Call Me Daddy

“Mom, I finished my bath!” Su Mingcheng shouted loudly in the main room.

“Mom, where’s my bag? Let me carry it.”

He said that as he pushed the door open and rushed in, just in time to see his father holding his mother’s hand. His mother’s face was as red as the azaleas at the foot of the mountain. Covering his face, he chuckled and knew to be polite and not stare, pulling his head back behind the door.

Jiang Lianmei quickly withdrew her hand, the blush spreading to her neck.

“Dinner is ready. I’ll go serve it.” Saying that, she hurriedly walked to the kitchen as if her tail was on fire.

“You, get in here.”

Su Mingcheng wanted to chase after his mother to ask about his bag, but Su Aobai called him back. He held the shoulder bag that Jiang Lianmei had just brought in with the fabric, using it to lure his son in.

“Dad, didn’t you say this bag was for me?”

He held the shoulder bag high, out of Su Mingcheng’s reach no matter how much he jumped.

“This bag is expensive.” Su Aobai emphasized.

“I know. Dad is the best. I love Dad the most.”

Su Mingcheng stared at the army green bag, nodding his little head vigorously.

“You see, in our family, Dad has to work very hard teaching to earn 18 yuan a month. Mom has to work in the brigade to earn work points to get more food. Besides that, Mom has to do the laundry and cook for the whole family. When you and your sister were very young, Mom and Dad had to take care of you day and night. Dad and Mom put in a lot of effort to take care of our little family. So, what about you? What have you done to deserve this bag?”

Su Aobai felt it was important for his child to understand the value of money and the hard work of his parents.

When he was a son, he didn’t realize it, but now that he’s a father, he’s especially afraid of raising ungrateful kids.

“I help take care of my sister.”

Su Mingcheng thought hard. “I also help Mom feed the chickens and water the vegetables in the garden…”

He counted on his fingers, thinking hard, but he still felt that these chores didn’t seem to be worth that much.

“But you’re my Dad!” He pouted, feeling a bit unhappy.

“Son, do you know that Dad trusts you a lot, especially when Dad was away during this time? You helped take care of Mom and your sister. Although Dad doesn’t approve of you fighting with other kids, since you were defending the family, it shows that you’re already a little man. Dad believes that when you grow up a bit more, you’ll find better ways to resolve conflicts than fighting.”

Su Aobai’s encouragement elevated Su Mingcheng’s status significantly.

He puffed out his chest, feeling like he was already seen as an adult in his father’s eyes.

Kids, especially ones like Su Mingcheng who were a bit precocious, long to be treated like adults by grown-ups.

“You’re a man, right? Can a man take advantage of others? Definitely not!” Su Aobai felt like he was on a path of convincing others, but he couldn’t help it since he had been swayed by the system himself.

“Now, you want this bag, don’t you? Shouldn’t you make more contributions to this family to earn it?”

At this moment, he felt like the wolf tempting Little Red Riding Hood to open the door.

“What contributions?” Su Mingcheng’s confidence had risen.

“As a man, speak directly without hesitation!” He pounded his chest boldly, feeling as brave and fearless as a Red Army soldier in the movie ‘Tunnel Warfare.’

(T/N: Tunnel War, also known as Tunnel Warfare = a 1965 Chinese film produced before the Cultural Revolution about a small town which defends itself from the Japanese by use of a network of tunnels during the Second Sino-Japanese War.)

Yes, I’m a man, a real man!

“You were right before. You help take care of your sister and do some chores around the house. These are contributions too. But this bag is quite expensive, and your previous contributions aren’t enough. So, starting today, I’ll give you some extra assignments every day. If you can complete them on time, this bag will be yours forever.”

Su Aobai held the bag in front of him, the sturdy army green fabric with a red five-pointed star that looked like a hero’s badge, making Su Mingcheng reluctant to look away.

“But how does doing homework count as a contribution?” Su Mingcheng didn’t quite understand.

“You see; your yearly tuition is 2 yuan. The more knowledge you gain, the more it proves that the tuition wasn’t wasted. By not wasting money, you’re contributing to the family. I won’t make it too difficult for you. From now on, I’ll just give you an extra twenty questions each day. You only need to spend about an extra hour completing them. If you do well in class, you’ll finish these assignments even faster, leaving you plenty of time to play with your friends.”

Such a long explanation left Su Mingcheng a bit confused.

“Dad, why do I feel like you’re tricking me?”

His animal instinct kicked in, making him suspect that his father’s tone resembled the way his mom coaxed him out of his New Year’s money every year.

“Why would Dad trick you? Just now, did I tell your mom that you were the one squirming in the back seat, causing us to fall? We’re men; would I lie to you?” Su Aobai’s sincerity was overwhelming. His hurt expression due to his son’s distrust made Su Mingcheng feel bad.

“Okay!”

Men keep their word, and Su Mingcheng, the little man of the house, agreed.

“Comrade Mingcheng, I hope you won’t disappoint the organization.”

Su Aobai solemnly handed the army green bag to his son. Su Mingcheng, equally solemn, took the bag from his father’s hands. He slung the bag over his shoulder, stood at attention, and saluted his father.

Thus, the two men made a pact known only to them.

