The first snowfall of 1993 came earlier than usual. Yao City was blanketed in white, and Lin Jiancai and his wife were shivering under the covers. Gritting his teeth, Lin Jiancai climbed out of bed, his body instantly breaking out in goosebumps. He jumped out of bed, added a lump of honeycomb briquette to the stove, and opened the damper slightly to let the coal burn more vigorously.
Just as he crawled back into bed, there was a knock at the door. It started softly but grew louder and more urgent as there was no response.
“Who could it be at this hour? What’s the emergency?”
Lin’s mother nudged Lin Jiancai with her elbow. Muttering, he climbed out of bed as the knocking grew more insistent.
“I’m coming, stop knocking. Don’t wake the neighbors,” he shouted.
Opening the door, Lin Jiancai froze, not yet clear-headed enough to see who it was when someone rushed into the house.
“Dad, wake Mom up quickly,” Lin Kun said as he closed the door and lowered his voice.
His clothes and hat were covered with snow, and he was cradling something bulky wrapped tightly in a quilt.
Lin Jiancai then noticed Lin Kun was only wearing a sweater, his cheeks red from the cold, his lips pale. “What are you holding?”
Lin Kun hesitated, seeming reluctant to speak. Meanwhile, Lin’s mother shuffled out in her slippers. “Kun, why are you back? What happened in the middle of the night?”
Lin Kun pursed his lips, stiff with cold, and pulled back the quilt, revealing a naked baby, who was purple all over, skinny like a little kitten, and motionless.
“Where did you find this dead child?” Lin’s mother exclaimed, her voice rising an octave.
“He’s not dead, he’s alive. Get some warm water, we need to clean him,” Lin Kun frowned.
The baby still had blood and vernix from the womb on him. After being cleaned up, the baby, hungry and cold, began to cry loudly. Without any formula at home, they made some rice soup. Lin’s mother managed to soothe the baby to sleep after much effort.
The family was busy for most of the night, too exhausted and anxious to sleep.
They pressed Lin Kun for the child’s origins. Lin Kun, head bowed, said, “The child is mine. I’m sorry, Dad, Mom.”
Lin Jiancai and his wife were speechless, exchanging looks with furrowed brows.
Lin Kun was normally a rule-following child, but being at the impulsive age and away at university with less supervision, they could understand a momentary lapse.
The situation being what it was, the couple didn’t reprimand him too much. Instead, they scolded him for not being upfront. They should have been informed as soon as the child was expected, to prepare and arrange a wedding in advance. Now, having a child out of wedlock would be fodder for gossip.
“Is the child’s mother your classmate? Is she still in the hospital? Who is she? Have your father and I met her?” Lin’s mother felt sorry for the girl, already planning to help with the postpartum care the next day.
However, Lin Kun said, “She doesn’t want the child. Don’t ask who she is; I will take care of him myself.”
Lin Jiancai and his wife were even more shocked than when they had first seen the baby. They couldn’t fathom why a mother would abandon her newborn.
No matter how they pressed, Lin Kun was evasive and refused to divulge the truth.
Lin Jiancai, his brow furrowed in anger, demanded, “Lin Kun, tell the truth. Did you force the girl, and that’s why she doesn’t want to marry you?”
It was plausible: the girl had lost her virginity out of wedlock, was afraid to report it or make it public, hoped to pretend nothing happened, but ended up pregnant. Feeling resentful towards Lin Kun, she refused to raise the child or marry him.
Lin Kun laughed self-deprecatingly. His parents would rather believe their obedient son had committed a crime than accept that a woman could abandon her own child for no reason.
“What are you laughing at? You have no right to laugh!” Lin Jiancai shouted, pulling off his shoe and throwing it at Lin Kun.
The shoe hit Lin Kun in the face. He cried out in pain, but more than the physical hurt, he was wounded inside. He had always been a stellar child, cherished by his parents who had never laid a hand on him before.
“Yes, Dad, you’re right. It’s all my fault. She doesn’t want to marry me. From now on, don’t ask who she is, and definitely don’t go looking for her. If you provoke her, she might end up calling the police on me,” Lin Kun warned seriously.
That was exactly what Lin Jiancai and his wife feared. They wanted to meet the girl, perhaps offer some money as compensation, not expecting her to accept it but at least to gauge her reaction. But no matter how they pressed, Lin Kun refused to reveal any information about her.
The family discussed how to handle the situation with the baby. Lin Kun was adamant about raising him, either as a son or as a brother.
Hearing “as a brother,” Lin Jiancai was so enraged he tried to throw another shoe, but his wife stopped him.
