Reborn in 1966

Chapter Eleven: Suppression

Because Qinghe Village is far from the surrounding villages and even further from the commune, it is said that the village leaders have to leave a day in advance to attend a meeting at the commune, making transportation really inconvenient.

Fortunately, due to the inconvenience and the remoteness of the area, many modern sports activities are not reflected in Qinghe Village, and the villagers still live a simple life.

Grandma looked at Aunt Jue's slightly protruding belly and asked happily, "Jue, how many months pregnant are you?"

Aunt Jue said, "It's been more than three months."

Grandma said, "That's great! This time, we'll have another son, and our little Tiedan will have a companion."

At noon, because of the arrival of Aunt Jue's family and the large piece of wild boar meat that Aunt Jue brought, Second Grandma prepared a large and sumptuous meal, and everyone who had gone to work in the fields happily ate their fill.

Grandma Er's mood improved a lot when she saw her youngest daughter's family. When Aunt Qiong's cousin Taihe came, he even cut off a wild boar meat for her to take back to the whole family for a treat.

Springtime, the lean season between harvests, is the most difficult. The grain distributed last year has been eaten up, and the new grain has not yet been harvested. After the spring breeze blows and a few spring rains fall, the wild vegetables in the fields become what the farmers eat to fill their stomachs.

Pei Yin's family's courtyard was at the westernmost part of the village, not far from a small river. The embankment of the river and the grove below it were the places with the most wild vegetables. After tidying up the courtyard, her grandmother, who didn't work, would put Pei Yin on the kang (a heated brick bed), wrap her in a quilt, and take Pei Tian and Pei Zhi, who didn't go to school, with her small basket to dig wild vegetables. They would mix the wild vegetables with cornmeal and bean flour and steam them, which would save a lot of grain.

When spring came, Peihua and Peijun went to work in the fields with the adults. Peitian and Peizhi's schools were not open. The children in the village helped their parents with chores, and many of them carried small baskets made of thorns to dig for wild vegetables in the fields.

After a day's work, both adults and children were exhausted. Agricultural mechanization was still a long way off, and land preparation was all done by hand. Even strong laborers would find it difficult to keep up after a day's work, let alone the weak and young children in the Shen family.

That evening, Grandma steamed wild vegetable dumplings again. When Shen's father saw that there were still quite a few in the pot, he told Grandma. Grandma found a bundle and packed a lot of them up. Shen's father then called Peitian over and said, "Peitian, take these to your grandfathers. Be careful on the way, don't let anyone see them, haha."

Peitian nodded, took the things and hid them in his quilted clothes, then turned and left the courtyard.

Peitian followed his two older brothers back and forth several times to deliver things, so he knew the way well. Mainly, Peitian was small and his target was small.

Peitian returned shortly afterward. After handing the bundle to his grandmother, he went into the west wing and whispered to his father, "Dad, I met the third grandfather of the Tian family when I went there."

Shen's father asked, "What is Third Grandfather doing there?"

Peitian said, "I don't know, but when Grandpa Zhou took the things, he told me that the gifts from your two families were enough for us to eat for a few days."

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Shen said, "Peitian, don't go around talking about this today."

Peitian said, "Dad, I know. I won't talk nonsense. Don't underestimate me just because I'm young. I know all these things."

Looking at his eight-year-old son, Mr. Shen smiled and said, "How did you know?"

Peitian lowered his head and said, "During the New Year, Erwazi said that his uncle told his aunt at home that it would be better to distribute some grain instead of so many copies of Mao's Selected Works. His uncle's children told others about it outside, and his uncle was labeled a counter-revolutionary. Dad, Erwazi said that his uncle was paraded through the streets and was beaten a lot. I told Peizhi that we must not talk about family matters outside, and we should not talk about what family members say outside."

With mixed feelings, Mr. Shen patted his youngest son's head, unsure of what to say. However, as a father, he felt he should say something when his son was going through a difficult time. After hesitating for a long time, Mr. Shen sighed and said, "Peitian, you are a good boy. I am so happy to have such an obedient and sensible child like you."

Pei-Tian said, "Thank you, Dad. I will help Grandma with more chores from now on. Pei-Chih and I can't earn work points, but we can still contribute to our family just like our brothers."

Pei Yin, lying in bed, felt very sad. It was sad that an eight-year-old child had such profound thoughts. Perhaps this was a characteristic of this era. The environment forced people to grow up constantly. What should have been a carefree childhood was instead made mature by witnessing and hearing about these ugly and sinful things. This was the helplessness of this generation.

At night, when they went to bed, Mr. and Mrs. Shen lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) talking.

The moonlight outside the window was as clear as water, casting lines on the kang (a heated brick bed) through the window frame.

Peitian and Peizhi, who were lying on one side, had already fallen asleep. Shen's father tucked them in and then stared blankly at the dark ceiling, resting his head on his arm.

Shen's mother asked, "Shengsi, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Mr. Shen said, "I think the children should continue to receive education; people can't live without reading."

