◎ Being Remembered ◎ 

“Sister Baozhen, where are you going in such a hurry?” 

The leader of the scoundrels is named He Dazhuang. He had no family left, lived in the mountains behind the village, had no education, and spent his days committing petty crimes. He often made flirtatious remarks to young women, especially Liang Baozhen. 

He had been cautious of Liang’s family before, and Song Chunhua was not easy to deal with. Then there was concern about offending the director of the state-owned factory in the city. But when he heard that Liang Baozhen’s engagement had been broken off, he was overjoyed. A girl with a broken engagement was like a piece of fat meat to him; he couldn’t wait to take a bite. 

Liang Baozhen didn’t respond and tried to walk past them. The more she talked to them, the more disadvantaged she would be. They had no sense of shame or reputation and even hoped to entangle themselves with her in such a way that she couldn’t clear herself of the mess later. 

“Hey, hey, hey, why are you leaving now?” He Dazhuang stretched out his hand to stop her. In his opinion, Liang Baozhen, who had called off an engagement, was not as precious as before, so she couldn’t pretend anymore. “Baozhen, you’re not getting married anymore, are you waiting for me?” 

“Dazhuang, Baozhen is indeed waiting for you to be her groom.” 

“Of course! It would be great to marry our Brother Dazhuang. You can be the head of the family and whatever you say goes.” 

He Dazhuang was flattered by his little brother’s words and seemed to believe that he and Liang Baozhen were at the stage of discussing marriage. When he looked at Liang Baozhen, even after her engagement was broken, she was still so beautiful with her fair, delicate face, and he couldn’t help but want to touch her. 

Lost in thought, he stretched out his hand, and Liang Baozhen was so scared that she put the hoe in the basket in front of his chest, “What are you doing? My hoe has no eyes.” 

The village scoundrels are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. If you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. 

“Wow, you’re really a little firecracker.” He Dazhuang spat on the ground and clapped his hands. “Is it because I didn’t come to propose? Don’t worry, I’ll prepare a gift.” 

“Stop associating yourself with me.” Liang Baozhen glared at him with determined eyes. “If you keep blocking me, I’ll cut you.” 

Seeing that Liang Baozhen looked serious, He Dazhuang and the others stepped aside and watched her leave quickly. A warm breeze blew by, carrying a faint fragrant scent. 

When she returned home and saw that no one was at home, Liang Baozhen first dealt with the gold bars in the basket. 

The book says that Grandpa Liang had been living with Liang Zhigao’s family. He once hid the gold bars under the closet in the house. He even knocked several stones for it, but he was still uneasy. People searched their house from time to time during that period. He was worried that if the gold bars were really found, he would not be able to explain it. So, he took them out and buried them outside. 

He never used even one of them before he passed away. 

The house where Grandpa Liang lived in the past is now occupied by Liang Zhigao and Song Chunhua. Liang Baozhen went to her parents’ room, moved the wardrobe with great effort, and knocked on the floor. She heard a sound that didn’t seem right. 

Carefully, she pried open the gap between the stones, revealing the spot where the gold bars were stored. 

The twelve gold bars were placed in one by one, and then the stones were placed on top. The wardrobe was moved back to its original position, and there was no sign of any problem at all. 

It was safer to keep the gold bars at home rather than taking them out. 

After finishing the work, Liang Baozhen’s face was covered with sweat. She stood up and went to the kitchen, picked up the gourd ladle floating on the large ceramic jar, scooped a ladle of water, and poured it on her arm. The cool well water brought a faint coolness, which relieved some of the heat. 

Seeing that there was only half of the water left in the ceramic jar, Liang Baozhen took a wooden bucket to the yard to draw water from the well. With a splash, she filled the bucket and pulled it up with effort. 

“Baozhen, I’m going to find Aunt Lai right now. Don’t worry—I’ll come to propose tomorrow!” He Dazhuang, passing by the Liang family’s house, shouted into the yard. The tall wall couldn’t contain his eagerness. With the help of two of his little brothers, he climbed over the fence. Half of his face showed as he saw Liang Baozhen fetching water. “Do you need help with the water? Don’t tire yourself out.” 

