066
The winter of 1961 seemed particularly cold. It was a very cold day with snowflakes floating in the sky. Xiao Li took Wang Xuemei and carried gifts to visit the Wang family as relatives.
Returning to the Wang family courtyard after so many years, everything had changed. The once prosperous family gatherings were gone. Without the mistress's care, the courtyard lay desolate. The crabapple tree on the left side of the courtyard had been cut in half, and the bonsai at the doorway was shattered. On the immaculate exterior wall, inscribed in red paint, were the words: "Go to the mountains, go to the countryside, go to the poor and lower-middle peasants."
Wang Xuemei stood at the gate of the courtyard, but she hesitated to step inside until a woman came out of the house and called out, "Sister-in-law?"
The woman Wang Xuemei called sister-in-law looked up in disbelief at the long-lost voice. She was wearing a coarse cotton-padded jacket and looked to be in her thirties or forties. After seeing who was coming, she smiled at them with a tired face, "Meizi is back!"
Wang Xuemei also answered as she had done countless times before when she returned home, "I'm back!" But the old lady sitting in the yard basking in the sun would never come out to greet her again, and there would never be anyone in the kitchen to tell her that the meal would be ready soon!
Only the elder sister-in-law came out, looking much older. She even saw that the sister-in-law who used to be well-dressed and didn't know what housework was had chilblains on her hands, her meticulous hair was now a mess, and she was wearing the coarse cloth clothes that she used to despise the most. In an instant, Wang Xuemei's eyes filled with tears. She walked up to her sister-in-law, took her hand, which was no longer smooth, and said with a choked voice, "Sister-in-law, you have suffered."
While Wang Xuemei was looking at each other, Chen Haiyao was also looking at her. Wang Xuemei is 35 years old this year. There seems to be no trace of time on her face. She looks just like when she was a girl at home. The only difference is that her eyebrows are no longer as heroic as before, but much softer. Her skin is smoother and whiter. She doesn't look tired at all, and her complexion is enviable. It can be seen that she has lived a comfortable life in recent years.
Seeing her like this, Chen Haiyao finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in her heart for the past few years. She patted Wang Xuemei's hand and led her into the house. "What are you talking about, you silly girl? This is what a sister-in-law should do."
"You're so old and still crying. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by your brother-in-law?" Chen Haiyao poured Xiao Li a glass of water and placed it in front of him awkwardly. "There's no tea at home. Don't be disgusted."
Xiao Li didn't care. He took the water and waved his hand, "I'm not used to drinking tea. Boiled water is just right."
"That's good." Chen Haiyao picked up the broom at the door and said, "Meizi, sit with your brother-in-law in the house for a while. I'll clean the yard first."
"Sister-in-law, let me help you." The two of them were busy tidying up in the yard. Neither of them spoke. The yard became quiet for a while, until the gate was opened again from the outside, and Wang Xueming, who had just gotten off work, walked in.
"Xuemei!" Wang Xueming felt guilty. The moment he saw his sister, he didn't even know what to say. The corners of his mouth twitched several times, and in the end, he just said, "I'm sorry."
Wang Xuemei calmly put down her work, walked over to him with a smile, hugged him gently, and comforted him, "I understand. Brother has no choice, I understand."
Wang Xueming met her gaze and calmly recounted his experiences of the past few years: "As a son, brother, and husband, I've failed in my duties. After my parents were sent down to the countryside, I was targeted and suppressed at work. Militia members also frequently visited our home. They shouted about hitting the anti-D elements but broke into our house without restraint. Every time they left, your sister-in-law would spend a long time cleaning up."
"We dare not contact our parents. Your sister-in-law has to be sneaky when she goes out to buy things for fear of being seen. The two children are often ridiculed at school for having a grandfather who is in labor camp. I see all this, but I can't do anything!" Wang Xueming was a little emotional, tears welling up in his eyes. "Xuemei, I can't change anything. Am I too incompetent?"
Wang Xuemei comforted him in return: "Brother, come with me. Let's go live somewhere else. When the situation in Beijing stabilizes, we can come back and go to Province D with us."
"I'll think about it."
Wang Xuemei did not urge him, and the couple did not stay in the Wang family for long. After meeting every member of the family, they saw that it was getting late, so they went home hand in hand despite Wang Xueming and his attempts to keep them.
On the way home, halfway through, Wang Xuemei suddenly tugged at Xiao Li's sleeve and whispered, "I'd like to have my brother and his family come over after we're settled. My brother is a very good doctor, and I'm sure there will be a hospital that will accept him. Xiao Li, I'm sorry for not discussing this with you first."
Xiao Li glanced sideways: "What's the big deal? We are all family."
The Xiaoli family did not stay in Beijing for a long time, and soon it was time for them to leave. The old couple was reluctant to take their two children with them, so Wang Han prepared a lot of things for them in big and small bags, and the family set out on their journey again.
The train they took to Province D was bustling with people. Many of them were children of seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing big red flowers on their chests and carrying luggage, with childish faces. They responded to the leader's call to "go to the countryside", said goodbye to their families, carried their luggage, and boarded the train to Province D without hesitation.
These energetic children on the train were full of anticipation for the future. Xiao Li even saw Xiao Ming on the train, who had not appeared this time and was suspected to be out for an interview. After not seeing Xiao Ming for a few years, he seemed to have matured and darkened, but he had grown a lot taller.
"Your uncle is over there, go over and see what he's doing."
The two children were very efficient and quickly brought Xiao Ming to him. Xiao Ming looked at him in surprise: "Brother, sister-in-law, what a coincidence, I didn't expect you to be on this train too. I thought I wouldn't be able to see you this time."
