Chapter 519 - 42: The "Life-Saving Straw" Left by Grandpa (Part 2)
When Xiao Xian first got her hands on the Party Constitution, she didn’t pay much attention to it. How could a non-standard primary school student who doesn’t even know what the Young Pioneers and two-bar rank insignias are supposed to know what the Party Constitution is?
She just flipped through the title page and glanced at a few names, getting a rough idea of who they were.
Xuerou saw Xiao Xian holding a small red book and leaned in to take a look, recognizing it as a copy of the Party Constitution.
Xuerou is a dignified Red Seedling of the Miao people, already a Youth League Member with Party membership surely in her future. However, the Party Constitution in Xiao Xian’s hands was different from the ones Xuerou had seen; it wasn’t covered with a red soft cover nor was it made of waterproof paper, evidently not a current edition of the Party Constitution.
Xiao Xian held the Party Constitution without flipping through it further, her gaze lingering on the title page. Xuerou’s curiosity piqued, she looked at the bottom of the previous page and saw the print: "First Edition, 1957. First Printing in Beijing, 1959."
"Xiao Xian, where did you get this antique version of the Party Constitution? It’s a first edition, which has become quite rare in the market. Moreover, it’s well-preserved." Those who collect the Party Constitution are likely to be elderly Party members, probably belonging to the generation of Xiao Xian’s grandparents.
"It belonged to my grandpa," Xiao Xian saw several names on the title page, with "Yu Shan Yang" standing out boldly, while the other two names were unknown to her.
"He must have been an old Party member; a first edition of the Party Constitution is quite valuable as a keepsake," Xuerou figured Xiao Xian was just feeling homesick for her grandpa back in her hometown, which is why she dug up this Party Constitution.
"Xuerou, if someone very important to you was wronged, but that happened a long time ago, and you suddenly find out that there’s someone who can help them, would you bring up the past again?" Xiao Xian wasn’t sure if Zhu Shijun, peaceful and content in his old age in Ge Village, gave her this Party Constitution to revisit the past or to warn her to be cautious of these people, to avoid contact if possible.
"It depends whether the person who was wronged still cares about those things. If he doesn’t wish to bring it up again, then you shouldn’t touch upon it either." In the first half year after Xuerou’s father passed away, Mrs. Zeng and Grandma Zeng dared not even utter the word "dad" in front of her, and even similar sounds like the character "八" (eight), would make Xuerou overly sensitive and distressed.
Time mitigates a lot of things. Now, Xuerou has learned to accept this reality and has found a new way to trace her father’s footsteps.
"Maybe I should take the chance to ask first," Xiao Xian was unwilling to leave Zhu Shijun alone in Guizhou, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to justify leaving Auntie behind, especially since Zhu Shijun had told her not to come back to Ge Village during their phone calls, mentioning the inconvenience of travel by bus.
It seemed Grandpa preferred her to live in Beijing.
"What’s in this bag? Don’t tell me the Five Gentlemen’s rattan mats are woven from these materials?" After her return, Xuerou saw Xiao Xian frantically searching everywhere; she found the box and then stayed sullen, but refused to clarify what had happened.
Xuerou just assumed Xiao Xian had encountered something unpleasant during the day. Knowing Xiao Xian’s nature, Xuerou realized that after a good night’s sleep, everything would be fine again, so she didn’t press further and shifted the conversation to the bag Xiao Xian had brought back.
Xiao Xian has been staying in the Zeng Family’s guest room for over half a month. Earlier, she had hurried to find Xuerou to inquire about the whereabouts of the Party Constitution, which led her to Xuerou’s room, and the bag containing Black Purple Vine was also brought into her room.
The bag wasn’t tightly closed, and as Xuerou started to pick it up, some Black Purple Vine fell out.
Xiao Xian had previously mentioned to Xuerou about the Five Gentlemen Flower Art claiming to sell something other than their advertised goods; however, the vines Xiao Xian brought back were just raw materials that had gone through preliminary processing, nowhere close to resembling a finished mat.
"This is raw material for weaving the Purple Vine Mat. The mats from Five Gentlemen are all handwoven; they may not look as good as machine-woven ones, but the craftsmanship and the materials used are superior. Everyone who has used them prefers them." Xiao Xian wasn’t boasting—after all, the money earned by Mao Dazhu’s store doesn’t touch her hands.
The Five Gentlemen’s mats were few in variety and slow in production, with not many customers, but there were always some loyal ones. For example, the young woman who bought a Purple Vine Mat last time came back to order a custom set, saying she slept well on it and wanted to send a set to her parents back home.
"I know the Purple Vine; Sacred Heart Middle School’s sports field has a row of Purple Vine flowers planted alongside it, hanging down just like willow leaves. Come spring, the area is filled with a sea of butterfly-shaped flowers in a dusty purple hue," that spot is popular with the school’s couples, especially during the blossom season, prompting the student union’s disciplinary department to keep watch and catch people there.
Xiao Xian pursed her lips, stifling a laugh. Classic Xuerou, associating everything with school affairs.
"The Black Purple Vine I brought back belongs to the same family as the Purple Vine you mentioned, but there are differences. It doesn’t flower, only growing tiny leaflets the size of grains of rice, and its essence is concentrated in the vine. There’s a saying in North Korea – ’mink on the ground, vine climbing the tree,’ referring to this type of vine. It’s an analogy for how the essence of Black Purple Vine is like mink fur—warm in winter and cool in summer." Xiao Xian explained with conviction, leaving Xuerou completely baffled.
Wasn’t she talking about a cool rattan mat? How did it suddenly switch to talking about mink fur? Could these Black Purple Vine mats be used not just in summer, but also in the dead of winter? That seemed rather extraordinary. Xuerou shook her head, expressing disbelief.
"It’s okay if you don’t believe it. Once I weave it, you’ll believe it. If I hadn’t seen the old folks at the senior center weaving mats today, I wouldn’t have thought that there’s another way to weave them," the biggest revelation for Xiao Xian today wasn’t the secret she found on the Party Constitution, but the idea that flooded her mind the moment she saw the mat woven by Mr. Yu.
If she added something else into the vine strips, what would the resultant rattan mat look like? Xiao Xian was eager to experiment.
**
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