Final Chapter
Wu Yunzhu held the chipped clay pot, her fingertips gently tracing over the smooth pebbles. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the locust tree leaves, casting dappled shadows inside the pot, illuminating the childish handwriting written in ink. She noticed that the writing on several stones had already faded, clearly among the first to be placed inside.
“Teacher, may I see it?” Xiaoman stood before her, her red hair ribbon swaying gently in the breeze, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Wu Yunzhu crouched down and carefully handed the clay pot to her. Xiaoman’s fingers trembled slightly as she rummaged through the pile of stones, finally pulling out a pebble larger than the others. “This is my brother’s,” she said softly, turning the stone over to show Wu Yunzhu. “It says ‘Xiaoman’s brother, May 1963.'”
Wu Yunzhu took the stone and discovered another line of small characters on the back: “Will return when the pot is full.” Her heart clenched sharply.
“Your brother… where did he go?” Wu Yunzhu asked gently.
Tears suddenly welled up in Xiaoman’s eyes. “My brother went to the city to work. He said our family was too poor, and he wanted to earn money to support my education. The day he left, he put this stone in the pot and said he’d come back when it was full.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “But the pot still needs this much more…”
Wu Yunzhu looked into the pot—indeed, nearly half the space remained empty. She raised her head and looked around, discovering that all the children were standing quietly. Even Huzi and Xiao Douzi, who had been fighting earlier, had gathered closer, their faces wearing serious expressions.
“Xiaoman,” Wu Yunzhu said softly, “your brother will definitely come back.”
“But when will the pot be full?” Xiaoman’s voice carried a sob. “Every day I put little pebbles inside, but…”
Wu Yunzhu suddenly had an idea. She stood up and dusted the dirt from her hands: “Students, we’re not having calligraphy class today. How about we play a game instead?”
The children looked at each other, uncertain what the teacher intended.
“Everyone go find the most special stone you can, and then we’ll put them all in the Reconciliation Jar together.” Wu Yunzhu smiled. “But remember, each time you put in a stone, you must tell about something where you reconciled with a classmate.”
The children’s eyes lit up immediately. Huzi was the first to jump up. “I’ll go to the river! The stones there are the prettiest!”
“I’ll go to the back mountain!” Xiao Douzi also shouted, already having forgotten the earlier quarrel.
Soon the children scattered in all directions, leaving only Xiaoman still standing in place, clutching the clay pot tightly. Wu Yunzhu gently put her arm around her shoulder. “Your brother is someone who keeps his word, right?”
Xiaoman nodded vigorously. “My brother never lies. Last New Year he said he’d bring me candy, and he walked twenty li to the county town to buy it.”
“Then we’ll help him fill the pot.” Wu Yunzhu said softly. “That way he can come back sooner.”
Xiaoman’s eyes brightened, like two stars suddenly lit up. She carefully placed her brother’s stone back in the pot, then pulled Wu Yunzhu’s hand. “Teacher, I know where the prettiest stones are!”
They came to the small stream behind the school. The water was crystal clear, and pebbles glittered in various colors under the sunlight. Xiaoman rolled up her pants, walked barefoot into the water, and bent over to search carefully. Wu Yunzhu watched her earnest figure, warmth welling up in her heart.
“Teacher! Look at this one!” Xiaoman suddenly held up a smooth white stone with natural red patterns on it, like a little flower. “I want to put this one in, to represent reconciling with my brother, because… because the day he left, I was angry and didn’t talk to him.”
Wu Yunzhu took the stone and pulled out her fountain pen from her pocket, helping Xiaoman write on it. “Xiaoman and her brother, May 20, 1965.”
When they returned to the locust tree, the children had already come back one after another, each holding carefully selected stones. Huzi had found a black stone shaped like a fish; Xiao Douzi’s stone had natural stripes; the girl with braided pigtails brought a heart-shaped pink pebble…
Wu Yunzhu had the children line up and take turns placing stones in the pot while telling stories of reconciliation. Some children spoke of making up with their deskmate over fighting about an eraser; some mentioned reconciling with neighbors over breaking eggs; others talked about making peace with siblings…
With each stone placed, Xiaoman’s eyes grew brighter. She listened carefully to every story, holding the clay pot carefully against her chest, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
When it was Huzi’s turn, he scratched his head and looked at Xiao Douzi. “I’m putting this stone in to represent making up with Xiao Douzi. Actually… actually I have another new mechanical pencil I can give you.”
