I spent my childhood during the “Cultural Revolution” in the remote mountains of Guizhou.
The winter solstice memories left in my childhood are only one word: cold. Guizhou remote mountainous areas of the kind of cold, cold, wet, cold to the pain of the bones of the kind of cold, is the northerners, even Jiangnan people can not imagine to get. I remember that the weather was always cloudy, and the day of the winter solstice was even more gloomy and cold, windy with cold rain and snow, making people depressed, should be happy, carefree childhood also become heavy because of this gloomy, cold weather, gasping for breath is difficult.
At that time, our family lived in a long family courtyard converted from a broken temple, each family has only one room, the room is only separated by a wooden board, that is, three sides are wooden boards, only one side is a loess wall. This room has the function of sleeping, reading, cooking, meeting guests, bathroom, bath room, and the function of small meetings during the “Cultural Revolution”. Because the temple was built on a mountain, the spring water in the mountain would seep through the thick loess wall and leave marks and white nitrate flowers on the wall, which made the room colder during the winter solstice, just like seeing winter snow. At that time, most people in Guizhou County burned raw coal, but only a few people could afford to buy a Beijing stove (iron stove), and most people just dug a hole in the ground against the plank wall, which led to the outside of the house, and set up a square or round iron frame in the hole, and put the raw coal on the iron frame with wood to ignite it to heat and burn rice, and the coal ash was naturally removed from the hole outside the house. Better conditions at home, around the hole and then build a foot-high masonry platform, always called the ground furnace. People are safe when roasting on such an earthen platform, and it is also convenient to place dishes and other objects around the stove when eating.
The winter solstice is a serious and solemn time for ancestor worship, but during the Cultural Revolution, this day also became red-hot, comical and funny.
On the day of the winter solstice, my parents got up early in the morning and cooked enough corn rice for four people to eat for two days (one-fifth of corn flour and four-fifths of rice mixed together to make steamed rice), and left the house in a hurry without washing the bowl, even forgetting to lock me in the house.
I was alone at home, reading a little book for half a day, when I suddenly heard children outside shouting “march, march, go and see”, I dropped the book and rushed out of the family home after the children, rushed down many large stone stairs and came to the street. I stood in front of the crowd and watched curiously the excited and strange movements of many adults. Suddenly, I saw a stretcher coming. On the stretcher lay the neighbor’s oldest son, who was in high school, who was so energetic and running around in the morning, with his face and body full of blood, which made my feet shiver. The sound of loud slogans came again, and at the same time, many pointed paper high hats came shaking in the slogans. Suddenly, I saw a large iron pipe tied to my father’s back being pushed forward, I opened my mouth wide and screamed miserably “Dad, Dad, Dad ……”, my father saw me, pushed away the people holding him, smiled happily at me, held the iron pipe across his chest, and took a big step big steps hurriedly towards the front, see my father’s appearance, my heart also let go. When the parade was over, the kids came up and said, “Your dad is the best!”
The crowd of spectators gradually dispersed, I returned home alone, climbing on the stool, then climbing on the table, from the steamer (a kind of wooden bucket used to steam rice) in a large bowl full of cold rice, and then sat back on the stool, on the table a large pot of fritillary (fishy grass) and seaweed to make cold dishes to eat a large mouthful of rice, at this time, my brother also came back from playing somewhere, hastily grabbed a few mouthfuls of rice and then ran out. It was late in the evening, and I was hoping that my parents and brother would return to this cold and cold home early.
Suddenly, outside the door came the sound of hurried, heavy footsteps, a bunch of people came into the house at once, including my parents and several colleagues of my father, colleagues with blood on their faces and hands. My father immediately stabbed the coal on the floor stove, which had been sealed in the morning, and immediately the flames came up and the room warmed up. My mother brought in a basin of water for the men to wash their faces and hands, and my father filled several large bowls with rice from the steamer and gave me a small bowl at hand. These people gathered around the stove and ate with a big bowl of cold vegetables: “This is the best meal I’ve ever eaten, and they don’t give me any lunch, so I’m even hungrier than I was during the three years of natural disasters.”
