Chapter 12 Taboo Topics in the Zhang Family August after the beginning of autumn is the best time of the year for farmers. The temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, fruits and grains are ripe, and the autumn harvest has slowly begun: picking red dates, cutting rice, picking peanuts, pulling soybeans... Everywhere is a prosperous and lively rural pastoral Yunqi had been resting at home. He had an injury on his leg. Although it was not serious and the wound would scab over after a few days of rest, Zhang's mother did not let him participate in the autumn harvest. He had heard about Zhao Siping's arrest, which was spread by the village gossip center. That day at the Jiangchuan City Public Security Bureau, Ji Zhong called the county public security bureau leader in front of him, but he did not expect the county public security bureau to act so quickly and launched an operation to arrest Zhao Siping the next day. This time Zhao Siping is completely finished. Zhang Yunqi estimated that with the things he had done, it would take at least three to five years for him to get out. In fact, everyone in the tobacco industry knew all about these activities, but there was no grudge between them, so no one reported them. However, he had lived two lives, and he was not the kind of person who would let others ride on his head and pee and shit on him. He told Ji Zhong about this matter, and Ji Zhong gave a few suggestions to the director of the Fengyang County Public Security Bureau. The county economic investigation team launched an investigation and caught one after another. To some extent, the fact that this matter could be done so smoothly was because he and Ji Zhong had reached a tacit understanding. Ji Zhong solved this problem for him, and he also helped Ji Zhong solve a big problem. It is estimated that Ji Zhong has personally led the team to capture the suspect in the rape and murder case, and his official career will definitely add a glorious resume of varying degrees. Zhang Yunqi told his eldest brother about the whole incident. Ever since he stayed at the Fengyang County Tobacco Control Office for one night, his eldest brother had been feeling uneasy. His mother also knew a little bit about the inside story. After all, he was injured and couldn't hide it. Their mother was very worried and asked the two brothers to stop the business. The eldest brother no longer objected, not to mention Zhang Yunqi, who had long wanted to quit. So the Zhang family ended the business early, and the eldest brother usually took on work in the town. In those days, rural transportation was in short supply. With a tractor at home, there was no need to worry about having nothing to do. He could make at least five trips a day. Sometimes he was so busy that he didn't go home all day. Although his income was far less than that of the flue-cured tobacco business, it was a stable and long-term business. It can be said that my brother's new business has ushered in a new prosperity, and he is down-to-earth and motivated. When the women in Yunxi Village talk about him, they all give him a thumbs up and praise him. In recent days, I can't count the number of slaps I have given to people I have introduced to me. Aunt Zhang was very concerned about the marriage of the eldest son in the family. She had secretly inquired about the girls introduced by the matchmaker, and when she took a fancy to the girl who looked well-behaved and efficient, she whispered to Zhang Yunfeng.
Zhang Yunfeng disagreed with all of them and rejected them all. Aunt Zhang kept complaining and nagging him whenever she had time: "You don't like this, and you don't want that. What are you doing? Even the golden phoenix in the sky can't land in our family." One day, the Zhang family was having dinner when Erpang, the youngest son of Zhang Jingui, the village committee director, called out at the door: "Uncle Yunfeng, there's a call for you." "Who's calling?" "Aunt Xiaonan." Zhang Yunfeng put down his bowl and went to the village committee. Chunlan looked at her brother's back and smiled secretly. Zhang Yunqi reached out and patted her head: "What are you laughing at? Don't let your imagination run wild." Chunlan snorted, "I'm not imagining things, this is obvious." Zhang Yunqi was speechless. Chunlan's words seemed to be correct. Zhang Xiaonan was also from Yunxi Village, but she had already flown away and was now living in Jiangchuan City. When she was young, she and her eldest brother grew up together and went to elementary school together. Later, Zhang Xiaonan went to the county town to attend middle school, and her eldest brother returned to the village to become a farmer because of poverty. But she was still as good to her eldest brother as before. Later, she taught junior high school at Jiangchuan City No. 1 Middle School. Every time she came back to the village, she would always visit their home and chat with her eldest brother. The two could be considered childhood sweethearts, but Zhang Yunqi wasn't sure what the relationship was. At least they hadn't been together