Chapter 001

Red Sun Commune, the third production team.

He Xiaohong twisted her hands and walked anxiously on the loess road, and looked in the direction of the commune from time to time, as if she was waiting for someone.

Although it is now close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn tiger is still as powerful as ever. He Xiaohong is very anxious and cant stand the heat. She just raised her arm and was about to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, when she saw a person walking at the end of the loess road, and hurriedly walked forward in two steps.

"Xiaomei!" He Xiaohong couldnt help but shouting when she was still three or five steps away from the person.

The person was He Xiaomei, He Xiaohongs younger sister from her mothers family.

She had just married to the commune a few years ago. Although it wasnt that far away, she rarely came to the production team except during festivals because work points were calculated everywhere these days. It was also near the Mid-Autumn Festival that she took half a day off and bought two kilograms of moon cakes and half a kilogram of fruit hard candy from the supply and marketing cooperative to return to the production team to visit her parents. Unexpectedly, she was blocked by her sister before she even entered the team.

He Xiaohong hurriedly dragged He Xiaomei off the dirt road, looked around to see that there was no one around, and then, as if she couldnt hold back, she started talking: "Its my mother-in-law. She seems to have changed recently. I dont know why she suddenly became interested in that child. She used to call him a money-loser and despised him very much, but these days she calls him her darling and the apple of her eye. Whats going on?"

"Sister, take your time. Dont be anxious." He Xiaomei has been close to her elder sister since she was a child. Even though she was almost staggered by being dragged away by someone just now, she was not angry or annoyed. She even patted her sisters back with her hand to calm her down, and said softly, "What do you think happened to Aunt Miao? Did she suddenly become interested in your child? But she was impatient when she took the child to the clinic for treatment a while ago."

"Thinking about it carefully, it seems that something is wrong since that day." He Xiaohong frowned and tried to recall what happened not long ago.

Just half a month ago, her youngest daughter suddenly fell ill. She was busy working in the fields at the time, and only learned about it after she got home from work and heard about it from her eldest daughter. Not long after that, her mother-in-law came back with the child on her back. She looked very unhappy and scolded her.

He Xiaohong was actually used to her mother-in-law finding fault with her. What could she do? She had been married to the old Miao family for seven or eight years and had given birth to three girls in a row. No one would be able to give her a good face. Not to mention her mother-in-law, even her mother urged her to have another one. She couldnt live without a son.

Because she felt guilty, He Xiaohong was afraid of provoking her mother-in-law on weekdays. But other things were fine, but someone had to take care of the child, right? She had to go to work on weekdays. In order to earn more work points to raise the child, she and her husband did heavy physical work, and it was impossible for them to take their little daughter out to work. The two in front are OK. The eldest can help take care of the second one. If its not good enough, she can go to the next yard to play with the children of relatives, so she doesnt have to worry about them all the time. Only the youngest daughter needs someone to help keep an eye on her. Besides her mother-in-law, is there anyone else who can help?

"It was normal at first. The child was not hungry or cold. But I cant remember it wrongly, right? Can you help me think about it? Did anything happen in the clinic that day?"

He Xiaomei is a nurse in the commune clinic. The clinic here can only treat a limited number of diseases. It can only prescribe medicine and injections for colds and fevers. If you encounter a slightly more serious disease, you have to send it to the county peoples hospital. However, going to the hospital is not popular these days. Many members will just go through it even if they are sick, and dont even go to the clinic. Therefore, her work is usually quite leisurely. After all, few people come to get medicine all day long.

After hearing her sisters question, He Xiaomei lowered her head and thought for a while, then shook her head and said, "Nothing happened that day. There was only a commune cadre who came to see a doctor in the morning, and then Aunt Miao came to get an injection in the afternoon. The child had a high fever, and Doctor Xu gave him a fever-reducing injection, and told him to come back the next day if he still didnt feel well. But I didnt see her later!"

"The childs fever went down in the middle of the night, and nothing happened the next day." He Xiaohong pursed her lips, her face full of regret, "If I had known that she was just talking nonsense, I wouldnt have changed it at the time!"

As soon as these words came out, He Xiaomeis face suddenly changed, and she looked around. Fortunately, it was almost noon, and there was no one around except her two sisters.

After letting out a sigh of relief, He Xiaomei wanted to blame her sister, but she felt sorry for her sister, so she swallowed the words back and changed her words to comfort her: "Its already like this, whats the point of saying those things? I was the one who switched the two children, but didnt I tell you about this a long time ago? If you wanted to take her back at that time, you could have made up any excuse. But didnt you want your own daughter to enjoy happiness!"

