Reborn in 1966

Chapter Thirty-Two: Idle Talk

Shen's mother said that when she fell in the morning, Shen Jinhua was the first to rush over to help her up. When she saw the blood, she was so frightened that she burst into tears. Despite Tian Xueyi's confident words this afternoon, he was stunned when he saw the blood. It was a teacher from the next classroom who heard the commotion and quickly arranged for a child from Shenjia Village to call Doctor Wang to bandage her up. He also told her not to move her. Shen's mother said with a smile that she was actually quite conscious at the time, but she became more and more dizzy. When she regained consciousness, she was lying on her bed in the teachers' dormitory. Her little daughter was holding her hand and calling "Mom." At that moment, she thought to herself, "This daughter is truly my little darling."

The children chattered away. Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan held Shen's mother's hand and asked her carefully how she was feeling. They told her to quickly call Doctor Wang if she was feeling unwell.

Shen's mother smiled and said, "I felt very dizzy this morning, but I'm much better now. These next few days while I'm away from school, your substitute teachers will be teaching you, so you have to listen carefully. I'll come back and continue teaching you when I'm better."

Shen Jinhua said, "Auntie, the students all say that the substitute teacher is not as good as you. The students are now complaining about Tian Xueyi, saying that if it weren't for him, you would still be teaching us."

Shen's mother said, "My fall was an accident, so don't blame Tian Xueyi."

Pei Jun said, "Didn't Tian Xueyi change his name to Tian Xiangdong? Jinhua, why are you still calling him Tian Xueyi?"

Shen Jinhua said, "That's true. We all say, look how awesome Tian Aiwen is, he hasn't even changed his name yet. Someone like him probably won't make it. Tian Aixia said that Uncle Honggen said, anyone with the surname Tian who wants to change their name should first talk to me, Tian Honggen. I'll only change it if I agree. Don't bring up the issue of sabotaging the revolution. When I, Tian Honggen, was making revolution, you bunch of bastards were probably nowhere to be found." Shen Jinhua imitated Tian Honggen's rough, muffled voice, which made the children burst into laughter.

Pei Jun said, "I was wondering why Tian Aiwen had been going to work so diligently these past few days. It turns out that Grandpa Honggen has regained his former glory. Back then, Grandpa Honggen was a legendary figure. Everyone in Xiping County knew him."

Shen Jinhua said, "Is Grandpa Hong Gen very famous? How come I don't know?"

Pei Jun said, "Back then, Grandpa Honggen led people from several villages to practice martial arts and fight against the Returning Village Corps. That was something many people knew. Grandpa Honggen was really powerful. He led the able-bodied men from all around to beat the Returning Village Corps to a pulp. In those years, our area suffered much less from the harm caused by the Returning Village Corps. It was only after liberation that Grandpa Honggen had to come back to farm and support his family and retired. But fewer and fewer people know about this now."

Shen Jinhua asked curiously, "Then how did you know?"

Peihua said, "When I went to the orchard to help Grandpa Yungen pull weeds, Grandpa Yungen told me that he knew a lot about many people and things in our village in the past. He would tell us whatever we asked. He said that our village was fortunate to have Grandpa Honggen and others protecting it back then."

Shen's mother looked at her son with some pity. Peijun should be in school at this age, but he couldn't go because of his family background. She had been thinking about how to help her son through this and ease his mind, but Peijun said that he had already learned all those things. He was currently studying high school books with his older brother, Peihua. Peihua had never been to high school and didn't know much about the subject. Fortunately, Professor Meng and his team came. Now that was perfect. If there was anything they didn't understand, the two brothers would go to school when their parents were too busy. Peijun said that working in the production team was good. The work wasn't too heavy, and they could earn work points. At the end of the year, when the work points were calculated, he would use the money he earned to buy New Year's gifts for his grandparents, parents, and younger siblings.

Mr. and Mrs. Shen felt a pang of sorrow. Because of their hard work, their young son was so sensible, helping to take care of his younger siblings at home and earning work points at the village. Everyone in the village said that the boy was honest and hardworking, without any cunning or deceit. When they returned home, Mr. and Mrs. Shen felt heartbroken seeing the red marks left on their son's shoulders from carrying the load with a shoulder pole. However, Peijun didn't seem to care much. He even told his parents that boys have to be toughened up like this, otherwise they would be too pampered and wouldn't have any manly spirit. Besides, everyone in the village said he was a good boy, and he could only earn their praise by giving his all. After hearing their second son's words, Mr. and Mrs. Shen felt both gratified and saddened. Considering their own circumstances, they could only sigh in the end.

Aunt Shengquan entered the east wing and saw the children huddled there. She smiled and said, "Jinhua, take everyone to our house. Your grandfather just sent some snacks over. Take everyone to try them. Don't all stay here and disturb your aunt's rest."

Hearing that there was something delicious to eat, the children cheered and ran outside.

Grandma Shengquan looked at the children and said with a smile, "A bunch of little gluttons."

Seeing Pei Yin staring longingly at the door from the kang (heated brick bed), he smiled, picked her up, took out two pieces of milk candy wrapped in colorful candy wrappers from his pocket, and said with a smile, "This is for Pei Yin. Take it and eat it. When you grow up, you can join this group."

