Reborn in 1966

Chapter Eighty-Nine: Return

It seems that the family surnamed Tian moved here sometime in the 1940s. Because there were other people with the surname Tian in the village, they settled down here. At that time, it was an elderly couple with a young man. The young man later married and had children here. The young man's name was Tian Shenxing. The family now has four children, three boys and one girl. The eldest is named Tian Xiuwen, the younger ones are named Tian Xiuwu and Tian Xiuquan, and the daughter is named Tian Xiucai.

This family didn't seem like a typical peasant family back then, but due to years of famine and war, they were penniless when they arrived in Shenjia Village. The old couple passed away a few years after Tian Shenxing got married. Tian Shenxing was a weak and frail man, unable to lift a finger. He married a woman from the Shen family who was feisty and hardworking. Their four children were also raised to be capable and hardworking by the family.

Even after Tian Xiuwen married his new wife, he remained the head of Tian Shenxing's household. As is often the case with those in power, they fear challenges to their authority. The new wife had spent a few days weaving reed mats and earned some savings, but Tian Shenxing's family insisted on confiscating it. The new wife then discussed with her mother-in-law whether she could keep some money for herself. Tian Shenxing's family refused, saying no, it had to be all handed over. The new wife felt wronged; she felt she had earned it herself, so why couldn't she keep it? She pretended not to understand and didn't hand over the whole amount to her mother-in-law.

Tian Shenxing's family is from Shenjia Village. How could she not find out how much money her daughter-in-law earned? When she came out to ask, she found out that her daughter-in-law hadn't handed over all the money, and she was unhappy about it. These past few days, she's been arguing with her daughter-in-law over just a few cents.

Pei Yin sounds a lot like one of those two young wives from that day, probably the one who said her mother-in-law asked her for money. She doesn't seem like someone who can be easily manipulated.

Aunt Shengquan said, "You really can't believe Tian Shenxing's family. His daughter-in-law earns so much money, and you let her keep it all to yourself. Even if she buys a needle and thread at the market, she'll just end up mending things for your family."

As winter approached, a light snow fell intermittently, and then the temperature suddenly dropped. My mother and grandmother's hearts sank as they worried about whether Peihua, who was at the construction site, was cold, whether he was eating well, and whether he was sleeping warmly. Finally, news came from the village that the man who had gone to marry into the family would be back the next day.

Grandma was overjoyed to hear the news and discussed it with Shen's mother. They steamed a pot of buns made with a mixture of cornmeal and sweet potato flour.

The next day, all the men who had gone to marry women returned. The village had picked them up in an oxcart from the town. Pei Yin also went to the village entrance to meet them, holding onto her grandmother's clothes.

Families in the village whose husbands were going to be married off came to pick them up. A large crowd of people, young and old, stood busily under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village.

Finally, amidst everyone's eager anticipation, the village's usually mild-mannered old ox swayed and pulled a cart into view. On the cart sat the villagers going on their journeys to work, along with their luggage.

When Grandma saw the oxcart, she quickly went forward to catch it. Peihua saw Grandma and her younger sister coming from afar, so she jumped off the cart, ran a few steps, and grabbed Grandma's hand. Grandma looked at Peihua, her lips trembling, and kept saying, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

Peihua smiled and said, "Grandma, I'm back." Then she whispered to her grandma, "Grandma, the work I did this time wasn't tiring at all, and the reservoir fish farm cooked fish for us every day. I've been eating stewed fish for a month now."

Grandma smiled and said, "That's good, that's good. Let's hurry home. Grandma steamed some buns last night and is waiting for you to come back and eat them."

Peihua, holding her grandmother's arm, turned her head and saw her little sister smiling at her, her big eyes squinting. She reached out and touched Peiyin's head, saying, "Peiyin has grown a bit taller."

Grandma said, "That's right, children grow up so fast. You've been gone for a month, and it's easy to tell at a glance, but we can't tell even if we're watching over them all day."

Pei Yin smiled and said to Pei Hua, "Big brother has grown taller too."

Grandma stopped when she heard this, straightened her slightly hunched back, compared herself to Peihua, and said, "It really is! You've grown taller, you've grown taller."

Grandma felt a pang of sadness. Her eldest grandson, though tall and strong, was only seventeen or eighteen at most, a time when he should be in good health. She wondered how much hard work he had done on this trip. The boy was always complaining when he came back, no matter what happened outside. But she knew all too well what he had done. It was nothing like what Peihua described.

The oxcart stopped under the big locust tree, and everyone busied themselves taking their luggage from it. Everyone was noisy and chattering. Peihua stood to the side with his grandmother and sister and waited. In the end, only Peihua and the luggage of the other four educated youths were left on the oxcart.

There was a woven bag under Pei Hua's bedding roll. After everyone had left, Pei Hua put his bedding roll on his shoulder, and with the woven bag in his other hand, he said to Qi Xiangnan and the other three, "Brother Qi, come to our house for dinner tonight. My grandma made steamed buns."

