Reborn in 1966

Chapter Seventy-Two: My Sister

Tian Xiaomin said, "I'll help you start the fire. Hurry up and eat the candy. Shen Peitian's sister gave it to me. I helped them chase away Shen Peize, who was bullying them, today. They said they wanted to thank me. I didn't want it at first, but I thought you haven't had candy in a long time, so I took it home for you to eat. Try it and see if it's sweet."

Tian Aiqin peeled off the green candy wrapper, and the sweet apple scent lingered in her nose. Fruit candy was something she could only eat once a year during the Chinese New Year, and she could remember the taste for a whole year.

Tian Aiqin looked at her brother squatting in front of the stove lighting the fire, then bit open a piece of candy and gave him a larger one. Tian Xiaomin was very touched when he saw the half piece of candy his sister had given him. He could only eat it once a year, and his sister had given him a larger piece. Seeing his sister's eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at him, her usually expressionless eyes now narrowed into slits, and the corners of her mouth turned up. Tian Xiaomin thought his sister was the most beautiful sister he had ever had.

Remembering what Peitian had told her—that if she treated her younger sister well, her younger sister would definitely treat her well in return—she decided that she would always give her younger sister the best food and help her with chores at home. If her parents treated her younger sister badly, she would definitely stand up for her and fight against them. From now on, she would protect her younger sister.

And so, a brother-obsessed brother was born. It all started with a fight and a piece of candy. The somewhat rebellious Tian Xiaomin unknowingly and happily embarked on the path of brother-obsessed brotherhood. Later, Tian Xiaomin helped his sister fight for schooling, helped her get into university, and then helped her fight against her scumbag husband and wicked mother-in-law. Despite his own parents' threats of suicide, he supported his sister in divorcing her husband, raising his nephew, helping him get married and establish a career, and building a considerable fortune so that his sister could have a happy later life. He wrote a magnificent legend of brother-obsessed brotherhood.

Of course, that's all in the future. At that time, Shenjia Village was still a backward village. The villagers worked from sunrise to sunset, earning work points every day, hoping for a good harvest so they could get more grain, make more dumplings for the elderly and children in their families, and steam more white flour buns. In this somewhat humble hope, many things happened that people will always remember. Some of these things may even influence a person's entire life. When they are old and calm down to look back, they will realize that their changes began from that moment.

My second uncle has had a child, and he's been grinning from ear to ear for half the morning.

Once inside, he saw his mother-in-law resting on the kang (a heated brick bed), then went to his parents' room to check on his mother, who was asleep under the covers, before quietly going to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

First, I boiled a few eggs on the small stove, then cooked a pot of millet porridge. The golden-brown millet porridge emitted an enticing aroma. In the large pot, there was cornmeal porridge and steamed cornbread. I stir-fried some greens on the small stove, shredded some pickled vegetables from the pickle jar, picked some cucumbers from the backyard garden, shredded them as well, mixed them together, and added a few drops of sesame oil. Lunch was ready.

Sitting in front of the stove, I thought about what the colleague I met this morning when I went to the county to collect supplies had said to me.

Because of this incident, the director of the Revolutionary Committee was severely criticized by the factory director. Now the factory director has the final say in everything, and the Revolutionary Committee can no longer control everything as it used to. A colleague suggested that he try to transfer out of the factory, because that old man on the Revolutionary Committee is not a generous person, and it would be bad if he found an opportunity to take advantage of him in the future.

He pondered the possibility of being transferred out of the machine factory, wondering where he could be transferred to if he were to leave the machine factory.

Just then, my elder brother's three children entered the courtyard.

Peitian saw his second uncle sitting in front of the stove, so he quickly came over to help him tend the fire. His second uncle patted Peitian's head and said, "Are you hungry? We'll eat in a bit."

Peitian said, "Okay."

Pei-Yin said to Pei-Tian, ​​"Brother, let me help you with your schoolbag."

The noise of the three children entering the yard woke up Grandma. She looked at the time and realized it was getting late, so she thought she should hurry up and make lunch. When she went into the kitchen, she found that her second uncle had already prepared it.

My second uncle said, "Mom, I went to collect the grain this morning. I got a little extra flour. We'll roll out the noodles in the next couple of days."

Grandma said, "Okay, then we'll have your second and third aunts come and help out. You can also go and buy some eggs. We also need to boil some red eggs to send to your mother-in-law's house."

When my eldest brother came home from work, my second uncle told him what his colleague had told him.

Shen's father and second uncle squatted under the sycamore tree in the yard. The second uncle gave his eldest brother a cigarette. Shen's father took it, smelled it, and tucked it behind his ear. The two brothers squatted under the sycamore tree without saying a word.

After a while, Shen's father said, "Why don't we try to transfer him out? Although your factory director was once a soldier under my brother-in-law's command, it's best not to trouble him at this time. If it weren't for the help of these guys when you got into trouble last time, that guy surnamed Feng wouldn't have been able to leave from here so easily."

My second uncle said, "I just don't know where we can go."

