The late autumn weather in Northeast China was already bitterly cold. Sitting in the carriage, I couldn't even open my mouth. The chill wind blew against Zhang Guofu's thin jacket, and he shivered and curled up tightly, his face grim as he drove with all his might. No trees had been planted along the road in recent years. Looking around, all I could see were fields of harvested crops and patches of yellowing weeds. Besides the carriage, there were no other people along the road.
There was also a middle-aged man in patched clothes on the bus. He was the doctor we had called in for this urgent visit. He was wrapped in his coat, which he had brought from home.
"Guofu, don't worry, this is very close to your plot of land. What happened to your little brother? I heard the other day that he's married and has a child. He's been strong since he was a child, who could possibly bully him?"
The middle-aged man in the car is called Zhou Zhongsheng. The villagers in the surrounding area have forgotten his name and call him Doctor Zhou. Usually, people in the countryside go to him for help when they are sick. The key is that he is a good doctor. He is the only one in the village health center who will see patients and will not make things difficult for people.
Zhang Guofu sighed and said, "My younger brother never messes with others. Today, some thieves from Shanglin Village somehow ran into the backyard and destroyed our chickens. Luckily, my father heard the noise and went out, otherwise all the chickens would have died. My family relies on the eggs laid by a dozen chickens to exchange for soy sauce and vinegar. Four chickens were lost, and my mother was so angry that she lay down in the pit early in the morning. Those chickens are her lifeblood, closer to her than her sons. My younger brother was so angry that he went to those families in Shanglin Village to ask for an explanation. Later, I don't know how a fight broke out, and he was hit on the back of the head with a shovel and fainted at the time. Those families are still in the militia now, and they were not awake when they were carried back. My sister-in-law also fainted and gave birth prematurely when she saw them, and we don't know what happened now. My mother is anxious for you to come and save her."
Doctor Zhang nodded. "You're talking about Shanglin Village. Those families are well-known in the township. The poor are all single, so poor that even rats wouldn't want to go there, and they steal chickens and dogs. Even those with daughters don't want to marry into the village. This time, they'll probably just be locked up for a few days and then punished by being sent to dig riverbanks in the township. Your brother got beaten for nothing. At most, the village will give him some flour to make up for it."
As we were talking, we were already in the village. The Zhang family lived at the east end of the village, near the North Mountain. You could also take a side road, avoiding the long detour around the village entrance. Their village had a pleasant name, "Goddess Village." After liberation, the People's Commune demanded that superstitions be dispelled. Later, the village chief, seeing so many people with the surname Zhang living in the village, changed the name to Zhangjia Village.
Zhangjia Village is well-located, 20 miles from the township and half an hour's walk east to the county seat. The village is backed by two connected mountains.
One is Xiaobei Mountain behind Zhang's house, and the other is Daqing Mountain in the northwest, which is famous for its legend. According to the older generation, this is a sacred mountain.
During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, there was a Taoist temple on the mountainside. Villagers sometimes went up the mountain to hunt, and Taoist priests could be seen during the autumn harvest.
Later, the world gradually became less peaceful, and there were fewer Taoists in Taoist temples. The last time I saw a Taoist was when the Japanese invaders were sweeping through the surrounding area before liberation.
Everyone had no choice but to flee to Daqing Mountain with their families, even though they knew there were large wild animals there. The Japanese were even more cannibalistic than those animals. Later, it was the Taoist priests who helped kill the wild animals on the mountain and bring them to the valley, so that the villagers could live in the mountains.
After liberation, the sightings of Taoist priests gradually faded, and the temple fell into ruin. After liberation, supplies were scarce, and some families, with large populations but insufficient labor, resorted to foraging in the mountains. Occasionally, someone would encounter a large animal, or hear the howling of wolves, but gradually, no one ventured deeper into the Daqing Mountains.
During the autumn harvest, people gathered together to pick wild fruits and mountain products in the outer area and the north mountain, and did not dare to go any further.
The Zhang family lived at the foot of North Mountain. Their house was a rare sight, featuring blue brick and stone. A wall surrounded the area, so they didn't worry about wild animals from the mountain coming down. The Zhang family was also good at finding a good spot. Besides pheasants and rabbits, there weren't many large wild animals in North Mountain, so they gradually gained more neighbors over the years.
As soon as the carriage stopped, a chaotic noise could be heard inside. Doctor Zhou also hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and rushed to the yard.
"Doctor Zhou is here, please come and take a look at our Xiaowu. Xiaowu vomited as soon as he woke up. Doctor Zhou, please take a look. This child insists on seeing his wife. His wife is giving birth in the delivery room and always makes trouble." Huang Da Niu, the hostess of the Zhang family, hurriedly pulled her little son and shouted.
Zhang Guoqing shouted loudly: "Jiaojiao, do you hear me? I am Guoqing. You must give birth to our child. We can talk about it after the birth is complete. Mom, please let me in. I am worried about my wife in there."
Huang Da Niu said angrily, "Don't make trouble, you're still a patient. Go up and help with the birth. Who's the man to enter the delivery room? Go to the main room and lie down. I'll call you when your wife gives birth."
"Wife, did you hear me? Jiaojiao, you must hold on, I'll be waiting for you outside." Zhang Guoqing was so anxious that he didn't even say "I" and just called me directly, but no one paid attention to it now. Usually, the young couple would shout "I, I" when they thought of me. Who would have thought that Xiaowu's wife would be stimulated and give birth prematurely? Fortunately, the due date was also in the next few days.
Doctor Zhou felt Zhang Guoqing's pulse, asked if he felt dizzy, and looked at the injured back of his head. He then told Zhang's mother, Huang Da Niu, who was turning around anxiously, "It's okay. He's in good health. Rest more these few days and don't rush to leave work. Take care of yourself. If you feel like vomiting in the next two days, come back to me."
Zhang's mother was overjoyed. This youngest son was her favorite. He had always known how to secretly stuff food from his deceased grandmother into her mouth. So the little boy knew how to wink at the old lady for his mother.
When he grew up, he refused to let his mother do any heavy or tiring work, and secretly stuffed the red envelopes, wild fruits and candies he received during festivals into his mother's pockets.
His youngest son is more caring than the two girls in the family. Fortunately, his head is fine, otherwise she would have gone to Lin Village to pay for her life. Among the three sons in the family, only the youngest is better off.
The eldest is too honest, and even if he marries an honest wife, it will still be honest. The second is all about himself, and even if he marries a wife, it will still cause trouble. Look, when the fifth went to Shanglin Village this time, he didn't follow. The eldest was not at home, otherwise no one would have urged him to go. He was just a wise man after the fact. Now I don't know where he has gone?
Fathers and sons fight together in battle, and brothers fight together to kill tigers. If brothers don’t help, he will have no choice but to ask the eldest and youngest for help in the future. Oh, let’s not talk about it anymore, children are all debts.
Anyway, we have discussed it with his father. The old couple will live with the eldest son in the future. We will separate after the New Year and the beginning of spring. After the two sons move out, there will be no conflicts and alienation between the brothers. They say that things far away are more fragrant than things close, so it is better to live separately. When the time comes, I will secretly give Xiaowu a little more money, so I don’t have to worry about him. We old couple help the eldest son with the work, so the burden on him will not be too heavy. As for the second son, he has already married, so how can we old couple support him? Don’t let me know if he doesn’t hand over the money he earns from carpentry in the future. The other two sons handed it all over.
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