At the End of the World (1)
The twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, Little New Year’s Eve in the North.
With the Spring Festival approaching, travelers overseas return to their homeland, homesick wanderers hurry back on their journeys. Beijing Capital International Airport flows without rest, with people coming and going in an endless stream.
Tan Guhong got off the plane and was choked into a few coughs by the long-unfamiliar cold, dry air. She couldn’t help pulling her wool coat tighter around herself, yet a warmth of coming home rose in her heart.
Since leaving Beijing in March the year before last to go to the overseas project department of the Mirador copper mine in Ecuador, it had been nearly two years since she had been home.
The return date she had planned kept being pushed back. No wonder her grandfather had issued her an ultimatum over the phone. If she still couldn’t get herself back for the New Year this time, then she might as well never come back at all.
When he learned she was returning, her uncle Liao Rui had sent a driver to pick her up. Uncle Liu, the driver, had watched her grow up. As soon as she got in the car, he smiled warmly and said,
“Honghong, you’ve gotten thinner. Has working in South America been hard?”
Tan Guhong instinctively touched her face, making sure the injuries she had seen in the mirror before were already gone, then smiled and replied, “It’s been okay. I just haven’t experienced winter in a long time. Getting off the plane, I’m not quite used to it.”
“Ah, you’ll warm up in a few days. The forecast says it might snow soon.”
“Snow on New Year’s Eve would be nice. It fits the occasion.”
Beijing was a city that changed with each passing day. Forget two years. Even two months away, and it might already be unrecognizable. Along the way, Tan Guhong noticed that many streets and sights she once knew had turned unfamiliar.
She landed at four in the afternoon, right into the evening rush hour. By the time she reached the military compound, night had fully fallen.
Passing through the guard posts, the car drove into the residential area, and that familiar small building finally came into view.
Before this moment arrived, Tan Guhong had never realized that deep down, she missed home too.
She held the car door handle for a few seconds, paused, then took a deep breath and got out.
After entering, the housekeeper Xiao Tian excitedly announced that Sister Honghong had returned while taking her backpack and handing her that pair of fluffy slippers.
Her uncle Liao Rui and his wife Wang Fangfang, whom he had married the year before last, were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. Hearing this, they came into the living room.
“Honghong’s back?”
“Uncle, Auntie, happy Little New Year!”
Tan Guhong greeted them with a smile.
Liao Rui, who was usually stern and rarely smiled, actually had a smile on his face today. He reached out with flour still on his hands and rubbed her head, scolding with a grin,
“You wild girl. So you still remember to come back!”
Wang Fangfang wiped her hands on her apron, stepped forward to help Tan Guhong take off her coat still carrying the chill from outside, and said with a smile, “It’s good that you’re back. You must be freezing. Go wash your hands. Your uncle and I made dumplings. This batch is almost ready. There’s your favorite three-delicacy filling.”
“You’re sure the dumplings Uncle made are actually edible, Auntie?!”
Tan Guhong shrank her neck, dodging another incoming attack of flour from Liao Rui, and asked, “Where’s Grandpa? In the study?”
Wang Fangfang said, “He went out. He’s at the activity center for rehearsal.”
Tan Guhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Rehearsal on Little New Year’s Eve?”
“The choir has a performance to entertain and pay tribute to people on the third day of the New Year. Last time, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Uncle Zhang snatched the lead singer role from him. Your grandpa was so upset. He said that this time, he had to put in the effort and make sure he won the lead role.”
He had fought through half a lifetime of gunfire and battles big and small. Now in old age, was it really necessary to compete this hard just to be the lead singer? Tan Guhong couldn’t help laughing. Could it be that the female lead singer was once a beauty among the troops when she was young?
“Jie—”
Her cousin Liao Junpeng darted out of his room. Seeing Tan Guhong, he rushed forward in a few quick steps and, without a word, lifted her up and spun her in a circle.
“Jie, you’re finally back! Look, look, I’m a soldier now too!”
“Okay, okay! Put me down first, you brat, I’m about to throw up!”
