Reborn in 1966

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Questioning

Mrs. Shen wiped away her tears and said, “Aunt Zhou, my eldest son, Peihua, is already twenty years old. Because of his family background, he can’t find a wife. Someone introduced him to a girl from a neighboring village. She’s about the same age as Peihua. She had a high fever when she was little that damaged her brain, and now that she’s twenty, she can’t even take care of herself. I didn’t want to, but that person said I shouldn’t be so picky about my family background. He said I should be lucky to have a wife at all, and that I should be more picky. Aunt Zhou, my Peihua may have a bad family background, but he’s an excellent and good boy. He was so young when he had to go to a construction site to be married because of his wife’s poor health. The cart at the construction site weighs several hundred pounds, and he pushes it all day long. Peihua’s body isn’t even fully grown yet. When he comes back, he only tells us that the food at the construction site is good, and there’s plenty of steamed buns. Aunt Zhou, how can I bear to let Peihua find such a wife? My Peihua needs to find someone who is compatible with him, someone who can take good care of him and love him deeply.” By the end, Mrs. Shen was sobbing uncontrollably.

Pei Yin had never known about this matter before, and she was filled with grief and indignation. Her brother was such an outstanding person, how could he have chosen such a wife?

Aunt Zhou quickly took out her handkerchief and helped Shen's mother wipe away her tears, saying, "Yueran, just ignore these people, how can you not want the baby in your belly because of this?"

Shen's mother said, "Aunt Zhou, in this world, can people like us who have always been labeled as rightists have a future? Can we have any hope?"

Hearing her mother's sorrowful question, Pei Yin felt extremely sad. Such good people, suffering such mental and physical torment.

Aunt Zhou sighed and said, "Yueran, life is never comfortable. Come and look at my leg." As she spoke, Aunt Zhou rolled up her trouser leg. Peiyin craned her neck to look and was shocked. Her left leg was a prosthesis. From the knee down, it was just a wooden prosthesis. Because it wasn't made very professionally, the top of the prosthesis was stained red with blood. After the blood dried, it was a dark reddish-black color. Just looking at the dark reddish-black gauze made her shudder with pain.

When Shen's mother saw Aunt Zhou's legs, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak. After a long while, she covered her mouth and said, "Aunt Zhou, your legs..."

Aunt Zhou said, "Yueran, this was broken during the criticism meeting back then. I was heartbroken. Can an opera singer still perform if her leg is broken? I was sad for a long time, but when I saw those colleagues who were beaten to death or forced to commit suicide, I felt better. No matter what, as long as we are alive, there is hope. Your Uncle Li and I have been here for so long, and my heart is getting calmer and calmer. No matter what we have suffered or are suffering now, we are still together, we are still alive, we can bask in the sun, and we can breathe fresh air. Yueran, I think that is enough."

Shen's mother was already kneeling on the ground, hugging Aunt Zhou's broken leg, sobbing uncontrollably, and saying between sobs, "Why is this happening? Aunt, can you tell me why? My husband and I haven't done anything wrong, why is this happening? Even if we are wrong, it's our fault as parents, why should it involve the child? Why should it affect the child? My child, my child, now you can't go to school, you can't get a job, you can't join the army, why is this happening?"

The repeated "whys" not only voiced Shen's mother's doubts but also those of many others. However, no one could give them a clear answer. This era itself was somewhat absurd, lacking comprehensive laws and moral constraints. Many things lacked a standard of right and wrong, and a person could be convicted based solely on the one-sided accounts of some individuals. How absurd and unbelievable this was!

Dr. Li helped Shen's mother up from the ground and said, "Yueran, you must believe that everything will be alright. The children in the family still need to be properly raised. They must not follow the crowd. Only by staying true to our original aspirations can we achieve our goals."

As Shen's mother sobbed, Doctor Li helped her up. Pei Yin also put down the snacks she was holding and helped Shen's mother to sit on the sofa. She then sat down next to Shen's mother.

Aunt Zhou said, "Yueran, look at your daughter, what a thoughtful little girl she is."

Dr. Li said, "That's right, Yueran, you must try to think more positively, everything will be alright."

It was getting late, so Shen's mother and Pei Yin politely declined Dr. Li and his wife's invitation to stay for lunch and slowly walked home.

Holding Pei Yin's little hand, Shen's mother said, "You little rascal, you really are a little rascal. Your grandmothers really didn't give you the wrong nicknames."

Pei-Yin said, "Mom, I want a little brother. I'll take care of him from now on, and it won't be tiring for you."

Mother Shen couldn't help but chuckle and said, "You're still a child, yet you're here to help me take care of my children. You are all my precious babies, and I will definitely take good care of you from now on."

Pei-Yin said, "Then let's go home and tell Grandma that you're pregnant with a little brother, okay?"

Mother Shen said, "Okay, Peiyin, I want to thank you."