When it comes to this, He Xiaohong couldnt help but complain: "Its not that I want to have a daughter, but Ive already given birth, what can I do? If she didnt insist on having a grandson, saying this and that, and threatening me that if I had another daughter, she would throw her into the mountains to feed the wolves, how could I do this? I just want my own daughter to live a good life, is there anything wrong with that? I dont want to give her away, but what good life can she have if she stays at home? Look at her two sisters, how much suffering they are!"

"I know, I know everything, so I came up with that idea. The Zhen family gave birth to a son before, so even if they have a daughter, they will take good care of her. Are you still worried?"

As if she remembered her own daughter who was raised in someone elses home, He Xiaohong finally smiled: "Well, I have nothing to worry about. Their family treats my daughter very well and raises her to be white and plump. I see that there is no child in the entire production team more beautiful than my daughter."

"Thats it, why are you still worried! Lets go back to my parents home quickly. I will give you some mooncakes and fruit hard candies later, and you can take them home to coax the two daughters."

He Xiaomei quickly took her sister to her parents home. She actually understood what her sister meant. She didnt want her own daughter to stay at home and suffer, so she didnt exchange the child back. What was the result? The child who was exchanged didnt suffer much, but enjoyed happiness instead, and lived better than the two biological children before. No wonder her sister couldnt accept it.

But now that things have come to this, what else can we do? It was just a small mistake at work when we brought it up, but it has been more than two years since we brought it up again, how can we easily let it go?

"Maybe my aunt in your family is just in a good mood. Who told you not to give her a big fat grandson? If she doesnt like a grandson, wont she like a granddaughter? If you have to ask why she only likes that child, the reason is simple. Look at this production team, who doesnt love the youngest one? Look at my parents, dont they love Xiaojun the most? Isnt it because she doesnt have a grandson to hold? I say, sister, you should also fight for your dignity and get pregnant again. This time you must give birth to a son. Do you think your aunt still likes that child?"

These words finally comforted He Xiaohong and rekindled her hope for life.

Soon, the two sisters came to the gate of the He family courtyard.

The He familys parents worked hard for half their lives and gave birth to a total of five children. The eldest and the youngest are both sons, named He Dajun and He Xiaojun. In the middle are three daughters, named Xiaohong, Xiaomei and Xiaohua.

Among the five children, the eldest son He Dajun has been married for more than ten years and now has two sons; the eldest daughter He Xiaohong married seven or eight years ago, married to the Miao family in the production team, and gave birth to three daughters in succession after marriage; the second daughter He Xiaomei has been smart and capable since she was young, and she is also outstanding in appearance. A few years ago, she asked someone to find a job in the health center, and then she found a man from a family of commune cadres. Because they have not been married for too long, they have not given birth to children yet; the third daughter He Xiaohua originally studied in the commune high school, just graduated this summer, and found a way to arrange a teaching job for her. At present, the whole family is worried about her marriage.

And the youngest son, He Xiaojun...

"Why are you here again?" He Xiaojun, who just turned seven, stood at the gate with his cheeks puffed up, pointing at He Xiaohong who was walking towards him, "You are not homeless, why do you always come to my house? Go away! I dont welcome you!"

As the eldest son of the He family, He Xiaojun is much more favored than his two nephews. In fact, his arrival was an accident. Before him, his eldest brother and sister-in-law had already given birth to two sons. This uncle was younger than his nephews, so he naturally didnt know how to be humble. However, it was common for children to fight and quarrel, and He Xiaojun didnt do anything too out of line.

Of course, the most important thing was that He Xiaojun didnt hate his two nephews. In fact, the person he disliked the most was He Xiaohong, the eldest sister who ran to his house from time to time to ask for money.

He Xiaohong blushed and stood there at a loss.

But He Xiaojun didnt know how to stop when he saw the good things. He looked up and saw what He Xiaomei was holding in her hand, and rushed up happily: "Second sister! Second sister, what delicious food have you brought again? Give it to me, Ill take it to share with the big soldiers and the little soldiers!"

"Wait, let go first! Oh, you kid..." He Xiaomei couldnt really compete with her younger brother, so she finally let go first and let the younger brother take away the mooncakes and fruit candies.

When the younger brother ran into the yard with the things, He Xiaomei turned her head to comfort her elder sister: "Sister, dont take it to heart, Xiaojun is just spoiled."

Thats what she said, but sometimes you really cant blame other peoples children.

