A century of poverty

Chapter 43 Heavy, Light

Another person was added to the family. In order not to delay Mom's work, the third sister was too old to go to school and had to stay home to take care of her younger sister.

With big eyes, double eyelids, and a chubby little sister, the third sister adores her and carries her on her back and in her arms every day.

While other children her age were already in school, she carried her younger sister to the primary school. While the others went into the classroom, she peeked through the window to listen to the teacher's lesson. The teacher was still Peng Xiangzhi. Seeing her peeking through the window, she called her in and asked what the teacher had said. She answered correctly in every question. The teacher was very pleased and gave her a notebook and a pencil stub, letting her sit at the back with her sister to listen to the lesson.

The teacher took some time to visit the mother and said, "Auntie, my third sister is very smart. You should let her go to school. If you don't let her go to school, it will ruin her life."

The mother made up her mind and, despite the pressure, sent her to school.

After starting school, my third sister indeed excelled in her studies. The teacher appointed her as class monitor to maintain discipline, and in physical education class, the teacher asked her to lead the students in learning and practicing exercises.

When she gave a lecture at Liuzhuangtuo University, the teacher would dictate, and she could deliver the lecture very well.

On Children's Day, June 1st, Liuzhuangtuo University held a "Celebrating Children's Day All-Community School Performance." Third Sister sang and danced to "On the Golden Mountain of Beijing." Her last neck movement, which was quite characteristic of Xinjiang, was comparable to that of a professional, and the entire audience of teachers and students responded with thunderous applause.

There are three children in the family currently in school: the eldest brother, the third sister, and the second brother. Due to financial constraints, all three cannot continue their studies; one of them must leave to help support the family. The first to be affected is the third sister, who has to drop out. First, Peng Xiangzhi came to the house to inquire, and later several university professors came to see her. Professor Zhao Boping from Zhaozhuangtuo, the university's director, had a heartfelt conversation with my mother: "Auntie, you should nurture this child. Your efforts won't be in vain. It's clear she has potential; you can't ruin her future!"

Mother: "It's not that I don't want the children to study; I'd love for them to learn more characters. It's just that our situation is different from others. Ultimately, this isn't something I can decide on my own. Let's discuss it."

Teacher Zhao Boping left with a sense of regret.

As soon as Teacher Zhao left, Grandma immediately vented her frustration: "What's the use of a little girl going to school? It's enough that she knows her own name; after all, aren't we all someone else's people?"

Grandma's words set the tone for the fate of the girls in this family: daughters are born into this family to work and contribute; there is no talk of gender equality or women's rights here.

My older brother is free and unrestrained. No matter what he does wrong at home, he won't be scolded. Grandma won't say anything, Dad won't say anything, and who else would dare to say anything? He basically has a free status.

However, in such a strict family, he couldn't do anything out of line. Thirteen or fourteen-year-old boys are at an age where they dare to explore. Recently, his older brother had been playing with his neighbors, Xiao Wu and Zhenlong from Beiyuanzi, who were about the same age. Each of them had a brass jingle made from a bullet casing, which they would put to their lips and blow hard, producing a very loud and far-reaching "whoosh—whoosh." His older brother was very envious. He somehow managed to get his hands on a bullet with a pointed end, and figured out how to smash off the tip to make a brass jingle himself.

One day, right after breakfast, the eldest brother called out to his third sister, "Third Sister, Third Sister, I have something good, come here and let me show you."

The third sister and he came out of the back door of the house. There was a vegetable garden outside the eaves, a large stone mill, two walls behind the mill, and outside the two walls was the outhouse next to the pigsty. About three or four meters behind the pigsty was an open space for piling firewood, next to the courtyard gate.

They went out the main gate and came to the east side of the main gate, next to the large stone slab leaning against the courtyard wall. This stone slab was two feet wide, one foot thick, and six feet long. Between the courtyard wall and the stone slab, there were many small, worthless stones, about the size of rice bowls and small basins. The eldest brother took out a copper coin and placed it on the large stone slab. He knelt down beside it and said, "Come and watch over it." The eldest brother called his third sister.