Mom put the kettle on the stove and said, “You guys are also, what meeting in the morning, how not to find a night open, early in the morning was caught a show, who does not know you guys are royalists ah, was seen together not to inform the news.”
“It’s not urgent, it’s a matter of saving people, not to hurry up that how can. Who knows that you rebels so fast, last night the governor was arrested, want to use today’s march to snatch back the governor, which gathered together. Your people came, we a few bite to play mahjong, would like to collect the mahjong tiles and then the matter, did not want to put us a few arrested and shut to the black room for a long time, your old man called out, turned on the red light in the house, first let us blurred to see clearly after a burst of us to death, who hit do not know, are a county, which is where the hatred ah? After the fight continued to shut us there, not you go to get us out, do not know how it will be tomorrow. Zhang Gao Han (the local name for people who are very tall), the governor of the county still keep?”
My father put the dishes on the stove and wiped his mouth firmly replied, “Bao, how not, the magistrate has not killed me, not for the magistrate I would have done a free party, when what royalist.”
Father colleagues worried said: “If you want to save the governor, but also need to let the governor know early, inside and outside the success of the possibility of greater.”
“Just gave the guards a good deal, released you, I buy fruit to thank them, the governor is also locked up there, you write a note, I send to the governor.”
My father wrote a note when my brother came back from playing somewhere, full of face, hands, clothes are smeared black, my mother looked angry and said: “not at home with sister, all day long to run outside, do not know hunger not home, like it? Go, go outside and wash your hands and face to eat.” My father wrote a note and folded it for my mother: “It’s dark, take the two children and go out safely.” Brother shouted in anxiety: “I’m hungry, I want to eat, I’m not going.” “It’s okay, the streets are full of little brothers from the rebellion, it’s safe.”
I was walking down the stone steps with my mother when I saw a man with blood on his face and body coming upward in the faint light. My mother called out to him and fixed her eyes on the neighbor’s son who was lying on the carrying rack during the morning march: “Go to the well and wash the red ink, go back without scaring the family.”
“The morning has scared the little sister, is not it?” I nodded, he went on to say, “I washed, can not wash clean ah, had to let them scold, make a revolution, how can there be no hardship and danger.”
Walking down the street I asked suspiciously, “Is Brother Li okay?” “Nothing, but in order to make people sympathize with the rebels, deliberately makeup, children can not ask nonsense ah.”
The sound of neat footsteps came from the front, only to see the patrol members wearing rattan hats and carrying pikes (a kind of wooden rod with a pointed iron) in a powerful formation, striding in a straight line and coming in black. The young man in the lead smiled at my mother and greeted her and stopped to pull her aside and said, “Sister, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, someone reported a royalist party during the patrol this morning. Sister, you know, I hate playing mahjong in my life. Now the situation is so good that I don’t come out to make a revolution, but still engage in that four old things. I collected their mahjong and put people in jail, before beating people, I brought up my sister brother to march, save being beaten, also let my sister brother long remember, noon meal I let my sister brother eat the same as us, did not let my sister brother suffer.”
“It’s okay, do the right thing, this is not, your words, now they all go home, all long remembered.”
“Where is this going?”
“Did not say to buy fruit for the boys, to do what you say, to be a man of honor.”
The young man took out money from his pocket and stuffed it into his mother’s hand: “Sister work are not, I am eating public food, have a salary, this can not let sister spend. I do not have time to buy, Sister help me to buy, these broken boys, next time I want to teach them a good lesson.”
I stood by and listened to them pushing and shivering, shivering all over, stomping my frozen feet, wearing cotton shoes on my feet with my toes and heels showing. I thought to myself, “My mother has so much time to work on the revolution, why not find time to make me a pair of warm shoes?
