Reborn in the 1970s, Zhang Sanniu's new life

In the winter of 1977, in Zhangjia Village, a small town in Henan Province, there were three thatched huts in a dilapidated courtyard. Inside one of the huts, a four- or five-year-old girl was lying on the bed. She had been running a high fever for three days, but her family had no money to pay for her medical treatment.

Zhang Sanniu was burning up with fever and was in a daze. She hadn't eaten for several days, and with the high fever, she couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a coma!

Zhang Sanniu's father was the third child in his family, with two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. All five siblings were already married!

Zhang Sanniu's father was named Zhang Sanjun, but everyone called him Zhang Laosan. Zhang Laosan and Wang Cuihua had been married for many years and had three daughters. The eldest daughter was named Zhang Daniu, the second daughter was named Zhang Erniu, and the youngest daughter was named Zhang Sanniu.

Zhang Laoda and Li Dahua have been married for many years and have four children together. The first three are sons, and the youngest is a daughter.

Zhang Lao Er married Liu Er Mei from a remote village. Zhang Lao Er and Liu Er Mei had a son and a daughter, and then they had no more children. Although they had few children, their family was the best off among all the siblings.

In the countryside, families with many sons are considered to live with more dignity, while those without sons are looked down upon. In the Zhang family, Zhang Laosan and Wang Cuihua, who only had three daughters, were frequently looked down upon and gossiped about by the villagers. Even their parents and siblings looked down on them, resulting in poor relationships with their other siblings. When Zhang Sanniu fell ill and asked them for money, not only did they refuse, but they were also told, "You're almost starving, you can't even afford food, what's the point of having so many daughters? You can't even have a son. Borrowing money? We don't have any to lend you. Get out of here, you're bad luck!" This was what the eldest son's wife said.

Zhang Laosan and Wang Cuihua were furious at what they were told. The couple dragged their heavy legs and walked back with their heads down.

The two sadly pushed open the door to San Niu's bedroom. Wang Cuihua put her hands in her bosom to warm them before placing them on Zhang San Niu's forehead and touching it. "Dad, come quick! San Niu's fever has gone down. Thank God!" Wang Cuihua said happily.

“Really, let me touch it, Zhang Laosan.” He touched Third Sister’s forehead with his palm. “Oh dear, the fever is gone. That’s good. Cuihua, go and get the child something to eat. I’ll wake San Niu up,” Zhang Laosan said.

The couple was unaware that the original Zhang Sanniu had died from a high fever that had lasted for three days, and that the current Zhang Sanniu was a reborn Zhang Sanniu!

Zhang Sanniu only lived to be 36 years old in her previous life before dying of illness. She married at the age of 18 to a man four years her senior. The family was very poor, and her husband was idle all day long, not working in the fields. All the work fell on Zhang Sanniu's shoulders. Even when she was pregnant and giving birth, she never had a day off. It was due to years of hard work and poor diet that Zhang Sanniu died at the young age of 38!

Inside the room, Zhang Laosan patted Zhang Sanniu's arm and said, "Sanniu, Sanniu, wake up!"

Zhang Sanniu slowly opened her eyes. Her head was still spinning, and she felt terrible. Sanniu looked at Zhang Laosan, then at the room, and then at her own hands. She was stunned. How come her father had become younger, and she had become smaller? No, wasn't she sick and dead? How did she come back? Had she been reborn and returned to her childhood? Yes, that must be it!

San Niu, having lived for 36 years in her previous life, quickly regained her composure. She looked at Zhang Laosan and said in a hoarse voice, "Dad, I want some water. Zhang San Niu has had a fever for several days, and my throat is so thirsty it's practically burning!"

Zhang Laosan quickly poured San Niu a bowl of water and brought it to her. "Come on, San Niu, drink some water," Zhang Laosan said, slowly feeding San Niu the water.

Just then, Wang Cuihua came in with a bowl of noodle soup. Seeing that Sanniu was awake, she said happily, "Oh dear, Sanniu is awake! It's perfect timing, Mom made you some delicious noodle soup. It will cure your illness after you eat it!"

After drinking water and eating half a meal, San Niu lay down on the bed. She had been running a fever for several days and was still very weak, so she fell asleep quickly!

San Niu slept until dinner time before waking up. San Niu had also figured it out: since she had been given a second chance at life, she should live it well!

