Outside, the rooster had begun to crow for the second time, and by the time the third crow had passed, it would be dawn.

　　Zhang Xiulan looked at the date on the calendar, August 1, 1980, blinked her eyes, and screwed herself again to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and turned off the light before lying down again.

　　Zhang Xiulan, however, was not at all sleepy, convinced that she was really back to eighteen, not forty-eight, and the calendar on the wall was even more mentioning her that it was all true.

　　Wake up hungry in the middle of the night color, obviously they are dead, how can there be a feeling of hunger? Waiting to open the light to see their own year in the village room, she was dumbfounded, a long time to determine that this is not a dream, excited at the same time, but also a faint sense of sadness.

　　The calendar was given to her by Zhao Xinghua, whose parents were teachers, and who took over his father's class after graduating from junior high school and taught second grade in the town's elementary school, and who was supposedly issued only one calendar, Zhao Xinghua, being a man of his word, asked for two, and gave one of them to her on purpose.

　　Now in this era, the rural people where can afford to buy a calendar, the production team has just disintegrated, the implementation of the contract system, some people still do not have enough to eat, not to mention the average city people can not afford to use the calendar.

　　So when Zhao Xinghua gave her a calendar, she believed how important she was in Zhao Xinghua's heart, but unfortunately it was still a great irony.

　　Through the window, Zhang Xiulan can vaguely see their own although not very white and tender slightly calloused hands, compared to her forty-eight years old because of work at the construction site that tired bones knuckle large and rough hands but a thousand times better.

　　In the last life, this day is Zhao Xinghua and Zhang Zhihong over the rite of passage day, Zhang Xiulan like the same village Zhao Xinghua, this is the village people know the thing, the two people in the right place like the last is Zhao Xinghua married Zhang Xiulan's cousin Zhang Zhihong.

　　Thinking back now, how could the Zhao family be disconnected from the beginning of that miserable life.

　　After the rooster crowed for the third time, the sky was already bright, hearing faint sounds in the yard, knowing that it was the parents in the east room who had gotten up, Zhang Xiulan also just surveyed her room, just as she remembered.

　　Reed woven kang mat, as long as she can remember, there has been this kang mat, the kang head of the place has been worn out a hole, with green cloth to the hole to be covered, in fact, not only patched that piece, this can sleep four people on the kang, has been patched in four or five places, we know what kind of life in the family.

　　At the top of the kang was a large red cabinet, on top of which were the quilts and mattresses that she usually put her cover on, and inside the cabinet were Zhang Xiulan's clothes, all the seasons of the year, but they were also half-filled, and not at all full.

　　The north wall opposite the kang is blocked with the family's food for a year, but only two generations of bract ballast and half a bag of millet, looking up, there is also a string of dried chili peppers hanging from the beams of the house, there is no hanger at all, so you can see how cold it will be in the winter.

　　In her previous life, although she had lived a very bitter life later on, it was still better than this day in front of her, but it didn't make Zhang Xiulan feel happy, to the point that she couldn't help but be happy when she saw this familiar and unfamiliar everything in front of her.

　　"Lanzi hasn't eaten in two days, steam her two egg cakes." Zhang Tiesheng's voice came from the back room, and by listening to the voice one could tell that he was suppressing his voice to speak.

　　Zhang's family lives in a two-room earthen

　　Room, the center is the door, once in the left and right are two large pots, cooking on weekdays, is also regarded as the kitchen, left and right two houses are living people, Zhang Tiesheng couple live in the east house, Zhang Xiulan's sister married, now the west house only Zhang Xiulan live by themselves.

　　Zhang family three children, the eldest daughter married, the second is a son, also married, married to a single over, Zhang Xiulan is the youngest, junior high school with the village Zhao Xinghua talk about like, the village people thought that after junior high school graduation the two will get married, the results of junior high school graduation, the rumor came out that Zhao Xinghua and the village chief's daughter Zhang Zhihong over the gift of the thing, which makes the village people were greatly surprised ah, more than some sympathy.

　　Zhang Xiulan knew it and went to Zhao Xinghua to make a scene, and when she came home, she hid in her house and cried for half a day, and didn't come out to eat for two days, and when she woke up in the middle of the night, she was replaced by Zhang Xiulan who was reborn over.

