A century of poverty

Chapter 54 Earthquake!

On the afternoon of February 4, 1974, the militia company commander and production team leader of Da Liu Jia Brigade in Jin Hai District, LN Province, were patrolling the streets with a loudspeaker, shouting: "Attention everyone! We have received a notice from higher authorities that there will be a destructive earthquake today, which could come at any time. For your safety, you cannot stay indoors tonight. Take advantage of the daylight and be prepared!" They shouted as they went to the homes of elderly people to urge them on.

The outside temperature was below minus ten degrees Celsius. The elderly were reluctant to leave their homes, but the young people took action. Time was of the essence, and there was not much that could be done in the freezing cold. They dug a hole in the middle of the haystack and crawled inside to escape the severe cold.

That evening, people mustered their courage to cook and eat in their houses, and were hesitating about where to sleep when, just after 7:30, the earthquake struck. The terrifying sound came from nowhere, and then the earth shook violently. Instantly, children cried and adults screamed in the village, creating a chaotic and panicked scene.

Li Kongzhi and Zhang Yinhuan, a married couple who lived in the lower house of Liu Zhen's family, each held one of their two children and stood there blankly in the courtyard.

Liu Zhenyi shouted, "Li Kongzhi, what are you standing there for? It's so cold, go hide in the haystack for the night and we'll figure something out tomorrow."

The landlord's shouts reminded them, and they grabbed their child and crawled into the haystack. In the darkness, the two felt their shoes were wet, as if they were stepping in mud.

People spent the night in a state of panic and anxiety.

When dawn broke, Yin Huan came out of the haystack and saw that the water under the haystack had frozen, and the fine sand turned out from under the ice was bluish-gray.

People gradually emerged from the courtyards and haystacks along the street, greeting each other and asking questions. Walking around the streets, one could see several places with water seeping out and sand churning, and several old houses with cracked walls, making them dangerous buildings.

During the day, people from both the brigade and the squads spread the word: those with relatives or friends in other places could seek refuge with them for a while, because there would still be aftershocks.

Yin Huan and Kong Zhi said, "That was close! If this crevice were that big, we would be gone if someone fell in. Let's go back to our hometown to take shelter. We haven't been back for over a year. It's a good time to go back and visit. We'll come back after the earthquake is over."

After tidying up my belongings and saying goodbye to the landlord, I rushed back to my parents' home on the night of the Lantern Festival (January 15th of the lunar calendar).

That evening, Mom brought her fourth sister to visit her niece Yin Huan's family, who had survived the disaster, and inquired about their situation.

I told them, "Come to my place for dinner tomorrow to calm your nerves. I won't be picking you up tomorrow morning; just head over early."

"Yes! Yes!" Yin Huan and his wife happily accepted.

After breakfast on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Yin Huan and her husband, Kong Zhi, brought their two children over. Yin Huan was carrying a small cloth bag: "Here are a few pounds of rice. Please let my second wife, uncle, and aunt try some. This Jin Hai rice is famous throughout the country for its delicious taste. I was in a hurry this time, and there were many people on the bus, so I didn't bring much. It's just a token of my appreciation."

Mom took the rice bag: "You came out like you were fleeing a disaster, but you didn't forget to take the rice. This is such good rice, it must be expensive. Come on, get on the kang (heated brick bed), sit down."

Yin Huan: "It's not cold at all. This rice is all from our own farm. Jin Hai is a paddy field, where we grow rice. There are no other crops, and every family eats this rice as their staple food."

Mom: "Really? That place is really nice, with such good rice. It's better that you and the children all came back safe and sound after the earthquake. Stay home a little longer, and go back when things are safer."

Li Kong said directly, "Yes, some houses were cracked by the earthquake, and there are still aftershocks. The brigade told those who had somewhere to go to take shelter, but there are many outsiders in those places. They all went back to their hometowns to take shelter after this earthquake, and they all have to go back to plant crops in the spring."