***

In the afternoon, after lunch and a short rest, Su Aobai rode his bicycle to take his son to school.

Recently, he needed to use the bicycle quite often. Since Jiang Dajun and his son didn’t need to go to the commune or the county, they had lent him the bicycle for a while.

However, Su Aobai felt that borrowing indefinitely wasn’t appropriate, even if it was from his father-in-law. They needed a bicycle at home. Although they had enough money, obtaining a bicycle ticket was challenging. Su Aobai thought that Brother Hei might be able to get a bicycle ticket, so he planned to ask next time he went to the city.

In the afternoon, Wang Fangfang indeed didn’t come to class. She hadn’t even requested leave from the Principal. Although the old Principal didn’t say anything, he was visibly displeased. However, since Wang Fangfang had connections, she couldn’t be dismissed unless she made a major mistake.

When Su Aobai stood at the podium again, some students were happy, while others frowned and pouted.

Wang Fangfang didn’t care about the students, which was undoubtedly negligent for a teacher. However, some students preferred it that way. Playing with friends at school all day was much more enjoyable than staying at home, where they might be asked to do chores at any moment.

The previous teacher was different. Not only did he assign homework, but he also reported misbehaving students to their parents. The children who were reported often got a beating when they got home.

“Before we start class today, let me tell you a story,” Su Aobai said as he walked to the podium. Instead of starting the lesson right away, he began narrating the story of ‘Journey to the West.’

(T/N: Journey to the West = an extended account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who traveled to with Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, together with a dragon prince who acts as a steed, a White Dragon Horse.)

Even the kids who had been distracted and eager to play outside were captivated, eager to hear more. But Su Aobai didn’t fulfill their wishes entirely. He stopped right at the part where the Monkey King emerged from the stone and was about to find a master, leaving everyone itching to know if he succeeded.

“We’ll leave the story here for now and start our lesson. From now on, there’s a new rule; Students who listen attentively and complete their assignments on time will get to hear a story before class. If you don’t want to attend class, you can go play outside, but you won’t get to hear the story because it’s a reward for good students.”

His words caused an immediate stir in the classroom. Some students wanted to hear the story but didn’t want to study.

“Alright, those who don’t want to attend class can go play now,” Su Aobai said with a smile, not pressuring them to stay.

“Class is boring, and I don’t want to do homework,” Chu Jiabao said angrily, kicking the seat of his older sister in front of him. Despite being a few years older, Chu Ni was shorter due to poor nutrition and hard work.

“Hey, you better remember what the teacher says and tell me at home, or I’ll get Mom and Dad to beat you,” Chu Jiabao threatened, then stood up with a swagger.

He decided to go play, and several of his friends, seeing him leave, looked at the teacher and then at Chu Jiabao’s carefree demeanor.

Some couldn’t resist and followed him out. They figured they could just listen to Chu Ni retell the story later. However, some students were still a bit afraid of the teacher. For some reason, Su Aobai’s smile seemed unsettling to them, so they chose to stay.

In the end, the result was better than Su Aobai had planned. Out of 37 students, only 8 chose to leave the classroom.

Su Aobai smiled confidently, picked up the chalk, and started the lesson.

***

Chu Ni felt that Su Aobai had changed a lot. The way he explained things made the topics much easier to understand. The chaotic content Wang Fangfang had taught before now seemed simple under his guidance. Even though the class duration was the same, it felt like they learned a lot more.

Some students who initially planned to listen half-heartedly were gradually drawn in by his humorous and engaging teaching style.

The examples he used were particularly interesting. When practicing addition, he asked how much pork the team could divide based on the work points earned by the father and mother, and how much each person could get. After the division, how much pork would the family have in total?

When practicing subtraction, he posed a scenario where the family had ten cookies. If Grandma secretly gave them one and then Mom secretly gave them another, how many cookies would be left?

These practical examples related to their daily lives had to be calculated accurately. The kids were so engrossed in figuring out how much pork and cookies they could get that they forgot it was just a hypothetical situation. They earnestly counted on their fingers, drooling at the thought, wishing reality could be as delightful as the teacher’s examples.

If math was that interesting, the Chinese language class was equally engaging.

The teacher guided them to write essays about New Year’s Day. Everyone thought about the delicious food they could eat during the New Year, and recalled using part of their New Year’s money to buy small firecrackers from the peddler. The crackling sounds seemed to echo in their ears even now.

As they wrote, they sighed, wishing every day could be like New Year’s. There was no reluctance to write at all.

Su Aobai walked around the classroom, occasionally correcting students’ word usage and pinyin errors, and sometimes giving hints. After everyone finished their essays, he selected a few excellent ones to read aloud and analyzed what made them good.

He had never read excellent essays aloud before. The students whose essays were chosen blushed with pride under the envious gazes of their peers, feeling happier than ever. Those who weren’t chosen felt a bit disappointed, but the teacher promised to read outstanding essays every time, making them silently vow to write even better next time.

The students playing outside could occasionally hear the laughter and exclamations from the classroom, but couldn’t quite make out what was so funny. It made them feel like there were ants crawling inside them, and they kept glancing towards the classroom.

That afternoon, their playtime seemed incredibly dull.