San Niu woke up feeling much better, so she got up, dressed, put on her shoes, and went outside. As soon as she opened the door, a cold wind blew in, making her shiver. San Niu put her hands in her sleeves, looked at the small courtyard and the dilapidated thatched house, and sighed, feeling that her family was still as poor as she remembered!

San Niu looked around and saw the kitchen chimney smoking. She went into the kitchen and saw Wang Cuihua cooking over a fire!

San Niu called out, "Mother, let me start the fire!"

When Wang Cuihua saw San Niu, she got up and asked happily, "San Niu, how are you feeling? Come sit here and tend the fire; it'll warm you up!"

"Mother, don't worry! I'm fine now. By the way, where are Father, eldest sister, and second sister?" the third sister asked.

"It's good that you're alright. Your father went to your maternal grandmother's house to pick up your eldest and second eldest sisters. He should be back soon," Wang Cuihua said.

San Niu remembered that her family was poor and didn't have enough food. Sometimes her grandmother would let the three sisters stay at her house for a few days to save some food for the family! Alas, there was nothing they could do; it was all because of poverty!

It seems we need to find a way to improve this living situation, otherwise we won't even have enough to eat! San Niu was tending the fire, pondering how to improve the family's conditions!

"Mother, is Third Sister alright? Eldest Sister hasn't even arrived yet, but her concerned voice is already reaching us!"

San Niu turned her head and heard the sound. She looked outside and saw her eldest sister, second sister, and father had all come in! San Niu said, "Eldest sister, you're all back. Don't worry, I'm all better!"

"That's good. We were so worried when Father told us on the way. Now that you're alright, we're relieved," said Second Sister.

San Niu smiled and looked at her family in the house. Although the family was poor, everyone cared for each other, and this care made her feel very warm!

After the meal was prepared, the family of five ate together in the small kitchen. Dinner consisted of cornbread buns and sweet potato porridge. At this time, the cornbread was coarse and rough on the throat, which made it difficult for San Niu, who hadn't eaten it for many years, to swallow. San Niu would take a bite of the cornbread bun, drink a couple of sips of the sweet potato porridge before she could swallow it. In the end, she ate half of the bun and couldn't eat anymore!

Zhang Laosan saw this and said, "San Niu, why aren't you eating? You can usually eat a whole one at each meal, why did you only eat half today!"

"Dad, I've slept a long time and I'm not very hungry. You can have this half!" San Niu replied.

After hearing this, Zhang Laosan didn't say anything more and ate the half cornbread that San Niu had left over!

After dinner, in the dead of winter, the whole family quickly went to rest. Their family had a total of three rooms: Zhang Laosan and Wang Cuihua, the couple, each had one room; the three sisters each had one room; and the last room was used for storing miscellaneous items, which was also the storeroom!

Three sisters, one room, two beds. Originally, the eldest sister slept in her own bed, but because it was cold, the three sisters put the two beds together so that they could sleep side by side and not be cold!

The next day, just as dawn broke, the eldest and second eldest sisters got up. The third sister woke up when she heard the noise, sat up, and started getting dressed. The eldest sister looked at the third sister and said, "Third sister, it's cold. You've just recovered from your illness, so go back to sleep!"

"No, big sister, I'll get up and help with the fire. It's not cold," San Niu said.

The eldest sister patted San Niu's head, said nothing more, and went out.

After getting dressed, San Niu went to the kitchen, sat down at the stove, and started a fire. The eldest sister added water to the pot to boil water for the whole family to wash their faces. The two sisters were busy in the kitchen, while the second sister helped her parents feed the chickens, clean the yard, and prepare food for the pigs. Nowadays, people are reluctant to feed their pigs grain and often use grass, corn stalks, or sweet potato vines. Zhang Laosan was currently in the yard, chopping sweet potato vines with a broken kitchen knife.

In autumn, everyone harvests sweet potato vines, dries them, and then keeps them to feed pigs. The sweet potato vines are chopped up with a knife and then cooked in a pot. This is the best way to feed pigs, and the pigs love to eat them!

Breakfast was ready quickly: a mixed-grain soup made with cornmeal and sweet potato flour. This soup had the aroma of both corn and sweet potato, and it tasted quite good. My third sister drank a big bowl. Because of food shortages, in winter, they usually ate thin porridge for all three meals. Cornmeal buns and mixed-grain pancakes were very rare, only eaten occasionally. In winter, when they weren't working, they tried to save food, saving it for when they had to work. This way, they would have the strength to work. There was no other way; in the 1970s, not many families in the countryside could afford to eat their fill!