in their previous life. In less than half an hour, Zhang Yunfeng came back. He took a ladle of water from the water tank and drank it, then said, "Yunqi, your sister Xiaonan called to talk about your studies." Aunt Zhang next to him was very curious: "What did she say?" Zhang Yunfeng said: "Xiaonan hopes Yunqi will go to Jiangchuan No. 1 Middle School." "I've already applied for a technical secondary school, why would I go to No. 1 Middle School?" "It doesn't matter. Xiaonan said that with Yunqi's grades, he can go to any school. The admissions office of the No. 1 Middle School in the city also hopes that he will go. She also said that the country is developing faster and faster now, and what is needed in the future is no longer technical secondary school talents with basic skills, but talents with higher education. Going to high school and taking the college entrance examination is the right way." Mother Zhang was completely confused. She had no idea what the difference was between attending a technical secondary school and attending high school. In her eyes, her son was studying to bring honor to the family so that he could become a civil servant and live a good life in the future. Zhang Yunfeng said to Zhang Yunqi, "I think what Xiaonan said makes sense, but there are also advantages to studying in a technical secondary school. Anyway, I have only studied for a few days, so it is difficult for me to say anything. You are not a child anymore, so make up your mind first." Zhang Yunqi said directly: "Whether to go to a technical secondary school or a high school, let's wait for the admissions office of the No. 1 Middle School to arrive before we decide."
He knew in his heart that he still had to study at such a young age. Although the family had been poor over the years, his mother had spared no effort in his upbringing. His eldest brother only graduated from elementary school. Although Chunlan had good grades, the idea of favoring boys over girls was deeply rooted in rural areas at that time. To some extent, he carried the hopes of the entire family on his shoulders. In fact, during this summer in his previous life, many people from high school admissions offices approached him. After all, he was the top scorer in the high school entrance exam and was very popular. But his family was so poor at that time that he had no other choice. In order to start working early to support his family, he finally chose a technical secondary school. In this life, he had long decided not to go to a technical secondary school, so the only choice was high school. Jiangchuan No. 1 High School, as the best high school in the city, was naturally his best choice. Of course, this thing was asked by others, so he had to be polite. After lunch, Zhang Ma went to her private plot to cut sweet potato vines, Zhang Yunfeng went to school to pull bricks, and Zhang Yunqi had nothing to do, so he lay on a rattan chair in the yard to dry out lice. Chunlan was cleaning the kitchen, and when she saw that no one was at home, she said to Zhang Yunqi, "Second brother, I want to ask you something." Zhang Yunqi drooped his eyes and said lazily: "What?" Chunlan glanced at the gate of the courtyard, then lowered her voice and asked, "You know about our father, right?" Zhang Yunqi opened his eyes, but his face showed no expression. He said to Chunlan, "Didn't you say you were going to work outside?" "Go fool around, I know." "What do you know?" "Anyway, I know it, so I won't tell you." Chunlan went back to the kitchen angrily and continued to wash the pot. Her second brother always treated her like a child. In fact, she had known about her father stealing cables from the power plant for a long time, but her father had been arrested for more than half a year. Seeing that the family was getting better and better now, she sometimes missed her father, so she wanted to ask her second brother. My second elder brother was also present when my father was taken away that day, but he never mentioned what happened that day. My mother forbade it as it was a taboo topic in the Zhang family. My mother would get furious if it was mentioned. My youngest sister, Zhang Xiaoxiao, was young and didn't know much. Sometimes she would ask where my father had gone, and my mother would say he had gone out to work. But there is no wall that is impenetrable in this world, and there were a lot of gossips circulating in the village. You would know if you heard some of them yourself. Chunlan usually didn't dare to talk about this at home, but today when she was alone with her second brother, she couldn't help but bring it up. This was probably because she had vaguely relied on her second brother recently, and she wanted to tell him anything on her mind, and he could always come up with insightful ideas. This second elder brother is indeed different now than before, which makes the whole family more proud. Thinking about the life our family is living now, I can wake up with a smile in my dreams. But sometimes when I think of my father in jail, I feel very sad. ****** (End of this chapter)
