Ten Thousand Books, But Only One You

20 Catching Fishes from Troubled Waters

Chapter 20: Catching Fishes from Troubled Waters[1] 

The big buffalo pulled on the cart as Grandpa Lu sat at the front with a long whip to drive the animal. Granny Lu sat in the middle of the cart on a thin pile of straw, hugging the small yellow dog which had greeted us the night before. We learnt that its name was 'Pidan'. Pidan's loud panting was the only thing audible besides the creaking of spinning wheels.

Fu Wanxi and I perched on the edge of the cart, our backs facing the front of the road and our legs dangling freely from the cart.

We had set out before dawn and travelled for a couple of hours. According to Grandpa Lu, at this point in time, we were nearing Guizhong City. The narrow country road gradually became wider as roadside tea stands and buildings came into view. Tianxing Teahouse, Fujia Guesthouse, Xinzhuang Inn. The teahouses and inns appeared to be fully occupied, with groups of people camping out in the front yards of these places. On a closer look, these people seemed to also be refugees who had escaped from their hometowns with little valuables and only the clothes on them.

"Old man, all the inns here are overflowing with people. Do you think that the city is refusing to let us in?" Granny Lu expressed her concern as we passed through the small town where the nearest teahouses and inns outside the city could be found.

"How can the local government reject refugees?" Grandpa Lu replied angrily. He shook a fist in the air before reassuring Granny Lu. "Don't fret. Our son is in the city; it can't be that they will prevent us from entering the city?"

I casted a sidelong glance at Fu Wanxi. She was chewing on the inside of her cheek and appeared to be deep in thought. Feeling my gaze on her, her head snapped up and she gave me a bright smile. "Don't worry, Ah Yu. There'll always be a way out of a difficult situation, even where your circumstances might tell you that there is none." As she squeezed my hand reassuringly, I felt the bubbling anxiety within me subside.

The buffalo cart slowly came to a stop. Turning around, I saw the magnificent city walls in the near distance. The green words—Guizhong Cheng—were carved on a huge plaque, mounted over the closed city gates. Refugees were huddled close together in families by the towering city walls, numbering in the thousands. Grandpa Lu dismounted from the cart and made his way through the sea of people. As he approached city gate, the guards standing in front of it waved him away dismissively. Grandpa Lu seemed to be trying to reason with them but we could not hear anything from afar. A guard escorted him away from the city gate and Grandpa Lu tried to push something into the guard's hands. The guard seemed to reject whatever it was and walked with Grandpa Lu for a few metres before turning back to return to his post.

Granny Lu let out another sigh as she lamented something under her breath.

Grandpa Lu made his way back to the cart, shaking his head hopelessly. "They won't open the gates. The Guizhong City administration refused to allow refugees in, citing concerns about overpopulation. I said that Ah Dong is living in the city but they still refused. I asked the guard earlier to help bring word to Ah Dong that we have arrived but are barred from entering."

"We can wait out here in the hope that they will open the city gates, but how long must we wait?" Granny Lu burst into a loud cry. "We'll eventually run out of food and water—will we just wait to die then?"

A few other villagers turned to look at us upon hearing Granny Lu's distraught cry. The nearest family with several young children was the first to speak to us. "We've been waiting out here for three days already. There are many others who have been here for a week, but the gates remain shut. I have so many mouths to feed, our supply of food would only last us until tomorrow. Maybe we should have just remained in our village if we're just going to die anyway!"