The Road Home Page #2

You need to rest.

You can go to sleep in your father's study.

I have to finish this cloth tonight.

This picture was taken

the year my parents got married.

My father was not from the village.

He came here to teach.

The story of my parents' courtship

is well known in the village.

Practically everyone here

has heard about it.

My mother had just turned 18.

My father was 20.

My mother told me...

...my father arrived

by a horse-drawn carriage.

This is our new teacher.

His name is Luo, Luo Changyu.

- Is that Di? What's all the racket for?

- Nothing.

I heard they all went

to see the teacher this morning.

- Has he arrived yet?

- Yes.

Great. Our village finally got

its own teacher.

- What does he look like?

- He's a young man.

A young man can teach?

He must be talented.

- Where is he staying?

- The village council office.

Good. There is a heated bed

in the council office.

Where will he eat?

He'll eat with a different family each day.

When it's our turn,

we should make a good meal.

Di, what are you doing?

Nothing.

Why did you change into new clothes

just to see the teacher?

My grandmother was already blind by then.

Mother said when Grandfather died,

Grandmother cried until she went blind.

After Grandfather died, Mother was

the only one to take care of Grandmother.

Grandmother's only wish was

to find a good husband for Mother.

She had many men propose to her.

But my mother didn't like any of them.

When my father arrived,

the schoolhouse wasn't completed yet.

The mayor asked all the men

to help finish it.

According to one of our village customs,

a new building must have...

...a red cloth wrapped around its beam

for good luck.

The cloth is called the "Lucky Red Banner."

It must be woven

by the most beautiful maiden in the village.

This task, of course, fell upon my mother.

Perhaps she already had my father in mind.

The red cloth she made

was especially beautiful.

The village had two wells back then.

The old well was called the "Front Well."

The newer well was called the "Back Well."

Most people used the Back Well

since it was closer to the village.

After my father arrived,

my mother started to use the old well...

...because she could pass by the school.

Back then, when the village had

a big event like building a new house...

...each family prepared a dish...

...for the men working on the site.

My mother prepared her best dishes...

...hoping my father would eat

what she made.

In the old days, women were not allowed

to participate in many things...

...such as building a new house

or digging a new well.

Superstition had it

that women would bring bad luck.

When they built the schoolhouse,

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