Spring Rain

This book depicts the story of Huan Qin， an eight-year-old boy， who moved to China’s Jiangnan Region from Northeast China and experienced a difficult time due to the differences in the local language and living habits.

Lian Cheng

Lian Cheng， a writer of children’s literature， has published over ten books. He has won the Beluga World Original Fantasy Children’s Literature Award， Bing Xin Children’s Literature Award for New Works and other awards.

Huan Qin’s Childhood Time

Lian Cheng

Juvenile amp; Children’s Publishing House

January 2023

28.00 （CNY）

Spring rain came in time every day， not following one’s mood. One rainy morning， Huan Qin went to the stone table to wash his face， an umbrella in hand. The stone counter was next to the pressurized-water well， with pots and pans on it. Although there was a basin stand at home， Huan Qin found that the stone counter was more suitable for his height， so he made a corner of the stone countertop his commode.

Huan Qin walked to the stone counter and found that the peach tree was in bloom， though only a sunny branch was in bloom.

Huan Qin tried hard to stand on his tippytoes， as he looked up and gazed at the flowers. On that branch， there were only a few flowers with light pink petals and dark pink pistils， and those flowers were all adorned with raindrops. The raindrops were particularly translucent， like teardrops， about to fall to the ground.

Huan Qin was unsure about what he was thinking of， and he could only smell the strong scent of peach blossoms -- maybe it was not peach. The rain fell on the umbrella， and the “pitter-patter，” as dense as the sound of drums， was so real. Deeply touched by this scene， Huan Qin suddenly felt sad and burst into tears.

Xiao Kou， who was fetching water， saw Huan Qin crying. At first， Huan Qin did not know that Xiao Kou saw him crying because the tears blurred his eyes. He could not see the world， nor could he see others; only the tears that kept falling.

Not realizing how long had passed， Huan Qin came to his senses a little. He realized that there was someone beside him， who saw him in tears， so he swung the umbrella around and covered his face.

“Oh， Huan Qin， why are you holding an umbrella like that？ Your hair is wet with rain，” Grandma poked out her head from the kitchen and asked loudly.

Huan Qin did not answer. He slightly raised his umbrella， took a sniffle， and then went to get the washbasin. A handful of rain fell into the washbasin. He washed his hands and then his face with the rainwater. He carefully washed his eyes and nose， wiping the tears and snot away.

“Spring rain is very precious. The wheat needs rain for its growth; what a timely rain！” Grandpa said， standing at the door of the central room.

Later， the rain stopped. Huan Qin came to the courtyard. Although muddy ground， it was well paved. Therefore， there was no rainwater on the ground. Huan Qin stepped on it with his sneakers and felt that the ground was solid and walkable. At that time， three adults walked outside and greeted the neighbors. Outside came the sound of children’s laughter， the sound of people treading on water， the sound of adults scolding their children， the sound of shovels shoveling the bricks and stones， all of which reached Huan Qin’s ears. Roosters， as if eagerly seeking publicity， crowed louder and more frequently than usual. Far and near， one after another， came the sounds of “Cluck！ Cluck！” It was just like a race between the roosters.

Huan Qin could not help walking out of the courtyard. He saw many people outside the house， and they were very happy. Several children younger than him in rain boots excitedly trodded on the rainwater. The rushing water was flowing in the drainage ditch nonstop. It was a joyous sight.

Huan Qin had always enjoyed watching the flow of water when he lived in Heilongjiang. Seeing the rainwater flowing in the drainage ditch， he suddenly came up with an idea， “I should follow the water and see where it ends up.”

Huan Qin then followed the drainage ditch， going east and going south， and turning at times. Huan Qin， following the rainwater in the drainage ditch， left the house-dense town street and came to the outskirts between the town and the countryside. The drainage ditch widened here， and the water almost merged into a creek.

The creek joined a deep gully of unknown depth. With the yellow and murky water churning， Huan Qin could not see what was underwater. A concrete bridge over the ditch was too small to pass a car， but people could ride bicycles across. Huan Qin walked across the bridge and walked along the ditch. He walked for a while， the narrow deep ditch widened， and the slow-moving water was yellow and murky. Alongside the ditch， green weeds were intertwined and dotted with many wildflowers. Opposite the wild grass and wildflowers， there was an endless wheat field. The wheat seedlings all grew into ears of wheat， and the raindrops were hanging on the ears. A breeze came， and the raindrops on the ears of wheat did not fall， just like these stubborn children that were somewhat cute.

Huan Qin stood along the ditch and near the wheat field， looking around. He could see very far away without any obstacles blocking his view. What was in the distance under the sky？ He saw another endless wheat field far off in the distance， the vague outlines of scattered villages on the wheat field， and the smoky shadows of trees in mysterious colors， gray， yellow， green， and red. Those trees were very colorful. Huan Qin knew that the gray trees had not yet sprouted， the yellow trees had just sprouted， the green trees were thriving， and as for the red trees， they might be some kind of flower trees， like peach trees.

The scenery in the distance was so beautiful， and the scenery in the near distance was quite nice as well. Bright and shiny raindrops fell on the grass， and the flowers bloomed among the grass. Those flowers， though small， were very beautiful in appearance and color， bright yellow， bright blue， snow white， dark purple. Huan Qin walked along the grass watching all the way， the gloom that lingered in his heart disappeared， and he was not worried and was soothed.

Unknown shrubs were growing along the ditch， and there were birds calling in the shrubs， one after another， “Chirp！ Chirp！” A small green bird suddenly flickered quickly on the water with a small fish in its mouth. Huan Qin opened his eyes wide and tried to see things clearly， but suddenly， both the bird and the fish disappeared.

There were more birds in the wheat field. Some birds had a muffled sound， “Coo！” and some birds had a very clear sound， “Chirp！” An unknown bird kept flying over the wheat fields， and it was flying very high， chirping at the wind tirelessly. It sounded a bit like a budgerigar but far more powerful and melodious.

Huan Qin was laughing. He knew very well that he was laughing in the wilderness. He even tried laughing aloud. How many days had it been since he had laughed aloud？ He could not remember. It must have been many days. Huan Qin decided to laugh， and he laughed， “Hah hah！” His laughter was so hearty that the birds nearby were surprised.

Besides Huan Qin， there was someone else in the field. At the other end of the wheat field， there was an old man watching the rain and wheat. Although he was far away， Huan Qin could see the old man bending down and carefully observing the growth of the wheat ears， his fingers brushing over the ears， which he held for a long time.

Huan Qin looked at the old man and was moved. He felt the day was meaningful because it was a happy， treasured， memorable day.