stonecrandall Chapter 35 People's Commune
Chapter 35 People's Commune
By 1958, thanks to my mother's meticulous care and selfless faith, my father's health improved, and he was able to take a stroll in the street.
One evening in early spring, after dinner, Dad wanted to go to bed early to rest. At that moment, his second brother from the family in Xidang Street arrived, so he had to sit up and talk to him. Mom lit a lamp and placed it in front of them.
The second brother cut to the chase: "Brother, I'm here because I need your advice. You know I've saved up a few dollars over the years, and my house is dilapidated and I want to rebuild. Someone's been trying to set me up with a wife. With this little money, I can't build a house without finding a wife, and if I do find a wife, I can't build a house. I'm at my wit's end. What should I do?"
Father suggested, "That's easy. Just build the house first, and don't waste money. Once the house is built, things will be easier to settle down with a wife. You can get her a dowry without much trouble. If you marry her first, you'll probably spend a lot of money and then won't have enough to build the house."
"Well, how should I put it?"
"Think about it, building a house is a matter of strength, and the woman's family will know that. If you build a house first, the woman's family will see that your family has strength, and they won't have to worry about having a place to live if they give their daughter to your family. Even if you pay less dowry, you can still bring your wife home."
"Then let's do it your way. Also, I don't know anything about building houses, so I'll have to ask you to oversee it for me."
"Okay!" Dad readily agreed.
A few months later, the second brother came again, beaming with joy: "Just as you said, it's exactly right. The wedding will be held in a few days."
I came especially to invite you for drinks; you're truly like Zhuge Liang, your foresight is uncanny.
After that, he would tell everyone he met in the village: Zhang Xiwang is as insightful as Zhuge Liang, and he is also very good at building houses, so that every family in the village would ask his father to help them build a house.
The family has grown to eight people now, with the addition of a third older sister and a second older brother.
As evening approached, our whole family finished eating and relaxed in the front courtyard when Zhang Mingzhi came in from the back courtyard: "Eating, Uncle?" He greeted us from afar.
"Okay! Come on, sit here." Dad called out, picked up a small stool and placed it next to him, and Zhang Mingzhi sat down.
The eldest and second eldest sisters helped their mother pick up the bowls and chopsticks. Their mother lifted the table and put it aside, while their grandmother carried their second brother into the house. The family was used to this routine: when Zhang Mingzhi came to talk to their father, it was always about village matters, and no one would listen in.
Zhang Mingzhi: "Uncle, the People's Commune is about to be established. We're going to have a meeting at the commune tomorrow. Come with me."
Dad: "I'm not a Party member anymore, is it appropriate for me to attend a meeting with you?"
Zhang Mingzhi: "There's nothing inappropriate about it. You've been working on our village for a long time. You were in charge of the land reform. You have prestige in our village, and the higher-ups all know you. I've already spoken to Shen Ziren, and he said he'd let you go to the meeting."
The original township head, Li Feng, was removed from his post due to his corruption, and Shen Ziren from Lizhuangtuo took over as the head of the village community.
Father agreed, "Then I'll go."
At the meeting, the commune leader, Shen Ziren, was giving a passionate speech: "We will not only establish communes, but also supply and marketing cooperatives and armed forces departments. A new socialist era is coming, and communism will soon be realized."
The commune was divided into production brigades, and each brigade was to establish a canteen, a daycare center, and so on.
Having received instructions from higher authorities, they returned and began implementing the programs one by one. A stark reality emerged: a severe shortage of personnel. There were no suitable candidates for canteen managers, kindergarten teachers, or brigade accountants. There were too few educated poor and lower-middle peasants, and landlords and rich peasants were unsuitable.
Zhang Mingzhi was worried and came to discuss it with his father: "We can't do all this without someone! What are we going to do about this cough?"
Dad: "The canteen manager and the kindergarten teacher can be handled if they're not very skilled, but the brigade accountant can't be left out. We need to find someone who can handle things and is honest."
Zhang Mingzhi: "That's right, but where can we find this person?"
Father: "There is such a person in our village, but he is not here now."
Zhang Mingzhi: "Who is it?"
Father: "Zhang Xifeng."
"Yeah! How come I didn't remember him?"
"I remember now, it's not easy to handle this when I'm not home."
"Just tell his family to let him come back, right? Just go and talk to your third aunt and your brother over there, and ask Zhang Xifeng to come back as the brigade accountant. It'll definitely work out. It'll be a good thing for his family too."
"Then I'll go and talk to them."
They just wouldn't come to his house to talk about this, and Third Grandmother Zhang Gaoshi was also planning to bring Zhang Xifeng back.
Her family, who shared the same birth year as mine, also had two children: "Qiu Qu" and "Dong Lai". Qiu Qu was born in the same year as my third sister, and Dong Lai was born in the same year as my second brother.
A sudden epidemic struck at the beginning of spring, and both children died one after another. This greatly distressed Third Grandmother. What could she do? Wouldn't this family be ruined? You have to go out and find your brother.
