In the fall of 1959, my grandfather's hometown in the northeast was Xingxingtun.
That night, the militiamen who watched the youth arrested a middle-aged woman stealing bud rice, the mother of Zhang Shijie, a friend of Muzi's.
Image from the Internet has nothing to do with this story
Good things don't go out, bad things spread thousands of miles.
On the second day, this matter was not only spread all over the city in Xingxingtun, but the production brigade already knew that it was impossible for the acting captain Zhao Yimin to deal with it in a low-key manner according to the advice of the old captain Wang Kui.
In the afternoon, Zhao Kai, commander of the militia company of the brigade, led the militia and took Zhang Shijie's mother away.
Why did Zhang Shijie's mother steal bud rice?
Through Zhang Shijie, Muzi learned that Zhang Shijie's family has been short of grain and rice since spring, and it is no longer possible to open the pot.
In recent months, Zhang Shijie's family of eight has almost all relied on wild vegetables, elm bark and acorns to grind noodles, and a large family has eaten everyone with yellow muscles, swollen and constipated.
Finally stayed up until autumn, the barley in Zhang Shijie's family's own field was not yet ripe, and it had already been eaten up.
The adults could barely hold on, Zhang Shijie's younger brother and sister were too young to be hungry, and his mother took the risk to do such an unsavory thing.
But hunger is only a reason to steal, not a reason to steal in any case.
The masses of members have always despised and despised theft, and the people's commune has always had zero tolerance for stealing grain from the fields, and Zhang Shijie's mother is no exception.
Early on the morning of the third day, Zhang Shijie's mother hung a sign on her chest with the name and surname of the rice thief, and some people escorted her to various villages to parade the streets of various villages to show the public.
Parading the streets like Zhang Shijie's mother is nothing new for the masses of members.
This happened to Zhang Shijie's mother, and the happy fathers and fellow villagers who knew the bottom of the matter had more sympathy for her than for shame.
However, Zhang Shijie's mother, as the party concerned, she felt great shame, not only did she have no face, but also made her family unable to raise their heads in front of her father and fellow countrymen.
Parading the streets is not only a day, but also more than once, and it is not limited to the seven villages of the Happiness Production Brigade.
Shame does not stop, humiliation ends, who can endure this shame.
Zhang Shijie's mother was paraded through the streets for a whole day, and a thought had already arisen in her heart, and she didn't want to have another day.
In the evening, she was temporarily put back tired, did not go home, and went directly to the back ravine of Xingxingtun.
Image from the Internet
There was a willow tree with a crooked neck in the back ravine, and she pulled grass on the spot and knitted a rope and tied it to the tree.
Living is already a luxury for her, and dying may be the best relief.
Living is not easy, dying is even harder. The tears at this time are not nostalgia, some are just concern and reluctance for loved ones.
The sky was indifferent, the earth was ruthless, I don't know how long it took, Zhang Shijie's mother was heartbroken, and hung on this crooked neck willow tree with a straw rope.
A good-natured person, a weak woman, a mother of four children, old and young, in order to make ends meet, did what should not be done, could not bear the shame, and went with regret.
Alack! Where in this world is there a good place to put your soul? Only the living sigh.
That night, Zhang Shijie saw that his mother had not returned home, went to the militia company headquarters of the brigade to inquire about the militiamen on duty, and learned that his mother had already been released, and Zhang Shijie suddenly had a sense of foreboding.
Zhang Shijie ran back to Xingxingtun and found Muzi and several good brothers looking for his mother overnight, but after tossing and turning all night, he couldn't find anywhere.
The next morning, someone found Zhang Shijie's mother in the back ravine.
Image from the Internet
People cannot be resurrected after death, and the wails of their families and the lamentations of the people in Tunli are no longer able to return to heaven.
According to the custom, the Xingxingtun production team opened a coffin for Zhang Shijie's mother and buried it for three days.
The sassy autumn breeze sends off the deceased, and the lonely mountains add another tomb.
The death of Zhang Shijie's mother sounded the alarm for the Xingxingtun production team, and there is more than one family situation similar to Zhang Shijie.
It was already the autumn harvest season, and the production team reported to the brigade that it urgently arranged for some rations to relieve the urgent need.
Even so, the members and masses are still worried, seeing that this year's production team has failed to produce and harvest, and it is still unknown whether they can get the rations in full.
At the moment, all the members can do is return the pellets to the warehouse. There is little rain in spring and summer, but it is rainy in autumn, often thunderstorms and winds, and there are few good weather.
In order to step up the harvest, the Xingxingtun production team took advantage of the rare sunny days and nights when the moon was thin and starry to start the day and night battle.
Image from the Internet
The production team added a "big pot of rice" at night, sorghum rice stewed tofu, each member had a ration, reluctant to eat, took it home to the children, and waited for the father and mother to bring back the meal in the middle of the night became the expectation of the children in Tunli.
Moreover, Muzi was very busy every day for the autumn harvest battle, but the four girls still kept pestering him.
No matter what work the production captain arranges the female members to do, the four girls are determined to be with Muzi, and her tomboy style is not lost to any male member. Zhao Yimin, an old party member, couldn't help her, so he had to let it go.
Captain Wang Kui has been in charge of the threshing yard these days, and he heard that the four girls went to entangle the mill again, and he felt humiliated and angry.
However, he couldn't hit her anymore, he hit a girl in her twenties, and he couldn't do it anyway.
Wang Kui and the old couple were worried, forcing the four girls to be anxious, she could do anything, in case she drove her crazy, it was a shame like Baiqiu.
Let it be, let her digest it slowly, and think about it for a long time. Perhaps, if someone she wishes, the dead button will be unlocked.
Hearing that Niu Dacheng has been released, Wang Kui and Liu Shufen put their hopes on Dacheng again, hoping that this kid does not care about previous suspicions, as always, unswerving, the old couple believes that only Niu Dacheng can make the four girls turn their minds. (Happy Tun Story 147)