Xiao Douzi’s eyes widened in surprise, then he pulled a wooden slingshot from his pocket. “This… I’ll give this back to you. I made a new one.”
The two boys smiled at each other and simultaneously handed over what they held. Wu Yunzhu felt her eyes moisten. She cleared her throat. “Alright, next.”
When the last child had placed their stone, Wu Yunzhu had Xiaoman check how much more the pot needed. Xiaoman stood on tiptoe to look inside, her expression both expectant and nervous. “Just a little bit more… about… about this much.” She used her thumb and forefinger to indicate a height of about two centimeters.
“Then we’ll continue tomorrow, okay?” Wu Yunzhu suggested. The children answered in unison, but Xiaoman suddenly said, “Teacher, I want to fill the pot today.”
Wu Yunzhu was about to speak when the sound of a bicycle bell rang in the distance. She turned to look and saw a tall young man in blue work clothes pushing a bicycle, standing at the school gate with a bulging cloth bag hanging from the handlebars.
“Brother—!” Xiaoman screamed, the clay pot nearly slipping from her hands. She ran swiftly toward the gate, her red ribbon flying in the wind like a dancing flame.
Wu Yunzhu and the children were all stunned, then followed without thinking. The young man crouched down, opened his arms to receive his rushing sister, lifted her high and set her down. Wu Yunzhu noticed his eyes were red, his work clothes had several patches, but his whole person was spirited.
“Brother, why did you come back? The pot isn’t full yet!” Xiaoman cried and laughed at once, gripping her brother’s sleeve tightly, unwilling to let go.
The young man pulled a smooth pebble from his pocket, “I carried this with me every day in the city, just waiting for the day I could come back.” He handed the stone to Xiaoman. “Now it can go in.”
With trembling hands, Xiaoman placed the stone in the pot. Sunlight happened to shine on the opening, and Wu Yunzhu saw that the stones inside were almost overflowing.
“It’s full!” the children cheered. “The pot is full!”
The young man ruffled his sister’s hair, “See, I keep my word.” Then he turned to Wu Yunzhu. “You must be the new Teacher Wu? I’m Xiaoman’s brother, Chen Zhiqiang. The villagers wrote saying you teach the children to write letters and poetry… Thank you for taking care of my sister.”
Wu Yunzhu smiled and nodded, “Welcome home. Xiaoman has missed you very much.”
“I’m not leaving this time,” Chen Zhiqiang said. “I found a job at the tractor station in the county—I can come home every day.” He took the cloth bag from the bicycle handlebars. “This is candy and notebooks I brought for the children.”
The children cheered and surrounded him, chattering excitedly. Wu Yunzhu stepped back, watching this lively scene, her heart full of warmth. Xiaoman squeezed through the crowd and ran to her, holding the Reconciliation Jar high, “Teacher, the pot is full! My brother really came back!”
Wu Yunzhu took the clay pot and discovered that the stone marked “Xiaoman’s brother” was right on top. She suddenly understood something—perhaps this pot should have been full long ago; it was only missing the most crucial piece.
“Teacher, will you still teach us to write poetry tomorrow?” Xiaoman asked, looking up.
Wu Yunzhu nodded. “Of course. We can write a poem about ‘coming home.'”
The sun set in the west, and the locust tree’s shadow stretched long. Wu Yunzhu watched the silhouettes of the siblings walking hand in hand toward the village, with the children bouncing and hopping behind them, and suddenly felt that this remote mountain village school might just be the place she had been searching for all along.
The next morning, when Wu Yunzhu entered the classroom, she found the Reconciliation Jar on the lectern with several fresh locust flowers inserted in it. Xiaoman sat in her seat, her red ribbon replaced with a new headband her brother had brought from the city, beaming a brilliant smile at her.
On the blackboard at the back of the classroom, some child had drawn a large tree in chalk, with two small figures standing beneath it, holding hands. The tree’s crown was covered with star-like white flowers, just like the stones contained in the pot—each one carrying a story about reconciliation and coming home.
~Fin~
TL/N:
I checked many resources including aggregator sites, the novel only has 86 chapters. There were many plot holes in the story, also where was the ‘twin’ in the title and ‘science giant’? I even suspected there’s season 2 or the author left and cut the story short. Anyways since it’s finale then its finale, thank you for accompanying me in the translation journey of this short but lovely story.