　　"Even her own man can not keep, she still have the face to eat? Now eggs eight cents a, two eggs can also sell 16 cents it, give her to eat also in vain, so disgraceful girl, might as well die, a waste of my eggs." Lin Huiping's acerbic voice sharp, pricked the bottom of people's ears itchy, "Yuejin daughter-in-law pregnant with a child, now is the time to need nutrition, that belly is pregnant with your grandchildren, their own grandchildren do not pain, pain a future to be married off, I do not know what you are thinking. Besides, you are not unaware of the situation of our family, just two old hens, two chickens do not lay eggs every day, the few eggs I want to save up for the daughter-in-law to do the monthly use."

　　"Yuejin daughter-in-law just had a body, where is the use, you make two eggs for Lanzi." Zhang Tiesheng squatted at the stove mouth to burn the fire, "This is the Zhao family's fault, where is the blame for our Lanzi, this child's heart is already bitter enough, so don't scold her anymore."

　　"She's bitter? What about my being laughed at by the village people? This dead girl, so that I also follow her in the village disgrace, you do not know yesterday I went out, Tian Sheng family that old woman how to laugh at me, I am even more thick-skinned was ashamed to go out. I'm ashamed to go out even if I'm thick-skinned. She's still dying there, who's she going to show it to? If you really have that ability, go with the Zhao family to make ah, in their own home Zhao Xinghua can not see." Lin Huiping sex spicy, and son preference, the family three children, only like the second son.

　　"If you don't steam the egg cake, just boil an egg." Zhang Tiesheng was soft-natured and begged in a small voice.

　　Lin Huiping was the head of the family, and he had no status at all.

　　Lin Huiping coldly grunted, "Not to mention one, even a little fishy I won't let her stick to it, this dead girl has been lying in the house for two days, not doing any work, and still wants to eat, there is no door."

　　After saying these are not relieved, Lin Huiping simply to the west room scolded, "dead girl, do not think that in the house to play dumb can hide over not work, the man can not keep still want to be lazy, you think you are a golden girl it? Immediately get up and clean up a bit with me to go down to the ground, other people's home potatoes are going to be harvested, you still want to hide in the house to eat a good meal, but also do not see whether you have that life."

　　"Keep your voice down, Lanzi is already having a hard time in her heart, why are you pushing her like this? Isn't it just that little job? I'll do it myself." Zhang Tiesheng anxious a head of sweat, but also afraid of his wife to scold again, "Okay, okay, do not get, do not get, the child since it is not comfortable, do not let her go down to the ground, I'll go to call the leaping into a while, he stayed all day, just to do a bit of work, to save being ridiculed for being lazy."

　　"You don't have to drag Yuejin into this, his daughter-in-law is pregnant, where can he get away from people, you think of Yuejin when there is some work, why don't you think of Yuejin when there is something good to eat?" Lin Huiping immediately became unhappy, "Other families, at least they can feed their sons, but look at our family, how many times have we eaten fine grains over the years? Serious people don't want to marry their girls into our family. If his daughter-in-law wasn't a girl from the ** family, we wouldn't be able to get a daughter-in-law today. If you're so concerned about the death of that dead girl, you might as well think about how to feed the family. Just divided a ring two acres of land, three acres of land planted that wheat yielded less than 500 pounds, sold 400 pounds, more than 100 pounds to stay for their own families, can grind less than 100 pounds of flour, so many mouths waiting to eat, can eat a few meals? How many meals can we have with so many mouths waiting for food? Look who's living as tightly as ours, right? When your father died, he owed a debt of 1,200 yuan, with an interest rate of one and a half percent a year. If we can't pay off the capital, we'll have to pay 180 yuan a year in interest. Such a home, you still think of that dying girl, I really do not know how you think."

　　Lin Huiping's words made Zhang Tiesheng's head couldn't lift up, in any man, being pointed out that he couldn't afford to feed his family, then he didn't have the face to see others.

　　Lin Huiping see their own family man's wimpy look, can not help but be tired of twisting away, she was raised by her elder brother, if she had a father and mother and would not have married such a wimpy and poor man, I blame my own life is not good, but this man is honest, what all listen to her, which only let her heart can parallel some.