He Xiaojun is only seven years old this year. When he was born, He Xiaohong was already married. Therefore, among his brothers and sisters, he is the most unfamiliar with this eldest sister. But He Xiaohongs life in her husbands family is not easy, and she never brings things to her parents home.

It would be fine if she didnt bring anything back, but she often took things away from her mothers house.

As the most favored child in the family, He Xiaojun particularly hated this eldest sister. He never greeted her when they met in the village, and scolded her in person every time he saw her at home.

But He Xiaohongs eldest daughter was almost seven years old. How could she be on the same level as her mothers youngest brother who was not much older than her daughter? Just then, the second sister handed over the ladder, and she agreed vaguely, lowered her head and walked into the yard.

Because He Xiaojun had been yelling nonsense, and listening to the noise in the yard, Hes mother, who was wearing a shabby apron, came out of the kitchen. Seeing the two daughters coming, she wiped her hands on the apron, smiled, and asked the two daughters to sit in the main room, and called the eldest daughter-in-law to help her watch the things on the stove.

When He Xiaohong entered the main room, she saw that her younger brother had already opened the paper-wrapped fruit candies and was happily sharing them with the two sons of her eldest brother. As for the other package of mooncakes, they were placed on the big wooden table. Obviously, for children, candies are the greatest temptation.

He Xiaohong looked at them with envy. Her two daughters could really count the number of times they ate candies with one hand.

As if he noticed her gaze, He Xiaojun looked up at her with a vigilant look, and immediately called his two nephews to run to the inner room: "Take all the candies! Dont let anyone take away our candies!"

This anti-theft approach obviously hurt He Xiaohong greatly.

But before He Xiaohong could recover, she heard Hes father ask in surprise: "Didnt the commune come to the production team this morning to distribute condolences to the families of martyrs? Where are the things?"

Hes mother also looked over eagerly.

"I... I didnt see it..." He Xiaohong stammered. In fact, its not that she didnt see anything at all. She saw a lot of things, not to mention the Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes, but also white towels, enamel pots, enamel washbasins and so on.

She didnt remember the other things very clearly, but the two big carps at the bottom of the enamel washbasin were very impressive.

Unfortunately, before she could get closer to take a closer look, all the things were put away by her mother-in-law.

After hearing what she said, Hes father just lowered his head and looked at the dry pipe. After a short silence, Hes mother forced a smile and comforted: "Its nothing. She only has you, her husband, as her only son. Wont the things she collected belong to you in the future? You should give birth to a son quickly. As it is now, your family cant support you even if they want to."

"Yeah." He Xiaohong lowered her head and responded.

With such a little episode, the He family was destined to be unable to be as happy as before. Fortunately, He Xiaomei helped to smooth things over, and finally this issue was over. After lunch, He Xiaohong went back first, otherwise her mother-in-law would scold her again if she came back late.

Before leaving, Hes mother stuffed a mooncake into her hand and asked her to take it home for her children. But even though she was very careful, He Xiaojun still saw it and screamed loudly, insisting that He Xiaohong stole his things again.

He Xiaohong lowered her head and hurriedly ran out of the He family yard.

Mooncakes are really rare items in this day and age, and only He Xiaomei can buy two kilograms of mooncakes to bring back to her parents home. Because the mooncakes are of real weight, the so-called two kilograms are actually only six pieces.

Carefully holding the mooncake wrapped in oil paper in her hand, He Xiaohong should have gone straight home, but when she was about to walk on the loess road, she changed her mind temporarily, turned around and walked on another fork, deliberately making a big detour to go back.

In their production team, the conditions of each household were actually similar, at most the conditions of the families with more strong laborers were slightly better. However, if you really count them, the best conditions should be her husbands family, the old Miao family.

The Miao family is a family of martyrs. He Xiaohongs father-in-law sacrificed his life for the country a few years ago. When he died, his military rank was not low. At that time, He Xiaohongs husband was still young. Everyone in the team thought that a widow with an only son, even if she got a pension, what would it matter? Can she protect him? Can she not be bullied?

Its true that Aunt Miao proved with her strength that she is a tough character.

Aunt Miao has three treasures.

First, my husband is a martyr! Second, I am a family member of a martyr! Third, without my mans sacrifice, how can you have a good life!

Basically, after shouting these three sentences, most people have to lose. Even if there are still people who dont believe in evil, they cant stop Aunt Miao from protesting in the commune. Whenever she protests, someone from the army has to come to deal with it and find a way to solve the problem. After a while, Aunt Miao was not bullied by others, but became a bully in the production team, and no one dared to provoke her. Even the educated youth from the city would be warned by the old educated youth that they must not offend Aunt Miao, even if they risked offending the team leader.

