Reborn in 1966

Chapter Five: Busy New Year

The little baby did nothing but eat and sleep. As Liu Ru grew, she listened to gossip. Sometimes it was her older brothers and sisters who came to talk, sometimes it was her grandmother and her mother chatting. Other elderly people in the family, her second grandmother, second grandfather, third grandmother, and second uncle, only her second grandmother often came into the house to check on her. Otherwise, she could only hear them talking in the yard, but never see them.

After my father returned home from his marriage, he never went out again. There wasn't much work to do in the production team. Sometimes the team leader would call my father to go to the fields to make compost. Most of the time, my father stayed at home teaching a few children who weren't going to school to read. Sometimes, my father would secretly go to the production team's warehouse where a few teachers were staying at night to take a look. Sometimes, my mother would also ask my eldest brother, Peihua, to secretly bring some food over.

A few days into the twelfth lunar month, the team slaughtered a pig for the New Year. Although we were breaking the Four Olds and establishing the Four News, we still had to celebrate the New Year. And when it's the New Year, we have to prepare some good food.

Hearing the pig's dying struggles from afar, Grandma hung the washed diapers on a rope strung up inside the house and said to Mom with a smile, "The team's two pigs are well-fed this year, plump and strong, so we can get a bigger share of the meat."

Looking at Liu Ru, who was stretching and kicking her legs to exercise, her mother said, "That's good, the children can eat more good food too. Mother, we've been calling her 'little girl' for the past few days, she's a month old now, we should give her a name, right?"

Grandma said, "Yes, let Peihua's dad think about it carefully tonight."

Before noon, Peihua carried the few kilograms of meat that the team had allocated to him in a ceramic basin, and took his younger siblings home.

Liu Ru had never met all the family members. She had only heard of her own grandfather, second grandfather, and the legendary third grandmother and second uncle. Sometimes, the second grandmother would bring over some food or her sewing basket to chat and talk about the gossip in the village.

Upon seeing the meat, the children stared longingly. Grandma looked at her own oil jar, gritted her teeth, cut off a piece of meat with alternating layers of fat and lean, picked out a cabbage, and stewed a large cabbage dish.

The aroma of stir-fried meat filled the room, making Liu Ru's mouth water. Seeing the children happily eating at the nearby kang table, she impatiently stretched her arms and legs. Her younger brother mischievously dipped his chopsticks in some vegetable soup and, taking advantage of his mother's inattention, was about to put it in Liu Ru's mouth. Grandma, quick as a flash, stopped him with her chopsticks, saying, "My little darling, your sister can't eat this right now."

The young man said, "Grandma, look how anxious the little girl is. She must have smelled the meat. Let's let her have a taste."

Grandma said, "That won't do. Such a young child shouldn't be exposed to salt. You can feed him salt when he's older."

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Liu Ru turned one month old.

Grandma invited Aunt Hua to cut Liu Ru's hair.

Peihua and her younger siblings helped carry water and things. The second brother, Peijun, said, "Grandma, isn't it time to destroy the Four Olds? Why do we still have to cut my sister's hair?"

Upon hearing this, Grandma covered Peijun's mouth and said, "Little rascal, keep your voice down. We're just cutting our little sister's hair. How did that get involved in the destruction of the Four Olds? Don't go around spreading rumors."

Pei Jun rolled his eyes and nodded.

Aunt Hua helped cut his hair. After hearing Pei Jun talk about destroying the Four Olds, she didn't dare to say anything auspicious. She tidied up and went home.

When Mr. Shen returned home that evening, the family ate dinner and sat around the kang table for a while. Mr. Shen said, "We've named our child Peiyin, with the character 'yin' meaning 'lush green grass'."

Mother Shen said in a low voice, "Yin Yunzhi Ming, our little sister has a name now. From now on, her nickname will be Yin Yin."

The couple lay down and spoke in hushed tones.

Mr. Shen said, "Ji Ming came again today, left some things for the teachers, and then went back. The teachers will have to spend the New Year here."

Shen's mother said, "I don't know when this will end. We're all so old, yet we still have to come to the countryside to suffer like this. All our knowledge is useless, having to work in the fields all day."

Mr. Shen tightened the quilt covering him and said, "That's just how things are. There's nothing we can do. Yueran, I'm sorry. You haven't had a few good years with me, and now you have to come to the countryside to do manual labor."

Shen's mother said, "Why talk about these things? We've been through so many ups and downs over the years. Thinking about it, I think we need to keep our children in check and live our lives peacefully. We've survived so many hardships before liberation. I believe the situation will improve someday."

Father Shen said, “Yes, the world is becoming more and more incomprehensible. So let’s not keep trying to understand it. Let’s just do what we are told. Since there’s no logic to it, why bother trying to reason with us? Sigh, it’s just like this, enduring it all with no hope.”

Shen's mother said, "Don't worry. Even the War of Resistance Against Japan eventually came to an end. Since the world is in chaos, it will surely be right one day. Go to sleep. I bet someone will ask you to write couplets again tomorrow."

In the darkness, Liu Ru, now called Shen Peiyin, listened with her eyes open to her parents' quiet conversation.