At this critical juncture, Dad, representing the village, suggested that they bring Zhang Xifeng back, which came at just the right time.
Zhang Xigui took out an envelope: "Look, brother, it only says 'Jinhai Reclamation Bureau' on it. I've never been to Northeast China."
His mother said, "Then go look for it at Jinhai! That's why I told you to go look for it at Jinhai!"
Dad: "You've been out and about before, you're educated, and you have the address, so why are you worried about not finding him?"
Zhang Xigui: "Then I'll go!"
When Zhang Xigui arrived in Jinhai, he went to the State Farms Bureau and learned that a large number of farm workers were repairing the dike. Following the directions, he went down to the workers' quarters and asked the cook, "Hello, do you have a man named Zhang Xifeng here?"
The master chef frowned: "There seems to be such a person, an honest-looking guy who isn't very tall."
Yes, yes.
Head Chef: "But it seems this person doesn't work here anymore."
"Where did he go?"
The master chef said, "Go up to the south bank of the river and ask around." He then enthusiastically gave him directions: "Just walk straight ahead from there, cross the bridge, and then ask around again."
"OK, thanks!"
Zhang Xigui followed the direction the person pointed and walked towards Henan. Sure enough, there was a large bridge not far away.
He came to the bridge and looked around. The endless greenery was divided by a bright white river. The river flowed slowly westward, and a flock of egrets flew among the green reeds.
Looking south, the earth-colored mounds in the distance should be houses.
He chose a path and followed it down. In less than an hour, he arrived at the scene and found people digging and building a dam.
He stepped forward and inquired, "Excuse me, is there a person named Zhang Xifeng here?"
The man digging stopped his shovel: "What do you want with him? Who are you to him?"
There was hope! Zhang Xigui was overjoyed: "I'm his brother, I've come to see him."
The man digging the earth said, "Oh, he's cooking over there at home." He pointed to the spot.
"Thank you!" Zhang Xigui said happily.
Not too far away, and since the house had no walls, he went directly to the door of the earthen house and peered inside.
He immediately spotted his older brother cooking by the stove: "Brother!" he blurted out.
The man looked up, saw it was his younger brother, and exclaimed excitedly, "What brings you here?"
Younger brother: "I've finally found you!"
The two brothers hugged each other.
After dinner, Zhang Xigui said to his brother, "Come on, take me out for a walk!"
The two brothers walked and chatted. The younger brother said, "You're not a master chef, so how did you become a cook?"
Brother: "When we first arrived, these migrant workers took turns cooking. Some of them couldn't get up in the morning, and I had nothing to do when I woke up, so I went to cook. After a while, everyone ate my cooking and said, 'Why don't you just stop coming to the dam and focus on cooking? We can all do a little more work and that's how I got the job of cooking.'"
The younger brother got to the point: "Brother, go home. I came out specifically to find you."
Brother: "Who told you to come out and look for me? Was it her?"
Brother: "No matter who calls, you've been away for several years now. Are you never going to come home again? She did something to wrong you, but you have to think about it. Mom is so old, she misses you, and she misses the children. Qiu Qu and Dong Lai are both gone. If you don't go back, are you abandoning this family?"
Brother: "Has my autumn gone?"
He looked at his younger brother in surprise, his heart aching, tears welling in his eyes. Unbeknownst to them, the two had left the village and reached the main road. The two brothers found a small mound by the roadside, gathered some grass around it, and sat down.
Brother: "Go back! It's better for the whole family to be together than for you to be out there by yourself. She's been taking care of the family these past few years, let's just pretend we didn't see anything else."
"With the Great Leap Forward in the country, people's communes were established, and brigades and production teams were set up in the village. My visit to you this time was at the brigade's behest. Our village doesn't have a brigade accountant yet. The brother over there said Zhang Mingzhi said you'd be the brigade accountant; we're just waiting for you to come back."
Brother: "If that's the case, I'll go back. These past years outside haven't been easy for me either. I also miss Mom and the children."
Over the years, with her uncle Zhang Xigui working in the fields, Gao Shuzhi has been able to earn enough to make a living by contributing to the farm's annual income.
My mother, who is also my third grandmother's sister-in-law, often comes to stay. She stays for one or two months at a time, twice a year, and I also help her with the housework.
She lacked nothing in her life, and the uncle's departure didn't seem to have much of an impact on her.
The eldest daughter, Jinzi, was an excellent student, always scoring 100 on her exams and earning the nickname "Hundred-Point Girl." The second daughter, Huan'er, was also a good student, but due to her visual impairment, she felt ashamed and lived in the shadows.
Grandma San's initial affection for her niece as her daughter-in-law didn't last long. After the new house and courtyard were built, her feelings gradually faded. Her sister-in-law often came to live with her daughter, and the two of them would chatter back and forth, making Grandma San seem somewhat superfluous.
She simply moved out of the west courtyard and into the house in the east courtyard where her second son, Jing Tian, had lived. She and her unmarried second son lived in the opposite house.