Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, a white van drove through the thin winter mist on the highway from Nancheng to Futian Township. The four large blue characters "Nancheng Daily" were printed on the side of the van, standing out prominently in the morning light.

Lin Wei sat in the passenger seat, a notebook spread out on her lap, densely filled with interview outlines. In the back sat Cang Lifeng, Cang Xiangrong, Cang Xiaohua, and the photographer, Xiao Zhou. Cang Xiangrong leaned against the window, his left shoulder still a little stiff, but he seemed much better. Cang Xiaohua was knitting the red scarf, having reached the last few rows.

"Mr. Cang, are we almost there?" asked the driver, Lao Zhao.

"Almost there, Mr. Zhao. Just stop at the village entrance ahead."

It was already 2 p.m. when the car stopped at the entrance of the village.

A red banner hung on the old locust tree at the village entrance, which read: "Warmly welcome reporter Lin Wei to our village for an interview. Warmly congratulate Comrade Cang Xiangrong on being awarded the Second Class Merit." The banner was supported by bamboo poles at both ends, swaying slightly in the winter wind.

A group of people stood under the old locust tree. At the front was Cang Yuanzhi, followed by village head Cang Zhenye, village accountant Wang Zhiming, security chief Peng Xiaojun, women's director Luo Xiaolian, and other village officials, as well as Cang Xiangyang, Cang Tianci, Cang Yongqiang, Cang Xiaoren, and other descendants of the Cang family. Many villagers had also come. Beside the crowd, Cang Shouzheng and Wang Guixiang stood together, with Cang Yongqiang behind them.

As soon as the bread truck came into view, someone excitedly shouted, "It's here! It's here!"

The bread cart slowly came to a stop under the old locust tree. A burst of firecrackers crackled and popped, and smoke filled the winter air.

The cameraman, Xiao Zhou, who was sitting in the back seat, opened the car door first, jumped out, carried his equipment to the front of the car, and took a panoramic shot of the banner and the crowd. Lin Wei adjusted her scarf and also jumped out of the car.

Cang Lifeng got out of the car and then turned around to help Cang Xiaohua. Cang Xiangrong was the last to get out, his movements still a little stiff.

Wang Guixiang was the first to rush out, hugging her son tightly and crying out, "Xiangrong! My son! You're finally back!"

Cang Xiangrong gently patted his mother's back with one hand, comforting her, "Mom, it's alright."

Seeing this scene, Cang Shouzheng's eyes reddened. He walked over, stopped in front of the mother and son who were tightly embracing, raised his hand and gently patted his son's shoulder, saying, "Son, well done."

Wang Guixiang loosened her grip on her son, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Cang Xiangrong turned to face Cang Shouzheng. He saw that Cang Shouzheng had more white hair, deeper wrinkles on his face, and was thinner. He stepped forward, opened his arms, and hugged Cang Shouzheng, saying, "Father, I'm sorry to have worried you."

Cang Shouzheng's body stiffened for a moment, then he slowly raised his hand and patted his son on the back.

Cang Yongqiang stood behind his father, his eyes red-rimmed. Cang Xiangrong looked at him and called out, "Brother." Cang Yongqiang grinned, hummed in response, and said nothing more.

Cang Yuanzhi stepped forward, extended his hand, and said, "Reporter Lin, welcome, welcome."

Lin Wei reached out and shook his hand, saying, "You must be my second uncle? Li Feng often mentions you to me."

"Yes. Li Feng often mentions you on the phone." Cang Yuanzhi looked at Cang Li Feng standing next to Lin Wei and said with a smile.

Lin Wei blushed slightly and turned to look at Cang Lifeng.

Cang Yuanzhi turned to the side and introduced each of the village officials beside him:

"This is the village head, Cang Zhenye, Lifeng's father. You should have met him before."

Cang Zhenye wiped his right hand on his clothes, awkwardly extended his hand to shake hands with Lin Wei, and said, "Reporter Lin, we meet again. You must be tired from your journey."

"Uncle Cang, just call me Xiao Lin," Lin Wei said.

Cang Yuanzhi continued, "This is Wang Zhiming, the village accountant. This is Peng Xiaojun, the security chief. This is Luo Xiaolian, the women's chief." Lin Wei shook hands with each of them.

Cang Xiangyang stepped out from the crowd and called out, "Sister Lin Wei." Cang Tianci echoed her. Lin Wei looked at Cang Xiangrong and said, "Xiangrong, you look even more mature after all these months." Then she looked at Cang Tianci and said, "Tianci, I'm so happy to see you've recovered."

