Reborn in 1966

Chapter Thirty-Four: Uncle-in-Law

The aunt said, "I never said I wouldn't care about her. I won't stop you from visiting her during holidays. I just want to separate from her. I don't want to live with them anymore. I don't want to share the same pot with them, and I don't want to eat at the same table with them. Zhao Tiezhu, look at your son's head! His own grandmother pushed him down and he hit his head. Go ask around, is there such a grandmother? Huh? Look at this old lady who goes out singing and dancing all day long, and then comes home and mistreats her own grandson like this. Zhao Tiezhu, are you even your mother's biological son?" The aunt became hysterical by the end, and her words were shouted out with tears streaming down her face.

When Zhao Xiaohe heard his mother talking about him, he ran to her, hugged her legs, and buried his face in her body. Xiaoxia was already eight years old and knew a lot. Hearing her mother say this, she said to her father, "Dad, Dajiang said that when we grow up, we'll go out and earn work points while he stays home and sleeps. He said that's what Grandma said. Grandma said that Xiaohe and I, these two little rascals, are just here to work for him. I'm not going to do that. If I earn work points, I'll buy candy for my little brother."

The aunt cried and said, "Zhao Tiezhu, let me ask you, are I and these two children your relatives or just servants of your Zhao family? You can see how I work every day. If you want the three of us to live, then go and separate from your mother. Otherwise, let's get a divorce. I need to make sure my two children live with dignity."

Grandpa said, "Tiezhu, our two villages aren't far apart. Many people in our village know about your family's affairs. If you ask me, you should take your wife and children and separate from your mother. You two are hardworking people, and you can earn enough money for your family of four to live a good life."

The uncle-in-law said, "Fourth Uncle, where will I live if we separate from the family? I know my mother and Xuan don't get along. If we separate and still live at home, we'll fight even more. Fourth Uncle, I haven't saved any money over the years. I can't even build a house for the four of us." As he spoke, the strong man, who was almost thirty, had tears in his eyes. He stood in front of the kang (a heated brick bed), clenched his fists, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

Grandpa took a puff of his pipe, tapped the bowl on the kang table, and said, "Tiezhu, can a living person be killed by holding their pee? As long as you want to do something, you and Xuan are both capable and can make a good living." The implication was that he also wanted his daughter to separate from her mother-in-law.

Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Shen said anything. In their view, the conflicts in their younger sister's family were all because of them. If their younger sister didn't have her right-wing older brother, she wouldn't be disliked by her mother-in-law, and she wouldn't be crying and taking her child back to her parents' home to discuss these conditions with her brother-in-law, which they considered very detrimental to family harmony.

Fourth Grandfather said, “Tiezhu, you need to think this through. If you have a clear idea of ​​what you want to do, how can you not do it well? Take the example of you not having a place to live. You don’t have enough money to build a big house right now, but you can build a small one first, just to shelter your family of four from the wind and rain. We can work on it slowly later.”

Grandpa said, “Tiezhu, you and my Xuan have been married for so many years, and you know your family situation quite well. I think what your fourth uncle said makes a lot of sense. Think it over carefully, go back and apply to your village to see if you can get a plot of land to build a small house. Neither of you are lazy, and you will gradually make a good life for yourselves.”

Grandma said, "Tiezhu, your father and I are both old and gray. All we want is for our children to live a good life. We don't expect you to wear gold and silver and eat and drink well. At the very least, you should live a happy life. Look at your family. Every time Xuan complains to me, I tell her that no matter what, your mother-in-law is still an elder in the family. I'm saying this for your own good. We shouldn't be like those shrewish wives in the village who are talked about. You know in your heart that Xuan hasn't done anything that would make people gossip all these years."

Grandma sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), the dim yellow light from the small oil lamp on the kang table making the marks etched on her face by time appear even more heavy.

Grandma said, "I always feel that we're getting old, so we shouldn't interfere too much in our children's affairs. Otherwise, we'll ruin their otherwise good lives. You sisters have several children, and I never say anything about whether you and your husband bicker or argue. I don't want to get involved. But Tiezhu, Xuan is being forced by your mother to sever ties with her family. My youngest daughter has always looked to her parents. How can you expect her to cut ties with us? Tell me yourself, how can you expect Xuan to cut ties with us?" Her emotions were getting agitated.

Mr. Shen quickly stepped forward and patted his grandmother's back, saying, "Mother, please speak slowly, please speak slowly."

Grandma said, "Shengsi, don't worry, Peihua's mother. No one in the family can sever ties with you. You are all sisters. Even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected. This kind of relationship can't be severed so easily. Tiezhu, you know best why Xuan came home crying. This time, I'm telling you, your mother went too far. We are relatives. What is a relative? It's someone who helps you when things happen and stands up for you when it matters most. This kind of relationship can't be severed so easily."

The uncle said, "Mom, don't worry, I never intended for Xiaoxia's mother to sever ties with our side. Don't listen to my mother's nonsense."

