chores were done, they could go enjoy the movie without a care.

In the afternoon, the children from the two houses behind them came to play in the courtyard for a while. Liang Xiaoju had already found out the movie’s showtime: seven-thirty in the evening.

At six-thirty, a loud BANG BANG BANG came from the courtyard gate. It was the families from the two houses behind them, inviting them to go into the village for the movie. The frantic knocking was, without a doubt, the work of a few little rascals.

Xiaoju immediately got busy. As they had arranged, she shouldered a long bench that could seat two, grabbed a small, low stool, and led the way. Xiao Man supported Grandma as she followed behind. Outside the gate, seven or eight adults and children were waiting—all women and kids, as the men usually didn’t walk with them. The other children were also carrying stools, either on their shoulders or in their hands. Their mothers or grandmothers carried toddlers who couldn’t yet walk on their backs or in their arms. Once Xiao Man’s group came out and locked the gate, the whole crowd set off, chattering and laughing boisterously as they walked down the road toward the village’s central elementary school.

When they arrived, the elementary school campus looked just as she remembered, filling her with a sense of nostalgia. In her past life, Xiao Man had been forced to drop out after second grade. However, she often passed by the school, using the back gate to get to one of her family’s vegetable patches located right behind the classrooms. Every time she went to work in the garden, she could see the students reading and writing through the windows, and the teachers’ lecturing voices were clearly audible. ’Thinking back, that row of classrooms was for the third, fourth, and fifth grades...’ she recalled.

A thought struck Xiao Man. Her gaze swept toward the buildings to the west; behind those classrooms lay Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying’s vegetable garden. In her previous life, she had been the one who primarily tended that patch. She was there almost every single day!

’Grandpa wants to send me to school, and I’d be starting from first grade. If I want to change things, this is the perfect opportunity!’

The more Xiao Man thought about it, the more plausible the idea became, and a smile spread across her face.

A dense crowd was already seated on the grounds, but it was still early, and the projection team was nowhere in sight. The white projection screen, however, was already hung, and two large speakers were set up. Music to hype the crowd blared across the entire schoolyard. A powerful male tenor sang, "A little bamboo raft drifts mid-river, the surging waters flow ever east," drowning out the children’s playful shrieks and the adults’ chatter.

Liang Xiaoju followed the neighborhood kids and set up their stools in a small open space on the left. Xiao Man helped Grandma sit down, and then Liang Xiaoju tugged Xiao Man away.

Xiao Man, confused, asked, "Where are we going? Aren’t you watching the movie?"

Liang Xiaoju said, "Jeez, it’s not time yet! I asked them, and there’s a short film before the main feature. It’s about teaching commune members how to use a new rice transplanter. What’s so fun about that? The others all ran off to play! Let’s go to the co-op store and buy sunflower seeds and those big yellow cakes. Didn’t you say you wanted some?"

Tonight’s main feature was *Southward Expedition and Northward Battle*, a war film. Xiao Man grimaced at the title. It wasn’t that she wasn’t patriotic, she just didn’t like war movies. If she wasn’t even interested in the main feature, the thought of an extra short film made her feel weary. Xiao Man went to ask for Grandma’s permission. Grandma was busy chatting with Second Granny Qiu, but when she heard Xiao Man wanted to go to the co-op store, she just told them to be careful and let them go.

Liang Xiaoju must have seen movies often in her home village, because she wasn’t at all intimidated by the chaotic crowd. She pulled Xiao Man along, weaving in and out of the throng. They quickly darted out of the school gate and headed for the brigade headquarters.

The co-op store was normally closed at night, but it always opened on movie nights to let people buy things. It would only close once the film began—after all, the salesclerk wanted to watch the movie, too.

The co-op store was brightly lit by an electric lamp, and it was packed with customers. Most were women and children buying snacks like seeds and candy. Occasionally, a few young men would wander in, glance at the busy Liu Ping, and then quickly head out.

Xiao Man paused at the doorway, first scanning the interior. Only after confirming that Liu Fengying wasn’t there did she follow Liang Xiaoju inside.

She didn’t expect, however, to see Mo Xiaosu among a group of ten-year-old girls by the counter, staring at her with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.

