1963
Erhe Brigade
Old Mrs. Liu stood at the main gate with her hands clasped behind her back, pacing back and forth with an anxious expression, constantly looking out toward the east.
As she watched, she sighed and mumbled under her breath without stopping, “Sigh, that old man, why isn’t he back yet? We agreed he’d be back by noon, but it’s almost dark and there’s still no sign of him. My precious granddaughter must be starving.”
After standing there for nearly ten minutes and seeing absolutely no sign of them, she finally walked back into the courtyard, turning her head back three times with every step. She sat down next to the stove opening and said nothing, dispiritedly adding firewood into the stove.
Seeing this, the second daughter-in-law, Li Sufen, who was currently pressing cornmeal cakes onto the side of the wok, secretly turned her back and smirked.
Her mother-in-law’s mind had been elsewhere the entire day; this was already the fifteenth time she had gone out this afternoon. She had been counting them all.
Early this morning, her father-in-law had taken his own sons, along with his four grandsons, as well as the third brother and his two sons. Armed with back baskets and gunny sacks, they had headed up the mountain.
It was early September, right during the slack farming season. It would be another ten days or so before the autumn harvest began. The production team had given everyone a few days off, so every household was seizing the time to go up the mountain to gather mountain products and haul firewood.
This was especially true for mushrooms, which had just popped up in their first batch. It was exactly when they were fresh, tender, and delicious. This year’s mushrooms were exceptionally thick, growing patch after patch, so that a small hillside alone could fill several baskets.
Gathering mushrooms was addictive. Even the youngest daughter, who usually loved to laze around in bed, didn’t need anyone to call her early this morning; she woke up on her own and nimbly put on her clothes by herself. She had clamored to go up the mountain too, crying when they wouldn’t let her.
But with her daughter’s pair of short legs and chubby, round little body, she could get tripped over by the grass just walking up the mountain. Going there would just be causing trouble, so Li Sufen hadn’t agreed.
Yet, who told Old Man Liu and Old Mrs. Liu to spoil the child so much!
The moment they saw their precious granddaughter’s eyes turn red and her little mouth pucker up as if she were about to cry, they instantly lost their stance. Old Man Liu had even made the final decision on the spot, “Go, go, go.” He said it three times in a row to make his stance clear.
He even had his second son, Liu Mangcang, carry a large back basket, placed his granddaughter inside, and let her lean against her father’s back.
Carrying a big “meatball” weighing nearly thirty catties made the silly father, Liu Mangcang, feel even more energized to climb the mountain, grinning so wide that he bared a mouthful of big white teeth.
Before they left, Old Mrs. Liu was deeply worried that her granddaughter would get thirsty or hungry. She washed several bright red tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, sweet plums, and crabapples to pack into a full pouch. She also filled a water canteen with cooled boiled water and brought along several biscuits.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were going on a picnic!
She had also repeatedly nagged and instructed them, telling them not to forget to feed her granddaughter.
Recalling how her own boys had stared blankly with wide eyes this morning, Li Sufen smiled again.
Her daughter had truly fallen into a nest of blessings. She was pampered to no end by her grandparents and her husband, and her several older brothers also yielded to her; she was practically treated like the apple of their eyes.
The Liu family had always had a shortage of females and an abundance of males, with a whole string of smelly little boys. It wasn’t until her daughter’s generation that they finally got two little girls.
Their Tiantian had grown up right by her grandparents’ side and had been taken care of entirely by her mother-in-law; they hadn’t been apart for even a single day.
Moreover, her daughter had a sweet mouth and really knew how to flatter people, making the old couple beam with joy every day as they called her their heart, soul, and precious flesh.
Their Tiantian was also beautiful.
With her fair skin, bright red little mouth, watery big eyes, and long eyelashes that fluttered like little fans, anyone who saw her would adore her, saying she looked even better than the children from the city.
“Mother, don’t worry. Father, Mangcang, Mangjin, and that whole big group of them are together. They aren’t going into the deep mountains today either; they’re just picking some mushrooms, hazelnuts, wild pears, and things like that nearby. Everything will definitely be fine, and they’ll probably be back in a little while.”
Old Mrs. Liu glanced at her second daughter-in-law.
“How am I worried about them? What is there to worry about with a bunch of grown men and smelly little boys? I’m afraid Tiantian is starving. We agreed they’d be back by noon, but now it’s almost dark and there’s still no sign of them. It’s worrying me to death.”
The old man is truly unreliable, Old Mrs. Liu complained in her heart.
In autumn, the mosquitoes in the mountains were incredibly thick, swarming in dense clouds. What if they bit her precious granddaughter’s fair, tender face? Her granddaughter was so handsome; what would they do if her face got ruined by bites?
This morning, right after the group had stepped out of the main gate, she had felt a bit of regret. But when she thought of her granddaughter hugging her son’s neck with that joyful, expectant little look on her face, she ultimately couldn’t bear to call her back.
In the past, when the child was smaller, she had almost never been up the mountain. She had only been carried to the edge of the fields twice, and had followed them to wander around the neighbors’ and relatives’ houses a few times. Usually, she just played in the courtyard at home. She must have been suffocated from being cooped up!
Seeing her mother-in-law’s expression that seemed to say “Why aren’t you worried about your daughter?”, Li Sufen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It wasn’t like she was a stepmother.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard the sound of the main gate opening, followed by loud shouts: “Grandma, Mom, we’re back!”
“Grandma, come out quickly and look!”
While Li Sufen was still pressing cakes into the wok, Old Mrs. Liu’s legs and feet had already nimbly scurried to the doorway.
With a clear target, she rushed straight for her granddaughter, who was sporting a sky-pointing pigtail in Old Man Liu’s arms.
Seeing that her precious granddaughter had fallen asleep, she carefully cradled her into her own arms, looking her over from left to right before she finally felt relieved.
Carrying the girl back into the west room, she took off her outer coat, gently placed her on the kang bed, and softly wiped her little hands and face. Only after pulling a small quilt over her did she tiptoe back out.