It was an autumn day in 1975, and Li Li's mother had just prepared lunch. Lunch is corn, big eggplant, big potatoes and three big goose eggs.
The boarded door opened, and Li Li's father, Lao Li, had just returned from herding the cow that the production team had just divided. "Master, I must be pregnant." Lao Li frowned, as if he was as helpless as an unmarried young man. "How could it be possible? How did this happen?" "What do you think? It wasn't you who did it. Good thing, I said to forget about the sterilization, but you always said to wait, this is better." Li Li's mother muttered. "Hey, I just want a son. Otherwise, if we die, we won't be able to burn paper!" Lao Li sighed. This sentence spoke to Li Li's mother's heart. Why doesn't she want a son?
Sons are so important in northern China, no, in the whole of China. They can receive household registration and carry on the family line. When a family gives birth to a child, it must bear the surname of the male owner. The most important thing is that men can do physical work. The land in the Northeast is still mostly hilly, and even now there is no large-scale mechanized management. Men are the main labor force of a family. The Northeast region mainly grows corn. Every spring, as soon as the ground melts, the men use their heads to dig up the corn stubble. Then the fields were plowed with oxen. It is said that the production tools used during the Warring States Period were still used in China in the 1970s and 1980s. Although it is a joke, it is indeed a fact. Women really cannot play a big role on the farmland.
As the old saying goes, a girl is the one who loses money, and a boy will die if he doesn't survive for ten years. I would rather look at my son's butt than look at a girl's face. In other words, if you are old and unable to move, and your son treats you badly, you have to stay at your son's house. Because it is only natural for a son to provide for himself in old age. If you go to your daughter's house, no matter how nice the woman is to you, it is not a home. That's my husband's family.
Because the first two children were girls, old Li Li, also known as Grandma Li Li, was trying to get in the way of the elder. She always said that she was deliberately looking for trouble. When Li Li's mother gave birth to her second child, she came out to pee after confinement. The old lady poured a basin of cold water over her and said that she accidentally slipped and fell. Li Lim's mother suffered from rheumatism from then on. Li Li's mother has known that she should be filial to the elderly since she was a child. Although her parents never taught her the three cardinal principles and five constant principles, Li Li has always been very tolerant to her difficult mother-in-law. She kept comforting herself: The old lady can't always live, she will always die in front of her. One day I will straighten up and be a human being. Moreover, she was very confident about her belly. She could not say that one day she would be pregnant with her son, and she would feel proud at that time.
Li Li's father originally had two brothers, both of whom died young. One had tuberculosis and died without money for treatment. One fell and died while hitting rocks. The two elder brothers died early and left no descendants. Therefore, Li Li's father became the only child in the family, which meant that he could only rely on him to continue the family line. And this task fell on Li Li's mother. How could a rural man at that time know that male or female birth was determined by a man's chromosomes? Even if someone told him so, he would never believe it. Even now, not many men believe that they would rather this is a woman's responsibility. After all, women have given birth to children since ancient times.
Li Lim's mother has been staring at the thatched roof of her house for the past few days. No matter what, she wanted to give it a try and give it a try, just in case the baby was a son. If her family didn't have a son, she wouldn't be able to hold her head high in this Lijia Village, and would be called a "dead family". The kerosene lamp that was about to be eliminated flickered, just like the big eyes of the future son. Her heart moved, she became stubborn, and she no longer hesitated.
My belly is getting bigger day by day. Fortunately, the weather is getting colder and colder. Li Li's mother always wears loose clothes, but her neighbors in the upper and lower courtyards still notice her. One day, Mrs. Wang was picking cabbage for pickling in the garden. She looked up and asked: "Li Hong's mother, are you pregnant?" Li Li's mother said hurriedly: "Where is it? Maybe she has eaten too much recently and has gained weight. ." Mrs. Lao Wang curled her lips and said, "No, just make up your mind. If you can hide it from others, can you hide it from me?"
Li Li's mother hurriedly entered the house. She knew that Mrs. Wang's mouth was not open to the public. While she was washing the old clothes that others had just fished out of the river trap and that others didn't want. While thinking of a way. Just thinking about it. A tall, thin middle-aged man came in outside the gate, "Oh, isn't this Village Chief Mu? Old Brother Mu, come in quickly." Village Chief Mu came in and glanced around as if he was scouting the enemy. Li Li's mother's nerves immediately became tense. Village Chief Mu sat down on the kang and said, "Oh my god, the kang is not burning, so let's take it out." Village Chief Mu immediately got up. Li Lim's mother hurriedly said with a smile: "No, I have been busy working blindly. I will burn the kang for you right away."