A century of poverty

Chapter 23 Injustice

One spring evening, in the west wing of Third Grandma's courtyard, Gao Shuzhi, her pregnant belly swaying, entered, sat on the kang (heated brick bed), and sneezed twice: "Have you thought about building the house yet?"

Zhang Xifeng: "I've thought about it, but I don't have any good ideas."

Gao Shuzhi: "Then do as I say, call Mom over."

Zhang Xifeng got up and went to the main room: "Mom, Shuzhi said he has something to discuss. Come over and we'll talk about it." The mother and son went to the west wing. Third Grandma sat on the kang (heated brick bed) next to her daughter-in-law, while Zhang Xifeng sat at the end of the kang facing them. Gao Shuzhi said, "Mom, we want to discuss building a house with you. We have three old rooms. You live in one, our uncle lives in another, and our younger brother isn't young anymore. Where will he live if he gets married? Our rooms are cold and cramped; will he be able to have a postpartum confinement period? We need to build a house!"

"Building a house? We need money and materials, that's a big deal, and we don't have that much money on hand!" Zhang Gaoshi replied.

Takagi Shugi: "I was just discussing this with you."

Zhang Gaoshi: "Do you think I have a solution if you discuss it with me?"

Tall Tree Branch: "You have a way."

Zhang Xifeng sat at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed): "Let's just say it directly. There are so many big poplar trees in Beidadaogou, and the northwest garden in the alley is quite a large area. We have grain, and money is even easier to talk about. We've gone to that piece of land in Beihe. How much can we spend on those few laborers? After we finish building the house, it will be enough for us to live on for several years."

Zhang Gaoshi: "What you said is very true. First of all, let's talk about this tree and the place. They belong to our old friends. We can't let them go to the subway station. It's not something we can decide."

Zhang Xifeng: "It's not something we can just decide to ignore. Tie Tou isn't home either. Just because he says we can't go to the fields doesn't mean we can't go. He'll come back, the fields will be there, and he has three rooms and a courtyard. What can he say?"

Zhang Gaoshi: "Then let's find a broker tomorrow."

Within a few days, he went to Beihedi and made a considerable sum of money.

They got right to work, starting by clearing away the large poplar trees in the North Avenue ditch, cutting down and breaking up the ground. They moved the millstone from the "North Garden," cleared the area, hired stonemasons to quarry stones from the mountain, and brought them back to the new courtyard. Timber, bricks, tiles, and lime filled the vast North Garden. With all the materials ready, they chose a date to begin construction. Six main rooms and six side rooms were built, and painters and craftsmen were all present. Pigsties were erected, high walls were built around the courtyard, and the main gate tower was completed.

It's a large courtyard house, divided in two by a wall. From the outside, it looks like one courtyard, but inside there are two separate courtyards, one on the east and one on the west.

After settling in, they moved into the new courtyard, demolished the main house of the old courtyard, and built a stone wall more than a person high to replace the original fence, completely separating themselves from the second grandmother's side of the east courtyard. They left the side rooms and treated the old courtyard as their own vegetable garden.

Recently, the most discussed topic in front of the temple has been the construction of Zhang Xifeng's house. Although it has been more than twenty years since Zhang Litian, the third master of the Zhang family, separated Zhang's second wife and her two sons, from their original family, those who knew about it back then are still alive. Zhang Yikun, the village head at the time, and Lao Ba of Beiyuanzi, still remember the events vividly. While people may not have fully known the inside story back then, they have clearly seen how the two families have managed to survive over the years.

Lao Ba said to Zhang Yikun, "I remember you said back then that the poplar trees in their North Avenue Ditch and the vegetable garden in the north belonged to the communal kitchen. This time, Zhang Xifeng and his mother used them, and the two old ladies didn't say a word. Did you handle this matter?"

"I couldn't get it done. This has nothing to do with me. I'm wondering why," Zhang Yikun said.

Eighth Brother: "Then I'll ask Second Madam and Hope another day."

After the start of autumn, the couple was leveling the courtyard in the north field, with their grandmother watching over them with her granddaughter.

