Chapter 2

She was lucky to have such a good time. In 1955 and 1956, Shandong Province had just opened a mechanical college. She was one of the first batch of students and after graduation she was assigned to work in a machinery factory in Changde.

Just as Du Yimeng was daydreaming, they arrived at the third row of the family compound, the Du family.

“Sister, you’re back. I missed you so much. Mom, Dad and sister are back…” A shirtless young boy in shorts was sitting at the door. When he saw Du Weihai and Du Yimeng, he suddenly stood up and shouted into the house.

When Du Yimeng saw Du Yibei, the fifth son of the Du family, say this, a faint smile appeared on her face involuntarily. He sat at the door waiting for her in the hot weather. It seemed that he really missed her.

This brat still has some conscience, it’s worth it that I love him so much.

The last time she came back was during the winter vacation. Lao Wu seemed to have grown a little taller, but looked thinner.

Speaking of names, Du Yimeng was very glad that she was the eldest. Her younger brothers’ names were East, West, North and South respectively. If she were the fifth, she would not be called Du Yimeng, but Du Yi Zhong. The thought of it was scary.

The next move by Lao Wu made her smile freeze on her face, and the outstretched hand of Akang was also messed up in the wind.

“Mom… make the dumplings quickly…” The fifth child Du Yibei shouted while running. As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed back into the house.

Du Yimeng: …

He thought he was waiting for her, but it turned out that the clown was herself. Is this what he called wanting?

Sure enough, that saying is not wrong, it is better to beat your brother as early as possible.

“You little brat, don’t you know how to get something for your sister?” Du Weihai cursed with a cold face.

If someone asked him who his favorite child was, of course it would be his daughter.

Not only is his daughter his first child, but more importantly, she is sensible and filial, has good academic performance, and brings him honor.

Ever since his daughter was admitted to technical secondary school, he has been the most handsome guy in the entire machinery factory and the envy of everyone.

When someone suggested that he should love his son, he scoffed. He said that the last thing he lacked was a son, so what was there to love about him?

When Du Yimeng heard her father’s words, her heart, which had been so hurt by Lao Wu, felt warmed a little. In fact, she only had two small bags in her hands, and her father carried all the other things.

“sister……”

“sister……”

Two more people rushed out of the house. They were the third brother Du Yinan and the fourth brother Du Yixi.

The third brother was a bit introverted. When he saw Du Yimeng taking the things from her hands, the fourth brother became a bit jumpy and kept circling around her. The two brothers simultaneously ignored their father who was walking in front.

Instead of being angry, Du Weihai nodded with satisfaction.

The Du family had only three rooms, one of which was divided into two small rooms, where the four Du brothers lived. Father and mother Du lived in one room, and the other was the living room and dining room combined.

The room where Du’s father and mother lived was also divided into two small rooms, and the other small room was Du Yimeng’s room.

As for the kitchen, we built a small house outside with wooden boards to serve as the kitchen, otherwise it would be impossible to stay in the house in the summer.

“Sister is finally back. If she hadn’t come back, the threshold of our house would have been trampled down by the fifth brother.” The fourth brother joked.

“Fourth brother, didn’t you run out to take a look twice?” The fifth brother was not happy and retorted immediately.

As a result, the fourth brother just glared at him, and he immediately became timid again. The fifth brother’s personality is the kind of person who is naughty, likes to talk nonsense, and is very timid.

It’s no wonder that he is so timid. After all, he has three older brothers, any one of whom can beat him up.

“Okay, everyone, shut up. Anyone who keeps making trouble will not be allowed to eat tonight.” Du’s mother Wang Yanhong yelled, and everyone became obedient. Even Du Weihai shook subconsciously.

“Da Meng, are you hot? You must be tired. Mom made some dumplings for you and you can eat them soon.” Du’s mother, who had a ferocious face just now, immediately changed her face in the next second. She could perform Sichuan Opera face-changing without any props.

No one was surprised. Du’s mother yelled at everyone she saw, but when it came to Du Yimeng, she remembered that she was a kind mother.

“Meat-filled…” Lao Wu muttered softly. His family hadn’t seen meat for two or three months. His mother bought half a pound of meat early in the morning.

He usually loves to play with his friends, and today he especially likes to make matchboxes.

“Mom, I’m not tired. Where’s Xiaodong?” Du Yimeng looked around and found that the second child Du Yidong was not there.

“Sister, my second brother is now an apprentice in a machinery factory and hasn’t finished get off work yet.” Du’s mother was about to speak when the conversation was interrupted by the fifth brother.

“When did it happen?” Du Yimeng asked. Xiaodong did not mention this matter when he wrote to her last time.

Du Yidonggang is eighteen years old this year. He failed to get into high school and has graduated from junior high school for a year. He has no job and can only do odd jobs outside.

He worked so hard that he could only earn 10 yuan a month. Fortunately, the forced relocation of educated youth to the countryside was in 1966, otherwise Du Yidong would not have escaped this fate.

The Du family has two siblings every two years, which means that Du’s mother has been busy for more than ten years. As the saying goes, a pack of sanitary napkins has been used for more than ten years and has not been used up.

“More than a month ago, because of my second brother’s job, all our money was gone. We used to have three steamed buns for a meal, but now we can only have two. Mom… why did you hit me?” Du’s mother was about to speak, but was interrupted by the fifth brother.

Du’s mother was so angry that she kicked him. Why is this brat so rude?

All her words have been taken away from her, what did she say?

Lao Wu’s face was full of grievance. Every day, he would feel hungry just after finishing his meal and before he even left the family compound. He would want to take a bite of everything he saw. Why wasn’t he allowed to speak?

The family chatted and joked, and after the dumplings were cooked, Du Yidonggang just got off work.

“Sister…” The tall and thin young man showed a silly smile on his face when he saw Du Yimeng. Don’t think that Du Yidonggang is a simple and honest person, quite the opposite.

Although he appears to be simple and honest, he is actually quite shrewd, otherwise how could he, a teenager working as a temporary worker, compete with other adults.

His sister is finally back. He doesn’t know if his mother is in menopause now. She scolds everyone she sees and is only gentle to his sister.

Du’s mother: Now the food ration has been reduced, and the whole family’s food, drink, defecation and urination are all on her shoulders. The most important thing is that the food price has increased, and she is worried…

The family sat around the table, happily eating dumplings. Du Yimeng picked up a dumpling, put it in his mouth and chewed it carefully. Even though there was some cornmeal mixed in the flour, it still tasted better than the noodles of later generations.

Suddenly, she felt a fiery gaze falling on her, or to be exact, on the bowl in front of her. She looked up and saw that it was Lao Wu.

Her eyes moved down to Lao Wu’s bowl. The large bowl of dumplings was empty. She only ate two dumplings in the bowl, but he finished them all.

When Du’s mother served the dumplings, she always counted them, twenty per person, no more.

Her eyes fell on the bowls of the third and fourth sons, and she saw that they had also finished eating, except for the second son Du Yidonggang, who still had two pieces left in his bowl.