A century of poverty

Chapter 84 The Tightened String

The educated youth from the Da Liu family youth settlement gradually returned to the city. The remaining few, including Wu Ku, were settled in Jinhai City.

Sixteen houses in the youth settlement are vacant and uninhabited.

The third and fourth companies have hundreds of acres of land that need to be cultivated.

Farmers from various parts of the province and other provinces were successively recruited to cultivate the land of the Third and Fourth Production Teams and live in the vacant houses.

One of the households belonged to Xiao Cuirong's cousin. Xiao Cuirong's mother introduced her cousin to her second brother.

When the news reached Liu Xiaxia's ears, she insisted on reconciling with her second brother despite her family's objections.

Everyone her age is married, and she's the only one left.

The marriage law has changed; women can marry at 20 and men at 22. Even Qu Hui and Li Junzhan, who are a few years younger than her, are married. Zhang Chunhong has also married Liu Zhenwu.

There's a story behind this second couple. Originally, Jiang Hong and Liu Zhenwu were dating. After two months of dating, Jiang Hong pulled a fast one and introduced Zhang Chunhong to Liu Zhenwu. Zhang and Liu were quite satisfied and grateful to this "matchmaker".

This time, Liu Xiaoxia stated clearly: "A person should have a conscience. Zhang Shuangfei has always been good to us, and besides, we still owe him two thousand yuan. If things fall through completely, we have to pay him back. Where are we going to get two thousand yuan? He's been delayed because of us until now, what exactly do you want?"

Liu Zhenhui: "It's not that I want to do anything, it's that your eighth uncle and the others don't agree."

Xia: "If Uncle Ba and the others don't agree, can he pay off our family's debt? Regardless of Uncle Ba and Uncle Liu, if you disagree this time, it won't work!"

Liu Zhenhui: "You can't just marry him like this. If you leave, how will we live? Make them pay another two thousand yuan in betrothal gifts."

Xia remained silent. She was the eldest child in her family. Her second sister had been given to her uncle's family, who lived far away in Jiangbei. Her younger siblings were still young, her mother had passed away, her father was ill, and the family was struggling financially. Now that she was married, the family faced numerous difficulties. She thought for a moment and said, "Let's see. If they can afford it, you should take it."

Xia revealed her father's intentions to her second brother: "He wants to get married, and he wants an additional 1,000 yuan for the bride price."

This put my father in a difficult position. Things weren't as good as they used to be. After being divided into seven teams, they were further divided into groups, but the income didn't increase; in fact, it decreased. My second brother, my younger brother, and I worked for a year, receiving food rations for five people, and we were still in debt. Where were we going to find such a large sum of money?

My older brother lost his job because of having a second child. He was fined 2,000 yuan and it was recorded in his account. He still hadn't paid off the debt for the two mud houses he bought in the village. He was already struggling to make ends meet.

The family also raises three pigs, but these pigs are not sweet-tasting; they only weigh a little over 100 jin (50 kg) after more than a year.

Father gritted his teeth and agreed. After disposing of the three pigs that were not yet fat, he went to the prison to find his two daughters.

I borrowed 300 from my eldest sister and 200 from my second sister. I gave them to my second brother to deliver to Liu Zhenhui.

Liu Zhenhui sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his feet spread on the ground, took the money, clutched it in his hand, and looked at his second brother: "What's so great about a thousand yuan?"

The second brother stood obediently in front of him, smiling: "How much more is needed?"

Liu Zhenhui: "I'm short a thousand! Also, after we get married, Xia will have to do all the work in our fields. I'm not in good health, and her younger siblings are still small. My family can't do without her."

The second brother went home and told his father what Liu Zhenhui had said.

The father asked him, "What do you think we should do since her father said that?"

The second brother sat on a stool, his feet propped up on the stool base, his left hand in his pocket, his right hand rolled up and placed on his lap, his eyes blinking as he looked down, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

silence……

The father had no choice. He was afraid that his son would remain a bachelor and be blamed for the rest of his life, so he borrowed twenty yuan from his fourth sister and went back to the village to discuss it with his uncle, Liu Zhuangtuo.

Father said, "This isn't a wedding for my daughter, it's like I've been kidnapped."

Uncle: "If you don't take it, do you think you can get the three thousand back? If you give it back, you might get the person back; if you don't, you might not get the three thousand back, and you'll end up with nothing, losing both your money and your person. You have to use money to win them back."

Dad took his aunt's husband's advice and came back to think of a solution.

What could they do? They had to resort to the same old methods, enduring hardship and grinding their staple rice into milled rice to sell in exchange for corn.

The whole family ate flatbread for every meal. Grandma had no teeth and couldn't bite the crumbs off the flatbread, so my brother and I ate them.

The coarse cornmeal was hard on my throat, and I was never full. I would often eat until I was half full before going to work in the fields.

Even so, they only managed to produce three hundred yuan. Then, Dad sent his second brother to borrow money from Third Sister Tangshu's house.

The work points were high there; 10 work points were worth more than one yuan. My third sister and brother-in-law worked in the team, and after deducting the food rations for their family of three, they had a surplus of more than 800 yuan. The dry fields produced a lot of corn and sorghum, enough to feed pigs and chickens, and they had more than enough for pocket money. The team also had sideline income from foraging and weaving, so their lives were relatively comfortable.

That day, the second brother came to the third sister's house to borrow money. The third sister resented her father and eldest brother for being heartless to her, so she did not lend the money to the second brother.

