Old Wounds, New Growth

Old Wounds, New Growth - Chapter 7.1

Translator: Deyonna

Next Friday is the long weekend, so I asked for leave one afternoon in advance and asked Jiang Chi to accompany me to take a look at the house for rent in the countryside. It's really broken. L-shaped, with one side being a tiled-roofed house and the other side being a renovated two-story bungalow. It has a wood-burning stove, no air conditioning, and the TV needs to be connected to a satellite dish. Fortunately, everything is complete. There is also rice and noodles, and there is running water and electricity. There is even a grape trellis in the backyard. I also heard that three to five people live in the house from time to time, but when the owner found out they could rent it out to make money, they quickly vacated.

Before leaving, I bought a bunch of fruits and had the chef at home make some beef buns, just in case when I'm not watching, Li Chishu would handle his meals in his own way. If he asked, I can say that it was an unsuccessful attempt that I made and no one at home touched them.

Li Chishu pointed incredulously at the bag in my hand, unable to tolerate my perfunctory attitude of making excuses. "Were the longans and grapes also your failed attempts?"

"......"

I barely manage to bluff my way out again. "The fruits were given to me by someone else, and my mom asked me to share them with my schoolmates and classmates. The ones who played well in my class have already taken their share, and this is for you."

He took it reluctantly and said, "Thank you," and added, "Next time, you really don't have to do this."

"En." I nodded enthusiastically. "Next time we'll eat together."

"Ah?

"Nothing." I pushed him into the classroom. "If you can't finish it, share it with others. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

As Li Chishu walked towards his seat, he looked back at me twice. The last time, I waited until he sat down and then reminded him, using lip language, "Eat on time," before turning around and leaving completely.

Jiang Chi borrowed his brother's SUV, and we transported a freezer full of ice cream to the house in the countryside together.

The freezer wasn't big. After all, it was only meant for Li Chishu. How big could it be? It was about as wide as a small table and reached up to my knee.

After driving for nearly three hours, as soon as we arrived, we quickly plugged in the freezer and hid it in a small cabin next to the house.

Jiang Chi was exhausted and his mouth was parched. I quickly brewed a pot of tea for him using the locally sun-dried black tea. I sprinkled one or two pieces into the pot, and it was both fragrant and refreshing.

After cooling the tea with cold water, I handed it to him. He squatted under the eaves and drank a cup of tea. After finishing it, he spat out a mouthful of saliva.

"Pei! Pei!" Jiang Chi's face wrinkled up like a steamed bun. "Why is there so much tea residue in there, ah?"

I leaned against the wooden door, stepped on the threshold as high as my calf, and smiled. "I hate wasting."

"What do you mean, you hate wasting?" Jiang Chi protested. "The owner said you can use the things here as you like. When the time comes, just tie it up with the house."

He waved at me. "Go, go, you go quickly and brew another pot of good tea."

"Just drink it as it is." I turned around to fetch something from the trunk, "I didn't want to waste the good tea leaves, in case Li Chishu comes and there's no tea left for him to drink."

In about three seconds, I timely dodged to the side as Jiang Chi's teacup flew towards my waist to where I was standing before.

We had two boxes in the car, one for daily necessities and the other for food. We sorted them out and put them in two-wheeled boxes. The items that needed to be frozen were put in the original house's refrigerator, mostly meat. The refrigerator here wasn't very effective for freezing, but it was fine for a short holiday. We didn't bring many vegetables because we knew that the owner of the house had their own land in front of the house, and we could dig up green vegetables and potatoes if we wanted to eat them.

Jiang Chi finished catching his breath in the main hall and came over to join in the fun.

"Slippers, water cups, towels... hey!" He crossed his arms and looked around behind me. "Even the dumpling wrappers are prepared! And there are also bowls and chopsticks! Are you planning to settle down here and build a new village, ah?"

I didn't bother to respond to him. "Li Chishu likes cleanliness. He's not used to using other people's things."

"Oh, oh, oh, he's not used to it..." Jiang Chi shook his head smugly and made a strange expression. "But he is used to using your things? Who are you to him?"

I didn't say anything, just finished packing everything up one by one, slowly stood up, turned around, and asked Jiang Chi, "You tell me, who am I to him?"

Jiang Chi lowered his head and thought for a moment. "Why didn't you take out the water cup for me to use just now?"

"......"

It was still Jiang Chi who drove the car when Li Chishu came. There was no other way. He was two months older than me and got his driver's license during the summer vacation. I could drive, but I wasn't confident enough to drive on the road without a license.

Li Chishu was holding a bulging schoolbag and studying English in the back seat while I was holding two large suitcases.

He was still wearing his blue and white school uniform today, with a pair of canvas shoes that had been washed white. He would occasionally look out the window while studying his book.

When Jiang Chi glanced at Li Chishu for the eighth time in the rearview mirror, I finally couldn't help it anymore. "Watch the road, watch the road! Why are your eyes always in the mirror?"

Li Chishu looked over when he heard the sound, and both Jiang Chi and I in the front remained silent.

After a while, he probably felt that it wasn't good to not say anything since it was his first time meeting Jiang Chi.

