Evening Stars Chapter 3 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 3.2
By the time he stepped out of the hotel again, the fierce, violent gale had already subsided, leaving clear skies in its wake. Since night fell late in Tibet, at nearly eight in the evening, the sky was still bright, its color like an overturned lake.
A server in the hotel lobby told him that tourists love to visit Barkhor Street and suggested he check it out as well. Xu Nanheng thanked them, arranged for the laundry service to wash the clothes he had worn throughout his journey, and then walked out onto the street to wander.
The street was lined with portrait studios that offered makeup services, ethnic costume rentals, and photography sessions. Xu Nanheng was handsome with a good build. Standing 183 cm tall, he had a narrow waist, long legs, and refined features. Quite a few shop assistants called out to him, asking, ‘Hey, handsome, want to take some photos?’
So this was what being in a strange place felt like. Despite the constant flow of people on the street, it felt strangely empty. The shop signs all bore two lines of text, one in Tibetan and one in Chinese. Some chain shops sold milk tea and fast food.
In the end, he went into a Dicos.
Xu Nanheng was quite sensible. Since he was scheduled to start teaching in the county the day after tomorrow, he decided to be cautious about his food and drink over the next two days. He didn't want to risk an upset stomach from acclimatization issues, suffering from vomiting or diarrhea, and end up delaying important matters.
His mother continued messaging him on WeChat, asking if he had eaten dinner. He sent her a photo of his burger and cola. She replied with several exasperated, sweating-face emojis.
More than a dozen teachers assigned to the same volunteer teaching program had formed a WeChat group. Since schools in Tibet started relatively early in the autumn, often in mid-August, a few teachers had already set off while others were still in Beijing.
Everyone knew Xu Nanheng had left a few days ago. However, since he hadn't said anything in the group chat, someone finally tagged him.
[Tan Xi: @Xu Nanheng, Teacher Xu, have you arrived?]
[Dai Jimian: Maybe he's still on the road?]
Tan Xi was an intern teacher in the same batch as Xu Nanheng, while Dai Jimian had just seen off a group of graduating students before joining the program this year. Xu Nanheng took a sip of Coke and replied: Just arrived in Lhasa. Feeling a little short of breath, so I rested at the hotel for a bit.
As soon as they heard he had reached Lhasa, the chat lit up. A bunch of people suddenly appeared, all talking over each other, urging him to share photos right away. Normally Xu Nanheng found group chats irritating, but being away from home, he suddenly felt they weren't so bad.
[Xu Nanheng: Tomorrow. I'll go take a photo of the Potala Palace.]
At this point, everyone also caught on and urged him to get some proper rest. After all, none of them were there for sightseeing. Gradually the chat went still. After finishing his meal, Xu Nanheng sat in the restaurant for a while, spacing out for a bit.
Outside, the sky was darkening. Many tourists were still out taking photos, dressed in Tibetan clothes with vividly ethnic makeup. When Xu Nanheng stepped out of the restaurant, he tried taking a deep breath, then suddenly laughed. Dr. Fang had been right.
With the thin air making movements a struggle, tranquility came naturally.
He felt like smoking again, but his lighter had somehow gone missing. Maybe he lost it at a service area past Yinchuan, or perhaps at the hotel in Golmud.
With one hand in his pocket feeling the cigarette pack, he lifted his feet and headed toward a small convenience store to buy a lighter.
The next day, he decided to visit the Potala Palace.
The Potala Palace Square was vast and crowded. Xu Nanheng stopped a tourist and asked where the entrance was.
The tourist pointed to a spot extremely far away and said, “See that ticket office over there? That's the entrance to the Potala Palace.”
“That…… that far?” Xu Nanheng almost stammered.
The tourist gestured while explaining, “Yes! We went yesterday. That's only the entrance. To reach the top, you have to climb twelve levels. But once you're up there, you can overlook the whole of Lhasa.”
The physically inactive, unathletic schoolteacher nodded politely with a smile and said, “I see, thank you.”