The aunt said, "Zhao Tiezhu, look at what your mother has become these past two years. It's one thing for her not to go to work in the production team, but how much chores has she done around the house? And she treats my child like this! How am I supposed to swallow this?"

Grandpa said, "Xuan, you can't say anything about your mother-in-law's faults. Since you've come back and asked us to stand up for you, your mother and I will speak for you."

Fourth Grandfather said, "Tiezhu, go back and discuss it with your mother. See what she means. Once you've discussed it, we can talk about the rest."

My uncle said, "Xuan, wait for me here with Mom. I'm going back to get an explanation from her. I'll be back soon."

My aunt's husband went home without even eating, and my aunt stayed at her parents' house with her two children.

She had thought Zhao Tiezhu would come early the next morning, but he didn't come the next afternoon, and her aunt couldn't sit still anymore.

The next afternoon, Aunt Shengquan arrived with some big news.

That night, Zhao Tiezhu came home and confronted his mother, saying he wanted to separate from the family and move out with his wife and children. His mother-in-law, Zhao Tiezhu's sister-in-law, was furious. She grabbed something and shoved it into the back of Zhao Tiezhu's head. Blood gushed out, but it was too dark to see clearly. Zhao's mother-in-law was jumping up and down, cursing her son. The gist of it was that she had raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches, and now that he couldn't work anymore, he wanted to separate from the family. She thought he was dreaming. She said that unless he died, his family of four would have to crawl over his corpse. Otherwise, he should stay home and earn work points. She said that having a rightist brother made him so arrogant. He didn't even know who he was, daring to challenge her, a poor peasant from a "red" family. She told him to give up on that idea. Finally, she told Zhao Tiezhu to call his wife back immediately. There was no one to cook for him, and there were clothes to wash by the well.

Zhao Tiezhu knew that the large basin of dirty clothes soaking by the well contained not only his mother's clothes, but also the clothes of his elder brother's family of three. For years, his wife had been washing them like this, and no one had ever said a kind word when her hands cracked from the cold while washing clothes in the winter.

Disheartened, Zhao Tiezhu paid no attention to the wound on the back of his head and went to bed without eating dinner. The next day, when it was already bright, he still hadn't gotten up. When Zhao's eldest brother came in, he found the pillow covered in red blood and Zhao Tiezhu lying there, pale and unconscious.

The Zhao family panicked. Everyone knew that Zhao Tiezhu's injury was caused by Old Mrs. Zhao hitting him last night. If anything happened to Zhao Tiezhu, Old Mrs. Zhao wouldn't be able to escape either.

The eldest brother of the Zhao family carried his younger brother to the town hospital, where he was bandaged and given an IV drip. After a whole day of work, Zhao Tiezhu finally regained consciousness.

When Zhao Tiezhu woke up, he neither ate, drank, nor spoke. No matter who came to talk to him, he would lie on the hospital bed with his eyes closed. Even when his mother, Old Madam Zhao, came and cried and said soft words, he would not open his eyes to look at her.

Seeing his younger brother's condition, the eldest son of the Zhao family discussed it with his mother. He said, "My second brother has a mental illness. Why don't you agree to let him divide the family property?" He then went on and on about the harm that Zhao Tiezhu would cause if he didn't stay in the hospital. Finally, he said, "Doesn't my grandfather have a small shed in the vegetable garden? Let's give that to him. It's not good for him to stay in the hospital all the time. There are all sorts of rumors going on in the village. We still have to be careful."

Grandma Zhao was ambitious and didn't want to be expelled from the Workers' Propaganda Team for this. She told Zhao Tiezhu, "I promise you we'll separate from the family." But as soon as she said this, Zhao Tiezhu opened his eyes and sat up, saying, "Really?" Grandma Zhao's face turned red with anger. Seeing that her youngest son's face was pale but his spirits were good, she thought about going back on her word. But then she remembered what her eldest son had said, and she nodded angrily, saying, "Yes, I've discussed it with your older brother. If you want to separate from the family, then we'll separate. You don't need to think about the house."

Uncle Zhao Tiezhu never expected to be allocated a place to live. As long as he could be with his wife and children, having a place to shelter from the wind and rain would be his paradise.

Before Aunt Shengquan had even left, Zhao Tiezhu, the uncle of Shen's younger brother, with a white bandage wrapped around his head, entered the gate of the Shen family's courtyard.

The aunt saw her husband's pale face and the white bandage around his head, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her husband said, "Xiaoxia's mother, it's okay, it doesn't hurt at all. My mother and I have already agreed that the four of us will live separately. We've even given us the small house at the end of the village where my grandfather used to watch the garden. The house is a bit old, but it's still a place to shelter from the wind and rain. In the future, we'll build a sturdy big house."

Grandma felt sorry for her youngest daughter and son-in-law and said, "Xiaoxia's father, don't leave tonight. I'll stew a chicken for you to nourish yourself."