Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

"Second uncle, third uncle, come to Shandong to smoke," Zhao Shanhe greeted

The second uncle and Shandong took the cigarettes, but the third uncle did not. He then took out a pipe from his pocket and said, "Nephew, your pipe is gone in two puffs. It's not satisfying. I'd rather smoke this."

Then Uncle San patted his pipe with his hand, motioning him to start smoking. He then took out a little tobacco, put it in the mouthpiece, lit it with a match, and took a deep puff. The smoke he exhaled was bigger than that of others.

Five people were smoking, the second uncle, the third uncle, Shanhe, Shanhu, and Shandong, and the house was filled with smoke in an instant. The old lady and Zhang Baixue went to Aunt Chen's room to look after the children, otherwise they would not have smoked so unscrupulously.

"Uncle San, can you tell me about the situation in your hometown?" Zhao Shanhe started a topic.

"Big boy, why don't you talk to your brothers? Dad is not good at talking and can't explain it clearly," the third uncle said to Shandong.

"Then I'll start with my impression, and then blah blah blah for a while,

Anyway, if my second uncle hadn't helped me during the natural disaster, my whole family would have starved to death.

It was the time of the Great Leap Forward. The village reported too high a yield, so they handed in all the grain. But the next year, there was a natural disaster and not enough food. The villagers robbed the grain depot and killed three people.

Especially since we had so many brothers, there was not enough food to eat. We, a group of children, had to fight with others for wild vegetables, mice, and insects, but we still couldn't eat enough. If it weren't for my second uncle's frequent help and sending us some food, everyone in our family would have starved to death.

After the disaster, many elderly people in our village starved to death. They gave their chance of survival to the strong laborers in the family, otherwise the whole family would die.

In recent years, life has been much better. Although we can't eat as much as we want, at least we won't starve to death. Even if we earn work points throughout the year, we can't earn more than two cents.

Don't be afraid of being laughed at by my brother. Although this dress of mine is full of patches, it is still what I wore at my wedding. Some families in the village only have one or two pairs of trousers, which are all worn by adults, while the children are all naked. It's nothing like you'd ever see a naked child in the city.

In the village, we can only eat meat and dumplings during the Chinese New Year. With the help of my second uncle, we live a pretty good life in the village, especially since I got married this year. Many of my peers in our village are still single.

There was a sense of pride in Zhao Shandong's words. It is a proud thing to be able to marry a wife.

After hearing Zhao Shandong's story, Zhao Shanhe knew that life in the countryside was not easy, but he didn't expect it to be so difficult.

"Nephew, I heard that my eldest brother passed away. I guess you haven't had a good life these years," Third Uncle also asked.

"My father died in 58, which happened to be during that period. However, with the pension left by my father and the care provided by the street for the children of martyrs, there is a subsidy for underage children of martyrs every month. In addition, my father's old comrade-in-arms Uncle Cheng takes care of me, and Aunt Chen takes over my father's shift, so life is not difficult.

We all went to school, but we spent all our father's pension. Later, Shanhu and I graduated and found wives. Now there are nine people in our family, including the baby, and five of them earn a salary, which is one of the best in the compound.

I'm an engineer and I have a lot of money, so I can live well now and have a good meal from time to time."

"Third brother, you may not know this, but Shanhe is already a level 6 engineer at a young age, and he is also the chief engineer of a large factory with 10,000 employees. Shanhu is not bad either, he is a cadre in the security department.

Those bicycles outside the door are also from his family. Look, there is also a radio and a sewing machine in this room. Both brothers are wearing watches on their hands. They have several sets of three-wheeled and one-ring watches. They are better than me, the second uncle," the second uncle said to the third uncle.

"My goodness, although I don't know what the level of a Level 6 engineer is, I can see the bicycles outside the door. Our entire commune doesn't have as many bicycles as the Shanhe family.

The radio, sewing machine, and watch are all legendary things. I have only seen the watch on your second uncle's hand. I have heard about other things from others and have never seen them. I dare not even think about the life in Shanhe." said the third uncle

"Uncle San, it's not as exaggerated as you say. Maybe in a few years, every household will be able to drive a car. What we have is nothing," Zhao Shanhe said.

Second uncle probably said this just to show off, after all, soldiers are straightforward, don't think it's what I thought, this is the end of our relationship as relatives. Zhao Shanhe thought secretly.

"I guess I won't see every household own a car before I die. My biggest wish is to have enough food to eat, find wives for my sons, and have grandchildren. Then I can die with my eyes closed," said the uncle.

"Uncle San, you will definitely see these. Just think boldly. The country has been developing rapidly in recent years. It will definitely be realized in the near future," Zhao Shanhe said.

"My nephew is so capable, I will definitely believe what you said, so I will just wait to enjoy the good life in the future. I am also happy to see that my nephew is so capable. My eldest brother took care of us when we were young, but it's a pity that he passed away at a young age and I didn't get to see him, otherwise he would definitely be very happy too," said the third uncle.

"What a pity, we are not allowed to offer sacrifices now, otherwise we can go and burn some paper for our eldest brother, and we brothers will be reunited after so many years," the second uncle sighed.

"Second uncle, third uncle, let me tell you something. There will be a baby in our courtyard turning one month old soon. I have a good relationship with their family, so I have to show up. You guys eat first, and I'll have a few drinks with you two uncles later," Zhao Shanhe said.

"Shanhe, if you have something to do, just go and do it. Don't worry about the time of this meal," said the second uncle.

"Shanhu, the party in the yard is almost underway. I'll go over first. Ask Aunt Chen and the others to prepare the meal. I should be back in time for dinner. If I'm not back, you guys can eat first and keep the uncles company," Zhao Shanhe instructed Zhao Shanhu.

"Don't worry, brother, I know," Zhao Shanhu said

It was almost eleven o'clock at this time, and Zhao Shanhe hurried to the central courtyard, as the other courtyards were too small to accommodate anything.

"Shanhe, come quickly, we are waiting for you, sit at this table." Xu Damao saw Zhao Shanhe coming and hurriedly greeted him.

Sitting at the table were Chief Wang of the Propaganda Department, several of Xu Damao's apprentices, Xu Damao and his wife, and three others, Liu Haizhong, Yi Zhonghai, and Yan Bugui.

Father Xu was sitting at the neighboring table with his neighbors. Xu Damao was probably accompanying his section chief. There was no room at the table, so he gave the seat to three uncles.

Section Chief Wang sat in the main seat, Xu Damao sat on his left, Liu Haizhong also sat on the right of Section Chief Wang, Yi Zhonghai and Yan Bugui sat next to Liu Haizhong, the three of them sat next to each other.

When Zhao Shanhe arrived, everyone except the three uncles stood up. Zhao Shanhe said to everyone, "I'm really sorry, I have guests at home, so I'm late. Please forgive me."

"No, Chief Engineer Zhao, you've come at the right time. Chief Engineer Zhao, please take the main seat," said Section Chief Wang as he walked over and pulled Zhao Shanhe to the main seat.

The chief engineer is much higher than him, the section chief. His administrative level is equivalent to that of a department-level cadre. Zhao Shanhe also sits ahead of him in the meeting.