Reborn in 1966

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Aftermath

The next day was Saturday, and at this time of year, people usually have half a day off on Saturday and a full day off on Sunday.

After lunch, Shen's mother took the blue and white checkered bed sheet and, together with her grandmother, led Peijun, Peizhi, and Peiyin across the small river on the east side of the village to Zhao's Village on the other side.

Pei Yin was held in Shen's mother's arms. Along the way, everything was withered. The willows on both sides of the river had lost all their leaves. Only the river water was still flowing gently. The water was clear and the fine sand at the bottom of the river shimmered in the warm sunshine of early winter.

At the south end of the village, there is a small, narrow wooden bridge that connects Shenjia Village and Zhaojia Village on both sides of the river. The house that my aunt and her family were assigned to is on the other side of the bridge. In the summer, it would be hidden in a lush green grove. Now, it stands somewhat forlornly at the entrance of Zhaojia Village. It has no courtyard, just three small rooms, which looks rather desolate.

Standing on this side of the small bridge, Grandma sighed and said, "Whether it's good or bad, at least we have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. The two of them are still young. If they just try to please each other, they can live a good life."

Mother Shen said, "Mom, Aunt Peijun and her husband are not lazy people. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you, her husband is very skillful. Have you seen all the furniture in their house? I heard he made it all himself. With that skill, he'll never go hungry."

Grandma said, "That's true. When we were looking for a husband for his aunt, we chose him because he was a reliable man with a skill. We just want to make a living in the village, and having a skill means we'll never go hungry."

Shen's mother said, "Yes, so you don't need to worry about his aunt and uncle's life."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were still talking by the bridge when Peijun and Peiyin ran to the other side of the bridge. Just then, the younger sister-in-law was tidying up the house with Xiaoxia and Xiaohe. When she saw the two children coming and heard that her mother and sister-in-law were behind them, she hurriedly came out to greet them.

The stream wasn't very big, but it still served as a flood control channel in the summer, so the bridge was over thirty meters long. When the aunt saw her mother and sister-in-law holding their child on the other side of the bridge, she ran over and said, "Mom, what brings you here?"

Grandma said, "Your sister-in-law and I were worried about you, so we came to check on you and help you tidy up."

The aunt laughed heartily and said, "Hey, it's just three small rooms. I can tidy them up in no time. Why do you need to make this trip?"

Grandma said, "We won't feel at ease if we don't come and see. Let's hurry up and get ready while the weather is still warm."

The aunt stepped forward and took Peiyin from Shen's mother's arms, holding her and saying, "My eldest niece has grown so much. Peiyin is getting more and more beautiful."

The house was built of blue bricks with a thatched roof. There were two steps leading up to the door, made of bluestone slabs. There was no courtyard wall, but a fence made of wooden planks had been erected around the open space to serve as a courtyard. The weeds had been cleared, and it looked clean and tidy.

Upon entering the house, there was a stove on the right, which was newly built and already lit. In the room to the east, a kang (a heated brick bed) had been set up, which looked like it had been built in the morning. The kang was completely bare, with no mud on it.

Grandma said, "The walls of this house are thick, so it won't be cold when the kang (heated brick bed) is heated in winter."

The aunt said, "Yes, a few people from the village helped set up the kang (a heated brick bed) this morning. It was Aunt Tiezhu's family who provided the materials."

To build a kang (heated brick bed), you need a kind of clay made by mixing yellow mud with wheat chaff, then shaping it into pieces using wooden frames and letting it dry. This isn't something just anyone can readily provide. My aunt's family split up quite suddenly this time, leaving her with nothing. All the materials for these basic infrastructure items were collected by various families.

Grandma said, "I think Xia's great-aunt is a sensible person. In the future, you should visit her more often. Our two villages are close by, but there are some things that we need the help of people from this side to handle."

My aunt said, "Mom, don't worry, I know all about this. My eldest aunt's family has a daughter who's been asked to marry. They've already met a few people, but they weren't very satisfied with two families because my mother-in-law is always singing and dancing around. My eldest aunt is also a bit unhappy with my mother-in-law. This time, the family saw that my mother-in-law was making too much of a fuss. What kind of mother-in-law forces her daughter-in-law to sever ties with her own family? So they decided to help us divide the family property so that things can be quieter."

Grandma said, "It's enough to have one sensible person in the family. Xuan, from now on you two will be in charge of your own affairs. If there are any issues, discuss them with Xiaoxia's father. You two must remember that when husband and wife are of one mind, they can overcome anything; when husband and wife are not in harmony, even neighbors will bully them. Only when the family is harmonious can everything prosper."

The aunt said, "I remember, Mom. Don't worry. Xiaoxia's father doesn't have any other faults, except that he's a bit blindly filial. But this time, his mother hit him so hard that he's a bit cold inside. From now on, we'll just visit Xiaoxia's grandma occasionally. It's always easier to keep things quiet and live our own lives behind closed doors."

Grandma said, "That's good."

They put Peiyin on the ground and let the children watch over her, while the adults used water boiled in a large pot to wash rags and wipe the doors and windows.

