By Xiao Jinyuan
Chapter 1: A Farewell Letter in the Poplar Grove
It was just after the Qingming Festival in 1982. The northern wind still carried a biting chill, but new life was quietly stirring in the poplar grove at the edge of the village. Tiny buds, wrapped in reddish-brown scales, looked like the crumpled small-denomination bills Dazhan's father used to hide in his padded coat pocket. They were wrinkled, yet held the family's hopes, along with a little apprehension about the future. Dazhan crouched beneath the thickest poplar, picking at the cracks in its bark with his fingertips. His father had planted this tree the year he died. Now its branches were thick with leaves, casting shade over half the grove. He looked toward the three adobe rooms that were home. A thin wisp of smoke from the chimney...