Mother finally accepted the money, and under the dim street lights, we walked to the brightly lit fruit stall, which was the only fruit stall in the county, and at the winter solstice, that is, apples, pears, grapefruit and all kinds of fried dried fruits. Just as we arrived, the boss’s wife shouted to her mother, “Great, the rebels have suffered a great loss this time, killed by the opponents, you must take revenge!”
The mother calmly echoed, “Yes, they are all from the same county, why do they have to be so hard!”
Mother bought six apples to pay, the boss lady grabbed a handful of melon seeds into the small pocket of my clothes, mother rushed to stop “no, you use it is business, see acquaintances are given, how do you do this business?”
“I like, you do not care. I just want to say, you give the child dressed too thin, this cold day will freeze the child.”
“It’s okay, it’s good for children to freeze.”
The high walls surrounding the county compound, the lights are still as yellow as a small lantern, elongated shadows, in addition to my mother and I, there is no sign of people, the dark gray walls make the county’s highest residence looks eerie. After turning countless corners, we came to a large doorway, the door has a small young man wearing a large cotton hat, holding the pike two palms rubbing back and forth for warmth. Seeing mother carrying apples, the young man said with a smile, “Sister, joking, you are serious, and really bought, so that big brother knew that non-skinned a few of us.”
After my mother distributed five apples to people inside and outside the house, she pulled me to push open the door of a room. I saw a thin old man sitting in the house under a small yellow lamp, his hair was very messy, very long, a strand fell down to the small eyes blocked half, the corners of his mouth constantly sucking two fingers holding the cigarette, a flicker of light from the cigarette shone on a small face full of crepe black. This is what my father said about the governor who has the grace of not killing and is feared by everyone in the county, I could not believe the image I saw in front of me.
Mother handed the note and an apple to the governor: “holiday, there is no meat to bring you in, just eat the apple.” The governor looked up at his mother after reading the note and said, “Don’t come to my rescue, or there will be another fight, and I don’t know how many people will be injured, and even dead. You and a few of them leave the county tomorrow immediately.”
“Why?”
“Today’s big march to criticize us, the head of the rebel faction has not yet had the energy to notice this morning’s patrol to catch these few royalists, young people do not know what to do, righteousness, let you lead people away, and so tomorrow to check up, they are a few royalists can not guarantee that they will not be beaten up, this loss or do not eat. About you, but also just activists, young people respect you as a big sister, talk still works. However, you let people go, I’m afraid they will still look for your trouble, you still with your husband take the children back to the neighboring county’s mother’s house, tonight, go to the head of the head to ask for leave, saying that the old mother something. Thank you for letting the people who tied up the bangers and let the people who held me don’t beat me, so I didn’t suffer today. When I get out, I will let you and your family eat meat every day.”
When I got home, the adults were turning their bodies and roasting the fire while discussing national issues, because the side facing the stove was hot, but the side with the back to the stove was cold, and turning would warm the whole body. My brother may be crazy enough to play during the day, is now snoring in bed. After listening to the mother relay the words of the governor, we all agree with the governor’s proposal, decided to leave tomorrow morning: “Since my sister-in-law has taken leave, Zhang Gao Han is to take leave to take care of the elderly, I, the deputy station chief, will arrange for a few of you and I to go to the countryside to show movies. Also, when we leave, the rebels will not come to raid the house, Zhang Gao Han, you give me the royalist banner that you put at home, I will take it to the countryside.” Mother pulled out a red flag from my pillow and handed it to the person who called himself the deputy station chief. The deputy station chief took the flag and said with emotion, “The heads of the county are all worldly cadres who have been to the south and have been in the sand for a long time. Mother smiled and said, “I’m not doing them a favor now, when the time comes, they will take care of each other, do not remember so much revenge.”
My mother took me to bed and put me to sleep. I looked under the blanket at these fervent adults how can not understand, not enough to eat, not warm, and so high enthusiasm to do these messy things, is really crazy? Slowly I went to dreamland. In my dream, on the day of the winter solstice, I was wearing warm cotton shoes, cotton clothes and cotton pants, and my parents, brother and I were sitting around the floor stove together eating a fragrant, hot meal.
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