Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 106 Qin Huairu Returns to Her Parents' Home

In late May 1961, Xiao Wang received a notice from his superiors that Beijing was to pilot the dissolution of rural canteens ahead of schedule, and that urban residents would no longer be allowed to run collective canteens.

Xiao Wang stood in the front yard, holding the document issued by the street office, and read it aloud. After listening, Yan Bugui spread out the account book, started using the abacus beads, and settled the grain accounts for each household.

Jia Zhangshi squatted by the pot, watching helplessly as Xiao Wang carried the large iron pot away, muttering under her breath, "They just break up like that, how are we going to live now!"

The pots were gone, the firewood was distributed, and each household returned to the days of individual stoves. But the grain supply was limited, and the ration was still so low. When cooking in the communal pot, more mixed grains were cooked, and with more water, it was more substantial than homemade food, enough to fill one's stomach.

Within a few days, the Jia family's money was almost gone. Jia Zhangshi looked at the eighty-odd yuan and the gold ring that Old Jia had bought for her, and sighed.

As soon as it was light, Jia Zhangshi made two wild vegetable dumplings, grabbed a burlap sack, and set off. She still had one last trick up her sleeve; back in the Japanese occupation, she had survived on those wild vegetables and tree leaves.

Especially in Jishuitan, there are few people and plenty of wild vegetables. She walked north along Shichahai Lake, passing Di'anmen Bridge, Houmen Bridge, and Wanning Bridge.

In June, many wild vegetables sprout up, such as purslane, lamb's quarters, water celery, plantain, and sow thistle, all growing by the water and on earthen slopes.

Along the way, there were many women and children on the riverbank slopes, under bridges, in weeds, and under old locust trees, with old women crowding together to dig.

Jia Zhangshi could only head towards Xihai (Jishuitan), where there were many mixed trees and groves of locust leaves, paper mulberry leaves, mulberry leaves, tender elm leaves, and even more wild vegetables. It was a remote and difficult place, so not many people went there.

In the evening, she carried back half a sack of wild vegetables and tender leaves. Bang Geng clapped his hands and said, "Grandma is amazing!" Jia Zhangshi's face was covered in dirt and sweat, but she smiled and gulped down most of a jar of cool boiled water.

Qin Huairu was stunned; her mother-in-law was so capable.

At dinner, Jia Zhangshi put her bowl on the table and turned to stare at Qin Huairu. "Huairu, go back to your parents' home. The rural communal dining halls have been disbanded, and private plots are now being cultivated again. Your family must have received some relief grain. Go and ask for some; you can't just watch your child starve. I'll also go back to my parents' home and ask for some. With some wild vegetables, we can manage to get through this."

Qin Huairu held Xiao Dang in her arms, her lips moving slightly: "Mom, is this the information you found out today true?"

"Do you think I'm just a freeloader?" Madam Jia Zhang proudly raised her chin. "I didn't starve to death during the Japanese occupation. Now that we live in peacetime, how could I possibly starve to death?"

Qin Huairu nodded emphatically, "Mom, I'll listen to you. I'll go back and ask for grain tomorrow."

Madam Jia then turned to Jia Dongxu and said, "Don't just sit around doing nothing. Go borrow some money and grain from your Master Wang. He's a level seven fitter now, he should be able to spare a few pounds from his family. Tell your master that he has a private plot of land in the countryside now, and he'll pay you back double in a couple of years. Get the money and grain in your hands first."

Jia Dongxu's eyes lit up; there was hope for him to live. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and went out.

The next morning, Qin Huairu changed into a clean jacket, tied Xiao Dang to her back with a strip of cloth, and left the courtyard towards Changping.

She walked dozens of miles from morning until noon, her feet blistered, the soles of her cloth shoes so thin they could prick pebbles. Little Dang fell asleep on her back, her little head resting on her shoulder, her warm breath pressed against her neck.

As she approached the entrance to Qin Family Village, she ran into some acquaintances. They asked her why she had returned, and she stammered that she had come back to see her mother. The women saw that she was thin and had high cheekbones while carrying her child, so they didn't ask any further questions.

Qin's mother was squatting in the yard drying wild vegetables when she saw her daughter standing at the gate, carrying a small bag on her back. She was so thin she looked unrecognizable, and her blue cloth jacket hung loosely on her body. The old lady paused for a moment, wiped her hands on her apron, and when she stood up, her kneecap cracked.

"Huai Ru? Why are you back?"

Qin Huairu stood at the courtyard gate, her lips trembling for a long time before she finally managed to call out, "Mother."

Qin's mother quickly walked over, reached out and supported her elbow, leading her into the yard. Little Dang woke up on her back, her little mouth trembled, and she burst into tears.

Qin's mother took Xiao Dang off Qin Huairu's back and held him in her arms, wiping the dust off the child's face with the back of her hand, and murmured, "Good boy, good boy, Grandma will hold you, don't cry."

Qin Huairu stood in the courtyard, watching her mother comfort and soothe Xiaodang, and tears welled up in her eyes. After comforting Xiaodang, Qin's mother pulled her into the house to sit down, took out a small cloth bag from the cupboard containing two jin of cornmeal, and stuffed it into Qin Huairu's hand.

