Reborn in 1966

Chapter Ninety-Four: Expressions

After work that day, Fourth Grandfather called out to Tian Shenxing.

Fourth Grandfather said, "Shenxing, let's have a chat, you two old brothers." He pulled Tian Shenxing to the small river at the edge of the village. The two squatted by the river. The spring breeze dispelled the winter chill and awakened the grass and willow branches that had been dormant all winter. The river flowed slowly, and specks of green sprouted on the ground by the river. The willow branches by the river swayed gently with the gentle breeze, displaying strings of green branches.

Spring has arrived, and farmers sow seeds of hope in this season, then slowly guard and cherish them. Because of hope in their hearts, they have enthusiastic energy throughout the year.

With the mouthpiece of his ever-present pipe dangling from his lips, Fourth Grandfather gazed at the calm river and said to Tian Shenxing, “Shenxing, decades have passed in the blink of an eye. Back when you and Lanzi got married, I was the one who carried Lanzi out the door.”

Tian Shenxing's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he stretched his body, saying, "Yes, Lanzi's family only has one daughter, and they have been very fortunate to have Fourth Brother's help over the years."

Fourth Grandfather said, “Shenxing, Lanzi has had a tough time with you all these years. Now that the children are grown up, you will enjoy a better life in the future. Guixiang is a kind-hearted girl, but she has a bit of a temper. After she marries into your family, you and Lanzi will have to take good care of her.”

Tian Shenxing understood the purpose of his in-laws' conversation and said with a smile, "Fourth Brother, don't worry about that. Guixiang is someone Lanzi and I watched grow up. She and Xiuwu are childhood sweethearts. We will definitely treat her like our own daughter."

Fourth Grandfather still felt a tightness in his chest, but in the end he didn't say anything more. The daughter he had raised for twenty years was about to belong to someone else's family, and he felt very disappointed.

The two families were making great preparations for the wedding. The new house was the side room where Tian Xiuwu used to live. It was whitewashed several times. A kang (a heated brick bed) was built near the window, and a fire wall was built. Outside the fire wall was a stove, which was prepared to heat water and warm the kang in winter.

The house had a ceiling that was covered with newspaper, making it very bright as soon as you entered. My great-uncle made several pieces of furniture and a kang cabinet, all of which were painted with varnish and hung out to dry in his yard.

Pei-Yin loved taking her toddler, Pei-Jing, everywhere to watch the fun. When her great-uncle hired a carpenter to make furniture, Pei-Yin would spend all day dragging Pei-Jing to watch the carpenter work, cutting wood and making furniture. She'd surround the carpenter's toolbox, chattering away with questions. She asked about every tool—saws, planes, ink lines—in great detail, not only asking the name of each tool but also how to use it. If she weren't so small and the carpenter wasn't worried about accidents, Pei-Yin would have even picked them up and tried them herself. These tools were for making furniture. For someone who grew up in the industrial age, someone who would go to the furniture market or have furniture custom-made whenever she wanted, how could she not be curious about these things?

After all the furniture was finished, Pei Yin opened and closed each door many times. This furniture was different from the furniture she had seen before. There was a small cabinet under the three-drawer table where clothes could be stored. There were three drawers in the middle of the kang cabinet where small items could be stored. There were two large chests that Pei Yin and Pei Jing could hide in, which were used to store bedding. The carpenter also made several benches and a small table for eating, along with a few small stools. All of them were painted with two coats of varnish and placed in the yard to let the smell of the varnish dissipate.

After the furniture was finished, not only Pei Yin and her sister, but many people from the village came to see it, and everyone expressed their envy of Gui Xiang's dowry.

When the news reached the Tian family, Xu Meixia, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Tian family, felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Xu Meixia wasn't very valued at home. She had an older brother and a younger brother. Although her parents weren't particularly sexist, they believed that daughters should always belong to their families and eventually belong to their husbands. So, Xu Meixia wasn't spoiled. Fortunately, because she didn't receive much attention growing up, Xu Meixia always learned to be shrewd and calculating.

When Xu Meixia got married, her parents only prepared a few simple dowry items. The Tian family's betrothal gifts weren't much at the time, and Xu's parents also had to make plans for Xu Meixia's younger brother, so their dowry wasn't as generous as the Tian family's. Xu Meixia didn't initially care how much a sister-in-law with a smaller dowry could affect her, until one day she overheard a neighbor whispering a comparison between her and Guixiang, saying, "Look at Xiuwen's dowry back then, and look at Xiuwu's dowry now!" Only then did she realize that she had dug a huge hole for herself. At first, she only planned to find a sister-in-law who could stand up to her mother-in-law, but how did she end up with a brother's wife with a larger dowry than her?

