Three or Two Things about Rebirth

Holidays always seem particularly short. We eat dumplings on the fifth day of the New Year and go back to work on the sixth.

But people in Jiayang say that as long as the grass is not higher than the horse's hooves, it is still the New Year.

So if you open the door of any house, you can hear the sound of mahjong being played, the sound of people clinking glasses and chatting, and the streets are full of children setting off firecrackers.

The yangko troupes from the countryside all rushed to the county town and entered various units to perform hard. After the performance, they asked for performance fees. Fifty or one hundred yuan was not too much, and ten or eight yuan was also happy.

Although it's time to go to work, most units don't have much work to do. Those people on the second floor of the library just check in at around eight or nine o'clock, then go home to play mahjong, or some don't show up in the afternoon at all.

The only ones who stayed at their posts were security guard Uncle Li and Qiu Luming.

Uncle Li is an old revolutionary. He participated in the Korean War, but he did not cross the river. Fortunately, he returned safely. Unlike those who are proud of being cunning and sly nowadays, he always works hard and is determined to "be worthy of the salary given by the state."

When Qiu Luming was working in the hospital, she was also the type of person who was always absent from work. Regardless of the season, she was always late and left early. Xia Yanjing played an indispensable role in this. She always whispered in Qiu Luming's ear:

——Only fools work by relying on boards;

——A girl from a family like yours, why should you bother studying? You can go to No. 1 Middle School to be a teacher of ideology and morality, or go to a hospital to be an accountant and cashier, both of which are very capable;

——It doesn’t matter how good a woman’s family is, the key is to marry a good man! Although your Uncle Liu is not as good at business as your father, he is kind-hearted. Your father doesn’t even know which direction the grain store door opens, and your Uncle Liu still took care of me during my confinement...

As the saying goes, rice from another pot tastes better. In the past, Qiu Luming would not listen to a word of his mother's teachings, but he believed in Xia Yanjing's words with ulterior motives.

Qiu Luming is different now. She knows Xia Yanjing's intentions and is determined not to listen to her anymore. She has her own ideas. She is similar to Mr. Li. They both think that they should be loyal to the government and fulfill their duties. She doesn't think he is stupid, but thinks he is a manifestation of basic morality.

He Manshu was delighted by the changes in Qiu Luming over the past month. While worrying about her sons' affairs, she discovered that her daughter no longer sneaked over to visit the Liu family, and she stopped reading romance novels and read the books on her husband's bookshelf instead. Even her words were not so choking anymore.

In fact, Qiu Luming cannot be said to be very dedicated. If the weather is bad and no one comes to the reading room, she will quietly slip away early. However, as long as there is someone reading in the reading room, she will definitely stay at her post quietly.

After the New Year, when I go back to work, there are always three or five high school students from No. 1 Middle School who come to the reading room almost every day. They don't read magazines or newspapers, but do exercises or memorize words.

I guess they hid in the reading room because it was too noisy at home.

Sister Wan once hinted to her that since these students were not here to read books, there was no need to waste time with them. Just chase them away and no one would be able to complain.

Qiu Luming would rather give these students a quiet learning environment, a stable life, and a desk to study. It is such a happy thing for students to have.

In the huge reading room, there is only the winter sunshine and the sound of turning pages.

Qiu Luming was also reading. She liked this kind of environment and thought it would be nice to work here for the rest of her life.

***

Although spring comes late in Jiayang, once it arrives, it is extremely warm and unrestrained.

The snow melted, revealing the black soil. The spring breeze was chilly, and the playful young people had already changed into single shoes.

Qiu Jiye, who was usually a man of few words, stared at Qiu Luming's feet at this time and refused to allow her to take off her cotton-padded shoes. Qiu Luming did not talk back and obediently wore the clumsy cotton-padded shoes and trousers until the May Fourth performance was about to begin.

At the end of April, Qiu Luming's red sweater and black skirt were taken away by Qin Huifang. She said she wanted to go to No. 2 Middle School to watch their rehearsals, but Qin Huifang wanted to keep it a secret and would not let her see.

In early March, the Youth League Committee issued a document to all units, calling on young league members under the age of 28 in each unit to actively sign up for the performance.

Qiu Luming was very interested in these cultural and entertainment activities. If she were asked to participate in Qin Huifang's group dance, she would be very happy. But if she was asked to sing a solo like her sister-in-law, she would not be able to do it. Firstly, she felt that her level was not enough, and secondly, she was really stage-frightened. She felt that in this respect, she was like her father.

Although my father is not talkative in front of relatives and friends, he can talk fluently in conversation. However, when it comes to formal occasions, whether it is a speech at a commendation meeting or an internal meeting in the hospital, he always stumbles as soon as he opens his mouth, and he cannot display even one percent of his literary talent.

There are 15 staff members in the library, but only Qiu Luming and Xiao Ma are under 28 years old. Director Fang did not ask them about their special skills, but directly put them into the cultural and educational choir, and allowed them to go directly to the cultural center for rehearsal in the afternoon without having to work in the office.

This choir from the cultural and educational system was actually a makeshift group. Half of them were staff members from the cultural center, and the rest were young teachers from the Education Bureau, middle schools, and primary schools. Together with Qiu Luming and Xiao Ma, there were more than 40 people in total, with roughly half being men and half being women, and their levels were uneven.

At the first rehearsal, Qiu Luming fell in love with the short but passionate old lady conducting the piece. She also liked the two repertoires this time, one was "Socialism is Good" and the other was "Yellow River Cantata". Both songs had a two-part round-robin, which was her favorite part. Every time she sang here, she became excited and full of energy.

Anyway, I've been very excited lately, even humming on my way home from get off work.

Because she worked too hard, her voice became a little hoarse after two days. Her mother found out and that night she put her hands on her belly and taught her how to use her abdominal strength.

Qiu Luming was not the only one rehearsing for the May Fourth Gala. The eldest sister-in-law went to Yi City to participate in the banking system party on the Lantern Festival and appeared on the local TV station. She really made a big splash, so she was naturally sent out by her unit for this performance. The Public Security Bureau where my second brother worked was a large unit, and it was said that there was also a small art team, and the programs they prepared were all very good.

The days passed in an orderly manner until May 4th.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Qiu Luming put on a white shirt, a black ankle-length skirt, and black half-heeled leather shoes. He tied a red scarf into a medium-sized bow at the collar, put on a red windbreaker, and walked to the cinema.

It only takes ten minutes to walk from the Qiu family to the cinema. Her second brother reminded her early in the morning that there would be a mountain of bicycles piled up in front of the cinema today, and parking and picking up the bicycles would be a hassle, so it would be better to walk.

As soon as she turned the corner, she saw from afar people flocking to the cinema from all directions. Not only young people, but also the elderly and children brought small stools to watch the fun. If there were no seats, they would just squeeze in the aisle to watch.

This scene reminded Qiu Luming of the Lantern Festival, when the people of Jiayang also flocked to the riverside, first swarming on the river surface to "roll sick", and then gathering in three layers to watch the grand fireworks display.

It is said that the Russian sentries on the other side were so scared that they thought the Chinese people were going to riot and cross the river.

The first five rows in the cinema were reserved for performers. When Qiu Luming walked to the front row, he saw Qin Huifang, who was wearing heavy makeup, and almost burst out laughing. "Old Qin, you can just sing The Drunken Concubine with this look!"