After a period of busy work in the fields, the off-season for farming begins.
Fang Meixiang's father asked Fang Damiao to go with him to repair the dam and earn some odd jobs by carrying stones.
Fang Damiao was used to being idle and was extremely unwilling. However, he was also a little afraid of Fang Meixiang's father.
"Da Miao, do you have enough money for Mei Xiang to give birth at the health center?"
Fang Damiao shook his head.
"What will you do if you don't go and earn some money?"
Fang Damiao reluctantly followed along.
After Fang Damiao went to work, Fang Meixiang's mother brought Fang Meixiang home, and they ate lunch at home.
When Fang Damiao returned, he went directly to Fang Meixiang's house, saying he was there to pick her up and have dinner with her before taking her back home.
Fang Meixiang's mother is preparing things for her child at home.
Old white undershirts and torn bed sheets cut into rectangles were washed clean and dried in the sun to be used as diapers.
Find some blue cloth and floral fabric in your home, and sew a swaddle blanket.
Fang Meixiang's child will be born in the cold December, so some cotton-padded clothes need to be prepared.
Fang Meixiang's mother had already bought some cotton for the lining, and used dirt-resistant blue cloth for the outer layer, khaki cloth for the cuffs, and the collar was sewn tightly.
The old cotton undershirts and polyester shirts worn by family members were taken apart, washed clean, glued stiff, cut into patterns, and then sewn into little jackets and trousers stitch by stitch.
Fang Meili helped from the side.
"They're so tiny and cute. See? They're all for the baby in your belly." Fang Meili waved her clothes in front of Fang Meixiang.
Fang Meixiang chuckled as she touched her belly.
"She actually knew something in her heart."
Fang Meili suddenly seemed to remember something, "Mother, do you think it will have any impact on the baby in my belly?"
"Don't talk nonsense, my sister was perfectly fine when she was born."
Looking at the little clothes being made in front of her, Fang Meixiang's mother thought of that time.
Fang Meixiang was their first child, born in the first month of the lunar calendar.
Fang Meixiang's mother was preparing clothes for her unborn child in the twelfth lunar month.
She was still young then, and her stitches were crooked, but they were full of excitement and anticipation as she carefully sewed each stitch.
In late pregnancy, sitting for a long time made her lower back feel like it was weighed down by a stone; it was sore and stiff, and any movement caused pain. She had to move slowly to straighten up.
My eyes are dry and itchy, like they're covered in a fog. Staring at the needle for too long makes everything blurry, and my eyelids feel so heavy they want to droop.
Fang Meixiang's mother got up and looked outside. The plum blossoms in the yard were in bloom, and a fragrance wafted in on the north wind.
She closed her eyes and sniffled.
The fragrance of plum blossoms is quite unique; it's not strong or overpowering, but rather light and refreshing.
It doesn't smell overpowering, but it's very refreshing.
She opened her eyes and looked at the plum blossom tree in the snow, then touched her belly. "If it's a girl, I'll name her Meixiang (Plum Blossom Fragrance). Plum blossoms remain fragrant even after being frozen."
The pain of a first natural childbirth is excruciating.
She finally gave birth to her daughter, Fang Meixiang.
Meixiang was so clever back then.
The team's loudspeaker would blare every day, and Meixiang would be especially energetic at that time.
If the broadcast said, "Comrades, it's time to go to the fields," she would tug at her father's trouser leg and pull him toward the door, not forgetting to shove the straw hat from the corner into his hand.
If the loudspeaker played "The East Is Red," she would move a small stool to her mother's side, sit down next to her, clap her little hands to the rhythm, and hum a tuneless melody.
Fang Meixiang was 3 years old when Fang Meili was born.
When she was 5 years old, her younger brother was born.
Not long after Fang Meixiang's mother turned one month old, she went to work in the team to earn work points.
Fang Meixiang, the eldest sister, was watching over her younger brother and sister.
In the afternoon, a heavy rainstorm began.
Fang Meixiang's father works outside, and her mother would bring him rain gear whenever it rained.
Fang Meixiang followed her mother's example and tried to get the raincoat hanging on the wall. The five-year-old couldn't reach it, so she moved a stool and climbed up.
She still couldn't reach it. She lifted a corner of her raincoat; it was so heavy.
Looking at the torrential rain outside.
She was still worried about her parents getting wet in the rain.
Fang Meixiang then took the oil-paper umbrella from the corner of the wall.
The younger brother woke up and started crying loudly. Fang Meixiang picked him up and comforted him for a few moments before putting him back in the wicker basket.
Like a little adult, she instructed Fang Meili, "Watch over your little brother, I'll go deliver the umbrella."
The younger brother was put back in the wicker basket, and then he started crying again.
Fang Meili shook her head, unwilling to look.
Fang Meixiang picked up her younger brother, and he stopped crying.
Fang Meixiang glanced at the still-rainy outside, then turned to Fang Meili and said, "You stay home, I'll take my little brother."
Fang Meixiang carried her younger brother and an oil-paper umbrella, holding another oil-paper umbrella in one hand, and braved the rain to deliver them to her parents.