Both families are now fully prepared and just waiting for the wedding day. Xu Meixia can only swallow her pride and think about how she can compete with Guixiang after the new bride enters the house.

Leaving aside Xu Meixia's dilemma, let's talk about Xiuwu, who is so happy he's practically lost his bearings. Ever since the two families set the date, Xiuwu has been all smiles, no matter what he does. Even when the young men in the village tease him, he just listens with a smile. When others realize they can't mess with him, they say, "How can you be so shameless? We tease you like this and you don't even get angry."

Tian Xiuwu said, "Why should I be angry? Look at you guys, you're still single. I'm going to get married soon. I'm not going to be angry with you. I'll be happy for a long time."

That's incredibly hateful, but the unmarried young men couldn't really find anything to refute it. So everyone could only say, "This guy's just too happy for his age. Let's wait until he gets married and then we'll really mess with him. Showing off your love in front of single people is a risky thing."

Tian Xiuwu and Shen Guixiang's wedding was held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar.

This is Pei Yin's second time attending a wedding. Last time, she was held in someone's arms and couldn't watch the excitement, but this time she can run around and watch the excitement.

Two days ago, the furniture that my great-uncle made was delivered to the Tian family. The room, which had looked somewhat empty, felt like a new house after the furniture was put in. The unique smell of paint from the new furniture gave the room what the locals call the "new bride's room".

The small courtyard was swept clean, and the pomegranate tree in the yard was already laden with unripe fruit. Several red cloths were hung on the tree, adding a touch of joy. Due to the times, weddings could not be extravagant, but weddings were still important events, and some preparations had to be made. A shed was set up against the south wall of the yard, with two large pots inside. Some vegetables were also placed in the shed. At this time, the lean season was over, and fresh vegetables were still easy to buy.

Peiyin went along to watch the commotion when her family went to install the cabinet. Because Tian Xiuwen's wife was pregnant, they couldn't meet the new bride on the wedding day. So, Tian Xiuwen's wife stayed in the house and hid from everyone. The new bride's things couldn't be touched either. However, when she went to the toilet in the corner of the yard, Peiyin saw her. It really was the same new bride, Yi, whom she had seen at the brigade headquarters two years ago. Later, she heard that her mother-in-law hadn't taken all the money and had left her some savings.

Tian Xiuwen's wife, heavily pregnant, didn't go back inside after using the toilet. Instead, she stood by the window of the north room, watching the people coming and going from the east wing and listening to bursts of laughter. Her face was expressionless. Because of this, Pei Yin noticed Xu Meixia. When the sizzling sound of cooking and the enticing aroma came from the large stove by the south wall, Xu Meixia blinked, turned around, and went into her room in the north room. But in that fleeting glance back at the north room's doorway, Pei Yin saw something else in her eyes.

Seeing that it was getting late, Pei Yin took Pei Jing's hand and slowly walked home. That's how it is for children in the village. They can go to any house to watch the excitement if there's something interesting going on. Of course, this is only if the house allows you to come in. If the house closes the door and doesn't let you in, you have to be sensible and leave quickly, otherwise people will say you have no manners.

Peijing was a very quiet little girl. Her second aunt went back to work at the machinery factory when Peijing was six months old. She would come back once a week on weekends, and Peijing would stay at home with her grandmother. Sometimes she would be taken to her maternal grandmother's house, but most of the time she would stay at her paternal grandmother's house and be looked after by her older sister, Peiyin. After she could walk, Peiyin would take Peijing to play everywhere. Sometimes she would wait for her older siblings at the school gate when they got out of school, and sometimes she would follow her grandmother to the big locust tree at the entrance of the village to listen to the grandmothers gossip about the village or other villages.

Pei Yin felt that Pei Jing was still too young. She thought that next spring, when the flowers were in bloom, she could lead Pei Jing with one hand and carry a small wicker basket in the other, digging for wild vegetables and collecting firewood all over the hills and fields.

As Peiyin led Peijing home, she thought about Xu Meixia's fleeting glance back. The most difficult relationships have always been those between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and between sisters-in-law. The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is difficult because they are historically natural enemies. The sister-in-law relationship is difficult because they are constantly being compared. Think about it: how many daughters-in-law are there in a family? Not only will the parents-in-law say this or that about each daughter-in-law, but the villagers will also say, "Look at so-and-so, she's not as good as her sister-in-law or brother's wife. Her sister-in-law or brother's wife is so much better than her." Being compared like this for a long time inevitably leads to a psychological imbalance. This imbalance easily leads to conflict, and conflict easily leads to arguments.

As they walked, Peijing tugged at the sleeve of the girl next to her and called out, "Sister, sister."

Pei-Yin then came to her senses and asked, "Pei-Jing, what's wrong?"

Pei-ching said, "Sister, there was meat just now."