Struggle Life in the 1970s

Early this morning, inspiring songs came from the village's loudspeakers, followed by a loud female voice reporting in real time the general situation at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Everyone only heard the woman's voice saying that as the sky gradually brightened, the five-star red flag slowly rose on the Tiananmen Square; they heard countless people rushing to Beijing day and night just to see the red flag flying in the sun; they heard the square was packed with people, and everyone could not hide their excitement and shouted for the country to be prosperous and strong!
People far away in the small mountain village listened attentively, as if they were standing in Beijing and seeing this scene of celebrating with the country.

Today would be a day of celebration without exception, if Chu Guangyao hadn't seen the matchmaker in the yard.

In particular, the man following the matchmaker looked exactly like his colleague in the factory.

"Guo Ping? Why are you in my house?" Chu Guangyao had just finished his meal and was about to go to his friend's house to chat. As soon as he walked out of the main hall, he saw his father leading a man and a woman into the yard. When he looked carefully, the woman in front was old and smiled like a thief. He didn't recognize her at all. The square-faced and crew-haired woman behind him, who was handing his father a cigarette, was his colleague!

He walked over quickly and punched the man on the shoulder, "Good boy, you're giving me a surprise on National Day!"

He turned to introduce him to Chu's father, "Dad, this is my colleague from the factory, his name is Guo Ping, he is two years older than me and he usually takes good care of me."

Guo Ping smiled awkwardly on the side. The matchmaker only said that the girl had a good appearance and a good job, and would graduate from a teachers' college next year, and that he must come to meet her. Only then did he follow her, but he didn't say that this girl had any relationship with Chu Guangyao.

And he knew that Chu Guangyao was the youngest in the family, so wouldn’t the person he was meeting later be his sister?

The matchmaker on the side rolled his eyes and spat out nice words as if they were free. "Hey, so you two know each other, isn't that great! If this thing goes through, it will be a marriage between relatives and double happiness! If you say such a coincidence is not arranged by God, no one will believe it!"

"Her father, please call the girl out quickly so that the two of them can meet. It's not convenient for us to go into the girl's room." The matchmaker never stopped smiling. After hearing this, Chu's father agreed and hurried to the main hall to call people.

Chu Guangyao was standing next to Guo Ping. He felt as if struck by lightning when he heard these words. Not far away, he heard the sound of a door being pushed open. He turned around blankly and saw his mother standing under the eaves with Chu Ye.

She had probably been washed and combed, her originally messy hair was tied into two ponytails hanging in front of her chest, the dry dirt on her shoes was cleaned, but the entire toe was stained black, and her face was calm, as calm as a pool of stagnant water, and even the way she looked at him was no different from looking at a flower or plant.

The matchmaker may have noticed Chu Ye's reluctance, so she pretended not to notice it and walked up to greet Chu's mother with a smile. Then she pushed Guo Ping beside her forward, signaling him to speak quickly.

Guo Ping's heart started pounding the moment he saw Chu Ye. She walked out from behind the dark door, her figure as slender as a willow in the wind. Her skin was whiter than snow, her appearance was elegant, and her face was calm, but she was more likely to arouse a man's desire to protect her than those who were shy and blushing.

It's not impossible to be this brother-in-law, Guo Ping was secretly happy. When he introduced himself to Chu's father and mother, he secretly cast a hidden look at Chu Guangyao.

Chu Guangyao understood, and his eyes said: You little boy, it is really unfair of you not to introduce such a beautiful sister to us!

When he automatically translated this sentence in his mind, he suddenly remembered last night.

His sister asked, were you the one who said there are many single men in your factory?

He found this question incomprehensible at the time and asked his parents why his sister asked him such a question.
In an instant, he suddenly realized that when his parents asked him, he told the truth that many of his colleagues in the factory had no partners, but he was not in a hurry. He even joked that his colleagues asked him to pay attention to single girls in the village in order to find partners.

