Reborn in 1966

Chapter Forty-Seven: Fourth Grandfather

The next day was the 26th, and the grandparents in the family were going to stew a big pot of meat to mark the occasion.

There were also some frozen, rock-hard pig offal. Third Grandma prepared the spices using her family's secret recipe for braising meat. The spices were bought by Peihua and Peijun when they went to the department store in the county a few days ago. Some spices needed to be soaked in water, using only the spice water, while others needed to be crushed in a mortar and pestle first, then sealed in a small gauze bag and put into the big pot. Third Grandma had several ways of processing more than ten kinds of spices. Finally, on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, she put them all into the big pot, then added the washed pig offal and a few pieces of pork, filled the pot with water, and started braising the meat.

Slowly, the enticing aroma of braised meat filled the house and then drifted into the yard. Pei Yin took a deep breath, her mouth full of saliva. Looking at Pei Tian beside her, her throat bobbing up and down, Pei Yin felt that she was still a child and there was nothing shameful about drooling over the smell of meat. Didn't she see her third brother constantly swallowing his saliva? Pei Yin raised her sleeve and wiped the drool from her mouth. It smelled so good, much better than the braised meat she had on the day the pig was slaughtered.

Grandpa Fourth Grandfather entered the courtyard carrying a cloth bag and saw three children standing in front of the main room, sniffing incessantly.

Grandpa chuckled and said, "Look at you three little gluttons. Come here, Grandpa will give you some treats." He then pulled a handful of fruit candies from the pocket of his black coarse cotton-padded coat and handed them to Peitian, saying, "Take your sisters inside to eat candies. It's too cold in the yard."

Peitian took the candy, held it in his hands, and said, "Thank you, Fourth Grandpa."

Pei-Yin also said, "Thank you, Fourth Grandpa."

Peizhi looked at her brother, then at her sister, and said loudly, "Thank you, Fourth Grandfather!"

Grandpa said with a smile, "No need to thank me, you are all good children."

Grandpa and Grandma heard the noise from inside the house and rushed over. Grandpa said, "Fourth son, look, you've spent money to buy candy for the children again."

Grandpa said with a smile, "It was sent back by the eldest son. It didn't cost any money. I don't have any children at home, so it's perfect for these kids to eat."

My great-uncle's eldest son was a college graduate in the 1950s, when a college degree was highly valued. After graduation, he was assigned to work in a department in Xijiang Prefecture, which was said to be a powerful department. His wife was from the city, and it was said that her father was a veteran of the Long March who came to work in the province after liberation. After graduating from college, his daughter followed the assignment and came to Xijiang Prefecture, where she met my great-uncle's eldest son, fell in love, and got married. My great-uncle's eldest daughter-in-law is a true second-generation red. However, according to the villagers, my great-uncle's eldest daughter-in-law is very humble. When she comes home for the New Year, she never complains about her parents-in-law's poor living conditions. She has a good relationship with her younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and she always takes the initiative to do the housework when she comes home.

The eldest son and daughter-in-law of Fourth Grandfather's family won't be able to come back for the New Year until the 29th or 30th of the lunar month, because there's no such thing as a holiday during that time. Even in the countryside, there's a saying: "Work until the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, then eat dumplings before starting again." How much more so for those of them who work in companies? However, the couple has already managed to bring back some things they need for the New Year, so the children in the village have been getting plenty of candy from Fourth Grandfather these past few days.

Fruit candy was a very ordinary thing in Pei Yin's eyes, and she didn't even like to eat it before. But in this period of extreme scarcity, it was a very precious thing. If a family could buy a lot of fruit candy during the New Year, they must have a very wealthy family.

Grandpa and Grandma greeted Fourth Grandpa as he entered the house. As they walked, Fourth Grandpa said, “My eldest son sent some things over. I saw that there was seaweed, kelp, and dried shrimp. There are many children and elderly people in the family, and Shengqin’s wife is pregnant, so I brought them over for you. You can cook them to nourish your bodies.”

Grandpa said, "Why did you bring such a precious thing to us? Fourth brother, why don't you keep it at home? Shengmin's family is about to have a child, so it would be better if you kept it for them."

Pei Yin didn't hear the rest. She thought that this was an inland area, and the nearest sea was hundreds of miles away. Seafood was out of the question now, and even dried seafood was very precious. Her great-uncle's child had sent some, and her great-uncle had brought it to his grandfather's house. This showed that although her father was a rightist and her family had a bad class background, she had her grandparents and these kind-hearted villagers in this small village. As long as her family behaved themselves in the next few years, they should be able to get through it. The worst part of this movement was the first few years and the middle two years. As long as they kept a low profile and gritted their teeth to save their lives, nothing else would be a problem.

Then she thought of the descriptions in those documents and films: couples turning against each other, fathers and sons becoming enemies, family ties being severed at will, writing letters to denounce one's own parents and relatives, putting up big-character posters to expose one's own family members behind their backs. In such an unstable era where one's own family could be in danger at any time, Pei Yin felt heavy-hearted and very uncertain. This era was an ugly and shameless one, where many things touched the bottom line of humanity. Even if you didn't listen, didn't see, and didn't think, those things were still happening. How fortunate she was to be reborn in such a small village that still retained humanity and conscience.

