Volume 1 / Chapter 47: Off to Military Training

The date was Monday, October 18, 1999.

The sun hadn’t shown itself all morning, hidden somewhere behind the thick clouds. Though the sky was already bright, it remained heavy and gray.

Looked like it might rain later.

Inside the tiny rental unit shared by the sisters Mo Xiǎoxiào and Mo Zhúyóu, the older sister, Xiǎoxiào, was busy checking over everything they needed to bring for the upcoming military training.

“Bedding, pillow, change of clothes for when we’re not in uniform, cup…”

Zhúyóu, on the other hand, seemed far more relaxed. She was sprawled on the floor, clutching a palm-sized, battered old radio, listening to the morning broadcast.

The male and female hosts on the radio—were bantering like a comedy duo, their back-and-forth giving the otherwise quiet morning a bit of noisy warmth.

Zhúyóu didn’t like it when the house was too silent. She even preferred falling asleep at night with the radio playing softly in the background.

Xiǎoxiào didn’t share this habit, but she didn’t mind it either.

Whether it was because she, too, feared loneliness deep down, or simply wanted to accommodate her sister’s quirks—well, who could say?

“All set. Let’s go, let’s go—time to head to school,” Xiǎoxiào said, rubbing her sister’s cheeks vigorously. “We’ve got too much stuff today, so we’ll need to take the bus.  If we don’t leave early, we’ll get stuck in traffic!”

In Hangzhou during this era, traffic jams only really happened during the morning and evening rush hours.

And even then, the congestion wasn’t that bad. The real hassle was that if you left late, the buses would be packed to the brim, and lugging all that baggage would be a nightmare.

“Ow ow ow! Quit pinching my face! I won’t be able to grow into a proper oval-shaped beauty like this!” Zhúyóu pouted, muttering complaints as she turned off the radio and stuffed it into her backpack.

“You’re bringing the radio too?”

“Of course!” she said, hugging her bag like she feared her sister might snatch it away. “I can’t fall asleep without it!”

“But the drill sergeants will probably check the dorms at night during training. You won’t be able to turn it on.”

“Don’t care. I’m bringing it anyway.” Zhúyóu was being a bit bratty, prompting a helpless chuckle from Xiǎoxiào.

“Should I pull the suitcase?” the younger one asked.

“Doesn’t matter. We can figure it out on the way. Most of the stuff is the same anyway. Come on, let’s gooo~”

The two of them wheeled out the same moving-day suitcases they’d brought with them when they first settled in.

A neighbor who saw them called out, “Hey, what’s all this? Moving out?”

“No, just going off for military training,” Xiǎoxiào replied with a smile.

The building they lived in only had four floors, but it was packed with tenants.

People recognized each other easily—after all, you see your neighbors practically every day.

After a bit of small talk, the sisters finally reached the bus stop, where they spotted other students from Yǔkōng High School. Some were from other grades, while a few first-years like themselves were also moving luggage.

Waiting for the bus always seemed to take forever.

“Jie, can we grab some breakfast first? I’m kinda hungry…” Zhúyóu muttered, rubbing her belly.

“Breakfast? Hmm… Let’s just grab something from that stall next to the station.”

“Sure, I guess. But that place only sells light stuff… I want pan-fried dumplings.”

“Why didn’t you say that before we left?” Xiǎoxiào gave her a playful glare and flicked her nose. “If the bus comes while we’re gone, we’ll be stuck taking a more crowded one. Let’s just get something from the corner stall.”

“Fine, fine… I’ll go see what they have.”

Zhúyóu followed her sister to the far end of the bus stop, where a street vendor had set up shop with a cart. Most of the breakfast items were plain and simple—sticky rice dumplings, steamed rice cakes, bread, and the like.

“Jie, I want the black rice cake.”

“Okay, one black rice cake for you, and I’ll take a sticky rice dumpling.”

Xiǎoxiào nodded and pulled out a small, cute wallet from her pocket. On closer inspection, it was frayed at the edges, with some stitching already coming undone. Clearly homemade—definitely not store-bought.

“Do you want the savory or sweet dumpling?” asked the vendor.

“Same price?” Xiǎoxiào asked.

“The savory one’s a meat dumpling, one yuan. Sweet one’s red bean paste, eighty cents..”

“Then I’ll go with the sweet.”

“Alright, one black rice cake and one sweet dumpling—one yuan and sixty cent.”

“How about one-fifty? That extra cent’s just a hassle,” Xiǎoxiào bargained out of habit.

“Can’t do that, miss. I’m running a small business. Every cent counts.”

The vendor shook her head.

Xiǎoxiào hadn’t really expected a discount—she was just used to trying. After all, a few dime here, a dime there—that’s how they got by.

“Want something to drink? Soy milk? Sweet bean milk?”

“No thanks.”

The sisters never bought drinks when eating out. If they got thirsty, plain water did the trick just fine. “Oh, and please peel the dumpling for me.”

That few cents spent on soy milk could buy more solid food, after all.

“No problem.”

The vendor skillfully peeled off the bamboo leaves and handed over the dumpling in a plastic bag.

