Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 20 30 Years Hexi

The spirit of the red-headed document has been conveyed to every household, and it is certain that before the end of the year, the division of land to households will be completed and the land contract system will be implemented.People waited with their own minds in a complex state of anxiety, apprehension, panic, impatience, excitement, and expectation.

Across the yard, threshers roared and screamed piercingly, spewing out an uninterrupted yellow parabola.At the landing point, the golden corn kernels are bouncing and scattered, like a goddess scattering flowers.

The men were showing off, the women were drying and bagging, and Liu Yunqi and Guan Deyu weighed in and counted the total grain output.Afterwards, they will be distributed to each household according to the head, and they will eat the grain grown collectively in the last year.

After work break at noon, Jiang Changling walked home alone, feeling aggrieved and depressed all the time.Thinking secretly, the boat will leak, and it's time to separate.

The production team is so big that it will be disbanded as soon as it breaks up, and they have to do it alone. The brothers and sisters-in-law are still stirring the ladle in the same pot, are they overestimating their capabilities?
It was originally a temporary decision, but now everyone has their own ideas and plans, and family conflicts have emerged, so why bother to maintain it to the death and suffer the pain?Do you have to wait until the chickens fly and the dog jumps and the face is torn apart before separating?
The conflict arose from the two girls.At dinner last night, Erya's girl said that the pencil case was not good-looking and wanted to replace it with a new one.

Jiang Changling's girl expressed her dissatisfaction as soon as she heard it. I used an old pencil case that I picked up from my brother. Your pencil case was bought only last year. You can change it if you want.

The girl in Erya said that I will buy a new one and I will let you use the old one. You are a sister, so you should let me.Jiang Changling's girl didn't give in, I don't use your things rarely, and your surname is not Liu, and I'm not your sister.

Seeing the two little girls bickering, Erya said to Jiang Changling: "Sister-in-law, why don't you just give them a new one."

Jiang Changling said: "You are not in charge of the family and don't know how expensive firewood is. Do you think that the two dollars your brother earned in the mine are so easy? He risked his life to support this big family. We can't be extravagant at home and save money. Just save it."

Erya said: "Xiaonan resumes classes in the city, and the expenses of one person can cover the whole family. Why doesn't my sister-in-law tell him to save money? Isn't it partial?"

When Jiang Changling heard this, she became angry: "I am biased? You pat your conscience and think about it. In order to fulfill the two of you, your brother and I spent so much money. Words? Didn’t you see how thin Xiaonan has become? The studies are so heavy, and two pickles in the morning and evening, how can you save him? It’s not that my child doesn’t feel bad.”

She still wanted to go on, if it wasn't because Liu Zhixin felt sorry for her younger brother and insisted on supporting him, how could she have the heart to let her son eat pickles at school in the morning and evening?
In order not to let people see the joke, in order not to embarrass the man, she swallowed back the words that came to her lips.

However, Er Ya followed up: "From what my sister-in-law said, it seems that our family Zhitai has never earned work points or rations before, and it is all supported by brother and sister-in-law."

Jiang Changling returned it bluntly: "That's between Zhitai and I. At that time, this family didn't have you, so it's not your turn to argue with me about these things."

Seeing that sister-in-law and Erya's voices are getting louder, Liu Zhitai hastened to smooth things over: "Erya, compare brother and sister-in-law with your father and sister-in-law, we have to know what is good and what smells bad."

Erya kept silent angrily, and Jiang Changling accepted it as soon as she saw it, and didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

Lying alone on the kang at night, Jiang Changling tossed and recalled many past events, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was imperative to separate the family.

She has been married to Lao Liu's family for 20 years. She is poor, lonely and helpless, and has been tightly tied around her neck like a rope, making the simple days long and boundless.

Supporting the elderly, serving the young, sister-in-law picking her nose and eyes when she comes home, brother-in-law being mischievous and ignorant and staying away from home all day long, the man who has been separated from the two places for a long time can only say comforting words, but cannot solve any practical problems-she endured them all. Come down, do your duty, and work hard to guard this house for the man.

