Marco’s Fourteen Years

Due to an accident， Marco’s mother lost her memories and only recites the words “sniffing Chinese plum” frequently. Marco’s father is a carpenter. Following his father’s job transfer， Marco transferred to Class Three Grade Two at Yingpei Secondary School. With the slim hope of helping his mother find her memories， Marco starts a new life and turns fourteen. During this period of time， Marco gradually integrates into the class， following his classmates on a school trip to Xi’an and participating in basketball， wood carving， and quiz competitions. He makes new friends and experiences the first awakening of love， an uneasy and sweet story. The drama of youth is hotly played on the stage of life. Marco’s fourteenth year comes and goes， and the mystery in his mother’s memory is about to be answered.

Zhou Min

Zhou Min， born in 1973， is the vice chairman of Beijing Writers Association and executive vice president of Beijing Lao She Literature Academy. She is the author of several full-length novels. Her works Little Ball King of the Sand Sea and Red Willow Blossoms were adapted into a radio drama of the same name.

During the school recess exercise， Marco notices that something is up with Yuan Lin， especially during the “jumping exercises.” Instead of actually jumping， Yuan Lin simply rhythmically tip-toed along with the commands， not going any higher. In the past， in the class break time， Yuan Lin was always eager to perform exaggerated movements that caught everyone’s attention. Specifically， during the “jumping exercises，” he would often reach impressive heights. While most students went through the motions， casually jumping a few times， Yuan Lin put in his best effort， jumping as high as he possibly could. It was said that “when things deviate from the norm， there must be something unusual.” Marco feels that Yuan Lin is probably hiding something from him today.

“Hey！ What’s going on with you today？” When the break time exercises ends， Marco quickly runs up behind Yuan Lin. As he asks the question， his right hand is not idle and lightly taps his best buddy’s butt.

“Ouch！” Yuan Lin yells， grabbing his butt and grimacing in pain.

“You are deliberately making a fool of yourself， aren’t you？” initially startled by Yuan Lin’s reaction， Marco quickly regains his composure and smiles as he looks Yuan Lin up and down.

Yuan Lin’s expression turns bitter， shaking his head as he tells Marco， “Hey， you got it wrong this time. I really got injured. Even if I make slightly bigger movements， my butt hurts， let alone your tapping...”

“Oh？ How did you get injured？ Could it be that you sat on a hot stove and got burned？”

“No way！ I may be a bit foolish， but I wouldn’t sit on a hot stove. Let me tell you， it was my... my father who hit me.”

“What？！ Your father hits you too？” Marco had never heard Yuan Lin mentioning any violent tendencies of his father， so he couldn’t help but feel surprised. “Did he get drunk？”

Yuan Lin shakes his head and says： “He wasn’t drunk， but he lost a bet and happened to see me looking for that... that...”

“What is it？ Come on！ Tell me！”

“It’s just the old version of ‘Optimus Prime.’ My dad saw it and snatched it away， without any reason， taking out his frustration from losing money on me， beating me without mercy. If my mum hadn’t come over to stop him， he might have hit me even harder. Hmph， just because he lost a bit of money， how come he could beat me so badly？ Marco， I have to be honest， I’m starting to have some doubts...”

“Doubts about what？”

“Because he’s done this to me this time， I’m starting to wonder if I’m really his biological son， if he’s really my biological dad. Tell me， am I not entirely justified in suspecting that？ Marco， Marco...” Yuan Lin expects to receive understanding and support from his friend， but he notices that Marco is staring blankly ahead， murmuring something under his breath.

Of course， Yuan Lin doesn’t know that his words are like a lightning bolt， tearing open a crack in the fog that has been looming over Marco’s mind for the past two days.

“Is it really the thing？ Is it really the thing... ”Marco repeats these five words.

“Haha， Marco， you’re quite... quite a friend. I just mention it casually， and you actually put so much effort into figuring it out？ Forget about it. I know now my dad’s temperament. If I weren’t his biological son， he would have kicked me out long ago." Actually， there is something more annoying than my butt being beat. My ‘Optimus Prime’ has been locked up by my dad and it seems like my plan of ‘stealing a pole and replacing it with a tube’ is mostly going up in smoke. Well， let’s not talk about that. Let’s quickly go back to class.”

Under Yuan Lin’s pull， Marco walked back to the classroom. After a whole day， the question consisting of those five words still hasn’t gone away.

When Marco returns home after school， as soon as he pushes open the door into the main room， he sees his father sitting on the sofa. Apart from the thick bandage wrapped around his left arm and his slightly pale complexion， Lao Ma’s appearance doesn’t seem much different from before. However， Marco could clearly sense something peculiar.

“You are coming home...” Lao Ma leans slightly forward， then quickly resumes his original posture without getting up.

“Um.” Marco simply responds and throws his backpack onto the desk before turning around to leave.

“Wait！” Lao Ma says as he gets up from the sofa and walks up to Marco. “Marco， thanks to you， I was able to get my life back this time.”

Lao Ma’s tone is quite sincere， but it seems like it doesn’t move Marco. Marco doesn’t even turn his head and just responds with an indifferent “Um.”

“Well， I finally realize it this time. Alcohol can cause a lot of trouble. From now on， I won’t drink anymore， Marco. I promise you， I won’t drink or hit you again， you...”

