A century of poverty

Chapter 55 Rejection?

Huan'er tidied up the house, heated the kang (a heated brick bed), and welcomed her uncle over. At the door, she said, "Be careful not to bump your head, the doorway is low."

Father bowed as he entered. It was a small, outbuilding used to house outsiders. Huan'er's sister ushered her father onto the kang (heated brick bed): "We're home, Uncle. Take off your shoes and rest on the kang."

After dinner, Liu Zhenyi came over: "Uncle, shall we go to the team leader's house?"

"Let's go." Father got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on his shoes, and came out with Liu Zhenyi.

The night wasn't very dark, and under Liu Zhenyi's guidance, Father could still make out the path they had taken during the day. They returned to the first street not far from the Qiyou County Road, passed two courtyards, and entered the third house. Following the path on the east side of the courtyard to the front of the house, as they walked in, Liu Zhenyi said, "Uncle, are you home? I've brought you a guest!" Before he finished speaking, they arrived at the outer room.

"At home, at home, his older brother is here?" A loud voice called out. A woman in her fifties with curly hair was carrying a bundle of straw and preparing to enter the house from the outer room.

"Auntie, is dinner ready?" Liu Zhenyi greeted her.

"I ate, didn't you eat a while ago too?"

"Okay," Liu Zhenyi replied.

The elderly woman stepped aside to let the guests in, saying, "Come in, have a seat inside."

The Liu family was a "local household" in this area. A local household is one that arrived about two or three generations earlier than the families who came now.

They also said that this place was reclaimed land from the sea, and there had been no one here before. It was the older generation who "crossed the Guandong" and carried it here from inside the Guandong region. In this group, there was another local family like theirs, the Liu family—there were four brothers.

In addition, there are two separate, independent households: the Zhao family and the Fu family.

The Liu family is a large clan in this production team. The character "Hong" represents the older generation, and "Zhen" represents the younger generation. All five of Liu Hongpei's sons have the character "Zhen" in their names.

Liu Hongpei stood on the ground to greet them. When he saw his eldest nephew leading a stranger, he knew in his heart that this was probably Li Kongzhi's wife's uncle. He had heard that he had come with Li Kongzhi and the others today, and that someone had seen him when he entered the village.

Liu Zhenyi introduced, "This is Liu Hongpei, the captain of our sixth team." Then, pointing to his father, he said, "This is Uncle Zhang Yinhuan, who wants to settle down in our team."

Liu Hongpei smiled broadly: "Come, come, come, get on the kang (heated brick bed), sit down inside." He then got on the kang, took the tobacco basket, and handed it to him, saying, "Do you know how to smoke? Here, have a smoke."

Dad: "You take one, I have some."

Liu Zhenyi: "Uncle, don't be shy. We're here today, so please stay a while. Don't be a stranger, come sit on the kang (heated brick bed)."

Father: "Then I won't stand on ceremony." With that, he sat down, crossed his legs, and sat in the seat near the entrance of the room. Liu Zhenyi sat opposite him, and Liu Hongpei sat inside.

This is a large house with two rooms and one main room. At the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), Captain Liu's family and several children were picking straw. Bundles or loose bundles of straw were casually placed on and under the kang.

Father said, "My niece and nephew-in-law told me that we're looking for a household here. We're interested in coming over, so I came here to inquire and see what's going on."

Liu Hongpei: "Yes, that's right. This land is currently recruiting tenants. How many people are in your family?"

Dad said that there are nine family members who can come: my elderly mother, my wife and I, three sons, and five daughters. The two eldest daughters are married and cannot come, but the other three who are at home can come.

Captain Liu then asked about the ages of the children who could come here, and the father answered truthfully.

Team Leader Liu said, "We can let the able-bodied members, namely the eldest brother, third sister, and second brother, come first to participate in the team's labor, and let their mother come along to cook for them. The farm work has just begun this year, and if they come, they can earn enough labor points for almost the whole year to receive a year's worth of food rations. If they have a high number of points, there will be a surplus, and the family will have no worries about making a living."

Dad raised some questions, such as: Where will our big family, with old and young, stay when we come? We have food and supplies at home, but we've traveled hundreds of miles to get here. How will we bring enough food for the whole family? And what about the household registration issue?

Captain Liu: "You don't need to worry about that. As long as you come, accommodation won't be a problem. We'll help you find a place to stay. You don't need to bring any food. Our team has grain in the warehouse, and you can borrow as much as you need. You don't need to bring your own rations. As for other household items, we don't need to worry about them. You can decide for yourself what to bring and what not to bring."

"We'll take care of the household registration issue."

Dad understood. The two major problems of food and shelter could be solved, and there was no need to worry about the household registration; all other difficulties could be overcome. He said, "I'll go back and discuss it with the family."

Liu Hongpei: "Ha, ha, ha! What's there to discuss! Here, we have rice to eat, plenty of firewood for the pot, and we can easily carry rice husks from the threshing ground. We eat what's ready to cook, we don't have to worry about anything. There's something better than this, hahaha!"

The father looked at Liu Zhenyi and said, "Brother, let's go back!"

As they spoke, Liu Zhenyi stood up, and Liu Hongpei got off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Father: "Please wait, we're leaving."

Liu Hongpei: "The labor force needs to come as soon as possible, the earlier the better!"

