Reborn in 1966

Chapter Twenty-One: The Eldest Aunt

When Grandma heard that she had received news from her eldest daughter, she was overjoyed. She said to her fourth uncle, "Oh, my fourth uncle, it's been so many years and we've finally received news! Oh, my eldest daughter, I can finally rest easy now." Tears welled up in Grandma's eyes as she spoke.

Seeing how excited Grandma was, Fourth Grandfather sighed and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you worried about with your aunt being such a reliable person? You can rest assured."

It was completely dark when Peihua returned with Peitian, carrying a large load of grass on his back.

Peitian put the grass in the pigpen in the backyard and placed a small apple in Peiyin's hand.

I brought it to my nose and smelled it; it had a faint, fresh apple scent. This was a rare find here.

Shen's mother asked Peihua, "Where did the apples come from?"

Peihua said, "I used to help Grandpa Tian, ​​who looked after the orchard in the second team, so I asked him for one to use for Peiyin to grind her teeth."

Peitian said, "Mother, will Peiyin choke on this?"

Shen's mother said, "You won't choke, Peihua. Is it alright for you to ask someone for this?"

Peihua said, "It's okay. A lot of apples have fallen from the tree. Grandpa Tian said it hasn't rained for many days, so a lot of apples have fallen from the tree. This is a variety that can be eaten during the hottest days of summer. He asked me to bring a few back home for my family to try."

When Shen's father came in, he saw the apple in Pei Yin's hand and asked Pei Hua, "Did you go to the orchard of the second team?"

Peihua said, "Yes, I asked Grandpa Tian for it. Grandpa Tian said it fell from the tree and it's fine."

Mr. Shen nodded and said, "If your Grandpa Tian says it's nothing, then it's nothing. Go wash up and go to bed."

While sleeping, Pei Yin stayed awake to listen to her parents talk about things in the village.

Mr. Shen said that Grandpa Tian, ​​who looked after the orchard, was a relative of Party Secretary Tian. His wife and children either died of illness or starvation during the war. Now he is a recipient of the five guarantees in the village. He loves children very much. When the Shen family returned from Beijing, the children in the family ate a lot of fruit from the orchard that Grandpa Tian looked after.

Mr. Shen said, "Peihua used to follow Uncle Tian around asking for food all the time. When we first came back, I met Uncle Tian in the orchard. Uncle Tian told me that as long as no one died, it was no big deal. It was good that his wife and children were together. He had several children to take care of. If there was no food at home, we could ask him for some. He was an old man living alone and couldn't eat much. By the way, Peihua helped Uncle Tian write couplets and sweep the yard during the New Year."

Mother Shen said, "The people of Shenjia Village are really good. Thinking back, when I was sent back with you, I felt like there was no hope left. But now it seems we were lucky."

Mr. Shen said, “My eldest sister told me that coming back was better than staying outside, and that there would be fewer targets when I came back. Actually, as soon as I was labeled a rightist, my eldest sister secretly contacted the leaders of our school, gave them some gifts, and sent our whole family back. When we left, my eldest sister said not to care about other people’s opinions. Even if we were labeled, as long as we were alive and well, that was better than anything else.”

Shen's mother said, "I guess my eldest sister was a little scared after seeing those hot-tempered people who committed suicide after being criticized and denounced. I remember my eldest sister telling me that no matter what grievances she suffered, she had to check on the children before making any plans."

Mr. Shen said, "My eldest sister sent something back, so the situation must be a bit better. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone more than a year without any news. Alright, let's not think too much about it. We have to go to the fields tomorrow, so let's go to bed early."

Grandma got up before dawn. It was summer, so it was probably around four o'clock. After getting ready, she called on Uncle Shen to hurry up and go to the county post office to pick up the package.

Uncle Shen was squatting in the corner of the yard brushing his teeth, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, and he mumbled, "Mom, it's so early, people aren't at work yet. I'll go get it for you in a bit, okay?"

Grandma said, "Okay, oh dear, your eldest sister hasn't written home for almost a year. It's good that we finally have news. Sigh, it's just that we live far away. If we lived closer, I would walk over to see how your eldest sister is doing."

Father Shen also got up and was sweeping the yard with a large broom, gathering the fallen leaves together and using a shovel to move them to the pigsty in the backyard so they could be used as fertilizer.

Father Shen said, “Mother, don’t worry. You’ve already waited so long, a little longer won’t make a difference.”

Grandpa came out of the house and said, "Honey, why are you in such a hurry? I've heard you making pancakes all night. The children are fine, don't worry."

Pei Yin, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) inside the house, was awakened by the noise in the yard and listened with her eyes closed.

Even Grandpa, a man of few words, came to comfort Grandma. I imagine how overjoyed Grandma must have been. Indeed, it's been over a year since we heard from Auntie. Now that we have news, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, can finally settle down.

Grandma couldn't concentrate on anything all day. She kept going to the gate to see if Uncle Shen had come back. Finally, around 5 p.m., Uncle Shen brought back a big package on Uncle Shengquan's bicycle.

When Grandma saw Second Uncle return, the first thing she asked was, "Is there any letter inside?"

My second uncle said, "Mom, hurry up and find some scissors so we can open it up and take a look. I think there might be some."

Grandma responded repeatedly with "Yes, yes, yes," as she tiptoed to the sycamore tree to find the big black scissors in her sewing basket.