"What's so interesting about this?" The third sister turned and went home. Just as she entered the gate and reached the pigsty, she heard a loud "bang" from outside the gate. Startled, she ran out of the gate and looked at her eldest brother. She saw that his right hand was covered in blood and flesh. He stared blankly at his hand, stunned.

Hearing the unusual noise, Mom and Dad came out together, and the third sister pointed at the eldest brother. Dad saw the eldest brother's condition, picked him up, and ran. Mom had never seen Dad so anxious before and asked, "Where to?"

Without turning his head, Dad said, "Let's go to Changli." Mom followed closely behind.

At the emergency room of Changli Hospital, the doctor treated the child and cleaned the wounds, finding that the child's thumb and index finger were each missing a section. The doctor asked, "How did the child get such severe injuries to their hands?"

Mom: "Was it the sound of a bullet going off? After we heard the sound, we ran outside and saw spent bullet casings and stones that had hit the ground on the rocks."

The doctor said, "That's really fortunate. It's possible that his eyes or face were injured." He seemed to be talking to himself. This boy can be quite mischievous, you never know what he might do.

Mom: "Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

The following year, when school started, the teacher said in class, "Students, listen carefully. Tuition starts tomorrow. It's one yuan this semester. Remember to tell your parents when you get home, and don't forget to bring it tomorrow."

He completely forgot for the first two days, but remembered to tell his mother after school on the third day.

Mom said, "Remember to ask your dad for it tomorrow morning, Mom doesn't have any money."

Unfortunately, Dad left early in the morning to buy livestock for the brigade in Heishan, and he wasn't home.

Before they knew it, it was Monday. The teacher called out, "Zhang Shuangxing, stand up! Why haven't you paid your tuition?"

The older brother stood up without saying a word.

Teacher: "If you don't talk, then go stand outside."

The older brother was very disgusted with the teacher's attitude. He picked up his backpack and left the university, thinking, "I only owe you one yuan. Is it worth embarrassing me in front of the whole class? I might as well quit school."

When I got home, my mother asked in surprise, "Why are you back? Are you feeling unwell?"

Eldest brother: "No."

Mom: "Then why did you come back?"

The older brother said, "Because of the one dollar tuition fee, he called on me in front of the whole class, and I decided to quit school."

Just then, Dad came home and overheard my older brother and Mom talking. He casually pulled out a dollar: "Here, go back to school."

The older brother said, "If I say I'm not going, I'm not going. Do I want him to look down on me?"

Father: "What future will you have if you don't study? What can you do?"

The elder brother said, "I'll gather firewood to burn in the stove."

Seeing that his eldest brother had made up his mind, the father said, "You'll regret this when you grow up."

"I don't regret it. It was my own choice not to study, not my family's."

True to his word, the eldest brother shouldered his basket the next day and went up the mountain to gather firewood. He was daring and would go anywhere. He roamed the south and north rivers, the east and west mountains, letting himself go freely.

When spring arrived and flowers bloomed, he carried a basket of brambles on his back and held his "treasures" wrapped in his clothes. He put the basket down at the gate, and without even bothering to let the brambles dry, he happily went inside to tell his mother, "Mom, look, I found two puppies." As he spoke, he opened his clothes to show his mother, "Look how nice they are! They have big, chubby heads and upright ears."

His mother looked at him and asked, "Where did you pick it up?"

The older brother said, "I went up to the back of Dayu Mountain to dig up some brambles. There are fewer people there, and the brambles are thick and big, so I went there. I saw these two puppies, and they had dug up the whole fence, so I took them home."

Mom: "Take it back right away! Return it to where you found it."

Older brother: "No, I'll keep them. These two puppies are wonderful!"

Mom: "They're not dogs, they're two wolf cubs. If you don't return them, the adult wolf will come looking for you."

The older brother was skeptical. Mom continued, "If you don't send them back, and the big wolf comes and harms someone's pigs or livestock, you'll be in trouble. These things can't be kept."

"Oh—" The older brother understood and had no choice but to send it back.