Reborn in 1966

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Night Talk

The next day, Shen's father went to Secretary Tian's house to discuss Meng Ruolan's matter. That evening, Shen's father told Shen's mother that Secretary Tian had already visited Meng Ruolan at the school. He said he felt sad seeing a pretty young girl cut her hair into a mess to avoid those bad people. Later, the two of them went to Uncle Tian's house and told him about it. Uncle Tian pondered for a long time and said, "This child must stay in our Shenjia Village. If it really doesn't work, let his youngest son help find a way. We can't let the child go back. Going back would be a dead end. Those people have no humanity at all."

Mr. Shen said he was very grateful to Secretary Tian and his third grandfather. If it weren't for them, not to mention Meng Ruolan, even his own family would have suffered a lot more if they had returned here. Look at the rightists who returned to work in other villages in the commune; very few of them lived as peacefully as his family.

Some time later, Hu Jiming came to Shenjia Village and saw Meng Ruolan with Professor Meng. Even this strong man had tears in his eyes.

When Hu Jiming came, he brought Meng Ruolan's grain and oil ration certificate. In other words, Meng Ruolan is now like Professor Meng and the others, belonging to the personnel who have been sent down to the countryside. As long as she works with the production team, she can earn work points.

The night in the tenth lunar month was already bitterly cold. Shen's father and Hu Jiming sat on either side of the kang table, where a small oil lamp was lit. Shen's mother helped prepare two dishes, and the two men, who had not been separated for a year, drank and chatted.

Pei Yin was placed on the kang by Shen's mother. Occasionally, she would crawl to Shen's father's side and help him stand up shakily. Shen's father would then put a peanut in Pei Yin's mouth. With the sweet and salty peanut in her mouth, Pei Yin would sit on the kang table with a smile and slowly eat the peanut.

Hu Jiming said, "Peiyin is really obedient."

Upon hearing the praise, Pei Yin looked up and gave Hu Jiming a big smile. Shen's father smiled and said, "This little girl loves to hear compliments."

The two of them picked up their wine cups and took a small sip of the wine. A spicy sensation slowly spread in their mouths. There wasn't much good wine in the countryside; this was wine brewed from dried sweet potatoes that Shengqin had made for their wedding.

Hu Jiming said, “I need to think about it. You have no idea how scared I was when I sent Ruolan here by herself. I was afraid that something might happen to her on the way and I wouldn’t be able to explain it to Teacher Meng. But I really had no other choice. Those rebels have become completely unreasonable and they’ve thrown everything into chaos.”

Mr. Shen said, "Ji Ming, if it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to Ruolan now. In any case, with your explanation and help, the child has come here. Let's not dwell on this."

Hu Jiming said, “The leader of the rebels at our school used to be a boiler operator. He had been watching Ruolan for a long time. Seeing that I often took care of Ruolan, he found a reason to investigate me. Think about it, those students don’t have any sense of right and wrong yet. With all this fighting and looting, I don’t know how many girls have been ruined. When I saw things were not going well, I thought of sending Ruolan over. Who knew that I would be investigated by the rebels? Luckily, I had a few useful people who helped send the girl out of the city.”

Mr. Shen said, "Ruolan said you confessed a lot of things. If you hadn't confessed those things, she, a young girl who has never traveled far on her own, probably would have been caught and brought back before she even got very far."

Hu Jiming said, "I reflected on it. Later, those rebels fought each other all day long. When the higher-ups saw that it was really out of control, they sent the military control commission over. That's when I was finally able to end the investigation. We were all people who had been through the baptism of war, so we weren't afraid of any investigation at all."

Mr. Shen asked, "They're under military control now? Will things gradually get better?"

Hu Jiming said, "It's hard to say. Schools in the city are closed. Students are floating around in society, rebelling, fighting civil wars, or just having fun. Many places are in a state of anarchy. The military control committee will help. I estimate that schools should be able to resume classes soon."

Shen's father said, "Jiming, our village secretary, Tian, ​​and a few elders have secretly arranged for the village children to resume classes at the dilapidated temple in the village. In the summer, the children couldn't attend classes and played all over the mountains and fields. One child almost drowned in the river. Tian's third grandfather saw that things were not going well, so he asked us to secretly teach the children. Several surrounding villages are in similar situations. The public school teachers can't come, so they find literate people in the village to teach in their place. As long as we can keep the children together and prevent any accidents, that's good."

Hu Jiming said, "It is a blessing for the entire village of Shenjia to have such leaders and elders."

Mr. Shen said, “Yes, our family has been back for four or five years now. Look at the people who have gone through the same things as us, look at our former classmates and colleagues, who has lived as peacefully as our family? Ji Ming, back then I didn’t understand my eldest sister and brother-in-law’s decision at all, but now I understand. Sigh, my brother-in-law has experienced a lot, so he considers things more comprehensively. They did everything they could to send our family back because they had foreseen this.”