There are only a handful of local families there, mostly two or three generations old. There's plenty of land, patches of reeds growing everywhere. With so few people, they can't cultivate it all, so they're really looking for people. Anyone who comes will be granted residency; they're very welcoming. I heard they'll be paying wages soon…”

"Will you get paid soon? Then you'll be a master craftsman?" The second sister in the family heard that her second sister's family, who had gone to the Northeast, had returned, so she came to visit them. She could hear Li Kongzhi's voice from outside the door.

"If you're going to be a worker, are you going or not? If you are, I'll take you with me!" Li Kong said directly.

"I don't believe you, you're just spouting nonsense."

"This isn't an exaggeration, it's true. That's what everyone's saying."

The second sister entered the house, and Mom took her nephew off her back.

Huan'er stepped forward to greet them. Second Sister: "I thought we wouldn't see you this year, but the earthquake brought you all back!"

Huan'er: "That's right. It's been over a year since we met, and we haven't seen each other at all. Now that we've finally met, we have to have a good chat."

The two sisters then sat down and started chatting.

After Li Kongzhi and Huan'er got married, they had a daughter and a son three years later. Their daughter was named Xiaohong, and their son Xiaoli. They later moved to Jinhai in Northeast China. The two children inherited their parents' best features; both were fair-skinned with large, double-lidded eyes. Despite Huan'er's eye injury, she was strong-willed and always dressed her daughter and son beautifully, making them fashionable clothes by hand. Today, their daughter wore a red corduroy jacket, and their son wore a blue corduroy jacket. Both children wore matching orange plaid overalls, making them look even more beautiful and adorable.

Mom got off the kang (a heated brick bed) to cook, and the two children, seeing their great-grandmother get off, followed her, walking around on the floor. We looked after them, coaxing them to play. The slightly older Xiaohong was shy; she'd accept treats but wouldn't answer any questions. Xiaoli, however, was different. Wearing loose-crotch pants, she held onto the doorframe, lifting her little leg to step over the threshold. I liked to ask, "Xiaoli, how come you're so pretty?"

"Mmm!"

"Haha! Haha!" The child's innocent reply made us all laugh.

During the day, Huan'er, her husband, and my family chatted a lot about Jin Hai's situation. In the evening, we returned to my aunt's house.

When my older brother came home that evening, Dad talked to him about the situation in Jinhai area of ​​Northeast China, saying that it was easier to make a living there than here. There was food and fuel, and wages would be paid soon. Our food supply is constantly being transferred from one place to another, and we hardly make any money all year round. They're hiring there, recruiting a lot of people. People thrive when they move, but trees die when they're moved.

The older brother was also happy to hear this, and said, "Then let's go. It will save you from having to cover your cheeks and complain of toothaches every time you eat."

Dad: "If you'd like, you can have a detailed talk with them when you have time."

A couple of days later, we invited Huanjie and her husband over and told them that our family was interested in going to Jinhai. They readily agreed, saying, "Okay, okay, you can go." The team leader was overjoyed. "We'll go back in a few days, and Uncle will come with us to visit and meet the team leader."

That evening, our whole family was together, and Dad convened a family meeting: "If our family goes to Jinhai, would you all be willing to go to Huan'er's place?"

My third sister and I agreed. I've always been curious about the outside world, so of course I was happy to have the opportunity to go out. I didn't understand what it meant for the whole family to move away from our hometown. I guess my third sister and I thought similarly, simply viewing the move as a trip.

My second brother and younger brother didn't express any opinion. When asked, they replied that it didn't matter whether they went or not, they had no objection.

Grandma and my fourth sister explicitly opposed it and refused. My fourth sister's reluctance was unspoken, but she simply refused. Grandma stated, "I'm over seventy years old, and I can't bear to leave my hometown. If I wanted to move, wouldn't I have gone to Heilongjiang that year? I don't know anyone here, and I don't want to go anywhere. But since you're all leaving, I have to go with you."