As usual, Lao Ba from Beiyuanzi walked out of the door, stood on the cliff, looked east for a while, and then looked north and south.

The towering tree canopies along the bay in Beitou Dakeng rose above the ground where he stood.

Standing here and looking east, the road leading to the village from the east intersects with the village road at your feet. Looking into the distance, above the treetops of the willows along the Donghe River, a red sun rises from the eastern mountains and shines upon you.

After the morning sun rises, coming out here to relax for a while, chatting and sunbathing with a few others, is truly a wonderful place to forget oneself and the world around us.

People walking out of the North Garden from west to east like to stop and look around, either to admire the scenery or to observe the vehicles and pedestrians on the road.

Old Ba from Beiyuanzi was in his early sixties and in good health. Today, when he went out and looked east, he saw the Hope family working in the threshing ground across the road. He went down the slope, crossed the road, and went up the east slope to the threshing ground.

He hoped for a warm greeting: "Have you eaten already? Uncle Ba?"

Eighth Master: "After eating, shall we prepare a feast?"

Grandma: "Oh, I'm so glad I had some free time today, so I came over to stay for a while."

Eighth Master: "I'm usually free, but today I've come specifically for your family matters."

"My family's business?" Grandma looked surprised. Dad also stopped what he was doing and came over: "What's wrong with my family?"

Eighth Master: "Hey you two, how come you didn't even notice all your stuff was gone?!"

The mother and daughter were baffled. "Uncle, what are you saying about my family that's gone?" the father asked.

The eighth grandfather turned to his grandmother and asked, "You old folks divided the family property, do you still have the written agreement?"

Grandma: "Then I have to go home and look for it. It's been so many years, I can't be sure."

As they spoke, the group turned around and walked towards the main gate of Daonan to their home. When they got home, Grandma fumbled for her key, opened her maroon six-foot cabinet, rummaged through things, and searched for the documents from when the family divided their property.

The eighth old man said to his father, "Hopefully, when your third uncle divided the family property with your family, you were still young and might not remember anything. Zhang Yikun from our village was there at the time. How they divided it, whether it was fair or not, we won't comment on now. According to Zhang Yikun, the big poplar tree in Beidadaogou and the vegetable garden in the west alley belonged to the whole family. Now the people in the west courtyard have released the big poplar tree, and they've built a house in the big vegetable garden. Did they tell you? How much money did they give you?"

The old man's impassioned speech made my father's expression serious.

"The villagers have been talking about this on the temple platform for days. You've suffered a huge loss. These days, life is tough. How much wealth can you accumulate in a lifetime? It's been swallowed up time and time again. We feel indignant! Go find them, file a lawsuit, and we'll be your witnesses!" The Eighth Master stated his position.

Grandma then pulled a yellowed paper package from the bottom of the cupboard. Opening it, she saw a red handprint and handed it to her son. Father and Eighth Grandfather looked at the old family division document, which clearly stated, "The poplar trees in Dadaogou and the vegetable garden in the west alley belong to us."

"This is the evidence, keep it safe." With that, the Eighth Master left.

"What should we do?" Grandma was at a loss.

"After we finish eating tonight, take this with you and let's go to Zhang Yikun's house and see what he has to say," Dad said.

As soon as it got dark, Dad and Grandma finished their meal and came to Zhang Yikun's house with the "documents." Zhang Yikun's wife was clearing away the dishes in the hallway. She was in her fifties with gray hair, short in stature, and had a smile on her face. "Second Aunt, Brother Xiwang is here! Come in and have a seat." She said, lifting the curtain to invite them into the house. Zhang Yikun stood up inside. He knew why the mother and son had come, and invited them to sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Father said, "Second Brother, my mother and I are here for the matter of the poplar tree and the West Garden."

"Oh, I know about this. Everyone in the village has been talking about it these days, and I've heard it all. I was there when you divided the family property. Zhang Xifeng and your third aunt did things inappropriately. We can't speak up if you don't stand up for us. Now that you've made your demands, I'll go to him." Zhang Yikun readily agreed.