Reborn in 1966

Chapter Twenty: The Eight Trigrams

Grandma Shengquan's grandmother was sitting with her own grandmother, talking about their children. Not far away, an old woman took a break after working for a while and asked the grandmother, "Shengsi's mother, how are your preparations for Shengqin's marriage to the Party Secretary's daughter going?"

Grandma said, "We'll just prepare what we're supposed to prepare. The house is already built, so I'll just make a few quilts. The village secretary said he'll make the furniture, and as for anything else we need to buy, we'll let them buy it themselves."

Another old lady said, "Oh my, your family is so lucky! Even though you're old, you finally found such a good daughter-in-law. Mother Shengsi, your family is truly blessed." The sour tone in her voice was so strong that Peiyin could feel it even from this distance.

Grandma, without looking up, said, "We can't decide what kind of wife our son finds. This isn't the old society where marriages were arranged by parents and matchmakers. Doesn't the new society advocate free love?"

The old woman's face darkened as she threw the nail at her, muttering, "So what if you want to become in-laws with the Party Secretary's family? Don't forget you have a rightist son."

Grandma looked a little unhappy, lowered her head and quickened her pace. Grandma from Shengquan's family sighed and said in a low voice, "Don't listen to these sour grapes. If they're so capable, let them find such a good in-law family themselves."

Seeing her grandmother's expression, Pei-yin called out "Oh, oh, oh" and stretched out her arms towards her grandmother. Her grandmother heard her, put down what she was holding, stood up, patted the wheat leaves off her clothes, went over and picked up Pei-yin, asking, "What are you doing, Pei-yin?"

Peiyin reached out her little hand and gently patted her grandmother's face. She then went over and kissed her grandmother. Grandma Shengquan smiled and said, "See? Your granddaughter is comforting you. Shengquan's mother, your little granddaughter is really adorable. I think among all the children this age in our village, your Peiyin is the most sensible. I've never seen her wet her pants even once."

Being praised is the most enjoyable thing for parents.

Grandma chuckled and said, "That's right. Don't underestimate Peiyin just because she never had breast milk. She's the most considerate of us adults. Look how many times I've washed her clothes since she was a month old." As she spoke, she picked up Peiyin and gently bounced her around. Peiyin happily responded to her grandma, hugging her neck with both hands and giggling even more.

Peihua and Peijun were transporting wheat back using the team's handcart. While unloading, Peihua came to see his younger sister. Peihua took out a bunch of small purple flowers and placed them around the rim of the wicker basket where Peiyin was sitting. From a distance, Peiyin looked even more ethereal and beautiful sitting in the circle of purple flowers.

These small purple flowers are a common type of wildflower found in fields and along roadsides. They don't have much of a scent, but when you pick a lot of them and put them together, they look very beautiful from a distance.

Peihua picked up Peiyin, and Peiyin kissed her older brother on the cheek. Peijun saw this and also leaned over to point to his own cheek. Peiyin twisted her little body and kissed her second brother on the cheek as well.

Seeing how loving the siblings were, the people around them smiled and told their grandmother that the children were well-behaved. The grandmother watched with a smile as Peihua and Peijun made Peiyin laugh non-stop.

After unloading, Peihua and Peijun squatted behind the cart and pulled it into the field. These carts are quite heavy when empty, but they are much easier to pull when there is something pressing down on the back of the cart.

Grandma was quick and efficient at her work, and in no time she had several bundles of wheat straw cakes around her. Peitian and Peizhi sat on the side enjoying the cool air and watched their younger sister. When they saw that there were more wheat ears in front of their grandma, they used a winnowing basket to carry them to the middle of the threshing ground. When they saw that there were fewer wheat cakes in front of their grandma, they would carry a few more. Not to mention, they helped to move the scraps to the side of the threshing ground where firewood was piled up.

Jinhua is the only child in the Sheng family. Right now, she is helping her mother in the field to bundle wheat cakes to earn work points, so the auxiliary work for the Sheng family's grandmother has fallen to Peitian and Peizhi.

Working like this all morning is tiring for both adults and children. Grandma and the others can go home early to cook. People who eat lunch are not in high spirits. They eat quickly and then lie down to rest before continuing to work in the afternoon. Peiyin also took a short nap with Grandma's gentle pats.

Around 2 p.m., the team leader blew the whistle to start work. Grandma tidied up the house again before carrying Peiyin and taking Peitian and Peizhi, who were carrying wicker baskets, to the threshing ground.

The same old ladies from the morning were noticeably less energetic in the afternoon than in the morning.

Grandma from the whole family waved for Peitian and Peizhi to come over. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Grandma took out a few pieces of candy from her pocket and whispered, "Don't let anyone see this, okay? Grandma thanks you two for helping Grandma with the chores this morning."

Peitian, who was six or seven years old, was already quite sensible. Just as he was about to refuse, his grandmother looked around, put the candy in Peitian's pocket, and shook her head.

Peitian nodded and said, "Thank you, Grandma." Then he led Peizhi to help Grandma move the wheat cakes.

Grandma Sheng smiled as she looked at the two sensible children, then at Pei Yin, who was sitting in a wicker basket, half-asleep. She went over and helped Pei Yin straighten up before preparing her prayer mat and sickle.

Fortunately, the weather was favorable this year, and it didn't rain even after the wheat ripened. The villagers took advantage of the good weather and worked day and night for several days. They only breathed a sigh of relief after all the grain was dried, packed into bags, and stored in the team's warehouse.

