This chapter introduces some of the complexities of China relations, and I'll begin with some explanations.

1.
The third uncle is the second brother of one's father.
Also, it is the third son of someone's grandfather.
 

2.
In China, families often dote on their youngest children.

3.
In some backward areas of today's China, and in many rural areas more than four decades ago, young people's spouses were appointed by their parents.
Even today, when young men and women want to get married, the opinions of both parents are very important.

4.
In some small villages in China, most people have the same surname and are closely related.
This is a large family, and even the village head does not necessarily have the same powers as the patriarch.

5.
The time of this chapter is about the early 1990s, and there are still some village officials in rural China.
Some are responsible for family planning, some for protecting the rights of women and children, and some for financial management.
Not only the village head is in charge of the whole village.

"Arrived!Get ready to get off!" The captain's voice shook me off the memory of 20 years ago.

My name is Shen La. Shen Yuanchao is my third uncle. In that year, he was even promoted to the third rank for "fighting bravely to put out the fire in the Greater Hinggan Mountains" and was promoted from monitor to deputy battalion level.But since then, third uncle has never had a chance to raise his rank.Deputy Battalion Commander (deputy platoon commander of the Armed Police) worked for more than 10 years until the age of 42, when he returned to his hometown and became deputy director of the security department of a state-owned enterprise in northeast China.

Third uncle got married twice. That year, third Uncle just became a deputy battalion commander. My grandfather arranged for a wife for him in his hometown.Although the third uncle is the armed police cadre, but the thought is still more conservative, the marriage event also depends on my grandfather to arrange.After the third uncle went home to visit his relatives and met her several times, he got married.

Half a year after marriage, three aunt to the army to visit third uncle, the car fell from the cliff, the car of 44 people are dead.The news broke, and the third uncle was heartbroken. He and his wife had not been in love freely, and had not known each other long.But after all, or newly-married, so dead, on who also can not accept.

Later, after I became more sensible, my father and second uncle also talked about my third aunt, take my second uncle's words: "If it were not for my younger brother's life is too hard (meaning it will lead to a shorter life of his wife), Xiuzhi (my third aunt) that wench has decades of good life.(In China, some people believe that a person's life expectancy is fixed at birth, but changes because of the people around him or her.)

After nearly a year, my spunky grandfather is preparing for his third uncle to marry for the second time.This time the third uncle did not agree, the wife left only a year, to prepare for the second marriage, said out will let his comrades laugh.(In China, marrying a second time soon after a wife's death is a sign of infidelity.)

No matter how my grandpa beat and cursed, third uncle just didn't agree. In the end, there was no way. My grandpa used his trump card.

The New Year just ended, the day arrived three great aunt dead one year anniversary, the third uncle specially asked for leave to return home, to the dead wife burn anniversary of the sacrifice.On that day, my grandfather gathered the elders of the family (grandpa is the local Shen clan patriarch, shen is a big family in the area, accounting for 65 percent of the county's population) and the famous people in the village.

No sooner had uncle Three returned from his wife's grave than fifty or sixty people gathered around him in the yard.The elders of these families and the main leaders of the village (the head of the four major villages, the village head, the accountant, the director of security and the director of women) began to persuade and educate the third uncle in a stormy manner.

From the etiquette between father and son, said to get married and have children to the construction of a new socialist countryside of great significance.From superstitions to the happiness of other bereaved people when they remarry.

Finally, from the village head: "Shen Yuan-chao, I grew up with the good friend (the village head is more than the third uncle for 11 years, since my third uncle was promoted to deputy battalion commander, they became" grow up with the good friend "), we are a family, some Suggestions my brother must tell you.Look at Liu. He sells oil in our village.A few years ago, he was placed a large order for cooking oil.At the time, he was unmarried, had no children and no help, so he could not provide a lot of cooking oil and profit from it.A few years later, he had a wife and children.Then someone else ordered a lot of oil.He squeezed the oil out easily in less than half a month.The village chief had learned some Chinese talk shows from the village cultural Group, and these words came out in one breath, in line with the Rhythm of Chinese.

The former accountant and the current mayor ran for the mayor's office, but the accountant was defeated by three votes.Now the two are fighting in secret.In his early years, the accountant had entered the capital city. Although he had made no great fame, he came back full of Beijing accent and style.See the village head took my third uncle's hand is still saying useless words.The accountant said to the security director, "This guy used to talk show."