"This is all the good food we have at home. Your father's leg often hurts so much that he can't get out of bed. This little bit of flour is for him. You can take it."

Qin Huairu held the two jin of cornmeal, her hands trembling for a long time, before she knelt down in front of her mother with a thud and kowtowed. Her forehead hit the blue brick floor with a dull thud.

"Huai Ru! What are you doing!" Qin's mother quickly pulled her up, but Qin Huai Ru knelt on the ground and refused to get up, tears falling down her face.

"Mother, we're really starving. Banggeng cries every day because he's hungry, and Dongxu's ration has to feed five people. Grandma goes out to dig for wild vegetables every day. I'm so sorry."

Qin's mother's eyes reddened, and she pulled her daughter up by the arm, saying, "Get up and talk, don't kneel. I know you're having a hard time, get up." She helped Qin Huairu up, then rummaged through the cupboard and pulled out half a bag of dried sweet potatoes, stuffing it into her arms. "Take these with you too, a handful when you're making porridge will keep you full. Stay here tonight, and leave tomorrow. You've walked dozens of miles, how can you get back without food and water?"

In the evening, Qin's mother was cooking a pot of wild vegetable and sweet potato porridge in the kitchen. Qin's eldest sister-in-law leaned against the door frame, her face long and drawn, muttering indifferently, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. She comes empty-handed, yet she has the nerve to sit down and eat. In these days, who doesn't have a shortage of food? Even when our father's legs hurt so much he can't get out of bed, I've never seen anyone cook such thick porridge for him."

Qin's mother paused in her porridge-scooping motion, not replying, but instead filling Qin Huairu's bowl to the brim and feeding Xiaodang half a bowl. Qin Huairu held her bowl, her head buried in the rim, not daring to look at her sister-in-law's face. She saw her mother pick all the dried sweet potatoes from her own bowl and put them into her sister-in-law's bowl, while she drank the thin broth herself, her throat feeling as if something was blocking it.

After dinner, Qin Huairu insisted on washing the dishes and then soaked and scrubbed all the dirty clothes in a basin. Qin's father leaned against the headboard in the east room, a thin quilt covering his legs, and coughed twice.

Qin Huairu brought in a bowl of hot water, squatted down by the kang (a heated brick bed), and called out, "Dad." Qin's father turned his head to look at his daughter's gaunt face, his cloudy eyes darting around. He didn't say anything, but simply patted the back of her hand.

It was late at night, and Qin's mother and Xiao Dang went to sleep in the east room. Qin Huairu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the west room, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. A few barks came from the yard, and suddenly she heard someone gently knocking twice outside the window. Her heart jumped into her throat, and she tiptoed to the door and opened the latch.

Qin Gang stood outside the door. Moonlight illuminated his face; his features were still so regular, a few strands of curly hair peeking out from under his hat. He looked at her and said softly, "Auntie said you're back. I brought you something."

Qin Huairu quickly let him in. Qin Gang put the cloth bag on the table, opened the bag, and found it contained cornmeal, at least twenty jin (about 10 kg).

"Brother Qin Gang..." Qin Huairu's voice trembled as she looked at the bag of grain.

"Don't let your mother-in-law know that it was me who gave it to her."

Qin Huairu stepped forward and looked up at his face. The moonlight clearly illuminated the contours of his profile; he was still the same young man who had stood under the old locust tree waiting for her to come home years ago. "How did you know I was back?"

"Your mother told me. I only dared to come over after my wife and kids were asleep." Qin Gang reached out and grasped her hand, his palm rough and hot, his thumb gently stroking the back of her hand. "You're so thin. Doesn't Jia Dongxu feed you?"

"The quota is so small, there's nothing he can do." Qin Huairu's tears welled up again.

Qin Gang pulled her into his arms, lowered his head to kiss her forehead, kissed the corners of her eyes, and kissed away her salty tears. She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. The moonlight cast their intertwined shadows on the earthen wall, their heavy breathing and suppressed sobs mingling together.

After a long while, Qin Gang released her, examining her face closely in the moonlight, his rough fingertips stroking it. "Come back next time you run out of food. I'm in the village; I can always find a way than you."

Qin Huairu stood at the door, watching his figure disappear into the night.

The next morning, Qin Huairu carried her awakened son, Xiaodang, and headed towards the village entrance with a bag of cornmeal. Her younger brother, Qin Qiang, was already waiting at the gate, holding a small half-bag of dried sweet potatoes, which he stuffed into her hand, saying, "Sister, don't think it's too little. I'll bring you more after the autumn harvest."

Qin Huairu took the dried sweet potato, gently patted her younger brother's arm, nodded, and didn't dare to say anything more, afraid that she would burst into tears if she opened her mouth.

When she reached the village entrance, she glanced in the direction of Qin Gang's house; the door was closed. She turned around and walked back the way she had come.

Qin's mother stood at the gate of the courtyard, watching her daughter's figure grow smaller and smaller. She wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve, then turned and went back to the kitchen.