"It was in August, almost September, twenty-one years ago! I remember it very clearly!"
Why? Because I was arranging my marriage with my husband, Xu Fugui, and the wedding was set for September! But then Shuisheng came, and when I saw him... oh my god!
She smiled a little shyly, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
"Such a handsome young man, even his sickly appearance couldn't hide his spirit, which made me not want to marry Fugui at the time! In the end, Fugui had to snatch me back to his house in the middle of the night! I'll remember this for the rest of my life!"
Her words made everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Even Zhou Qiqi, who had been keeping a sullen face under the window, slightly curved the corners of her mouth.
In her memory, when she was a child, Aunt Zhang always liked to come to her house, saying she wanted to talk to her mother, but her eyes always couldn't help but glance at her father.
However, Aunt Zhang was straightforward and knew her limits. She was just envious but never gossiped. She had a good relationship with her mother and often helped her fetch water and do some heavy work.
Zhou Shuhua nodded vigorously on the kang (a heated brick bed), tears welling up in her eyes again:
"Yes! It was at the end of August that year, Jianbang had an accident, he was swept away by a flash flood, that's when! So...so he was swept so far away..."
She choked up, remembering how her parents and she had searched frantically in the nearby mountains and ditches back then. Who would have thought that he would be swept away to such a small mountain village that couldn't be found on the map!
Lei Yuhua's eyes also reddened, and she murmured:
"So...so Uncle didn't not want to go home, he just bumped his head and doesn't remember anything..."
Political Commissar Lei sighed deeply and said with emotion, "Alas, fate is truly unpredictable, but now, everything makes sense."
Seeing that everyone's emotions had calmed down a bit, Village Chief Xu continued from where he left off:
"Later, Shuisheng's health gradually improved, and Qi Sanniang and Lin Meizi took him to several surrounding towns, trying to help him find his family. But in those days, the countryside was full of people being sent for reform and re-education, and it was all in a mess. They were far apart, so where could they look? They didn't find a single clue."
Adding to the problem, Qi Sanniang was already frail, and the journey of fleeing famine, coupled with worry and exhaustion, led her on several trips. Upon returning, she fell seriously ill and never recovered. Shuisheng, being an honest boy, seeing the old woman fall ill because of his plight, absolutely refused to let Linmeizi go out to search anymore. And so, the matter... was simply dropped.
No one spoke for a moment, except for the slight crackling sound of the kerosene lamp wick burning.
Wang the Cripple spoke, his voice lowering, tinged with a heavy sigh:
"The search for relatives has been put on hold, but unexpectedly, Aunt Qi didn't make it to the twelfth lunar month and passed away... From then on, Lin and Shuisheng depended on each other for survival."
As soon as these words were spoken, a heavy sadness washed over everyone present.
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