These Northeasterners

My grandma passed away at 99, after a long and full life.

At the funeral, the house was full of relatives arguing and dredging up old grievances. I stayed out of it and slipped into the old house alone, where I found Grandma's diary. She had written: “I've slaved away for the Liu family for forty-six years. Now I want to live for myself for a few years. Is that wrong?”

I crouched on the floor, crying so hard I could barely breathe. I'd resented her for half my life, and only now understood the lesson she'd spent her whole life teaching me: while you're alive, you have to live for yourself at least once.

Later, I returned to the village and called my childhood friend over to keep the village children company. But he showed up with a whole team: a documentary director whose camera was always pointed at him, a stage actor obsessed with life in the Northeast, and a rational yet gentle AI engineer.

My older sister came too, bringing her husband and little daughter. Her husband carried his camera around every day, filming everyone, until one of the village aunties asked him, “What are you filming?” He thought for a long moment, then said, “Life.”

Rou Tao licked an icy railing, got her tongue stuck, and cried for her aunt. I laughed as I watered the plants. “I did that when I was a kid, too.”

Huang Xu was reported by a parent for not teaching the kids their lessons and only letting them play. We all pitched in, and in the end, the parent came to apologize.

During the New Year's Eve vigil, I told the story of Grandpa's sixtieth birthday, and the tables in the house nearly went flying. Liu Mucheng said, “Things really weren't easy back then.” We raised our glasses together. “Here's to now.”

That's life for us Northeasterners: chaotic, full of tears and laughter, but nobody ever loses touch.

We came back simply to make life warmer, take care of one another, and find our hearts again. And, while we're at it, to prove that Northeasterners don't just talk nonsense; we know how to live well, too.