The original white coarse cloth bag was full and looked quite heavy. With Grandma's help, Second Uncle slowly unloaded it from the bicycle luggage rack and put it on the ground.

The bag was sewn tightly with thick white thread. Grandma used scissors to cut it open little by little and took out a thick letter inside.

Grandma's hands trembled slightly as she held the letter. Ignoring the contents of the bag, she found a small stool, sat down under the sycamore tree, and began to read the letter.

My second uncle helped gather the things in the bag, then pushed the bicycle to Shengquan's house to return it. When he returned, he saw his mother holding the letter and wiping away tears.

The second uncle moved a small stool, sat down next to Grandma, and asked softly, "Mom, why are you still crying?"

Grandma sighed, unfolded the letter in her hand, folded it carefully, and said, "Shengqin, your eldest sister suffered a lot since she was a child. Back then, when you were all in school, she would go to the fields to help with the work during holidays. Even your eldest brother never did so much farm work. Later, she took your eldest brother to Beijing to study at university. Your father and I didn't have to worry about it. Later, when your eldest brother was labeled a rightist, it was your eldest sister who found a way to get the whole family back to our hometown. I feel guilty for not being able to help your eldest sister at all."

Uncle Shen said, "Mother, what about eldest sister now..."

Grandma said, "Your eldest sister said that your brother-in-law was imprisoned for more than a year and was assigned to a labor camp, and she wants to go with him."

The second uncle asked, "What about my eldest nephew?"

Grandma said, "Your eldest nephew was sent to the army by your brother-in-law a while ago. Luckily, he didn't suffer too much. Okay, quickly tidy up the things in the bag. Your eldest sister said that from now on, letters should be sent to the cadre school. Tonight, quickly write a letter to your eldest sister and tell her about your upcoming marriage so that she can be happy."

Uncle Shen said in a low voice, "Okay, I'll write it tonight."

After dinner, before it was completely dark, Grandma delivered the things that my eldest aunt had sent back to everyone. Needless to say, the children received gifts, as did my second grandfather, second grandmother, and third grandmother. Even the third grandfather of the Tian family, and Secretary Tian, ​​received a gift. My eldest aunt had mentioned in her letter that Secretary Tian and my eldest uncle were sworn brothers back then, so it was not unreasonable for her to send some things. In fact, she just wanted her family to live a better life under Secretary Tian's rule.

As the weather got hotter, Pei-yin, wearing only a bright red bib and with her bare bottom exposed, was placed in a wicker basket by her grandmother. Pei-yin actually wanted to wear pants, but her grandmother didn't understand what Pei-yin was saying. So, our Pei-yin, with her bare bottom exposed, held onto the edge of the wicker basket and waved to her older brother Pei-hua, who was coming home from work.

Pei Yin is already seven months old. When her family members go to work, they wave goodbye to her and she will wave back with her chubby little paws. When they pick her up and ask for a kiss, she will spit in their face. Her grandmother takes her granddaughter to the big locust tree at the village entrance every morning and evening to do needlework. She chats with familiar elderly people about everyday matters and lives a very leisurely life.

After the summer harvest, the village children could handle the farm work without having to go to work. Every day, they would carry baskets and gather pig feed and firewood on the hillside. When it got hot, they would go to the river to play in the water.

There are small rivers on the east and west sides of the village, which converge in the southwest of the village to form a small reservoir. The reservoir was built by the village a few years ago. The deepest parts are two or three meters deep, and according to the villagers, the middle part is four or five meters deep. Parents repeatedly tell their children not to play in the reservoir. It's too hot, so they can just wash in the river. But that's how kids are. If you tell them not to do something, they'll do it anyway.

It was hot at home around two or three o'clock, so Grandma took Peiyin to cool off under the big locust tree and to sew shoe soles.

The sturdy locust tree has a large canopy, providing a large shady area. Several old ladies were sewing shoe soles and mending clothes, gossiping about the village, which made Pei Yin a little tipsy.

The old locust tree wasn't far from the village's small reservoir. Cries and screams came from the direction of the reservoir. The eldest grandmother of the Sheng family stood up and said, "What happened? Could it be that a child has fallen into the reservoir?"

Just as he finished speaking, a shirtless man grabbed a child by the foot and carried the child on his back as he ran over. As soon as they reached the big locust tree, the child on his back coughed, then spat out some water and started to sob.

The grandmothers quickly stood up, the man put the child on the ground, and a disheveled woman stumbled over, knelt beside the child, hugged the child tightly, and cried loudly.

Behind them was a group of naked children. The grandmother grabbed the man and asked, "Shengmin, what's going on?"

The man wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Auntie, Cungen's child fell into the reservoir. Luckily, he was rescued in time, otherwise... sigh..."

Several grandmothers rushed forward, some using their own large handkerchiefs to wipe the child's body, others bringing their own prayer mats for the child's mother to sit on. Just then, the village's barefoot doctor ran over with his medicine box. After examining the child, he said, "It's alright, it's alright. Luckily, the rescue was timely. Sister-in-law Cungen, go home and make some ginger soup for the child."

Grandma quickly searched for her children among the group. When she saw Peijun with Peitian and Peizhi, she waved for the children to come over. It was still reassuring to have them by her side.