Reborn in 1966

Chapter 81 Lament

As soon as Aunt Xuan left the house, she said to Zhao Tiezhu, "Zhao Tiezhu, tell me what happened right away. Don't let me find out what happened from someone else."

Zhao Tiezhu said, "My second sister-in-law went back to her parents' home, and my mother said some things."

Aunt Xuan said, "What does my second sister-in-law going back to her parents' home have to do with your mother? Just because someone said something, does that mean my father will come looking for her? You'd better tell the truth."

Zhao Tiezhu said, "Our mother said that going back to her parents' home to stay for a full month is bourgeois hedonism..."

Aunt Xuan was so angry that she punched Zhao Tiezhu on the back, saying, "Is your mother sick? At her age, has she eaten nothing but pancakes? Zhao Tiezhu, don't try to stop me this time. If you do, we're done."

As she spoke, she began to sob, saying between sobs, "We've been married for so many years, you know how my family has treated you. You still tell me your mother is an elder and that I should listen to her. You listen to your mother, don't you? She doesn't treat you like her own son at all. In all these years of marriage, how many times have you taken leave from work in the village? All the money we earn from working ourselves to the bone goes to your mother. How much have the three of us spent? When your mother has something good to eat, she openly gives it to your older brother's child. My child was adopted, isn't he her own grandson?"

Seeing that Aunt Xuan's voice was getting louder and louder, Zhao Tiezhu quickly pulled her back and whispered, "Xuanxuan, please don't be so loud. Dad came so quietly because he didn't want other people to know. I went with Dad to Uncle's house to talk to Uncle and Aunt. Uncle and Aunt promised to help talk to Mom. Don't worry."

Aunt Xuan said, "What good will it do if your uncle and aunt come to find someone? Zhao Tiezhu, I won't be able to get over this if I don't have a good talk with your mother. She's my family, the family that has treated you well. If you don't do something, I'll consider it as my family feeding an ungrateful wretch."

As Zhao Tiezhu heard his wife's words getting increasingly offensive, he grabbed Aunt Xuan's arm and said, "Fine, let's go now, to Uncle's house. Why are you talking so rudely? How am I an ungrateful wretch?"

The couple walked awkwardly toward Aunt Zhao's house, completely unaware that two little tails were following behind them.

Xiaohe said to her older sister, "Sister, our father and mother won't fight, will they?"

Xiaoxia said, "It's okay. We're going to our great-grandfather's house. If the two of them start fighting, our great-grandfather and great-grandmother will be there. It'll be fine."

Aunt Xuan and Zhao Tiezhu entered Uncle Zhao's house. When Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao saw that the couple's expressions were not right, they knew why they had come.

Once inside, Aunt Xuan cried and said to Aunt Zhao, "Auntie, how can I face my parents' home? They say children shouldn't speak ill of their parents, so how can you pretend nothing happened?"

When Aunt Zhao saw her niece-in-law with red, teary eyes, she sighed inwardly. With such a troublemaker in the family, how could anyone have a peaceful day?

Aunt Zhao said, "Xia'er, don't worry, our Zhao family also cares about our reputation. I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter."

Grandpa Zhao said, "Xiaoxia's mother, we just called your older brother over and talked to him about this. Your older brother is muddle-headed when it comes to small things, but he's very clear-headed when it comes to important matters like this. Don't worry about him."

Aunt Xuan said, "Uncle, my father is almost seventy years old. It hurts me to see him come to our house alone to talk about these things. You two have seen what kind of life I've lived since I got married. Tell me, what have I done to wrong my mother-in-law?"

Just then, the door was pushed open again, and Zhao Tiezhu's mother, Aunt Xuan's mother-in-law, entered the room. Hearing what Aunt Xuan said, she said with great dissatisfaction, "What have you done to wrong me? If you had been good to me, would you still be asking to separate the family?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Xuan retorted, "Mother, don't you know why I had to separate from the family? If you had provided some good food and drink for your two grandsons, and if Tiezhu hadn't been lying on the kang bleeding to death, do you think our family of four would have had to leave with nothing?"

Zhao's mother said, "That's all nonsense. When I have something good to eat, how could I not think of Xiaoxia and Xiaohe? I know those two kids are very cunning. They both listen to you. They'll say whatever you tell them to say. Tiezhu, is your wife talking nonsense about your own mother like this? Are you just going to stand by and watch?"

Zhao Tiezhu said, "Mother, please say less."

Zhao's mother said, "Oh dear, so you're blaming me too. I knew it, your whole family are ungrateful wretches."

The two children who were peering out the window were unhappy and ran inside. Xiaohe said, "Go and steal some meat from our family for Dajiang to eat. It was given to me by my grandpa."

Aunt Xuan and Zhao Tiezhu were startled and said, "Why are you two here in the dead of night?"

Xiaohe said, "Today Dajiang told me that my grandma said bad things about my maternal grandpa's family. I was afraid that my grandma would bully you, so my sister and I followed you here."

Aunt Xuan was filled with mixed feelings. With tears in her eyes, she looked at Zhao Tiezhu with complicated emotions and said, "Zhao Tiezhu, I'm not going to get involved in this anymore. No matter what, your Zhao family has to give our Shen family an explanation. Otherwise, we won't even be relatives anymore, let alone family." After saying that, she took one child in each hand and started to walk out.