Upon hearing this, Grandma quickly said, "That's right, you're coming over for dinner tonight!"

Qi Xiangnan looked at his grandmother, then at Pei Yin who was holding onto his grandmother's clothes, and said with a smile, "Grandma, then I'll be troubling you tonight."

On the way, Peihua said to his grandmother, "Grandma, this bag is full of fish. We secretly went to the reservoir to catch them. After discussing it, we felt it wouldn't be good if others found out, so we decided to bring them home and cook them."

Grandma said, "Then let's cook fish tonight. Your third grandma is a great fish cook. We'll ask her to cook for you."

Peihua said, "Okay, then let my third grandma help me do it."

When she got home, Pei Yin saw that the woven bag contained a large silver carp weighing nearly ten kilograms.

Bighead carp is a common freshwater fish in the area. When Grandma San saw the big bighead carp, she smiled and said to Peihua, "You are in for a treat. I dried some red chilies a few days ago, so I can make you boiled fish."

Grandma asked, "Peihua, where did you get such a big fish?"

Peihua said, "When we were about to finish work, the construction site gave us half a day off to pack up our things. Taiping, Brother Qi, and I went to play near the reservoir. We picked up two fish, one big and one small, by the reservoir. Brother Qi told Taiping to take the smaller one back, and I could take the smaller one. We didn't want it, but Brother Qi said that we should cook it and invite them over to eat."

Grandma said, "Why did you two brothers bring both fish back?"

Peihua said, "This time at the construction site, Taiping and I ate and lived with Brother Qi and the others. When we were working, Brother Qi also helped us by speaking up for us and letting us work with them. Brother Qi is really capable. He persuaded the person in charge to let us work with them, the educated youth, in just a few words. Grandma, I must get along with Brother Qi more in the future. I feel like I have learned a lot by working with Brother Qi."

Pei Yin felt that boys all had a hero complex and admired those they thought were better than themselves. It was a good thing that Pei Hua could be with Qi Xiangnan and the others. Qi Xiangnan was clearly no ordinary person, and he was also more knowledgeable than most people. Following him would broaden Pei Hua's mind considerably.

After finding the fish, Peihua and Qi Xiangnan rubbed it with salt they had stolen from the cookhouse. After a simple treatment, Grandma San set the fish head and tail aside, sliced ​​the fish meat into pieces, and mixed it with seasonings to make it flavorful.

Grandma went to the tofu shop and bought a large block of tofu. After cleaning the fish head, Third Grandma cooked it in a clay pot on the stove. The meat under the gills of the silver carp was transparent and gelatinous, with plenty of moisture. Stewing it with tofu made it exceptionally delicious.

Just as it was getting dark, the four educated youths arrived together.

Qi Xiangnan was carrying a bottle of wine. When his grandmother saw it, she kept scolding him for wasting money. Qi Xiangnan smiled and said, "Grandma, it's already too much trouble for you to come to our house for dinner. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Please don't take offense."

Grandpa said, "Alright, alright, everyone come and sit down. Grandpa will have a drink with you all today."

Grandma San used the head of a big fish to make a large casserole of fish head stew with tofu. The soup in the casserole had turned milky white. She only added ginger to remove the fishy smell, but it was still incredibly delicious.

The main attraction is the fish meat, which is sliced ​​into thin slices, seasoned, and then coated with sweet potato starch. After that, it is rolled in egg white, put into boiling water, and boiled for a few minutes before being poured into a large, flat bowl. The bowl is already lined with soybean and mung bean sprouts that Grandma San grew herself, which have been blanched in boiling water.

After doing all this, Third Grandma put the dried red chilies into the oil and simmered them over low heat to make chili oil. After simmering, she set it aside, then put peppercorns into the oil pan, minced garlic on the fish, then added ginger and garlic to the oil, and finally added the chili oil. Once everything was done, she poured all the fragrant chili and peppercorn oil from the pan onto a flat bowl. After a series of sizzling sounds, a fresh, fragrant, numbing, and spicy aroma filled everyone's noses. Pei Yin felt her salivary glands suddenly become very active. She sniffed and said to her mother, "Mom, it smells so good!"

Mrs. Shen said with a smile, "Your third grandmother's cooking skills are taught by a master chef, it would be strange if the dishes she makes weren't delicious."

Grandma San carried the large, flat bowl to the octagonal table in the main room and said to everyone with a smile, "It's been many years since I've made this, so I'm a bit rusty. Please bear with it and have a taste."

Qi Xiangnan quickly stood up and helped put the bowl in the middle of the table, saying, "Third Grandma's cooking is so good, it smells incredibly delicious."

Grandpa and Grandma, along with Shen's father, Peihua, Peijun, and four other educated youths, ate at the octagonal table in the main room. Several grandmothers, along with Shen's mother and second aunt, ate at the kang table in the room with the children. Grandma San served two portions of each dish.

Grandpa couldn't bear to drink the wine Qi Xiangnan brought, so he went to the tree behind the house and dug out a jar of sorghum wine that had been buried there a long time ago.