Dad and my older brother are willing, and Mom is obediently willing.

As a result, most agreed, and a few complied. Grandma no longer insisted on not agreeing. She said, "I'm just a mat-presser. I sit on the mat all day, afraid it will be blown away by the strong wind. If you all live well in the Northeast, I don't care. As long as I have my mat, I can be buried wherever I die."

Even if it passes.

At the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, Huanjie said that Li Kongzhu from Lizhuangtuo, who had come back with them, said that they should pack up and go back to Jinhai after the second day of the second lunar month. Dad decided to go to Jinhai with them to take a look and see for himself.

After changing trains twice, they arrived at Jinhai Railway Station that evening. The eight members of Li Kongzhi's and Li Kongzhu's families stayed overnight at their in-laws' house. The father, not wanting to trouble others, spent the night at the train station's ticket office. The next morning, Li Kongzhi came over and called, "Uncle, let's go! Let's go to the bus station, take another bus, and we'll be home."

"We've arrived at Dagoubang! Anyone getting off at Dagoubang, please come forward," the conductor called out.

The two families got up, and Dad followed them out of the car.

Huan'er called to her father, "Uncle, it's only two miles back from here."

On the black asphalt road, they walked along the dirt sidewalk. Li Kongzhi had two floral cloth bags draped over his shoulders, one in front and one behind, while Huan'er carried Xiao Li, with Xiao Hong beside them.

Li Kongzhu also carried a bag on his shoulder, his wife held their daughter who was about the same age as Xiaoli, and their son who was about the same age as Xiaohong followed by them.

Li Kongzhu was of medium height, honest and quiet. His wife sang, she sang Shimenren, she was about the same height as Li Kongzhu, with two big dimples on her round face, and her curly hair was combed into two small braids that reached her shoulders.

The group walked back, talking as they went. Kong pointed directly to the large rice paddies to the north of the road: "This is our team's land."

After passing the paved road and crossing a cement bridge, you reach a dirt road that allows cars to pass each other. On both sides of the road are relatively deep ditches. The streets leading down to the houses on both sides are paved with cement pipes more than a meter in diameter that can be used for water drainage.

Li Kongzhu's family went east down the main road to a place with a few houses.

Father followed Huan'er and the others forward, crossed two streets, went west off the main road, passed two earthen houses and courtyards, and arrived at the third earthen house and courtyard. In the courtyard with the earthen walls reaching their knees, there were three upper rooms and two lower rooms to the east. Huan'er's family lived in the lower rooms.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, a short man, around fifty years old, came out from the main house and greeted me warmly: "Brother, brother, buddy, you're back? You're back? Come on, come on, come to the main house and wait for me. It's been cold there these past few days because there's no fire burning!"

Huan'er introduced, "This is the landlord, and this is my uncle."

Landlord Liu Zhen blinked and smacked his lips, "Ahhh, Uncle! Please come in quickly." He warmly ushered them into the house.

Upon entering, a mattress was laid out on the kang (a heated brick bed), and a very thin woman was sitting on it.

Huan'er: "Sister-in-law, this is my eldest father. He's come to visit us."

Sister-in-law: "Ah! It's Uncle. Welcome to our little corner. Come, sit on the kang (heated brick bed). Come on in. Sit in this room first, and then you can go over there after the fire is lit in the other room."

Seeing that I was ill, I couldn't even get out of bed to greet them.

Dad: "Not at all, you're too kind."

The woman had sunken eyes and a flushed face, and she sluggishly moved further inside.

It's clear that if she weren't seriously ill, she would be a woman with good features and a pleasant demeanor.

At the host's warm invitation, Dad sat down and began to chat with them. They were very pleased to learn that Dad had come to visit and intended to settle down there.

The woman said, "Later tonight, I'll have his older brother take you to Captain Liu Hongpei's house. You've come at the right time; they're recruiting right now. With so many people in your family, you have a few able-bodied members, which is exactly what they need here."

After saying that, he rested by the window.