In September, Feng Qingxue received a letter from Shu Land, sent by Lu Lin.
Upon opening it, she saw that the handwriting was Lin Yufen’s, and the letter was signed by Lu Lin and Lin Lu.
The old couple had settled down in a remote mountain village near Lin Yufen’s hometown, daring not to use their real names. Instead, they used the aliases Lu Lin and Lin Lu that they had during the war—their household registration papers from that time were authentic, though they hadn’t used them since the founding of the nation.
At the brink of life and death, they remembered their previous identities.
Since Lin Yufen spoke with a local accent, they claimed to have been displaced with their family during the war and had now returned to settle in their hometown, having accidentally lost their post-revolution identity documents en route. They quietly gave a Shanghai-brand watch to the head of the production brigade and slipped him some money to secure a place to live. They worked from dawn to dusk and lived in extreme hardship.
Life was difficult, but at least they had preserved their lives.
A semi-conductor radio they carried with them allowed them to tune into broadcasts. Listening to the content of the broadcasts, they both sweated profusely and were seized with retrospective fear.
Before they resigned and after they settled down, they had been in correspondence with their son, using a code indecipherable to others, one that only they could understand. Therefore, they were quickly informed of some events that had happened in the Capital.
Their old friend Zheng Peng was the first to be persecuted to death, dying under tragic circumstances in June, with his corpse nowhere to be found.
A portion of students, mostly those with "bad elements" in their background, also suffered this fate.
Lou Sangyu, the son of Lou Shaonong and Lin Yufen, was astute and well-informed since he was away from home. Getting the news early, he made some preparations. Nevertheless, they feared that they could not escape this calamity, so while sending a letter to Lou Shaonong and Lin Yufen, they sent their child straight back to their hometown. If the couple were arrested, they would sever ties with the two missing elders.
Preserving their lives was the most important thing; as for the rest, it could wait until the turmoil had subsided.
This letter was the last one between father and son. If there was another letter, it would surely be during a time of safety and peace.
At this very moment, Lou Shaonong and Lin Yufen felt immensely grateful for Feng Qingxue’s warning.
If they encountered the same fate as their old friends, they would choose the same path, preferring death over disgrace.
Fearing that the letter might be scrutinized, Lin Yufen did not dare to write about their situation in the letter but only expressed sincere thanks to Feng Qingxue in a few brief sentences, all expressing gratitude for saving their lives.
Although she didn’t know the exact circumstances of the elders, Feng Qingxue felt greatly relieved to have avoided the calamity of her previous life.
At least, she had changed the fate of the old couple, hadn’t she?
She couldn’t change the overall situation but had saved two lives.
Saving one life is more meritorious than building a seven-level pagoda; saving two lives is more so than building a fourteen-level pagoda.
What Feng Qingxue found hardest to let go of now was her family—whether the family from her past life or the current one—since both Lu Lin’s status and that of her grandparents from her previous life were so unfavorably labeled.