A century of poverty

Chapter 46 Twists and Turns

A year later, my second sister gave birth to a girl. For the first three days of her postpartum confinement, my mother took care of her. She made a small bowl of noodle soup, which my sister's nanny ate with her. My sister picked out the noodles, and even with the soup and vegetables, she felt full. For the next twenty-odd days, my sister's husband only made sweet potato noodle soup. Her nanny would always come over and find fault with my sister, causing her to cry every day and develop eye problems.

After her confinement period ended, my second sister bought a sheep to milk and supplement her baby's nutrition. She often went out to cut grass for the sheep. My aunt told my second sister, "You don't need to be afraid of your grandmother. She's too wicked. Your mother-in-law was killed by her. She had just given birth in December, and only three or four days later, she made her go to the well to wash clothes."

Second sister: "Really?"

Aunt: "That's right, everyone in our village knows that your father-in-law is honest, and your mother-in-law has fair and delicate skin, but not such pretty eyes. She's a bit of a jerk, and your grandmother beat her to death."

When the second sister found out, she understood why there was a photo of her mother-in-law—a very beautiful woman whom no one in the family had ever mentioned. Her husband and sister-in-law even resembled their mother in some ways. Later, she heard from others that the story was true. The second sister made up her mind: she would save money and live a good life.

Two years later, my second sister gave birth to a boy. The small, dark room couldn't even fit four pairs of shoes on the floor. My second sister would often put her shoes under the cabinet after getting on the kang (a heated brick bed).

An opportunity arose when I heard that three abandoned houses belonging to two production teams were for sale. My second sister wanted to buy them, so she went home and told my father. He said it was okay to buy them and came to help my second sister take a look.

The house was in such a dilapidated state. The front slope of the roof had collapsed, half of the lintel was exposed and rotted deep inside, and the mud plaster had been removed from the walls, leaving half of the adobe bricks exposed. Dad said, "This house is so run-down, even if it had a blueprint!"

Second sister: "I'll buy it even if it's broken, as long as he sells it. I've had enough of my grandmother. She checks on me three times a day, and I have to serve her whatever I make. I'm so hungry, I feel like I have no confidence at all."

Dad didn't say anything more. He said, "Then you should talk to the team leader. If you buy it, I'll come and fix it for you."

The team leader was usually too busy during the day, the team was always busy, and it was hard to find the right person here or there. Even if they did find the person, they didn't have much time to look for them. The second sister could only take advantage of mealtimes to go home with the child to look for them. There was another floor, so it was easier to talk to them at home.

My second sister found our team leader, Liu Wenjing: "It's not a problem. We're a team, as long as Team Three agrees." He agreed. But we still had to find Team Three's leader, and when we went, he wasn't home. We'd have to eat lunch early before going.

Just as she picked up the baby and reached the window, the wet nurse hobbled over with her small, bound feet. Pointing at her second sister, she said, "You! You're always visiting other people's homes! You eat your fill, pick up the baby, and then leave again!"

Second sister: "I'm going to visit neighbors to take care of serious business. I don't want to go. Ask your grandson if he'll go. I'd be overjoyed if you could let him go. I'm just a woman with a child, and I don't even know the people well."

The old woman blinked hard, looking bewildered. "What important matter do you have to say?"

Second sister: "I went to find Shi Changhai, the captain of the third team, and wanted to buy a house from their team."

Grandma: "You're buying a house? What are you trying to do? I doubt you can even buy a house. You... you idiot..." She muttered and turned back.

The second sister went to the home of Shi Changhai, the captain of the third team, on her second trip. As soon as she entered the front door, she forced a familiar smile and greeted him: "Is Grandpa (the younger generation in my sister's husband's family) home? Your second grandson's wife is here again. She has something to ask of you."

Upon entering the house, in Captain Shi's home, a woman around fifty years old pushed the dining table to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "Put the child on the kang and you sit here."

The second sister smiled and said, "Oh! Oh!"

Captain Shi sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a pipe bowl inside a small wooden tobacco box about the size of a hand span. He lit the pipe and took a puff: "What is it? Speak."

The second sister cut to the chase: "I want to buy the three rooms that your team shares with our team." Just then, Team Leader Shi frowned: "Oh, we didn't say we were selling those rooms! Who told you those rooms were for sale?"

Upon hearing this, the second sister said tactfully, "Your grandson and his family heard from someone that these three old houses still belong to the two teams and are unusable. Demolishing them wouldn't do them any good, so they want to sell them. That's why I came here to inquire."

Team Leader Shi: "You got the news pretty quickly. That day, I met with your second team leader and he said that the house is so dilapidated that it can't hold much. How about we sell it? We haven't formally discussed it or agreed to sell it. We don't even know if the commune members agree."

Second sister: "Grandpa, please help us! We are so short of a place to live. There are four of us, and that little dark room is so crumbling that the stones on the walls are loose. We really can't live there anymore."

Captain Shi: "Although I am the captain, I don't have the final say. Even if the second team has no objections, I don't know whether the members of the third team agree. It's hard to say about the matters between these two teams."

Second sister: "Grandpa, please do me a favor. I really have no other choice but to beg you. If you can do it for me, I will never forget your kindness."