At this moment, photographer Xiao Zhou and driver Lao Zhao walked over. Lin Wei pointed to Xiao Zhou and introduced him, "This is Xiao Zhou, a photojournalist from our newspaper." Then she pointed to Lao Zhao and said, "This is Master Zhao."

Cang Yuanzhi stepped forward and shook hands with the two of them.

"Lin Wei, let's go see my grandfather at the old house first," Cang Lifeng said.

"Yes, your grandfather has mentioned it several times. He's waiting for you at the old house," Cang Yuanzhi added. He then turned to the other village officials and said, "You take Master Zhao to the village committee's reception room to rest, and I'll take Reporter Lin to see the old man."

Several village officials warmly led Mr. Zhao toward the village committee's guesthouse. The Cang family accompanied Lin Wei toward the old house. Behind them followed Xiao Zhou carrying a video camera and many villagers who had come to watch the commotion.

The group arrived at the door of the old house. Cang Jianguo and his wife, Cang Xiaoren and his wife, Su Yumei and Liu Wenxiu were already standing at the door to greet them.

Cang Lifeng led Lin Wei to the group and introduced her to each of them. Lin Wei responded politely to each of them. When she was introduced to Su Yumei, Lin Wei stepped forward, grasped Su Yumei's hand tightly, and exclaimed, "Auntie, we meet again!"

Su Yumei's eyes reddened. She patted Lin Wei's hand with her other hand and said excitedly, "Child, we meet again. Come inside quickly, it's cold outside."

The group entered the main hall of the old house one after another. The old house suddenly felt crowded.

Cang Jianguo cupped his hands in greeting to the villagers who had flocked in to watch the commotion and said, "Fellow villagers, the house is too small to accommodate so many people. Please disperse."

The villagers were curious about what the big-shot reporter from the provincial capital would ask. But since the host had spoken, they felt embarrassed to linger and had to disperse in twos and threes.

Cang Jianguo then said to his wife, "Chunmei, you, Wenxiu, Yumei, Xianhui, and Xiaohua should go to the village committee's guesthouse to help with the cooking. I'm afraid they won't be able to handle it."

Once these people left, the noisy, crowded old house immediately became quiet.

Inside the main room, the charcoal brazier burned brightly, casting an orange-red glow on the walls. Cang Houde sat in a rattan chair, wearing a dark gray cotton-padded jacket and a scarf knitted by Cang Xiaohua last year around his neck. On a small table next to him sat a kerosene lamp, its shade polished to a gleaming shine.

He saw Lin Wei and the others enter and tried to get up to greet them, supporting himself on the armrest. Seeing this, Lin Wei quickly stepped forward, gently pressed down on Cang Houde as he stood up, and said, "Grandpa, please sit down."

Cang Houde sat back in his rattan chair, looked up at Lin Wei, and a faint glimmer of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes. He nodded and said kindly, "You must be Reporter Lin?" He then pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Reporter Lin, please sit down."

Lin Wei sat down on a chair by the charcoal brazier. She placed the tea she had brought and a box of canned milk powder for middle-aged and elderly people on the table, saying, "Grandpa, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

Cang Houde glanced at the gifts, nodded, and said, "Good child, thank you for your thoughtfulness."

He looked up at Cang Xiangrong, who was standing there, and waved to him, saying, "Child, come here and let Grandpa take a look."

Cang Xiangrong walked up to his grandfather, knelt down, looked up at Cang Houde, and said, "Grandpa, your grandson is unfilial and has not been able to come back to see you often."

Cang Houde patted Cang Xiangrong's hair and said, "Good child, you did what you were supposed to do and didn't bring shame to the Cang family. This is filial piety." He paused, looked at Cang Xiangrong's chest, and asked, "Child, how is your injury healing?"

"Much better, daily activities are no problem. But you can't exert yourself too much."

"That's good! That's good! Stop squatting, quickly find a stool to sit down." He then said to the Cang family members, "You should all find a place to sit down as well."

The members of the Cang family each found a stool and sat around the stove.

Wang Guixiang brought over two cups of hot tea, handing one to Lin Wei and the other to Xiao Zhou, who was fiddling with a camera nearby. After serving the tea, she went out of the old house to help prepare dinner.

