Chapter 29

– Words Between Father & Son

Dad, it’s already been ten years.

The area northwest of the city was called City West. It was the city’s newly developed industrial park. All the large factories that were originally located within the city had been moved there in succession.

Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian stood at the empty roadside, waiting for the bus. There was only a bus sign to mark the bus stop, not even a shed to block the sun. Pang Qian kept turning back to look into the distance. There weren’t a lot of high-rises in the area, so the metal company’s new 20 plus story residential buildings was very eye-catching.

Pang Qian looked at the beige colored buildings under the sun. Those houses really looked pretty. And they had elevators. Gu Mingxi said that inside, the houses were all very large. When they were standing at the bottom of those buildings, they could see the park across the fences. There was even a stream in the park, and there were stones to create a mountainous feel. There were also lots of different trees. It was clear that the metals company had spent a lot of money to build the residential area.

But all of it already had nothing to do with Pang Qian.

Pang Qian didn’t understand how the company could be so ruthless though. It had the money to put up a new luxurious residential building, but it didn’t have any money to give to her dad?

From the TV and the newspaper, Pang Qian knew what it meant to get laid off. Her dad, Pang Shuisheng, entered the metals company when he was 18 years old. He worked there for 25 years, and originally, he thought he’d be like the other employees of a state-run enterprise. They would work until they were 60 and be set for a stable retirement. But since he was a specialist welder, he would have even been able to retire at 55 years old.

But now, he was only 43 years old. Because of all the years he worked welding, he had even gotten an occupational disease. He didn’t have education or any other experience. After losing this iron rice bowl (secure job), Pang Qian didn’t know what her dad would do in the future.

The rickety bus pulled up to the stop. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi got onto the bus. She insisted on sitting in the back row, so Gu Mingxi could only silently follow her.

The car slowly headed towards the heart of the city. Pang Qian sat at the window, looking out at the bleak street. She couldn’t help but worry for Gu Mingxi, as she asked, “This place is so far away from the city. Gu Mingxi, how are you going to get to school in the future?”

It was also the first time that Gu Mingxi had gone there, but his sense of direction was much better than Pang Qian’s. He understood clearly that the new house was really very far away from downtown E City. In between the two places, there was even a stretch of countryside.

He definitely couldn’t ride his bike such a great distance. It was too dangerous. Gu Mingxi thought about it, “I have to take the bus.”

“Take the bus by yourself?” Pang Qian furrowed her brows at him. “You have to transfer buses. And the bus is always very crowded in the mornings. Will you be okay?”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Gu Mingxi asked, staring at her.

Pang Qian thought for a moment, but she couldn’t come up with any ideas.

Gu Mingxi asked, “About your dad and work, has something been worked out? Did he go talk to my dad?”

“I don’t know,” Pang Qian answered glumly. “My dad’s already been out of work for two months. I go to school in the day, so I didn’t realize. After the midterms, when I would stay at home, my dad would pretend to head to work every day. I don’t know where he ran off to on such hot days. If I hadn’t gone to ask him about the new house, he and my mom probably wouldn’t have told me about it.”

Gu Mingxi said, “From what you’ve said, it hasn’t been that long. I don’t know if the formalities have all been taken care of yet. How about this, when I get home, I’ll ask my dad if there’s any way to repair this.”

Pang Qian looked at him, pleasantly surprised. “Really? Will your dad help?”

“My dad and your dad have been good friends for a long time.” Gu Mingxi said with a.s.surance, “My dad’s position at work is pretty high up. He should be able to help with this.”

Pang Qian was extremely happy, her heart able to hope again. She said, “Gu Mingxi, you’re really great! You’re really too great!”

That evening, Gu Mingxi stood outside Gu Guoxiang’s study. He lifted up his foot and knocked twice on the door.

Gu Guoxiang, “Come in.”

Gu Mingxi pushed open the door with his shoulder, and then walked inside. Gu Guoxiang was sitting behind his desk, a computer in front of him. He’d found someone to build that computer six months ago, and it had cost more than ten thousand dollars.

Gu Guoxiang didn’t even look at Gu Mingxi, his fingers typing away busily on the keyboard. Gu Mingxi walked over to his side, and saw the article he was working on, packed densely with words.

He asked, “Dad, did you type all this?”

Gu Guoxiang flipped the page of the book beside him, and without looking up said, “Yes, I typed it all.”

“That’s amazing.”

Hearing Gu Mingxi’s genuine praise, Gu Guoxiang looked up and asked, “What are you looking for me for?”

“Mm.” Gu Mingxi stood beside Gu Guoxiang meekly, just like a very obedient student standing in front of a tough teacher. He asked, “Dad, am I bothering you?”

“No.” Gu Guoxiang took off his gla.s.ses and rubbed his eyes. He said, “I’m also a little tired of doing this.”

Gu Mingxi smiled and said, “It’s like this, Dad. Today, Pang Qian told me that Uncle Pang has been laid off. Pang Qian looks very upset, so I wanted to ask you if there was any room for change with Uncle Pang’s case.”

