Tennis Boy From the Village

Tennis Boy From the Village

Yu Lei， Sun Jiahui

New Century Publishing House

April 2024

32.00 (CNY)

This book is a piece of reportage literature that tells the touching stories of a group of boys from the Wa ethnic group， represented by the basket-bearing boy Wang Fa. The book authentically and deeply reflects the life trajectories of Wa boys from Cangyuan County， Lincang City， Yunnan Province， who stepped out of the mountains， entered the tennis court， and won national championships. It narrates the perseverance and dedication of the Yunnan Wild Elephant Tennis Club and their coach， Zhang Xiaohong， who are behind these success stories.

Yu Lei

Yu Lei is a member of the Chinese Writers Association， a professor at Kunming University， deputy director of the New Reading Research Institute， and one of the top ten golden writers of Children’s Literature. His works have won awards such as the China Publishing Government Award and the National Outstanding Science Works Award of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Sun Jiahui， a senior reporter of Guangzhou Daily Newspaper Group， has made in-depth reports on the deeds of Wang Fa， the “basket-bearing boy，” over the past three years.

Even after many years away from his hometown， Wang Fa often sees the mountain path in front of his home. The path that connects his home to the outside world.

In the early morning， the mountain path is shrouded in milky white mist. Dew continuously drips from the phoenix-tail bamboo and banana leaves by the roadside， quickly wetting the path. On sunny days， this path is dusty， and when it rains， it turns into a mud pit with thick， sticky mud that can pull off shoes.

Wang Fa closely follows behind his father. If the distance becomes a bit too far， father’s figure is completely obscured by the dense fog. The mist and dew dampen Wang Fa’s hair. He wipes his face， his hand coming off wet with water. Wang Fa shakes it off vigorously and runs a few steps forward. There are fewer bushes ahead， allowing a view of farther distances.

The sun has already risen but is obscured by thick fog and clouds. The sky is gray， and the forest becomes stuffy. Sweat covers the body after just a short walk.

“Let’s do it here，” father says， stopping and pointing to a dead tree as thick as a bowl ahead. “Cut down this tree. It’s several days’ firewood.”

Father takes out an axe and starts chopping the tree. Wang Fa， being small and weak， can’t help much， so he collects fallen branches nearby. By noon， his father has already felled the dead tree. He uses a saw he carries to cut the tree into several sections， then binds the logs together with palm rope， slinging one end of the rope over his shoulder to drag the logs to the roadside. He also gathers the branches Wang Fa collected.

The sun has reached its zenith， and the mist shrouding the forest has completely dissipated. Under the blue sky， the surrounding rolling mountains look like green giants. Sunlight filters through the tree branches， casting patches of golden light on the clearing， like pancakes. Wang Fa feels a bit hungry. Father wipes the sweat from his forehead and takes out a pack of pancakes from his backpack， handing them to Wang Fa. “Eat up. The truck should be here when you finish it.”

The pancakes are made by his mother. She shapes glutinous rice flour into flat cakes， sprinkles them with sugar， and then fries them until golden-brown on both sides， making them sticky and fragrant. Every time Wang Fa goes home， mother makes these pancakes for him. Just as Wang Fa finishes eating one， he hears the sound of a farm truck’s engine ahead.

A group of children about Wang Fa’s age are sitting in the truck bed. They are all going to Mengdong Town for school. These children return home once a week or once a month， and by Sunday afternoon， they must head back to school. With a pancake in his mouth， Wang Fa climbs into the truck bed， not looking back， but knowing his father is watching him.

The farm truck bounces down the dirt road， with the children rolling from side to side in the truck bed. At a sharp turn， a girl starts crying， “Ow， my head is hit; it hurts. I don’t want to go to school.”

Several girls quickly comfort her， “Don’t cry， don’t cry. It’ll be better when we get to school.” The girl stops crying but still sobs occasionally.

Wang Fa wants to tell her that it won’t be better at school， but he doesn’t dare to speak up. He once hit his head on the truck’s rail， and it hurt for days. Wang Fa doesn’t understand why the girls say such things， just as he doesn’t understand why everyone has to go to school. Wang Fa has never asked this question. Whatever his father and mother tell him to do， he does.

Before dinner， the truck stops at the entrance of Mengdong Town Central Primary School. The children， carrying their school bags， walk into the campus， and Wang Fa goes straight to the dormitory. This is a room for twelve students， with only thin bedding on each bed. Wang Fa has been living in such dormitories since kindergarten， sharing his life with over ten children of similar ages.

The school has dorm supervisors who wake them up in the morning， remind them to wash their faces and feet at night， urge them to sleep quickly without causing trouble， tell them not to go out in the rain， and instruct them to put on more clothes when the temperature drops. Although he has many companions to play with， Wang Fa often feels homesick. Wang Fa learnt how to make phone calls when he was in the first grade. When he really misses home， he saves five yuan from his meager pocket money to call home.

There is a phone at the small shop at the village entrance. When someone at the shop receives the call， they go to Wang Fa’s house to fetch his parents. It is usually his mother who answers the phone. Wang Fa always excitedly tells her everything that has happened at school and everything he wants to say to her. What he says most often is， “I miss you. I want to go home.” Mother always reassures him， “It’ll be better in a few days， just a few more days. When you come back， I’ll make chicken and rice stew for you.”

After each call， father or mother finds time to visit him at school. They bring him some treats or give him a little extra pocket money. Wang Fa is very satisfied with that， happy for several days in a row， and even the simple meals at the school cafeteria seem tasty.

