Reborn in 1966

Chapter Seventy-Six: Grain Distribution

When Aunt Shengquan told Shen Shengnong's family about what happened, Shen Shengnong's family, Shen Peize's mother, also became anxious. Why? If someone's child is seriously injured, how will you compensate them? Your child is so young and already knows how to lead people to beat others. How wicked can he be? Although the class struggle is very intense now, that's other people's business. Our village focuses all its energy on production. Haven't you seen how much grain we get distributed and how much work points we receive at the end of the year? Which of the surrounding villages can compare to that?

As a very traditional rural woman, Shen Sheng believed that working hard to earn food was the most orthodox way. She thought that things like class struggle were not her concern. Now, her son had actually called someone a "black bastard" in front of many people in the village. Her mother-in-law often told her that if it weren't for the grain from Shen Sheng's family, her children would have starved to death long ago, and there wouldn't be the prosperous family they have today. She said, "We are farmers, we should live honestly and uprightly. We should do less of those messy things, it's against our conscience."

Shen Shengnong threw down his sickle and ran with Shengquan's wife towards the village. Halfway there, Shen Shengnong's wife said, "Sister-in-law, I can't go empty-handed. Wait a moment, I'll go home and get the few eggs I've saved. We're going to apologize to the other family on behalf of our child."

Aunt Shengquan said, "That's good. At least carrying some things shows that we have some good intentions. As for the Sheng family, Peize, that child needs to be properly disciplined."

The farmer from the province said, "Sister-in-law, I will definitely manage him well. I was too good to him before, and I will definitely change from now on."

Watching the farmer from the province rush home to get the eggs in a panic, Aunt Shengquan sighed. This cousin's wife was good in every way, except when it came to her son. She had given birth to three daughters in a row, and finally got this boy. She treated him like a precious gem, afraid he would melt in her mouth or fly away in her hands. She was working herself to the bone taking care of her three daughters, while this boy was already over ten years old. He didn't even help with the housework when he had a holiday. He just loafed around all day, raising a spoiled brat.

Aunt Shengquan and the farmer from the province entered the Shen family's courtyard carrying a basket of eggs.

When Pei Yin saw Aunt Sheng Quan enter the yard, she noticed an unfamiliar middle-aged woman carrying a basket. Sensing a connection to Shen Peize's family, she quickly ran into her grandmother's room and said to Pei Tian, ​​who was lying on the kang (heated brick bed), "Third brother, third brother, when Aunt Sheng Quan comes in, quickly say 'Ouch!', okay?"

Peitian jumped up and looked out the window at the people in the yard. He said, "It's Aunt Shengquan and Shen Peize's mother. Don't worry, I know what to do. I can't beat Shen Peize myself this time. I'll make his parents spank him until his backside is a bloody mess."

Upon entering the main room, Peitian lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) and loudly cried out, "Ouch, ouch!" Seeing Peitian's exaggerated behavior, Grandma slapped his bottom and said, "Where does it hurt so much? And why are you crying out so loudly?"

Peitian said, "Grandma, my head hurts! Look at this huge bump on my head, how can it not hurt? Grandma, your head hurts!" His voice was incredibly pitiful.

Shen Peize's mother stood awkwardly in front of the kang (a heated brick bed). Grandma angrily slapped Peitian's bottom and said, "Fine, stop pretending. Doctor Wang said it's nothing serious."

Pei-Yin looked at her grandmother and wondered how she could be so honest, undermining her grandson in front of her enemy.

Aunt Shengquan said, "Peitian, don't worry, Peize will definitely get a beating this time. His parents will definitely not let him off the hook. He won't dare to cause you any more trouble in the future, okay?"

Aunt Shengquan came along to act as a peacemaker. Both families were very close to her, so when there was a conflict, she had to come here to mediate. They lived in the same village, saw each other all the time, and even had the same surname. It would be a laughing stock for them to be awkward with each other all the time.

Peitian said, "Auntie, you have no idea how fierce those older kids were. They pinned me to the ground and started beating me up. Oh my, their fists were like raindrops, and it hurt so much when they hit me. The worst part was that someone picked up a rock and hit me on the head. I was stunned. I thought I was going to die..."

Before she could finish speaking, Grandma slapped her bottom again.

Grandma said, "You child, why are you getting more and more incessant? Alright, you're just being a show-off. Nephew's wife, let's go sit outside and not listen to this child's nonsense." With that, Grandma took Sheng Nongjia's hand and went to the outer room.

Aunt Shengquan was very familiar with the children. When she saw Sheng Nong's family come out of the house, she pointed at Peitian's head with her index finger and said, "Kid, you're getting too cocky. Be careful your dad will give you a beating when he gets back."

Peitian remembered the last time his father spanked him, and unconsciously touched his little bottom that had already been slapped twice by his grandmother, but he still argued with Aunt Shengquan, "Hmph, I'm seriously injured now, my father won't beat me."

