Embarrassing childhood stories from poverty: dreaming of digging up eggs in a pile of wheat chaff to get rich
Lately, for some unknown reason, my thoughts keep flying back to my childhood. This May Day, when I traveled a long way back to my hometown where I was born and raised - Dabeisu Village, Ningjin County, Hebei Province - I realized that this barren land is still the place I long for day and night! Walking along the concrete-paved street and looking at unfamiliar yet familiar faces, I was reminded of the story of digging for eggs when I was little.
Back then the family was poor, and we could hardly eat a few meals of steamed buns all year round, so eggs were almost a luxury in my childhood. I remember when I had just started first grade, class had already been going for half a day when a classmate named Liu Zenghai ran panting to the classroom door and called out for permission to enter. The teacher made him stand in front of the podium and, in front of all the students, explain why he was late. Blushing shyly, he panted and said: I had no exercise book left, and my ma told me to wait for the hen to lay an egg so I could take the egg to trade for a book. But that hen just sat in the nest and would not come out. I lifted the old hen up several times, but there was no egg. So I waited and waited, and finally the old hen cackled. I lifted the chicken up and tossed it on the ground, grabbed the egg and ran toward the supply and marketing cooperative, but I accidentally fell down, and the egg smashed too...
As he spoke, he pointed at his clothes covered in egg and cried sadly. Seeing this, the teacher did not criticize him and just let him sit down.
The bell for the end of school rang, and we ran out of the classroom jumping and laughing, when suddenly one of my younger cousins said to me mysteriously: Brother, after we eat, shall we go dig for eggs in that wheat chaff room? I thought about it, and sure enough, the so-called wheat chaff room was several large rooms next to the production team's cowshed, almost filled with the livestock's food for the whole year - wheat chaff!
These wheat chaff rooms attracted many chickens to come looking for food, and some clueless chickens laid their eggs right there after eating their fill. This idea made me incredibly excited. After going home and hurriedly eating, I invited two cousins about my age to come with me to the wheat chaff room. My younger cousin was already waiting there for us!
We excitedly rushed into the wheat chaff pile, searching for traces of eggs. We dug and dug, when suddenly my younger cousin shouted: I found them! I found them! I dug up 4 eggs! We ran over to look, and sure enough, my younger cousin had dug out 4 eggs!
That kind of envy was no less than envying someone today who wins a 5 million lottery! We dug for eggs with even greater energy and drive, but as class time approached, the rest of us had found nothing at all...
That night, I was so happy I could not sleep at all, and I kept weaving beautiful dreams: the eggs I dug up could not only let me enjoy a fragrant feast, but could also be traded for exercise books! If I dug up 4 eggs a day, in a month I could dig up 120 eggs. Then I would really strike it rich and become a wealthy man!
The next noon, carrying the dream of digging up eggs, selling them, and becoming a big shot, we again rushed excitedly into the wheat chaff room, desperately searching for the slightest trace of eggs. However, once again it was my younger cousin who dug out 4 eggs!
My two older cousins just sighed and said we had no good luck!
During class in the afternoon, my mind wandered: Why was it always my younger cousin who dug out the eggs, and why was it always 4 eggs? Why was it always my younger cousin inviting us to dig for eggs together? Could there be some trick to it?
My two older cousins and I lived at the south end of the village, while my younger cousin lived right across from the wheat chaff room. At noon on the third day when school let out, my younger cousin again ran over and said to me: Brother, after we eat, shall we go dig for eggs again? I readily agreed.
Then I quietly went near the wheat chaff room and lay in ambush. At that moment, I saw my younger cousin come out of his house, go to the wheat chaff room, take eggs from his pocket and bury them in the wheat chaff, make a mark on top, and then go home.
I rushed over, pushed aside the mark, and sure enough there were 4 eggs! I buried the eggs again and made a mark the same way as before.
After lunch, my two older cousins and I went to the wheat chaff room again. My younger cousin started digging for eggs with us. First he made a show of digging here and there in other places. Before he could react, I immediately rushed to the marked spot and started digging, then shouted: I dug up eggs! I dug up 4 eggs!
My two older cousins ran over and were still envying me when my younger cousin suddenly lay down in the wheat chaff, rolled around, and burst into tears: Those are my eggs! I stole them from home and buried them here! Give them back, or if my ma finds out she will beat me to death...
I deliberately refused to give them to him and forced him to confess the whole scheme - that he had all along been taking eggs from home and burying them there, then inviting us to dig for eggs together!
From then on, our dream of getting rich by digging for eggs was completely shattered!
(Author: Zhang Shengkai)