Wang Fa loves holidays the most， especially the winter holidays， when he can stay at home all day， play in the village with his friends， and help the adults with their work.

Father often goes to work in the town， so Wang Fa helps mother with farming and raising pigs. Sometimes， when mother is busy in the fields， Wang Fa goes home first to cook. Wang Fa learnt how to make a fire and cook rice when he was in kindergarten.

In Wa households， meals are cooked over a hearth. They build a one-square-meter pit in the center of the house with bricks， place an iron tripod in the middle， and the hearth is ready. People light a fire under the tripod， put a pot on it， and can cook meals， boil water， brew tea， and keep warm around the hearth.

Sometimes， the fire in the hearth goes out， and Wang Fa has to rekindle it. He has discovered a little trick after several failed attempts. He stuffs small pieces of firewood under the iron tripod， places a few left-off plastic bags on top of the tripod， and when he lights the kindling paper， the plastic bags catch fire too. As the plastic bags burn， they drip an oily substance onto the firewood， which makes it easier for the wood to catch fire.

After getting the fire going， Wang Fa puts the washed rice into the pot and places it on the tripod. He also learns to control the fire in the hearth， not too big， not too small. After about half an hour， the water in the pot has evaporated. Wang Fa carefully takes the pot off the tripod and places it in the ashes of the burned wood， letting the residual heat cook the rice.

One day， someone captures a small monkey in the forest and ties it up in front of the small shop. All the village children run to see the little monkey. It looks like the monkey hasn’t eaten for days， as it grabs whatever is offered to it. The monkey’s bright eyes look eagerly at the food in the children’s hands， and they generously feed it their own snacks， which they are usually reluctant to share.

Watching the monkey enjoy the potato chips， one child says enviously， “Being a monkey is great. You can run all over the mountains and eat chips and fruits.” Wang Fa doesn’t say anything， but he thinks to himself that being a human is still better. A monkey can only run in the mountains， but a human can go to the county town， to school， and do many things that a monkey can’t.

One afternoon， a few boys go up the mountain to chop firewood. They find a bird’s nest in a big tree. One boy says， “I see birds in the nest. Let’s climb up and catch them.”

Another boy replies， “This tree is too thin. It might break halfway up.” After discussing， they decide to shake the tree hard to make the nest fall.

They put down their machetes and shake the tree trunk vigorously. Soon， the bird’s nest falls from the tree. Inside the nest is a fledgling that hasn’t fully grown its feathers. It is barely alive after the fall.

The boys cheer and pick up the little bird. They quickly build a fire with dead branches and roast the bird over it， sharing it amongst themselves.

When Wang Fa gets home， mother sees a patch of black ash at the corner of his mouth and asks with a smile， “What did you eat from the hearth?”

Wang Fa tells mother about the boys roasting the bird. The smile disappears from her face， and she sternly tells Wang Fa， “Remember， you are not allowed to hunt birds anymore. If you want to eat meat， tell me.”

Wang Fa doesn’t understand why mother says this， but from then on， he never hunts birds again.

In September 2016， when Wang Fa walks the mountain path to school， he doesn’t yet know that soon， he will no longer need to take this path to school.

That afternoon， Wang Fa sits daydreaming in his second-grade classroom as usual. The homeroom teacher suddenly calls him and another classmate out， saying， “Quick， go to the sports ground. Someone is looking for you.” Wang Fa and the other boy exchange a puzzled look， but find no answers.

When they arrive at the playground， a few other classmates are already there. Beside the principal and the physical education teacher stands a tall man dressed in white， who looks like an athlete.

He walks over to the children， sizes them up， and suddenly says， “Listen to my command， everyone stand straight， and run around the sports ground. Ready， go!”

The children immediately start running. Wang Fa is wearing a pair of plastic sandals. Though they are a bit cumbersome， he quickly adjusts his stride and keeps running fast.

After running four or five laps around the sports ground， they hear the command to stop. The children， though panting， stand straight in front of the adults. The man in white says， “Now line up and run straight ahead. Ready， go!”

The children instantly sprint forward， stopping only at the edge of the playground.

After a few rounds of shuttle runs， the man in white finally tells them to stop. They look at each other， confused about what this man wants. They have never run like this before.

The man in white takes out a yellow-green ball， slightly larger than a ping pong ball， and explains to the children， “Now， I’ll throw this ball to you. Whoever catches it should throw it back to me.”

When the ball flies toward Wang Fa， he catches it accurately and immediately throws it back forcefully. After a few rounds， the man throws the ball to the others. Wang Fa watches eagerly as the others catch and throw the ball. He finds the game fun and wonders if he will get to play it again.

After the game， the man in white walks up to the children and inspects their legs and heels. He squeezes Wang Fa’s feet and nods in satisfaction.

When the class bell rings， the man in white walks over to Wang Fa and says， “I’m going to find your father and have him take you to Lincang.”

Wang Fa wants to ask: What are we going to do in Lincang? Who else is going? But he doesn’t open his mouth. He is used to doing whatever the adults tell him to do， rarely asking for reasons. As for Lincang， he has only heard his parents mention it. It’s a very far place， taking several hours by car. He doesn’t remember if his parents have ever been there.

A few days later， Wang Fa’s father takes him on that familiar mountain path again. This time， they are taking the bus to Lincang. Wang Fa doesn’t know that this mountain path will lead him to a world much bigger than the county town， a world more prosperous and vast.

This time， Wang Fa is in the lead， and his father follows behind. Wang Fa runs a stretch， waits for his father to catch up， and then continues running ahead. Wang Fa keeps running and running until he is out of the towering Awa Mountains.