The Miao family was the best-off in the third production team. No one knew how much money Aunt Miao had in hand. After all, in addition to the pension, her husband often sent money and things home. Not to mention, before her son came of age, the superiors would send her a monthly maintenance fee. She was frugal by nature, and no one knew how much money she had saved over the years.

But even if they didnt know how much money there was, at least the members saw the condolences sent by the superiors every year during the holidays.

Other families in the production team had at most one enamel washbasin for the whole family, but the Miao family had saved seven or eight enamel washbasins. At the beginning of the year, the team leader married his daughter, and he went to Aunt Miao to say good things to her before she gave her one. I dont know what the team leader promised.

Its a pity that no matter how rich the Miao family was, it had nothing to do with He Xiaohong. She married the only son of Aunt Miao, but unfortunately, she had never seen a penny since she entered the family. Even the gifts from the superiors were locked in a big wooden box in Aunt Miaos room. It was a luxury to even take a look at them.

In addition to the Miao family, there was another special family in the team.

The Zhen family.

The head of the Zhen family was a retired soldier who learned to drive in the army. After retiring, he was assigned to the countys fleet. He was usually responsible for transporting goods back and forth from various places, mainly supplying local department stores and the supply and marketing cooperatives below. Of course, it was common for people who drove sports cars to occasionally bring some things to their families. As long as they did their job well, no one would care about this little thing.

He Xiaohong specially went around half of the production team just to take a look at the little daughter of the Zhen family.

…

There was a Sanwu brand clock on the chest of drawers against the wall in the main hall of the Miao family. It was a wedding gift given by the countys senior leaders several years ago when the Miao family had a wedding.

At this time, the clock showed that it was already 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Oh my dear, your little belly is empty, right? Grandma will make you something delicious. Lets eat egg custard today." Aunt Miao changed her ferocious appearance in front of others and spoke to her little granddaughter with a smile. She also specifically told her not to run to the kitchen, and asked her to sit on the doorstep and wait for the egg custard.

Aunt Miao shook her head and felt deeply while looking at the fire in the stove.

Even though the "Four Olds" campaign was very intense in the past few years, she still felt that feudal superstition still had some truth.

A month ago, she and the old sisters in the team agreed to go to the county together. Since she didnt need to worry about the first two granddaughters, she entrusted the youngest granddaughter to her sister-in-law to help take care of her. As a result, the little granddaughter cried and made a fuss, and she couldnt be comforted no matter how hard she tried. In this way, she wasted time and didnt make it. After all, to go from the production team to the county, she had to walk to the commune first and then take the communes tractor. She cried until noon, and she didnt even go!

As a result, a few days later, she heard that the communes tractor had an accident. I dont know if it was because the tractor driver operated it improperly or for some other reason, but the tractor flipped over into the field below, killing three people on the spot, and several others were seriously injured, either missing an arm or a leg.

After hearing this, she gasped in fear, and it took her a long time to recover. She was awakened twice at night.

If it was just this one time, she wouldnt take it to heart. As a result, a similar thing happened again half a month ago. This time it wasnt the little granddaughter crying, but she had a fever directly, and her forehead was burning hot. Even if she was usually harsh with her words, the child was so sick, how could she go out?

As a result...

It was not until later that we found out that the roadbed ahead had been bad for a long time due to the continuous heavy rains, and it collapsed directly. No one died this time, but more people were injured than last time.

When Aunt Miao heard about this, she was about to cook rice porridge for her granddaughter. After a moment of hesitation, the rice porridge turned into egg porridge.

You have to believe in fate, right?

You have to believe it! He has saved you twice, how can it still be a loss?

If it is still a loss, wouldnt she be an ungrateful person?

However, even if the little granddaughter turned from a loss to a treasure, the two granddaughters in front were still loss, and the upset daughter-in-law would still be upset at a glance.

It doesnt affect it, one thing is one thing.

While she was thinking about it, Aunt Miao heard a noise coming from outside, and she didnt even need to go out to see who was coming.

At that moment, she turned her head through the kitchen door and yelled at the yard: "You are such a rotten thing, and you still know how to come back! You left at ten in the morning, and its almost three now. Is your mothers home in the commune or in the county? You didnt do anything when I asked you to give birth to a son, and you were lazy when I asked you to work. You are diligent when you come back to your mothers home. Why do you come back when you miss your mothers home so much? You do nothing all day long and run outside every day. Why dont you just die outside?"