Reborn back to 1984

Chapter 27

Zhang's father and daughter were walking home in the twilight, passing the arch bridge where they met Shao Han for the first time, Zhang Xiuqing's heart suddenly beat faster involuntarily. The "bidong" scene began to replay in my mind, it had nothing to do with love, but because it was too ambiguous at the time.

Shao Han's appearance when he was talking to her echoed in his ears, that deep and hoarse voice, like a pair of invisible hands, gently pulling a certain string deep in Zhang Xiuqing's heart.His face turned red in disbelief, but fortunately it was late and the twilight was deep, and Zhang Lingen, who was busy on his way, didn't notice anything unusual about his daughter.

The father and daughter were originally on their way, but when they passed the cemetery, Zhang Lingen slowed down, and when Zhang Xiuqing caught up, the father and daughter walked side by side.Zhang Xiuqing walked on the side close to the small river. Zhang Xiuqing was moved by this caring gesture: "Father, you are so kind to me!"

Zhang Lingen shook his head, his tone was a little regretful and ashamed: "I'm not good enough for you, Xiuqing, Dad has no ability to let you live a good life, usually you can't eat meat, you can't wear new clothes during the New Year, and now you can't even pay for your tuition. Sorry, do you blame me?"

To be honest, Zhang Xiuqing did complain in her previous life, but after she was reborn, her mood changed. She learned to look at problems from the standpoint of her parents, learned to be considerate and tolerant, and also learned to be considerate and distressed: "Dad, are you here?" What nonsense are you talking about? Are you complaining or hating? It’s too late for me to thank you! If you hadn’t loved and spoiled me, would I have been able to finish junior high school and go on to high school? Can I stop doing farm work and hide at home reading Is it? Compared to other girls in the village, my life is good enough... It doesn’t matter if I have new clothes for the New Year, as long as I can eat enough and wear warm clothes, I am satisfied.”

These words comforted Zhang Lingen's fatherly heart very well. He turned his face slightly to prevent Zhang Xiuqing from seeing the moisture in his eyes. When he calmed down, he turned his head and asked: "One more day School will start in a few months, if this continues, the tuition fees for your younger sister and younger brother will no longer be a problem, Xiuqing, do you have any plans to re-study?"

"I don't plan to study anymore!" Zhang Xiuqing can't have it both ways. Zhang Xiuqing decided to give up her dream of college as early as the day she came back from rebirth, choose to make a fortune, and study by herself in her spare time: "I plan to take the self-study exam. I will sign up in December this year. Take the exam at the end of April next year, and wait until May to sign up for the October exam. After passing all the subject exams, you can get a graduation certificate, which is recognized by the country."

This might not be a way out, Zhang Lingen was overjoyed, and asked happily: "Have you passed the exam and changed your household registration?" If you changed your household registration, Xiuqing would be able to jump out of the farm and never have to do those dirty and tiring farm work again. I can talk to young men in the city, and I can live in a house allocated by my unit when I get married in the future.

Zhang Xiuqing shook her head: "Don't turn!"

Zhang Lingen's face suddenly became ugly. After thinking for a while, he continued to ask: "Then is the job assigned?" If the job is assigned, Xiuqing will be able to eat the national grain. Let's see, is there any bad-mouthed woman in the village who dares to speak ill of her behind her back?
Zhang Xiuqing still shook her head, and said two words in a low voice: "No!"

Zhang Lingen stopped immediately, and the previous joy was swept away, replaced by disappointment on his face.No transfer of account, no distribution package, such a university does not take the test.

Zhang Lingen didn't understand why Xiuqing didn't go to high school when the tuition fees had already been settled?Instead choose to take the self-study exam?

Zhang Lingen's heart is heavy. He has three children, and he loves each of them very much. He wishes to send them all to college, but his family is too poor. Working without night, I still can't make ends meet. Every time school starts, I can only borrow money to pay for tuition.

Borrowing money depends on the face of the person, sometimes you may not be able to borrow it, even if you do, people will come to collect the debt for urgent needs. Whenever this happens, Zhang Lingen will be particularly helpless.If it weren't for the lack of news in the countryside, he didn't know that human organs can be traded on the black market, and he might sell blood and kidneys.

Standing beside her father, Zhang Xiuqing could clearly hear his rapid and heavy breathing, and after a long time, she heard him say: "Xiuqing, do you want to think about it again? A full-time university?"

Zhang Xiuqing shook her head again: "Father, you don't need to persuade me, I have thought clearly. Full-time university is indeed very attractive now, but in the near future, the iron rice bowl will be broken, and many urban people will be laid off. , Unemployed, life is worse than that of rural people... At that time, the state will no longer distribute jobs, and graduates will go to work by choosing their own careers. The gap between rural and urban hukou will narrow, and many rich people will even I will also go to the beautiful countryside to build villas. People's mantra is "A person can have no power or influence, but he must have money!" I don't plan to go to high school because the school system of self-examination is flexible , I will have more time to do the things I like to do.”

Zhang Lingen half understood, half didn't understand, and opened his mouth, wanting to persuade again, but seeing the firm expression on Zhang Xiuqing's face, he swallowed those words again: "I hope you won't regret it in the future."

"I won't regret it!" Zhang Xiuqing said solemnly: "I chose this path, and I will go on no matter how difficult it is. Dad, you don't have to worry about me, and don't blame yourself. I have grown up, I should Take responsibility for your actions."

