A century of poverty

Chapter 39 Famine

At the foot of Lianyu Mountain, in the largest plot of land in Zhangzhuangtuo, the crops are covered by weeds. The corn, which is not taller than a person, has small red tassels just sprouting from its cob, which dot the grass.

The women of the first production team sat at the edge of the field. They had come to weed, but at this moment they could neither swing the hoe nor pull the weeds, and could only look at the vast expanse of crops and grassland with a sigh of despair.

Zhang Mingzhi came to the field, looked at the grass, and at the listless, hungry commune members, but said nothing.

He pondered for a moment, then turned around and walked towards the brigade's animal husbandry area.

Father was rolling around on the pine horse, holding the reins. He came up to me and said, "Uncle, the land is all abandoned, and people are sitting on the edge of the fields because they're starving. Are you telling me that we farmers are just going to watch the land go to waste and people starve to death?"

Father: "Then what's your plan?"

Zhang Mingzhi: "I want the commune members to reclaim wasteland themselves and grow vegetables and fruits to be self-sufficient. That way, people won't have the energy to grow things just for their own consumption, and they'll definitely do it."

And so, each brigade took self-rescue measures, and the "big canteen" filled with the smell of medicinal soup was dismantled.

Grandma had been lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) for several days and wasn't feeling well, alternating between feeling cold and hot. Mom scooped half a bowl of flour from the earthenware pot on the cupboard lid and made a bowl of soup for Grandma, bringing it to her: "Mom, sit up, I'll feed you."

Grandma: "Just leave it there, I'll eat it myself when I get up in a bit."

Mom: "I need to water the cabbages planted in the field by the South River. Can I go now?"

Grandma: "Go ahead."

Mother called to her second sister, "Chunlian, come with me. I'll fetch water, and you can water the plants."

"Yes!" Second sister replied, picked up the ladle, and Mom carried the two buckets outside. As soon as she stepped outside, she shivered. Why was it so cold? She went back inside and put on a coat.

The newly planted cabbages hadn't recovered yet. Mom put down a bucket and told my second sister, "I'll use two buckets to carry water, and you can scoop water and water each cabbage with a ladle." With that, she picked up the buckets and walked towards the river.

After carrying several buckets of water, the heat suddenly returned, and she felt even more exhausted. This was all work she was used to; carrying a few buckets of water was nothing, it shouldn't be that tiring! Mother wondered, but didn't say anything. After watering the vegetables, she squatted on the edge of the plot, picked a handful of small bok choy from the still-unopened vegetable patch, washed them by the river, and went home. First, she went to see Grandma, took out the empty bowls from the kitchen stove, and prepared lunch for the family. After setting the table, Dad came home for lunch, and Mom served everyone a bowl of vegetable porridge as he sat on the kang (heated brick bed).

While eating, Dad said, "I'm also experiencing alternating chills and fevers. Could I be getting malaria?"

Mom: "Who knows! So many people in our village have caught it, it's one family after another. I was watering the cabbages today and I kept getting hot and cold, I had no energy at all."

Father: "The sixth son of the Tiandetang family has passed away, leaving behind a bunch of children. Zhang Xiaoyong's parents are also dying, and Mootou's mother is not doing well either. Mootou said this morning when he went to water the cabbage that several members of her family also had fevers. This disaster is terrible!"

Mom: "What should we do then?"

The father, tormented by the extreme temperature, felt weak and stopped working at home.

Even though her mother is very strong, she can't leave the house. She bravely takes care of the family inside and outside the house.

That morning, she had just emptied her grandmother's bedpan and went to open the front door when a familiar-looking person stood there. Her mother paused, then asked him what he wanted. The man introduced himself, saying, "You must be my nephew's wife. I'm from Diaoyutai. I'm going to Moutou's house to give you a message: your grandmother is quite ill. Please visit her when you have time."

Mom remembered: "Aren't you Uncle Shi from Diaoyutai? Come inside and sit for a while, have a drink of water."

Shi Jingui: "I'm not sitting, I'm leaving." He then walked a few steps away.

Mom went into the room and walked straight to Grandma's head, calling, "Mom!" Grandma didn't answer. Mom called again, "Mom! Are you awake?" Still no response. Mom touched Grandma's forehead; it wasn't hot. She called again and again, "Mom! Mom!" shaking Grandma's hand, but no one answered. Mom got anxious, forgetting that she herself was still feverish and weak. She climbed onto the bed and hugged Grandma's upper body tightly. She desperately called out, "Mom! Mom! Open your eyes and look! Mom! Mom—what's wrong! Answer me! Mom! Mom…"

After Mom kept calling for half an hour, Grandma finally caught her breath and said, "Why did you call me? I was walking along the wide road, and your grandma was waiting for me. Why did you have to call me back?" Seeing that Grandma had calmed down, Mom's face relaxed. "Mom, were you dreaming?" Grandma replied, "It wasn't a dream. I was clearly walking along a main road to the southwest, and you kept calling out to me, so I came back."

At this moment, Dad got up and went outside. Mom followed him out and told him about the message sent from Diaoyutai. Dad said, "Don't tell Mom yet. Look at her health; she can't go even if you tell her, and it will only make her worry. You stay home and take care of Mom; I'll go in a little while."