After dinner, my eldest sister and mother sat by the door, basking in the sun, mending clothes and making shoes. My eldest sister is nine years old and can't make shoes, but she can help mend clothes. My second sister and third sister are too young to do these things, so they just watch from the side!

The third girl was five years old, and the second girl was seven years old. The two girls were bored sitting on the side. The third girl wanted to go out for a walk, so she said to her second sister, "Second sister, let's go out and play for a while!"

“Okay, I want to go out too! Mom, I’ll take my third sister out to play for a while, we’ll be back soon,” Erniu said!

"Alright, you guys go ahead! Just don't play in the windy spots, or you'll catch a cold," Wang Cuihua reminded them.

The two sisters agreed and happily walked outside!

Erniu led Sanniu to their usual play spot. When they arrived, there were already many children there. It was the courtyard of an old woman who was on welfare. Although it was called a courtyard, the walls were almost completely collapsed, and the houses were in terrible condition because no one lived there. The old woman who lived there had been dead for several years, and the houses had been empty ever since. The children from the village would come here to play!

San Niu looked around and, to her surprise, found the place quite sheltered from the wind, and not cold even with the sun shining. "Oh dear, Er Niu, San Niu, why did you take so long to arrive?" Zhang Xiaoya exclaimed.

"Helping out at home, doing chores," Erniu replied!

The second sister happily joined them in playing shuttlecock, while the third sister, being too young to kick, stood on the sidelines and watched!

San Niu watched a group of children playing shuttlecock and felt bored, so she sat on the earthen mound. Several older boys sat next to her, two of whom were holding books.

San Niu looked at the two of them and thought for a moment. In her previous life, she had also gone to school for two years, but her family was too poor to afford the tuition, so she had to stop. However, she really wanted to go to school now because in her previous life, many people who went to school, university, or high school could go to the county town and find a good job in a factory. Her second uncle's cousin and her cousin both went to high school, found good jobs in the city, and had very high salaries. Later, they even brought her second uncle and aunt to the city!

San Niu felt a surge of warmth in her heart and looked at the boy beside her, saying, "Brothers, you're really diligent! You're still reading books even after you've come out!"

Hearing what San Niu said, the boy stopped, turned around, and looked at her. "San Niu, you do know how to study hard!" the boy teased San Niu.

"Of course! I know a lot, San Niu, speak with your head held high!"

"Oh, what else do you know? Boy's secrets!"

"I also know that if I study hard, I can find a good job in the city, and the wages in the city are especially high," San Niu said happily!

"Wow, San Niu is really amazing! She knows to go to a good school and find a job in the city!" the boy said with a smile.

San Niu looked at the boy with bright eyes and said, "Brother, what grade are you in now? You must study hard so that you can go to the city in the future and find a job that pays well!"

"The boys were all amused by San Niu's words and burst into laughter!"

The boy patted his third sister's head and said, "Okay, brother will definitely listen to San Niu, study hard, and find a job that pays well!"

"Brother, could you lend me your old books? San Niu wants to learn to read, but we don't have the money to send me to school," San Niu said sadly.

Looking at San Niu's sad expression, the boy said, "Wait a moment, I'll go home and get you your textbooks." After saying that, the boy got up and walked out.

San Niu was overjoyed as she watched the boy's retreating figure. She never expected to borrow the book so easily!

Soon the boy returned with several textbooks. He handed them to San Niu and said, "These are first-grade textbooks for two semesters, including Chinese and math. Study hard, and if you have any questions, you can come and ask me. After you finish these, come back to me to exchange them for second-grade textbooks!"

"Okay, thank you, brother. I will definitely study hard and won't damage the book," San Niu said happily!

The boy sat for a while and then went home. After all, a boy his age could help with a lot of chores at home. Children in the countryside are all sensible. They don't even need to go out to play; they know to go home and help with chores as soon as the adults look for them!

San Niu and Er Niu also went back. On the way, Er Niu asked San Niu, "Third Sister, where did you get the book?"

"Brother Zhang Cheng, I borrowed this from you. I want to learn to read at home. Second sister, you and eldest sister should learn to read with me too! When we've learned well, we can go to the city and find good jobs," San Niu said.

"Oh dear, I'm clumsy, I can't learn it. Let your older sister learn with you!" said Erniu.