Chapter 7 - 007 Zhongjia Bay
"I really appreciate it; take these two hair accessories, and don't disdain them," Tian Sisi said as she handed the hairpins from her pocket to Zhong Meiying, who, however, wouldn't want anything worn by someone else.
Zhong Meiying hesitated to accept the hairpins; they were precious items that money couldn't buy, and Zhong Yuying had been proudly wearing them for a whole month! Seeing this, Tian Sisi stuffed the hairpins into her hand and, pulling her two younger brothers with her, she walked away, turning back to shout, "Don't forget my request!"
Cherishing the hairpins, Zhong Meiying stuffed them into her cotton jacket pocket, planning to give them to her elder sister, who was going to meet a potential suitor this year. Wearing these hairpins, her sister would certainly look even more beautiful and might find a good family to marry into. Zhong Meiying safely hid the hairpins and watched Tian Sisi's retreating figure, admiring her beauty but without a trace of jealousy.
Zhong Meiying's father, Zhong Shancai, was a hardworking farmer who had taught his children from a young age not to covet others' better food and clothes but to work hard to have a good life with their own hands. His own brother, Zhong Liangcai (father of Zhong Yuying), used to live a better life, but he never thought of taking advantage of his brother's prosperity, even when his own family was left to eat husks and vegetables without asking for help.
Zhong Shancai was quite enthusiastic, unlike his brother Zhong Liangcai, who only socialized with wealthy families. Zhong Shancai would help out any family in need, and because of this, he was quite popular in Yuequan Village. During land reform, given his relation to Zhong Liangcai, he should have been classified as middle farmers, but the village officials proactively suggested to the work team to classify him as poor middle farmers, which let Zhong Shancai's family live peacefully.
Therefore, although Zhong Meiying envied Tian Sisi's fine clothes, she wouldn't resort to trickery like Zhong Yuying to swindle Tian Sisi's belongings. Zhong Meiying hurried to the banks of Crying Girl River, hoping to wash her clothes quickly so she could return home and put the hairpins on her sister. She then planned to go around the village and spread word of Tian Sisi's name change, since taking someone's gift obliged her to do the task well; she was not an ingrate like Zhong Yuying.
No one in Yuequan Village knew exactly how old the old camphor tree was. The eldest villagers claimed it was already as big as it is now when they were children. They also said the tree was magical: when the Japanese soldiers tried to burn it down, a bolt of lightning struck as soon as they lit the fire, killing the Japanese soldier who had started the fire and scaring off the rest.
However, the camphor tree was left with a large hole, deep enough for a person. Everyone thought it wouldn't survive for long, but as years went by, it continued to thrive more lushly than ever. Whenever there was an event, villagers would gather under the camphor tree; they even studied Chairman Mao's quotes there.
The children of the village loved to play there too, as there was a large clearing under the camphor tree where villagers sunned their grain, held meetings, showed films, and performed opera—making it the most lively place in Yuequan Village.
At this moment, a crowd of children had gathered there, patched-up cotton-padded jackets on most of them, their thin trousers hardly enough for the cold. Some children wore only a single layer of pants, their toes peeking out from their single-layered shoes, while a few children wore new clothes, clearly from the village's upper-class families.
Due to the lack of sunlight, the snow under the camphor tree remained thick, and the children played joyously in it, throwing snowballs, building snowmen, seemingly unaffected by the cold. Dong Hua proudly took out a handful of firecrackers from his bag, waved them at the other children, and shouted, "Let's set off firecrackers!" He immediately attracted the attention of the boys, their eyes greedy for the bright red firecrackers in Dong Hua's hand.