This was a village co-op store, not a city shop; no one bothered to form a line. People just jostled for position, holding their money out to make a purchase. Seeing the dense crowd, Liang Xiaoju took out her fifty-cent coin, stood on her tiptoes, and stretched her arm toward the counter. Mimicking the sweet voice Xiao Man had used earlier, she called out to Lin Liuping, "Sister Liu Ping! Sister Liu Ping! I want ten cents’ worth of sunflower seeds and two big yellow cakes!"

The women and children all turned to look at Liang Xiaoju. Someone asked directly, "Hey, who are you?"

Liang Xiaoju turned to look at Xiao Man. "Xiao Man, come on! Grandpa gave you money too. Aren’t you buying anything?"

Xiao Man smiled at the crowd and explained, "Her name is Liang Xiaoju, the granddaughter of our great-aunt from Shangling Village. She’s been staying with us for a few days!"

"Oh, so she’s one of Xiao Man’s relatives!"

"She’s a child from another village, no wonder she looked unfamiliar."

"Sigh, that great-aunt from Shangling Village... I hear she’s a real piece of work. Never had a good word for Xiao Man’s blind Grandma. It’s a surprise she was willing to send her granddaughter over to stay."

The women whispered amongst themselves.

Only the adults were interested in such gossip; the young girls paid it no mind. Three or four of them squeezed over to talk to Xiao Man instead. They were the same girls who had eaten at her house on the day they moved into the Knowledge Youth House. One was Mo Linghui, the youngest daughter of Secretary Mo’s paternal cousin. Another was Mo Shuixia; Xiao Man remembered she was the girl from the house just past Granny Han’s, making her a neighbor of sorts. The last one was Guan Ailan, the production team leader’s second daughter, who was holding her little sister’s hand. Xiao Man couldn’t remember the younger sister’s name. ’Since she’s ranked third, I’ll just call her Third Sister,’ she decided.

Xiao Man chatted and laughed with the girls, and they all got along well.

’In my past life, no one wanted to bother with me. It was partly because of my own personality, but also because of Liu Fengying’s deliberate efforts. This time, I’m definitely going to change that.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Liang Xiaoju urged Xiao Man to hurry up and make her purchase. The other girls crowded around Xiao Man as she went up to the counter. She took out her fifty-cent coin, handed it over to Liu Ping, and said:

"Sister Liu Ping, I’d like thirty cents’ worth of sunflower seeds and four big yellow cakes!"

Liang Xiaoju’s eyes went wide. "Are you crazy? Grandpa gave us each fifty cents, and you’re spending it all at once!"

"I haven’t had a big yellow cake in ages," Xiao Man said. "I really want to try one, and I also want to treat my new friends to some seeds!"

From behind the counter, Liu Ping giggled. "You little foodie. You’ve been thinking about these big yellow cakes ever since you went home today, haven’t you?"

Xiao Man smiled and nodded. "Sister Liu Ping, you should have some too!"

"No, thank you. There are only four cakes, and five of you girls. That’s not even one apiece!" Liu Ping said, taking the money and beginning to weigh the sunflower seeds.

Mo Linghui tugged on Xiao Man’s sleeve. "Why don’t you skip the cakes? Just get the seeds. A big handful for each of us is more than enough!"

"But I really, really want to try one of those cakes!" Xiao Man said.

Guan Ailan pointed to the paper packet in Liang Xiaoju’s arms. "Your cousin bought two, right? Just ask her to share one with you. We’ll be fine with just the seeds!"

Mo Shuixia added, "That’s right! You’d save twenty cents. That’s enough for a trip to the market!"

Xiao Man was at a loss for words.

’It’s true, that’s plenty. A bowl of rice noodles is ten cents, so twenty cents gets you two bowls—a very filling lunch. When village kids go to the market, it’s just for the fun and excitement anyway. It’s not like we have any real business to do!’

With her new friends insisting, Xiao Man had no choice but to give up on her plan to buy the big yellow cakes.

Liu Ping divided the thirty cents’ worth of sunflower seeds into five small packets using cut pieces of kraft paper. Xiao Man and the other girls each took one, their faces alight with happiness.

Just as Liu Ping was handing the twenty cents back to Xiao Man, someone rushed over from the side and snatched the money away!