Reborn in 1966

Chapter Sixty-Six: Fighting

Nowadays, pregnant women in rural areas all hire midwives to deliver babies. These midwives are trained by the commune or county. Some midwives are very experienced and can tell whether the baby is in the correct position at a glance without even touching it. The midwife in Shenjia Village is Aunt Hua, and Peiyin's generation calls her "Grandma Hua," because she was the one who delivered Peiyin's baby.

Aunt Hua is over fifty years old this year and has been a midwife for thirty years. I heard that she took over the business from her mother-in-law. After liberation, she went to the county to participate in formal and systematic training. She has a lot of experience. These days, Grandma often invites her to the house. Grandma Hua has already told Grandma that Aunt Hua's baby is in a good position and that Aunt Hua will definitely give Grandma a fair and chubby grandson.

Pei Yin carried a small basket woven from thorns, which was already filled with fresh pig feed. Shen Jinhua said, "Pei Yin, you're really capable. You've picked so much. Let's go home."

Helping Pei Yin carry her small basket, the three of them went to the Shen family's courtyard first, put Pei Yin and her basket down, and then Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan carried their two large baskets back to Shen Jinhua's house.

Whenever she had time, Meng Ruolan would help Shen Jinhua gather pig feed for his pigs; the two of them had been doing this job for a long time.

Professor Meng, Meng Ruolan's grandfather, felt that since all the teachers undergoing reform were male, his granddaughter should share a dormitory with a female teacher at the school. Later, he felt it wasn't good for a girl to be without a female elder by her side. Coincidentally, Shen Jinhua's mother, Aunt Shengquan, thought that Meng Ruolan was about the same age as her daughter and shared similar interests, so it would be great for her daughter to have such a close friend. After meeting Professor Meng a few times, the two girls spent more and more time at Aunt Shengquan's house. In her spare time, Aunt Shengquan would teach the two girls needlework and housework. Aunt Shengquan was the girl they had carefully cultivated, and whether it was needlework or cooking, she was taught by a master. Meng Ruolan also liked being at Aunt Shengquan's house. The pigs raised by Aunt Shengquan's family ate the pig feed that the two girls gathered after school. Because of this, Peiyin was able to follow the two girls around, becoming their little shadow.

As soon as the three of them reached the edge of the village, they saw several children arguing under the big locust tree.

Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan rushed forward to break up the fight. Even Pei Yin, who was standing to the side, was jumping up and down in a panic because two children were fighting, one of whom was Pei Tian.

The person fighting with Pei Tian is Tian Xiaomin, the youngest son of Tian Cungen, who was one of the parties involved in the chicken incident a few days ago.

Shen Jinhua pulled the two children apart and said, "What's going on? Can't you talk things out? Why do you have to hit them like this? If you tear your clothes, see if your mother beats you when you get home."

Peitian said, "Sister Jinhua, don't stop me. I'm going to beat him into submission today and shut him up for talking nonsense." As he said this, he was about to step forward to make a move.

Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan were older and had many concerns. Putting aside everything else, just considering the label the Shen family bore, if Peitian got into a fight, it wouldn't even need to be mentioned. If it were someone they cared about, the village would hold a public denunciation meeting that very night. The Tian family were poor peasants with impeccable revolutionary credentials. How could the son of a rightist who had returned to the countryside for reform lay a hand on them? The nature of this matter was considered extremely serious at the time.

Tian Xiaomin, who was also being pulled along, was not convinced. Hearing Peitian's words, he shouted, "Come on then! Do you think I, a poor peasant, am afraid of a rightist like you? If you're so capable, then keep going. Let's see who's stronger. I don't believe that you can control everything in Shenjia Village!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jinhua shouted sternly, "Xiaomin! What are you saying? How can you say such things so casually? Come home with me and we'll find the adults in your family to stand up for you."

Tian Xiaomin said, "Sister Jinhua, don't interfere in men's affairs. This is between Peitian and me. We'll resolve it ourselves. I'm just not convinced. How could a poor peasant like me be beaten into submission by a rightist's child like you? If I were beaten into submission by you, I would be letting down my family's class background."

Shen Jinhua was both anxious and angry. If she didn't drag the two children away soon, they might say something that would cause a stir if someone with ulterior motives heard it. There was a family in her maternal grandmother's village who were labeled as counter-revolutionaries just because their child said something disrespectful to the leader. That child was only four years old. What could a four-year-old child know?

At this moment, a clear and handsome voice said, "Oh ho, so this is a duel between men. Come, let me see why these two men are fighting."

The speaker was Qi Xiangnan, who had just returned from the fields with Li Lei, still carrying a hoe on his shoulder.

Boys often admire other boys who are more capable than themselves; this is probably a kind of hero complex. Although Qi Xiangnan hadn't been in the village for long, both Peitian and Xiaomin had older brothers who idolized him and were his fans. After talking about it a lot at home, the two boys both felt that Qi Xiangnan was a very impressive person.

