(During the Lunar New Year, there was a dish of mixed grain steamed buns and wild vegetables. The elders said it looked a bit like a "bitter memories meal," and everyone started chatting. Then they couldn't help but bring up the topic of the past.)
"Xie Ming, my legs are so weak, I really can't take it anymore. How about we go rest for a bit?"
With a cloth wrapped around her head, Xu Chunhua felt weak all over, her legs trembled incessantly, and her throat was dry and uncomfortable.
When Xie Ming first arrived, he and an older woman were carrying several sacks of things uphill, with Xie Ming standing at the back and bearing most of the weight.
But he could still clearly see the old woman in front of him walking weakly forward. He quickly pointed to a big tree not far away and said, "Auntie, go sit in the shade under that tree for a while."
The two reached the tree, put down their loads, and Xie Ming moved a large rock over so that Xu Chunhua could sit and lean against the tree trunk to rest. He then said he needed to relieve himself and went to the nearby grove of trees.
Xie Ming wasn't there to receive any memories; he was there to teach people a lesson.
This time, he came to a place similar to the late 1950s, around the time of the Great Leap Forward and the communal dining system.
Xie Ming's identity this time is quite funny. He is clearly a child from a city compound, but because his grandfather wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, he sent him to live with his fiancée in the countryside.
The story begins with his grandfather and his old comrade-in-arms, Qian Youdong. The two had a life-or-death bond on the battlefield, and Qian Youdong was even wounded and discharged from the army while saving his grandfather.
So Xie Ming's grandfather remembered this camaraderie and promised to repay it many times over in the future.
That was his life. What was he trying to repay by doubling the debt? Xie Ming thought the old man was planning to compensate the Qian family with his grandson's entire life.
After liberation, Qian Youdong, who had returned to his hometown in his early years, became the village's Party Secretary, in charge of various affairs of several nearby production brigades, and could be considered a semi-local emperor.
After liberation, Xie Ming's grandfather retired from the army and went to the city where Qian Youdong lived to become a proper official.
Now that things have settled down, Master Xie always felt that if it weren't for him, Qian Youdong would definitely have had a brighter future, and feeling guilty, he always wanted to repay him.
With the conditions met, the two families quickly reconnected, and Qian Youdong's status in the village became more stable thanks to this relationship. Even the county had to give him some face.
Qian Youdong would also be invited to visit his good friends in the city with his children. This is how his granddaughter, Qian Fen, entered the Xie family's social circle.
Qian Youdong will have a son, and his son will also have a son.
Therefore, Qian Fen became the only girl in the family. In the Qian family, where men were far more numerous than women, she grew up being pampered by her family and was given everything she wanted.
After learning about the two families' backgrounds, Qian Fen became less reserved in the Xie family, and Master Xie, out of affection for her, also showed her great kindness.
After Qian Fen first saw the tall, thin, and fair-skinned Xie Ming, she insisted on marrying him.
Even though Qian Youdong knew that his granddaughter was not a good match for the son of a high-ranking official, he still went to the Xie family to discuss the marriage for his granddaughter's sake and for his own inexplicable feelings.
When Grandpa Xie heard this, he was neither surprised nor angry. Instead, he laughed heartily and thought that this was a good match.
In his words, the fact that the two children could be together was a predestined fate between the two families from a previous life; it was simply a match made in heaven.
Seeing that things were going well, the two old men finalized the marriage without much thought.
From beginning to end, no one asked Xie Ming for his opinion, let alone whether he was willing.
So when he returned from school for vacation, he was absurdly packed up by his own grandfather and sent to the Qian family to cultivate his relationship with his fiancée.
Oh, right, Xie Ming started school a year late. He was only 17 when he was sent to the countryside. He hadn't even graduated from high school yet. He was a proper student!
Fortunately, he hadn't graduated yet; otherwise, his grandfather would have definitely taken him to the bridal chamber.
Yes, that's exactly how little his grandfather values this grandson. The reason is simple: he has plenty of grandsons! One more or one less won't make a difference!
Xie Ming's grandfather felt it was worth it to use his grandson to fill the hole!
This brings us to the Xie family's situation. Mr. Xie had four wives in just 10 years.
Her first marriage was arranged by her parents before the war; they were a young couple and had some feelings for each other.
After his wife gave birth to two sons, he went to war. He died a few years after leaving his hometown.
He respected his wife, and his two sons were his initial hopes and dreams, so naturally he valued them highly later on as well.
After his wife passed away, he fell in love with another comrade in the army. The two sparked a fierce connection in the face of revolution and ideals, and this wife gave birth to a son and a daughter for him.
The second one was a tough hero, but unfortunately he didn't live long and died in the crossfire.
Her two children suffered a lot growing up in the homes of their fellow villagers, and since they were born to the man she loved, the affection she felt for him went beyond just pity and esteem.
Once things stabilized a bit, he brought the children to live with him, along with the two children from before. Now, Master Xie had three sons and one daughter.
These are all children who are not yet grown up, so it's not easy to make arrangements for them. The elderly people in our hometown have also passed away, and we can't just leave the four children to fend for themselves.
Master Xie felt he needed to find someone to take care of them, so he found a third wife. This wife survived after giving birth to Xie Ming's father, but she was kidnapped by the enemy army during the liberation and taken to the other side of the sea, and her fate is unknown.
The woman currently by Mr. Xie's side is his fourth wife, a nurse who is more than 10 years younger than him. She has given birth to four children for him, making her his most prolific.
However, in Xie Ming's words, he "didn't know" that some of the children were from the Xie family.
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