Reborn in 1966

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Harvesting Dates

Upon reaching a slightly higher point, the two grandmothers stopped to rest. Pei Yin looked down the ridge and saw Shenjia Village peacefully nestled there. The small village had a main north-south street running through its center, and a small stone bridge spanning a stream connected the southern ridge to the village. At the foot of the ridge, the road paved with yellow sand turned slightly eastward. There were streams on both the east and west sides of the village. The stream on the west side turned east at the southeast corner of the village, crossed the small stone bridge, and continued eastward, merging with the stream on the east side of the village before flowing south on the east side of the ridge.

The river flows slowly, and the fine sand at the bottom of the river sparkles in the sunlight. From here, you can see the small courtyard of my aunt's house on the east side of the river. A narrow bridge stands over the river, exuding a leisurely warmth.

When Grandma brought Peiyin to the jujube grove, several young men had already climbed up the trees and were using bamboo poles to knock down the red jujubes.

Pei Yin picked one up, wiped it, and took a bite. It was sweet, and the rich aroma of dates filled her mouth. Pei Yin squinted her eyes as she ate this pure, natural, and pollution-free green food. It was so delicious.

The entire jujube grove only has about a hundred jujube trees, each laden with fruit. The threshing machine is in high spirits, and the people picking jujubes under the trees are laughing and chatting. Just imagine, with one swing of the threshing machine, dozens of jujubes can fall down. The jujubes are like raindrops, hitting you and your head. It doesn't hurt much, but it's very itchy. That's the joy of the upcoming harvest, the joy of soon enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Since school had already started, the children who came to the ridge to pick dates were either not yet in school or attending preschool classes. They were all quite young, little ones with small steps, carrying small baskets, following behind their parents, picking and eating as they went, and soon their little bellies were bulging.

Aside from the portion that the brigade took to the purchasing station to sell, the rest of the dates were distributed among the villagers. Looking at the large baskets at the brigade headquarters filled with plump, red dates, everyone had satisfied smiles on their faces. They were thinking that once the dates were distributed and dried, they would have something presentable to show off when relatives came to visit during the New Year. They could even steam a couple of date mounds to weigh down the steamed buns, which would be a very respectable thing.

Pei Yin saw Tian Xiaomin's younger sister, Tian Aiqin, carrying a small basket and following behind her mother, picking up dates from the ground. Although the dates were for everyone in the village, the amount you received was different depending on whether you came to work or not. Moreover, the more dates you picked, the more you would get. Didn't you see the village storekeeper weighing them on a scale? If it were really the same whether you did a lot or a little, who would put in the effort to work?

Tian Aiqin was quick and efficient. In no time, she had filled a basket with fruit, which she carried to the storekeeper to weigh. Then she hurried back to fill more baskets. Someone who knew Tian Xiaomin's mother asked her, "Sister-in-law Liangen, why isn't Aiqin attending the early childhood education class? Is she too old?"

Xiaomin's mother said, "Why would a little girl need to attend a preschool? Doesn't that cost money?"

The person said, "So you're thinking of going straight to school?"

Xiaomin's mother said, "Let's wait and see. Look at me, I never went to school, but I still manage to make a living."

Someone said, "Sister-in-law Lian Gen, you're not right. Look at those who can read and write; they're not like us illiterate people."

Xiaomin's mother pouted and said, "What's the difference? Didn't you see that those educated youths all went to school? They still come to farm just like us. I don't think being literate is of any use."

Someone nearby said, "Sister-in-law, keep your voice down. If the village leaders hear us, they'll criticize us again. Last time someone said something about them, didn't you hear Secretary Tian say that if we keep talking like that, they'll hold a denunciation meeting in the village?"

Xiaomin's mother whispered, "Really? I think Secretary Tian is biased towards them. I haven't seen any other village's educated youth like ours, with special dormitories and kitchens. The educated youth in my family all lived in the village's livestock shed."

The man whispered, "That's why there are so few bachelors in our village. Girls are all vying to marry men from our village. Look at any other village, can you compare to ours? Xiaomin's mother, you should send your Aiqin to school. I don't expect her to be highly educated, but at least she should be able to read and do basic arithmetic. Otherwise, she won't even be able to understand how to calculate work points at the end of the year."

Xiaomin's mother whispered, "My little girl is very good at housework. If I send her to school, who will cook for me and feed the chickens?"

Pei Yin was closer to Xiao Min's mother, so she heard all the whispers. She didn't know if Tian Aiqin, who was a bit further away, heard them, but Pei Yin saw that Tian Aiqin's head was lowered even further, and she couldn't see the expression on her face at all.

Feeling somewhat helpless about this patriarchal mindset, Pei Yin felt more pity for the little girl who had never spoken a word. On the way back, Pei Yin saw Tian Aiqin silently carrying her small basket, following behind her mother along the path into the village. Her small figure carried loneliness and a sense of vicissitude.

My second uncle has been working at the pumping station for a few days now, and he comes back every few days by bicycle, always bringing some good food with him. His wife and children rely on his parents and his older brother's family for care at home, and this is his way of expressing his gratitude.