“Mmm~ this black rice cake is so good!”

Zhúyóu happily nibbled away. She was about halfway through when the bus finally arrived.

By now, the platform was getting crowded.

“Quick! Stop eating—we gotta get seats!”

Xiǎoxiào grabbed her sister’s hand and rushed onto the bus.

Luckily, there were still several empty seats at the back—seven or eight, in fact—and two of them were side by side.

Later passengers weren’t as fortunate. Most had to stand.

This particular bus had a lot of seats because it was a two-section model.

From the outside, it looked like two buses were stitched together—almost like a trackless mini train.

This was one of those two-section buses that looked like a little train from the outside—almost like two buses stitched together.

Inside, the compartments were connected by a rotating platform, and when the front turned a corner, the back half sometimes lagged a moment behind.

Driving one of these took skill. Misjudge the turn, and the second section might end up bumping into a wall or pole.

“Military training is only five days. Isn’t that kind of short?”

Zhúyóu swung her legs happily, still munching on her cake. She tilted her head and mumbled thoughtfully.

“What, you want to suffer longer?”

“Not that. Just… it’s rare to live together with so many classmates like this.”

“You really like group sleepovers, huh?”

“Yup! It’s so lively!”

“Hm…”

“Ugh, Jie, stop blaming yourself already. That car accident wasn’t your fault. Besides, I think us sticking together through thick and thin is kinda nice.”

“Haah… If only, back then—”

“Enough already! Military training is supposed to be fun! Just like middle school ! Remember how we used to stay up chatting?”

“In middle school it was more about farming practice…”

Xiǎoxiào rubbed her eyes. “Military training isn’t as easy as you think. It may only be five days, but by nighttime you’ll be too exhausted to talk.”

“A little late-night whispering won’t kill anyone.” Zhúyóu giggled, full of excitement. “I wonder where we’re going to train…”

Just then, the bus jolted.

The half-eaten black rice cake slipped from Zhúyóu’s fingers and hit the grimy floor.

“Ah!” she cried, devastated. “My black rice cake…”

“It’s okay, it was just the last bit.” Xiǎoxiào patted her shoulder gently.

“That’s not the point!” Tears welled in Zhúyóu’s eyes. “We paid for that… Now it’s wasted… It’s such a waste…”

“It was just a small piece. Not a big deal~”

“We worked part-time for a whole month and only earned 800 yuan combined! After rent, we’re left with 400 to live on—for food, clothes, emergencies…”

Zhúyóu wiped her eyes, clearly overwhelmed. “That last piece was still so big…”

“It’s okay~ I’ll buy you another one later, okay?”

“I said that’s not the point!” she snapped, pouting. But the more she thought about it, the more upset she became. Eventually, tears began to fall—drip, drip—onto her lap.

Xiǎoxiào stopped trying to joke around. She nudged the suitcase with her foot to stop it from rolling, then reached out from behind and wrapped her arms gently around her sister.

“It’s okay, sister.”

“I know… I just— I just hate wasting things…”

“It’s just a few cents.”

“But it’s still money…”

“Maybe you’ll find 50 cent on the ground later and make up for it.”

“Tch, like that’d ever happen… I... I just feel useless sometimes...” Her voice was muffled now, quiet with self-blame.

“…Silly girl. It’s okay.” Xiǎoxiào kept whispering that same phrase over and over.

By the time they reached the next stop, Zhúyóu had finally calmed down.

It was still a bit of a walk from the station to the school, and the two of them slowly wheeled their suitcases along.

“Hey, Jie… That person up ahead—doesn’t he look a lot like our principal?”

“Does he?”

“Yeah! Should we walk faster and check?”

“Better not. What if it’s a random stranger? That’d be awkward. Let’s just follow slowly.”

“Okay…”

As they turned the corner, the man disappeared from view for a moment. By the time they caught up, he had widened the distance between them.

Suddenly, Zhúyóu’s eyes lit up. She squatted down and snatched up a 100-yuan bill lying on the ground.

“Jie! Is this real?!”

“Looks like it… but wait—it might belong to the guy ahead.”

Xiǎoxiào hurried after him with the bill in hand, while Zhúyóu pouted like she’d just missed her big break.

“Um, sir? Did you drop this?” she asked, holding out the fresh-looking bill.

“No,” he replied without turning, only glancing sideways before tugging his mask higher over his face.

“Oh… okay…”

One hundred yuan.

Who should they give it to?

Zhúyóu wanted to pocket it, but Xiǎoxiào decided to wait nearby in case the real owner returned. After twenty minutes with no one in sight, she finally tucked it away with a relieved sigh.

“Yay! One hundred yuan!” Zhúyóu was instantly back to her bubbly self, the bus meltdown forgotten.

Meanwhile, the man who’d walked ahead of them earlier now stood just around the corner. He peeled off his mask and looked up at the sky with a faint smile.

Wáng Jiālè happened to run by, slowed down abruptly, and stammered, “Ah! Good morning, Principal!”

“Mm.”

The principal nodded with a gentle smile.

“Morning.”