The young couple rested early in the evening, and early the next morning, the young couple packed their things and prepared to go home.
Su Anying's natal family is in Daying Commune. From Dongjiang River to Daying, she has to walk to Zhuzhuigang, then take a train from Zhuzhuangg to Xianrenqiao, and then walk from Xianrenqiao to Daying.
If you look at it from the map, walking like this is equivalent to going around half a circle. It is better to take the mountain road from Dongjiang River and go straight to Daying.
But the mountain road was rugged and difficult, and there was a section of the road where you had to climb rocks, which was really dangerous, so Xu Shiyan would rather play it safe.
Walking more than eight miles north from the Dongjiang River, you will reach Qingling where Xu Shide teaches. Walking another seven or eight miles north, you will arrive at the Zhuge Gang boarding station.
Zhugegang is the pronunciation of Zhugegang, which means dead person in Korean.
During the Japanese puppet period, the Keshan disease epidemic in Zhuzhuigang area killed many people, so this place name was left behind.
The Hunbai Railway started construction in 1958 and was fully opened to traffic in 1974.
There are express trains and local trains from Baihe to Tonghua and Baihe to Shenyang several times a day. Together with the Linglin train, it is quite convenient to go to Xianrenqiao.
At 5:10, there happened to be a bus coming into the station along the zero line. Xu Shiyan protected his wife and squeezed into the bus, paid for his ticket and sat down.
Alongside trains are freight trains with two carriages attached to carry passengers, most of which are short distances.
The trains of this era were still old-fashioned steam engines that burned coal, and someone was responsible for filling the coal into the boiler.
When encountering an uphill slope, I added coal in advance. The train was suffocating and emitting black smoke as it squeaked up the slope.
It’s a total of 24-5 miles from Zhuzhuigang to Xianrenqiao, with one stop in the middle at Huangjiaweizi. The car along the road was slow, and after about 20 minutes, we arrived at Xianrenqiao.
After leaving Xianrenqiao Station and walking west for five or six miles, you will arrive at Daying Village, where Daying Commune is located, also called Daying Brigade.
There are many place names with the word "ying" in Fusong area, most of which are related to ginseng.
In 1910, Xie Taixin, a large-scale merchant in Yingkou, hired more than 100 workers and set up a relatively large Bangchui camp here, so this place was later called Daying.
As soon as the young couple entered the village entrance carrying their things, they were spotted by children playing outside. They cheered and many children gathered around to make noises.
"Oh, oh, the second sister of the Su family is leading her son-in-law back home." A group of children were shouting there, making Su Anying's face turn red.
"Okay, okay, don't make a fuss. Give each of you a piece of candy and let's play together."
Xu Shiyan took out a handful of candies from his pocket and distributed them to the children to prevent them from causing mischief.
Nowadays, life is hard, and for the children, getting a piece of candy means it’s almost the Chinese New Year, and they jump with joy.
"Quickly, go to Su's house and report that the second sister has returned with her son-in-law."
The leader of the children had candy in his mouth and gave vague instructions.
As soon as the two boys heard this, they rushed out with a swish. Su Anying was so frightened that she shouted to them to run slower and not to choke on the candy in their mouths.
"It's okay, we're all used to being wild." Xu Shiyan smiled and shook his head.
Children these days are all out in the wild, going crazy all day long, not caring about anything, they are so skinny.
The couple walked side by side toward the village, followed by a group of children. From time to time they met several old men and women on the road.
"Hey, isn't this the third son of Lao Xu's family? Is he accompanying his wife back home today?
Good guy, you still have these old things with you, no wonder people say that the life of Lao Xu’s family is better, it’s true.” Someone said with emotion.
The ancestors of the Xu family came to Northeast China by crossing the Guandong River, and initially lived in Shijiagou, Yinkuangzi Village, Qingshangou Township, Kuandian.
As the name of Shijiagou suggests, the ground is full of stones. You can hear movement on this hillside and on that hillside.
The land is barren, food production is low, and poverty is very high.
It is said that the poorer you get, the lazier you become. This is true. When Xu Chenghou was young, he was not only lazy, but also loved gambling. He often went out to make money and could not see anyone for ten days and a half.
When he wins money, he buys a lot of delicious food. When he loses, he beats his wife and scolds his children when he comes home.
The family was so poor that they didn't even have firewood for the fire. When it was time to cook, Zhou Guilan had to go to the back mountain to collect firewood. On rainy days, it was difficult to light the fire.
After liberation, people like Xu Chenghou became the targets of hatred.
If Zhou Guilan's mother hadn't given them the idea to move out, Xu Chenghou would have been arrested long ago.
In the autumn of 1957, Xu Chenghou and Zhou Guilan moved to Fusong with their children.
Maybe the old lady of the Zhou family worked hard, or maybe Xu Chenghou repented.
Xu Chenghou changed his mind and worked hard to earn work points, and successfully established himself in Daying.
It's a pity that in 1967 and 1968, Xu Shixian was jumping up and down and writing "dark materials" about commune leaders.
If you offend others, you will be ostracized everywhere and cannot survive in the camp.
It happened that in the 1970s, Xu Shide became a substitute teacher and taught along the Dongjiang River. The family had no choice but to move to live along the Dongjiang River.
The Xu family has only been away from the camp for seven years, and there are relatives here who often move around, so most people know Xu Shiyan.
Seeing Xu Shiyan returning home with his wife, he couldn't help but say hello and chat for a few words.
The Su family was on the edge of a small river in the middle of the village. Before they could cross the bridge, they saw Su Anying's fifth sister Su Anfang and sixth sister Su Anhua running towards them.
"Second sister, second brother-in-law, you are back. My parents were still talking about it this morning, wondering if the second sister would be able to come back today."
Su Anfang rushed over, squeezed Xu Shiyan away, and reached out to hug the second sister's left arm.
"Just now, a few boys came to report that the second sister was back.
My parents were very happy and asked us to come out to greet her." Su Anhua hugged her sister's right arm.
The sisters of the Su family have a very good relationship, especially the fifth and sixth children, who have been on Su Anying's back since she was a child, so they are particularly affectionate when they see her sister come back.
Xu Shiyan was squeezed away by the two sisters-in-law, but he was not annoyed. He just smiled and followed behind with his things.
Cross the bridge, turn north, and walk outside the main gate of Su's house.
The Su family lives by the river in three adobe houses.
The roof is made of wood thatch split into pieces as thick as a finger and more than a foot long. The locals call it "thatch house."
Daying has a large population, and the Su family is in the middle of the village, so the yard is not very big, and the staff is clamped with a piece of wood as high as one person.
The two wooden doors without door brackets were open at the moment. Su Anzhen, the third eldest son of the Su family, and Su Anfen, the fourth eldest son of the Su family, were standing in the yard, looking out eagerly.
As soon as they saw Su Anying and his wife, they immediately became happy and shouted into the room.
"Dad, Mom, it's really my second sister and second brother-in-law who are back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Weizhong, the old man of the Su family, and his wife Han Cai'e came out of the house, and happened to meet Xu Shiyan and his wife.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back." When Su Anying saw her parents, she couldn't help it, with tears in her eyes.
"Father-in-law, mother-in-law, I will accompany Yingzi back to pay homage to the two elders." Xu Shiyan stepped forward and saluted, which was owed to him in his previous life.
"Hey, hey, it's good to come back, it's good to come back, hurry up, come in the house, come in the house."
Su Weizhong seemed very excited and hurriedly called Xu Shiyan and his wife into the house.