Chapter 191 Watching the Community Performance
"Yes, she's talking about going to my maternal family's place, Liangdaoya. You probably haven't heard of this place. You have to go over Maoerling and then climb over several hills. It's a long way to go. If you set out before dawn, you won't get there until the afternoon. If you go there, I bet you'll cry just by walking."
"It's so far! Wouldn't it be difficult for Mom to go back once?"
Lu Dongping nodded. "It's difficult. I went there with her once when I was eight or nine, and I haven't been back in all these years. I don't know what she's thinking. After so many years, they probably forgot she even existed. And now she suddenly wants to take you there to recognize your relatives. It's so far away, what's the point of recognizing those relatives?"
Wen Wan looked at him puzzledly, feeling that there was a story behind this.
Lu Dongping didn't go any further up. He found a sunny place and sat down on the thick pine needles.
He wanted to take Wen Wan into the mountains, but the little guy Lu Donglin and Lu Dongfu followed them like a tail, so he was too lazy to go.
"My mother was bought by my eldest uncle and aunt in exchange for grain after they asked someone to help her. Life was really hard back then, and many families offered their daughters in exchange for food. When I was eight or nine, there was a severe drought. The West River dried up, leaving no grass. The roots had been dug up.
Two branches were deep in the mountains, and it was better back then than here. My mother, hiding it from my father, walked with me for a whole day until we got there. We didn't even have a sip of water to drink. My aunts started to attack us, saying we had to find the right place to beg for food. My uncles said nothing, and my grandparents didn't show up. My mother cried at the door and took me back in the dark. It was too dark to see, so we spent the night in the woods, starving and eating whatever we could find. I've lived through many hard times, but I'll always remember the time my mother cried.
"Why do you think she suddenly wants to go back now? She just feels that life is better now. We both have jobs and get paid, and you are beautiful. She wants to go back and show off, to be proud, and to get back at the people for the humiliation she suffered back then. But I don't think it's necessary."
"We all live our own lives. I won't share the good with others, and I don't expect anyone to save me when things get bad. I ran so far and walked so far just to vent my anger. If she wants to go, she can go by herself. Don't drag you along."
I don't know what I have to brag about. I can only get by now. I don't get so hungry that I have to wake up in the middle of the night and drink cold water. Do you think I can show off like that? What are you thinking! Life, good or bad, is all yours.
The two of them leaned against each other and talked for a while, basking in the sun for a while. Lu Donglin and Lu Dongfu thought they were going to do something mysterious, so they waited there for a long time with their eyes wide open, but nothing happened, so they had to go back sadly.
I didn't stay there for long. I felt so lazy under the sun that I didn't want to move at all, let alone go up the mountain, I didn't even want to go down the mountain.
Lu Dongping grabbed the man and carried him down from halfway up the mountain.
Lu Mingjiang and Zhang Hongying came back after going out for a walk. The couple was preparing dinner for New Year's Eve in the kitchen, talking while they were busy.
Lu Mingjiang asked Zhang Hongying: "Why do you suddenly want to go back?"
Zhang Hongying was washing a piece of bacon she had cooked that morning when she heard him ask. She paused for a moment and said, "I haven't been back in years, and I want to go back and visit. All these years have passed in a flash. Even if it's far, it's not as far as Wanwan's home. Dongping has a wife now, so I want to go over and see them, to let them know that I can raise a child and make a good life."
Lu Mingjiang laughed and said, "You're so old, how can you still remember what happened back then? It was difficult back then. If you want to go back, I'll go with you. If not, take Chun'e and Donglin with you. We have to let them know where our maternal family is. Forget Dongping and his wife. They're both busy, but it's a bit far, and his wife can't walk that way."
Zhang Hongying said, "Let's talk about it later!"
The dishes for the 30th were quite rich. We cooked bacon, fried smoked pig intestines, heated up the pig's trotters bought by Wen Wan, and cooked mixed grain rice.
I cooked dumplings again on the first day of the Lunar New Year. They were big white flour and meat dumplings. These were really the two best days of the year with the most oil and water in the house.
Early in the morning on the second day of the New Year, Wen Wan and Lu Dongping went to the commune together without even having time to eat breakfast.
As soon as the genius mother got up, the commune was already bustling with activity.
There was no light in the offices, only darkness. All the tables, chairs and benches inside had been carried out and moved to the dam behind the courtyard.
Lu Dongping wanted to go and help, so Wen Wan went to the dam to find Wang Chunmei first.
Wang Chunmei's voice could be heard from far away.
Wen Wan followed the voice and went over: "Director Wang, you guys are here so early?"
"It's not too early, it's not too early. We need to set up everything here. Once the art troupe arrives, we'll have to start the community fire. We'll go around the commune, promote it, and then come back here. We have to think of everything and prepare it in advance, otherwise it will be a mess if too many people come."
