A century of poverty

Chapter 108 9 Years

In the crisp, clear autumn month of August in the lunar calendar, I was cleaning the house.

The old lady from Lao Shao's shop in Daodong called out from the street, "Zhiqiang's family! Come answer the phone!"

I rushed out: "Ah! Coming! Who called me, auntie?"

Mrs. Shao: "It seems they say it's from the Liu family."

The Yang family and the Shao family were separated only by a village road four or five meters wide, and the telephone was just a few steps away.

I picked up the receiver: "Feed?"

The older brother's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Qinglian? Tomorrow is Dad's birthday. I'm preparing to celebrate with him. Come over, let's all have a good time together."

I happily replied, "Okay! Great!"

After hanging up the phone, I thanked Aunt Shao and went home. Zhiqiang was watching TV, while Su Long was smashing a basin with a large ice top, splashing water all over his face and body.

I rushed forward and held the child's hand: "Son, look at you, you've splashed water all over your face and even broke the basin! What are we going to use to wash our faces tomorrow?"

Fortunately, the basin was placed inside the larger basin, so the water did not spill onto the ground.

As I wiped the child's face and body with a towel, I said, "Tomorrow we're going to Grandpa's house to celebrate his birthday."

Zhiqiang replied, "Let's all go."

As I wiped the floor, I said to the child, "We're not taking Dad with us. He's just watching TV and doesn't care what the kids are playing with."

Zhiqiang: "Let's see who doesn't take whom along."

Shuanglai's motorcycle repair shop is located in the eastern part of Xingyou District, south of Jinhai Highway. We were on our way to Da Liu's house and happened to pass by here, so we made a special trip to exchange our motorcycles and check out his shop.

From afar, we saw Shuanglai squatting on the ground, his work clothes stained with oil and grime, holding small parts in his hand, with a motorcycle in front of him. A man stood beside him, repairing a vehicle. Seeing us approach, he stood up and nudged the child's foot with the back of his hand: "You've grown so much, chubby boy!"

"Hmm! Today is Dad's birthday celebration, when are you going?"

Shuanglai: "In a little while, fix this car for him."

I asked, "Where's Jiang Xiaoyu?"

Shuanglai: "Where is the house?"

I entered the store, which was filled with motorcycle parts. Jiang Xiaoyu was tidying up the small items on the counter. When she saw me come in, she greeted me, "Fifth Sister's here!"

I replied, "Ah! I've come to visit you all. I'm going to my older brother's house later to celebrate Dad's birthday. When are you leaving?"

Jiang Xiaoyu: "We'll be there quickly, it only takes 10 minutes by motorcycle."

I asked, "How's business?"

Jiang Xiaoyu: "It's alright."

I saw her face, which was wiped white, her lips painted red, and a pair of long earrings that swayed and shimmered with her head movements. She was tall and slender, dressed in a green woolen riding breeches outfit. She slowly emerged from behind the counter and began to play with the child in my arms.

I asked, "Where's Zhang Xing?"

Jiang Xiaoyu: "We sent Zhang Xing to kindergarten. The two of us are too busy to take care of him. It's so close to the road, he might bump into something. It's easier to send him to kindergarten, and he can learn something there."

"Yes, wait a bit, we'll be going now," I said as I walked out.

Just then, a minibus heading east came by, waved me down, and stopped beside me. I got off at Da Liu's house.

By this time, Da Liujia Village had undergone tremendous changes. The old sixth team along the county road had straightened the road and built streets. The former ponds and ditches were gone, replaced by rows of streets. Under the governance of Secretary Gao Guozhu over the past few years, the newly added housing plots had not encroached on farmland; instead, pits and hollows had been filled in.

The scattered houses of the past have now been transformed into uniform new residences, with standard courtyard walls painted in the same color, and a tall, iconic archway erected at the entrance of the village.

With villagers' incomes increasing year after year, Da Liujia Village has become a model village in Jinshan County.

The houses are all the same "BJ Ping" style, with identical courtyard walls. Faced with the new look of the village, it's almost impossible to tell whose house is whose.

I counted which gate I passed on the main road and arrived at my elder brother's house.

My elder brother's house, built in 1990, is a 100-square-meter apartment in Beijing, twice the size of an old-style three-room house. There's a central corridor with separate kitchens on the east and west sides. Upon entering the house, there's a large kang (heated brick bed) on the south side, and the dining room and storage room on the north side.

When the three of us arrived, my sister-in-law ran out to greet us with a big smile.

Holding the child: "Come here, Auntie, look at this nephew of yours, he's grown so much! Is his uncle alright? Come inside, come inside."

The eldest sister-in-law put Su Long on the kang (a heated brick bed): "You two stay here, your second sister-in-law and I are cooking!"

Father, wearing his black People's Clothing, sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning against the pile of quilts. My eldest brother sat next to him on the edge of the kang. My third and fourth sisters were there too, and their two children, two girls, were playing on the kang.