Shen's father said, "Go talk to your father-in-law about this. See which unit is insignificant and you can stay there for a few years. Once this matter has faded away, we'll figure out a solution. You can do business anywhere."

My second uncle said, "Brother, all I thought about before was making money so that my mother could eat and dress well. But now that I have children, my thoughts are completely different from before. If I didn't have children, I probably wouldn't care about this. But now that I have children, I think, I can't let anything happen to me. If something happens to me, what will happen to my wife and children?"

Mr. Shen patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said, "Shengqin, you've really matured."

Pei Yin, who had moved a small stool to sit by the door, listened to the two brothers' conversation without missing a single word. That's the advantage of being small; you can just eavesdrop on others without them even noticing. Hehe.

With a newborn in the family, Grandma told the children that they must be quiet and discreet when doing things, especially not to talk or take things under their second uncle's window. If they were to go near their second uncle's room, they must enter quietly.

Pei-Yin nodded in agreement. The other children had already experienced things when Pei-Yin was around, so there was nothing new about it. They followed the routine and did what they were supposed to do quietly.

Ever since her grandmother told her that, Pei-Yin has been whispering in everyone's ear. Her grandfather didn't understand and asked her, "Pei-Yin, why have you been talking to me like that these past few days? I can't hear what you're trying to say."

When Peiyin heard her grandfather's voice getting louder, she quickly looked at her second uncle's door, pulled her grandfather outside, and said to him, "Oh, Grandpa, my second uncle's little sister is still young. Grandma said that if we speak too loudly, we might startle her."

Grandpa understood and said to Peiyin with a smile, "Oh, I see. Peiyin, as long as you don't make a sudden loud noise, you'll be fine. Grandpa's hearing isn't very good, and I can't hear you clearly when you laugh."

Pei-Yin said, "Grandpa, when I need to tell you something important, let's come to the gate of the courtyard to say it, okay?"

Grandpa said, "Alright then, we'll talk at the gate when the time comes."

These past few days, Pei-Chih and Pei-Yin have been following Pei-Tian while he does his homework. Pei-Tian teaches his two younger sisters simple characters. In Pei-Yin's opinion, Pei-Chih learns things very quickly. Although she can't compare to herself, who is a pseudo-loli, she is quite impressive compared to other children her age.

Peizhi was very interested in this. You see, the "Red Education Class" was just a place to look after children, at most teaching them to sing a few songs praising Chairman Mao and socialism. Peizhi showed great interest in learning to read with her third brother. Seeing Peizhi's high level of interest, Peiyin thought that in another year or two she could use this as a pretext to read some books and newspapers, so she also showed great interest. As a result, Peitian, as the teacher, studied even harder at school. Only when he learned well could he go home and teach his two younger sisters. Seeing how much more relaxed his sisters seemed compared to when he was learning, he suddenly felt the pressure. Children are afraid of pressure. Once they have pressure, they become motivated to learn, and Peitian's academic performance improved significantly.

My second uncle's daughter has a name: Shen Peijing. The last character of her name is the same as the last character of her two older sisters' names, and the name "Jing" has a good meaning. My second uncle didn't give his daughter a name that strongly reflects the era. In his opinion, a person's life is very long and may go through several eras, just like his parents, who have experienced so many things. Giving them a name that is very characteristic of the era would not be meaningful.

Pei-yin was actually very concerned about her second uncle's job transfer. Her second uncle hadn't worked at the machine factory for very long. Although he was a permanent employee, his family situation meant he couldn't just go wherever he wanted. As far as Pei-yin knew, her second uncle had already talked to his father-in-law about it. Pei-yin knew this because when she went to her second uncle's house to see her little sister, her second uncle and aunt mentioned it. They felt that Pei-yin wouldn't understand these things, so they brought it up in front of her.

Second Uncle's idea is to find any unit to transfer out of, as long as he leaves Director Ma of the Revolutionary Committee of the Machinery Factory. Secretary Tian and Shen's father have the same idea. In the current situation, it's better to find an inconspicuous job. Right now, my brother-in-law is still in the mountains over Qinghe, but there are still people in Beijing who want to get information on him. That guy surnamed Feng didn't get anything this time. Who knows when he'll come back next time, and who he'll find to deal with the Shen family.

So these past few days, Party Secretary Tian has been contacting some of his former comrades-in-arms, thinking about how to find Shen Shengqin a new job. The Shen family members are all in Shenjia Village, and it's not so easy to take them out. Shen Shengqin is working outside, and if he is taken away like last time, what will happen to his daughter and nephew if something happens to him again?

Pei Yin felt that older people were more thoughtful, and her second uncle was a lucky man to have someone help him plan things out.

After listening to her second uncle's words, Tian Lingling said, "Brother Shengqin, we are both working now. We have government-provided food and wages. The only expense for our family of three is Jingjing. Apart from giving some money to our parents, we don't have much else to spend. I think we should listen to our father and eldest brother and find an inconspicuous place to work for a few years. I just don't think the world can stay the way it is now."