Balzac once said: Novel is the secret history of a nation. Then I think: poetry is the essence of a nation, and stories are the legends of a family.
When my grandma passed away, my father was eight years old, and my sister-in-law, who was less than one year old, was still looking for milk in the arms of my grandma who had died. The fourth grandma picked up her sister-in-law from her arms and put her withered nipple into her sister-in-law's mouth. With her other hand, she picked up her father and four-year-old uncle who were kneeling on the ground crying. So, my fourth grandma is my biological grandma.
My grandfather is the third child and the backbone of the four brothers; and my fourth grandmother is the most powerful one among the four sisters-in-law! The fourth grandmother’s surname is Zhao, nicknamed “Little Pepper”. It is said that my eldest grandma is kind and gentle and takes charge of the family's internal affairs. The second mistress is shrewd and loves to take advantage of her. From time to time she takes small things from her hut. When my fourth grandma wasn't married, as long as my eldest grandma didn't care, it was fine. After the fourth grandma got married, it took a long time to see her anymore.
In spring, chickens crow "cuckoo" every day, but there are not many eggs. One afternoon, Grandma Si called all three sisters-in-law out to look for eggs. If he didn't find it in the yard, he went to each small family to look for it. Start with yourself first, because you are the smallest. After finding 3 eggs at Second Grandma's house, Fourth Grandma quarreled with Second Grandma, yelling and swearing. Fourth Grandma got angry and jumped up (Second Grandma was taller, Fourth Grandma was shorter), pulled out Second Grandma's hair and beat her. The grandma went to start a fight, but the fourth grandma pushed her out with her arm. She sat on the ground and cried... From then on, the fourth grandma established her authority in the family.
When I was a child, I was most happy to play at my fourth grandma’s house. Listen to her tell stories: "Door Hook, Door Bolt Hook", "The Sheep-Herding Boy Lies" and other stories, as well as stories about our ancestors.
My grandfather’s grandfather’s grave is in front of a hillside in the northwest of the village. There is a catalpa tree forest, four of which cover the sky and the sun. A small stream at the foot of the mountain flows around like a jade belt. A southern Feng Shui master exclaimed on the way: "From now on people can have four officials!" Who knew that during the "Changmao Rebellion", the Nianzi Army passed by and cut down all the big catalpa trees on the mountain and took them to Muping City to do the work. fortifications. Grandpa's grandfather's ancestral grave was also opened up by the Nianzi Army. On the dark red coffin, kudzu vines as thick as a thumb were tightly entangled. The kudzu vines were cut off, and blood-red tears flowed out...
The earth's atmosphere was destroyed, and four gambling officials emerged from the descendants, namely my grandfather and four brothers!
My fourth grandma said that once my grandfather was gambling with fellow gamblers in the mountains and lost miserably, leaving no penny left. Grandpa said that I would make a last bet and use this acre of millet that will be ripe soon as a bet. If I lose, I will pinch it off tomorrow, grind it and deliver it to your house! This time I still lost. The next day, grandpa pinched off an acre of millet and pushed it home in a small cart. The ears of grain were very big and plump. Grandma smiled when she saw them and asked Grandpa to push them onto the roller. Grandma started to grind them and use a dustpan and fan. It took a whole afternoon to clean them. Grandpa looked at the sweating Grandma and said, "You can take a break and go home to do it." rice, I will carry the millet home." Grandpa picked up the millet and gave it to his gambling friends to pay off their debts. Grandma knows, that battle was fought in secret! Grandma, whose head was broken by her grandfather, ran back to her parents' home at one o'clock in the middle of the night, holding her child in her arms. Grandpa was scared, so he picked up his pole and ran to Rushan Pass in the west to pick fish late at night.
The next day, my grandma’s natal brothers came to the door, and the eldest, second and fourth masters all hid. My fourth grandma led the women with scissors, pushed out the old man, who was her father-in-law, and said, "If the man is not at home, you can beat him. You can't make the old man angry!" As soon as the other party saw it, he was discouraged and left helplessly. .