Zhang Lingen sighed, feeling extremely depressed.

It was completely dark, Zhang Lingen turned on the flashlight, and the faint light illuminated the path under his feet.The father and daughter walked shoulder to shoulder and headed home.

When they were about to reach the entrance of the village, two big dogs jumped out from a silk-screen boat docked by the river, barking at Zhang's father and daughter.

Zhang Xiuqing's hometown is a famous water town. The village is built on the water, and there is a 20-meter-wide river at the entrance of the village. There are more than ten silk-screen boats docked in the river all year round. The people on the boats make a living by fishing.When Zhang Xiuqing was a child, she heard from the old people in the village that the people on these net boats were all from other provinces. They escaped from famine in the generation of their grandfathers, passed through many places along the way, and finally chose to settle in Xindong Village.

People everywhere have xenophobic feelings. Even in the past many years, the people on the boat who have learned the local dialect still cannot integrate into the circle of local people.They built grass sheds on the wasteland by the river to store sundries.Their children were born on the boat and grew up on the boat. When they are old enough to go to school, they will enter the primary school in the village and study with local children.In school, these children will be ostracized, and it is difficult to make friends. Many cannot bear this environment, and often stop studying after a few years, and very few graduate from elementary school.

Usually, if there is no important matter, the people on the net boat will never enter the village. Similarly, the people in the village will never go to the net boat. This balance was broken only when Ling fell into the Lingtang and died.

After all, fishing depends on the weather, so it’s hard to say how much you can harvest. In order to increase income, the people on the boat plant some water chestnuts in the shallows. Every August, when the lotus starts to form lotus hearts, the red water chestnuts can be picked.

At this time, children from the village flock to the water chestnut pond in groups, and wait for the people on the net boat to pick the ripe red water chestnuts, and then they start to pick young water chestnuts.

The water chestnut pond is very large. For the convenience of picking, the people on the net boat specially made shallow wooden barrels, which they called water chestnut barrels.When picking, people sit in the water chestnut bucket and row the water chestnut bucket wherever they want to go.

But the children don't have water chestnut barrels, so they can only stand on the bank and reach for the water chestnut plates that grow on the shore.They picked up the water chestnut plate from the water and checked one by one to see if there were tender water chestnuts growing under it. If there were any, they would pick them up and eat them.

Everyone in the village knew about it, and everyone on the net boat took it for granted. As long as these children put the water chestnut back in its original place, they would not make a sound.

Finally one day, tragedy happened.The children don't know the danger of the water chestnut pond. They push each other and snatch each other. When a little boy was leaning over to fish for a water chestnut plate, someone touched it and fell into the water chestnut pond with a "plop".

The shoal is shallow, but it is more than enough to drown a seven-year-old child.The boy's older sister was nearby and jumped down to save his younger brother.Afterwards, the siblings' cousins, cousins, cousins, and cousins ​​also jumped down one after another, but none of them came up in the end.

As we all know, water chestnut is a kind of floating leaf plant, and its rhizomes grow underwater. If a person falls into the water chestnut pond, he will be entangled in these densely packed rhizomes, even if the water quality is the best, he will not be able to float up.

In the afternoon of that day, a large-scale fighting broke out at the entrance of the village. All the huts built by the people on the netting boats on the shore were burned, and several silk netting boats were smashed and sunk, and several people were killed and injured.

Zhang Xiuqing clearly remembered that this tragedy happened in August 1984, only 8 days left.

Even in the past many years, she still has not forgotten that gray August. She was immersed in the pain of failing the college entrance examination, and more people were immersed in the great grief of losing their loved ones. Mothers who lost their children hanged themselves and threw themselves into the village from time to time. Rivers and other things, and all the people on the net boat were forced to leave this place where they had lived for decades...

Zhang Lingen had switched places with Zhang Xiuqing the moment the two big dogs came out.

After a while, a medium-sized, dark-skinned girl walked out of the silk net boat, and called the two big dogs back.

Zhang Xiuqing greeted her: "Jiang Lanfang, is your father at home?"

Jiang Lanfang also recognized Zhang Xiuqing, surprised and delighted, and a little surprised: "My dad is drinking old wine on the boat, wait a minute, I'll call him out."

Zhang Xiuqing looked at Zhang Lingen with a smile. On the road just now, she had done his father's ideological work and instilled in him the concept of "borrowing chickens to lay eggs", that is, buying fish from the boatmen and selling them to Chen Yuhua and Shao Han, to put it another way, is "speculative speculation".

Waking up in the middle of the night to fish every day, the iron body can't bear it, and it may not be able to catch enough fish. Zhang Lingen figured it out after thinking for a while.

Jiang Lanfang's father, named Jiang Shuisheng, was small in stature, dark-skinned, with calluses all over his hands, but he had a very straightforward personality. Zhang Lingen reached a deal with him in just a few words.

What happened was like this. As soon as Zhang Lingen opened his mouth, he told about the price difference of five cents per catty. After Jiang Shuisheng heard this, he slapped his thigh: "Deal!"

People at this time were too sincere, Zhang Xiuqing twitched the corners of her mouth when she heard it, and Jiang Lanfang covered her mouth and snickered.

(End of this chapter)