Chapter 9: The Little Hamster’s Story 2
Chen Yi was accepted into the best high school in the county, fulfilling his wish. His three years of high school were the happiest time of his life; his teachers and classmates were all very kind to him. Except for the times he needed to take leave to help with farming during the busy season, Chen Yi mostly stayed at school, studying diligently.
Three years of high school flew by, and after taking the college entrance examination, Chen Yi returned home to await his results.
“Lao Er (Second Son), don’t go to university, even if you get in. Didn’t you see on TV? A university student costs tens of thousands of yuan a year; we don’t have that kind of money,” Chen Yi’s father said earnestly.
“You can get student loans,” Chen Yi replied.
“Loans are no good. Do you want us to get into debt with loan sharks? I’m telling you, don’t touch those things,” In Chen Yi’s father’s mind, loans were the same as the loan sharks depicted on TV, something beyond the reach of an ordinary farmer.
“Dad, student loans aren’t like that,” Chen Yi explained, but his father remained unmoved no matter how much he tried to explain.
After a long and anxious wait, the college entrance examination results were released.
Chen Yi ranked tenth in the whole school, a consistent performance.
Liang Bin was very happy; his students took the top ten places in the humanities section of their school, and their scores also ranked highly in the city.
Chen Yi was satisfied with his results; he planned to apply regardless of his parents’ approval and obtain a student loan himself.
When he returned home with his results, Chen Yi’s father, instead of his usual stern face, smiled and called Chen Yi over. This kind and gentle expression only appeared when he was with his youngest child, Sanbao, and his two younger daughters.
Chen Yi approached uneasily; he felt that his father’s sudden change in demeanor boded ill.
Sure enough, Chen Yi’s father spoke: “Lao Er, some people came to our house from town today. Their son also took the college entrance examination this year, but he didn’t do well. They came today because they liked your score; they offered 30,000 yuan for it, and I’ve already taken the money.” Actually, it was 50,000 yuan. Chen Yi’s father was afraid Chen Yi would demand a share of the money, so he didn’t reveal the true amount.
He had seen a box full of cash, a sight that made his eyes widen. He had never seen so much money in his life.
“Dad, you can’t do this!” Chen Yi cried, kneeling and begging his father.
“Why can’t I? I’m your father, you have to listen to me!”
“Dad, when I finish university and start working, I’ll give you however much money you want! I won’t spend a penny of your money in university! Dad, I beg you, don’t give my score to someone else!” Chen Yi pleaded bitterly.
“Naive! Haven’t you seen on TV how difficult it is for university graduates to find jobs? There are so many university graduates now, what makes you so special!” Seeing that Chen Yi was still unwilling to give up, Chen Yi’s father issued a harsh threat, “If you don’t agree, you won’t be allowed into our Chen family’s ancestral grave after you die, and I won’t acknowledge you as my son!”
Being barred from the ancestral grave after death was the most devastating threat in the countryside. With such words uttered, Chen Yi knew his father would not change his mind.
Chen Yi stopped pleading and knelt at his father’s door, refusing to get up no matter who called him.
“Let him kneel if he wants to!” The Chen family had a small courtyard; with the gate closed, outsiders wouldn’t know what was happening inside, so Chen Yi’s father wasn’t worried about being seen.
Chen Yi knelt outside the door all night. It rained in the middle of the night and continued until dawn.
Because he was his own flesh and blood, Chen Yi’s mother wanted to check on him. But before she could move, her husband stopped her, and she could only reluctantly comply.
The next morning, when she got up to cook, she found Chen Yi unconscious on the ground. She touched his forehead and found it burning hot; he had a fever.
She had never seen her child have such a high fever, so hot he could have cooked an egg.
“Husband, come out quickly, Lao Er has fainted!”
“What are you yelling about so early in the morning? Don’t you feel ashamed?” Chen Yi’s father came out in his clothes.
Only when he saw his son lying unconscious on the ground, his lips pale, did he realize the seriousness of the situation.
“Quickly…quickly invite the village’s old Chinese doctor!”
When the old Chinese doctor arrived, he said, “Take him to the hospital immediately; this is beyond my ability to treat.”
