A century of poverty

Chapter 92 Anger

The second brother and sister-in-law had 700 yuan in their house. The two and a half brick and stone houses in the west wing were used to live separately.

The two and a half rooms in the east wing belonged to the younger brother, who pocketed his share of seven hundred yuan. Grandma, Dad, and the younger brother lived together in the east wing, cultivating the land that belonged to the family.

Although my father came from a farming background, he had never worked in a paddy field since he came to Jinhai in 1975. He rarely participated in planting or shoveling beans with the "old men's team." He knew absolutely nothing about cultivating paddy fields.

Although my younger brother Shuanglai dropped out of school and also works in the fields, he is not yet eighteen years old. His farming skills and sense of responsibility have not yet reached the level of an adult.

He used his own money to buy a used, green "Da Xingfu" motorcycle from Li, a member of the Jinhai Traffic Police Team, for 700 yuan.

Just as I worried before I got married, there were three people, three generations, and cooking three meals a day would be a problem. My father was used to his patriarchal ways and thought the younger generation should cook for him.

Shuanglai bought an old motorcycle that frequently broke down and needed repairs. In addition, boys don't have the same initiative and responsibility when it comes to housework as my fourth sister and I do at home.

Even though the family of three couldn't get enough to eat on time, Dad still endured it, bearing his grievances as they struggled to make ends meet day by day, pushing aside the work in the fields that was always on time.

The three brothers teamed up to raise seedlings, along with their wives.

After the seedlings were cultivated, there was work to be done in the fields every day. Shuanglai didn't quite understand, and after working for a few days, he always wanted to take a day off to ride his "Great Happiness" to the city for a ride. In Jinhai City, which had just become a city, there were department stores, free markets, and sometimes you could even see blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners. With such convenient transportation, how could the paddy fields hold back his young heart?

Father didn't understand his younger brother's actions. He thought that if his brother didn't cook for him and Grandma on time, he was being unfilial, and if he didn't do his farm work on time, he was being lazy. Because of this, Father's resentment and anger turned into rage.

The fields were already a bright white expanse, soaked and ready for planting. Every household was clearing the embankments, preparing to harrow and transplant the rice seedlings, but they hadn't moved an inch. Dad got anxious, put on a pair of boots, grabbed a shovel, and went to clear the embankments.

The 60-year-old man stood in the mud. He had never used a shovel before and didn't know how to use it. He tried very hard but couldn't get anything done. He couldn't take a step forward and fell into the mud.

She had no choice but to go home to change her clothes. She stayed home, angry, and refused to get out of bed, harboring a deep resentment towards her younger brother.

When his younger brother came home, he gave him a cold look. Knowing he was being unreasonable, he didn't say anything and didn't dare leave, obediently working at home. A few days later, the embankment was finally cleared. Then it was time to harrow the field. He drove the old ox alone, guiding the harrow. At noon, covered in mud, he unloaded the harrow and drove the ox home for lunch.

When he got home, he found the stove and pots empty. His 85-year-old grandmother, whose eyesight was poor, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) leaning against her luggage, while his father sat at the other end, giving him a disapproving look. Anger welled up inside him; he resented his father for staying home and not cooking. In a fit of pique, he turned and went to the small shop run by Secretary Liu by the county road, buying a bag of biscuits to eat at home.

When Dad saw this, he got angry and scolded his younger brother: "You are not respectful to your elders. You don't cook for them and you buy cookies to eat yourself."

Shuanglai retorted without backing down: "I work all day, I'm so tired I don't even want to talk, and when I get home there's not even a meal. What's wrong with me buying a bag of biscuits? You stay home and don't cook, and you think you're in the right?"

Dad stood up and raised his fist to hit him. Shuanglai was also furious: "My mother was bullied to death by you, and you still want to hit me? We're not kids anymore, you can't just hit me whenever you want."

He quickly stood up and braced his father's arms with both hands, preventing his father's fist from landing. The two of them braced themselves on the floor.

At this moment, the second sister-in-law from the outer room ran over and separated the father and son: "What's going on? Why did you start fighting after only a few words?"

Shuanglai tearfully recounted what had happened.

Second sister-in-law: "Heh—, that's right, it's nothing. I have some food in this room. I'll cook some more for you." Saying this, she went back to the west room and brought over half a basin of rice, placing it on the table for them on the kang (heated brick bed). Just then, she heard a child crying, and hurriedly ran back: "The child is awake."

The war has ended.

But the father and son were still unsure of each other's feelings, each believing they were right.

At that time, not only my younger brother, but even my second brother had a lot of opinions about our father, but they dared not speak out. All of us, from my third sister down, harbored a similar resentment. Our mother's passing was a great misfortune for us, all because our father and grandmother treated her badly. We just kept it to ourselves and dared not say it.