Hu Jiming said, "Yes, the stories of Sister Shengyu and her husband's struggles in the enemy-occupied areas back then could be used as teaching materials. You and Yueran are really lucky. By the way, Shengsi, do you remember Professor Zhou from the Physics Department who studied in Germany? After being denounced by the rebels, he had his head shaved in a half-shaved style. He couldn't bear such humiliation and I heard that he has passed away. He had two children at home. When I came, Professor Zhou's wife took the two children to the Military Control Commission."

After a long silence, Shen's father said, "A cultural catastrophe."

Hu Jiming said, "Think carefully, be cautious in your speech, and remember that trouble comes from the mouth."

The two men spoke in hushed tones with their heads down. Pei Yin sat at the kang table, slowly chewing the peanuts in her hand, eating one after another. Actually, she mainly wanted to hear her father and Hu Jiming talk. From their conversation, she could tell that the current situation was very tense; otherwise, would there be any need for military control?

What is military control? Military control was implemented right after liberation. Important places were managed by the military. If it wasn't very serious, the military probably wouldn't be sent out. However, Peiyin was very happy to hear that classes were going to resume. When Shen's mother came back, she was arranged by the village to work as a private teacher in the village primary school because of her health and her educational background. If classes resumed, Shen's mother wouldn't have to go to work in the fields.

After another silence, Hu Jiming said, "Ruolan's household registration and food ration are now with Professor Meng. I guess because of her family background, none of the children can go to school. You and Professor Meng must make sure to focus on the children's education."

Mr. Shen said, "I know that according to the policy, our children can only go to primary school. Yueran and I will help the children continue their studies. Regardless of whether they can continue to go to school, only by reading and learning more can people make continuous progress."

Hu Jiming said, "I will try to find junior high and high school textbooks for you and tell the children not to be ignorant. It is a terrible thing to be ignorant."

After Tian Lingling entered the family, she respected the elders and took the initiative to do any housework she saw. Tian Lingling was an excellent cook, and after cooking a few meals, she was praised by the adults and children in the family. Of course, Tian Lingling was a wonderful person and took great care of her younger children. When she came home from get off work, she would often bring them some snacks, sometimes a few pieces of fruit candy, sometimes a few pieces of sweet peach shortbread. These were very rare treats, so Tian Lingling was very popular with the children in the family.

Ever since Tian Lingling married into the family, Second Uncle has been going to the Workers' Propaganda Team whenever there's work to be done, and when there's nothing to do, he goes to work with Shen's father and the others. He's lost his former laziness. Grandma often tells Second Grandma and Third Grandma that it seems a person still needs to find a wife and start a family. If you don't start a family, you're not considered an adult. Look at Second Uncle, how lazy he used to be, but he's become so diligent since he got married.

Secretary Tian intended to help Uncle Shen find a temporary job in the city, so that he could at least get a government-subsidized food ration. After discussing it, the Shen family thought it was feasible. Just then, Hu Jiming learned about this when he came over, so he asked one of his comrades to help him find a job at a machinery factory in the county. Since both of them were employed, the factory provided them with a dormitory room. The young couple cleaned the dormitory room very well, and their family helped them move some household items over. Uncle Shen's family settled down in the county.

Every weekend, my second uncle and aunt would ride their bicycles home to buy food and drinks for the elderly and children. They would also visit my mother-in-law's house every time, and the two families got along very well.

Pei-Yin said she really likes the atmosphere at home. She doesn't care about the conditions, but she can't have constant fighting and complaining. As long as the family is harmonious, everything will go smoothly.

Not long after Hu Jiming left, various places received notices to resume classes.

After discussing it with the village leaders and elders, Secretary Tian went to the county to ask some leaders for help to expand the primary school and establish a junior high school. In Secretary Tian's view, he believed that he had the initiative and could make the decisions at crucial moments.

This time, the people of Shenjia Village clearly saw the right and wrong of the school closures for the revolution. Taking advantage of the nationwide resumption of classes, they quickly established a junior high school. Several surrounding villages expressed their approval of Shenjia Village's actions. Currently, there are only two junior high schools in Hongqi Commune, and the children from these villages have to walk a long way to go to junior high school. The establishment of a junior high school in Shenjia Village has made things much more convenient for the children from these villages.

In addition to the public school teachers sent by the county, several private school teachers had to be found in their own village to teach. Because Shen's mother had a college degree and was only a relative of a rightist, unlike Shen's father who was labeled a rightist, she became a private school teacher at Shenjia Village Junior High School through the efforts of everyone in Shenjia Village. She received her work points and a salary.

School has been back in session for several days now. Every morning, Pei Yin watches her mother, her third brother, and her older sister go to work and school. If the sun is shining, her grandmother will take Pei Yin to the big locust tree at the edge of the village to bask in the sun and do needlework.

Pei Yin can already take a few shaky steps on her own, and she can call out "Daddy," "Brother," and "Sister." I won't go into anything more complicated.