After steadying herself, Tan Guhong finally got a clear look at him. Liao Junpeng had deliberately changed into his military academy uniform. The olive-green suit was crisp and upright, making him look spirited and sharp.
“Not bad. You look the part.”
Although this cousin was a full ten years younger than her, they had always been close.
As she spoke, Tan Guhong reached out to fasten the top button of his uniform properly. She couldn’t help feeling a bit emotional. In the two years they hadn’t seen each other, Liao Junpeng had grown taller again, already nearly a head taller than her. Next year, he should be graduating from the academy.
Before he could finish feeling proud, he took a solid hit on the head.
Liao Rui said coldly,
“Did you put on that uniform just to fool around? Get back to your room and take it off! Then go to the activity center and bring your grandfather home for dinner!”
“I just wanted to show my sister! And can’t you just call Grandpa? I’m not your communications officer!”
“Enough nonsense. Ten minutes. Run. If you’re even a second late, don’t bother eating dinner!”
“Come on, I’ve been waiting all afternoon for those dumplings!”
Watching the father and son go back and forth, Tan Guhong couldn’t help but laugh.
The house wasn’t large in terms of people, but that warmth and liveliness had never once faded.
It hadn’t been long after Liao Junpeng went out when he returned with Liao Rongguang. Exactly ten minutes, not a second more or less. It looked like tonight’s dumplings were still going to make it into his stomach after all.
The old man was almost ninety this year. His legs could no longer carry him, but his spirit was still sharp, full of that stubborn refusal to admit age or defeat. Sitting in his wheelchair, he scolded in a loud, forceful voice:
“That old bastard Li, he must’ve gone and pulled some strings again! Last time it was already him as the lead singer. Can’t he let me have it this time? I’m going to reason with him tomorrow!”
Tan Guhong teased him with a smile:
“Grandpa, maybe it has nothing to do with Grandpa Li. I know just how badly you sing off-key.”
At the sight of Tan Guhong, Liao Rongguang’s stern face immediately broke into a smile. He waved her over:
“Honghong’s finally back! Come, come, let Grandpa have a good look at you!”
Tan Guhong crouched in front of his wheelchair, gently taking his dry, aged hand. It was withered, but still firm and warm. For a moment, her eyes stung.
“Grandpa, I should’ve come back earlier. Something came up in Singapore and I got delayed…”
“It’s good that you’re back,” Liao Rongguang said without a trace of blame. Instead, he stroked her hair with a smile. “I’ve always said this, once children grow up, they’re meant to fly far away. Grandpa will never blame you, as long as you’re happy. I just want to know, has anyone been bullying my Honghong out there?”
Tan Guhong opened her mouth, and in front of the people closest to her, all those soft, fragile emotions surged up far too easily. Thousands of words crowded her throat, but in the end they all melted into a faint smile at her lips.
“No. Who could bully your granddaughter?”
On New Year’s Eve, by tradition, Tan Guhong would go to her grandfather’s house. So every year, the Liao family treated Little New Year’s Eve as if it were the real New Year’s Eve, preparing a full table of lavish dishes, boiling dumplings, frying spring rolls, and gathering the whole family around for a reunion dinner.
It was only on this day that Liao Rui, usually buried in official work, would make time to cook. He would make a pile of disastrously shaped dumplings that fell apart in the pot and no one wanted to touch, leaving him to eat them all himself in the end. But ever since Wang Fangfang became Tan Guhong’s new aunt, there was finally someone willing to share the “ruined dumplings” with him.
After the meal, Liao Rui spoke to Tan Guhong alone about something.
“Honghong, do you know about the return of the remains of the Volunteers?”
Tan Guhong nodded. “I know.”
“In March after the New Year, another batch of martyrs’ remains will be repatriated. Dad insists on going. But his health has been very poor recently, and the doctor does not recommend travel. Honghong, try to persuade Grandpa.”
Tan Guhong gave a noncommittal reply. “Uncle, you know Grandpa’s temper.”