Aunt Shengquan looked at Peitian with amusement, said nothing more, and followed him out of the house.

After Peitian saw that they had all left, he said to Peiyin, who was standing next to him, "Peiyin, do you think Dad can stop beating me?"

Pei Yin said, "Definitely not. This wasn't your fault. Besides, Shen Peize sent people to beat you up because he was angry with you. He lost face because of Tian Xiaomin last time, and he didn't dare to confront him, so he came to you instead."

Pei-Tian said, "I'm just unlucky to have met such a petty person."

Pei Yin lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, Third Brother. If I hadn't gone to school that day, nothing would have happened."

Peitian waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's none of your business. This Shen Peize has been looking down on me for a long time. He can't keep up with me in his studies, and nobody likes to hang out with him. He's just jealous, definitely jealous."

Pei-yin didn't know what the adults outside were saying, but she kept the eggs that Shen Peize's mother had brought. Later, she heard from her parents that the village chief, Shen Shengnong, had apologized to Shen's father privately, saying that he hadn't disciplined his son properly and that the child was arrogant and domineering. He promised to discipline him more strictly in the future. Shen's mother didn't comment on this promise because she was a teacher at the school and had the most direct experience of what each child was like. In her opinion, Shen Peize's personality was already difficult to change, so she could only repeatedly remind her child to be more careful in the future and not to suffer losses outside.

The autumn harvest lasted for almost half a month and finally came to an end. After the brigade handed over the grain it was due, the village would distribute the grain.

The autumn harvest is nothing more than harvesting crops such as corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and sorghum. This time, Shenjia Village had another bumper harvest. Peiyin didn't know the exact yield per mu, because she heard that the yield per mu in Shenjia Village was similar to that of the surrounding villages. However, she suspected that the Party Secretary Tian had rigged the harvest behind the scenes. In this day and age, it takes a lot of audacity to tamper with things so that the villagers can have more food.

The village was filled with joy when the grain was distributed.

For farmers who are busy in the fields every day, distributing the grain after the harvest is a major event for the family. How much grain they get, and whether it's enough for the family to eat for a year, is a very important matter.

The winter wheat has already been planted in the fields, and the team has set a day for everyone to go to the brigade's warehouse to prepare for the distribution of grain.

The villagers, organized by household, gathered in front of the brigade headquarters warehouse, carrying sacks, while the village accountant, clerk, and leaders from various teams helped out.

Pei Yin, holding onto her grandmother's sleeve, followed behind her grandfather along with the other children in the family, each carrying a few burlap sacks. They stood in the open space in front of the warehouse, waiting to receive their share of the grain.

The warehouse door was open, revealing a large scale. Several tables were set up in front of the warehouse, with account books from each team on them. The amount of grain each household received depended not only on the number of people in the family but also on the number of able-bodied men. Otherwise, how could the population growth rate have been so high back then? The more able-bodied men a family had, the more grain they would receive. If the family consisted mostly of the elderly, the weak, and the disabled, they would receive very little grain. This was an era where one earned money and food through physical labor.

While Pei Yin was still pondering these profound truths, the grand event of distributing grain, which the villagers had been looking forward to for a year, had already begun.

Because the Shen family didn't have many able-bodied men, the grain they received was very limited. Fortunately, Secretary Tian had implemented some policies to help the elderly, so the elderly in the village received a little more grain when it was distributed. If anyone had a different opinion, Secretary Tian would say, "Everyone gets old eventually. The way I treat the elderly in the village now will be the way you'll be treated when you're old. If you're envious of the elderly receiving so much grain now, who will give you grain when you're old?"

Secretary Tian's words silenced all those who had objections. Yes, everyone gets old eventually. How tragic it would be if, when you get old, your children dislike you because you didn't get any food.

Because of the five elderly members in the Shen family, they received several extra sacks of grain. This year, Peihua worked alongside the able-bodied men in the village, so the family had two able-bodied men and received significantly more grain than last year. Also, since Shen's mother is now a teacher at the village school, she also relies on the village to provide grain and money. Therefore, the Shen family has no problem having enough grain to eat.

The village is so big that some families didn't get any grain, like Shen Peihong's family.

Shen Peihong's family has an elderly mother. The village distributed grain to them, and Shen Peihong is the only able-bodied man in the family. However, his work schedule is not regular. This summer, his eldest daughter married into the neighboring Zhao family village. Now, only Shen Peihong, his wife, and their fourteen or fifteen-year-old daughter are working. Since Shen Peihong is not a regular worker, it became apparent when the grain was distributed. While other families received several sacks of grain, their family received very little.

Shen Peihong's wife looked unwell when she came over in the morning, and when she saw that she had received so little grain, her face turned even more pale.