Back to 1978

Chapter 132: Going Home

Upon learning that Lv Yuan and Sister Ma would take a long-distance bus back in the afternoon and would not stay in Zhongping Commune, Xie Hushan immediately said goodbye and went home, leaving the precious time for the young couple to talk to each other.

Before leaving, he just told Yang Liming that he would come to his house for dinner in the evening.

Originally, Xie Hushan wanted to quietly go home and give his grandmother a surprise.

Unexpectedly, when he slowly pushed open the gate of his house, he saw his grandmother, aunt Chen Chunxiang, and second aunt Zhou Hongmei all standing in the yard, with their backs to the gate, looking up and smiling in the direction of their main hall.

He could only tie the dog beside him, and then he took the initiative to speak loudly: "Grandma, Auntie, Second Auntie, I'm back!"

"Oh! Hu San'er is really back!" The aunt turned around and looked at her nephew Xie Hushan, who had not been seen for a month, and said excitedly:

"Your grandma is almost a demi-god! Just now, I heard a few bird calls in the main room. I came out to see that the swallows that flew away last fall have returned to our house. Your grandma and your second aunt came out to watch the swallows with me."

Second Aunt Zhou Hongmei looked at Xie Hushan with a smile on her face. She had no conflicts with Xie Hushan. In fact, the old lady lived with Xie Hushan and she didn't have to serve him every day. To Zhou Hongmei, this was really a favor to herself.

What's more, she was now arranged by her nephew to take over the braised pork stall, and she earned work points every day, while her husband did not get any work points during the slack season on the farm. This made her status and confidence in the family much higher.

She has always liked Xie Hushan. In fact, her husband Xie Qifeng is always dissatisfied with his nephew, but it is not really because of his nephew. He is dissatisfied because of the old lady. He dare not be angry with his own mother, so he can only deliberately show a bad face to his nephew.

Seeing Xie Hushan at this time, the second aunt also continued to smile and said:

"Your grandma came out and saw our swallows repairing their nests. She said that our swallows had all returned and that Hushan should be back in the next two days. Who would have thought that you would be back before she had even finished smoking a pack of cigarettes."

Xie Hushan looked up at the eaves of the main hall, and sure enough, in the swallow's nest that had been empty for the entire winter, a pair of swallows were standing in the nest, peeking out and chirping, as if they had just finished a long journey, and at this moment, they were snuggling up to each other to rest while observing what changes had taken place in the house compared to last year.

He didn't know whether this pair of swallows was the same pair that flew away last year, but for rural people, the swallows that fly into their homes every year must be the same pair that flew away last year.

If the child dares to question this, the adults will definitely criticize the child severely.

Even if three, five, ten or eight years have passed since they first built their nest, even though they know it is impossible, they will still stubbornly treat them as the first pair that chose their home to build a nest.

Moreover, in rural areas, no one minds swallows building nests on the eaves or beams of their houses, nor do they think they are noisy. Even when people build new houses, they all hope that swallows will build nests in their homes.

After all, there is an old saying in the countryside: night cats do not enter a healthy house, and swallows only fly into the houses of the rich.

Grandma looked at the dark blue sportswear Xie Hushan was wearing, and then looked at Xie Hushan's face, which was full of wrinkles and a smile:
"I can't eat well and have lost weight, but I still have the mood to bring a dog back from somewhere. It's because the boy grows slowly. Who would do such a thing?"

Several people entered the house, and Xie Hushan first gave the 400 yuan subsidy to grandma, and then took out the foreign goods and gave them to aunt and second aunt.

Looking at grandma and auntie, Second Aunt looked at those cheap foreign goods curiously, Xie Hushan yawned:
"Just take your time and watch. I'm going to sleep. I'll call Lao Yang to come over for dinner tonight."

After saying this, Xie Hushan went back to his room and lay on the kang. Within two minutes, he began to snore. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the nearly one month since he left.

No one in the family disturbed Xie Hushan. He slept from the afternoon until Daxiu came home from school.

In fact, he didn't wake up on his own initiative, but was woken up by Han Laosan.

Daxiu led Erxi like a thief, motioning Han Laosan to slow down and walk into Xie Hushan's west room with her. She deliberately spoke to the snoring Xie Hushan in a very low voice:

"Brother, give me this big white dog. If you don't say anything, I will take it as your consent. Take it home. Han Lao San is here to testify. You can't regret it."

Han Laosan came home from school and saw his second brother coming back. He also learned from Han Laoer that Xie Hushan had brought back a big white dog, so he came over to visit.

At this moment, he was boldly touching Erxi's fur, when he suddenly heard himself become a witness in Daxiu's words.

Han Laosan is not a fool. Daxiu obviously wants to steal the dog that Xie Hushan brought back. So she can steal it. But she wants to force him to testify for her?

What about dreaming?
Xie Hushan might not be willing to beat his sister, but he could definitely think of a hundred ways to deal with his accomplice.