Lin Wei thanked her, picked up the teacup, gently blew on it, and took a sip. The tea was wild mountain tea made in the village; it had a slightly astringent taste, but a sweet aftertaste. She put down the cup and said:

"Grandpa, I often heard Lifeng mention you in Nancheng. He said you were the pillar of the Cang family. As long as you were there, no matter how great the difficulties, the Cang family would never fall."

Cang Houde looked at Cang Lifeng with affection and said, "This child always speaks well of me. The Cang family is not supported by me alone, but by the concerted efforts of twenty people."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Wei and said, "Child, Lifeng said on the phone that you're here for an interview, right? Feel free to ask any questions you may have."

Lin Wei looked at Cang Houde. The old man's face was reddened by the glow of the charcoal fire, and his wrinkles were deep, as if etched by the passage of time. His eyes were profound, seemingly able to see through everything.

"Okay. Thank you, Grandpa!" Lin Wei said.

She took out a notebook and a pen from her bag, and then a voice recorder and asked, "Grandpa, can I record what you say?" Lin Wei asked.

"Go ahead and record it." Cang Houde glanced at the small recording pen and nodded.

Lin Wei opened her notebook, pressed the power button on the recorder, and then gestured to Xiao Zhou behind her. Xiao Zhou pointed the camera at Lin Wei and Cang Houde. The room fell silent, with only the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire.

"Grandpa, you've kept this secret for nearly half a century. Have you ever thought about telling anyone?" Lin Wei asked.

Cang Houde was silent for a moment. "I've thought about it. I'm old, and I don't know when I'll pass away. I can't let what my father risked his life for end in my hands. So I passed this secret on to Yuanzhi. Because this child can keep it."

"Why haven't you reported this to the organization for so long?"

Cang Houde shook his head. "I dare not. Because the only thing that could prove my father's innocence, Box No. 23, and my apprentice 'Qingsong,' are missing. Revealing them would only bring disaster to the Cang family."

"Was telling the whole family on the eve of the Lunar New Year something you had planned in advance, or was it a last-minute decision?"

"I'd thought it through long ago. I'd been waiting for this opportunity. But what I got were two bullets."

"After you told me, how did you change?"

"I feel lighter now. I used to dream that my father would ask me, 'Are the things still here?' Now I can sleep soundly at night. In the future, I can finally comfort my father in the afterlife." As he said this, Cang Houde's eyes became a little moist.

Lin Wei's eyes welled up with tears. After a while, she asked softly, "Grandpa, was the Cang family motto, 'Have strong bones and an upright heart,' passed down from Great-Grandpa, or did you summarize it yourself?"

"My father never said those words, but he showed me through his life's actions!" Cang Houde's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried immense weight.

"Among Lifeng, Xiang Rong, and these other children, what do you think is the most reminiscent of the Cang family in them?"

Cang Houde looked around at his grandchildren sitting together and said with some pride, "They are upright and honest; they truly deserve to be descendants of the Cang family!"

Lin Wei's gaze shifted to Cang Xiangrong, and she asked again:

"Xiang Rong almost didn't make it back this time. What were you thinking when you heard he was injured?"

Cang Houde was silent for a while, then said, "I miss his father. Shouzheng waited his whole life, and finally managed to straighten his back. We can't let him bend again."

Cang Shou was sitting in the shadows, not looking up, but his shoulders trembled slightly.

Lin Wei glanced at the recorder. The red light was still flashing. She took a deep breath and asked the last two questions.

"Grandpa, what is your biggest wish right now?"

"Watching these children carry on the Cang family's path—Lifeng's company, Tianci's studies, Xiangrong's military career, and Xiangyang's legacy—once they've walked steadily, I can close my eyes in peace."

"One last question," Lin Wei said, "If you could say one thing to Li Feng, Xiang Rong, and their generation, what would it be?"

Cang Houde didn't speak. He leaned on the handrail and slowly stood up. Cang Lifeng tried to get up to help him, but he waved his hand.

The old man, leaning on his cane, walked step by step to the corner of the wall. He picked up the kerosene lamp, wiped the lampshade with his sleeve, and then lit it with a match.

He picked up the kerosene lamp, and its dim light shone on Cang Houde's face, his withered hands, and on the faces of everyone sitting around the charcoal brazier.

"Have strong bones and a righteous heart. Don't let the light go out, and don't stray from the path," Cang Houde said, word by word.

"Don't turn off the lights, don't stray from the path." Lin Wei wrote these six words carefully in her notebook, as if they were engraved on her heart.

The main room was extremely quiet for a moment, with only the gentle flickering of the kerosene lamp flame and the occasional crackling of the charcoal brazier.