Finally, it's time for little Shen Peijing to turn one month old.

Grandma Hua cut Tian Lingling's hair, and Tian Lingling's mother even secretly baked some flatbread and brought it over, so the children who helped with the haircut were lucky enough to eat some white flour flatbread.

After the baby is a month old, you have to go back to your parents' home for a while. Normally, during this special period, you can only rest for a month at most after giving birth, and then you have to go back to work. But now that Tian Lingling is a government employee, the factory, as compensation for the couple, allows Tian Lingling to rest at home for a few more months. So Tian Lingling is happy to stay at home and have a peaceful postpartum period before going back to her parents' home for the full month.

The day after the full moon celebration, Tian Lingling's mother came to pick up her daughter and niece. Since there was no work to be done in the fields, Tian Lingling's mother could stay home and help take care of the children.

The grandmother had no objection to her youngest daughter-in-law going to her parents' home to celebrate her one-month birthday. After all, she didn't have to work to earn work points, unlike those in the village who had to go back to work in the fields right after giving birth. So she helped pack her things and sent the mother and daughter to the village secretary's house to celebrate their one-month birthday.

The villagers were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment towards Tian Lingling for being able to live a full month postpartum. But there was nothing they could do about it, since she was now receiving a government salary and didn't have to rely on work points like them. She even got paid and had food to eat while giving birth at home.

Secretary Tian didn't comment on his daughter bringing her nephew to stay at his home for a month. He thought that before the collective system, women had to stay at their parents' home for a month after giving birth. His own wife stayed at her parents' home for a month after giving birth to their daughter.

However, some people couldn't stand it and made a big fuss about it, saying that the daughter of Party Secretary Tian was getting special treatment and that the people in Party Secretary Tian's family were engaging in bourgeois hedonism.

That's how things are in this world. Things that have nothing to do with us, we go out of our way to make others unhappy just because they are better than us. To put it nicely, it's called supervision; to put it bluntly, it's like a dog catching a mouse, meddling in other people's business; to put it even more bluntly, it's despicable and base.

Shenjia Village is a small village. When there are any issues in the village, Secretary Tian always consults with several elderly people in the village, such as the third grandfather of the Tian family and the fourth grandfather of the Shen family. These people have a lot of influence in the village.

Some people in the village know that Shenjia Village's current prosperity and ability to have enough to eat is all thanks to Party Secretary Tian. Because of the medals he won for participating in those battles, the commune and county hold him in high regard. Some things can be glossed over if they can be.

Now, just because Secretary Tian's daughter went back to her parents' home for two days to celebrate her one-month birthday, such rumors have started. Many villagers are taking this very seriously. If these rumors are not suppressed, Secretary Tian could be dismissed or criticized because of them. That would not only be a loss for Secretary Tian or his family, but could be a loss for the entire Shenjia Village.

So the villagers investigated the source of the words, and finally found out that they were said by Zhao Tiezhu's mother from Zhao Family Village.

When Grandpa found out about this, he was so angry that his hand holding his pipe trembled. He wondered what he had done to deserve such a troublesome in-law.

Grandpa smoked a pipe, thought it over, and then got up and walked towards the river.

The house of my youngest daughter is just across the small bridge. It was dusk, and many houses in the village were already emitting wisps of smoke from their chimneys. Standing on the riverbank, I could see smoke rising from the chimney of my youngest daughter's house on the other side of the river.

Grandpa stood on the bank with his hands behind his back, his back hunched. The hardships he had endured had etched deep wrinkles on his face. His little daughter had such a mother-in-law, which made life much more difficult for her. But this matter couldn't be left unresolved without their help. Grandpa sighed, glanced at the wisps of smoke that drifted away in the wind, and stepped onto the small bridge.

Aunt Xuan was cooking on the stove in the outer room when she saw her father enter through the fence. Although she was surprised, she immediately went out to greet him.

Aunt Xuan asked, "Dad, have you eaten? I'll have dinner ready soon. Let's eat together here."

Grandpa said, "I'm not eating here. I'm here to talk to Xiaoxia's dad about something."

Aunt Xuan said, "Xiaoxia's father went to fetch water and will be back soon. Please come inside and sit down to wait for him."

Grandpa went into the inner room. There was a kang (a heated brick bed) by the window, covered with a kang mat. The quilt was rolled up and placed at the head of the kang. The kang mat was wiped very clean. There was even a glass jar on the windowsill, half-filled with water and wildflowers picked from the fields. As soon as you entered the room, you could smell the faint fragrance of wildflowers.

Grandpa nodded secretly. His youngest daughter and son-in-law were both good at managing a household. Now that they had separated from the family, they would surely have a good life in the future. But then he thought of his daughter's unreliable mother-in-law and sighed. How was he going to bring this up when he met his son-in-law?

Aunt Xuan quickly placed the kang table on the kang, poured Grandpa a bowl of boiled water, and Grandpa asked, "Where are Xiaoxia and Xiaohe?"

Aunt Xuan said, "The two of them went to the river to fetch water with their father."