So when he heard that Daxiu wanted to drag him into perjury, although Han Lao San did not dare to disobey Daxiu directly, he also did not dare to offend Xie Hushan. In a hurry, he chose to attack in a roundabout way. He nodded affirmatively to Daxiu, and then shouted at the top of his voice the next second:

"Daxiu, don't worry, I will definitely testify for you! This dog was given to you voluntarily by my third brother!"

This shout woke Xie Hushan up from his dream. He sat up and looked at the two of them with lifeless eyes. He cursed at Daxiu in a sleepy voice, "Put the dog down! After harming Dahei, you want to harm his wife?"

Seeing Xie Hushan sitting up, Han Laosan breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and wanted to pretend to be stupid to Daxiu. Daxiu, who was originally preparing to take the dog back home, now had murderous intent all over his face.

Before Han Laosan could open his mouth to explain, Daxiu, who knew that he could not steal Erxi away, had already let go of the dog leash and grabbed Han Laosan's collar like a dog and walked out of the house. Han Laosan grabbed the door frame with both hands and asked Xie Hushan for help:
"Third brother! Since I woke you up, please save me, save me..."

Xie Hushan had not woken up yet, and was looking at Daxiu and Han Laosan in a daze. It was because of the few seconds he was not awake that he missed the best time to rescue Han Laosan.

Han Laosan was dragged into the yard, and then outside we could hear the aunt scolding Daxiu, the dull sound of Daxiu's fist hitting Han Laosan's back, and Han Laosan's screams.

After Xie Hushan woke up completely, he got up, put on his shoes, walked around the scene where Daxiu was beating Han Laosan, walked out of his house and looked around Zhongping Village.

It was already dusk, and wisps of smoke were rising from the chimneys of every household. The men who had finished work carried their farm tools and walked towards their homes along the rugged dirt roads, singing off-tune but rough and bold revolutionary songs. The setting sun painted everything golden.

After looking at skyscrapers for seven days, Xie Hushan actually felt that Zhongping Village looked more pleasing to the eye.

"Swish~" He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. He waited for a long time, but got no response from Dahei. He was stunned for a long time before he remembered that Dahei seemed to stay at the cliff with Lao Meng, Han Hongzhen, Ma Saner, Daxixi and others. He didn't know if he was tired or thin recently.

It was not until dark that Yang Limin arrived on his bicycle, carrying two big pot dishes from the commune canteen in his lunch box and a bottle of Xifeng wine in his bag. Grandma had already finished her meal and was accompanied by her aunt and second aunt, looking through the foreign goods brought back by Xie Hushan. After Yang Limin greeted grandma and others, he and Xie Hushan went back to the west room, set up a kang table, and started drinking and chatting.

"With your position, someone has already sent you such good wine?" Xie Hushan glanced at the Xifeng wine bottle and joked to Yang Liming.

Xifeng Liquor is considered a very good wine in Bingyang County. Among all the major brands of liquor in the country, only three brands are most well-known in Bingyang County. The generally recognized best wine is Maotai, followed by Xifeng and Fenjiu, which are tied for second.

Other brands are not well-known and cannot sell as well as the local Yaoshan Daqu.

Yang Limin unscrewed the bottle cap and poured two bowls of fragrant liquor:

"My parents specially asked someone to buy two bottles and asked me to bring them to my father-in-law when I officially came to visit him. But after the engagement, my wife brought it back to me. She drank one bottle with Secretary Yin and the others, and there was still one bottle left."

"Should I praise you for your potential in intelligence work such as subversion?" Xie Hushan said with a smile:
"The girl I raised for more than 20 years has started to betray me just for you."

"The small bag that you gave my wife this afternoon, which contained vanishing cream, lipstick, eyebrow pencil, perfume and the like, must be quite expensive, right?" Yang Liming asked as he placed a bowl of wine in front of Xie Hushan.

After getting Xie Hushan's nod of approval, Lv Yuan finally accepted the cosmetic bag that Xie Hushan gave her. She could be described as being unable to let it go. When she left, she showed no reluctance to part with it and was eager to return to the pharmaceutical factory to show off to her female colleagues.

Xie Hushan held a cigarette in his mouth, took out a bottle of Remy Martin brandy from the quilt behind him, and placed it on the table:

"These two are more valuable. The most famous foreign liquor in Hong Kong in recent years is Remy Martin Louis XIII. It is said that once Remy Martin is opened, good things will come naturally. Charles de Gaulle of France drank this liquor every Christmas. I got it from a nightclub opened by a big star."

Yang Limin curiously picked up the exquisitely shaped wine bottle and looked at it. Xie Hushan had already taken out another box of cigars and placed it on the table:
"And this one, that famous star's mother gave it to me. It's the cigar that British Prime Minister Churchill often smoked. Anyway, I can't bear to spend money on these two things."

"Is it true?" Yang Liming was shocked when he heard Xie Hushan's words, and hurriedly held the bottle tightly, fearing that it would be accidentally broken.

