How can I not worry?
Over the years, those elderly people who have suffered misfortune have all met with bad ends.
I asked him, "Is it absolutely necessary to pick it up?"
He nodded firmly.
I swallowed hard, steeled myself, and told him that he could pick it up, but he had to take me with him.
He asked me why I was being taken along.
I told him that if someone finds out, I'll hit them with a brick, and then our family will be fine!
I have confidence in my bricks. Back in the countryside, no one dared to mess with me. My bricks were hard and accurate.
He stared straight at me, and I had no idea what he meant by looking at me like that.
You look down on me?
I was just about to find a brick to prove myself when he hugged me.
He hugged me very tightly, and I felt as if he were melding me into his body.
But why is his body shaking?
Was he crying?
But why?
He never cried. In my memory, he has always been a very capable person—capable at work, capable in handling matters, and capable of making money. It seemed like nothing in this world could stump him. Even when people came to cause trouble during that period, they were scared away by him.
But today, he was trembling, he was crying.
I felt so sorry for him. All I could do was hold him. We were like two idiots, hugging each other tightly in our own house.
His voice trembled with tears as he told me, "They don't deserve this insult; they are heroes of our nation."
I don't know who he was talking about, but I know he was very sad.
However, I also felt a little bit of secret joy. It turned out that he needed me sometimes. Although I knew it was inappropriate to think this way, I was still very happy.
He told me a lot that day.
He said that he had started paying attention to the people in the area and making some preparations since 1967. He bought a house in the suburbs, in a remote, deserted mountain area. He even cultivated a few acres of land himself, just in case his family and he needed to temporarily hide there in case of future problems. But unexpectedly, in 1968, he saved a Mr. Yao.
He told me that the man had been beaten badly, and if he had arrived any later, the man would not have been able to withstand it.
Mr. and Mrs. Yao were very kind people. He decided to temporarily take them to the place he had prepared, since he didn't need that place for the time being.
Who knew that once this started, it would get out of control? Mr. Yao is cured, but there are still thousands upon thousands of other Mr. Yaos. He said that sometimes he really hates himself and hates his powerlessness.
I know he has already tried his best.
In the years that followed, he kept picking people up from that place. Some were middle-aged, but most were elderly men and women. I went with him, and Qin Huairu went with him too. Those elderly people were very kind and had a lot of class. When I first saw them, I was startled; I thought I had walked into a school.
From the way these gentlemen spoke, I roughly knew their identities.
Brother Shouren told me that if you really don't know what you want to do in the future, you can ask them. They are the people who stand at the top of this era, and they know a lot about this world.
It's true, they are really a very capable group of people.
With Shouren frequently visiting elderly people, his courtyard quickly filled up, and many interesting things happened during this time. Two grandfathers wanted to expand the courtyard, but they argued about it. One wanted it to be in the ancient style, while the other wanted it to be modern. Both were almost seventy years old, and they almost came to blows over it.
In the end, it was the director of the nursing home who stopped them.
Oh, by the way, ever since there were more and more elderly people here, Mr. Yao stepped forward without hesitation. He said that since he was the first one to come in, he should take care of the people's basic needs. He organized people, developed the land, and built many things here. Later, because most of the people living here were old, it was jokingly called a "nursing home".
Mr. Yao is the director of that nursing home.
They lived well, except for a few old ladies who didn't like Shouren. They grabbed my hand and told me that men shouldn't be spoiled too much, and asked me what was going on with my cousin. They insisted that the laws of the new China must be upheld, as a man cannot marry two wives.
I told them that I was the legitimate wife, and it didn't matter.
I don't know why, but those old ladies looked at me like I was a silly roe deer.
I'm clearly very smart, okay?
Later, as the nursing home grew larger, the noise outside gradually subsided.
Around 1975 and 1976, many elderly people left, which I found very hard to bear. But Brother Shouren was very happy. He told me that they had returned to their posts. Some elderly people didn't want to leave, saying they didn't want to be so busy anymore and wanted to rest. Brother Shouren didn't urge them to leave.
During these ten years, five elderly gentlemen passed away in our courtyard. We erected a monument for them on the mountain outside, and we occasionally go up there to visit and chat.
76 years later, Shouren became very busy.
Since then, I've spent at least six to seven months a year traveling.
Things got a little better after 1978. He spent less time traveling, so he had more time to spend with me and the children.
Oh, right, back in '77, he asked me to take an exam. I passed and went to study at the Wudaokou Technical College. When he wasn't around, I wasn't so lonely. Besides, there were many elderly people I knew at the school who would greet me cheerfully. Only the elderly people next door weren't so happy.
They seemed to have a strong opinion about my going to Wudaokou Technical College; they believed that Yuanmingyuan Vocational and Technical College was the best.
They're always like that; they love to make noise in the yard. I have to soothe one after the other, and in the end, I still have to soothe my own child.
Fortunately, both children are quite easy to take care of.
Oh, to be precise, it's one.
The older brother, Wang Ruiming, has always loved learning alongside the group of elderly men and women, acting like a little adult. Shouren says the child resembles him. Indeed, they are quite alike. But the younger sister, Wang Xirou, is a bit silly, though she has a sweet tongue, always calling out "Grandpa" and "Grandma," and always managing to sneak a bellyful of snacks when she comes back from the yard.
Originally, I thought my life would continue to be this peaceful.
But today, I heard from Liu Guangtian, who came to my door, that Brother Shouren has gotten into trouble!
At that moment, it felt like my world had collapsed.
I quickly asked what happened, and he said that Brother Shouren had been dismissed from his post.
Sometimes I really want to smash this idiot's head in. Can't he be a little smarter like me?!
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