De Volta a 1993: No Início, a Partilha da Família, os Ingratos Choram de Arrependimento

“Wang Peng, hand your admission letter to your brother. Let him go to high school. You get yourself to the construction site and work for me!”

“If you dare disobey, get out of this house!”

“Da Peng, don’t make your father angry. Tomorrow, follow your uncle to the site and earn some money. He said you’ll be a bricklayer, seven yuan a day.”

“Don’t waste your breath talking to him. I’m the head of this family. If you dare disobey, get out and fend for yourself.”

The raspy, nightmare-like voices echoed in his ears.

Wang Peng woke with a start and looked up at the speakers.

A middle-aged woman with a sharp, mean face stood before him, hands pressed to her waist, staring him down.

Behind her, a sallow-faced man puffed on a dry tobacco pipe, the acrid smoke pricking at his nerves.

These two were his parents!

But they had died five years ago.

Wait!

What was that about a high school admission letter?

Wang Peng regained his senses, hastily scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. In front of him was a desk piled high with books. Carved into its surface were the words “strive diligently” and a large character for “morning.”

Beside the books lay an admission letter.

The letter read: “Student Wang Peng, congratulations on achieving the top score in the county’s entrance exam. Approved by the county admissions committee, you have been accepted as a first-year student in the class of 1993—”

“Please report to school between August 28th and 30th with this notice.”

Principal Song Wei.

Ping’a