How could a grassroots cadre like me enjoy the same treatment as Charles de Gaulle and Churchill?
"I've been nice to you, haven't I, Old Yang? I carried it back to you from afar, so you shouldn't offer a toast to your uncle." Xie Hushan picked up the wine bowl and wanted to take a sip with Yang Liming.

Yang Limin did not touch the wine bowl, but prepared to open the bottle of Louis XIII:

"Then why are you still drinking Xifeng? Why not try the wine that Charles de Gaulle drinks?"

"Fuck, you didn't even ask the price and just opened the bottle? Do you think this is a roadside dump where we can spend 50 cents to drink ourselves to death?" Xie Hushan quickly stopped him:
"Put it away, put it away, go back to the commune and put it in the office, so you can show off. You've finished drinking today, so what can I put on it to show the uncle's friendship with his nephew? When I go out and brag about it, I can tell people that I gave Yang Limin a big gift. If you don't believe me, go to his office and see."

"Who can believe it? You are bragging in the village. People may not know who Charles de Gaulle and Churchill are." Yang Limin put his things aside, picked up the wine bowl and clinked it with Xie Hushan, then took a sip:
“All the money is gone?”

"No, the 400 yuan escort subsidy was given to my grandmother." Xie Hushan said to Yang Liming.

Yang Limin was stunned: "You didn't spend a penny, where did these foreign goods come from?"

"Ahem..." Xie Hushan handed Yang Limin a cigarette, cleared his throat, and said with a smile: "I never pay when I eat in restaurants in the city..."

"Han Lao Er, you two went to Hong Kong Island to rob people... It's unlikely..." Yang Limin took the cigarette and looked at Xie Hushan:
"I now have a partial understanding of our Zhongping people. Robbing is not right. You two probably can't do this. According to your unruly behavior..."

"You're taking Han Lao Er with you to rob the rich and give to the poor. The government reference material on capitalist society says that there are still many old social evils such as gangs, prostitutes, drug trafficking, gambling, etc. If you encounter them, you will definitely not be able to hold back and will have to think about taking advantage of them."

"No, I won't do anything that would make a big mistake. I just did some small business with the people over there. At most, it would be considered speculation. In our commune, I would just get a few criticisms." Xie Hushan said to Yang Liming.

Yang Limin laughed and said, "Small business? Charles de Gaulle, Churchill, and some big stars. You forgot to make up for your boasting. You must have let it slip. Add these three people together, and you can't be a mere speculator."

"Let's change the subject. I want to talk to you about something positive. Han Laoer and I saved two girls on the road. Is that okay?" Xie Hushan quickly changed the subject and talked about the experience of meeting Zhu Youjun on the road.

After the two men had drunk most of the bottle of wine and saw that Yang Limin was slightly tipsy, Xie Hushan estimated that he had the courage from the wine and would not pee his pants, so he said:
"Old Yang, can I ask you a favor?"

"What's the matter?" Yang Liming picked up a piece of food, put it into his mouth, and looked at Xie Hushan with some confusion.

Did this kid learn to be polite after going out? Why is he so polite to me?

Xie Hushan helped Yang Limin pour the wine and asked, "Do you know Deputy Director Jiao Pengjiao of the County Animal Husbandry Bureau?"

"We met once before in the county, but we were not very familiar with each other." Yang Limin heard Xie Hushan asking him about Jiao Peng, and his tone became more puzzled:
"Deputy Director Jiao of the County Animal Husbandry Bureau, you should know him better than I do. Wasn't it Stationmaster Xie who helped you with the escort? If you have anything to do, you should contact Stationmaster Xie. He has a special relationship with Deputy Director Jiao."

Xie Hushan nodded in agreement: "My uncle must have a good relationship with Deputy Director Jiao, but we can't rely on him for this matter. He will be scared to death."

"Then don't count on me. I'm timid and I don't want to know what you did. I'll go back to the dormitory and sleep after dinner." Yang Liming immediately said to Xie Hushan in a tone of "you don't need to tell me".

Xie Hushan's eyes widened:
"Mr. Yang, you accepted the Chanel makeup set for your wife, and you just accepted my wine and cigars, but you refused to help me after accepting them? According to the rules, you should call your wife here and ask her to return the things to me!"

"Just tell me what official language I need to argue with." Yang Liming's face remained as calm as an ancient well when Xie Hushan suddenly changed his face and accused him.

When this guy gives gifts to others, he certainly can't give them away for free. He stands at the doorstep and feeds someone else's dog a piece of steamed bread, and the dog has to steal two watermelons for him.

"Look, I have a receipt here. You should think of the words in the next few days. You have to help me talk to him after a while." Xie Hushan took out a remittance receipt from his pocket and handed it to Yang Liming.

Yang Limin took the receipt with doubt and glanced at it without paying any attention. However, he sobered up immediately after taking a glance and his glasses almost fell off his nose.

"Who is Cao Tianbao?!"

Xie Hushan held the wine bowl and said calmly:
"I."

(End of this chapter)