Reborn in 1966

Chapter Thirty-One Apology

In the afternoon, Party Secretary Tian led Tian Shenggen and his eldest grandson into the Shen family's courtyard.

Secretary Tian entered the Shen family's courtyard with his hands behind his back. The courtyard was spotless, and under the sycamore tree were a stool and a sewing basket. Shen's father was tidying up firewood in the woodshed.

Looking at the Shen family's simple and tidy courtyard, Secretary Tian felt a little uneasy. His daughter insisted on marrying into this family. Fortunately, Shengqin was assigned to work as a temporary worker in the county's machinery factory, and the two families helped them settle down in the county. If anything happened in this courtyard, it wouldn't affect those two people for a while.

The one who pushed over Shen's mother was Tian Shenggen's eldest grandson, who is twelve years old this year. Tian Shenggen was also holding an old hen with its feet tied and its wings flapping. The one next to him with his head drooping was his own grandson who had caused the trouble.

Because Shen's mother was injured, the team did not allow Shen's father to go to work. He stayed home to take care of the injured. When he saw Secretary Tian enter the door, Shen's father hurriedly went forward to greet him and called out "Uncle".

Party Secretary Tian said, "Reflect on this. Teacher Ma was pushed down by your Uncle Shenggen's grandson. I've brought your Uncle Shenggen and his grandson to apologize to Teacher Ma."

Mr. Shen looked at the child with his head down and said, "Uncle, Peihua's mother is much better..."

Party Secretary Tian said, “Reflect on this. This is something we’ve already decided. Whoever makes the mistake should bear the consequences. This kid is about ten years old and knows right from wrong. Since he did something wrong, he has to take responsibility for it. The men of Shenjia Village have always been straightforward and responsible. There are no cowards among them.”

Tian Shenggen said, "Nephew, I'm so sorry, Teacher Ma. My grandson made a mistake because we adults didn't educate him well. Don't worry, after I apologize to Teacher Ma, I'll take him home and teach him a lesson. I will definitely respect Teacher Ma from now on."

Upon hearing his grandfather say "get rid of him," the child trembled almost imperceptibly, then said thoughtfully, "Uncle, Uncle, please come inside and sit down."

Party Secretary Tian said, "Brother Shenggen, let's take the kids to see Teacher Ma first."

Tian Shenggen agreed and placed the old hen at the door of the east wing. The old hen flapped its wings a few times, but did not stand up.

Pei Yin was keeping her mother company on the kang (a heated brick bed). When she saw Shen's father enter the room with several people, she quickly sat down in the corner of the kang to minimize her presence. She had learned this lesson over the past few days: as long as she kept herself inconspicuous, she could hear many secrets and satisfy her gossip. Sigh, women, no matter how old they are, all love gossip.

After resting for a morning, Shen's mother felt much better, and was able to lie down and talk to people.

As soon as Secretary Tian entered the room, Mrs. Shen hurriedly tried to get up, but she felt dizzy and saw stars. Mr. Shen quickly placed a quilt behind Mrs. Shen and pulled the quilt covering him up properly. Seeing his little daughter sitting there obediently, he didn't say anything.

Party Secretary Tian said, "Teacher Ma, I'm so sorry about what happened this morning. I brought my child to apologize to you. My child is so immature, please forgive him."

Tian Shenggen said, "Teacher Ma, it is our fault as parents for not educating our child well. Don't worry, we will definitely discipline him more strictly in the future. Since we are going to school with you, we must listen to you. There is an old saying, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life,' so we must respect you for the rest of our lives."

After the dizziness subsided, Shen's mother said weakly, "Uncle, uncle, the teachers also bear responsibility for not educating the child well. Thank you so much for trusting me and entrusting the child to my care."

Tian Shenggen nudged his eldest grandson's shoulder and said, "Gousheng, hurry up and apologize to your teacher Ma."

The child, who was called "Gousheng," looked back at his grandfather with some annoyance and said, "Grandpa, don't call me 'Gousheng' anymore. My name is Tian Xiangdong now."

Tian Shenggen slapped his grandson, whose nickname was "Gousheng" and whose real name was now "Tian Xiangdong," on the back of the head and said, "You brat, who agreed to let you change your name? Your real name is Tian Xueyi, which is a name passed down from the older generation. If you dare to change it, I'll change your name too." Tongling stared fiercely at his grandson.

The Tian family named their children according to the family genealogy. Although the genealogy has been confiscated and burned as part of the "Four Olds," the characters in the names of each generation have been remembered. The current generation of the Tian family all have the character "学" (xué, meaning learning) in their names. "Gousheng's" formal name is "Tian Xueyi."

Tian Xueyi covered his head and said, "You dare to hit a young revolutionary? I am a Red Guard now. I changed my name to show Chairman Mao my revolutionary stance. The name you gave me belongs to 'feudalism, capitalism, and revisionism,' and it must be overthrown and destroyed."

The eloquent rebuttal made Grandpa Tian Shenggen so angry that his face turned red. He stood there looking around for something handy to beat up his grandson who was defying and denying him.