When the river swells in summer, some branches and dead grass will float down the upper reaches of the river.Standing on the bank of the river, she picked up the dead grass from the branches with a rake and dried it on the river bank to solve the problem of insufficient burning grass in summer.

Once, she fished a dead piglet from the river, which weighed more than 20 catties.Maybe he fell into the river and drowned. I squeezed my nose and smelled it. The skin and flesh are tight and there is no peculiar smell. I feel that I have not died for a long time.

Cut open the piglet's belly with a knife, the blood is red and the meat is fresh.

She skinned the dead piglets on the bank of the river, removed the internal organs, washed them in the river, and brought them home, chopped them into pieces and soaked them in clear water. Two days later, she gave her family a few meals of long-lost pork.

Every production team raises pigs, but they have to be handed over to the public, and they are reserved for the people in the city to eat.Farmers who raise pigs have no right to kill pigs for meat without authorization.

She could never forget her son's expectant and pitiful eyes.At the beginning of spring, the production team distributes peanuts to the women, and asks them to take home and peel the peanut seeds, and work points are calculated according to the weight of the peanuts.

When peeling peanuts at night, my son stood by, grabbed a few peanuts with his little hands, and looked at her directly.She said it belonged to the production team and was to be kept as a seed. Her son swallowed and reluctantly put it down.

She knew that her son was greedy for peanuts, but she had no choice. Peanuts were bought by the catty, and they were sent back after peeling. Even the shells and grains should not be less than one catty or two, otherwise work points would be deducted.

She coaxed her son to sleep first, maybe when he woke up, peanuts would fall from the sky.

Looking at her son who was pouting his buttocks and finally fell asleep, she picked out the small shriveled peanuts and put them next to his pillow.

He also grabbed two handfuls of soil and mixed them in the peanut shells. Anyway, the peanut shells were already filled with soil, and the difference between the top and bottom was not too big, so he could get away with it.She didn't believe that other people could actually hand in all the peanut seeds.

If you really go it alone and own your own land, you must raise pigs, chickens, peanuts and fruit trees, and you can't lose money to your children.

The son has grown up and reached the age to worry about.It’s easy to say anything when you get into university, but what should you do if you don’t get in?
Her initial idea was to let her son take over as a worker to raise her for old age.But the man disagreed. The work in the mine was too dangerous. He didn't want his son to follow his old path, and he was afraid of any accidents happening to his son.It is said that it is better for girls to take over, and they will not engage in difficult and dangerous work.

It's not a bad idea to leave her son at home to farm. She has long seen that Guan Xiaoyun is interested in him.

Guan Xiaoyun is such a good girl, there are hundreds of girls in her family.Muggs spent so much thought, but he couldn't get it. He just cared about his son and made new clothes for his son openly, which made Muggs sore all day long.

Being able to marry Xiaoyun as a daughter-in-law is the most satisfactory thing, but the difference is in the new house.Over the years of marriage, the family has not saved much money, and it is impossible to build a new house without dividing the family.

Building a new house is a big family matter, not something she can decide as a woman. When the man comes home, she must explain these things clearly to him.

In a few years, the man should retire and completely end the life of separation between the two places.After suffering for so many years, I finally saw some light in life.

How many cold and lonely nights, she yearned so much for a warm and powerful embrace, to stay together every day, no matter how poor and miserable she was, she was willing to do so.This wish is close at hand, whether to separate or not, let's wait for the man to make a decision.

Jiang Changling was thinking about the future when Liu Zhitai came up from behind and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be angry, don't be as knowledgeable as Erya, isn't everyone in her family like that?"

Jiang Changling said: "You have to tell Erya, children can't want stars for stars and moons for moons, what if they get spoiled and grow up? You are even more difficult to be a stepfather."

Liu Zhitai said, "Sister-in-law, let's separate."

Jiang Changling said, "Alright, you can tell your brother when he gets home."