After my grandma died, my grandpa’s house basically became a gambling den. One time, Gong Benze, a native of Xujia Village in the west, acted like a fool when he lost. It happened that my fourth grandfather won that time and he refused to give him any money. My grandfather said, "You beat the fourth brother!" The fourth master went up and beat him. The next day, Miyamoto Ze went back to the village to find someone to beat my fourth grandfather, who hid. They went to find my grandfather again. My grandfather and my second uncle were driving a carriage back from the mountains, and they started to fight while talking. When my grandfather and second uncle were beating the five of them to a point where they were indistinguishable, my fourth grandma led her daughter and daughter-in-law and rushed forward with scissors. They beat and bit them until the five men fled away. From then on, my fourth grandma’s name “Little Pepper” became famous in the village.
My fourth grandma’s brother was my third uncle’s first teacher, and he was also an early underground party member in Jiaodong. After his identity was exposed, the fourth grandmother helped his brother escape. She refused to tell me how the Kuomintang township security team tortured my fourth grandma. She yelled at them, hit them with her head when they were not paying attention, and went on a hunger strike for two days without eating or drinking water. The security team saw that she couldn't survive and let her go home.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, when the whole village was undergoing co-operative development, the two houses to the east of our house served as the village kitchens. One day two steamed buns were missing, and the production team leader insisted that my mother had stolen them. When my mother refused to admit it, they criticized my mother, dragged her to the table and stood there, and kept putting bricks on her neck. My mother was originally a woman with small feet, her legs were trembling, and she was sweating like rain... My second sister was very anxious, and she immediately I went to find my fourth grandma. The fourth grandma trotted away, cursing as she ran, picked up the bricks and hit the production team leader to rescue my mother.
"You son of a bitch, you bully an honest person? Whoever bullies my niece-in-law again, I will stab his wife with scissors! I am a poor peasant, who am I afraid of? How did my brother recruit people like you to join the party?" Stirred up. Later, the village chief's father came forward and said that he took it home and ate it. Without the rescue of my fourth grandma, how would my kind-hearted mother have been humiliated...
Although I was short in childhood, I was also very naughty. I held a small stick in my hand and rushed around the streets all day long, leaving many scars on my head. Every time I suffered a loss, my fourth grandma took me to find my parents. The children were fighting, but as soon as they heard that "Little Pepper" was coming, they broke up.
My grandma suffered from paralysis in old age. My fourth grandma went to see her and said, "My mother-in-law, I didn't expect that people can reach this point when they are old. Alas..." Fourth grandma said with emotion, her bright eyes dim. . After returning home, Fourth Grandma bought a few bags of arsenic and hid it on the ceiling.
Two years later, the fourth grandmother unfortunately suffered a fracture and was paralyzed on the kang. After primary school, I went to see her. She grabbed my hand and placed a large piece of white and transparent rock candy. I held it in my mouth, and it felt sweet and cool. It was the first time in my life that I ate rock candy, and I will never forget it. It still feels sweet in my mouth when I think about it! After watching me finish eating the rock candy, my fourth grandma said, "I reserved this rock candy just for you. You are the youngest grandson of our Lao Wang family. Study hard and you will bring glory to our Lao Wang family in the future." I nodded. "There is a little bug on the ceiling. It comes out at night. Go find me a stick so I can beat it." Grandma Fourth said.
After I left, the Fourth Grandma used the stick I gave her to poke the arsenic off the ceiling and ate it...
This was the life of my fierce and strong Fourth Grandma.
About the author
Mo Yu, whose original name is Wang Xiuhua, was born in September 1963 in Yantai. Graduated from the Mathematics Department of Shandong Normal University in 1986, and currently serves as the deputy director of the Academic Affairs Office of Yantai Automotive Engineering Vocational College. He often publishes prose and poetry works in newspapers and magazines at all levels.