In May, the rice-planting army from western Shaanxi Province arrived at Jinhai Railway Station Square as scheduled, creating a bustling and lively scene. Those who arrived earlier were loudly discussing wages with their employers: "We'll pay 12 cents per row for 30 meters of rice planting line, even if we bring our own boots."

"We have boots, one cent a row!"

"Let's go! Get in the car!"

The back of the twelve-horse carriage was filled with young female laborers wearing red and green headscarves. With a "beep! beep!" sound, the motorcycle sped away.

The newly arrived workers, dragging their luggage and carrying their bags, waited for their employers in groups of three or five.

"Steamed buns! Steamed buns! Freshly steamed buns!" The cries of vendors echoed along the roadside.

Wandering among them: "Creamy ice cream, two cents a stick—".

My younger brother Shuanglai also hired three rice transplanters from here.

He was taller than his two older brothers, but not as robust as they were. It was already the best effort the three of them had to put in him to help select seedlings.

My second brother and sister-in-law had a daughter this year. The three of them have land. My second brother picks the seedlings and my sister-in-law plants them. After they have enough seedlings, my second brother comes over to help with the stringing and planting. The two of them finish their land in a relaxed manner within the season.

The eldest brother and sister-in-law were transplanting rice seedlings. The eldest brother was picking seedlings and took his two children to play at the edge of the field. The older one was eight years old (by Chinese reckoning), and the younger one was six years old (by Chinese reckoning). As they played, the older one said, "Mom, it's hard for you to tie the string yourself, let me help you." Saying that, she went barefoot into the field and helped her mother tie the string and plant the seedlings. One person per row, and when her mother finished, she finished too.

The younger one got bored playing up there: "I'll go down and help you guys with it too." He didn't fall behind.

The two children's small figures, viewed from the other side of the field, looked like little ducks floating on the water.

In early summer, the strong southwest winds of spring have receded, leaving the land warm and balmy. Grasses and trees are growing vigorously, and it's the season for locust flowers to bloom once again.

That day, Liu Fengming and I went back to her parents' home without prior arrangement, and then went to the fields together to help with the chores.

We walked along, our boots rolled up to our ankles and our arm sleeves swaying at our wrists.

A gentle breeze caressed my face, and the fragrance of locust blossoms wafted from both sides of the road. I said, "My birthday is wonderful; it always falls during the season when locust blossoms are in full bloom."

Liu Fengming: "My birthday always falls when the rice is ripe."

We were walking and talking when we reached the back path of Dong Shulan's house. We saw Dong Shulan come out of her door and walk onto the path outside the east wing, putting on arm sleeves as she went: "My two aunts have gone back to their parents' home. What are they saying all this time?"

Fengming: "It's a birthday celebration!"

Dong Shulan: "Happy birthday! It's been half a year since you got married, and you're still so healthy?"

Fengming: "Look, isn't this it!"

Dong Shulan said, "You should hurry up too." She then walked past the other side.

We continued westward. "Xidawa" was far from home, passing through the entire Fifth Team village and fields. It was the western boundary of the Da Liujia Brigade, and it would take more than an hour to walk there.

We talked about our lives again, and neither of them was quite satisfactory.

Her land was dry land. Her mother-in-law treated her very well; as the eldest sister-in-law, she had two younger brothers-in-law, not much younger than her, neither of whom were married. Her family was poor and didn't own a house. They ate coarse grains, and she wasn't familiar with working in the dry fields, so she wasn't used to it.

I explained my situation: although my family doesn't live in dry land and we eat coarse grains, we live in the suburbs. But Xiao Su is the youngest in her family. She has a paralyzed mother-in-law, a group of sisters-in-law, and a younger brother-in-law, all with different temperaments and personalities. It's difficult for us honest country kids to get along with them.

Just make do! Don't overthink it.

We walked silently for a while until we reached the edge of the field. She went north, and I went south. We rolled up our boots and went down into the field.

Shuanglai was carrying a handful of seedlings, looking for a spot to plant them. He was very happy to see me: "Your arrival makes things much faster. Once I've finished this work, I'll go to Jinhai Motorcycle Parts to buy crematorium plugs."

"You still want to buy it? Dad won't even let you handle those things."

Shuanglai: "I'm not afraid of him at all! I'm not going to farm in the future, I'm going to build cars and airplanes!"

"This is getting increasingly absurd! You want to build airplanes? You'd be lucky to even be able to ride in one!"

Shuanglai: "I built a small airplane to transport oranges from the south so we can eat as many as we want."

"You built airplanes just to eat oranges?"

Shuanglai: "Of course not. I like machinery and I'm interested in how it works. The process of 'suction, pressure, explosion, and discharge' is so simple that motorcycles can run on the ground. I think it shouldn't be too difficult for airplanes to run in the air."

"I don't know if it's difficult or not. Having ideals is certainly good, but you also need to do your current job well..."