Captain Shi: "Whether it's good or bad, I don't care. We live in the same village, and I know your family's situation. Housing is tight, but I really can't promise you anything about this. Let me think about it for you."

Second sister: "I'm so grateful for your kind words. I'll go back and check on things again in a few days."

Captain Shi: "Old lady, see your granddaughter-in-law off."

Second Sister was happy. Although she wasn't sure if the purchase would be successful, there was a possibility. How convenient it would be to move into her own courtyard! She could build a pigsty and a latrine. Looking at the current situation, it was so cramped and miserable. She couldn't even raise chickens or pigs. A sheep was tied up under the window, which not only smelled bad but also attracted flies and mosquitoes in the summer.

Captain Shi was a man of action. After discussing it with their team's accountant and deputy captain, the accountant said, "These days, what's the value of a half-dilapidated house? Let it sit there. Why sell it? The few dollars the team makes are just that—a few dollars. Let it sit there until it collapses, that's fine. But selling this thing is another story. Who knows? Think about it. That's what I'm saying."

The deputy captain had a completely different opinion: "I don't see it that way. Selling it to her would be much easier and more convenient. It's so dilapidated that it can't be used for storage, and half of it can't be used as a roof. What can we do if we sell it to her? Who can say anything? Liu Zhiheng's family are also poor peasants. We sold it to someone from our entire village. Who can say anything about that?"

Team Leader Shi: "The second team leader, Liu Wenjing, also told me about his family's difficulties. We all know how cramped their yard is. The four older brothers are all so small, and it's rare to find someone who doesn't have to rely on others to help out. We live in the same village as them, generation after generation. Selling to them wouldn't be a mistake for us, and it would solve their problem. Why wouldn't we do it? But we insist on disagreeing because we only have half the rights. We can't control what they want to sell. If we don't sell, this matter will fall through, and it won't be easy to talk about it later. It's better to solve their immediate housing problem now and gain a good relationship. People who don't need housing might not even accept it if we give it away for free."

Accountant: "We're selling, but we can't go too low a price. Don't underestimate the house just because it's dilapidated; we'll go for the highest price possible. That way, if any members have something to say later, we'll have a better chance of getting it right."

Captain Shi: "You truly deserve to be called an accountant. You've calculated things very well. Even though the commune member Gao had no objections and was eager to buy, she was able to accept it."

About half a month later, the second sister went to see the third team leader again. Shi Changhai told her, "The third team has agreed to sell, but the price is non-negotiable. Can you accept it?" When he told her the price, the second sister was stunned. How much were these three dilapidated houses worth? The second sister was worried. "I'll go home and discuss it with your grandson. Can you keep them for me for a few days?"

When the second sister went back and told her husband what had happened, he stubbornly said, "Who told you to love shopping? Can't you just stop buying?" He stripped himself clean and became the one the second sister loved to buy.

The second sister turned back to the team leader's house: "Second Uncle, could you talk to the third team and ask them to reduce the amount of money? We're short of cash and have to borrow from others. Where am I supposed to borrow so much money?"

Liu Wenjing: "It's hard to say. I could tell from his tone that he meant to buy it at this price."

Second sister: "You know how poor we are. We didn't have much for the wedding, and we even received a two-hundred-yuan famine relief fund. We just paid off the famine relief fund in the last few years. This huge sum of money was borrowed, and the pressure is too great."

Liu Wenjing: "Niece-in-law, I see you've made so many trips, it must have been tough for you. How about this? Six hundred yuan is quite a lot. But each team should pay three hundred. For our team, you don't need to pay in cash; it'll be deducted from your points every year. You'll have to figure out how to pay the remaining three hundred to the third team. I suggest you pay two hundred first, and then pay the remaining one hundred a year later. Wouldn't that ease your burden?"

"Thank you so much, Second Uncle. That's a great idea. Let's do it this way. I'll go back and get the money." Second Sister happily went home.

They wondered who they could borrow from. Their eldest sister was doing well; getting a hundred yuan wouldn't be a problem. That hundred yuan was in the village; they could find two or three close friends to help them get it done. The second sister went to the eldest sister's house first and borrowed the hundred yuan easily. As expected, everyone in the village contributed, and the money was given to the third team; the house purchase was complete.

I went home to ask my father for help with the repairs. Since we didn't have any money to buy materials, we made do with what we had, and it was enough to provide shelter from the wind and rain. At the end of the year, my second sister sold the sheep and some of the grain rations, and paid off a few rations to the village. My eldest sister's rations were to be put on hold for now.

Selling their grain rations wasn't enough to eat, so to earn work points, my second sister's husband took on the heaviest jobs. He needed to be well-fed, and the two children couldn't go hungry. My second sister gave her husband and the children the thicker rations and flatbreads, while she herself drank some thin gruel with wild vegetable dumplings. This wasn't very filling; she'd be hungry again soon after, her stomach empty, her throat parched, and she coughed incessantly. Her work wasn't easy either; the house was still under construction, and the hunger had given her health problems. Whenever she was hungry, she would cough incessantly. Despite all this, my second sister never complained to anyone. In the first month of the lunar year, she always tried to find a way to exchange some two-cent notes to prepare for giving out New Year's money.