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

Chapter 44 Stick's First Birthday

February 14, 1954, it was still cold.

The Jia family was holding a first birthday celebration on Sunday noon. Jia Zhangshi had been talking about it for days beforehand, telling everyone she met that her eldest grandson was smart and would definitely amount to something in the future.

Everyone in the courtyard was invited: Yan Bugui and his wife, Liu Haizhong and his wife, Xu Fugui and his wife, Yi Zhonghai, and even the old deaf man came out with his cane.

Standing at the door of the west wing, Madam Jia smiled as she collected the monetary gifts. "My grandson had his first birthday celebration, and he grabbed a calligraphy brush right away! He's got the makings of a leader!"

A table was set up in Yi Zhonghai's room in the east wing, and another table was set up in the Jia family's room. There was stewed cabbage with vermicelli, scrambled eggs, tofu soup, steamed buns made from two kinds of dough, and a bowl of braised pork. There wasn't much pork, but it was cut into small pieces and looked shiny with oil.

Yan Bugui picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it quickly a few times. Before he could swallow, he picked up another piece with his chopsticks. Yang Ruihua also launched an attack on the braised pork.

With scrambled eggs sandwiched between his bangs, Wang Caifeng, sitting next to him, quickly put a piece of meat on his plate.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the corner, his face tilted towards the bowl, his dentures clenched as he chewed on meat. The old deaf man sat next to him, his jujube wood cane propped up beside his legs, chewing on meat, his mind calculating how to unite these people.

Bang Geng is wearing a new cotton-padded jacket and tiger-head shoes. He has a round head and bright, darting eyes. He's not shy around strangers and will let anyone hold him.

Jia Zhangshi carried him around the table, showing him off. Liu Haizhong carried him for a bit, Yan Bugui carried him for a bit, and then he was passed to Yi Zhonghai. Yi Zhonghai forced a smile with his face askew. Bang Geng glanced at him and burst into tears.

Jia Zhangshi quickly took it.

In the courtyard. He Yuzhu set up a small charcoal stove under the pomegranate tree, with a wire mesh placed on the fire.

Pheasant meat is sliced ​​thinly, marinated in soy sauce and cooking wine, skewered on bamboo sticks, and grilled, the oil dripping onto the charcoal fire sizzling and wisps of smoke rising. Wild rabbit is chopped into pieces and stewed in an iron pot, the broth milky white and bubbling gently.

He cooked a few more dishes and brought them to the table in the main room. Yu Shui and Xu Damao had been waiting for a long time; Xu Damao's chopsticks were practically sweating from gripping them so tightly. "Brother Zhu, can we eat now?"

"Go ahead and eat, don't be shy."

Xu Damao picked up a skewer of pheasant meat and started spitting it out, hissing and sucking in the hot broth. He couldn't bear to spit it out, so he chewed and swallowed it.

Yu Shui held a piece of rabbit leg meat in both hands and gnawed on it, the broth overflowing from the corners of his mouth.

He Yuzhu brought out a large bowl of braised mutton from the kitchen, with star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves; the sauce was a glossy reddish-brown. He placed the bowl on a wooden tray. "You two eat. I'm going to find Uncle Li for a drink."

The Jia family was eating at two tables, and Jia Zhangshi was bragging to Yang Ruihua about how clever her eldest grandson was. A fragrant aroma wafted in from outside—the smell of mutton, so strong it was almost overwhelming, filling the entire courtyard with its scent as it was carried by the wind.

He Yuzhu carried the pot of mutton, its aroma wafting through the air, yet he walked slowly.

Everyone at the Jia family table stopped eating. Yan Bugui craned his neck to look at He Yuzhu's hands, his throat moved, and he stopped chewing the steamed bun in his mouth.

The tofu she was holding in her bangs fell onto the table without her noticing. Jia Zhangshi's chopsticks froze in mid-air, her smile frozen.

He Yuzhu didn't look at them, and carried the basin into the main room of the central courtyard. The door was open.

Old Li was wiping the table inside, on which was a dish of peanuts. He looked up and saw He Yuzhu carrying a basin in, so he quickly stood up.

Take out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and fill two small cups.

He Yuzhu placed the basin on the coal stove, bubbling away. "Uncle Li, have a taste. I caught a blue sheep from the mountains."