There are still ten years to go, and they will be a very difficult ten years. I just hope that these families can withstand the pressure of history and persevere until the day when the clouds part and the sun shines through.

With the year drawing to a close, there wasn't much work to be done in the production team. Due to the heavy snow a few days ago, construction sites in various places had also closed early. Therefore, everyone was busy at home preparing for the New Year. The atmosphere in the Shen family's small courtyard was much more lively because there were several children.

Sixteen-year-old Peihua was already earning eight work points by working in the production team. At home, she always helped her grandmother with housework. She was good at everything from cooking to lighting a fire. These past few days, she was called to help out at the team's tofu workshop. This was a great job! Not only could she earn work points, but she could also sneak a bite of the tofu when no one was looking. With so many people exchanging soybeans for tofu at the end of the year, and so much tofu being made, who would notice if a pound or two was missing?

Grandma has been cleaning the house with her second brother Peijun and third brother Peitian these past few days. Peiyin overheard Grandma talking to her second uncle.

Grandma said, "Shengqin, stop going out all day and wandering around aimlessly. Can't you help me with some chores at home?"

A somewhat hoarse voice said, "Mother, there's so much revolutionary work to do, how can I worry about these little things at home? You and a few young revolutionaries are enough, I have to go do something big."

Grandma said somewhat exasperatedly, "Do great things? You should settle your marriage first, then I'll see if you've accomplished anything great."

My second uncle said, "Mom, I have to take care of everyone first. I don't have time for my own family right now. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now."

Grandma said, "Are you coming home for dinner? I'm not cooking for you."

My second uncle readily agreed and then disappeared.

After a while, Grandma pushed open the door to Peiyin's room and said to Shen's mother, "Peihua's mother, you know, Shengqin is already in his mid-twenties, why doesn't he seem to be in a hurry to get married? Our family's class background isn't good either, what if he ends up a bachelor?"

Mother Shen said, "Mother, his second uncle is such a handsome man, how could he not find a wife? You don't need to worry."

Grandma said, "He's unwilling to do any hard work, just hanging around with a bunch of people all day. Families with daughters will definitely look down on him. If he could just work in the fields and earn more work points, maybe some families would even consider him. Sigh..."

After dinner, the children all went to bed. Grandma was still steaming cornbread with Shen's mother in the east wing when Peihua quietly returned.

Grandma said, "You finished work early today, so take a rest first."

Peihua unbuttoned his cotton-padded coat, took out something wrapped in oilcloth, and said with a smile in a low voice, "Grandma, Mom, look."

A piece of slightly broken tofu was wrapped in an oil-paper cloth, still steaming slightly.

Grandma said, "Why are you still bringing it home? You'll get scolded if people find out."

Peihua said, "There's still a big piece left today, and no one's going to exchange it. Fourth Uncle said we should divide it among ourselves, so I took a small piece. Grandma, don't worry, we've all agreed that no one will tell anyone."

At this time, the food is very precious, especially tofu. No one would be willing to exchange some for tofu if they didn't have important guests. They would only exchange soybeans for one or two pounds of tofu to entertain guests during the New Year. They would also have to save a small piece to keep in the steamer during the first month of the lunar year, which means placing it on the steamer rack for making steamed buns. They would take it down after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The piece that Peihua brought home must have weighed at least two pounds. When Grandma heard him say that, she quickly found a large porcelain bowl, put it in, and placed it away.

Peihua adored his little sister and would tease her whenever he came home. Peiyin also loved her older brother, who, although somewhat thin, was sensible and handsome. Whenever he teased her, she would smile and look at him happily.

Because of the "Destroy the Four Olds and Establish the Four News" campaign, all those old customs and habits had to be changed. Couplets like "Abundant Harvests of the Five Grains and Thriving Livestock" could no longer be written. Some wrote Mao Zedong's poems, while others wrote quotes from his quotations. Shen Peiyin couldn't go out to take a look, and could only listen to her older brothers and sisters chattering about what to write.

The couplets for the family had already been written by the eldest brother, Peihua. Father Shen was consciously cultivating his eldest brother's courage, letting him handle everything that required writing.

The children finally made their choices. The couplets for the main gate were two lines of Mao Zedong's poetry, and the doorways of the house were some quotes from Mao's quotations. After they were written, the eldest brother read them to his younger siblings. Grandma and Shen's mother were busy preparing clothes and food for each child for the New Year. No matter how difficult life was, they had to make sure that the children who were looking forward to the New Year could have a happy one.

Before we knew it, it was Lunar New Year's Eve.

Early on the 30th, Mr. Shen and his children tore down the Spring Festival couplets that had been pasted on the door last year, swept the door clean with a broom, and then pasted up new couplets. Because of the "Destroy the Four Olds" campaign, they didn't put up any money for the door decorations, which saved them some money for buying salt.

Lying on the warm kang (heated brick bed), Pei Yin stretched her arms and legs, exercising as she did so. She glanced at the so-called New Year pictures on the wall, which were just a few enlarged photos of leaders. Her eyes looked further and further away, and her ears heard more and more clearly. She wondered if she was good-looking. But looking at her older brothers and sisters, although they looked pale and malnourished, the men were handsome and the women were pretty. She guessed she wasn't bad-looking either.