"So what am I supposed to do now?"
Wang Chunmei said, "Today's performance will be mainly for the art troupe. They're here to visit the countryside, and we're just there to accompany them. But we still have to prepare the program we submitted. We'll arrange it once they arrive. You can do it this way for now, and then practice with them. We won't have time later."
All right! This is no big deal.
The chorus of "Learn from Lei Feng's Good Example" and the duet of "Ninety-nine Sunny Days" had been practiced daily. The performers were even more nervous than Wen Wan, fearing they'd ruined this rare opportunity, so they practiced diligently. Wen Wan came over to organize the group and clapped her hands as she sang again. They were both in great shape; further practice would be pointless. Too much is as bad as too little, so they should save their energy for the performance later when there were more people.
While we were busy, dawn came in the blink of an eye. The weather was also exceptionally good. As soon as the sky brightened and the sun had not yet climbed over the top of the mountain, its rays of light poured down, illuminating the whole world.
The participants lined up on the dam. As soon as the gongs and drums started beating, the suola started playing, and the atmosphere instantly became lively. The gong and drum players were all veterans of the festival, so they had so much experience that no one had to worry about how to proceed or where to go. Even so, Wang Chunmei still followed along, fearing any mishaps.
There were lion dancers, stilt walkers, flower boat rowers, and yangko dancers, but Wen Wan was most worried about the group of stilt walkers. They were all young kids, about the same age as Lu Donglin and Li Dongfu. They had bench legs tied to their calves, and their faces were painted as they followed the team forward, which made people scared.
Zhang Hongying didn't go to her parents' home after all. She cooked breakfast and ate it at home, locked the door, and came to deliver the meal to her son and daughter-in-law, and watched the fun at the same time.
When we arrived at the commune, Lu Dongping was there tieing his trouser legs, with a red cloth band tied on his head. He was not wearing any outer clothes, just a sweater.
"What are you doing? Aren't you cold?"
Lu Dongping said, "I'm going to play with the lions later, so I won't be cold."
Zhang Hongying looked around while holding her lunch box. "Where's Wanwan? Isn't she with you? I made some egg pancakes for you. You have to eat them while they're hot."
Lu Dongping said, "She's not with me. She's with Director Wang from the Women's Federation. Go to the dam in the back and see if you have any benches. If not, I'll find two for you. You can take a seat first."
Zhang Hongying handed him the lunch box and said, "Then eat your meal first. I don't know if there's fire here. You'll have to find some fire to heat it up when your wife comes back."
Lu Dongping took the food, then went to get two stools and led them to the dam in the back: "Uncle and aunt didn't come?"
Zhang Hongying said, "We were originally planning to come, but who knows what happened? We started arguing again. It's New Year's Day and we couldn't stop. I tried to persuade them for a long time. I asked Dongfu to come with us, but he's a sensible boy. Seeing his mother was upset, he didn't come and stayed at home. I called your aunt and told her to bring Chuyi over when it gets warmer."
"It's only the second day of the Lunar New Year, why are you arguing again?"
Lu Donglin said, "Isn't it all Brother Dongcai's fault? He can't even control a woman. He's always looking for trouble at home. He's pregnant like she's pregnant with a gold ingot. My aunt was cooking and asked her to look after Chuyi, but she fell off the bed right in front of everyone and got a big bump on her head. I said a few words to her and she started crying like she was dying. That's why there was a quarrel. My aunt was so angry that she told her to get out, and she told her to get out now, and she banged her head against the wall and made a scene. I've never seen anything like this. If I had known she would be like this, I would have divorced her if she didn't want Chuyi."
Lu Dongping patted his head and said, "Alright, don't talk nonsense outside, and don't run around. There are a lot of people here today, so sit with your parents. Your sister-in-law will be back soon."
Lu Donglin responded. Why would he run when there's something exciting going on? Shehuo Festival doesn't happen every year. Lu Mingjiang and the others had seen it once a few years ago, but Lu Donglin was only a little kid back then, so he didn't have much of an impression.
I saw platforms and racks in the middle of the dam, but I didn't know what they were used for.
After the family sat down nearby, Zhang Hongying muttered to Lu Mingjiang, "Should we ask Dongping to find two more benches? I wonder if my eldest brother and his wife will show up. We haven't seen this much fun in years. It would be a shame to miss it."
Lu Mingjiang said, "We'll talk about it when he gets here. I guess after all that commotion early in the morning, he's probably not in the mood anymore."
As we were chatting, someone shouted from a distance: "Here they come, here they come!"
Zhang Hongying looked back, confused, and asked, "What's coming?"
"Let me take a look!"
Lu Donglin went to the airport and ran away.
After a long while, he came back, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Mom, it's the people from the art troupe up there who are performing. They came in a car. It's a big car. It's completely different from the tractors in our commune. It looks so luxurious."
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