Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

The group arrived at the Xiqiao Village Committee Guesthouse. Two tables were set up at the guesthouse. All the dishes on the tables were locally produced in Xiqiao Village.

Cang Yuanzhi stood up, holding his wine glass, and said, "It's an honor for our village that Reporter Lin has come to interview us. Everyone, please eat and drink well, don't be shy."

Sitting opposite Lin Wei, Wang Zhiming became more talkative after a few drinks. Holding his glass, his face slightly flushed, he said to Lin Wei, "Reporter Lin, let me tell you the truth. Our Secretary Cang's magnanimity is truly admirable. Even though the Wang family and the Cang family had such a falling out before, Secretary Cang didn't hold a grudge and took the initiative to recommend me as the accountant."

He paused, took a swig of wine, and continued, "Not only that, Secretary Cang is fair in his dealings. Every project is put out to tender openly, and the accounts are transparent. He respects the elderly and cares for the young, and values ​​education. Shortly after taking office, he established a scholarship fund to reward children who have achieved academic success, thus encouraging them to study harder."

Luo Xiaolian continued, "Secretary Cang has everyone in our village on his mind. There are several elderly people living alone or without family support in the village, and he visits them several times a month. Last winter, when there was a strong wind, Grandma Liu's house was leaking, and Secretary Cang led the village cadres to repair it overnight. If someone hadn't stopped him, he would have climbed up himself. He forgot that he had difficulty walking and only remembered to solve Grandma Liu's problem."

Peng Xiaojun, the village security chief, stood up, his dark face flushed, holding a wine glass. He cleared his throat: "Secretary Cang's work on maintaining order is impeccable. Before, petty theft was rampant in the village. If Zhang's chicken was stolen or Li's bag of rice was missing, no one could find out. The first thing Secretary Cang did after taking office was to establish a village protection team, with each household taking turns on duty. He himself took the lead, standing guard the first shift. In the dead of winter, with the north wind howling, he would wander around the village on his cane. Some people advised him to go back, but he said, 'If the village cadres don't stand guard the first shift, who will?'"

Luo Xiaolian continued, "Secretary Cang also strongly supports our women's work. Whenever there are conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, or quarrels between husbands and wives, as long as Secretary Cang mediates, there's no problem that can't be resolved. He often tells everyone: 'Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things, and harmony in the village brings prosperity to all industries.'"

Sitting in the main seat, holding a wine glass, Cang Yuanzhi was a little embarrassed by everyone's praise and waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't just praise me. This wasn't done by one person alone. Road construction, strawberry planting, animal husbandry, winery—everything was done by everyone together. The village's Party members, village cadres, and every household contributed. No matter how capable I, Cang Yuanzhi, am, I can't support an entire village by myself."

Listening to his second brother's words, Cang Zhenye couldn't help but say, "My second brother is ruthless to himself. Back when the village was building biogas digesters, he dragged his prosthetic leg and squatted on the construction site, watching the work for the entire day. When people advised him to go back and rest, he said, 'If I don't keep an eye on it, who will be responsible if there's a safety accident?'"

Everyone chimed in with their own words, but they were all talking about the same thing. Cang Yuanzhi became the village party secretary not by talking, but by walking on two legs—one real leg and one prosthetic leg—traversing every inch of Xiqiao Village and stepping into the doorstep of every household.

Cang Xiangrong sat next to Peng Xiaojun, his back straight, listening attentively. He recalled the Cang family motto once again—"Have strong bones and a righteous heart." His second uncle had been strong-willed and righteous his whole life. He was the best embodiment of the Cang family motto.

Cang Xiangyang sat beside Cang Tianci. He recalled how his second uncle had taught him wood carving, step by step. His second uncle had said, "The knife must be steady, and the mind must be calm. If the mind is not steady, the knife will go astray." His second uncle was carving wood, but also carving life.

Lin Wei sat to Cang Yuanzhi's left. She forgot to eat, her head bowed as she rapidly jotted down notes in her notebook. Each word spoken by these village officials, taken individually, seemed ordinary, but strung together, they flowed like a river. She recalled a line from the opening of the I Ching: "A family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings." The Cang family hadn't accumulated wealth, but good deeds. Cang Yuanzhi hadn't accumulated political achievements, but hearts and minds.

