The tea that comes out slowly tastes good, and the meaning of the words that come out slowly is clear.

- Tibetan proverb

In the spring of 1958, after Gong Lamei completed the spring sowing task, she asked the team leader He Xitang for 10 days of personal leave, preparing to return to her hometown in Qinghai to visit her parents.

Han Sophie saw that her son Yushan was impermanent, and her daughter-in-law Althea was going to take her daughter Hai Che back to her hometown, and it was estimated that she would definitely be gone. However, there is nothing she can do about it.

Han Sophie was unusual, and said to Gong Lamei in a rare amiable tone: "Althea, say hello to your Ada grandma when you go home." You can take whatever you want. I'll ask Sim, Fei, and Maiyan to bake you a few pot helmets, and you can take them with you to eat on the road. ”

Gong Lamei took Hai Che on the road to visit relatives. It just so happened that Wan Shan and several young people from the village were going to work in a coal mine in Qinghai. So, they walked together and took care of each other, and they broke up when they arrived near Ledu County.

Gong Lamei returned to her hometown in Ledu and saw her parents and sister who had been separated for more than 10 years, and the bitterness and grievances came to her heart, and she couldn't help crying.

Mother Wang Tianying raised her white face and sighed sadly: "Nao's Garamei is pitiful. It's only 23 years old and there are no men. Oh my God, why don't you open your eyes? How will you live in the future? ”

Father Gong Guoyuan sat silently, looking at Gong Lamei with extremely loving eyes.

Gong Lamei slowly stopped crying and asked softly, "I only saw Xia He and Qiu Ju, why didn't I see the eldest brother, Yingchun and Brother Ga?" ”

Gong Guoyuan said slowly: "Your eldest brother Lian Chao came back from North Korea to resist US aggression and aid Korea, and was demobilized to work in Chengdu, Sichuan. His daughter-in-law is the eldest daughter of the Ma family at the south gate of Chengguan. Yingchun found a soldier, and the man went to work in Jingyuan County, Gansu, and she married Jingyuan. Gadi Liangui gave the lame man to the king of Chengguan. ”

Before Gong Lamei could speak, Hai Che picked up Grandpa's words and asked with an angry temperament: "Why do you want to give Uncle Ga to the lame king?" ”

Wang Tianying pulled down her white face and scolded Hai Che: "What do you know about a girl!" Nao's health is not good, your grandfather has no ability, the family is so difficult, if you can't support it, you just give it to the people of the Nao Wang family who don't give birth, Gawa can not only eat a full stomach, but also not suffer in the relatives' house. ”

Hai Che retorted with a glare: "Wang Cripple is not his biological Ada and Grandma, how can Uncle Ga not be offended!" ”

Wang Tianying grabbed a sock on the kang table and threw it at Hai Che, and scolded loudly: "Ga girl, you are not big, and your mouth is as powerful as a knife!" ”

Gong Lamei gave Hai Che a stop look.

Hai Che pouted unconvinced, stomped his feet and ran outside, playing with Qiu Ju and the others.

When the neighbors heard that Lamei had returned, they ran to Gong's house to visit her. When they learned that Lamei's mother and son were already orphans and widows, they kindly persuaded them to stay and not return to other places.

At night, Gong Lamei's mother and daughter, Xia He and Qiu Ju squeezed into a big kang to sleep. Hei Che and Qiu Ju were tired of playing during the day, so they fell asleep.

Lamei and Xia He lay on the kang and chatted.

Lamei asked, "What kind of relatives are the Nao people from the family that Grandma gave Brother Ga?" ”

Xia He replied, "A distant relative of Grandma in the tiger wolf's den. Before liberation, they moved to the county town and did small business. The family's economic situation is okay, but the daughter-in-law does not give birth. Grandma said to find a place for Gadi to eat, so she gave it to them. ”

Lamei asked again, "Has Brother come back?" ”

Xia He said, "I've been back." Last summer, my brother came back with his sister-in-law and the eldest girl. When my brother was a soldier in North Korea, my sister-in-law and the eldest girl lived with us. ”

Lamei asked, "How are you and your sister-in-law getting along?" ”

Xia He shouted: "How can there be good things in the world for mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sister-in-law and sister-in-law? ”

After listening to Xia He's words, Lamei thought of her situation in the Niu family, and felt some comfort in her heart.

It's time for the holiday to end. Gong Lamei packed her luggage and prepared to take Hai Che to say goodbye to her parents and embark on the return journey back to Linxia.

Xia He and Qiu Ju insisted on sending their sister and niece to the bus station in the county seat.

Gong Guoyuan and Wang Tianying sent their daughter and granddaughter to the gate. Wang Tianying shouted loudly: "Nao's Lamei has returned to Hezhou." Nau's Lamei went far away. ”

Gong Guoyuan stood silently at the intersection, watching them disappear from sight.