The paper pasted on the windows had long since torn up, so my aunt simply tore it all off, wiped the window frames clean, and planned to apply some paste later to cover them with the cardboard she had bought for pasting the windows.

Peiyin followed her older siblings, toddling around the yard. Xiaoxia led the children to pull up the remaining weeds from the yard and put them in a corner to dry so they could be used as kindling. Rural children learn to be independent early; even at such a young age, these children already know how to manage a household.

Peizhi asked Xiaoxia, "Xiaoxia, are you scared living here?"

Xiaoxia said, "I'm not scared. My dad, my mom, and my brother are all here. What's there to be afraid of? I'm more scared living in Grandma's yard. I'm afraid Dajiang will bully Xiaohe when I can't see him."

Xiaohe said, "Sister, I won't be afraid anymore. When I grow up to be as tall as Brother Peihua, I'll get revenge on Dajiang for bullying me. Humph, 'A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years.'"

Just as Xiaohe finished speaking, her aunt's teasing voice rang out from the doorway: "Oh, I never would have guessed! Our Xiaohe even knows the saying 'A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years.'"

Hearing his mother's joking words, Xiaohe stood up defiantly, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Of course! I'm the man of the family, so I have to protect my family. If I can't avenge a wrong now, I'll remember it and take revenge when I grow up."

The aunt smiled and said, "Okay, your sister and I are counting on our little man, Xiaohe, to protect us."

Laughter echoed from time to time in the small courtyard. When Zhao Tiezhu carried a piece of wood home, he heard the laughter and felt a warm glow in his heart. This was the feeling of home.

Zhao Tiezhu went to a family in the village who had timber and found this piece of wood, thinking of making some furniture. He wanted to take advantage of the off-season and when the production team wasn't too busy to finish it quickly.

Seeing his mother-in-law come to help tidy up, Zhao Tiezhu was deeply moved. His longing for his own mother had faded considerably. Sometimes, people don't change their deep-rooted ideas unless they experience certain things.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Grandma called Shen's mother to take the children home, while the aunt's family was still living in the original courtyard. They would be able to move over in a couple of days once the kang (heated brick bed) had dried.

Two days later, my aunt's family moved all their things over here. My grandmother went over again and brought them some food. My second grandmother also brought some wild game that her youngest daughter and son-in-law had given them. My third grandmother said that she was a widow and asked my grandmother to bring her some of her own pickled vegetables.

My aunt's family officially started living their own lives. Although it was a bit tough and tiring, whenever they had free time, my aunt and uncle would take the two children to visit their grandmother and see their parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law. Pei Yin felt that my aunt's spirits were getting better and better, and that a good mood was really important.

When the snow started falling, Pei-yin celebrated her first birthday. This was supposed to be a very important occasion, as a first birthday celebration usually involves a traditional "grasping ceremony" (a traditional Chinese custom where children choose objects to represent their birth). However, due to the "Destroy the Four Olds" campaign, this was no longer allowed. Regrettably, her grandmother made noodles for the other children in the family and used that as a way to celebrate Pei-yin's birthday.

Because she was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat and trousers, Pei-yin, who was usually quite agile, moved rather slowly. Seeing her older siblings building a snowman in the yard, she followed them to join in the fun. However, she fell headfirst into the snow after only a few steps, which made her older siblings laugh uncontrollably. Pei-hua pulled Pei-yin out of the thick snow like pulling a radish, helped her brush the snow off, and saw that Pei-yin's little nose was red and her eyes were still filled with tears. He comforted his little sister, saying, "Pei-yin is the best and bravest. She didn't even cry when she fell down."

Pei Yin thought to herself, "Brother, I didn't mean to cry, I just bumped my nose."

Several children were playing and laughing when someone pushed open the courtyard gate.

The children looked over and saw two men in military uniforms standing at the door.

In this era, soldiers are highly revered. Owning a military uniform is something many people envy. It can be said that the military uniform is the most advanced fashion of this era.

Peihua stood up, took Peiyin's hand, and asked the people who came, "Who are you looking for?"

One of them looked Peihua up and down carefully, then exclaimed happily, "You're Peihua!"

After examining him closely, Peihua said, "You must be the provincial champion uncle from Grandma Hua's family."

Shen Shengkui said, "You have a good memory, kid. I've been gone for several years, and you still recognize me. Is Teacher Shen at home?"

Peihua said, "My dad went to school. Come inside and sit for a while. I'll go and call him back."

After saying that, Peihua handed Peiyin to Peijun and said, "I'll go to the school and call Dad back. You take Uncle Shengkui inside for a while. Peitian, go to Uncle Shengquan's house and call Mom back."

Shen Shengkui smiled and said, "Peihua, I'm finding you're becoming more and more like an older brother."

Peihua smiled and said, "I am their older brother. Uncle Shengkui, you two go inside and warm up first. I'll go and call my father back right away."

Pei Yin was led into the east wing by Pei Jun, and then she took off her shoes and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) on her own. She needed to secure a good spot so that if anything happened later and the children needed to leave, she could pretend to be asleep in the corner of the kang. Otherwise, how could she get firsthand information?