Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 1 Rebirth in 1984, a family of eight

In late October 1984, in Jiuqutun, Yushugou, Laoheishan, Xing'an Mountains, a very remote farmhouse in the northeast.

"Dad, hurry up and get up to eat."

"Eat~eat~"

Two soft and tender voices rang in Chen Weidong's ears.

"dad?!"

"Where did this little girl come from looking for her father? You know, he is already 68 years old this year, a grandfather, but this voice..."

Chen Weidong suddenly woke up and looked around.

What caught my eye was a shabby earthen house with grey walls and lots of old newspapers pasted in the cracks between the walls. There was a kangqin on the left side of the kang, on which were piled patched quilts, pillows and other things.

The ground was also made of dirt. I moved my eyes to the left and saw two little girls, about four years old, standing at the door. They had pigtails, patched and shabby clothes, and dry yellow hair. They looked very pitiful.

At this moment, the two of them were lying at the door, sticking out their four big round eyes, looking at him timidly.

“This is…, this is…”

~
"Hehe, Daddy is awake, tell Mommy quickly."

"Sister, wait for me."

"Run, or Daddy will catch you and spank you."

"Woooooo~"

As soon as the two little girls saw Chen Weidong wake up, they immediately ran outside with their short legs, panting.

"Sanni, Sini."

Chen Weidong's eyes widened, his lips trembling, and he immediately sat up from the kang.

Looking at the house full of the atmosphere of the times, he couldn't help but realize that he was reborn.

Well, they are all fine now...

Chen Weidong really wanted to laugh out loud, but in reality, he didn’t laugh or shout. He didn’t do anything. He just silently got up from the kang and walked out of the room.

He and his wife Liu Xueting had six daughters in total, but in that era of food and clothing shortages, it was not possible to raise all six children.

It is said that in the 1970s and 1980s, Northeast China was the country's granary, supporting the entire country. The land was fertile and the food was abundant, so many people fled to Northeast China to escape famine.

Although this is true in fact, not all places in the Northeast are like this, there are also many remote and poor areas.

Jiuqutun is located in the wild mountains and the local life was originally poor.
After the household contract responsibility system was implemented, the lives of many families in the village improved significantly, but Chen Weidong's family could not bear to raise so many children. After paying the public grain tax, the remaining food from the land they were allocated was not enough for food, so the family sometimes even ran out of food from time to time.

His wife Liu Xueting was not from the north either, but an educated youth from the south. However, unlike the little potatoes from the south, Liu Xueting was only 1.7 meters tall.
She is not shorter than the northern girls, and is very pretty and gentle. At first glance, she is completely different from the northern tiger girls.

It's just that Liu Xueting's family background was not good, otherwise, she, a little girl from the south, would not have been exiled to such a remote place.

The two met while working in a forest farm. Liu Xueting was only sixteen years old at that time. She was not only very beautiful but also gentle. Chen Weidong was attracted to her at first sight.

Chen Weidong was 20 years old, which was considered old enough to get married in that era, but his family was not well off, so he had never been able to get one.

Unexpectedly, he met Liu Xueting. Girls of that era were simple and easy to deceive. In addition, Chen Weidong was not bad looking.
After his "efforts", the helpless Liu Xueting got on the pirate ship.

So the two got married soon, and their eldest daughter Chen Nini (Dani) was born in the same year.

At the end of the following year, my daughter Erni was born.

In the fourth year, twins were born, and they were both girls.

"..."

In this era, especially in rural areas, the idea of ​​favoring boys over girls is very strong!
The whole village is like this.

Chen Weidong was no exception. Although he treated his wife well, he also wanted a son to carry on the family line. So he gave birth to six children in a row.

But there was not a single one with a penis, and people often gossiped about them.

Chen Weidong was ashamed. Although he didn't like these girls, he was a responsible man. They were his own flesh and blood, so he had to raise them. However, if he had six children, that would mean six mouths to feed.

Chen Weidong's family was poor to begin with, not to mention raising so many children. They simply couldn't afford it.

So Chen Weidong and Liu Xueting thought about it again and again and decided to give the twins, Sanni and Sini, to a slightly better-off family in the village.

As a result, on the way to send her child, Liu Xueting encountered a brick-carrying truck from a brick kiln factory. When Chen Weidong saw it, there were only three bodies.
The death of his wife made the family even more fragmented. Not long after, the youngest of the four remaining children, Xiaoliu, died. Although Chen Weidong raised the remaining three, they were never close to him.

These things have always made Chen Weidong live in self-blame and pain.

"Sanni, Sini, is your dad awake?"

In the kitchen, Liu Xueting asked gently as she looked at the two little guys running over happily.

"Wake up, wake up, Si Ni and sister woke up daddy!!" Si Ni said in a baby voice.

"But Daddy hasn't gotten up yet!"

Sanni added in a baby voice.

"Mom, I'm hungry! I want to eat~"

Si Ni touched her rumbling belly again and said naively.

"Be good, Si Ni. Let's wait for Dad to wake up, then we can eat."

Liu Xueting felt a pang in her heart. She looked at her four daughters who were helping to cook by the earthen stove, and then looked at the two little ones in front of her.
She remembered what Chen Weidong had discussed with her about giving away the twins Sanni and Sini.

Liu Xueting's eyes were red. She squatted down and touched the two little guys' heads with her slender hands, her face full of reluctance.

But the family really can't afford to raise so many children. If there was any other way, she would never be willing to give her daughter away.

But the six daughters never get a single drop of oil all year round. Their hair is as yellow as a pot of dead grass, and they are often sick. If this continues, I'm afraid...

She dared not think.

"Mom, why are you crying suddenly?"

"Mom, don't cry! If you cry, you're not a good child."

"Don't cry~"

"..."

Her daughter's voice was soft and sticky, but she was so sensible that Liu Xueting felt distressed.

"Silly girl, mommy is not crying. Sanni and Sini will finish their meals soon. Mommy will take you to Aunt Wang's house. You will have enough to eat in the future."

When they heard that their mother was going to send them away, the two little ones, who had already become a little more sensible, shook their heads like rattles.

"Mom, I'm not hungry anymore. I want to be with mom and my sisters."

"Si Ni, I want to be with my mother!"

"Mom, don't send my sister away~"

Da Ni and Er Ni also hurriedly spoke. As for Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, they didn't understand at all. They just saw their sisters crying, so they started crying too.

Liu Xueting touched her daughters' little heads, her heart ached, and looking at the group of little ones, she could only say helplessly:

"Mom, this is for your own good!"

(End of this chapter)