Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The journey from home to Third Middle School spans twenty miles, a distance that must be measured on foot every weekend. Through this repetitive trek, six classmates formed a solid "Wayfarers Alliance," and with their frequent pairings at school, they quickly earned the reputation of the "Six Brothers."
The Six Brothers, in order of age, are the eldest Liu Xingjia, the second Liu Mouchun, the third Liu Zuzhong, the fourth Zhu Wenyao, the fifth Peng Zequan, and the youngest, myself. Below, I will provide a brief snapshot of each brother based on their proximity to me:
The farthest is Peng Zequan, who hails from Meitian Township, Hejia Village, over ten miles away from my home. He has five older sisters and one younger sister, making him the family's treasured gem. As a result, he is tall and sturdy, the most handsome among us brothers. His family is well-off, and he excels academically. Like me, he took the entrance exam for Vocational School after graduating from middle school but missed out by just a few points. In our first year of high school, he was in Class Three with me but later transferred to Class 105, where he became quite popular among female classmates.
Next is me, the "little one," being both the youngest and the shortest. Naturally lively and energetic, I often come up with ideas for whatever activities we engage in together.
Continuing towards school for another seven or eight miles brings us to Liu Xingjia's home in Nanni Township, Jiawan Village. The eldest not only holds the title of oldest but is also the tallest among us brothers at that time, though somewhat thin. In middle school, he studied alongside Liu Mouchun and Zhu Wenyao at Unity Middle School; their grades were similar until high school when some differences began to emerge. Nanni Township falls within Gaosha District's jurisdiction; all three of them were within Third Middle School's recruitment area. Unlike me and Peng Zequan who were considered outsiders, many other middle school classmates also attended Third Middle School or were in the same class as us. However, they bonded more closely with me and Liu Mouchun and Peng Zequan to form the Six Brothers.
Two miles further brings us to the famous Burnt Tile Village Pomegranate Field. Zhu Wenyao's family's tile kiln lies along our route to school. He is about my height but much sturdier. He has one sister, one younger sister, and one younger brother. Due to years spent making tiles, his hands are particularly large and strong.
Liu Mouchun lives in the same village as Zhu Wenyao but across a wide field. Despite Burnt Tile Village's reputation for tile-making, Liu Mouchun does not share that skill; however, he excels in academics. In middle school, his grades were comparable to those of Liu Xingjia and Zhu Wenyao but improved year by year in high school. He is the only one among the Six Brothers who successfully entered university this year and was also the most mature among us; during his time at Third Middle School, he once wrote a love letter to a female classmate, earning respect from his brothers.
Liu Zuzhong is considered an "external member" of our group—not because he has poor relations with us but because he lives on the opposite bank of the river. Taiping Township's Mushan Village lies across from Pomegranate Field; during middle school, Liu Zuzhong attended Taiping Middle School and was in Class Five during his first year of high school. Despite being enrolled in a different school system, he still forged a strong bond with us through daily interactions. Among the Six Brothers, Liu Zuzhong comes from a less fortunate background; his parents are often ill and he has one younger sister. He is also known for being honest and hardworking; fortunately, through perseverance in hardship, he eventually achieved success.
The grassroots yet hopeful Six Brothers made their mark in every corner of Third Middle School—causing quite a stir while also facing criticism. Looking back now evokes memories filled with youthful passion: we once confronted a group of upperclassmen from Gaosha Town (including some alumni) on the playground until they had no choice but to jump over the wall to escape; we climbed a tall chimney at a nearby brick factory which nearly cost one brother dearly; we snuck into a vegetable garden near our school to steal beans and almost got caught by the nearsighted Director of General Affairs while climbing back over the wall; we even spread out on Zhu Wenyao's corridor to sleep on straw before swimming at Tiao Shui River at night—there was even an attempt to swim across during rough waves if not for my fear of water…
Because of these escapades, our little group caught many teachers' attention. One time when my parents visited Gaosha Street for shopping and stopped by my school to inquire about me, they ran into Teacher Wang Chiduan who taught chemistry during makeup classes; he jokingly labeled us as part of a "Five-Person Gang," which led me to explain multiple times to my mother.
Thirty years later, although the Six Brothers are scattered far apart now, our friendship remains strong. On January 3rd of 2016—Old Five's mother's eightieth birthday—we agreed to meet again and visited several other brothers' homes (their hometowns). As the "Historian," I recorded the current status of the Six Brothers as follows:
The eldest did not get into university after high school and has been farming at home ever since. A few years ago life was tough due to his sister-in-law's illness; however, things have improved significantly recently as he built a spacious new house and his children graduated from university with ideal jobs.
The second brother graduated from university and started working at a state-owned enterprise as a technician; today he is an executive managing thousands of employees based in Shiyan City in Hubei Province. He rarely returns home now; we can only contact him via phone or WeChat.
The third brother has undergone significant changes—after two years back in classes he finally got accepted into Hunan Normal University. After graduation as an "appointed student," he became a township cadre but worked hard at grassroots levels due to lacking connections—serving as township head and secretary before finally moving into county administration this year as director of a less significant bureau.
The fourth brother remains in his hometown but has abandoned tile-making expertise to start a catering team that travels around organizing banquets; he also opened a restaurant on Gaosha Street where my father celebrated his sixtieth birthday with twenty tables set up—relatives and friends were very satisfied! I've always wanted to visit his restaurant on Gaosha Street but have yet to make it there.
The fifth brother attended one of the best universities—Shanghai Maritime University—and after graduation was assigned to Shenzhen Chiwan Port managing maritime trade operations successfully. Many brothers and classmates prefer reaching out to him when visiting Shenzhen; several years ago he left state-owned enterprises behind to start his own business in Dongguan—generally working there during weekdays while returning only on weekends makes it difficult for spontaneous visits.
As for me? After leaving banking I’ve been running around like “a lackey for capitalists,” still struggling to find stability while sometimes even feeling detached from my commitment to history and writing—living up to my WeChat nickname: Wayfarer Across The World!
Addendum: Eight years later brings even more changes—the most significant being Liu Zuzhong who encountered an influential figure during a critical moment in his career: a college classmate was appointed county party secretary where he worked leading him onto a path of success—first becoming education bureau director then deputy chairman of county political consultative conference; however fortune turned when in 2024 he faced repercussions due to corruption allegations involving that same college classmate—a heartbreaking story that leaves us feeling helpless despite wanting to help our brother.
Comment 0 Comment Count