Second sister-in-law came in to greet us.

I asked, "Where's Zhang Li?"

Second sister-in-law: "He's with your second brother in the crab pond. I didn't let him come, but he's causing trouble."

"How's crab farming going this year? How much have you made?" I asked.

Second sister-in-law: "This year was alright, but we didn't lose money!"

The third sister chuckled, "That's not just making do, you've got tens of thousands left over!"

Second sister-in-law: "I've heard people say that." She wiped her head and went back to the kitchen to work.

I asked my third sister, "How's your husband doing at the phosphate fertilizer factory?"

Third Sister: "It's alright, the work isn't tiring. I help with the planting in the fields from morning till night, and every weekday."

"How did Linlin do in high school? She's living in the city with the city kids, she's really getting ahead of herself!" I asked my third sister.

Third Sister: "Go ahead and push yourself, study really hard! You're among the top students at Liuhe Middle School, but in the county high school you're not even considered average. How come you're so far behind!"

I said, "If Liuhe hadn't been among the top students, how would he have gotten into high school? The difference in teaching quality between urban and rural areas is significant."

Third sister: "I have to make sure she goes to university. I've suffered a great loss in my life because I'm uneducated. I'll sell everything I own to send her to university."

Fourth Sister: "All the good teachers have gone to the city. Several of the good teachers I had at Liuhe Middle School have gone to teach in the city. The rest of the less capable ones are stuck in rural middle schools. How can the quality compare to that in the city? The facilities in the countryside aren't good either!"

I asked, "What grade is your Bingbing in? How are her studies?"

Fourth sister: "She did quite well in third grade, who knows what will happen in the future!"

At this moment, Shuanglai rode a motorcycle with Zhang Xing on it, while Jiang Xiaoyu rode alone into the courtyard.

As soon as Zhang Xing entered the house, he rushed into his older brother's arms: "Grandpa, did you still save those dates for me?"

The older brother said, "I've been keeping them! I watch over them every day and don't let anyone else pick them. They're specially reserved for my nephew. Come on, let me take you to pick some."

I took out a ticket and stuffed it into my dad's hand: "Here you go, buy whatever you like to eat."

Dad chuckled and said, "Give me back my money!"

Third Sister: "I'm short on cash, but I'll cook something delicious tomorrow and invite Dad over for dinner!"

The fourth sister also expressed her opinion.

Two square tables were pushed together on the kang (a heated brick bed), and a round table was placed on the edge of the kang. Chopsticks and bowls were set out, and stew was served. The eldest brother carried a basket containing a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) and several bottles of beer. Zhang Xingxing rushed around, holding snacks in his hands.

In the courtyard, the second brother led his daughter Zhang Li and his third brother-in-law Zhu Zhifu in.

My third sister and I were serving the dishes together, while my eldest brother was busy preparing a feast for his two brothers-in-law. My sister-in-law placed a dish on the table and asked my fourth sister, "Why didn't her fourth aunt's husband come?"

Fourth Sister: "There was a family in our area that needed help with something, and he went to help them!"

The second brother was telling Zhiqiang about the habits of crabs, and the third brother-in-law was listening with great interest.

The eldest brother told his father, "Move forward a bit, it's time to eat." He then served his father a bowl of rice and placed it in front of him, handing him a pair of chopsticks. Then, he called out, "Come to the table! Come to the table!" and set out two wine glasses for his two brothers-in-law.

Shuanglai picked up a bottle of beer: "Shall the three of us share a beer?"

The older brother said, "You two can have some, I'm not drinking."

Shuanglai opened the beer, and he and his second brother each had a bowl.

The second brother drank it, and his face immediately turned red. "Hmm—hmm—" he cleared his throat in a low voice, "Who do you think I went to to buy crab seedlings in Qinhuangdao this year?"

Brother: "Who did you find?"

Second Brother: "Our third sister, the one who carried my shoes and called to Dad, 'Uncle, put my shoes on for me,' when we were building the side house, that Dai Ying, graduated from university and worked as an accountant at Yaohua Glass Factory."

We all turned our gaze to the second brother, waiting for him to continue.

Eldest brother: "Oh—she's made something of herself. She was so unremarkable when she was little. Yaohua Glass Factory is a famous and large factory."

Second brother: "Who says otherwise? And what's the name of my third cousin from my maternal uncle's family in Heilongjiang again?"

Eldest brother: "Yaochang".

Second brother: "He's also in Qinhuangdao. He bought crab seedlings, but it wasn't convenient to contact him, so I came back and didn't go to see him."

My second sister's eldest nephew, Xinhui, is getting married soon. My second sister said the date is set, it will be in the twelfth lunar month, but the exact date hasn't been decided yet. She'll let us know when it's finalized, so let's get ready.

The fourth sister chimed in, "You've got a lot of information!"