After Liu Zhixin returned home, the two brothers separated happily.Going with the times is the most appropriate and wise choice, and there is nothing to hesitate about.

In [-], the land contract system was fully implemented, the commune was changed into a township, the brigade was changed into a village, and the production team was changed into a village group.

Liu Zhifu no longer served as the village party secretary, and Liu Yunqi also lost his position as the production team leader. The four members of the family were allocated more than ten acres of land, which was as much as Liu Zhitai's family.

If you calculate carefully, Liu Zhixin and his brother's combined land is still more than his family's. What's the matter?Where can I go to reason?So I can't afford to be sick.

Liu Zhixin went to visit Liu Zhifu, Liu Zhifu lay on the kang and waved his family to leave, he wanted to chat with Liu Zhixin alone.

Sitting next to Liu Zhifu's pillow, Liu Zhixin said plainly, "Brother, there is nothing serious about your body, what you have is a heart disease. From liberation to land contracting, you feel that you have been busy for more than 30 years, and you can't figure it out. That's what makes me sick."

Liu Zhifu blinked his dazed eyes, stared at Liu Zhixin and asked, "Zhixin, I occupied your old house during liberation and drove your family to a wing, do you always hold a grudge?"

Liu Zhixin said: "Everything is insignificant in the face of time. Back then, my house was considered one of the best in the village, isn't it now an old house with rotten rafters and broken tiles? It should have been renovated long ago. I always remember What Mr. Guan said to me is to forget the past and start a new life. People are always staring at their heels, and it is impossible to make great strides forward.”

Liu Zhifu held Liu Zhixin's hand, panting: "It's rare that you don't hate me. Do you think the Liu family will prosper again? I'm afraid that one day Liuzi Street will be renamed and we will all become unworthy descendants."

"After all, he is the big brother of the generation. He thinks farther than I do. The time and place are right, and anxiety is useless. I only hope that one or two promising children will emerge from the next generation."

"I've been thinking about it for the past two days, and I want to erect Mr. Guan's stele again. Do you think it's good?"

"Liuzi Street is just a name. If the descendants are unworthy and the family is not prosperous, they will be ridiculed if they leave a false name. I think it is better not to establish it. Besides, it is against Mr. Guan's wishes. I think it is better to rebuild the family tree, at least Let future generations know where they come from, and remember the honor, disgrace and virtue of their ancestors."

"I also have this idea, but I am afraid that others will say that I engage in feudal superstition activities."

"No. In the past six or so years, I have come into contact with a few blind people from the south. They said that the family tree and ancestral hall have been preserved in the south, and there are ancestor worship activities during festivals. We northerners, on the contrary, keep our ancestors , completely forgotten.”

"When I recover from illness, I'll find a few old brothers, and we'll rebuild the family tree together. I'm a fucking commoner now, and I don't have to be afraid of falling leaves and hitting my head."

For the first time in more than 30 years, the two brothers with a big age difference put aside their previous differences and opened their hearts.

Liu Zhixin said: "Brother, do you still remember how I escaped from Liuzi Street back then? You asked me to report the grain yield of [-] jin per mu, how dare I. Not to mention that there were no pesticides and fertilizers in the past, even if the yield per mu is over [-] jin, it is still a high yield."

"Didn't you say you don't hold grudges against me? Why are you bringing up this matter again?"

"This matter must be mentioned. At that time, I suggested to you that crops in large fields should not be planted close together, and airtightness will not increase the yield. You did not listen to my advice and said that I was fooling around. Recently I read a few books Books on agricultural science and technology, agricultural experts also said that dense planting of crops in large fields is a common farming habit of farmers. This is what I think, you get better soon. Let's compare the two brothers to see who can grow a high-yield field."

"Okay, okay." Liu Zhifu let out a deep sigh: "After all, they are my brothers, they are not different from each other, and everyone else is just bullshit."

In the end, Liu Zhifu still didn't live until the coming of this spring, and he didn't have the opportunity to witness how Liu Zhixin farmed scientifically.

(End of this chapter)