2017-05-05 ☼ translations
Comrade Xiao Li, I hope this letter finds you well. Have those nylon socks I bought for you arrived yet? The provincial capital is a big place, and doing your training there will be a good opportunity to broaden your horizons and learn more. That’s what you’re good at, and I’m not worried at all, but I do hope you’ll try to take better care of yourself. Don’t skimp on food and clothing. Eat plenty. It’s cold, and you need to keep warm. Your father came to visit the other day. His arthritis is much better — a famous doctor from Beijing came to do some consultations in my mother’s hospital a few days ago, and he wrote out a prescription for your father. So don’t worry! I need to focus and study hard too. I dream of the day when you and I can work together in the city, and I can do my part to realise the Four Modernizations for our motherland! I dream of it every day… Write soon!
Read the full story in “We Agree on Nothing”, issue 3 of Glossolalia from PEN America.