Shen's mother said, "The children will have to eat your food again."

Aunt Shengquan said, "Don't be so formal. I just love watching the kids scrambling to eat together in our house."

Looking at the bandage wrapped around Shen's mother's forehead, he asked, "Is it any better?"

Shen's mother said, "Much better."

Aunt Shengquan said, "A head injury is no small matter, and it's getting a bit cold. Has Dr. Wang given you a tetanus shot?"

Shen's mother said, "They did get it done. They said it's a bit far from the classroom to the dormitory, so they got a tetanus shot as insurance."

Aunt Shengquan said, "That's good. Tian Shenggen's family is now famous in the village. Tian Shenggen's wife favors her youngest son. Her eldest son and daughter-in-law already had a lot of opinions about him. This time, because she instigated her grandson to beat up the teacher, I heard that Tian Shenggen gave her a lot of beatings when he got home."

Shen's mother said, "It was all an accident. Tian Xueyi didn't mean to push me to the ground."

Aunt Shengquan said, "Let's not talk about whether it's unexpected or not. Let me tell you about Tian Shenggen's two sons. The older son is over ten years old. Tian Shenggen's wife had another child, and she raised him even more carefully than other people's daughters. When he reached school age, she was afraid he would be bullied, so she delayed his schooling by two years. When he was in school, he would come home crying to his mother after being scolded by the teacher. Tian Shenggen's wife went to the school several times to complain about this and gave the teacher a good scolding. Everyone in the village says that their family is different from others. Look at their younger son, he is already eighteen years old and working in the fields. I think he is not as good as your Peijun."

Shen's mother said, "I know about Uncle Shenggen's youngest son. He's fair-skinned and looks quite refined."

Aunt Shengquan said, "Isn't that fair skin all from being kept covered up at home? Tian Shenggen's family always says that their youngest son is destined for great things, probably thinking of becoming a private school teacher. They don't even consider whether their child is cut out for it. Wouldn't it be a disservice to the children if they let him become a teacher? Not to mention that the cadres in the brigade headquarters, including Secretary Tian, ​​would not want him to go to school with them, even if they did, no one in the village would want their child to go to school with him."

When it was time for bed that night, Shen's parents brought up the matter again. Shen's father said, "Uncle Shenggen's youngest son is rather shy. It's probably because Aunt Shenggen raised him too meticulously from a young age. Don't think about it. Just rest at home and get better. When you're better, you can go back to school to continue teaching and educating people."

During the days that Shen's mother was recuperating, many people from the village came to visit her. Some were close friends, and some were parents of students. The students had told their families that the substitute teacher wasn't as good as Teacher Ma, which worried the parents. Junior high school only lasts two years, and it'll be over in the blink of an eye. The children from Shenjia Village get several points from junior high. If they get into high school, they not only get points, but the village also provides a monthly grain subsidy. Because Shenjia Village has always had a good harvest, the amount of grain subsidy is quite large. Every family hopes that their child will be successful and get into the county's high school, so that the child won't have to work in the fields and can earn grain from the village to supplement the family income.

Peiyin had been staying with her mother in the east wing to help her recover from her injuries for the past few days. Doctor Wang checked on the wound every two days, and finally announced on the tenth day that Shen's mother's injury was healing very well. However, because the weather was a bit cold, it would be better to keep the gauze wrapped around her head. So Shen's mother continued to wrap the gauze around her head and put on a headscarf, and then resumed her teaching career.

Peiyin's vocabulary is growing, and her legs are becoming more and more nimble. Wearing a cotton-padded jacket and trousers made by her grandmother, with the jacket worn underneath and the trousers being a pair of overalls with an open crotch, she follows her grandmother around like a little tail every day, busy doing chores. Her grandmother always praises Peiyin for being observant and helpful. When her grandmother starts a fire, Peiyin hands her firewood; when her grandmother washes clothes, Peiyin helps by handing her the clothes. After finishing in the front yard, they go to the back yard. The radishes and cabbages planted in the back yard in early autumn have already grown. Under the green radish green leaves, the large radishes reveal their heavy bodies, some even with most of their bodies sticking out of the ground. The bright green cabbage leaves have also begun to close. After a frost, the radishes and cabbages will taste even sweeter. The radish greens can be boiled and dried, and they will be good to add to cornmeal porridge in winter.

In a corner of the backyard, there was a chicken coop where several hens were kept. Every day, Pei Yin would help her third grandmother feed the chickens. When the chickens saw Pei Yin approaching, they would cluck and gather around her.

It was the end of the tenth lunar month, and the leaves of the sycamore tree had all fallen. Pei Yin stood under the sycamore tree, looking up at the branches stretching out under the warm sun. She was a little dazed. How did she get here under the deep blue sky?

There was a noise at the gate, and someone opened the gate and came in. Startled awake, Pei-yin looked over and saw her aunt, her eyes red and swollen, holding one child in each hand. Both children were sobbing softly. After entering the courtyard, she saw Pei-yin standing under the sycamore tree, wiped away her tears, and said to her daughter, "Xiao-xia, don't cry. Your sister will laugh at you. Take your brother and sister and play in the yard."