At a little past three in the afternoon, Xu Tongdao scooped himself a bowl of old duck soup from the pot, soaked some crispy rice in it, and ate unhurriedly. Once he was done, he got up and went to take his mother's place on flood-control duty.
Originally, his mother hadn't agreed. But he insisted, and since he was already seventeen and was planning to go out to find work and earn money in a few days anyway, Ge Xiaozhu hesitated for a while before finally agreeing.
More importantly, her fever still hadn't gone down, and she was genuinely exhausted.
The embankment that needed flood protection was very long. Xu Tongdao had already asked around and confirmed that the section Xu Family Village was responsible for was over at Shandou Village.
And Shandou Village… he knew exactly where that was.
On the way there, he planned out what he should do over the next year or two.
First, he would go to the county seat and find a job to earn some money. The county wasn't very far away, which would also make it convenient for him to look after things at home.
Once he had some money saved up, he would figure out a way to start a small business. As for what kind of business… he had a few ideas in mind, but since he didn't have the capital yet, he wasn't in a hurry to decide.
In any case, the most urgent thing right now was to secure a stable income—at the very least, enough to ensure his younger siblings could keep studying and that the family wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing.
Lost in these thoughts, he trudged through more than ten li of muddy road, slipping and sliding along the way, before finally arriving at the Shandou Village from his memories.
Not long after entering the village, the door of a low earthen-walled latrine by the roadside was pushed open.
A chubby young man with a round head and round face stepped out boldly while tying his waistband. He lifted his head—and his gaze met Xu Tongdao's.
At the instant their eyes met, Xu Tongdao froze.
It wasn't because the chubby guy looked particularly special, but because the moment he saw him, a long-sealed memory suddenly burst open.
He knew this chubby guy very well.
They had often played together as children.
But later, they never played together again—because in 1998, this chubby boy, Xu Tonglin, had died.
A childhood friend who had already died… naturally faded from Xu Tongdao's memory over time. He couldn't possibly think about him often.
Yet here this chubby boy was—alive and well.
So at the instant he saw Xu Tonglin, the hair on Xu Tongdao's back stood on end, as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.
The fact that he didn't immediately turn around and run already counted as courage.
"Eh? Xiao Dao? You're on flood duty too? Hehe, not bad, not bad! Now that you're here, that's great—finally someone to keep me company… haha, this is great, this is great!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Xu Tonglin immediately broke into a wide grin. He strode over, slung an arm around Xu Tongdao's shoulder, and laughed happily.
They were the same age and had gone to school together since they were little.
By now, Xu Tongdao had steadied his mind.
He knew Xu Tonglin wasn't dead yet—it wasn't that he'd seen a ghost.
Still, seeing a childhood friend who was supposed to have died, alive and standing right in front of him, stirred complicated feelings in his heart.
There was joy, but also regret.
If possible, he wanted to change Xu Tonglin's fate. He didn't want this childhood friend of his to die young at seventeen.
In his memory, Xu Tonglin was a good person—just a bit chubby.
He was always cheerful, rarely lost his temper, and was warm-hearted.
When they were kids, they played and ran wild together, practically inseparable.
Xu Tongdao remembered clearly… Xu Tonglin had fallen into the river while standing watch on the embankment in place of his father. By the time he was pulled out, he was already dead.
Thinking of drowning made Xu Tongdao feel helpless.
Xu Family Village lay close to the long West River, which stretched for dozens of li. Most boys in the village around his age had learned how to swim from a young age.
Xu Tongdao himself had learned at eight.
But Xu Tonglin never managed to learn.
Every time they went to the river together, Xu Tonglin would stay in the shallow water with the girls. He soaked in the river every summer, yet never learned to swim.
"When did you get here?" Xu Tongdao asked.
Because he remembered that Xu Tonglin had drowned on his very first night taking his father's place on embankment duty.
"I came this morning, switched with my dad so he could go home. Someone needed him for work, hehe, so I came here to kill time instead."
With his arm still around Xu Tongdao's shoulder, Xu Tonglin spoke casually as they walked forward.
His father was a mason, and people occasionally hired him for work, which brought in money. So his father letting Xu Tonglin come here made perfect sense.
After all, flood duty was unpaid.
In the countryside, adult labor naturally took priority over earning money—families had to be fed.
But Xu Tongdao thought to himself: if Xu Tonglin's father knew his son would die from this trip, he would never let him come, no matter what.
"Are you tired? You've been here since morning… If you're tired, you should go home first and let your mom come replace you."
Xu Tongdao tried to suggest this to him.
But Xu Tonglin laughed and shook his head. "No need! There's nothing much to do on the embankment anyway. I'll just hang around here for a few days—it's pretty good! Haha. I was a bit bored before, but now that you're here, isn't that perfect? Haha…"
Xu Tongdao couldn't think of any other way to persuade him, so he let it go.
But he had already made up his mind: tonight, he would stick close to Xu Tonglin the entire time. If this guy showed even the slightest sign of danger, he would save him no matter what.
…
When he followed Xu Tonglin into a large courtyard, he immediately saw quite a few people from Xu Family Village.
Some men were gathered together smoking and chatting. Some women sat together, chatting while knitting sweaters or sewing shoe soles.
Seeing him appear with Xu Tonglin, many eyes turned toward him.
Most of them looked at him strangely, sizing him up, as if seeing him anew.
Questions and teasing remarks flew over one after another.
One man asked, "Eh? Xiao Dao, you're on flood duty too? I heard you bullied Jinshan today? Hehe. And I heard you beat up that kid Xu Hengbing? Is that true? What, did you eat some tough-guy crap or something?"
Another man chuckled. "Watch your mouth—be careful this kid doesn't go all-out on you."
A woman asked with a smile, "Xiao Dao, where's your mom? How come she let a kid like you come on flood duty?"
…
Faced with the barrage of chatter, Xu Tongdao simply swept his calm gaze over them and didn't answer a single word.
As always—years of hardship had long since shaped him into someone taciturn. Unless necessary, he didn't like to talk.
He and Xu Tonglin went under the eaves, found a spot, and sat down against the wall.
Xu Tonglin leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Hey, Xiao Dao! Did you really beat the crap out of that bastard Xu Hengbing today? Damn, you're impressive! That guy's always been so cocky—if I weren't afraid I couldn't beat him, I'd have smashed him long ago!"
Xu Tongdao smiled faintly. "He stole things from my house."
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup