A century of poverty

Chapter 80 What is Youth?

With the start of reform and opening up, the household contract responsibility system emerged in rural areas, breaking the "iron rice bowl" system. The six production teams were separated, and outsiders automatically became the first to the seventh team.

Because Team Seven had a large workforce but limited land, the brigade allocated the remote, machine-developed land "Xidawazi" to Team Seven for cultivation.

Everyone in Team Seven knew there was something fishy going on, but they didn't know the details or the accounts. Without absolute certainty, who would be willing to take the lead and argue with the accountant and team leader? Who would step forward to demand an audit? "Everyone gets to eat fried beans, but everyone gets burned." The common people understood this principle. If they separated, they wouldn't have to put up with their mistreatment anymore, and that would be the end of it.

My fourth sister studied at Liuhe Middle School for two years. When the exam came, she faced two choices: one was to pass the exam and go to high school in the county town, and the other was to take the exam for a "vocational school," with the state covering all expenses and assigning her a job after graduation in two years.

Several students from rural households, including Fourth Sister, Liu Shunian, and Liu Xiaoxia, chose to attend vocational schools because of the tuition fees.

Liu Shulian, Zhou Yawen, and others simply didn't take any exams and went straight home to farm.

Wang Shang, a boy from a family that was "sent down to the countryside," chose to take the high school entrance exam and soon went to study in the county town.

Several students who took the vocational school entrance exam returned home but never received any news of their admission.

Some time later, Liu Shulian, Liu Shunian, and others got married one after another.

The second brother's marriage proposal to Liu Xiaxia was unsuccessful. Undeterred, he continued to treat her well, believing that they had feelings for each other.

The spring breeze of literature and art in the new era has swept across the ancient land of China. A large number of novel and diverse literary and artistic works have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

New ideas and new culture have broadened our horizons and greatly enriched our cultural life. Like a gentle stream nourishing our hearts, like the tinkling of a spring tapping at our souls, the vast land has become a field of hope.

The humorous and unique crosstalk routines enlighten us amidst laughter.

We listened to the radio while we twisted rope. Radio dramas and movie recordings, through listening, allowed us to understand the beauty, goodness, and truth in life.

Songs and movie theme songs are like a spring breeze, stirring our passion.

The brigade showed a movie every few days, and we quickly became fans of the movie actors.

A large number of movie stars, including Xie Fang, Zhang Ruifang, Wang Xiaotang, Liu Xiaoqing, Chen Chong, Zhang Yu, Zhang Jinling, Siqin Gaowa, Wang Xingang, and Guo Kaimin, along with the roles they played, became topics of discussion. Having their photos or collecting their posters became fashionable.

Their situation also touches our hearts. We adore Chen Chong, the actress who played Little Flower: her rosy cheeks, beautiful big eyes, and healthy beauty. She's the same age as us, practically our ideal self. She represents the new generation of young women of the 1980s, an embodiment of our positive image. We look forward to seeing more and better works from her.

They had high hopes for her...

On the land, we carried sacks full of rotten rice on our shoulders and scattered it in the fields. We walked forward, scattering the rice as we stepped on the clods of earth turned over by the plow.

Suddenly someone said, "Chen Chong went to America."

Those of us who didn't believe us said, "Don't talk nonsense. Why would a great movie star go to America?"

"Really, just wait and see—you'll gradually believe it."

This news shocked the innocent girl from the fields.

A slightly heavy feeling manifested in the words we used to express it: "How could she go to America?" It was as if her departure from the country had caused us great loss and a blow.

In spring, we rush to get seedling beds. It's a contract job; each person gets 20 beds, and if we finish, we get half a day's work credit.

We, who were all around the same age—Qu Hui, Zhang Chunhong, Jiang Hong, Liu Fengming, and I—competed to finish half a day's work in one go, and then went to a sheltered place to rest and chat.

Qu Hui: "When my dad went back to Beipiao this time, some of the people from his batch who were sent down to the countryside had their jobs reinstated, and some had their children take their place. My dad's Kuomintang affiliation was something he couldn't change back then. My eldest sister got married before my family was sent to the countryside and stayed in the city. Now, young people in the city don't have to go to the countryside anymore; some are assigned jobs, and some join the army. My eldest sister's eldest niece became a female soldier, and I ended up working the land."

I said, "In the past, which family hasn't gone through this? My dad, if it weren't for Grandma stopping us, we wouldn't be where we are now."

Zhang Chunhong: "My dad used to make leather shoes, and he was very skilled."

Jiang Hong: "Then none of you are as good as my dad. No matter what he did in the past, he is now a worker in Dalian. Even if he is a reformed laborer, he is still a worker."

Did you see it in the movie last night? Look how fair and beautiful her hands are...

Liu Fengming: "Who didn't see that? If we had an ideal job, we would also have such clean hands."

If I could choose what I wanted to do, I'd be a singer.

I said, "If I could choose, I would be a writer."

Jiang Hong: "Look at 'Alan,' dressed in the uniform of a Kuomintang woman, her swaying waist is so charming..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chunhong teased her, "Then you should become a female spy. You're pretty, no less so than Alan." She then chuckled to herself.

We all laughed.

Jiang Hong got up and chased after her, yelling, "You little 'Fengxian'!"

Zhang Chunhong has an exceptional voice and a natural talent for singing; she can sing any song perfectly. She learned the theme song from the movie "Zhiyin" right after filming, and everyone was captivated by her voice. Before team meetings, someone would always suggest, "Chunhong, sing a song for everyone."

Everyone clapped in unison: "Sing one! Sing one!"

"Green mountains, clear blue waters, a deep and tender bond between mountains and flowing water..."

Her singing voice was clear, melodious, and captivating.

We stood up and looked around.

Some people haven't finished yet; it's still a while before we call it a day.

Qu Hui: "Who's going to get water at Da Liu's school?"

"Let's go." The group of them headed north along the main road.

"I'm not going, I have to pick up my fourth sister." After saying that, I picked up a shovel and came to help her. She was taller and stronger than me, but she always lagged behind when it came to work.

In mid-June, rice planting reached the north side of the main road, and the progress had reached the middle and late stages.

The soil here is soft, and the seedlings are big enough to be handled easily. You can pull them up by the handful and throw them into the field, no longer having to drag mud pots step by step.

The two men set up the frame, tied the ropes, and quickly erected the ropes. About an hour later, dark clouds rolled in from the northwest, thunder rumbled, and the weather turned ominous. By this time, most people had already gone ashore and gone home.

Qu Hui, Chun Hong, Jiang Hong and her third sister, Feng Ming and I were still playing the game.

After a clap of thunder, a soft, rustling sound, like hundreds of people marching from afar, approached. We were puzzled and straightened up, looking around. Where was the sound coming from? When our gaze turned northwest, we were stunned. Raindrops, as large as coins, fell on the water's surface, bouncing up into columns a finger's width high, all marching in unison towards us.

We were both excited and amazed to see this: we had never seen rain come from one direction, marching in unison.

The heavy rain swept over us as we walked southeast, passing through the water and disappearing once we reached the ground. Only when we saw the dense lines of rain in the sky did we look away.

Qu Hui, Chun Hong, Jiang Hong, and her third sister also went ashore and returned home.

Experiencing this natural scenery excited Fengming and me so much that we didn't want to go home.

We were soaked through anyway; rainwater filled our clothes tucked into our waistbands, making us look like giant water sacks. Fengming's two hairbrushes looked like the ends of a telephone receiver. I looked at her and laughed, and she looked at me and laughed. The water level in the paddy field rose high, overflowing the embankments. The water was too deep to poke our feet in. We climbed out and ran home laughing along the slippery little dry line.

The rain was pouring down, and the only sound in the vast expanse of heaven and earth was the sound of water pouring down. We couldn't even hear each other when we shouted.

We were pounded by the heavy rain and couldn't tell which way was which. Guided by our hearts and our memories, we made our way home.