Liang Baozhen carried a bucket of water and hurried to the courtyard wall. He Dazhuang saw someone coming and felt that something was going to happen. He grinned and was about to speak when he was splashed with well water in the face and was chilled to the bone. 

“Ow!” 

The unexpected splash of water knocked He Dazhuang to the ground, and Liang Baozhen laughed as she listened to the sound of people falling to the ground outside. 

The two scoundrels who were being stepped on couldn’t help but curse a few words, and as a result, He Dazhuang scolded them twice, and the three of them went to Aunt Lai’s house. 

***

When Song Chunhua returned to her house, she was puzzled by the puddle of water outside her courtyard wall. After learning what had happened, she was quite angry. “How dare anyone just come out like that? Just wait until tomorrow, I’ll definitely teach these people a lesson.”

 

Liang Zhigao and Liang Baojun had not returned from the city yet, so the six of them had dinner together. That evening, Song Chunhua generously made a steamed egg dish with soy sauce and chopped green onions, and let the children eat it. 

At home, Liang Baoling and Mengmeng were still growing, so the adults didn’t fight over the food. However, Liang Baoling ate absentmindedly. 

She kept hearing the villagers talking about her third sister these days, and she was not happy. She heard from Aunt Hu that today was originally the day of her third sister’s wedding, but the marriage that could have allowed her to marry into the city was ruined, and her third sister must be so sad that she couldn’t eat. 

When she turned around, she saw her third sister eating happily. She had finished most of the bowl of sweet potato porridge and was ready to have another bowl. 

Liang Baoling: “…” 

Liang Baozhen went out in the afternoon and was really hungry. She ate a bowl of porridge with some cabbage and only felt better after that. 

“Sister, eat this,” Liang Baoling offered a spoonful of the steamed egg dish to her sister. 

“What’s the matter? Just eat yours. There’s not much left.” Liang Baozhen was about to scoop it back for her younger sister. 

“Sister, you eat, then sleep and forget everything.” Her sister must have been very sad to eat so much, because that’s just how she is. 

*** 

In the evening, Liang Zhigao and Liang Baojun, who had gone into the city, came back. They took a break and drank a bowl of water before talking. 

The Chen family was quite straightforward about breaking off the engagement. This time, it was originally Chen Siming’s fault. Although he himself was unwilling, he was restricted and only the head of the State Cotton Factory, Chen Yong, and his wife, were able to meet with the Liang family. 

Chen Siming’s mother, Guo Mingli, and Liang Zhigao exchanged each other’s marriage birth chart. She sincerely apologized to the Liang family. Since the bride price and dowry had not yet been paid, and only the amount had been agreed upon, there were no major complications. 

“When we came into the city this time, we heard that Chen Siming’s position as head of the purchasing office had been suspended. They said he needed follow-up observation and is now attending reeducation classes every day,” Liang Baojun said, finally feeling a bit relieved. 

Before the Liang family members could react, Song Jianguo anxiously asked, “Has he really been dismissed?” 

He thought that with the position of Chen Siming’s father as the factory director, it shouldn’t have much impact. 

Liang Baojun crossed his legs and looked quite pleased. “It seems that the higher-ups are cracking down hard. Since Chen Siming is the factory director’s son, they want to set an example. Anyway, he won’t have a good time for a while; they’re keeping a close watch on him.” 

Song Chunhua almost clapped in approval. “Serves him right!” 

“Okay, let’s not mention this anymore.” Liang Zhigao looked at his daughter and felt that she was unlucky to have encountered such a bad thing. 

*** 

In the State Cotton Factory’s staff dormitory in the city, Chen family home. 

Chen Siming had lost his former spirit. This week, he had to attend reeducation classes every day and write a handwritten report. He was also used as an example for reform speeches. His work position had also been temporarily taken over by someone else. After all, he was the factory director’s son and the head of the purchasing office. 

All the glory of the past twenty years was now completely ruined! 

If it weren’t for Dong Jiayan, he wouldn’t have been discovered, and Baozhen wouldn’t have rejected him. He didn’t want to break off the engagement. Although Baozhen and her mother had mishandled the situation and made it too big, they were women, so it was normal for them to think less clearly when something happened. 