Gong Lamei and Hai Che first took a bus from Ledu to Xining, and then took a long-distance bus to Linxia in Xining. They chose Hejiazui Village, the nearest village to Gayindai, and got off the bus, and then walked along the rugged mountain road and started walking up the mountain.

They were halfway up the mountain, beads of sweat on their heads. The mother and daughter sat on the dirt slope to rest. Gong Lamei saw a family's field full of autumn flowers. The petals of the autumn are colorful and come in white, yellow, pink, and snow blue. Against the backdrop of the blue sky and white clouds and the Loess Plateau, the autumn flowers growing on the barren land are very gorgeous, and the vitality is particularly vigorous.

Gong Lamei said to Hai Che: "Hai Che, look how beautiful those pink flowers are. When we have the money, we'll make you a flower dress out of pink cloth. ”

Heicher turned his head and asked, "Grandma, what color do you like?" When we have the money, we can also pull the cloth of your favorite color and make a new outfit! ”

Gong Lamei replied with a smile: "I like snow blue the most." ”

At this time, the women who were working in the fields in the distance were singing flowers. The rustic, melodious singing voice reached their side with the breeze:

"Flowers are the words of the heart,

If you don't sing, you can't do it yourself,

Take the knife and cut off the head,

Immortality is how to sing. ”

Hai Che said eagerly to Gong Lamei: "What are they singing?" It's too far worse than what Grandma sang! Grandma, you sing a sa! I'm sure I'll beat them! ”

Gong Lamei shook her head gently.

Hatcher was not reconciled, and continued to encourage his mother: "Grandma, I beg you. You just sing a sprinkle! ”

Gong Lamei cleared her throat and let go of her singing voice:

"The white peony is white and the white (one) shines brightly,

Brother's white peony.

The red peony is red into a (think of my flowers) fire.

There are people around Gamei,

Brother's white peony.

No one is sitting with me (thinking about my flowers),

Ga Mei is a peony (person) brother picking. ”

Hatcher jumped with joy on his little feet, clapped his hands on the slap, and shouted happily, "What a good sound! Sounds so good! Beat them! Hey, you're going to have another flower! ”

Sure enough, there were bursts of joyful singing on the hillside in the distance.

Gong Lamei took Hai Che back to Gayindai, which not only surprised the people in the village, but also surprised Han Sophie.

Han Sophie thought that Althea would never return to this arid, remote and poor ravine when she returned to her mother's house, so she asked Meriha to change the cave where their mother and daughter lived into a warehouse for stacking firewood.

Han Sophie looked at Gong Lamei and Hai Che in a daze, unable to say a word for a long time.

Mahim said enthusiastically: "New sister, you mother and daughter will live in our house tonight. Let the brothers of Tianshan, Jianshan, and Yinshan clean up your cave tomorrow, and then you can move back to live. ”

Gong Lamei and Hai Che stayed at the house of their second brother Niu Tianshan and Ma Sim at night.

Niu Tianshan's ex-wife is called Maluji. In 1949, after she gave birth to her son Hameki, she was unwilling to endure the harsh management of her mother-in-law Han Sophie, and resolutely divorced Niu Tianshan. Niu Tianshan later married Mahim and gave birth to a daughter named Ayishe, who happened to be the same age as Hatcher.

Mahim is the second daughter-in-law of the Niu family, kind-hearted and generous, and has always been very similar to the eldest daughter-in-law Althea's affection and personality. Whatever they have in their hearts, they tell each other privately behind their mothers-in-law's backs.

The next day, the Gayin Dai production team held a general meeting of members. He Xitang conveyed to everyone the spirit of the county's document on the democratic reform of the religious system. As he read the document aloud, he explained in an easy-to-understand colloquial language:

"The central government has proposed that while respecting and protecting religious beliefs, the religious system should be reformed. That is to say, religion will be managed by the state in the future, and the head of the sect will not be allowed to be in charge, and the people will not be exploited in the future, and the water bucket money (that is, religious tax) of the common people will not be collected. In the future, I will find my own in-laws, and I will be as equal as men. Religion is only a folk belief and cannot interfere with the administration of justice. If you have disputes and contradictions, you have to deal with them in the courts. The reform of the religious system is still mainly carried out by persuasion and education, rather than by means of struggle. ”

Gong Lamei, Ma Heim, and others were particularly happy when they studied the central authorities' measures for religious democratic reform. They whispered, "Great! There is indeed a part of what has been passed down for hundreds of years that should be changed. What is the mountain that weighs on the Hui women and parishioners: imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism? Each of the myriad privileges and restrictions is a heavy mountain. ”

The purpose of these reform measures is to liberate the masses of religious believers from religious oppression and to raise the cultural and living standards of the masses. Under the pressure of religious forces, the broad masses of the people have a wait-and-see attitude on the surface, but in fact they are very welcoming in the dark.