Zhao's mother was displeased and grabbed Aunt Xuan's arm, saying, "Where did you learn your manners from? How dare you show such disrespect to your mother-in-law?"

Aunt Xuan's face turned red with anger, her whole body trembled, and she swayed as if about to collapse. She clenched her teeth tightly and said to Zhao's mother, "Let go!"

Zhao's mother said, "Is this how you treat your elders? I need to go to your parents' home and ask them how they raised you to treat your mother-in-law like this."

Zhao Tiezhu pulled at his mother, saying, "Mother, please don't do this, please don't do this."

Aunt Zhao said, "Tiezhu's mother, what are you doing?"

Aunt Xuan felt like she couldn't catch her breath, her head felt like it was going to explode, and suddenly everything went black. She only saw Zhao Tiezhu looking at her in a panic, and then she knew nothing more.

After returning home, Grandpa squatted under the sycamore tree, watching the withered yellow leaves slowly fall. He took out his pipe from his belt, struck a match, and lit it. Going to his youngest daughter's house was a last resort. He knew what kind of people his in-laws were, but if he didn't go, he wouldn't be able to explain things to them. In this world, you really can't say anything carelessly; one slip and you'll cause a huge mess.

Grandma had already set the table. Seeing her husband squatting under the tree smoking, she said, "Look at you, it's time to eat and you're still smoking here. Put out your cigarette and go wash your hands so we can eat."

At the dinner table, Peitian said to Peizhi, "I went to that place today and saw how beautiful the wild chrysanthemums were. I heard from my fourth grandfather that these flowers can bloom very late. Tomorrow is Saturday, so let's go pick some this afternoon. The house is a bit short, so let's also take some to my second aunt."

Peizhi said, "Okay, how about we call them Sister Jinhua and Sister Ruolan? I saw that Sister Jinhua and Sister Ruolan make sachets with dried flower petals."

Pei Yin shouted from the side, "Me too! Me too! Don't forget me!"

Peitian said, "Okay, I'll definitely take you with me. I won't forget you."

Shen's mother said, "Peiyin, what are you going there for? It's a long way. What if you can't walk?"

Peitian said, "Mother, let Peiyin go. If she can't walk anymore, I'll carry her on my back. Don't worry."

Peijun said, "Peitian, I know the place you mentioned. There are still many jujube trees there. See if there are any jujubes left. If there are, pick some and we'll make jujube wine for Grandpa."

Peitian said, "Okay, I understand. Tomorrow I'll bring a small cloth bag with me. If I have any, I'll pick a lot more, soak them, and then send some to Sixth Grandpa as well."

Sixth Grandfather was in charge of looking after the village's orchard. This autumn, whenever Peitian had free time, he would go and help out. He ate a lot of their food, so when he had something good, he naturally thought of sending it to them as well.

Father Shen smiled as he looked at his children. Although life in the countryside was tough, his children's lives were quite fulfilling. However, when he saw his taciturn eldest son, he sighed inwardly.

Peihua is already eighteen years old. This year, he has been working with the strong laborers in the village. The labor intensity is very high. Although Peihua looks much more mature, his body is not fully grown at all. But that is the reality. He feels guilty.

While Mr. Shen sighed inwardly, the children were excitedly planning their outing for tomorrow afternoon, but Shen Peihua was preoccupied with the matter of getting married in a few days.

I had inquired about the trip beforehand. It was said that they were going to build a reservoir a hundred miles away. During the off-season and the dry season, they were going to enlarge and deepen the reservoir. People from my village would be digging earthwork, a job I was familiar with. The food at the construction site was monotonous, but it was filling. I had to find a way to go so that my father could recuperate at home, and my trip would save my family a lot of food.

The children ate a very happy meal. After clearing the table, they were still huddled on the kang table discussing whether to invite a few more people tomorrow and whether they should bring some food and drinks. Grandma said, "Alright, Peitian, have you finished your homework?"

Peitian, who had been in high spirits, suddenly changed his expression and said, "Oh no, I forgot to write it. Quick, quick, I'll write it right away."

Peijun laughed and said, "You spend your days mingling and drinking tea, and your nights playing mahjong under the electric lights. You deserve to be scolded by your teacher."

Peitian said, "Second brother, I am now a model student in academic progress. I am the one who has made the most progress in our class."

Peihua said, "Well, if it weren't for your two younger sisters chasing after you, you wouldn't have made such progress."

Grandma was sewing shoe soles in her hands, watching the children chattering away, her eyes filled with obvious doting affection.

The gate to the courtyard was being pounded on loudly. Grandma said, "Oh dear, who is it so late at night?" As she spoke, she got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, and went to the courtyard.

Grandpa had already gone into the yard while Grandma was putting on her shoes, and he asked through the gate, "Who's there?"

It was Grandpa Shengquan knocking on the door. He whispered to Grandpa, "Uncle, it's me, Shengquan. Please open the door quickly."

Grandpa opened the courtyard gate and saw Shengquan looking anxious. He asked, "What happened?"

Grandpa Shengquan took a few breaths and said in a low voice, "Uncle, I just came from Doctor Wang's. You should go with my aunt to see her. Xuan is there, and she doesn't look well."