"Just go ahead, she has no use for it." Principal Yu's tone was curt. "I wish she could get angry but she doesn't, she just wants to kill herself. She says the sooner she dies, the sooner she will be reincarnated."
Yingcai was shocked.
Principal Yu left without explaining why he'd come, and Yingcai decided to write another letter to Yao Yan. But try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to confess his new address to her.
In the middle of the night Yingcai suddenly heard the long, low tones of a flute. He got out of bed and went to the door. There was no light in Sun Sihai's window, just two black, sparkling dots which he took to be Sun Sihai's eyes. The tune was, again, "Our Lives Are Filled With Sunshine" , played plaintively and mournfully, in time with the wind that brushed unhurriedly across the mountain side before moving off into the distance.
He didn't dream that night. He slept soundly and when he next heard the flute, it was playing the national anthem. Opening his eyes, he realised it was light outside. He threw on some clothes and went out onto the playground. Principal Yu was leading the flag-raising ceremony, hauling on the rope hand over hand. Behind him stood Deng Youmi and Sun Sihai, playing the national anthem, and behind them were the children who lodged with Principal Yu. The early morning September wind was strong and cold; the children were dressed only in sleeveless vests and shorts. Their thin dark legs shivered slightly. They sang with vigour, probably because of the cold, and the most vigorous of all was Principal Yu's son Yu Zhi. The sun and flag rose slowly together, and the children were then dismissed.
Yingcai approached the principal. "Why did nobody tell me about the ceremony?"
"It's voluntary."
"Are the children willing to get up so early?"
"They never want to at first, but once we've taught them a while they agree."
Principal Yu seemed distressed. He pointed at the children running about in the playground.
"We've lost another pupil who loves school. Ye Meng. He stays with me because his family work a long way from Jieling. Last night, somebody came with a message: his father has been killed in a mining accident. Ye Meng is the man of the family now, and if he doesn't accept the burden of work they won't be able to carry on. But he's only twelve! When he heard that his father had died, his eyes went a little red but he didn't let himself cry. He packed up his school things so neatly, down to the last detail; he even remembered to return an eraser he'd borrowed. I thought he would be sad, but to my surprise, when we said goodbye he was the one reassuring me, telling me that he would make time to study on his own, and if he got a good job one day he would come back to school and kowtow in thanks to his teachers. He also said that he can see our red flag from his home, so he will think about his teachers and fellow pupils every day, and join us in the national anthem. He said, if he can do that, he won't be frightened."
Principal Yu wiped his eyes with his swollen hands.
Sun Sihai, who had overheard, said, "Ye Meng is the tall kid at the front. He's the brightest one in the fifth grade."
Yingcai was moved. "Principal Yu, you should tell Station-Head Wan so he can pass the information on to the authorities. The county town and the province should care more about what happens to these children."
"This is a huge mountain. So many people don't have enough to eat, how can they even think about education? I've heard that as a country we are investing in science and technology to help the poor. That's good news: you must prioritise education to succeed in those things, so there is hope for our children."
Deng Youmi chipped in. "My only hope is that we will all soon be made state teachers."
Zhang Yingcai's mood was crushed by his words.