Portable Space: Red Age of Rebirth

The next day, before dawn, Ma Du got up. She was busy packing the things she would take back to her parents' home, such as wine, bacon, smoked fish, sugar, etc., and packed two full baskets. Grandma's house was very close to the commune.

There are two or three miles of land, but it is far away from Qinghe Bay. There are more than twenty miles of land, of which nearly 10 miles are mountain roads. Yesterday evening, Mr. Du went to the village chief to register to borrow an ox cart. When Ya'er got up, Mr. Du

The oxcart has been driven back. After breakfast, Father Du was busy putting a shabby quilt on the oxcart. It's so cold now, and the children can't stand it without something to lay on it.

After breakfast, the adults and children packed up neatly and put the large and small packages of gifts on the oxcart. Mother Du took a quilt from her bed and covered them with the children, wrapping them tightly.

There is no air-conditioning. I bid farewell to grandma, raise the bullwhip, and go to my parents' house.

Ya'er sat in Ma Du's arms, with only her little head wearing a hare skin hat exposed. The mountain road was very uneven, and the brothers' little buttocks bumped up and down, but the brothers didn't care and kept pointing out to their sister.

Look what kind of tree this is, what kind of mountain that is, the chirping is so lively. This is Ya'er's first time out of the village, her little head follows the fingers of her brothers, looking left and right, curious about everything, occasionally looking

When you see a wild rabbit running on the road or a pheasant fluttering its wings, you can't help but scream with excitement. It's winter now, and the surrounding trees are bare, but you can imagine that when spring comes, there will be blooming flowers again.

Brocade, the vast sea of ​​forests, as far as the eye can see, towering ancient trees and winding forest paths. This mountain forest gave birth to the people of this area, and the people of this area also used the most simple principles to protect this primitive mountain forest. It is estimated that no one can imagine that a few decades later, this

The mountain forest will probably become bare, without the towering trees all over the mountain and the animals running around.

After walking on the mountain road for more than an hour, we finally reached the flat asphalt road. The pace of the old scalper also became noticeably faster. There were many pedestrians on the road, most of whom were probably visiting relatives to pay New Year greetings. Occasionally, a tractor would pass by, making passers-by envious.

. But most of them rode in bullock carts or on foot, and a few rode bicycles. They got up too early in the morning, and when Ya'er was drowsy and about to fall asleep, she heard her two brothers calling out. They were almost at grandma's house.

The car stopped at the entrance of a courtyard. Standing at the door was an old lady in her 60s with neatly combed gray hair. Then she heard her two brothers calling her grandma.

"You must be exhausted, go into the house and have a rest." Grandma stepped forward and took Ya'er from Du Ma's arms.[

Looking at grandma holding herself without any effort, you can tell that grandma is in good health. When I entered the yard, I saw that grandma and her family were waiting in the yard. Grandpa is also in his 60s. Unlike his serious grandpa, grandpa is

A fat old man with a smile on his face. He was said to be very good at cooking. Whenever any family in the village had any affairs, they would usually come to him to cook. According to my grandfather, he earned his meat by relying on this skill.

There are four brothers and sisters, Du Ma, who is the youngest in the family. She has two brothers and one sister. The uncle is in his 40s and has a loyal face and doesn't talk much. The brother-in-law is about the same age as Du and is more lively. The aunt is in front.

I got married in another place, and the distance was too far. I rarely came back to visit my relatives. I could only write two letters throughout the year to say I was safe.

After celebrating the New Year with their grandparents, the brothers took the New Year's money they had just received and went to the supply and marketing cooperative in the town with their cousins ​​to buy things. They had been looking forward to it for a long time, and they must buy some delicious food when they go to the town once.

.My cousin and the others often go to town, and my grandma let them go after some warning.

After saying New Year greetings to each other, the eldest aunt went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, while the younger aunt just sat there with her legs crossed and listened to her grandfather and uncle chatting like nothing happened. Ma Du also knew the temper of her second sister-in-law, so she had to get up and go to the kitchen.

Help. The second uncle glared at her, and then stood up reluctantly. But even when he arrived at the kitchen door, he saw his eldest aunt and Aunt Du busy working, and had no intention of reaching out. It turns out that in this simple era, there are also the best.

.

Grandma and the others all know that the second aunt is stingy, loves petty gains, and is unwilling to suffer a small loss. But the second aunt has nothing to say to the second uncle and her children, so grandma and the others just tolerate it. After all, no one wants to do anything.

The house is uneasy. Anyway, grandma and the others live with the uncle, and the second uncle and the others go off to live alone, so that they can live in peace.

As soon as Ya'er entered her grandmother's village, she noticed that there were slogans written on the earthen walls behind each house, crookedly and painted with white ash. They said something like "Bless the great leader long life!" and "Down with those who follow the capitalist line."

It has distinctive characteristics of the times, and the atmosphere is much more depressing than that of Qinghe Bay.

While chatting, my grandpa mentioned that there are denunciations all day long in my village, all because of trivial matters, and I don’t know which evil ghosts were reported to them. A sister-in-law of the neighbor next door to my grandma’s house said:

Because I had an extra old hen, I didn't know that the evil man told the Red Guards, and he was taken away that night. Now I have to march along the village every noon. There have been more than one such things, and the people have been put to sleep.

Not practical.