Seeing Qi Xiangnan stop because of their situation, the two boys had mixed feelings. They were excited, a little shy, but mostly embarrassed. Their faces were slightly red because they had rolled around on the ground twice during their fight, and their clothes and faces were covered in dirt. They were a little anxious because they hadn't shown their best side in front of their idol. Looking at the dirt all over them, their faces turned even redder.

Qi Xiangnan understood the two boys' feelings. Seeing them standing there embarrassed, he handed the hoe he was carrying on his shoulder to Li Lei and said, "Come on, let me take you two to wash your faces. A real man has to clean himself up first. Otherwise, who will know you're a man if you're covered in dirt?"

Qi Xiangnan led the two of them, one in each hand, to the brigade headquarters near the big locust tree.

Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan pulled Pei Yin along as well. Pei Yin was puzzled as to why Pei Zhi, who usually liked to follow her third brother, was nowhere to be seen today. Otherwise, she would have known the inside story of the fight immediately.

The two, who were originally at odds, stood at the door of the educated youth dormitory, looking at each other, and then at Qi Xiangnan, who had taken a basin to fetch water for them to wash their faces. They felt even more helpless.

Shen Jinhua and Meng Ruolan were also worried about Peitian, so they took Peiyin's hand, carried baskets, and followed him to the brigade headquarters courtyard.

Pei Yin came into this courtyard last time when she came with me to collect work points; it's been almost a year since she last came.

There was a brigade office in the courtyard, which had broadcasting equipment and was also where the brigade members held meetings. There were also several other rooms, some for storing things and others for the dormitories of higher-level leaders when they came to the village. At the far east end of a row of houses, a room was set aside as a dormitory for the male educated youth. Along the walls of the dormitory, there were loofahs, pumpkins, and other vegetables. Next to the vegetable garden was a well without a windlass. A bluestone slab covered half of the well opening, and because people stood next to the bluestone slab and used ropes to draw water, the bluestone slab had become very smooth.

Qi Xiangnan took out his washbasin from the dormitory, filled a bucket with water tied with a rope, poured it into the washbasin, and said, "Come on, wash your face first, then we can continue with the duel."

Peitian and Xiaomin looked at each other awkwardly, then squatted down by the washbasin to wash their faces and hands.

Peiyin put the small wicker basket on the ground and squatted down next to Peitian, pointing out the places her brother hadn't washed. Peitian always obeyed his sister. If she said he hadn't washed this place, he would scoop up some water and wash it there; if she hadn't washed that place, he would scoop up some water and wash it there. Xiaomin, who was standing nearby, said with some disdain, "You think you're so great? Look at you, Shen Peitian, listening to a little girl."

Pei Yin was a little stunned. After she came to her senses, she realized that she was the little girl. Pei Tian said proudly, "I'm happy to be. My sister is the most considerate sister. She always gives us the best food first. Do you have such a good sister as me?"

Xiaomin said, "I..." He just remembered that his younger sister was not as considerate and lovely as Peitian's sister. Although his sister was the youngest in the family, she was not loved by her father or mother because she was a girl. Her older brothers and sisters were busy working to earn work points and food, and they did not have time to take care of her. His sister wore her older sister's old clothes every day, which did not fit her. She was quiet all day long. Besides helping to work in the fields, she took care of the chickens at home. Last time, the chickens went missing because he was careless and did not count them properly before closing the chicken coop door. His sister was scolded by their mother for no reason. His mother was so angry that she pinched his sister's arm a few times. His sister held her arm and cried for a long time in the corner of the yard.

Look at Peitian's little sister today. She's not even two years old yet. She's wearing a little red smock with white flowers. Her face is fair and rosy. She watches Peitian wash his face intently. Although she's giving him pointers, she also scoops up some water with her hands to help her brother wash his face. She keeps sweetly calling out "Brother, brother" all the time. It's so heartwarming to see.

Qi Xiangnan prepared water for the two children to wash their faces and then watched them from the side. He knew Peitian and Tian Xiaomin, because Xiaomin's mother had asked him to bring over the pancakes made from their chicken. Peitian was a decent boy. Today, the two children were fighting at the village entrance. He didn't know why, but the fact that the Shen family's children were forced to fight meant that something must have touched Peitian's sore spot. Otherwise, this always smiling child wouldn't have made a move.

Thinking back to what Tian Xiaomin said back then, if someone with ulterior motives had overheard it, the Shen family would probably have faced another obstacle. So Qi Xiangnan brought the two children here to clarify things. Even if their words were reactionary, as long as these people didn't spread them, there wouldn't be any problems.

Pei-Tian said, "Is my sister alright? Pei-Yin, call out 'brother' a few more times."

Shen Jinhua said, "Go away, you brat, you're getting too big for your britches. We haven't even settled the score with Xiaomin for the fight, and you're already putting on airs here. Peiyin, come here, your third brother deserves a beating."

Peitian said, "Jinhua, don't do that. I'm just showing off my sister to Tian Xiaomin."

Pei Yin saw that Tian Xiaomin had washed his face and was squatting to the side with a sullen face. She wondered what he had done to offend him again. She tugged at Pei Yin's sleeve and said, "Third Brother, you got into a fight. When we get home, Dad will beat you up."