Xiao Li asked, "What a coincidence! Weren't you out interviewing? Why are you here?"
"We are filming the educated youth going to the countryside this time, so I followed them." Xiao Ming studied journalism. Since he was not a journalist when he entered the school, the study period was five years. This year is his fifth year and he will graduate in a few months. Before graduation, he will follow the senior colleagues for some time to learn how to report news. The senior colleagues said that this large-scale educated youth going to the countryside is a very good news, and they need to go deep into the educated youth and shoot good material.
In order to get to know the educated youth and understand their situations after going to the countryside, Xiao Ming followed his seniors on the train and went to Province D with them, just to shoot some real footage.
Xiao Li fell silent for a rare moment after hearing this. He remembered that Xiao Ming's significant other in the novel was an educated youth. When did that start?
It’s over, I forgot!
It has been so long that Xiao Li is a little vague about what happened in the past. He only remembers the general situation and has forgotten all other details.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Xiao Li's eyes. He coughed lightly and said to him, "You're 22 years old this year. It's time to find a partner. Once we settle down in Province D, I'll ask your sister-in-law to find you a good partner at the hospital."
Xiao Ming's face turned red instantly, and his eyes wandered around embarrassedly, "Brother, why are you saying this? I can find one myself." Although his sister-in-law was very nice, Xiao Ming still preferred a gentler one, and he didn't trust his brother's judgment. He thought so in his heart, but didn't dare to say it out loud, so he could only stand there like a telephone pole.
"Heh!" If he believed in your judgment, he would still tell you this. If Xiao Li was not afraid that his judgment was not good, he would not care about this matter. His eyes turned cold in an instant, and he just looked at Xiao Ming straight without saying a word, but his lethality was amazing.
Xiao Ming felt as if he was being stared at by a hungry wolf for a moment. He shuddered and said, "I have something else to do. I'll be busy now." Then he slipped away.
Wang Xuemei noticed Xiao Li's change, patted him and said dissatisfiedly: "What are you doing? You scared him."
"Huh, why didn't I feel that?"
Xiao Li showed unprecedented enthusiasm for finding a wife for Xiao Ming. He brainwashed Xiao Ming every day, making Xiao Ming miserable. He would always ask Wang Xuemei for help, "Sister-in-law, please take care of my brother. I really don't like the type he talks about. I like gentle and warm ones."
Wang Xuemei said jokingly: "So you don't like your sister-in-law like this. Your sister-in-law is a little sad right now. Come back later."
Xiao Ming: “…” What sins did he commit in his previous life that he ended up with such a brother and sister-in-law!
A few days later, we arrived in Province D.
Xiao Li and his companion were not unfamiliar with Province D, and were even somewhat familiar with it. A few years ago, Xiao Li and his companions crossed the Yalu River from here to North Korea, and also returned to their motherland from here. What is more worth mentioning is that Xiao Li’s old unit, the 303rd Regiment, also belonged to the D Province Military Region. This time, Xiao Li can be said to have returned to where he started.
As soon as Xiaoli and his family got off the train, they attracted a lot of attention.
Xiao Li stood tall and straight in his military uniform, and his every move was natural and casual, not to mention his impressive height, which made him even more conspicuous in the crowd.
Next to him was Wang Xuemei, who was also wearing a military uniform, had short hair, and looked heroic and generous. Even with her two children, they were dressed neatly, had rosy complexions, and looked very charming.
Now everyone looked sallow and thin, malnourished. How could a family still be so well-fed at this time? How could they possibly be without food? In a short moment, many sallow and thin people stumbled over from the crowd, and without a word, they began to tear at the luggage beside them, mumbling, "Food, give me food!"
"Ah~~" The two children next to him were frightened by the sudden situation.
"You take good care of them." Xiao Li held the two children tightly with concern and handed his hand to Wang Xuemei.
Wang Xuemei nodded and walked away from the crowd with her child, advising them as they walked: "Be careful! You're still wearing your military uniform. Don't do anything."
"Okay." Xiao Li was the one who was robbed but couldn't fight back. He felt helpless as he looked at the group of hungry people.
What should I do if I can’t fight?
Xiao Li was trapped in the crowd and even took the initiative to pass on the snakeskin bag containing food. "This is food. You can share it among yourself. The rest of the luggage contains pots, pans, utensils, and clothes for our family of four."
Some people happily took the snakeskin bags and left, but more people stayed there, staring at the remaining snakeskin bags beside Xiao Li, and even reached out to take one of them.
"Hmph! Do you really want to open a dyeing factory after I teach you some color?" Xiao Li scolded, a dark light flashed in his eyes. He stretched out his long legs and kicked the man on the leg. The powerful force made the man kneel in front of Xiao Li, looking at Xiao Li in disbelief.
The others were shocked by Xiao Li's actions. They all knew that soldiers would not attack civilians, but the other party actually matched their opponent. For a moment, everyone stayed where they were and dared not move. They were afraid of being kicked to death.
The scene was very quiet for a while, until the arrival of the police and service personnel near the station broke the weird atmosphere. Xiao Li and the people who robbed his things were all taken to the public security bureau.
After sitting in the small public security bureau and receiving some education, both parties were released. As for the robbers being released, Xiao Li had nothing to say. After all, there were a large number of people, and the current national conditions were like this. No matter how much he said, it would be useless. There was no need for him to argue with the other party. After all, he also knew the feeling of being hungry.
That feeling, heartburn.
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