Reborn in 1966

Chapter Fifty-Three Green Mountains

As dusk settled, all three grew increasingly anxious. Pei-Yin felt her mother's grip tightening, while her grandmother muttered unconsciously, "Why aren't they back yet? Why aren't they back yet..."

Just then, Pei Yin saw several people supporting each other walking towards her in the distance, and she shouted loudly, "Mother, Mother, it's Father, it's Father!"

Shen's mother, carrying Pei Yin, ran towards them with her grandmother. As they got closer, they could see that Shen's father was being helped along by two People's Liberation Army soldiers.

Grandma looked at the three of them with surprise and suspicion. Shen's mother asked, "Peihua's father, what's going on?"

Mr. Shen said, "Let's go home first, and we'll talk about it when we get home."

Back home, chaos ensued. After the two People's Liberation Army soldiers helped the man to the kang (a heated brick bed), they were about to leave. Grandma repeatedly pulled them back, but Shen's father said, "Mother, there's a car waiting for these two comrades outside the village. Please don't keep them."

Grandma went around and packed up a bag of peanuts, dates, and boiled eggs left over from the New Year, insisting that the two People's Liberation Army soldiers take it away.

The whole family gathered around Shen's father, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his grandmother, eagerly waiting for him to explain what had happened.

After saying a few words to the children, Mr. Shen told them to go to their own rooms. Mr. Shen said, "You should all get some rest too. I'm going to have a chat with Peihua's father."

This was the pattern of not intending to let the family know about it. The second grandfather, second grandmother, and third grandmother went back to their own rooms. Peihua, Peijun, and Peitian were very curious about their father being sent home by the People's Liberation Army, but intimidated by Shen's father's authority, they obediently went to Shen's father and mother's room together.

It has to be said that after these years of training, the children in the family have become very self-disciplined. When adults need to talk and ask them to leave, they obediently go to their own rooms and stay there. They don't have the habit of making a fuss to listen in, which is a great relief for the adults.

Because Pei Yin was so young, she had already been waiting to listen, covered with a small quilt on the kang (heated brick bed). The adults didn't seem to care much about a child who couldn't even speak properly yet, so Pei Yin had the opportunity to hear about Shen's father's experiences over the past two days and one night.

Mr. Shen took a sip of water before slowly telling his family about his experiences over the past two days.

After arriving at Aunt Jue's house, Shen's father left that afternoon.

Shen's father inquired about the situation on the mountain at his aunt's house. He heard that the People's Liberation Army had been stationed on the other side of Qingshan last year, and half of Qingshan was surrounded. The villagers thought that the People's Liberation Army was going to be stationed there permanently, and said that this would make it much safer, and the wolves on the mountain would not dare to come down the mountain easily.

Mr. Shen remembered that when his student Cheng Siyuan came last year, he said that he had come from Qinghe. He felt that Cheng Siyuan must be here, so he went up the mountain in the dark of night.

The mountain was gloomy even during the day, let alone at night. Unfortunately, Shen's father got lost on the mountain and wandered around all night. It gets dark early in winter, and there were occasional wolf howls in the distance.

To be honest, Mr. Shen had never had such an experience before. It was already very dark in the wooded areas of the mountain. Mr. Shen couldn't tell which way was which and didn't know where he was. He was also tormented by the distant howling of wolves. He wandered around in fear all night until dawn, when he finally found a sheltered spot and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight. Shen's father determined the direction and continued searching for the People's Liberation Army's encampment.

When they were so exhausted that they could no longer walk, a patrol team encountered Shen's father. Shen's father said that he was looking for someone and mentioned the name Cheng Siyuan.

Fortunately, Cheng Siyuan was stationed here.

When Cheng Siyuan met his teacher, he was surprised. He asked if Shen's father had kept anything from him and then told him about his aunt.

Grandma couldn't hold back any longer when she heard this. She grabbed Shen's father's hand and asked, "What happened to your eldest sister? You and your father both know, so why didn't you tell me? Tell me how your eldest sister is doing now."

Grandpa said, "Look at you, why don't I just tell you? Don't rush, let's listen to Peihua's dad slowly."

Grandma wiped away her tears and said, "That's my daughter, how can I not be worried? It's been so many days, and you didn't tell me anything. You've all kept it from me."

Grandpa said, "We wanted to find out the details before we told you. Come on, wipe your tears and let's hear what Peihua's dad has to say."

Father Shen said, “Mother, don’t worry. My eldest sister and brother-in-law are doing well and are safe. They will be able to come to see you when conditions allow. Qinghe is much closer to us than the provincial capital.”

Grandpa said, "Tell me quickly, have you seen your eldest sister and the others?"

Mr. Shen said, "Cheng Siyuan told us not to worry. Although the group of people who went to their post before the New Year are not very free there, we don't need to worry about their safety. Many places have already implemented military control, so it's actually a good thing that these people are under military control there."

Grandpa said, "Can we go see your eldest sister?"

Mr. Shen said, "Cheng Siyuan secretly let me see my eldest sister. She said that we should just stay at home and not worry about her. It's best not to go there to see her. She will come back to see us when she has the chance."

