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The men sat around the table, bottles of liquor opened, and each cup filled to the brim, while the women and children gathered at another table.
In previous years, Hu Ruoyun had always been with his younger brother, sister, cousin, and female cousin. This year, having entered high school, he found himself seated at the men's table.
As it was the New Year, conversations flowed easily until they turned to the topic of fireworks for the Lantern Festival. With age and a bit of drink warming his spirits, Grandfather began to recount a tale from the past:
In 1945, the Island Nation surrendered after defeat, but civil war erupted again. In 1946, the enemy's 47th Division's 125th Brigade's 374th Regiment occupied our county's southeastern villages of Wangwu, Caoqi, Kong, and Huangzhuang, constructing strong fortifications. The headquarters in Huangzhuang was near a solid Deer Rock, with an outer layer consisting of a ditch over ten feet deep and multiple wooden barriers followed by a wide water trench.
On the night of December 22nd at 10 PM, our army unleashed a thunderous barrage from a hundred cannons. Shells exploded on the enemy's positions; within thirty minutes, our brave soldiers had breached the fortifications from the southeast and northwest corners, driving Chiang's Army back to the northeastern corner of the village.
By midnight, over 800 soldiers from the enemy's 374th Regiment, including their commander Chen Xiaowen, had surrendered.
The elders recounted that during the battle for Huangzhuang, our army also suffered tremendous casualties. The fallen soldiers were transported back in carts by local villagers; many did not wait for their families to claim them and were hastily buried on-site. In 1992, while repairing irrigation systems in areas like Old Temple and Eternity, some bones were unearthed from village waterways.
Some wounded soldiers were taken to empty houses in nearby villages for treatment but succumbed to their injuries there. Many years later, it was said that at night, anguished groans and cries echoed from those abandoned homes.
For a long time, no one dared pass by those places after dark.
In our village's eastern area stood an ancient well whose origins were unknown. This well still existed during the production team era; unlike typical wellheads that are small, this one had a diameter of several meters and appeared quite eerie. The elders claimed this well bore witness to the brutal war: it had been filled with many corpses by the enemy!
On Lantern Festival night when fireworks were set off and on the Sixteenth Day of the First Month—also known as The Day for Daughters to Visit Their Parental Home and Relatives—many years after liberation, people from the eastern village would often ask visitors from our village about who was so wealthy that they set off fireworks until midnight. They remarked how beautiful they were—something they had never seen before.
However, our villagers would always respond in confusion since everyone was from the same village; they hadn’t heard of anyone setting off fireworks all night long.
Later on, an elder explained that the location where fireworks were lit was near The Location of the Well in the Second Team's Field...
Perhaps it was a celebration by fallen soldiers for their victory or perhaps it was those who died far from home yearning for their hometown... This legend faded gradually after the Household Responsibility System was implemented and as this well was filled in.
...
As cups clinked among the elders, Hu Ruoyun couldn't shake off the feeling that Uncle Zhang Tieshan’s expression was not quite relaxed.
Counting Hu Ruoyun and Grandfather included six men who had downed one bottle of white liquor; as they opened another bottle, his aunt insisted on coming over to toast with the men. This kind of attention was unusual compared to previous years.
Hu Ruoyun pondered to herself that something unusual must be afoot.
Sure enough, after her aunt finished her round of drinks, she finally spoke up: "I need to borrow some money!"
Her aunt owned five houses in town, built with mud bricks and covered with a layer of brick on the outside. Two of the houses were used for their grocery store, while the other three were rented out to a tailor and a newly opened bakery. Over the past two years, as more new buildings sprang up on the street, her aunt's properties began to look increasingly dilapidated.
The walls were peeling, the floors damp, and there were places in the ceiling that leaked during rainy days. While the grocery store was still managing, both tenants had expressed their desire to terminate their leases. Losing those tenants meant losing income and affecting the family's finances. After much deliberation, her aunt and uncle decided to tear down all five old houses and build five new ones made of blue bricks.
Constructing such houses would cost nearly twenty thousand yuan!
Over the years, Third Aunt and Uncle had saved some money, and Uncle's father contributed a portion as well. However, even when combined, they barely reached fifteen thousand. That’s when her aunt thought of reaching out to relatives from her maternal family.
The adults at the two tables fell silent all at once.
Grandfather, acting as the spokesperson, took a deep puff from his pipe and asked the question everyone was concerned about: "Your house really needs renovations... How much more do you need?"
Her aunt quickly replied, "Dad, if you can lend me fifteen hundred, my brother and my two brothers-in-law can pitch in a thousand each, and that should be enough..."
Although food production had increased over the past two years and farmers' incomes had seen some improvement, what her aunt was asking for was still a significant amount. Borrowing money required careful consideration of how much to ask for.
Even the closest relatives shouldn’t be so presumptuous. Moreover, now that her sister and brother each had families of their own, it was essential to consider their spouses' opinions and feelings as well.
Such an approach—forcing someone to lend money—was always off-putting.
Later on, Hu Ruoyun inadvertently overheard her parents arguing. It was rare for her usually calm father to raise his voice at her mother; they were both adamant in their positions. "What kind of person is Third Aunt? She borrowed five hundred last time and hasn’t paid it back even after all these years. Now she’s asking for another thousand as if it’s owed to her! Not every family is a bank; we don’t have money lying around..."
Her mother retorted loudly, "What should we do then? Second Aunt and her father have already lent her money. If we refuse to help her out, won’t she be angry with us?"
Father was furious. "Fine, fine, fine! We barely saved up two thousand. If we can't make ends meet, just give it all to her!"
Two days later, Grandfather and Grandmother arrived in an Ox Cart.
The two elders wore expressions of worry and helplessness. Grandmother first comforted her son-in-law, "Qihua, don't worry. If Third Aunt doesn't pay you back, your father and I will eventually repay you!"
Father sighed in defeat. "Mom, it's not about whether Third Aunt will pay back the money. She's family; it shouldn't matter much. It's just that I can't stand her attitude, acting like everyone owes her something."
Grandfather took a couple of puffs from his pipe and knocked the ashes off against his shoe. "Qihua is right; her behavior is annoying! Who borrows money like that? She's the youngest, and it's us and your mother who spoiled her..."
"But this time she really is in a tough spot. How many times can one build a house in a lifetime? For the sake of your mother and me, let's help her out one more time, shall we?"
With the elders having said this much, Father and Mother had nothing more to say.
Once the matter was settled, the old couple insisted they wouldn't eat at Hu Ruoyun's home. When their daughter and son-in-law urged them to stay, Grandmother reluctantly revealed the truth: "Don't insist; it's not that your father and I don't want to eat at your place... Mei Ying and Hong Wei (Hu Ruoyun's Second Aunt and Second Uncle-in-law) are also upset at home because of Meixia borrowing money. We need to go talk to them!
Hu Ruoyun's aunt and your brother Shunqiang are also having a falling out over this. Yesterday they took your nephew Great New Year back to the Maternal Family...
Sigh, during this festive season, borrowing money has caused chaos among several families."
All this mess was stirred up because of the little aunt.
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