As autumn approached and the harvest was imminent, accountant Xiao Zhili led everyone in preparing the threshing ground. After a long day of work, Xiao Zhili shared some good news: "Attention all those who studied at Liuhe Middle School! Those with graduation certificates, hand them in. Those without, go to your school to get a certificate and bring it to me. Our farm's farm workers are starting to be graded. Those with graduation certificates or student certificates who have worked more than 200 days a year can be graded as Level 2."

"Oh! Oh! That's great! Is it true?" Those of us who met the criteria jumped up excitedly and asked.

Xiao Zhili: "Really."

"Can we go now?" Xiao Guiling asked.

"Can!"

We agreed to go home, ride our bicycles to Liuhe Middle School to get the certificate, and hand it to Xiao Zhili.

In the afternoon, we continued leveling the threshing ground. We had already started working when Dong Shulan rushed over, practically stumbling, and immediately got to work. She apologized to Xiao Zhili, saying, "Second sister-in-law is late again! What should we do? My mistress is clinging to me and won't let me move."

Xiao Zhili: "You always have an excuse for being late, so I'll deduct two points from your work score!"

Dong Shulan: "Okay, okay, I don't mind losing twenty points."

Dong Shulan: A sent-down youth from Lingyuan, she married Xiao Zhixin, a local farmer, after being sent to the countryside. A few years ago, they came to Jinhai together. She has fair skin, a high nose, and even the color of her eyes is lighter than others.

She has a cheerful personality and loves to joke around.

Looking at the housewives with children and paws, and no one to take care of the children, they really have it tough. They cook, feed the pigs, and beat the dogs. They run out with food in their mouths and are often late.

His clothes were sloppy, and he hadn't even bothered to wash the rice crust on the front.

Fengming and I couldn't help but sigh, "When we grow up, we won't get married; we'll live our lives on our own."

"Yes! I'll live my whole life alone!"

Dong Shulan overheard this and exclaimed, "Oh dear—look at you all, so capable! You're not getting married and living your whole lives on your own! Where's the room for you? You have your brothers!"

Fengming: "We became monks and went up a thousand mountains. We heard that there are many young nuns in the temples there."

Dong Shulan: "Being a nun isn't that easy. You need to know English to be a nun."

I said, "Don't try to fool me. Do you need English to be a nun? Why don't you go to England to become a nun?"

Dong Shulan: "English is a global language. When foreigners come to visit, shouldn't they speak English?"

Feng Ming: "Don't listen to her, as if she's the one who did it."

Dong Shulan immediately stopped working, turned the shovel upside down, and shouted the command "Forward left thrust!" pointing at us.

Xiao Zhili laughed and said, "Second sister-in-law can even practice bayonet fighting?"

Dong Shulan: "I always saw Zhang Shuangxing leading militia training to the east of my house."

My older brother went to work at the brickyard, but when it came time for militia training, the brigade "borrowed" him back to lead the core militia training. Initially, the brigade tried to keep him: "You can stay with the brigade as the militia company commander!"

The eldest brother proudly declared, "I don't want to be an official. If I wanted to, I would have been back in my hometown. Why would I wait until I'm stuck here as a company commander?"

After saying that, he regretted it, realizing he had offended the brigade leader. He then added, "However, I can train one. Yao Hexi from the second team is quite good. I'll bring him along and train him; he'll definitely be fine."

The eldest brother is handsome and has a history of being valued. The eldest sister-in-law is the youngest daughter in her family, and when it comes to spending money, they are just as generous as her two brothers-in-law who have worked in big cities for many years, thus earning themselves face.

When we returned from my father-in-law's house in the Guanzhong region this year, my older brother told us that my uncle's chubby son, Huifu, had died. We were all shocked. How could such a robust young man just die like that?

The older brother said, "Uncle said he fell ill after the earthquake. At first, they couldn't take care of him, and by the time they found out, it was too late. Even when he was locked in the house, he would always manage to run out, get lost, starve, and get injured. Such a healthy child was gone just like that."

The uncle and aunt were very sad; they had finally gotten a son, but he was gone.

Father sighed, "Ah—!" "It truly proves the saying, 'What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force!'"