After that, the work of turning over and drying the grain was no longer the concern of these teenagers. Peihua led the children in his family to pick up ears of wheat all over the field, which was allowed. However, with so many children in the village, the harvest was not much at the end of the day.

Although it wasn't much, it filled more than half a bag after being packed. To reward the children, Grandma specially ground flour and made scallion pancakes. The fragrant scallion oil made Peiyin's mouth water. When Peitian brought his own scallion pancake to tempt her, she snatched it without saying a word, stuffed it into her mouth, and took a bite with her only four front teeth.

Pei-yin's actions startled Pei-tian. Pei-yin took a bite of a scallion pancake, chewed it a few times, and then realized what was happening. She called out to the adults who were busy in the kitchen.

When Grandma and Shen's mother came out of the kitchen, Pei Yin had already swallowed a small piece of scallion pancake and was stuffing the scallion pancake in her hand into her mouth.

Grandma was startled and exclaimed, "Oh dear, oh dear, what if you choke?" She quickly tried to snatch the scallion pancake from Pei Yin's hand.

Peiyin was getting impatient too. This scallion pancake was so fragrant! The original aroma of wheat, the slightly pungent smell of scallions, and the aroma of heated lard. She had only eaten a small piece when it had already whetted her appetite. When she saw her grandmother coming to snatch it, she turned away and continued to gnaw on the pancake.

In just a short while, everyone inside came out. Finally, Shen's mother grabbed Pei Yin's arm and snatched the scallion pancake from her hand.

Pei Yin had a small piece still in her mouth. Her little teeth were really not very strong. She couldn't even bite off a big piece of such a soft cake. And even if she did bite it off, she couldn't chew it properly. She had to slowly chew it with her four little teeth before she could swallow it. She looked at her mother with some resentment as she snatched the cake from her hand. Her pitiful little eyes made everyone burst into laughter.

It was summer, but the temperature wasn't too high. In the courtyard at dusk, under the sycamore trees, a gentle breeze dispelled the heat from the daytime scorching sun. After a day of farm work, the family, exhausted, enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Many years later, the family would still tease Pei-yin about this embarrassing incident. But her eldest brother said that during those difficult years, Pei-yin brought a different kind of color to everyone's lives. Whether she was happy, troubled, or angry, Pei-yin gave them a different understanding of life during those difficult and hopeless times. No matter how many hardships life brought, they could grit their teeth and keep moving forward.

Grandma gently patted Peitian and said, "You silly child, Peiyin is still too young to eat this. What if she chokes on it?"

Peitian said embarrassedly, "I just wanted to tease her, but she snatched it away. Grandma, Peiyin even took two bites, look."

Grandma quickly went inside and brought out a bowl of water for Peiyin to drink. Peijun said, "Peitian, you really act like a big brother. You brought such delicious cakes to eat with Peiyin."

Pei-Tian said, "I thought Pei-Yin wouldn't eat, Grandma, why don't we give her some?"

Grandma said, "Look at Pei-Yin's mouth, how many teeth does she have? How does she eat?"

Peitian was curious and wanted to see how many teeth Peiyin had. When Peiyin saw Peitian coming over, she changed her expression and ignored him. Peitian coaxed her, saying, "Peiyin, show your brother how many teeth you have. When you have as many teeth as your brother, your brother will give you a delicious scallion pancake."

Pei Yin was speechless. She stared blankly at Pei Tian, ​​who was being very attentive, without opening her mouth.

Peihua couldn't stand it anymore, so he pulled Peitian up and said, "Alright, before it gets completely dark, I'll take you to the North Ridge to cut some pig feed."

Peitian said dejectedly, "Okay, I'll go find a rope." He then went to the shed where the firewood was stored to get the rope.

Uncle Shen came in carrying a bundle.

Uncle Shen has been rehearsing for a show these past few days, preparing to perform in various villages. As for his marriage to Tian Lingling, the elders of both families are discussing asking Sheng Quan's mother to be the matchmaker. If either family has any opinions, they can have Sheng Quan's mother act as a middleman to express them. Just now, Sheng Quan's mother called Uncle Shen over and said she had something to discuss with him.

Grandma looked at the bundle in his hand and asked, "What's this?"

Uncle Shen said, "These are the quilt covers and linings that Secretary Tian's family sent over, saying that we can use them when we make new quilts."

Grandma said, "Didn't you tell them we were all prepared?"

Uncle Shen said, "I already said that Secretary Tian's family said that Lingling is their only daughter, so if they don't give these things to her, who else should they give them to? These are their own products, and they asked us to make a few more quilts and blankets for them."

Grandma sighed and said, "Shengqin, I shouldn't be saying this to you, but you're about to get married. Look at everyone in our village, who's like you? You're always so lifeless. You need to cheer up. Lingling's mother only sent these things because she was thinking of our family. These days, you need coupons to buy even a little cloth. Your older brother has a lot of children, and they need cloth for clothes and bedding. Sigh, you have to remember their kindness."

Uncle Shen said, "I know, Mother, you can take this."

Grandma took the bundle and said, "Even though the wedding is on National Day, you still need to tidy up this house properly. Go and buy some whitewash to paint it nicely. Since we're not making the furniture, we still need to clean the house thoroughly."

As they were talking, the team leader arrived at the Shen family's house. The team leader of the Shen family's team was also surnamed Shen. Pei Yin called him "Fourth Grandfather" and after entering the house, she called her grandmother "Sister-in-law" and said, "His aunt sent you a package from the capital. Here is the package pickup slip. See if you have time to go to the county post office to pick it up."