But he decided against it. It reminded him of the stories of people who decide to end their journey right after climbing to the ticket office of Mount Tai. Xu Nanheng raised his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to his mother, then to the group chat with his fellow volunteer teachers.
The following afternoon, the chairperson of the volunteer teaching program in Shannan contacted Xu Nanheng.
The person added him on WeChat, sent him the list of important reminders along with a route map into the county town. Their attitude toward the volunteer teachers was sincere, even asking if he needed reimbursement for fuel costs, which could be covered with receipts from the gas station.
Xu Nanheng quickly refused. To prevent the other party from slipping cash into his car the way Dr. Fang had, he even lied, claiming that the school had already reimbursed him. Only then did the other party drop the matter.
To reach the county town, he first had to pass through Shannan. Lhasa to Shannan was a short distance, just over a hundred kilometers. With the highway clear and unobstructed, Xu Nanheng drove there in just over an hour and a half. After arriving in Shannan, he attended a volunteer teaching conference, along with many teachers who would be working in southern Tibet. Today was a major assembly.
The teachers had come from all over the country. After the conference ended, they would scatter again to the counties and villages where they were assigned. Once the group photo was taken, Xu Nanheng got back in his car and continued toward the county town.
After leaving Shannan, the road grew difficult.
He drove for an hour, jolted mercilessly on the unpaved road until he felt as if all his organs had been stewed together, but he managed to reach his destination before sunset.
Still, it wasn't over. The teacher who came to meet him said that the school wasn't in town but in the village below it.
Xu Nanheng followed the teacher's car, driving with utter despair.
It took him three hours to drive twenty-something kilometers of mountain road.
He was dumbfounded. Twenty-something kilometers! If it had been a paved road, he could have biked it in two hours!
And this was in a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, the king of off-roaders. One could imagine how treacherous the mountain road had been.
Three hours later, he finally stood inside the school courtyard. The front yard held only three things: the teacher who had led him there, himself, and the flagpole.
The teacher explained that the building had once been a Project Hope primary school. After those children graduated, the place was tidied up and converted into a junior high school.
Xu Nanheng had seen photos of the teaching building before. It looked decent, very clean, tiled, and had been freshly painted again during the summer break.
“By the way, my name is Dawa Gyatso.” He extended his hand.
Xu Nanheng came back to himself, shook his hand, and said, “Xu Nanheng.”
After that, Dawa Gyatso showed him the teachers' dormitory. It was on the second floor of the teaching building. The first and third floors were classrooms and offices, respectively. The bathroom and hot water room were at the turn of the staircase, and the rooftop had a space for hanging laundry.
Dawa Gyatso smiled, exchanged contact information with him, and said, “Get some rest. Our school cafeteria hasn't opened yet, but if you walk into the village, there are places to eat.”
“Alright, thank you,” Xu Nanheng replied. “I'll go check out the village.”
They went downstairs together. Xu Nanheng's car, which was parked in the schoolyard, looked especially large in this setting. He exhaled deeply, reminding himself that he had already made up his mind. Whatever the environment here, he had to accept it calmly.
The school was enclosed by an iron fence. The back playground was fairly decent, with a rubber track and a basketball court. Dawa Gyatso led him out through the side gate, saying it was closer to the village that way.
Once outside, Xu Nanheng faintly heard voices not far away.
A man was saying, “The volunteer teacher has arrived. I heard there'll be a welcome party in the county town in a couple of days, and they invited us too. Are you going?”
Another man replied, “We'll see.”
That voice sounded oddly familiar. Xu Nanheng turned his head and saw two men smoking by the school fence.
One of them was wearing a white coat and was also looking his way.
The man opposite the one in the white coat said, “To come all the way to this remote place to teach kids, they must be quite a warm-hearted person.”
The man in the white coat smiled, his gaze still fixed on Xu Nanheng, and said, “Indeed, quite a warm-hearted person.”