Liao Rui sighed. “I know very well. But I still need you to try. His body really can’t handle the travel anymore. Try if you can persuade him. If not, then go with him. I really can’t get away. You and your aunt can accompany him. That way I’ll feel a bit more at ease.”
“Alright, I understand.”
When Tan Guhong entered the study, she saw Liao Rongguang sitting alone by the window, slowly stroking a photo frame in his hands with his head lowered.
It was a family photo of the Liao family from the early 1990s. At that time, her grandmother, her uncle, and her mother were all still alive.
There was no visible grief on Liao Rongguang’s face, but Tan Guhong knew he was sad.
She walked over quietly and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, smiling.
“Grandpa, want to play xiangqi with me?”
Liao Rongguang snorted. “You? You’re a terrible player. Every time I give you a rook, a horse, and an elephant, you still can’t win.”
“Then how about you give me one advisor and one soldier more, and I’ll try again?”
Liao Rongguang placed the photo frame aside, patting her hand. He saw through everything clearly.
“It was your second uncle who sent you to persuade me, wasn’t it?”
“Nothing gets past you.”
Tan Guhong smiled, walked around to the front of him, pulled over a chair and sat down. She asked seriously, “Grandpa, are you still going to Shenyang this year?”
Liao Rongguang let out a long sigh, his voice distant.
“Everywhere beneath the green hills can bury the bones of the loyal dead; why need the corpse be wrapped in horsehide and brought home? Party members have always been buried where they fall. But Honghong, do you know? Back then, when my comrades and I headed for the Yalu River, we promised each other we would return home together. In the end, only I survived. Now, they are finally coming back. I must go in person to receive them, to fulfill the promise we made together.”
“You really insist on going?”
“I must go.”
“Alright.” Tan Guhong nodded softly. “Then I’ll go with you. We’ll bring them home together.”
Liao Rongguang smiled with satisfaction, patting her short hair. “Good. Let those old comrades see how spirited and handsome my granddaughter is.”
Tan Guhong laughed shyly for a while, then suddenly thought of something.
“Grandpa, do you know about some engagement between our family and the Liang family?”
“Did that boy Xiao Liang tell you that?” Liao Rongguang snorted disdainfully. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. That old fool is full of feudal thinking. What era is this, still talking about engagements? Trying to set his sights on my granddaughter? Not a chance. Honghong, you don’t need to pay him any mind. My granddaughter, if you want to like someone, you like them; if you want to marry someone, you marry them. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”
Tan Guhong couldn’t help laughing. She had guessed her grandfather’s reaction exactly.
“But Honghong, if you really do like one of their boys, I wouldn’t object either. I’ve said it before, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters. Whatever you do, Grandpa will support you.”
The smile on Tan Guhong’s face faltered slightly. She slowly leaned her head against his shoulder and said nothing for a long time.
Liao Rongguang noticed her unusual silence but didn’t press. He simply patted her shoulder gently and smiled.
“How was Singapore this time? How’s that girl Sixuan’s hotel doing? I heard there’s even a casino inside. Tell me, Honghong, how much did you lose this time?”
“I had a great time. This time… this time my luck was pretty good. I didn’t lose any money.”
“Really? Grandpa doesn’t believe you. If you didn’t lose money, why are you speaking like that?”
“Really, I really didn’t lose a single cent. I even won quite a bit.”
Tan Guhong didn’t really want to talk much about it, so she quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, Grandpa, do you know how to play mahjong? Aunt Sixuan said you do, but I’ve never seen you play before.”
“That?” Liao Rongguang smiled faintly. “I do know how to play mahjong. Back then, when that girl Sixuan came to Beijing, she had just gone through a breakup and was feeling upset. She forced me to play with her. I told her I didn’t know how, but she insisted on teaching me. In the end, she was the one who kept losing. She got so angry she kept saying, ‘Teaching the apprentice starves the master.’”
He chuckled a little, unconcerned.
“But I don’t like playing mahjong. It’s a waste of time. I haven’t touched it in years. I’ve almost forgotten how to play by now.”
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