International Tutors' Magazine December 2018 | Page 20
INTERNATIONAL TUTORS’ MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018
UNCLE SIX
BY FENG HUANYING
Chinese people are always convinced
that as human beings get older, their
organs gradually wither away. Uncle Six,
whose back is straight still, obviously
stands against this law. He just celebrated
his 94 th birthday. I wonder, what’s his
secret that keeps him from aging?
Top: Accompanied by some pop music, the
candidates are learning new actions carefully.
Bottom: The judges consider who is going to make
the cut and how to compose the best dancing
team. They look so far away and isolated.
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For as long as my grandpa remembered,
Uncle Six (he was the sixth child in his
family) has lived in Xin Cun (Xin Village).
Xin Cun is on the outskirt of the town of
Daliang, where things never
seem to catch up with the
modern world. Jiefang
(neighbors) never bother
to lock their wooden
doors; they spend leisure
time together; children
scuttle from house to house. When Grandpa
started school in 1940, the Anti-Japanese
War was still going on, and soon Uncle Six
was recruited into the army like other poor
but robust men. Grandpa recalled that after
around five years, Uncle Six came back and
was assigned to work in a liangzhan (grain
supply station). It was also at that time that
he married Aunt Feng. Grandpa said the
only advantage of Uncle Six’s low-paid job
was that his work ended early, which enabled
him to pick up the children on time. If he by
chance found neighbors’ children waiting
too, he brought them home together. Then
his little house became a “nursery home”,
where children crowded and frolicked until
parents returned from work. Grandpa
said, “He was like a gandie (non-biological
father) to children of the whole village.”
My mom was one of his gannver (non-
biological daughter). She once told me a
story: “At the entrance of Xin Cun, there
was a stall selling steaming hot, sweet-
smelling buns. Our cravings never failed
to show as we walked by. Uncle Six called
us weishigui (little foodies) and joked about
us being easy to kidnap, at
the same time that his
hand was reaching for his
pocket, taking out coins
and asking for some buns.
He was the sweetest guy!”
Years after Mom had moved
out, she would still continuously hear about
his kindness from my aunt who stayed in
Xin Cun. “He has extended his business
to help the children of divorced couples!”
“He put three buckets of water in front
of my house this morning again!” “He
helped us catch a big mouse today, as fat
as the size of his two palms put together!”
What's his
secret that keeps
him from aging?
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No one ever forgets to mention his
staggering superpower of catching mice.
The scene was always the same: residents in
Xin Cun would find mice running around,
then the women would scream, “Uncle Six!
Mouse!” “Coming!” first would blow his