When Dad came home for dinner, he told Mom, "Grandma has passed away. Everything is fine at the funeral, so don't worry about her. Don't tell Mom yet; we'll tell her slowly when she's better."

Mom also told Dad: Mom is doing well today. She eats and speaks with much more energy.

The bustling crowds at the entrance of the canteen are a thing of the past. The large square stone standing abruptly to the north of the entrance is now a stark contrast to the stones where people used to sit idly along the base of the wall.

The only ones who still care about them are the playful children.

That day, the eldest brother, Shuangxing, brought his third sister to play here. They first ran and jumped around on that row of rocks, having a great time. Suddenly, the eldest brother climbed onto a high rock, assumed a ready position, raised his arms, squatted down twice, and shouted a slogan: "One, two, plop!" before jumping down.

"You dare jump down from there, Mom? You wouldn't dare," he boasted to his third sister.

"I dare! If you dare, I dare!" The third sister was not to be outdone. She climbed up with great difficulty, stepping on a boulder. Looking down at how high it was, she hesitated.

The older brother looked at her and said, "You don't dare now, do you? I told you you wouldn't dare, but you insisted you would."

"I dare!" The third sister squinted and jumped down, landing on the ground, clutching her leg, and burst into tears.

The eldest brother stood to the side and said, "You jumped down and were scared to tears. You lost, I won! Ooh ooh!" The eldest brother jumped around the third sister.

Third sister: "My legs hurt, it's all your fault, you made me jump."

Seeing his third sister's pained expression, the eldest brother stopped shouting and squatted down: "Where does it hurt? Here—"

Third Sister: "Don't touch me!" She cried even harder.

The eldest brother said, "Wait here, I'll call Mom." He then ran home quickly, shouting, "Mom, Mom, come quick! San'er fell and is crying!"

Mother, who was spinning hemp rope on the kang (a heated brick bed), heard this and hurriedly asked, "Where are you?"

The older brother said, "He fell off that big rock at the entrance of the cafeteria."

"This naughty girl, what are you doing up there?" Mom said, removing the hemp rope from her hands as she got off the kang (a heated brick bed). Reaching the canteen entrance, she saw her third sister kneeling motionless on the ground, tears streaming down her face, her hand clutching her left calf. Mom tried to put her hands under her armpits and hug her, but the third sister cried out in pain. Mom instructed her eldest brother, "Go to the animal shed and find your father."

The eldest brother agreed and ran south. Dad quickly caught up from a few dozen meters away, looked at the third sister and said, "You've broken a bone, let's go to Tangshan." "Okay," Mom carefully carried the third sister, and Dad rushed to Shimen Railway Station with her.

Thankfully, they arrived at Tangshan People's Hospital before dark. The hospital was closed, and the doctor on duty was an elderly female traditional Chinese medicine doctor. My mother carried my third sister to the doctor, who patiently inquired about the situation: "It's good you arrived on time. Put the child on the bed." She gently touched the child, and after a short while, straightened up: "The child had a fibula fracture, but I've set it. Go and get her admitted to the hospital; she'll be fine after a few days of observation."

On the morning of the fourth day, the old Chinese medicine doctor who had been treating her came to check on her. Looking at her lively and adorable third sister, who had a small bun on her head, he said, "Little girl, you can be discharged now. Go home and take good care of yourself. Don't jump around like that again." Turning to the adults, he said, "Come to my office in a little while to complete the discharge procedures."

Under the scorching sun, Mom carried her third sister with great effort, her face dripping with sweat. "I'm exhausted. Let your dad carry you for a while," she said, handing her third sister to her father. After a short while, the third sister struggled to get back into Mom's arms, saying, "Mom, carry me! Mom, carry me!" She wouldn't let her father carry her.

Amidst the bustling crowd at the train station, an elderly woman wearing a white hat and white sleeves walked by, carrying a thermos in both hands: "Poppies—popspies—sweet and cool popspies, two cents each."

Third Sister saw others holding strings of popsicles and exclaimed, "My legs hurt!" Mom anxiously put her on a seat to check on her: "Did you hurt yourself? Where did you hurt yourself?" Third Sister replied, "Eating a popsicle will make it stop hurting." Dad took out a two-cent coin from his pocket and bought Third Sister a popsicle.

I got off the bus at Shimen and returned to the feeding area. It was just past noon.

Dad said, "I have to go here first and I won't go home. You take her back and have the children bring me the food."

When they got home, Mom put Third Sister on the kang (a heated brick bed). Grandma was holding Fourth Sister and feeding her sweet potatoes with Second Brother on the kang. Seeing Mom return, Second Brother called out "Mom!" and ran towards her. Fourth Sister also tried to run towards Mom. Mom stretched out her arm to stop Second Brother: "Be careful, don't bump your Third Sister's leg."

Grandma, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, suddenly changed her expression: "I'm always nagging you about these things, and I didn't even get to burn a single paper offering for your aunt (Moo-tou's mom) when she died."

Mom greeted me with a smile: "I'll go with you after she's seven days old, and we'll burn a lot more for her."