Pei Yin looked at her mother in confusion, watching as Shen's mother squatted down and hugged her, choking back tears, "I'm so content to have you children. You are all my precious gifts from heaven." Pei Yin couldn't see her mother's expression, but she felt something wet and warm on her neck. After a while, Shen's mother wiped away her tears and said, "Alright, let's go home. Let's go back and tell your grandparents this good news."

When the mother and daughter returned home, it was almost lunchtime. When Grandma saw Peiyin follow Shen's mother into the house, she grabbed Peiyin's hand and said, "Look at you, child. How could you follow your mother without saying goodbye? Your mother walks fast, and you have short legs and run slowly. What if your mother didn't know you were following her and you got lost?"

Looking at Pei Yin, who had her head down, Shen's mother smiled and said to her grandmother, "Mother, everything's alright, isn't it? How could someone as clever as Pei Yin lose track of someone like that?"

Grandpa said, "Your mother has been worried all morning, complaining that I didn't stop Peiyin. She didn't believe me when I said everything was fine, but now you believe me, right?"

Grandma said, "I'm not as careless as you. What would you say if I lost the child?"

Pei-Yin said to her grandmother, "Grandma, I'm sorry. I will definitely tell you before I go out next time."

Then, taking her grandmother's hand, she went to the side and whispered, "Grandma, my mother bought me some wontons in the county town, and they were so delicious."

Grandma said, "Yes, our Xiping wontons are really delicious. Back then, your dad and your aunt loved our Xiping wontons. Every time they came home for vacation, they would go to the street to eat them once or twice."

Pei-Yin said, "Right? I think it's delicious too. When our family's financial situation improves, I'll make wontons for Grandma and Grandpa every day, okay?"

Grandma said, "Okay, okay, Grandma is just waiting to eat the wontons that Peiyin makes."

As the grandfather and grandson spoke, their faces beamed with satisfaction, as if they had already enjoyed the wontons.

There were no classes at school in the afternoon. After Shen's mother told her grandmother about her pregnancy, her grandmother was overjoyed and said, "This is a good thing! Look how prosperous our family is! You should take care of yourself in the future; our health is the most important thing."

In the evening, Shen's father returned home, covered in dust from his journey. His family was overjoyed. They had been worried sick about him for the past ten days. His grandmother held his hand and looked him up and down. Seeing that he was alright except for the dust from his journey, she was relieved. This was a study session for rightists organized by the district. It would be held every six months thereafter. Besides participating in collective labor, everyone would study some central government documents together. Since everyone was a rightist, there were no denunciation meetings.

Grandma finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Oh dear, I was so worried these past few days. Thankfully, everything is alright."

As they went to bed that night, Mr. Shen, already knowing he was going to be a father again, placed his hand on Mrs. Shen's belly and said, "This is our sixth child."

Mother Shen said, "Yes, more than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Thinking back, I ran into Uncle Li and Aunt Zhou in the county town today."

Mr. Shen asked, "Which Uncle Li?"

Shen's mother said, "It was Uncle Li who lived next door to my house back then. They had two sons, the elder son was named Li Boxuan and the younger son was named Li Zhongxuan. Boxuan was the one who was classmates with my elder brother and elder sister."

Mr. Shen said, "I remember now, we even had dinner at their house. My father-in-law once told me that he and Uncle Li traveled back to China by boat together."

Shen's mother said, "It's their family. Uncle Li is now practicing medicine at the county hospital. Their family lives in the hospital's staff quarters. Aunt Zhou's leg was broken during a denunciation meeting back then. She lost everything below the knee."

As Shen's mother spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. She said, "Aunt Zhou was such an elegant person. I still remember when Aunt Zhou sang at the banquet. I watched from the audience, and I felt that every smile, every gesture, every turn of Aunt Zhou on stage was so graceful. But now..."

Mr. Shen hugged Mrs. Shen comfortingly and said, "We've been separated for so many years. It's so lucky that we can meet again and that we're both still alive."

Mrs. Shen wiped away her tears and said, "Yes, Uncle Li and Aunt Zhou said the same thing. I've been thinking about it. The reason I went to the hospital today is that I don't want this child anymore."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen's voice unconsciously rose, and he said, "Yueran, you..."

Shen's mother said, "Don't worry, let me finish. Peihua is already twenty years old. I didn't realize it before, but seeing that other people his age in the village have found wives or are engaged, I'm very anxious. Shensi, can you understand a mother's heart? In my eyes, my child is the most outstanding, and the other half he finds should be someone who is compatible with him. But because of our class background, no one has come to propose marriage for Peihua. Shensi, there's a teacher from Wangjiahewa at school. He said that there's a girl in his village who is willing to marry Peihua. That girl had a fever when she was young that damaged her brain, so she's not very bright. I rejected her without even thinking about it. Teacher Wang said that for a family like ours, as long as someone is willing to marry him, that's enough. Why make such a fuss? Shensi, what's wrong with our family? We don't steal or rob. We just have the label of 'rightist' on our heads. Does our child have to suffer such humiliation?"