Grandpa thought for a moment and said, "That's good, Mom. Now you can rest assured. If you knew, you would have been so worried that you couldn't eat or sleep. Now we can all relax."

Grandma asked, "Think about it, when you looked at your older sister, was she fatter or thinner? Was she ever beaten up?"

Mr. Shen said, “My eldest sister is doing well. She told you not to worry about them. During the Spring Festival, the army slaughtered a pig, and my eldest sister and her family ate pork dumplings. Mom, don’t worry.”

Grandma was finally relieved.

Pei Yin knew that Shen's father still had something to say, so she followed behind Shen's mother to bed that night, and the adults didn't pay any attention.

After the lights were turned off, Mr. and Mrs. Shen spoke quietly.

Mr. Shen said, "The rebels from Beijing followed my eldest sister and the others to the provincial capital, and many of them have already been criticized and struggled against. Some leaders in the central government felt that this could not continue, so they sent people to the troops in Qingshan, where everyone can have protection."

Shen's mother asked, "Is the situation that serious?"

Father Shen said, "Don't worry, it seems they won't be able to reach us yet. Yueran, if you encounter any strangers looking for you, don't say anything. With people from our village here, we'll definitely be fine."

Shen's mother asked, "Will anyone else come looking for us?"

Mr. Shen said, "My eldest sister secretly told me that someone in Beijing is working on my brother-in-law's case. I expect someone will come looking for us. I'll give him some more instructions when I get back from my post."

Pei Yin's initial relief turned to anxiety. She thought about the limited information she gleaned from films and written materials. Many people had been framed and harmed, resorting to any means to achieve their goals. How many innocent people had become victims! This period of history actually contained many classified documents. In that era of social media, Pei Yin had seen many declassified documents on this part of history; some of the people involved could no longer be considered human.

With news of her eldest aunt, the small courtyard was revitalized. Grandma walked with a brisk pace, and her hearty laughter could be heard from time to time.

But Pei-Yin felt as if a sword was hanging over her head, not knowing when it would fall. It was because of this uncertainty that she felt uneasy. Thinking of this, Pei-Yin remembered a text she had learned when she was studying English. It was about a young man who lived upstairs and came home very late every day. When he got home, he would take off his two leather shoes and throw them on the ground.

An old man lived downstairs and was terrified every day because he could only fall asleep after hearing those two sounds. Later, the old man mentioned this to the young man and asked him to be quieter when putting his shoes down at night.

That evening, after the young man returned home, he threw down one shoe and remembered the old man. So he gently put down the other shoe. The old man downstairs, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up after hearing the sound and waited with his eyes open for another sound, but he didn't hear it until dawn.

Pei Yin felt like she was that old man, anxiously waiting for the other shoe to land. As long as it didn't land, her heart would stay in her throat. Just like this time, even when something bad happened, she could always think of ways to deal with it.

As the weather gradually warmed up, the production team organized everyone to start preparing the land, loosening the soil for the winter wheat, and preparing fertilizer for the land. Everywhere was full of vitality.

Because of his age, Grandpa worked in the livestock shed of the team. Peiyin would sometimes go with him. Despite being small, she could help Grandpa by adding more hay when he was chopping it with the chaff cutter. The little girl would circle around Grandpa, which made him even more enthusiastic about his work.

Pei Yin didn't know if her father had talked to her second uncle. Her second uncle worked in a factory, and there must be rebels in the factory. What if the people above colluded with the rebels in the factory, arrested her second uncle, and forced him to help her get information about her aunt's husband? What if her second uncle couldn't withstand the pressure?

Having watched all sorts of spy dramas and ethical dramas, Pei Yin's imagination began to run wild. Her little family was a rare haven of peace amidst the torrent of history, and Pei Yin cherished this peace and didn't want anything to happen to her kind family.

My second aunt, Tian Lingling, went to work after the New Year. As an advanced class, it was a very proud thing to contribute to the great socialist construction with one's own enthusiasm. So when Tian Lingling asked to go to work, neither my grandmother nor the elders of the Tian family said anything.

Grandpa watched his little granddaughter sitting on a pile of hay, frowning, seemingly lost in thought. Her troubled expression made the old man chuckle. He went over and sat down next to Pei-Yin, saying, "Pei-Yin, what are you thinking about? Judging from your expression, anyone who didn't know better would think you were pondering something important."

Pei Yin thought to herself, "Of course you're thinking about big things. You guessed right this time."

Although the weather in early spring is not very warm, the sunshine is warm, and the hay is piled in a sheltered spot, so it is still quite warm to sit here.

Grandpa sighed and said, "Grandpa is over sixty years old, and in a few years he will be seventy. Grandpa has been through so much in his life, and I feel that it is good to have you children by my side in my old age."

Pei Yin looked up and called out, "Grandpa!"

Grandpa stroked his granddaughter's soft hair and said, "Your grandpa passed away early, and I think it's good that our family didn't fall into ruin because of me. Back when our family was in the county town, many local thugs came to try and get Grandpa to do this or that for our family's wealth, but Grandpa didn't go. Grandpa felt that he had to set a good example for the children. Otherwise, if Grandpa went astray and set a bad example for the children, I would be sorry to your father and the others!"