North Family Letters

North wind warms the kang (heated brick bed)

(A family novel set in Northeast China in 1970, featuring six sisters)

Chapter One: Letters from Home in the North Wind

In 1970, Northeast China was as cold as a frozen iron pot.

As dawn broke, the Songhua River was still covered with ice half a foot thick, and the wind felt like knives scraping one's face. In the Hongguang family compound, rows of red brick bungalows were huddled together, their chimneys emitting wisps of white smoke, and thick ice flowers clung to the windows of every household.

This is a military factory residential area on the outskirts of Harbin, inhabited entirely by soldiers, factory workers, and their families.

The innermost room is where Old Song's family lives.

The man's name was Song Changshan, thirty-eight years old, a former border guard. In 1965, he went to the front line with his unit and stayed there for five years, only returning home once.

The woman's name was Zhang Guifen. She was thirty-six years old and worked as a temporary worker in a military factory. She had rough hands, a meticulous mind, and a loud voice. She raised six daughters by herself, who, from eldest to youngest, were lined up like six newly sprouted scallions.

The eldest sister, Song Chunyan, is seventeen years old and has already started working in the factory. She is quiet and capable of handling things.

The second sister, Song Xiahe, is fifteen years old. She is outspoken and quick-witted, and fiercely protective of her family.

The third sister, Song Qiuling, is thirteen years old, soft-hearted, and prone to crying.

The fourth sister, Song Dongxue, is eleven years old and as mischievous as a boy.

Fifth sister Song Xiaoman, nine years old, timid and obedient.

Sixth sister, Song Xiaoya, is five years old and the youngest in the family.

Six girls, no sons.

In those days, not having a son always led to gossip and backbiting, but Guifen never bowed her head.

She often said: "I have six daughters, which are as good as six sons."

That morning, before it was fully light.

Guifen had already gotten up in the dark and started adding firewood to the stove. The iron pot sizzled as she cooked corn porridge.

On the kang (a heated brick bed), six girls huddled together, wrapped in patched quilts, sleeping haphazardly.

Chunyan woke up the earliest, quietly sat up, put on her faded work clothes, and prepared to go to work.

"sister."

Dongxue rubbed her eyes and whispered, "Has Dad...written a message?"

Chunyan didn't say anything, but just patted her younger sister's head.

They hadn't received a letter from their father for almost a year.

The battlefield was thousands of miles away, amidst jungles, artillery fire, enemy planes, and trenches... The family only knew that their father was in the anti-aircraft artillery unit; they knew nothing else.

Guifen turned around, her eyes a little red, but she forced a smile:

"Hurry up and drink your porridge. Your dad is very lucky and will definitely be fine. He'll come back after the war is over and bring you candy, rubber shoes, and floral fabric."

She says this every single day.

It was as if he was cheering himself up, and also keeping an unextinguished light burning for the six girls.

Life in the Hongguang Family Compound was tough, but also warm.

There was no meat, no refined grains; in winter, all we had were Chinese cabbage, potatoes, and sauerkraut.

One piece of clothing, worn by the eldest sister, then the second sister, patched upon patched.

They burned firewood, relied on a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) for warmth, and shared a basin of water for washing their faces among the six sisters.

No matter how hard life was, Guifen never let a single child get cold or hungry.

Chunyan gave all of her wages to her mother;

After school, Xia He would collect coal cinders and cut pig feed.

Qiuling was responsible for keeping an eye on the two younger children and preventing them from running around.

In winter, snow climbs walls and trees, and one can always bring back some wild fruits;

Xiaoman quietly helps with starting the fire and picking vegetables;

Little Sprout is the youngest, but the most clingy; she tugs at anyone's clothes when they go out.

The neighbors all say: With Old Song away, this woman has managed to hold the family together.

Some people are also gossipy:

"The men are fighting on the front lines, while the mothers and children are stuck at home. When will this ever end?"

Guifen heard it, but pretended not to hear it.

She pasted her husband's photo in military uniform in the most conspicuous place on the kang (a heated brick bed).

In the photo, Song Changshan is young and upright, wearing a military cap, with bright eyes.

Every day when the six girls wake up, the first thing they see is their father.

It was particularly cold that evening.

Shouts came from the courtyard gate:

"Zhang Guifen! Registered letter! From the military!"

Gui Fen's vegetable basket fell to the ground with a clatter.

The six girls ran outside like madmen.

It was a letter from the front lines, the envelope slightly damp, the handwriting bold and strong.

Guifen's hands trembled, and she couldn't open it for a long time.

Chunyan took the letter, carefully tore it open, and read it aloud to the whole family, word by word.

The letter was very short, containing only a few sentences:

Guifen, children:

I am all well and the troops are fighting very well on the front lines, shooting down many enemy planes.

Don't worry, take good care of yourself and your six daughters.

I'll go home once we win.

Changshan.

There were no unnecessary words, no complaints about hardship, and no expressions of fear.

Only peace and the promise of returning home.

After the letter was read aloud, no one in the room said a word.

The north wind howled outside the window, and the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) was scalding hot.

Little Sprout hugged her mother's leg and whispered:

"Mom, when is Dad coming back? I miss him."

Guifen hugged all six children tightly.

Her tears finally fell, but she smiled and said:

"Soon, your dad will be back soon."

A few months later, a telegram suddenly arrived.

The neighbor handed the telegram to the mother, whose hands trembled as she took it. It contained only one short line:

The troops are withdrawing to Yunnan for rest and reorganization. Families are permitted to visit. Please come quickly. Song Changshan.

For a moment, Guifen neither cried nor laughed; she just stood there, tears streaming down her face.

Six girls came home from school and saw their mother crying while holding a piece of paper. They were so frightened that they surrounded her.

"Mom, what's wrong? Did something happen to Dad?"

Guifen wiped her face, slammed the telegram on the table, her voice trembling:

"Your father... has returned! He's resting in Yunnan, and we're being sent to visit him!"

There was a two-second silence in the room.

The next second, chaos erupted.

Dongxue jumped up and knocked over a small stool; Qiuling covered her mouth and cried; Xiaoman clutched her mother's clothes; and Xiaoya hugged her mother's leg and cried out.

"I want to see Dad! I want to see Dad!"

Chunyan, being the most composed, first calmed herself down: "Mom, how many people are going? Yunnan is so far away."

With a large family, the travel expenses are a huge problem.

Guifen gritted her teeth: "Everyone go! Even if we have to sell our pots and pans, we'll all go! He hasn't seen his six daughters in five years, and he can't miss a single one." In those few days, the entire Song family was mobilized.

Chunyan took out all the money she had saved up for half a year;

Xia He took the cloth coupons and industrial vouchers she usually saved and exchanged them for money.

Qiu Ling gave away her notebooks and pens, which she was reluctant to use, to her classmates in exchange for a few yuan;

The neighbors also helped out, with one family contributing five yuan and another ten yuan, all saying, "Old Song is risking his life on the front lines, we must lend a hand."

Guifen sold the last bit of fine grains her family had left, and also pawned an old military overcoat that her husband had left behind years ago.

The night before she left, she took out all the clothes of the six girls, mended them, and washed them clean.

Everyone changed into their most presentable clothes, which were covered in patches, yet looked perfectly neat.

Little Sprout asked, "Mom, is it hot in Yunnan? Has Dad gotten tanned? Does he still recognize me?"

Guifen stroked her head: "Even if your father were burned to ashes, he would still recognize his little daughter."