Lao Ma clearly becomes emotional and starts to shed tears， but Marco doesn’t give him a chance to escalate further. He turns around and coldly throws out the words： “Whose father are you？”

Lao Ma looks at Marco with a stunned expression. After a few seconds， he involuntarily takes a step back and falls back onto the sofa， lowering his head and saying： “I am your father， of course I am your father.”

“Hmph， you don’t even believe that yourself， do you？” Marco’s tone remains cold： “Let me ask you！ How can a father with blood type B and a mother with blood type O give birth to a son with blood type A？”

“What… what？ What are you talking about？” Lao Ma raises his head， looking confused.

“Oh， I see. You probably don’t know anything about genetics. Let me tell you. I saw the medical records at the hospital. Your blood type is B， and my mother’s blood type is O. The child of you two could only be blood type B or O. But me？ My blood type is A！ That’s why you beat me so much when I was growing up， that’s why you were so violent...” Marco grows more and more agitated， finally two lines of hot tears shedding.

At this moment， Lao Ma looks like a defeated bull with injuries， gloomily slumping into the sofa， holding his head in his hands and rubbing his hair forcefully. After a while， he finally lets out a sigh， takes out a cigarette from his coat pocket， lights it， takes a deep drag， and with the rising smoke， he nods and says to Marco： “You’re right. You’re right about everything. Marco， you’ve grown up， and it’s better that you know... I am not your biological father， and I shouldn’t have treated you so harshly.”

“Then tell me， who is my real father， and how did he die？” Marco wipes away the tears from the corners of his eyes， staring intensely at Lao Ma.

“Die？ No， he didn’t die.” Lao Ma takes another drag of his cigarette， directing his gaze out the window. “He came from out of town， what they call a ‘Beijing drifter.’ But instead of ‘drifting’ into Beijing， he ended up in our small town and found your grandfather， becoming his apprentice. He was smart and had a handsome appearance. He was skillful with his hands. Your grandfather taught him everything， and your mother... Well， it was like she was enchanted. She was always concerned and attentive to him. I didn’t know if it was love at first sight or if their feelings developed over time， but in the end， they were in a relationship...”

Upon hearing this， Marco can’t feel his legs， and he quickly pulls a chair from beside the desk and sits down.

Lao Ma glances at Marco and continues： “Marco， there’s no need to hide it from you. I was furious at that time. I started out first. I was in love with your mother from the beginning. And we have an affinity with each other. But then this unexpected rival appeared out of nowhere. Of course， I was angry and helpless！ He was more skilled than me， better-looking than me， more cunning than me， and his words were sweeter. I had no choice but to swallow my complaints and let it happen in silence.”

“What happened later？ Did he marry my mother？” Marco couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

“Afterwards， he told your mother that he wanted to marry her but felt that as a man， he needed to achieve something first. He said， ‘I can’t build a home without establishing a career.’ He mentioned that he wanted to start a woodworking factory using his own skills， but he had no funds. When your mother heard this， she was moved. She secretly took a cherished family heirloom from your grandfather’s house and gave it to him to sell. He was thrilled and left the next morning with that precious item.”

“Did... did he manage to sell it？”

Lao Ma shakes his head and sighs： “That’s something only God knows. From that day on， he never came back. A few weeks later， your mother discovered she was pregnant， and later on， well， I became your mother’s husband， and you became my son...”

Marco opens his mouth， wanting to say something， but he feels a choking sensation in his throat， rendering him speechless.

Lao Ma takes out another cigarette， tapping it relentlessly on the tabletop. His voice is calmer than before as he speaks， “I genuinely loved your mother. But when I saw her belly growing day by day， sometimes I would think of that scoundrel who left her. I had no other choice but to rely on alcohol to get through it. Your mother’s mental state also deteriorated， partly because of that person， and partly because of the loss of that family heirloom. After you were born， your mother’s condition improved. Unfortunately， she got into a car accident， ending up in the state she is in today. Ah， seeing your mother like that， it really frustrates and worries me！ When I get frustrated， I drink. When I get drunk， I will think about all the mistakes we’ve done in the past！ Sometimes... I would take it out on you. Marco， I am responsible for all the scars on your body. I won’t blame you if you don’t recognize me as your father. If you want to hit me， go ahead. Whatever you want， I can accept it.”

“I... I want my mom to recover.”

“What did you say？”

“I want my mom to recover.” Marco speaks each word carefully， “Let me ask you. Is that family heirloom called ‘Xiu qing mei’？”

Lao Ma nods and answers， “Yes， that’s it. It’s an antique wooden carving. Your great grandfather got it from his master and passed it on to your grandfather， which is said to be worth at least hundreds of thousands. The doctor said that if we could find the thing your mother longed for and thought about， it might help her condition. But without a design and the skills， it’s not easy to replicate.”

“No matter what， I won’t give up easily.” Marco touches the scar on his arm and looks resolutely at Lao Ma. “You’ve hit me many times， but you also raised me for so many years. I saved your life， and you’ve told me the truth. Let’s consider it even now. I don’t know if I can forgive you or not， but our clear goal now is to cure my mom， right？”

Lao Ma breathes a sigh of relief， nods and says： “As long as you don’t hate me， I’m satisfied. No worries. I’ll have some rest and be back to work in a couple of days. I’ll work hard. You don’t have to worry about your mother’s medical expenses.”