Peitian took the fruit candies and his two younger sisters to his parents' room. Shen's mother was sewing quilts for the children on the kang (a heated brick bed). When she saw Peitian come in with the fruit candies, she said, "Did your fourth grandfather give these to you?"

Peitian nodded and said, "Mother, I need to leave some for you and Father first, and I'll divide the rest later."

Shen's mother said, "Candy is for the children. Parents are adults, so we won't eat it. See if you can save two pieces for your sisters Jinhua and Ruolan. The rest can be shared with your brothers and sisters."

Peitian put the candy on the kang table, counted it carefully, and said, "There are ten pieces in total." Then, while counting, he said, "Sister Jinhua and Sister Ruolan each have one piece, Brother each has one piece, and Peizhi and Peiyin each have one piece." Looking at the undistributed pieces, he said to Mother Shen, "Mother, there are three pieces left."

Shen's mother said, "What about Xiaoxia and Xiaohe?"

Peitian took out two more pieces and said, "Then give this one to Peiyin. She's the youngest, so give her two pieces." After saying that, he took out two pieces of candy from the box and handed them to Peiyin, saying, "Peiyin, your third brother is giving you two pieces of candy. Take them and eat them slowly."

Pei-Yin took the candy and said, "Thank you, Third Brother."

Peitian then took one of Peizhi's pieces and handed it to her, saying, "Peizhi, Peiyin is the youngest, so we'll give her two pieces. You're the older sister, so you'll only get one, okay?"

Pei-Chih took the candy, nodded, and said, "Okay, we should let our younger sister have it."

Mother Shen smiled and nodded, saying, "You are all good children."

Pei Yin looked at the two pieces of fruit candy in her hand, turned around and left her mother's room, going to her grandmother's room.

Fourth Grandfather was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) talking to Grandpa, and Grandma was also sitting on the edge of the kang. When she saw Peiyin come in, Grandma picked her up, took off her cotton shoes and put her on the kang, saying, "What does Peiyin want to do?"

Pei-yin unwrapped a piece of fruit candy and stuffed it into her grandmother's mouth, saying, "Grandma, it's sweet and delicious."

Grandma smiled happily and said, "Oh my, my little granddaughter, Grandma has spoiled you so much! You know to share your treats with Grandma." As she spoke, Grandma bit open a piece of candy, put the slightly larger piece into Peiyin's mouth, and said, "Eat with Grandma, it'll help you learn to talk more."

Pei Yin smacked the piece of fruit candy in her mouth and said, "Good, learn to talk more."

Grandpa smiled as he looked at Peiyin and said to Grandma, "Peiyin is so sensible. She thanked me yesterday at the mill. Among all the children in our village who are about the same age, only Peiyin knows how to thank people."

Grandma said, "The kids are just playing around, just playing around." But her face showed a satisfied expression.

Fourth Grandfather said, "Just look at how well these children of Sheng Sijia know they are well-mannered. Eldest brother and sister-in-law, I also need to go home and help Shengmin's mother with some chores." With that, he stood up.

Pei Yin held her grandmother's hand and, together with her grandparents, escorted her fourth grandfather to the front gate, where they happened to run into Tian Lingling, who was coming from her maternal home.

After a brief greeting and watching her fourth grandfather walk away, Tian Lingling, arm in arm with her grandmother, walked into the yard and said, "Mom, my mother gave me some bean curd sheets, saying that it's good for pregnant women and babies. Let's stir-fry them with garlic sprouts for lunch. Oh, Mom, my mouth is watering just thinking about it."

Grandma immediately knew that her in-laws knew about the large number of their children and had prepared some delicious food for Tian Lingling under the pretense of being greedy to feed the children.

Grandma said, "Okay, Mom will make it for you. I'll also cut some shredded carrots and mix them with vinegar and sesame oil."

Pei Yin thought of the tangy and delicious cold bean curd skin she had eaten at the Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles restaurant, and her mouth watered. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

At lunchtime, a large plate of stir-fried garlic sprouts with tofu skin appeared on the table. Grandma had grown the garlic sprouts herself in a large wooden frame, about four fingers high, on the heated brick bed. Many families in the village do this in winter; it keeps the food green. After being cut, the sprouts grow back, providing a continuous supply for a long time. When garlic sprouts grow, they are green in sunny spots, but if they are kept out of sunlight from the time the garlic cloves are planted, they turn yellow, called garlic yellow. Grandma had been telling Peiyin this while tending to the sprouts. Peiyin, now more knowledgeable, suddenly understood—so that's how the garlic sprouts stir-fried with meat and garlic yellow stir-fried with eggs she used to eat were grown!

Pei Yin really liked having such a big box of garlic sprouts in the house during winter. They were tender and green, with a sweet garlic aroma, and just looking at them gave her a sense of hope.