Shen's mother said in a low voice, "Schools are all closed, where are you going to study? I saw Tian's Aiguo looking for you when I finished work this afternoon, is there something you need?"

Mr. Shen said, "Tian Aiguo is a good boy. He has his own thoughts and doesn't follow the crowd when he encounters problems. He likes to think about why things happen. When I was teaching these children, I thought Tian Aiguo was a promising person."

Shen's mother said, "Didn't he get into the county high school? Several people from our village got in this batch, right?"

Mr. Shen said, "Several people passed the exams, but after going through so much, this is the only one who can still stop and reflect."

Shen's mother asked, "Is there something he can't understand?"

Shen's father said, "He asked me what the purpose of stopping classes to make revolution was, what its practical significance was, and what would happen if this continued. I said I couldn't answer. Yueran, not only could I not answer, but I guess no one could answer him either. These are all sensitive topics."

Shen's mother said, "Did you try to persuade him to stop thinking about these issues?"

Mr. Shen said, “I told you to read more. The production team has newspapers, so read them more. Don’t think about these problems anymore. Focus on what’s in front of you and work hard with the adults in the family to earn money.”

After a moment of silence, Shen's father said, "Yueran, Peitian said some things to me today, and I feel so sorry for such a young child living such a repressed life."

Shen's mother said, "What can I do if I feel sorry for him? As long as he can grow up safely, that's all that matters."

Mr. Shen sighed deeply and said nothing more.

In the darkness, Pei Yin stared at the beams of moonlight, her thoughts drifting far away. This era was so distorted, so ugly. Some people, tempered by these trials, held fast to their principles, while others went with the flow. Many years later, these ideas still influenced people's lives...

Time doesn't stop just because you've been criticized and struggled against, nor does it stand still just because you're starving. Pei-Yin has been under the loving care of her family for over four months now.

March is a beautiful time of year, with flowers blooming and willows turning green everywhere. However, because the new harvest hasn't come yet, the villagers have little to eat, so no one comes to appreciate this splendid spring scenery.

The four-month-old baby, dressed in a padded cotton-padded jacket and pants, turned over with a twist of his little body and a tuck of his bottom. He looked at Peitian and Peizhi, who were teasing him with a willow twig, and generously gave them a big, drooling smile, revealing his smooth gums.

The eldest brother, Peihua, could no longer continue his studies and had already started working in the production team. Because the school was closed, Peijun could earn seven work points by working in the production team. Peitian and Peizhi helped their grandmother sweep the yard or dig wild vegetables in the fields, and most of the time they looked after the children.

In the village, the older children always looked after the younger ones. Some children who were digging for wild vegetables in the fields would tie their younger siblings to their backs with a large bundle.

Peitian placed the willow twig beside Peiyin and asked her grandmother, who was mending clothes nearby, "Grandma, when will Yinyin leave?"

Grandma said, "When she was about one year old, our Yinyin was quite remarkable. She could roll over at just over three months old."

At this moment, Shen Jinhua entered the house with red eyes and called out somewhat aggrievedly, "Grandma."

Grandma asked in surprise, "Jinhua, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Jinhua blinked and said, "Grandma, I want to ask you something."

Grandma said to Peitian and Peizhi, "You two go to the fields and see what wild vegetables you can find. If you dig them up, I'll make you vegetable buns."

After the two children left, Grandma took Jinhua's hand, sat her down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and asked, "Did you quarrel with your mother?"

Shen Jinhua said, "Grandma, they say I'm not my mother's biological child. Tell me, am I my mother's biological child or not?"

When Grandma heard this, her heart skipped a beat. There must be someone in the village gossiping.

Grandma said, "Jinhua, tell Grandma, is your mother good to you?"

Jinhua said, "My mother is good to me; she always saves the best food for me."

Grandma said, "Then why do you still believe what those rotten-tongued people say?"

Jinhua said, "Grandma, I went to the river to wash clothes. Aunt Honggen's little girl saw my bed sheet and asked me where I got it. I said my mother bought it for me. The little girl said I'm not my mother's biological child, so why would I need such a nice bed sheet? We started arguing. Aunt Honggen was leveling the ground by the river and heard the commotion, so she came over." Jinhua sobbed a little and continued, "Aunt Honggen saw the other women washing clothes nearby saying that their little girl was talking nonsense. Aunt Honggen got upset and yelled at them, saying that I was an adopted child and they couldn't even talk about me like that. So I took the basin and came back."

Grandma said, "Don't listen to their nonsense. They're all a bunch of idle people. Jinhua, look at your mother, she has to go to work, take care of your grandparents, and keep an eye on you. You can't say these hurtful things to her."

Shen Jinhua said, "I didn't intend to tell my mother, I just came to tell you, Grandma. You know how good my mother is to me. She has never hit me since I can remember. Among all the girls my age in our village, none of them are treated like a treasure by their parents like I am."