He could have waited until after the wedding to slowly teach her. 

“Mother, are you really breaking off the engagement?” Guo Mingli resolved the trouble caused by her son and then entered Chen Siming’s room. 

Chen Yong had already ordered that Chen Siming must not be allowed out today to avoid affecting the engagement cancellation. 

“Of course, I did.” Guo Mingli, who had just put on an act in front of the Liang family, now felt embarrassed. She had to humble herself in front of two country bumpkins. If Chen Yong hadn’t forced her to do it, she wouldn’t have wanted to pay any attention to them. 

“This matter won’t affect my marriage to Baozhen…Mother, please talk to Father about it.” At this moment, Chen Siming was completely different from the arrogant look he had in the factory. He just kept begging Guo Mingli. 

“It’s useless!” Guo Mingli doted on her child, but she knew what was important. Chen Yong was under close scrutiny lately, and the higher-ups were evaluating his work and life. With her son causing a scandal at this crucial time, it was just adding trouble for her husband. “Siming, calm down and take the reeducation class first. Do whatever you are told to do and cooperate well. We can start over again after this period of chaos has passed.” 

After saying that, she turned and left. 

“Mother!” Chen Siming felt a lump in his throat when he saw his mother, who had always loved him, decisively walk away. Now that the Liang family had left and there was no one to lock him up, he turned his eyes around and walked out of the house carefully. 

It was past eleven o’clock, and the streets of Beijing were quiet. Chen Siming was enjoying the night breeze and gulping down a glass of wine. He felt bad. His work was suspended, he had made a fool of himself, and he had lost his good marriage partner… 

He smashed the glass bottle on the ground, and the drunken man started cursing, “It’s all your fault! You are all picking on me… you just can’t stand to see me do well!” 

Boom 

A blow to the back of Chen Siming’s head made him cry out in pain. As he tried to turn around, he was kicked to the ground and continued to be hit. 

“Who! Oh, oh!” Holding his head with both hands, Chen Siming kept begging for mercy, “Stop, stop, what do you want? Money? I have it in my pocket, stop.” 

After being hit several times, Chen Siming felt someone snatch the watch from his wrist. He fell to the ground, raised his head, and tried to look around with his eyes open, but he saw no one and gradually lost consciousness. 

***

At seven in the morning, the Liang family was having breakfast in the courtyard and getting ready to go to work. 

“Baoling, where is your second brother?” 

Song Chunhua had not seen her son all morning and wondered where he had gone. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t see him either.” No one in the Liang family had seen him. 

But this is not surprising. People go up to the mountains early in the morning to pick something from time to time. 

Just as they were talking, Liang Baojun came back into the courtyard, looking exhausted. 

“Mother, Brother is back,” Liang Baoling said, pointing with her chin. 

“Baojun, where have you been?” Song Chunhua looked at her son, who seemed like he hadn’t slept well.

 

Liang Baojun pounded his trembling legs twice and shook his hands, he was really tired. He had secretly ridden the commune’s bicycle into the city last night, beaten someone up, and ridden back overnight. He had just put the bicycle back and come home. 

“Oh, I was bothered by mosquitoes all night and couldn’t sleep. I’ll go back and take a nap.” He spoke weakly. He hadn’t slept all night, and he could hardly open his eyes. 

Liang Baozhen thought that her second brother had gone out in the morning and come back again. “Go back and lie down again.” 

“Oh, it’s so hard to release some anger,” Liang Baojun muttered to himself, then went back to his room and fell asleep. 

After breakfast, the Liang fa

mily planned to ask for half a day off for Liang Baojun and then head out to work themselves. 

However, there were guests early in the morning. Song Chunhua saw her sister-in-law Fang Yuehe coming in with a basket of oranges, she said, “Chunhua, the weather is good today. I came to congratulate you.” 

“Congratulate me? For what?” Song Chunhua didn’t look happy. She didn’t collect the things and pushed the basket away. It seemed insincere. 

“A huge congratulations! I’ve found a good match for Baozhen!”