That day, Gao Yuzhen nervously led Yang Yimiao and Yang Yijing to the foot of Stone Mountain, telling them to sit there and wait for her to return, and not to leave.
Since arriving in the Great Northern Wilderness, Yang Yimiao and Yang Yijing have always obeyed Gao Yuzhen's every word, because they are filled with worry—if they don't listen, Gao Yuzhen's father will bring people to their home and beat and smash things in a wanton and fierce manner.
Little did they know that as soon as Gao Yuzhen left, the round, heavy stones on the mountain, along with many sharp and jagged fragments, began to rumble down the mountain.
When Gao Yuzhen saw the extremely miserable state of Yang Yimiao and his brother from afar, she instantly went insane.
She stumbled back to the educated youth dormitory, her voice trembling with tears, and frantically explained that she didn't mean it. The person had told her that if she could just sit with Yang Yimiao and the others at the foot of the mountain for a while, she could leave here tomorrow and return to Beicheng.
One of the educated youths heard this and spoke it aloud. That night, in a daze, he went to the outhouse, lost his footing, fell in, and drowned.
Yang Yimiao and Yang Yijing died, as did the male educated youth, but Gao Yuzhen was taken back to Beicheng by her family under the pretext of being ill.
Yang Guohua held Wang Jingyi's hand tightly, who looked dazed and had empty eyes, and said in a trembling voice, "I want to get the stone off Yijing's head. What do you think?"
Wang Jingyi seemed to have lost her soul, completely unaware of what Yang Guohua was saying, only repeatedly muttering, "No, they are not my sons."
Yang Guohua knew that Wang Jingyi was unable to bear the sight of her son's tragic condition and was completely stunned.
Who says men bleed but don't cry? Damn it, Yang Guohua is shedding more tears right now than he has ever shed in all his previous sweat.
Yang Guohua glanced back at his parents, who were barely breathing and on the verge of death, gritted his teeth, and said firmly, "I'm willing!"
When Su Shizhong and the captain heard Yang Guohua say he was willing, they exchanged a glance and then silently looked away.
Then, the two worked together seamlessly. Su Shizhong carefully supported Yang Yijing's head, while the brigade leader took a hoe and hit it hard.
"Clang, clang, clang."
Whether it was the sound of the stone or the cracking of a skull, Yang Guohua listened, biting his lip tightly. His heart felt like it was being pierced by countless needles, the pain almost making it hard to breathe. He didn't dare to look at Su Shizhong and the others.
At that moment, he felt like a coward. He was afraid to see his son's big eyes, which seemed to be sternly scolding him for causing him so much pain after his death.
At this moment, Wang Jingyi seemed to suddenly come to her senses. She slowly raised her hand and wiped away Yang Guohua's tears, saying gently, "Don't cry, your son and the others will laugh at you if they hear you."
Yang Guohua held tightly to Wang Jingyi's hand as she wiped away his tears, and said in a choked voice, "Okay, don't cry."
It took Su Shizhong and the captain a lot of effort to finally remove the stone from Yang Yijing's head.
Because the stone was moved towards the back of the head, the facial damage was too severe. If the stone were moved out from the face, the sight would be truly horrific.
Su Shizhong said to Yang Guohua and the others, "The stone has been pulled out."
Yang Guohua glanced at him upon hearing this, his eyes filled with worry, but he dared not ask how serious the head injury was.
Su Shizhong could easily see through his thoughts, and said, "It's not as serious as the captain makes it out to be."
The captain glanced at Su Shizhong and said, "Quickly lower them down, it's going to rain."
After everything was settled, Su Shizhong carried Grandma Yang on his back, and the brigade leader carried Grandpa Yang on his back. The two of them walked heavily down the mountain.
Yang Guohua and Wang Jingyi turned around and looked deeply at their two sons' earthen graves with heavy hearts and reluctance. Yang Guohua took Wang Jingyi's hand and said, "We will live in this village from now on and come up to talk to them every day."
Wang Jingyi: "Build a house at the foot of the mountain."
Yang Guohua nodded: "Okay."
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Grandpa Yang and Grandma Yang both passed away.
The brigade leader found a few people from the village and asked them to help dig a pit.
When Yang Yimiao and Yang Yijing passed away, they asked them for help, but they were too scared to dig. It was Su Shizhong who went up the mountain to dig by himself.
Now that the two elderly people have passed away, they couldn't refuse, so they went up the mountain with Su Shizhong to dig a pit, about ten meters away from Yang Yimiao and Yang Yijing.
We've only been here for less than two days, and my parents are gone. My wife is sometimes lucid and sometimes dazed.
Yang Guohua silently endured all of this, and bought land at the foot of the mountain where his parents' and son's graves were buried from the brigade leader. He built a small courtyard there, enough for him and Wang Jingyi to live in.
Day after day, year after year, Yang Guohua and Wang Jingyi have lived in this village for nearly forty years.
Su Shizhong was getting old, and he no longer needed to herd the sheep in the village, so he followed Yang Guohua to dig a fishpond in the village and switched to fish farming.
One day at noon, Wang Jingyi fried a fish. Yang Guohua wanted to have some wine, so he called Su Shizhong over, and the two of them had a drink together.
As Yang Guohua drank, he probably got drunk.
He recounted a story about a soldier he admired when he was young. This soldier had defiled a comrade's fiancée at his home, and was caught by Red Guards patrolling the village, who beat him to death.
The girl had finally waited for her fiancé to return and marry her, but this happened, and she went crazy and became mentally unstable. A few months later, she ran into the village river and committed suicide.
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