The night passed, and the next day, Dad went to check on the fields again. He saw vast stretches of strip fields, interspersed with ditches, and the roadside was full of potholes. It was early spring, and most of the ponds were dry, except for the larger ones which had water.

Dad didn't stay in Jinhai for long. He rushed home to tell me about the situation in Jinhai and Captain Liu's instructions when he left.

The older brother decided, "In that case, let's go."

Dad: "Go! Get ready. Just like Captain Liu said, the four of you go first. After you leave, I'll take care of things at home, and then I'll bring your grandma, the fourth child, the fifth child, and Shuanglai before we go."

Now that the decision had been made, the first thing to consider was the eldest brother. Deciding to go to the Northeast meant relinquishing his position in the production brigade and handing over responsibilities. He approached Zhang Mingzhi: "Brother, my family wants to go to the Northeast. I'm sorry to have failed your guidance. I'd like to explain my situation to you and hope you'll agree to let me go!"

Zhang Mingzhi: "I don't agree. Don't explain yourself. Tell me when you've thought it over." After saying this, he turned and left, leaving his older brother there.

That day, seeing that no one else was in the secretary's office, the eldest brother said, "Brother, our family is really going to the Northeast, it's not a joke, we're making preparations! We'll be leaving in a few days, and I must hand over the work to you."

Zhang Mingzhi said with a serious face, "You guys are really going to the Northeast? You're doing just fine at home, why would you want to go to the Northeast? I told the uncle, you shouldn't leave."

At home, things were exciting for those who wanted to move. Preparations were already underway. Dad sold two unfattened pigs from the pigsty and made new clothes for each of my eldest brother, second brother, and third sister. They had to dress nicely when they went out so that no one would look down on them.

Father bought the fabric for my eldest and second eldest brothers, and my second eldest sister made them. As for my third eldest sister's clothes, Father gave her money to go to the cooperative and choose the colors she liked. My third eldest sister chose a beige khaki top and dark gray khaki pants, and went directly to Liuzhuangtuo to have my second eldest sister make them.

I bought a toothbrush, toothpaste, and other daily necessities, packed my personal belongings and clothes, and headed to the station to mail them. Since goods move slower than people, if they arrive at the same time, the goods might not arrive before the person does.

Li Kongzhi sent a message saying that his second brother's friend, Zhang Tong's brother-in-law and his wife from Zhangzhuangtuo, had also gone to Jinhai with my family and would come together when they left.

When the villagers saw that my family was moving, people came to visit and say goodbye every day, reluctant to part. An older woman from Xidang Street walked down the street and said, "Auntie, why are you leaving? You have so much stuff at home. If it were me, I wouldn't leave even for that pile of sorghum stalks."

Grandma, leaning on her cane, sighed and lamented, "We sold both husks, how much less money did we get compared to selling a fat pig? Moving is such a waste of money." Fourth Sister looked worried and listless.

Zhang Mingzhi came to the house and said, "Uncle, why did you go to the Northeast? Who are you worse than in our village? We're both getting old, are you really willing to move? If you're leaving, leave Shuangxing with me."

The father lowered his head: "I had no choice. We moved because of him..." Neither of them spoke again, and they sat silently for a long time.

Father didn't say it outright, but the move was indeed because of his eldest son. His brother's fiancée had asked someone to propose marriage, but was rejected, and Father was seething with anger. His eldest son was handsome and capable. At twenty-three, he became the militia company commander, deputy secretary of the brigade, and captain of the first team. He was outstanding among young people and in no way inferior to Yun'er. Yet, his proposal was rejected by her family, and Father's strong sense of pride was wounded.

He grew up with his grandmother, enduring countless hardships and sufferings that ordinary people could not bear, all in order to stand tall in front of others. He valued his eldest son highly, thinking that such an outstanding son, who was also honest and kind, would be a perfect match. However, he failed and felt that he had lost face in all five mountain circles.

Just as he was fuming with anger, Yin Huan's family returned home due to the earthquake. They said Jin Hai was recruiting households, which gave his father the idea to change his environment.

Dad came to Jinhai but didn't really see anything wrong with it. He just came back and mentioned it casually. My eldest brother, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic and eager to go for it, so Dad went along with his wishes. But he wasn't really committed to going to Jinhai and settling down there. He went, but could he come back?

Father kept his thoughts to himself. Mother guessed that Father's trip to the Northeast was due to the setback in her eldest brother's marriage, so she agreed to move.

A few days later, Zhang Mingzhi came to his house again and talked to his elder brother: "You know I picked you out from all the young people in the village, firstly because of the older generation's support over the years, and secondly because I saw you as a promising young man. I've devoted myself to nurturing you, don't you know that? For years, do you know how much effort I've put in? I've wholeheartedly supported you, and now that I'm about to retire, you've abandoned me and left. What am I supposed to do now? Have you thought about the hundreds of people in our village?"

The elder brother remained silent; he hadn't really thought that much about it. Listening intently to the old Party Secretary's words, tinged with resentment, he felt a growing heaviness in his heart.

Zhang Mingzhi stood up: "Zhang Shuangxing, you have let me down." He then walked outside.

The elder brother stood up, watching the old Party Secretary's retreating figure, his words echoing in his ears: "You have let me down, you have let me down..."