Letters in the Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears

Author:Gale Sears [Sears, Gale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2011-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

It was nearly dark when Wen-shan arrived home. She hurried to change out of her school uniform and get to the kitchen to fix dinner. Luckily her uncle had brought home snake soup the night before and they had enough left for another meal.

Her uncle came home from work late, and Wen-shan figured they wouldn’t be reading a letter that night, but after dinner and a short rest, her uncle called her to the front room. “Are you too tired to read a letter tonight?”

“No. Are you?”

“I am a little tired, but I want to hear your mother’s words.”

Wen-shan nodded and went to the coffee table drawer to retrieve another letter. There were very few letters left to read, and Wen-shan tried not to think about the last ribbon being untied.

She pushed the parchment open and read.

1962

I whisper to my daughter that Mao Tse-tung has been made to change his mind. She rubs her ear and giggles because my warm breath tickles. I can tell her these things because she is only two and will not report me to Secretary Zhang. I say the name of President Liu Shao-ch’i, and she smiles. Yes! We all smile! He helped us. He listened to our cries. At great risk, he stood up to Chairman Mao. The quota was much lower this year, and while some grain was sent away, more filled the people’s stomachs. There is cooking oil, eggs, and flour. And we have been given permission to plant our own gardens. Father and I bring in beans, peppers, corn, and eggplant. Wen-shan stumbles around the garden, looking at plants, and poking her fingers in the dirt. Han-lie watches her from a distance. He smiles. I think in his heart he would like to stand up like President Liu, but he is more comfortable being told what to do.

My father paints again—a secret painting of tiny sparrows bravely wearing winter’s coat.

Both Wen-shan and her uncle turned to stare at the painting. It was odd to have her mother speak about something that was hanging on their front room wall. It caused an ache in her heart, and with difficulty, Wen-shan went back to the letter.

He does not do a revolutionary painting. He paints the sparrows and smiles. It is his way of being on the other side of sorrow. We will hide it with the others.

Secretary Zhang was sent to Peking for a month of training, and we were all joyful. The assistant who took his place was lazy and did not care if we chanted Mao’s name or read the newspaper. We still had to work, but we felt lighter not having to carry around heavy words in our mouths. When Secretary Zhang returned, he brought a wife with him. Wu Ming-mei. She was a former actress in the opera like Mao Tse-tung’s wife, Jiang Qing. But Wu Ming-mei is pretty. We do not know her heart because she does not come to the reading of the newspapers or to the meetings.

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