Old Li stuffed a piece of mutton into his mouth, his eyes narrowing. "Zhu Zi, this mutton is really good."

He Yuzhu also picked up a piece of food and chewed it, then raised his wine cup and clinked it against Old Li's.

The window was open, and the pot of mutton on the coal stove was steaming, its aroma wafting out of the window and filling the entire yard.

The people at the two tables next to them, staring down at the stewed cabbage in their bowls, found it increasingly unpleasant to eat. Bang Geng whimpered in Qin Huairu's arms.

He Yuzhu drank his wine and handed Old Li a cigarette. "Uncle Li, I went hunting in the countryside and found a widow for you."

Old Li's chopsticks stopped in mid-air, and his face slowly turned red.

He Yuzhu took a puff of her cigarette. "She's in her thirties, not particularly good-looking, but passable. Her husband and children died before Liberation. Her in-laws say she brought misfortune to her family, so nobody in the village pays any attention to her. She usually just farms and raises chickens."

Old Li's eyes lit up. "Zhu Zi, I..."

"Stop with all this 'you' and 'me' stuff. She couldn't survive in that village anymore. I told her about an uncle who works in the kitchen of a cooperative, earning a little over twenty yuan a month, and he has a place to live. She agreed. You're only in your early fifties; you can find someone like that and still have children."

Old Li picked up his wine cup and downed it in one gulp, wincing from the spiciness and his face turning even redder. "Zhu Zi, I'll listen to you."

The two drank and ate meat, and the pot of mutton on the coal stove slowly simmered.

The two tables in the courtyard had long since been empty. Yan Bugui was still drooling when he left. Jia Zhangshi stood at the door of the west wing, her face long and drawn.

Yi Zhonghai helped the old deaf man walk towards the backyard. The old deaf man's cane tapped loudly on the ground as he looked back at the main house in the middle courtyard.

He Yuzhu and Old Li finished their last sip of wine and stood up. A little over half a basin of mutton remained, glistening red and oily, still steaming on the coal stove. "Uncle Li, keep it for tonight. Just heat it up."

Old Li took the basin down and placed it on the corner of the table, then covered it with a plate. He Yuzhu put on his cotton-padded coat, opened the door, and went out.

Just as he stepped out the door, Jia Zhangshi came over from the west wing. Her face was all smiles. "Zhuzi, your auntie has something to tell you."

He Yuzhu stopped in his tracks.

Madam Jia leaned closer. "You have three main rooms in your courtyard, why don't you sell two of them to your aunt?"

He Yuzhu looked at her without saying a word. Jia Zhangshi continued, "There are four people in the family, but only two west wing rooms. If Dongxu and his wife have another child, there won't be enough room to move around."

He Yuzhu took out a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and said, "Not for sale."

Jia Zhangshi quickly replied, "Renting is fine too!"

"It's rented to Uncle Li. He's getting married this year." He Yuzhu glanced at her. "Don't even think about it. Even if the house is empty, it won't be sold to anyone in the neighborhood."

The smile on Jia Zhangshi's face vanished. She opened her mouth but didn't dare to scold, and continued to plead.

"Pillar, please have mercy. There's really no room left in the house." Her voice softened, and she forced a smile.

He Yuzhu threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out. "What's it to me? You're not going to die anyway." After saying that, he walked towards the next courtyard.

Standing in the central courtyard, Jia Zhangshi's lips trembled, and the smile on her face vanished completely.

The window of the west wing was opened a crack, and Jia Dongxu glanced at it before pulling it back in.

The courtyard was deserted, and Jia Zhangshi cursed under her breath.

He Yuzhu pushed open the moon gate to the courtyard and went inside, bolting the door shut. The pomegranate tree was bare, its leaves a dark green holly.

He walked into the main room, sat down, and took out a cigarette to light.

Banggeng is one year old, and Old Li is about to get married. The Jia family actually wants to take over the main house in the middle courtyard. They are simply courting death.

He finished his cigarette, stubbed it out, and said, "What does it matter to me if the Jia family can't accommodate us?"

If it weren't for the fact that the three ingrates hadn't all arrived yet, and the days of starvation hadn't come, I really wanted to send you to reunite with Old Jia.