Lin Jiancai and his wife didn’t immediately express their stance. They spent a sleepless night pondering. They concluded that the baby could not stay: it would damage Lin Kun’s reputation as rumors would inevitably arise; it would ruin his future prospects—how would he marry or explain to his employers? If someone investigated the child’s origins, Lin Kun might even end up in jail.
The baby was evidence of a crime, a ticking time bomb. Who would keep a bomb at home? Finding a good family for the child was the only thing they could do for him.
While Lin Kun was back at school, Lin Jiancai and his wife managed to find a childless couple through a mediator and sent the three-day-old baby away.
What a sin.
Lin’s mother swore to become a vegetarian and pray for forgiveness.
When Lin Kun came home for the weekend, he made a scene and threatened to take his own life unless the baby was returned. His parents relented and managed to get the baby back.
Lin Jiancai was so angry he vomited blood and stopped speaking to Lin Kun. Lin’s mother, loving her son unconditionally, treated the baby as her grandson, hoping that with time Lin Kun would change his mind.
To sever Lin Kun’s attachment to the baby and to avoid the neighbors’ prying eyes, Lin’s mother moved to the countryside with the baby. It was too arduous for Lin Kun to visit frequently with his busy study schedule, and she hoped he would eventually tire of the travel and his affection would wane.
Unexpectedly, Lin Kun persisted for an entire year, returning to the countryside every weekend, rain or shine, clearly very fond of the child.
Lin Jiancai, however, had a different perspective. Lin Kun had never shown much interest in children before—whether relatives’ children or those he encountered in the community.
His affection for the baby was undoubtedly related to biological instincts, but more so, Lin Jiancai suspected, it stemmed from his feelings for the child’s mother—an extension of his affection for her.
Growing more curious about the identity of the child’s mother, Lin Jiancai considered his son. Though not the crème de la crème, Lin Kun was certainly one in a thousand—a standout in Yao City, a college student with good looks and bright prospects. Was the child’s mother a celestial being, disdainful of his son?
As time passed, Lin Kun’s enthusiasm for the child did not diminish, and Lin Jiancai and his wife’s affection for the baby grew. Watching the baby grow—sitting up, crawling, standing, walking, and calling them “Grandpa” and “Grandma”—deepened their emotional bond, making it impossible for them to consider sending him away again.
Lin’s mother, carrying the baby, moved back to Yao City. The baby couldn’t be hidden forever; they needed to introduce him to others. The dilemma was how to explain his origins. Claiming the baby as their own wouldn’t work—the neighbors had heard the crying and knew Lin’s mother hadn’t been pregnant.
Claiming Lin Kun as the father was even less feasible.
They decided to say the baby was a relative’s child whom they were helping to care for. For now, that would suffice.
This ruse worked in the short term, but as time went on, rumors bubbled like a boiling pot—there were all sorts of speculations. For a while, the couple dared not go out, fearing neighbors would corner them with questions. They only went shopping when others were having dinner, avoiding encounters.
After a year, the rumors gradually subsided, overtaken by a relentless stream of new gossip. Lin Kun named the child Lin Dongzhi, “He was born on the winter solstice, so let’s call him Dongzhi,” he said as he held little Dongzhi in his arms, rubbing his stubbled chin against the child’s soft cheek, making Dongzhi giggle.
Lin’s mother took Dongzhi shopping. He insisted on helping carry the grocery basket. At first, he managed to lift it, strutting like an adult. But after a few dozen meters, his strength gave out, and he resorted to dragging the basket.
Eventually, he couldn’t even drag it and plopped down on the ground. Instead of crying, the child looked up at Lin’s mother and laughed. She laughed along with him.
Unnoticed by them, a bicycle rushed down a nearby path. A boy around ten, unable to see them because of the shrubs, realized too late that Dongzhi was in his path. It was too late to brake, and the bike’s wheel ran over Dongzhi’s leg, causing him to cry out in pain.
The boy, thrown off by the momentum, landed face down on the ground, his face scratched and bleeding, which frightened him into crying.
The commotion drew the boy’s family, who, seeing their child with a bloody face, blamed Lin’s mother without understanding the situation.
Lin’s mother explained the incident, pointing out the tire mark on Dongzhi’s leg to the boy’s family, who wouldn’t listen, each adamant they were right. The argument escalated and ended up at the police station.
The police tried to mediate. Dongzhi had a minor bone fracture, and the boy had facial abrasions—neither injury was serious. Both parties were at fault, and the police urged them to settle amicably.
Initially unyielding, the boy’s parents eventually signed a settlement after the police explained that their son, who had been speeding in the neighborhood, was more at fault. Dongzhi was not playing but merely standing in the middle of the road.
After signing the settlement, the police encouraged a handshake. Lin’s mother reached out her hand, only to have the other party slap it away and suddenly accuse her of child trafficking!