So his parents called his fourth sister back home just because of this sentence? He thought of the pair of shoes covered with mud. How hurried must his sister be to not notice her feet?
Fourth sister didn’t want to go on a blind date, so why did her parents call her back?
His mind was filled with Chu Ye's cold eyes when she looked at him last night. He even admitted the only thing his sister said to him. So in his sister's mind, didn't he mean that he wanted his colleague in the factory to find a partner so that his parents could pay more attention to him in the village, and even call him, his own sister, back to meet her?
In an instant, his heart was broken. Just a few steps away from him, his parents and matchmaker Guo Ping were all smiling, while Chu Ye, like a puppet at the mercy of others, looked at him with mockery in his eyes.

"Enough!" he collapsed and yelled, "My sister doesn't want blind dates, you guys get out of here." He opened the door and gestured for invitation.

The four people here were startled by his sudden shout, and when they reacted, they all looked grim.

"You bastard! Do you have the right to speak now? Get back to your room." Chu's father came over with a pipe in his hand, twisted his ear and was about to send him back to his room.

Chu's mother looked embarrassed, but the matchmaker was of high quality and quickly adjusted her mood to continue exchanging information between the two parties.

Guo Ping was a little unhappy when he saw his good thing being interrupted. He had taken good care of Chu Guangyao at work, but he was actually showing off his power at a critical moment today. However, he took a deep breath and smiled again. He would deal with him properly when he became the brother-in-law of this kid.

"I won't go! I won't go!" Chu Guangyao bent down and dodged, breaking free from the restraints on his ears. He rushed to the eaves in two steps, grabbed the matchmaker and Guo Ping with his hands, and pulled them both towards the door.

"Hey! Hey! Take care of your kid!" The matchmaker was weak and almost fell down when he was dragged, and he started shouting at this time.

Guo Ping was very strong and broke free quickly, but he was also pushed to the door. He looked fierce and pushed Chu Guangyao angrily, "What are you doing crazy, kid? This concerns my life, don't mess around." He spoke like a brother-in-law educating his younger brother.

"Get out of here!" He pushed the two of them out of the door again, and then closed the door with a "bang".

Chu's mother didn't have time to look after Chu Ye at this time. The moment he went crazy, she hurried over and pulled his arm to calm him down. Chu's father was also trying to pull people aside, but no one knew where this kid got the strength from. Two farmers who were working on the farm couldn't even pull up a half-grown child.

Through the door frame, the matchmaker could no longer hold back his smile, "Bah! I'm trying to match your child up with good intentions, and this is how your family treats people? It's really unlucky today!"

Matchmakers usually collect red envelopes from men after they have done the job. She came because she saw that both men and women were in good condition and could make a lot of money in the future. Everyone in the area was not polite to her, except the Chu family. The elder sister had a dead face when they met. If she hadn't been good-tempered, she wouldn't have wanted to come to the house for the second time. And the younger brother suddenly went crazy and pushed the guests away. Bah!

When she gets back, she will have a good talk with her colleagues about this family, saying that they are not normal.

Chu's father and mother quickly apologized and tried to push Chu Guangyao aside to open the door, but he used his back to hold the door tightly. The people inside couldn't open it, and the people outside, the matchmaker didn't want to push the door, and Guo Ping felt embarrassed. He was quite attracted by Chu Ye's good looks, but he also had to have face. This family treated him like this, which was really too much.

He glared at the figure standing at the door, turned around and left without saying a word. The matchmaker uttered a curse word and followed him away.

Across the courtyard, Chu Guangyao and Chu Ye under the eaves looked at each other. In his ears, he heard Chu's father and mother scolding him for being ignorant, but he didn't hear a word.

After a while, he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but saw that Chu Ye had retracted his gaze and turned to walk into the main hall.

At noon, the whole family looked unhappy, and Mother Chu made lunch in a perfunctory manner.

"I will find out where the matchmaker lives tomorrow, and then take the fish to him to apologize." Chu's father glared at Chu Guangyao while eating.

"You little brat! I'm telling you what's wrong with you. You pushed away the guest who came to your door. That matchmaker is so talkative that you can make a dead person alive! If she goes out and spreads nonsense, who will marry into our family in the future?" Father Chu became more and more angry as he spoke. He was about to hit him with his pipe, but Mother Chu stopped him quickly.