Hearing his son’s words, Gu Guoxiang was shocked, so much that he forgot to put his gla.s.ses back on. After a moment of surprise, he smiled and asked Gu Mingxi, “Did Pang Shuisheng tell you to ask me, or was it Pang Qian?”

Gu Mingxi was looked at him and shook his head, “They didn’t ask me to. I was the one who thought of it.”

Gu Guoxiang looked at him coldly, and said, “You think that I have a bit of a position at the factory now, so it’s easy to reinstate your Uncle Pang?”

“That’s not it…” Gu Mingxi realized that his father was a bit angry, but he wasn’t about to give up like that. So he continued, “I just think that Uncle Pang is really amazing. Wasn’t he awarded “advanced worker” many years? He was the one who helped weld together my bike too. It’s still in great condition…”

“What is it that you want to say?” Gu Guoxiang put on his gla.s.ses, and got up to get a folding chair from the corner. He unfolded it and put it down, “Mingxi, sit down.”

Gu Mingxi sat down a bit apprehensively. Gu Guoxiang took a sip of tea from his cup on the desk. Then he said, “I haven’t had a [heart to heart] talk with you in a long time. And in the blink of an eye, you’ve already grown this big.”

He touched Gu Mingxi’s shoulder. Through the cloth, he gently felt those rounded shoulders. Under his palm, he felt the truncated bones and then the flesh that grew under it. From his little boy frame, he had grown up.

Gu Mingxi said, “Dad, what I’m saying is that there definitely isn’t a problem with Uncle Gu’s abilities. Why would he get laid off? You…”

He looked hesitatingly at Gu Guoxiang, then gathered his courage to say, “You’ve been good friends with Uncle Pang for so many years, from elementary school until now. Pang Qian’s helped me with a lot of things too. Now that Uncle Pang’s facing this kind of thing, if you can, won’t you help him. Dad.”

Gu Guoxiang listened quietly to Gu Mingxi. Occasionally, he would take a sip of tea. He smiled gently, then shook his head. “Mingxi, you really are still a child.”

Gu Mingxi was nearly 16 years old. He was already 176 cm tall. Of course, he wouldn’t be happy that his father was taking him to be a child. But this wasn’t something for him to retort on. He could only bite his lip and sit obediently, touching his toes together out of habit.

Gu Guoxiang said, “I know that Pang Qian is very special to you. And perhaps something will develop between you two in the future. But Gu Mingxi, you have to know, this society we live in is very cruel and realistic. There are some things that you can’t just look at from the surface. Look at the situation next door. Pang Shuisheng indeed had no problems with his work, but what about Auntie Ai’hua? Your Auntie Ai’hua graduated from junior high, and now she’s working as a treasurer. She’s 42 this year. The factory gave her a computer and told her to learn how to use it to do her accounts. But she couldn’t learn it, no matter what. The factory is going through restructuring, and they are laying off a lot of people. Your Auntie Ai’hua is one of the first ones who will have to bear this. The factory can hire college graduates to take care of treasury matters, someone who can use a computer, who can speak English, who has a hire working efficiency. When I found out about this, I went to talk to your Uncle Pang. We decided to leave Auntie Ai’hua at the company, to transfer her to a warehouse job. After another 7 or 8 years, she can retire. In order to avoid criticisms, we could only let your Uncle Pang go. But your Uncle Pang is skilled. He can find another job, and it might even pay better.”

Gu Mingxi was astonished. Gu Guoxiang finished his cup of tea. He smiled and said, “What? Didn’t expect it? I knew that Qian Qian would tell you about it. Two little kids, what do you know. Mingxi, ah–”

He pat his son’s shoulders again, and let out a long sigh. “You’re really too naive. Actually, you should be a little more selfish. You said that Pang Qian’s helped you a lot over the years? Why don’t you think about who made you lose your arms in the first place? Why don’t you think that, without your help over the years, Pang Qian wouldn’t be getting such good grades? That she wouldn’t be able to get into a good high school?”

Gu Guoxiang’s voice was full of disdain. Gu Mingxi was shocked again, frozen in place. It had been many years since anyone in their family had mentioned the incident when he got injured. But now, hearing Gu Guoxiang bring it up, Gu Mingxi finally learned that his father who’d been faraway in France at the time, had been living with an uneasy heart.

“Dad, it really wasn’t Pang Qian’s fault.” Gu Mingxi looked at Gu Guoxiang’s eyes. “She was only 5 years old at the time. It was just an accident.”

Gu Guoxiang looked at his son uncertainly. “Mingxi, I’ve always wondered about this. Do you really not have Pang Qian at all?”

“Why would I hate her.” Gu Mingxi spoke quietly and slowly. “Back then, Zhu Huiqiang’s frisbee flew onto the transformer. We didn’t understand back then, so we had to climb up to get it back. If I didn’t go, it might have been Zhu Huiqiang, or Dong Dong, or Xiao Jian. It might have even been Pang Qian. No matter who went to get it, something was bound to happen. I only lost two arms, so that was considered my good luck. If someone else had gone, maybe they would have lost their life.”

