Rebirth 1979: Marrying a poor girl at the beginning

"Young friends, we have come to meet and be sent to the crematorium. We will all be burned to ashes, one pile for each other, no one will recognize each other, and we will all be taken to the countryside to be used as fertilizer..."

On the way back, Lin Zhengjun hummed a random tune, which made Tang Xiaofu giggle.

"The melody is good, but the lyrics are too bad. It's New Year's Day, and you're singing this. Aren't you afraid it'll be unlucky?" Tang Xiaofu said coquettishly.

"A materialist fighter is fearless!" Lin Zhengjun continued to hum.

Tang Xiaofu said: "You seem very happy!"

"Ok!"

"What?"

"Because you behaved well!"

"Where's the good?"

"My grandpa is just an old farmer in the countryside, but you are willing to cook for him, eat with him, wash his clothes, and give him money. Today should be the happiest day of the year for my grandpa..." Lin Zhengjun said with emotion.

"That's nothing. Back then, my grandpa wore a hat and was hated by everyone, but you didn't look down on him!"

Tang Xiaofu put her little face on Lin Zhengjun's back and whispered, "Put yourself in his shoes. No matter what your grandfather's status is, he is still your dearest grandpa. I will definitely treat him well!"

……

When I got home, it was already afternoon.

Seeing her beloved son and daughter-in-law coming back, Zhang Shuqin asked, "You're back so late? Have you eaten?"

"Let's eat!" Li Zhengjun tied up the bicycle and put away the three baskets.

"Did you have dinner at your grandpa's house?" Zhang Shuqin asked.

"Well, we made dumplings and drank two taels of sweet potato wine with him! Xiaofu washed his clothes, and grandpa was very happy!" Lin Zhengjun said with a smile.

Zhang Shuqin looked at Tang Xiaofu with emotion and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Xiaofu!"

"It's okay, Mom, it's all I should do!" Lin Zhengjun said.

Lin Sanhuai came out of the inner room holding two bottles of Erguotou, wiped the dust off with a towel, and said with a happy face: "Zhengjun, your mother said that you are going to be an official. Tonight, we should have a drink together and have fun!"

"That's not much of an official position!"

Lin Zhengjun was speechless and said, "Dad, it's just a nominal position, and a part-time one at that. I don't take care of any specific matters. I just put my name on it and get a little allowance!"

“For example, when the Federation of Literary and Art Circles wants to recruit creators, I don’t participate in the management!”

Lin Sanhuai was stunned for a moment, and said, "What do the leaders want? They give you official titles and allowances for nothing? They even spend money to buy pork to come and see you? And they don't even let you manage things!"

Lin Zhengjun said: "For example, the movie Under the Hawthorn Tree, which I wrote, won the Golden Rooster Award and the Hundred Flowers Award!"

"If I don't hold this position, the news reports and the end-of-year summary of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles will only say that our city's young writer Comrade Lin Zhengjun won an award for his screenwriting film!"

"If I become the president, he can write that Comrade Lin Zhengjun, vice chairman of our city's Federation of Literary and Art Circles and vice chairman of the Writers Association, won an award for his screenwriting work. Does it make any difference?"

"Yes. It seems that winning the award has more to do with the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Writers Association!" Lin Sanhuai seemed to have realized something.

Lin Zhengjun said: "Deputy Mayor Zhu sent me these gifts and chatted with me, so he could have added that it was under the deep care and guidance of our city's leadership team. But if it wasn't for this, he couldn't have added it!"

"I see! Oh, these leaders are really scheming."

Lin Sanhuai scratched his head and realized what was going on. He said, "In this way, your achievements can add luster to them and bring glory to us and them!"

Lin Zhengjun laughed and said, "Not bad at all!"

Lin Sanhuai smiled and said, "Then let's not worry about it. It's good to get allowances and cadre treatment. It's better not to worry about anything and save trouble. So, we must drink at night!"

"Haha, if you want to drink, I'll accompany you!"

Lin Zhengjun smiled and said, "Anyway, the dishes are ready. Pork head and stewed liver mixed with coriander and chili oil will be a good side dish for drinking!"

"Okay! I'm going to watch TV!" Lin Sanhuai said, then he happily smoked and strolled away.

"I got up early in the morning to collect manure, but when I came back I couldn't find my daughter! If she's in the east yard, I'll look for her in the west yard. If she's in the south, I'll look for her in the west~"

From afar he could hear an old man humming a local repertoire, and Lin Zhengjun couldn't help but smile and sigh softly.

On weekdays, my father is always worried and it is rare to see a cheerful smile on his face. Even during the Chinese New Year in previous years, he always looked sad.

But today, he saw a kind of lightness and joy in his father.

This is what life should be like!

"Is Zhengjun at home?"

Lin Zhengjun and Tang Xiaofu returned to their new house in the back mountain. Tang Xiaofu wrote a novel while he reviewed for the exam.

He was reading a book when Lin Bingde walked in leisurely, a cigarette in his mouth.

"Secretary, why are you here? Why don't you watch TV, stay in touch with the masses, and have fun with them?"

Lin Zhengjun put down the book, went to the living room, and made him a cup of tea.

"Zhengjun, tell me, will our brigade still take care of hanging the family tree during the ancestor worship this year?" Lin Bingde asked in a low voice.

In the New Year of 1967, a worker named Zhang Renxing published an initiative in the Liberation Daily: "Don't go home during the Spring Festival, stick to your post to promote revolution and production."

Subsequently, newspapers across the country also published "letters from readers" and "initiatives" calling for "a revolutionary Spring Festival."

The People's Daily also published a joint proposal by 57 "revolutionary mass organizations" to "break old customs, not take holidays during the Spring Festival, and launch a mass struggle to seize power." It proposed "around the Spring Festival, we should create a big rebellion against the old customs and habits of feudalism and capitalism for thousands of years. We should establish new customs and habits of the proletariat. Worshiping gods, paying New Year's greetings, entertaining guests, giving gifts, eating, drinking, and having fun, all go to hell!"

Afterwards, the relevant departments issued a notice: "Decision: There will be no Spring Festival holiday in 1967; employees' home leave will be suspended during the Cultural Revolution and will be made up later."

Just like that, when "the revolutionary situation was very good", the national Spring Festival holiday was cancelled, no one dared to adhere to the original traditional customs, and the originally lively New Year atmosphere was gone.

February 2th of that year was New Year's Eve. The whole country was very quiet, without any of the festive and peaceful atmosphere of the past New Year's celebrations...

In the following years, it was allowed to post Spring Festival couplets, but revolutionary slogans had to be posted, and door gods were not allowed. Otherwise, if they were seen by the patrolling militia, they would be criticized and denounced. The phenomena of setting off firecrackers, praying to ancestors, burning incense, candles, and burning tinfoil completely disappeared, and people only ate a New Year's Eve dinner.

The so-called inviting ancestors means that on the morning of New Year's Eve, the men in the family must bring offerings to the graves of their ancestors to burn sacrifices, with the intention of inviting the ancestors to return home for the New Year.

When I got home, I hung the family tree scroll above the table on the back wall of the main room.

Hey, don't underestimate this action. You have to remember whose portrait was originally hanging on the back wall at this time.

In an era when breaking a badge could be considered a counter-revolutionary crime, using a family tree to cover up this portrait is a very serious matter!