Cang Lifeng sat next to Lin Wei, glancing every now and then at the dense handwriting on her notebook, and then at the untouched food on her table. He wanted to remind her to eat first, and even wanted to feed her himself, but he was afraid of disturbing her work.

He saw that she had written the last line: "The road in Xiqiao Village was made by Cang Yuanzhi and the whole village by walking on it. He put one leg in front and the other behind. The one in front was a prosthetic leg, and the one behind was his real leg."

The meal lasted very late. Cang Lifeng accompanied Lin Wei to his family's mud-brick house for a while. Then he took her back to the guesthouse. In the night, the two walked side by side.

Cang Lifeng suddenly said, "Lin Wei, this afternoon when you interviewed Grandpa, one of his remarks really touched me?"

Which sentence?

"Don't turn off the lights, don't deviate from the path."

"I agree, I even wrote that down," Lin Wei said. She recalled the image of Cang Houde standing in the middle of the main room last night with a kerosene lamp in hand—the dim yellow light shone on the old man's face, on his withered hands, and on the faces of everyone sitting around the charcoal brazier.

"Lifeng, what do you mean by the lamps of the Cang family?" Lin Wei asked softly.

Cang Lifeng thought for a moment and said, "I used to think it was about having a strong backbone. Later I thought it was about having a righteous heart. Now..." He paused, looking at the outline of the old locust tree in the distance, and at the lights of Xiqiao Village, and continued, "Now I think it's about knowing you'll get hurt, you'll bleed, you'll be scolded, but you still do what you have to do. After you've done it, you don't feel like you're anything special. You just go to the fields and do your work. Just like my dad, my second uncle, and my grandfather."

Lin Wei didn't reply, but simply moved her body closer to Cang Lifeng.

Upon reaching the entrance of the guesthouse, Cang Lifeng stopped and said, "Get some rest."

Lin Wei nodded and pushed the door open to go inside.

Lin Wei didn't sleep; instead, she sat at the table and turned on the desk lamp. The dim, yellowish light enveloped the open notebook, much like the light from the kerosene lamp in Cang Houde's old house.

She turned to the first page of her notebook. "Be strong-willed, be upright. Don't let the light go out, don't stray from the path." These words appeared before her eyes like a ray of light.

She recalled Su Yumei's words: "Tianci was three years old and still couldn't call me 'Mother.' Everyone in the village said he was mute. I didn't believe it. Every night, I would light the kerosene lamp, hold his hand, and teach him stroke by stroke. I wrote the character 'person' hundreds of times. I told him, 'You are a miracle that God has given to your mother.'"

She suddenly understood: the Cang family's precepts weren't written on paper, but under the oil lamp. Su Yumei held Tianci's hand, and with each stroke, she wrote the character "人" (person) into his bones. Later, when Tianci fell and stood up on the arena, and when he regained himself after losing his memory, it was all because that character "人" had been engraved into his bones.

"I don't regret it. It was worth it to exchange one leg for more than sixty lives." Cang Yuanzhi's resounding words echoed in his ears.

Lin Wei picked up her pen, gazing at the light from the lamp. That light reminded her of Cang Houde's kerosene lamp, and Su Yumei's oil lamp… The Cang family's lamps weren't lit by one person; they were passed down through generations. The way they were passed down wasn't written on paper, but etched into their very bones.

She wrote:

"Five generations of the Cang family have guarded a single lamp, passing down six words: 'Hard bones, upright heart.' These seven words are not just family precepts hanging on the wall; they are etched into their bones. Cang Yunshan had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to record the list of national treasures in a den of wolves. Cang Houde had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to keep the secret for forty-eight years. Cang Yuanzhi had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to lie prone in the snow for three days and three nights. Cang Lifeng had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to charge into the gun barrel. Cang Tianci had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to fall and rise again on the fighting stage. Cang Xiangrong had them etched into his bones, which is why he dared to face a knife without retreating."

She paused, then wrote:

"If a person has strong backbone, that person can stand firm. If a family has strong backbone, that family will not fall. If generation after generation has strong backbone, that country will not collapse."

She closed her notebook and turned off the light. Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on the desk like a small, still pool of water. She lay down and closed her eyes. A few barks came from afar, then stopped. The night wind outside rustled through the branches of the old locust tree, like someone turning the pages of a very old book. In the distance, the first rooster crow had not yet sounded, but the first ray of light on the horizon had already appeared.