The umbrella was held very low, and the path along the paddy field was muddy and slippery after the rain.
Fang Meixiang slipped and fell into the river next to her.
The river was flowing very fast, and Fang Meixiang choked on several mouthfuls of water. In her panic, her younger brother in her arms was swept away by the current.
"Brother, brother!" Fang Meixiang cried out, flailing her arms and grabbing at the grass by the riverbank.
Villagers heard the noise and rushed over to help her up.
But when they pulled the younger brother out of the water from downstream, he was lifeless.
Fang Meixiang's grandmother rushed over upon hearing the news. Ignoring Fang Meixiang's trembling, she grabbed her and yelled, "My grandson! Why didn't you die!"
Fang Meixiang's mother took Fang Meixiang home. Fang Meixiang had a fever for a long time, and afterwards she seemed like a different person. Her once bright and lively eyes became empty.
Life had to go on at home. Fang Meixiang and Fang Meili stayed at home while her parents went to work to earn work points.
Fang Meixiang's mother noticed that Fang Meixiang's condition had worsened recently, and she would often wake up crying in the middle of the night.
Everyone thought she was frightened, and they tried all sorts of superstitious methods, including calling back the soul, but nothing worked.
"Meixiang, I shouldn't have left my brother at home with you just for those few work points. You brought us umbrellas because you were worried we'd get wet in the rain. I don't blame you. You have to get better. How will we live like this?"
Fang Meixiang's mother, suppressing her grief over the loss of her son, hugged Fang Meixiang and said...
The son is gone; I hope the surviving daughter doesn't act strangely.
"It hurts, it hurts," Fang Meixiang said.
"Ah, where does it hurt?" Fang Meixiang's mother asked anxiously, holding her arms with both hands.
Fang Meixiang pointed to the inside of her thigh.
It was winter then, and the children didn't bathe or change clothes every day.
Fang Meixiang's mother took off her inner pants, revealing red marks on her inner thighs.
Who hit him?
Fang Meixiang still only said that she was in pain.
"Merry, has anyone been here?"
Fang Meili tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Grandma."
"Did she ever hit my sister?"
Fang Meili paused for a moment and then shook her head.
"Is it that you don't know, or that you don't have it?"
Fang Meili didn't know many words back then. She would just rub her hands together over her eyes to make a crying motion.
"You stay at home."
Fang Meixiang's mother pulled Fang Meixiang to her grandmother's place.
Fang Meixiang's mother came in and closed the door.
He pulled down Fang Meixiang's pants and asked her grandmother, "Did you hit her?"
Her grandmother glanced to the side, then raised her chin. "She killed my grandson. What's wrong with me teaching her a lesson?"
"You're the one who needs to discipline my daughter!"
"Hmm, so I have to teach him a lesson. Why did you take him out in the rain?"
"You're the one who's going to bring it! But you're not!"
"I raised your husband, and now you expect me to give him to your child? I'm going to hit him, why wasn't it her who died, but my grandson!"
Fang Meixiang's mother got angry when she heard this, grabbed a broom from the side and pointed it at her.
“If you keep spouting these dead man’s words, I’ll let you taste the flavor of bamboo sticks.”
"I haven't even asked you to raise it yet, and you're already bullying me like this."
Her grandmother grabbed a stool next to her and pointed at Fang Meixiang's mother, saying, "I knew it! Why wasn't this good-for-nothing dead?"
Fang Meixiang's mother swept the stool away from her hand with a broom.
Her grandmother came over and grabbed Fang Meixiang's mother's hair, and the two started fighting.
Fang Meixiang, who was standing nearby, burst into tears in fright.
The neighbor heard it and came to knock on the door.
Fang Meixiang's mother noticed that Fang Meixiang hadn't put her pants on yet.
"Let go! Do you want the neighbors to see what you're doing?"
The two then let go, and Fang Meixiang's mother hurriedly pulled up Fang Meixiang's pants.
They took Fang Meixiang home, and Fang Meixiang's mother sat to the side, looking at Fang Meixiang with tears in her eyes.
I regretted it at the time, hating myself for being in such a hurry to earn work points, and hating Fang Meixiang for bringing her son out.
But she herself is still a child, and she had to stay home to take care of her younger brother. It was because she was so sensible that she couldn't bear to see her brother cry or her parents get wet in the rain, so she braved the rain to carry her brother to deliver an umbrella...
Fang Meixiang's mother stroked Fang Meixiang's hair, "Mom will be good to you, Mom will never let you suffer again."
"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you crying while making clothes?" Fang Meili called out from the side.
“Oh,” Fang Meixiang’s mother wiped away her tears, “It reminds me of when you were little.”
"Merry, do you remember when you were three years old, your older sister carried your little brother out to deliver an umbrella to Mom and Dad?"
"I heard it from you guys later, I don't remember."
"Yes, that's true. You were only three years old then, and you couldn't even speak properly. Meixiang was five years old, and my little brother was a little over a month old."
Speaking of her younger brother, Fang Meixiang's mother sniffed, her eyes reddening as she looked into the distance, then at Fang Meixiang's belly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com