After the second brother left, the third sister's father-in-law asked her, "What did Shuangfei come here for?"

Third Sister: "I've come to borrow money."

Third sister's father-in-law: "Did you take it?"

Third sister: "No."

Third Sister's father-in-law: "That's not right of you. You'd better send it over right away! He needs the money to get married. If you don't lend it to him, he'll never remember you for the rest of his life."

The third sister listened to her father-in-law and brought over seven hundred yuan.

The second brother then sent the thousand yuan to Xia's family. Now they can wait for the wedding!

By the end of 1983, the wedding date had been set. Three days later, my second brother brought news that Xia needed money again.

When we heard that we needed to pay more, we were completely dumbfounded. Where were we supposed to find money? It's impossible to find it anywhere.

Second brother: "This time it's not much, just two hundred, to buy the wedding clothes and shoes for the ceremony."

Dad: "I don't even have a hundred. I only have a few dozen yuan. I'll save it to buy a few pounds of meat and vegetables for guests the other day."

The air froze, and no one spoke for a long time.

"How can you be so difficult? This isn't about money, it's about life..." Grandma grumbled, but no one answered.

We're all devastated. What can we do? The immense pressure is like a mountain. We've borrowed from everyone we can; where else can we borrow...?

Dad's cheeks immediately swelled up from worry, and he dared not eat.

Grandma put the bowl on the table and said with a sigh, "Tsk—I'm not hungry, I'm not eating." She put the bowl of cabbage soup back on the table.

I saw it all and was very worried; I didn't know what to do.

Money! Money! Money! It's like a gaping maw about to swallow us whole.

Give me the money! Give me the money! It's like a bottomless abyss.

The devilish hand that demands and takes money pushed me into despair.

I picked up the bottle of "Dichlorvos" medicine and walked towards my mother's grave. After descending the ditch, the transition channel led to my mother's grave next to the main road.

I sat on the aqueduct, wanting to take one last look at the world. I saw pedestrians coming and going from the north and south, east and west, all heading towards their own destinations at the Dagoubang Station.

Then I heard my mother's voice: "Let her do what she wants, what are you doing!"

Yes! Are all these people coming and going heading towards happiness? Aren't there any hardships and struggles?

I threw the bottle of "Dichlorvos" into the large sewer under the aqueduct and went home.

That evening, Dad asked my younger brother, "How much money do you have?"

Young man: "A little over seven yuan."

Father: "Give it to me."

The younger brother obediently took out the money. This was the money he had earned after the rice bundles were transported to the threshing ground, when the team allowed him to pick up rice ears. He had dug up grain from mouse holes on the small road and sold it, intending to buy firecrackers for the New Year.

Grandma lifted her blouse and pulled out an old handkerchief roll from her bosom, handing it to Dad with the warmth of her body still present: "This is the ninety yuan that my eldest daughter secretly gave me when her mother passed away. Take a look."

Father's hands trembled as he took it, opened it, stretched it out, and counted the bills: one, two, nine ten-yuan notes: "It's ninety."

"Sigh! I'll pay you back when things calm down. I never imagined I'd be forced into this situation," Dad sighed.

Father handed 100 yuan to Second Brother: "Tell them that we can't come up with another penny."

The next day was supposed to be a joyous occasion, and we prepared a meal to entertain the newlyweds, but no one could feel happy. After several such incidents, everyone became disheartened.

Firecrackers went off at the door, and we went out to greet the bride. We saw that the "newlyweds" had come empty-handed, without even a washbasin. The wedding party behind them was also empty-handed. This group of people had come "with their mouths."

We panicked when we saw them. We were so sure they were going to spend so much money, they'd buy everything! Turns out they didn't bring anything! It's like throwing good money after bad. We've prepared the house, curtains, furniture, and even my second brother's bedding and clothes. Why didn't the bride bring any luggage, clothes, or even her "treasure bowl"?

We immediately panicked. Bedding and a washbasin were essential, but she didn't bring any. What would we use? Even if we had money, it would be too late to make them at this critical moment!

Fourth Sister thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. I'll be back by noon. You all should entertain them and cook whatever you need to do. Don't wait for me." With that, she quickly left.

My sister-in-law, Liu Fengming, and I cooked and stir-fried dishes.

Aunt Liu kept him company, talking and chatting.

When the food was served, Dad took out the two bottles of "Yushu Daqu" that Zhu Zhifu had brought on his first visit and placed them on the table.

I anxiously looked south again, and saw my fourth sister carrying a bundle on her back and a washbasin in her arms walking down the bridge toward home. I was relieved.

Fourth Sister came in sweating. She put the large bag on the cabinet, opened the blanket, and found a new set of luggage.

In the basin: a pair of mirrors, a pair of soap dishes, a comb, face cream, everything you could need, plus a new blanket.

Now we have everything we need. I asked, "You're amazing! You managed to get everything done with just these two points. How did you conjure them up?"

Fourth Sister: "I had thirty yuan from selling eggs, so I went to the Liu family's supply and marketing cooperative and bought a washbasin, a mirror, and other things. Then I went home from there, wrapped all my luggage that I hadn't used since my wedding in this new blanket, and carried it back home."

Father was overjoyed. His fourth daughter had solved his immediate problem. He said repeatedly, "I'll convert these things into money and pay you back in the future. I promise I will."

Fourth Sister: "What do you mean by not paying them back? They'll treat you well from now on, so I won't ask for it back."

Father: "It's owed to you! It has to be returned to you!"