The measures of the Reformation touched the interests of the privileged classes for centuries, pulled them down from the high altar, and naturally aroused their resentment and opposition.

In some localities, the grass-roots cadres are not of a high level, their work methods are simple and rude, and they mistakenly interpret the abolition of feudal privileges as the elimination of religion, and they have demolished some worship temples and temples, which has aroused strong dissatisfaction among the religious believers.

As a result, the religious privileged strata seized the opportunity to incite and bewitch the masses of religious believers, and under the guise of defending religion, began to take the opportunity to oppose the revolutionary regime.

The rebellion first began in Lintan County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province.

On March 18, 1958, a handful of rebels gathered in Chebagou and Zagana, formed a counter-revolutionary armed force, and vigorously proclaimed: "Drive out the Communist Party, eliminate the People's Liberation Army, do not want the people's power, and do not take the socialist road!" ”

The rebels quickly engulfed more than 29,000 people

More than 17,000 guns.

On 18 April, Qinghai Province also launched an armed rebellion, affecting 10 counties, including Xunhua, Tongren, Jianzha, Zeku, Mengqi, Gonghe, Zhongde, Guinan, Tongde, and Xinghai, forming a rebellion with the largest number of people and the largest scale of activities since the founding of New China. They proposed the establishment of a "Greater Tibetan Kingdom", massacred cadres and activists of all ethnic groups and masses unwilling to join the rebellion, looted trading companies, burned houses, destroyed communication roads, laid siege to the people's power, and attacked militia detachments guarding the organs.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army followed the instructions of the Central Military Commission and quickly quelled the armed rebellion.

While the People's Liberation Army was putting down the rebellion in Gannan, the Gansu Provincial Religious Association held a second enlarged meeting to discuss the issue of opposing religious feudal privileges.

On August 15, some religious privileged strata instigated and led tens of thousands of parishioners in 96 townships in Dongxiang, Guanghe, Linxia, Yongjing, and Hezheng counties to resolutely oppose religious democratic reform. Many elderly women, with kitchen knives and scissors in their hands, followed the rushing flow of people and rushed to the various levels of institutions.

Beginning on 1 September, all counties in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture held meetings to arrange religious reform and anti-feudal privilege work, and adopted such methods as uncovering lids and digging up roots to expose a group of religious figures who had committed counterrevolutionary crimes, waged a resolute struggle against them, and occupied the mosque as an office, storage room, or storehouse for the production team, and some of them also used it as a pen for raising livestock.

The White Cliff Worship Monastery that Ibrahim built in Gayindai was also confiscated by the government, and the parishioners were not allowed to come and go for worship, but instead served as an auditorium for the production team to meet.

After two and a half months of active fighting, the PLA quickly quelled the rebellion in various parts of Linxia, annihilating 10,034 people, of which 3,268 were killed, 2,302 were wounded, 1,618 were captured, and 2,846 were captured.

The people's regime has put on harsh trials of those violent backbones who killed cadres and the masses.

Gong Lamei and others went to study every day, and when they returned home, they told their mother-in-law Han Sofei what they had learned.

Han Sophie was shocked when she heard this, and she didn't expect that religious matters would cause such a big upheaval. She was glad that her children did not participate in the trouble, otherwise they would have been shot or re-educated through labor, her family would have been ruined, and her wife would have been separated.

Han Sofei hurriedly asked someone to write a letter to Niu Wanshan, who was working in the Qinghai coal mine, falsely claiming that he was seriously ill and asking him to rush home immediately.

Niu Wanshan hurriedly returned home from the Qinghai Coal Mine, and couldn't help but be stunned when he saw his grandmother's strong body and walking with the wind. He couldn't help but blame his grandmother for letting him run in vain and wasting money on the road.

Han Sophie couldn't help but laugh when she saw that her son was intact: "You (don't) be angry. It's good to come back safely. In the future, your brothers are not allowed to go out again, and they will be guarded here for generations. Your ancestors were so rich back then, why didn't they live in Hezhou City? I just ran to live on this dry hill because it was safe and peaceful! ”

Han Sophie called Niu Wanshan back, and his heart suddenly quieted down. She saw that Niu Wanshan had no daughter-in-law, Althea had no man, and Hycher had no Ada, so she planned to form a family of the three of them, but she didn't expect to be unanimously opposed by them.

Han Sophie knew that it was now a new society, and that young people and women had turned over Asma (heaven), and that she could no longer dominate everything as before, so she had to blink her pale yellow eyes and reluctantly stop persuading.