Just as she was talking, she heard shouting "Down with the capitalist smugglers!" outside. Ya'er followed her grandfather and the others to the yard. When she looked through the door, she saw a group of dashing little red guards escorting a man in his 40s.

The middle-aged woman, there was a sign hanging around her neck. The little Red Guards were all very proud, but the expression on the face of the aunt who had been criticized was probably numb. Grandpa sighed, couldn't bear to look at it anymore, and turned back

Entering the house, it was the first time that Ya'er realized the cruelty of this era. Unless you are there and see it with your own eyes, you will never understand the harm that this special period has brought to people. Father and Mother Du also have lingering fears.

My brother and the others happened to meet each other when they came back from shopping. They were still chattering when they got home, saying that those little Red Guards looked so powerful and that they would join the revolutionary ranks when they grew up. They were young and didn't know the cruelty behind the matter.

Although what happened just now made everyone feel depressed, the atmosphere became lively again when the food was served. No matter what, life has to go on. Similarly, men and women eat separately, and during the meal, the second aunt came out to be depressed again.

"Little sister, do you still have any extra sugar at home that you asked your brother-in-law to send at the end of last year? My mother-in-law is the best. My brother-in-law is too stingy, and he didn't send a few more kilograms.", and didn't look at it.

Others looked at her and pointed at Ya'er's new clothes and continued, "Little sister, I'm not telling you, you're really bad at living. Why should such a young child wear new clothes? He can make do with old clothes.

Just wear them. If you have the extra cloth tickets, you won’t be subsidizing us. My second sister-in-law, I haven’t been willing to make new clothes for several years.”, Balabala.

Du's mother stood up suddenly before she could finish listening. Grandma saw that what the second aunt said was really outrageous, so she glared at her, and then the second aunt shut up. Ya'er thought, she

This can be regarded as being shot while lying down. If her second aunt knew that she had two new pairs of clothes, would she take off the ones she was wearing? But Ya'er also knew that there were many people like her second aunt, and she actually didn't.

What he means is being mean-spirited, being arrogant, being greedy for petty advantages, and so on. Ya'er is not very angry, as long as her family likes her. Du Ma is quite angry, because in Du Ma's opinion, her own daughter deserves the best.

Aunt Du didn't speak to her second aunt again before she left. Second aunt acted like a normal person. The chopsticks in her hands were not slow at all, and she kept putting meat into her bowl. After the meal, eldest aunt and Aunt Du cleaned up together.

Come on, the second aunt didn't even move her butt.

After packing up, drinking water, and taking a short rest, it was time to go back. Before going back, Ma Du secretly gave grandma some change and candy coupons. Because of the money from the oil and candy sales, her family’s life was much easier this year, so she thought

I would like to help my mother-in-law's family, but Ma Du was able to keep the oil and sugar thing a secret without leaking a word. It seemed that she was frightened by what she saw today.

Dad Du was drunk a little too much by his two uncles at noon, and he was a little wobbly when he walked. But no one was worried. After all, the ox cart was the most reliable way to drive. Ya'er thought, I don't know if driving the ox cart while drunk is considered.

Not counting drunk driving. When we went back, it was Ya'er's nap time, and since she had eaten a little too much at noon, she fell asleep in Du Ma's arms after getting on the bullock cart. When she woke up, she was already lying on her bed at home.

Beside the pillow were some snacks bought by the brothers in town. "What a good brother!" Ya'er sighed.

The next few days are still days for visiting relatives. The whereabouts of several of Du’s grandfather’s brothers are still unknown, and the rest have no close relatives. Only Du’s father went to the home of his second uncle’s father-in-law in the same village.

After the first lunar month, we will be busy with spring plowing. During this period of time, the gentlemen are busy tidying up their vegetable gardens. It is not uncommon in the countryside, and every family has a big yard. Anyway, what is grown in the yard

They are all kept for themselves. It is just a good time to tidy them up so that they can produce more things in the coming year. There is no needlework in the first month, and the aunts and ladies who are used to busy work are not used to such days. Finally, usually 3 or 5 people who have a good relationship together

Sitting on the bed together, eating melon seeds, the east family is the elder, the west family is the younger, whose family has given birth, whose couple is quarreling, which couple is mixing up their honey, eating meat and vegetables, it is so lively. Ya'er is here

The people next to me listened with interest, life is just a matter of parents being short-lived. Such trivial days are what we call interesting. Living alone is too lonely. The aunts and ladies looked at Ya'er's slightly older children as if they understood,

He kept nodding his head when he heard the wonderful points, and the music became more and more energetic as he spoke.

The days passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. Originally, Du's father promised to take his brothers to the town to watch the lion dance and Yangko dance, but the sky was not beautiful, and it started to snow heavily since the morning. Now, now

They couldn't go. The brothers had droopy faces, and Ma Du slapped them on their buttocks, but it didn't work. In the end, grandma said that she would make Yuanxiao for them in the evening and let them eat enough, and then they started laughing.

In the afternoon, grandma fried sesame paste and red bean paste, added sugar and pecan kernels, and then rolled them in glutinous rice flour. The sweet and delicious Yuanxiao was ready. The smooth and delicious Yuanxiao has always been a favorite for children.

It's my favorite, but adults don't like it that much. After eating Lantern Festival, the year is basically over, and spring is coming.