“Uncle Chen, please just treat him, how much will it cost to go to the hospital!” Chen Yi’s father didn’t want to send Chen Yi to the hospital; he thought it was unnecessary to waste the money.
“If you don’t, I will!” The old Chinese doctor was furious and arranged for someone to take Chen Yi to the hospital himself.
Chen Yi’s father hurriedly stopped him and took Chen Yi to the hospital himself.
Chen Yi stayed in the hospital for two days and finally woke up, but he was delirious. He was transferred to the psychiatric ward, and the doctor concluded that he had a mental illness.
“What mental illness, he’s clearly gone mad,” Chen Yi’s father regretfully took Chen Yi back home.
The doctor said that it was best for Chen Yi to stay in the hospital for treatment, but Chen Yi’s father refused, citing the high cost of hospitalization.
He kept Chen Yi locked up at home, preventing him from going out. Fortunately, the mad Chen Yi was still very obedient, neither crying nor making a fuss, doing whatever anyone asked him to do, which put Chen Yi’s father at ease.
Chen Zhong, learning that his brother had gone mad, rushed home to see the situation. He couldn’t believe that his intelligent brother had gone insane.
But after seeing Chen Yi at home, he had to accept the fact.
He wanted to take Chen Yi to the city where he worked, where there were large hospitals.
His suggestion was met with opposition from his family, as half of his monthly salary was sent home. If he took Chen Yi for treatment, he wouldn’t be able to support his family. Besides, they thought that there was nothing that could be done for someone who had gone mad, and they had never seen anyone recover from madness.
In the end, Chen Zhong could only hug his brother and cry, “Brother, I’m useless, I let you suffer!” He was helpless; he wanted to forcibly take his brother away, but his parents were right; he was just an ordinary person living at the bottom of society. He could barely take care of himself, let alone a mentally ill brother.
Chen Zhong was in great pain, but the only response he received was his brother’s silly smile.
One day, the Chen family went out and forgot to close the door. The silly Chen Yi, out of curiosity, opened the door and found the outside world interesting. He saw a cat and wanted to play with it, but the cat ignored him and ran away. So Chen Yi chased after the cat, running off to who-knows-where.
He reached a place where the cat disappeared, and Chen Yi looked around blankly.
At that moment, a car stopped in front of him. A boy with sunglasses and a huge afro stuck his head out and asked him, “Hey! Brother, do you want a ride?”
The boy thought the thin Chen Yi looked like a little poplar tree swaying in the wind, unable to hail a cab.
Aha, the time to help those in need has come, call me “Wang Daxia” (Hero Wang)!
“Ah…” Chen Yi got into the car in a daze.
“You know what? I’m going to be a singer! Gotta, gotta, gotta check it out, everyone move with me!” Wang Daxia played music and shouted along with it.
“By the way, where are you going?” Wang Daxia asked.
“Ah…” Chen Yi didn’t know what he was saying. At that moment, the music played “It’s you who hurt me so much…”
“Oh, so you’re going to the city, that’s the same way I’m going!”
Ultimately, Chen Yi was taken to the city by Wang Daxia.
“Bye bye, see you again if we’re destined to meet!” Wang Daxia let Chen Yi off at a hotel.
Thus, Chen Yi began his wandering life, which lasted for about three years. His family had searched for him but without success, and eventually gave up.
…
The little hamster, whose real name was Chen Yi, didn’t know why Lin Xia suddenly hugged him and cried. He was wiping the table when Lin Xia suddenly rushed out of the break room and hugged him, frightening him, the employees, and Xiaobai Tuanzi (White Ball).
“Ah…don’t…cry…” the little hamster comforted Lin Xia.
“I’m fine.” Lin Xia looked at the little hamster with red eyes; thankfully, the little hamster didn’t remember, otherwise, he would have been much more distressed.
“From now on, I’ll be your family,” Lin Xia said to the little hamster.
Author’s Note: Wang Daxia: My upcoming singer career seems to have inspired me!
“Hey! Brother! Want a ride? Free of charge, not a penny…”