Party Secretary Tian said, "Tian Xueyi, let's discuss these things when we get back. We came to Teacher Ma's house today to apologize to her. The men of our Tian family are all upright and honest. Right is right and wrong is wrong. It was wrong of you to push Teacher Ma down."

Tian Xueyi said, "Okay, I apologize to Teacher Ma. Teacher Ma, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you, please forgive me."

Shen's mother said, "Okay, I forgive you. A good child is one who can admit their mistakes and correct them."

Tian Xueyi said, "Thank you, Teacher Ma. I will not make this mistake again in the future."

Pei Yin found Tian Xueyi's attitude to be very sincere, which showed that he could recognize his mistakes and was willing to take responsibility, something Pei Yin admired.

Tian Xueyi said, "Grandpa, I have already apologized to Teacher Ma, and Teacher Ma has forgiven me. Now that we have taken care of things at Teacher Ma's house, let's talk about changing my name."

Tian Shenggen said, "Want to change your name? Okay, first go ask your Uncle Aiwen if he has changed his name. If he has, I'll let you change it. If he hasn't, but you still want to change it, then I'll send you to your Grandpa Honggen. As long as Grandpa Honggen agrees, I'll agree to let you change it."

In the eyes of these teenagers, Tian Aiwen was an unapproachable figure. A leader of the commune's Red Guards, he commanded a large number of Red Guards and was always imposing wherever he went. However, ever since the last time he came to the village to denounce those old teachers, Tian Aiwen had become much quieter. He would respond when villagers called him Aiwen, supposedly because he was controlled by his father, Tian Honggen. Many children around Tian Xueyi's age privately said that Tian Honggen was a martial arts master, rumored to be able to shatter a brick with a single slap. It seemed Tian Aiwen was being suppressed by his father.

Thinking of Tian Honggen's perpetually expressionless face and his unfathomable fighting prowess, Tian Xueyi shuddered and said, "Then I can't be called Tian Xueyi either. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are feudalistic. I can't carry a feudal, capitalist, and revisionist name all the time."

Tian Shenggen said, "Who said that? If you don't stand up for yourself, who will listen to you? Alright, stop making a racket and disturbing Teacher Ma's rest. Teacher Ma, I'll have to ask you to take good care of the child in the future. If he's disobedient again, just tell me and I'll be reasonable."

Teacher Ma smiled and said, "Uncle Shenggen, the child is a good child. My injury was just an accident, so please don't take it too seriously."

After seeing off Secretary Tian and his entourage, Shen's father went into the east wing and saw that Shen's mother seemed to be in good spirits. He said, "Do you know why Tian Xueyi disobeyed you and even pushed you?"

Shen's mother shook her head and said, "From the beginning of class, I felt that Tian Xueyi's gaze towards me was not right, it was filled with hatred."

Mr. Shen said, "Uncle Shenggen's youngest son graduated from junior high school two years ago. Because he was weak, he failed the physical examination for joining the army. He wanted to become a primary school teacher, but the school was closed. It was only with great difficulty that classes resumed, and there was even a junior high school section. However, he was not involved in finding a private teacher. Aunt Shenggen had a problem with this. She probably told her grandson that if it weren't for the fact that his uncle was teaching him now, the child would remember this and would not be happy about it."

Shen's mother said, "I knew it! By the way, how did you know about this?"

Mr. Shen said, “Secretary Tian just told me that it wasn’t his decision to let you become a village school teacher. It was a vote by so many people in the brigade headquarters. Don’t think about anything else. Just focus on teaching these children in Shenjia Village well.”

Shen's mother said, "Well, not for any other reason, but just because those who chose me, I have to be a good teacher and teach the children in the village well."

In the evening, all the children returned home, along with Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan.

After Meng Ruolan came to Shenjia Village, she became good friends with Shen Jinhua. The two girls, who were about the same age, often whispered to each other or exchanged their thoughts.

After Shenjia Village established a junior high school, Shen Jinhua also went to attend classes. Meng Ruolan, however, was already a junior high school student and had already learned a lot of the knowledge, so she did not go to school. Instead, she followed her grandfather to work in the production team to earn work points. Meng Ruolan had her own grain and oil ration, and she could go to the county grain station every month to collect rice, flour, and cooking oil. However, if she worked with the team, she could also earn work points, which could be exchanged for money at the end of the year.

When Aunt Shengquan learned of Meng Ruolan's plight, she felt great sympathy for the young girl. Whenever she had something delicious, she would have her daughter share it with Meng Ruolan. In Aunt Shengquan's view, having a close friend of a certain level could easily elevate or lower one's own character. Therefore, she was happy to see the friendship between the two girls. She did not look down on Meng Ruolan because Professor Meng was a rightist who had come to the village for reform. What was a rightist? Aunt Shengquan had a rightist in her family. Look at her second sister-in-law, such a gentle and lovely person, yet she had also been labeled a rightist. Right and wrong cannot be judged solely by others; one must see and ponder for oneself.

Shen Jinhua grew closer and closer to Meng Ruolan, and would go to Meng Ruolan for help with some knowledge that she couldn't understand. She would ask Meng Ruolan or the professors whenever they had free time. As a result, the old professors living in a few dormitories in the corner of the school welcomed this studious young girl.