Gu Guoxiang was incredulous towards Gu Mingxi’s explanation. “You still think that you were lucky?”

“Dad, it’s already been ten years.” Gu Mingxi looked at Gu Guoxiang as he spoke, “Right now, I don’t think that life is particularly difficult without arms. What you use your hands to do, I can also do with my feet.”

“Then have you thought about what will happen with going to university or getting a job? Do you know how cruel the world is out there? It’s survival of the fittest, and it all depends on your abilities! Graduating university doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get a job. You have to count on your own skill. Even if I can arrange a job for you, it won’t be a charity case. You’ll have to work for it, you’ll have to create something of that value. When I’m still working, maybe my words will hold some weight. But what about after I retire? There’s only ten or so years left!”

Gu Guoxiang stared at his son. He said earnestly, “Mingxi, you’re only 16 years old. If you live until you’re 70, you still have more than 50 years to get through. In 50 years, neither your mom or I will be here. What are you going to do?”

Gu Mingxi responded casually, “I’ll go live in a nursing home.”

“Ha!” Gu Guoxiang couldn’t believe it. “That’s what you have to say?”

…

When Gu Mingxi was leaving the study, he looked again at Gu Guoxiang’s computer. Recalling what his father had told him about Jin Ai’hua, he asked his father, “Dad, can you teach me to use a computer?”

“Doesn’t your school have a computer cla.s.s?” Gu Guoxiang said, “I’ve seen your cla.s.s schedule. From the start of junior high, there’s a cla.s.s every week.”

Gu Mingxi bit his lip, then said honestly, “Dad, actually… I’ve never gone to computer cla.s.s. The teacher said I didn’t have arms so I wouldn’t be able to use the computer. So I just stayed in the cla.s.sroom to self study.

Gu Guoxiang was silent for awhile. Then he asked, “You don’t even know how to turn on a computer?”

“Mm,” Gu Mingxi nodded, embarra.s.sed. “I’ve never touched a computer before.”

“…” Gu Guoxiang nodded. “Okay, I know. I’ll think about how you can use a computer.”

—-

Gu Mingxi couldn’t tell Pang Qian about the “truths” his father told him. It was just too cruel. She was already having a hard time understanding Pang Shuisheng’s situation. If she knew her unlucky father was laid off because of Jin Ai’hua’s bad situation, how would she be able to face her parents?

Just as all parents want their children to be outstanding, all kids also hope that their parents are strong, exceptional, able to do anything, able to protect them.

Gu Mingxi didn’t want to destroy the image of Pang Shuisheng and Jin Ai’hua in Pang Qian’s mind. When she asked him about it, he could only say, “I’m sorry, Pang Pang. My dad really can’t help with it.”

Pang Qian was usually rather irascible in front of Gu Mingxi, but when faced with real business, she wasn’t one to become troublesome. She didn’t get angry at Gu Mingxi because of this situation. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, “I knew it. There’s no hope for this case anymore.”

At the start of August, Gu Guoxiang received the keys to their new house. He borrowed a car, intending to take his son and wife to see the new house. It was Sunday, an it happened to be Gu Mingxi’s 16th lunar birthday. He hesitatingly asked his dad if they could invite Pang Qian along.

Gu Guoxiang said, “As long as she wants to.”

Gu Mingxi immediately went next door and asked Pang Qian if she wanted to see the new house.

At the start, Pang Qian really didn’t want to go. Think about how hurtful it was. She was supposed to have a share of it, but now she could only look at it. She wasn’t going to suffer that kind of grief! But Gu Mingxi kept calling her. Pang Qian was so irritated, “You guys are going to look at your new house. What’s it got to do with me?!”

Gu Mingxi was startled and couldn’t come up with a response. After a long while, he finally came up with a reason, “I want you to be the first person to see my room!”

“What’s there to look at in your room?!”

“Oh… Our house is 120 sqm, so there should be four rooms. My mom said that aside from the master bedroom, I could pick whichever of the remaining three rooms. You can help me pick.”

“Show off! Show off!” Pang Qian was angry. She threw a pillow at Gu Mingxi. “Gu Mingxi, you’re so annoying!”

The two kids were in the middle of their fight when Pang Shuisheng, who’d just returned from having a drink, came in. He said to Pang Qian, “Today is Mingxi’s birthday. The birthday boy came to invite you out, and you’re still being so haughty? You’re going to start growing bugs if you keep staying at home. Hurry and go out to play with Mingxi.”

Pang Qian spoke without concern [for others], “You also stay home all the time, growing bugs!”

Pang Shuisheng was startled, then he hit the back of Pang Qian’s head with a pa. “You have no respect for your elders! Have you grown up, so you don’t listen to your parents anymore?! Hurry and change your clothes, Mingxi’s waiting for you!”

Pang Qian cried out, “Dad!”

Pang Shuisheng suddenly let out a strange chuckle. He said, “Daughter, listen to your dad. Go take a look at Mingxi’s house. Who knows, it might be yours too in the future.”

Gu Mingxi, “…”