Chapter 4 Past Events

“The Chinese people have stood up since then!”

"People's Republic of China!"

“The Government of the People’s Republic of China!”

“It was established today!”

As this oath was pronounced on the radio, tears welled up in the eyes of everyone present.

The jubilant crowd lined up and marched from the East and West Archways towards the square. The middle school students tied red scarves on their necks, held red candles in the shape of five-pointed stars in their hands, sang in unison, and shouted: Long live the motherland!
The lively celebration lasted until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning.

After the founding ceremony, after having dinner at a restaurant outside, Wang Deming, accompanied by his godmother Wang Shuqin and his sister Yan Baozhen, returned to his husband’s home at No. 81 Gulou East Street.

"Godmother, sister, I'm going to the city to study!"

"Good, my son is ambitious. For ordinary people like us, the only way to have a bright future is to study hard!" Godmother Wang Shuqin was the first to support him!
"Deming, although we live in the countryside now, we are a family of scholars. Your godfather was a clerk in Changping County and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. Otherwise, your sister would not have been able to marry into the Chang family in the capital."

"If the Japanese hadn't forced your godfather to join the maintenance society, he wouldn't have hanged himself, and mom wouldn't have gone to hide in the countryside."

"Alas, if I had known that your father was delivering supplies to the Eighth Route Army in the mountains west of Beijing, I would have asked him to go with him. But it's hard to say, his younger brother went with him, and there's still no news of him."

"Don't worry, Mom. Your godfather left some wealth, and this year the government allocated land to my mother and me. We will have more than enough food to eat in the fall."

"In order to revive the family business, Deming, you must also study. The origin of your name comes from the first chapter of The Great Learning, which says that the way of the Great Learning is to manifest the bright virtue."

Sister Yan Baozhen followed suit and expressed her support: "Deming, you don't have to worry about the money. There are schools in Beijing that don't charge tuition for ordinary people, such as the Fentingsi Hutong Primary School, which is very close to my home, and the Beijing No. 13 Middle School at No. Xiguan Hutong."

"You can just stay and eat here, and my mother-in-law won't say anything! Anyway, a lot of my mother-in-law's relatives have been eating here all year round."

"I've seen a lot in the years before and after liberation. It's only cultured people who are respected!"

"Now among the bannermen in the capital, no matter whether they were from this mansion or that mansion before, they are all down and out now. Among their descendants, only the educated ones have a good life and a high status."

"My father-in-law and your brother-in-law also want to get into their circle, but they can't. They are not welcomed by others."

"If you can read it, I will be able to stand firm in my husband's house!"

Just like that, after the founding ceremony, Wang Deming struck while the iron was hot and was admitted to the Fifth Middle School in Beijing.

Going to school is a piece of cake for Wang Deming, especially in middle school in this era. Just like Chinese middle and high school students going abroad to study in the past, it is a dimensionality reduction attack!

But I didn’t expect that my sister Yan Baozhen’s in-laws have so many problems?
Just as I was thinking about it, I got home and shouted at the door: "Mom, I'm back!"

Lifting the straw door curtain, Wang Deming's house is similar to Qin's, the difference is that it only has two rooms, only one east room. Wang Deming usually sleeps in the main room with a quilt.

Walking into the east room, godmother Wang Shuqin was mending Wang Deming's clothes by the kerosene lamp. Seeing her godson coming in, she bit off the thread with her mouth and smiled kindly: "Come on, Deming, try the length of the clothes."

"I see you seem to have grown taller this time since you came back. It turns out that I put the old clothes your brother left behind on you and added a section at the bottom."

"This way, you won't look bad when you wear it while working, and you won't have to show your belly button."

Wang Deming took the clothes with a smile from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you, Mom."

"Why are you being so polite to me, kid?" Wang Shuqin's nose twitched twice. "Why are you drinking again? Did you go to Qinjia Village today?" "Drink less in the future, don't drink too much and hurt your body. You haven't gotten married yet?"

"Mom is counting on you to give me a few more big fat grandchildren, and adopt one to the Yan family so that the Yan family's incense can be passed down."

The idea of ​​giving one of their sons the surname Yan was brought up by Wang Deming when he became his godmother.

Times have changed. After all, Wang Deming is the soul of future generations, and he doesn’t care what his future child’s surname is.

But Wang Shuqin was so moved that she couldn't stop crying.

"Did the Qin family rush to marry Qin Huairu off as soon as they heard you graduated from high school?"

"Mom said that even if you are not old enough, it won't matter. In the countryside, there is no such thing as a marriage certificate. You can wait until the right time to make it up."

"I watched Qin Huairu grow up. She has a big butt. She will definitely give birth to a son."

Wang Deming smiled as he took the clothes in front of him and tried them on. It was just the right length, so he gave a thumbs up and said, "Mom, your craftsmanship is better than my sister's."

"My sister is still taking work from one of their relatives, and her stitches are not as good as yours!"

"But don't work so hard at night next time. Be careful not to hurt your eyes."

The smile on Wang Shuqin's face disappeared immediately: "Why? The Qin family doesn't want to?"

"Although our family has fallen on hard times, Deming, you are now a successful student, and it will only take a few years for you to buy a house. It is a blessing for their family that we like their daughter, and we did not let them become a mistress directly, but we still consider the sake of our fellow villagers."

"How dare the Qin family refuse?"

Wang Deming sat down on the edge of the kang, folded his clothes carefully, and answered casually, "Today, Old Man Qin kept testing me at the dinner table, saying that life in the city is not easy and that houses in the city are expensive."

"I feel like what they meant was that I'm only in elementary school in Beijing, not high school, and I'm not sure I can live a stable life in Beijing."

"So I plan to buy two houses in the city when I return, and then throw the house deeds directly in the Qin family's face!"

“And bring back the bicycles and watches that were left in the city.”

"I thought the same as you before. I thought that marrying Qin Huairu would be a natural thing. I didn't expect that the Qin family would do something like this today."

"Hey, Mom, I didn't expect to be looked down upon today."

Wang Shuqin was so angry, "Who are these people? Have you ever seen such a shallow-minded person?"

"That is to say, those who know their neighbors and relatives well will not look down on rural girls from their families."

“It’s shaking again!”

"If you hadn't donated all your royalties from the past two years, what kind of house could we not buy in the city?"

"Mom, I think you should come and live in the city with me, right?"

“Why do you have to stay in the countryside?”

(End of this chapter)