Chu Guangyao stiffened his neck and said, "If you don't want to get married, then don't get married. Who cares? Didn't you see that my sister doesn't want to go on a blind date at all?" The more he spoke, the lower his voice became, and in the end he only dared to glance at the person next to him.

Chu Ye had no expression on her face and just lowered her head to eat, as if the person he was talking about was not her at all.

The old couple looked at each other and then looked away. Father Chu couldn't help but slap him on the head, "Who told you to meddle in other people's business? Si Ya told you that she didn't want to? It was obviously you who ruined her good fortune!"

“No way.” Chu Guangyao rubbed his head in pain and retorted in a low voice.

"What do you know? This is what happens to girls when they get older. They hurry up and find a date while they're still young. Otherwise, they won't be able to find a good family even if they want to in a few years. I think the man the matchmaker brought this time is very good. He works in the same factory as you. Now you've offended two people at once." Father Chu was so angry that he couldn't eat and kept chattering.

"Besides, this isn't just about your sister. You'll need a matchmaker to find a date in the future. After what you've done, which matchmaker would dare to come to our house to find someone for you?"

"Wait a few days after you go back to work, go buy a pack of cigarettes and give it to your colleague to ease the tension. Otherwise, be careful that he might make things difficult for you in the future." Father Chu worried about this and that, and the wrinkles between his brows never relaxed.

Chu Guangyao let it go in one ear and out the other, pretending not to hear.

There is no impenetrable wall in the village. The scandal in his family was soon known to the neighbors. After all, Chu Guangyao's madness in the morning was too loud, which attracted some neighbors to watch the fun.

So when Chu's father was called to the brigade for a meeting, many neighbors with whom he had a good relationship surrounded him and asked about the details.

Originally, every household sent someone to discuss how to dry the corn after harvesting it, but it turned into a gossip scene.

At the same time, the Chu family.

Before leaving, Chu's father asked Chu's mother to lock the house. This scene shocked Chu Guangyao.

As the door to the main hall closed and locked with a "click", something in his heart gradually fell apart as he witnessed everything.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled his childhood. Although Chu Ye was his elder sister and only one year older than him, she had always taken good care of him, and he was always his elder sister's follower.

In spring, the two of them went to the fields. He was playful and his parents were busy hoeing the fields and didn't pay much attention to him. It was Chu Ye who introduced him to the flowers and plants in the fields.

In the summer, the two of them went to the river. He envied the older kids who could go to the deep water to take a bath, but he could only play in the water just above his ankles. He acted like a spoiled child towards Chu Ye, but Chu Ye insisted on his principle and didn't let him go to the deep water. He was so angry that he took it out on a little crab, but he didn't notice that while he was playing in the water, a pair of eyes were fixed on him from behind, but he didn't play much.

In autumn, when the adults were busy with the harvest, Chu Ye would find him a cool place to rest under a tree when he was tired. In winter, she would make snowmen and have snowball fights with him. Whenever someone threw a snowball at her, Chu Ye would make a bigger one and throw it back.

How could his sister, who was so kind to him, look at him with such cold eyes one day?

He was in a state of panic.

On the other hand, before leaving, Chu's father was afraid that Chu Guangyao would do something wrong at home, so he originally wanted to take him to the brigade meeting, but Chu Guangyao refused with the excuse of a headache. Before leaving, Chu's father also specifically told Chu's mother not to open the door until he came back.

In the side room, Chu Guangyao lay on the bed and thought about the past, tears streaming down his face. He thought of the question that had been bothering him this morning: Why didn't his sister leave when she clearly didn't want to?
Now he had the answer. It turned out that it was not that he didn't want to leave, but that he couldn't leave.

Similarly, his sister must have hurried back because his parents said something to her, which made her look so miserable.

After figuring everything out, he stood up, walked to the main hall door, hunched over, covered his abdomen with one hand, and knocked on the door rapidly with the other.

"Mom, mom, I don't know what's wrong with me right now. My stomach hurts so badly. Please take me to the village doctor."

(End of this chapter)