So Li Chishu closed his textbook, cleared his throat, sat up slightly, and tried to gently call out to Jiang Chi in the driver's seat. "Jiang Chi."

"En." Jiang Chi responded quickly, and he openly shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror, taking the opportunity to give me a triumphant glance.

Li Chishu hesitated for a moment and opened his first conversation with Jiang Chi in a vague way.

"I heard you lost in a basketball game?"

"......"

I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes.

...My Li Chishu, ah.

My dear Li Chishu, the chat genius Li Chishu.

"I… lost a basketball game..." Jiang Chi looked at me. "Ah?"

I said, "Watch the road."

"Oh, I remember now." Jiang Chi smiled in the rearview mirror and looked back at the road. "It was on Thursday during the long class break. We skipped the exercise and lost to this kid(SB) a few times."

Li Chishu was about to say something, but I suddenly opened my eyes and turned to him. "Have you finished studying your book?"

Li Chishu paused. "Not yet."

"Why don't you take a nap?" I opened the storage compartment in front of my seat and took out a cashmere blanket. "We still have two hours to go, so rest for a while. It's cold with the air conditioning on, but it's hot without it. Take the blanket and cover yourself."

Jiang Chi made a disdainful snort through his nostrils.

Li Chishu fell asleep in the back seat and slept all the way to the destination. It was sunny outside. After I and Jiang Ci brought our things into the house and settled them, I opened the car door and woke him up.

"We've arrived?" He opened his eyes groggily, having slept deeply, but his neck was probably stiff from sleeping in one position for too long, as he kept rubbing it. It seems that what he told me about how tiring senior year was indeed not a lie.

I helped him take the blanket and backpack. "Go inside and sit down. I'll make the bed and you can sleep later."

He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand and said, "Let me make the bed."

"No rush." I told him to come out, "Let's eat first and then tidy up."

Jiang Chi came out of the bathroom and twirled the keychain in his hand. "I'm leaving with the car now."

I said, "Let's play a little longer."

He turned his head. "What do you want to play?"

I chuckled, "Go then. You pay attention to safety and give us a call when you get home."

He made an "OK" gesture and closed the car door, then stuck his head out of the window and said, "Oh, there's a motorbike over there. If you have any urgent matters, you can use it. Just give me a call. But remember to return the motorcycle to its owner."

"Got it."

"Now go."

After sending Jiang Chi off, I turned around and saw Li Chishu still sitting in the living room, holding his backpack and staring at a box of open glue-like stuff in the corner, probably left by the owner.

I said, "Why don't we go upstairs and take a look? We'll be staying here for a few days, and the conditions might not be great."

He asked, "Whose house is this?"

"It's mine," I said as I helped him up from the bench. "It's an old house that has been in my family for generations. I grew up here. My parents want us to come here and stay for a few days every year. It might not be very comfortable for you, but I appreciate you accompanying me here."

——Shen Baoshan, you're getting more and more skilled at telling lies.

"It's nothing." Li Chishu began to look around and said, "You've also lived in a house like this before?"

"This house is actually quite nice." I led him upstairs. "I'm just afraid you won't be used to it."

"Don't worry." He shook his head, paused, then pursed his lips, showing a smile that didn't look like a smile, and said, "My family's condition… actually isn't much different from here, um...it's a little better than my home."

It seems that Jiang Chi didn't find a house that was broken enough.

I responded and pretended to be indifferent. "Really."

Li Chishu didn't know. This was my intention.

Over the past many years, he had countless times hidden the dim and dull traces of his youth between the words and lines of our conversations, but he never wanted to tell me everything in full detail. I seemed to know about his past poverty, hardship, and loneliness, but the image of him that appeared in my mind was always one-sided.

Later on, I realized that I actually knew very little about him. He concealed his unspeakable past behind his peaceful smile, and even the poverty that he himself didn't want to face or remember was like the old house he lived in for twenty years, never revealing a single hint to the outside world.

Whenever he talked about the days when he was struggling to make ends meet during his student days, I wanted to dig deeper and ask more questions, but he would only shake his head and use his signature smile to brush me off, saying, "You don't know."

"I'm really poor." His smile is the gentlest and yet also the most distant. "You can't imagine it."

So far in our lives, I have walked with him for many years, but he has refused to take me back to that place to have a look.

A part of him, who had suffered deeply along with his seven-year-old self, was constantly reminded of the past for over a decade. The memories touched his self-esteem and left him feeling inferior, like tearing scars. All of these memories were completely locked within the confines of that house.

Even I have become an outsider like Jiang Chi, who cannot touch his poverty.

However, that Li Chishu he locked, became increasingly lonely as he was locked up, and the more untouchable he was, the harder it was to erase. In the end, he merged with the darkness of that house and consumed himself.

So you see, Li Chishu, you and Shen Baoshan are standing together in a house that can still be a little more dilapidated. This person is not so far away from you, and there is no insurmountable gap between you and him. He can also endure the same hardships as you and walk the same path as you.

Don't shut the door on Shen Baoshan, Li Chishu.

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