The head of the village, who is known for his good hearing, was so angry at the taunt from the accountant that he went over and grabbed the accountant by the neck and slapped him: "Bastard, who are you scolding?"There was a scuffle between the two.The director of the security and accounting friendly, see him eat a deficit, also join in and accounting two dozen one, to the village head is a fierce beat.The leaders of the women disagreed (she had a personal rapport with the village chief...)."Ouch!""And jumped onto the head of the department of Health. His fingernails scratched his face, leaving him with ten cuts.People who were close to the village head and the accountant also joined the fight, and at that moment, a disorderly fight broke out in my grandfather's yard.

My grandfather saw that was originally a good 'convince the third uncle to marry the meeting' was stirred up by these people into a mess, on the spot with a straight shiver of anger: "Don't fight!Get out of here!"The real village is not the name of the village chief, but my grandfather this Shen clan patriarch, the ultimate leader of the village angry, people can only leave my grandfather's home in disgrace.

After cleaning the yard, my grandfather began to teach my third uncle one-on-one.Grandpa's eyes went red and he began to cry: "Old third, you are now a battalion commander. When did the Shen family send out an official as big as you?(just before China's ownership of land reform had a deputy mayor, but also because of attitude problem was removed from the post of, also was sentenced to two years in prison, for the county-wide people know about it, until I was in primary school also laughed at by classmates, my painful childhood) if you don't marry have children later, I saw your grandfather died all ashamed..."

The third uncle is the most filial, see this scene had to nod to agree to get married again.My grandfather was so happy that he started planning for a third uncle to get married again.Although my third uncle was married for the second time, he was still there as a battalion commander.None of the surrounding villages had such high government officials.Three uncle just mention deputy battalion commander home to visit relatives at that time, or the county armed minister personally accompany, in a few villages around a circle back to my grandfather's home, who does not know that Old Shen home when the battalion commander's third son?

With the experience of the last time, the marriage went much more smoothly this time.The new third aunt or my grandfather for my third uncle's choice.The third uncle saw her only once.My grandfather spent a lot of money on his big wedding day.Two million small firecrackers are set off just as the bride enters the house.(In the early nineties, two million small firecrackers made up of large firecrackers were rare throughout China.)

At that time I have begun to have a memory, can vaguely recall the new aunt when the appearance of the door.She is very beautiful, has a very good figure, melon seed face inlaid with two small dimples.Big eyes are just as good as a movie star. Soon after the new aunt was diagnosed as pregnant by the doctor.

Compared with the third uncle, the most happy is my grandfather, after knowing the news of the third uncle, happy from ear to ear (I was seven or eight years old at that time, the second uncle is also a son, but is an additional grandson or granddaughter.I don't know why the Don was so happy.For this grandfather also ran to my great-grandfather's grave burned paper, whispered what there can be a successor to the clan leader.

After two months, the third uncle asked for leave in the army, to take the new three aunt to the city's big hospital to make pregnancy examination.When the third uncle took the coach into the station (at that time the coach speed is very fast, the driver's salary and the number of times to drive), I saw the new aunt has been standing in front of the platform.

Suddenly "Bam!" came from under the car.The third uncle felt the car veer to the right.The driver slaps the steering wheel: "Damn it, hold on tight, flat tire!"In panic the driver mistook the accelerator for the brake.The car ran out of control towards the platform.At that time the new aunt has been scared silly, forgot to dodge.The car hit the wall behind the platform.

In front of the crowd, the new third aunt will be carried to the car to the hospital, she is still conscious, firmly grasp the third uncle's hand, calling his name.On the way, the new third aunt stopped breathing, and her last words were, "Help, don't go, I'm afraid."

The third uncle was already mad, returned to the long-distance station and beat the driver half to death.Feeling unable to vent his anger, he found an iron stick and smashed several parked cars inside the station.The staff of the station looked at my third uncle even smashed four or five cars did not dare to stop his behavior.Not long after, my grandfather got the news, with the People of the Shen clan arrived, he directly lit a fire and burned down the bus station.

When the news came from the hospital that the new third aunt was pregnant with a boy, my grandfather was so angry that he spat blood on the spot (in China, the old people in the family generally think that boys are more important than girls).

Finally the county magistrate, county party secretary with the county public security director arrived.Looking at the increasing number of Shen people in the station, it took a lot of effort to solve the problem.

As a result of the deployment of the public security Bureau, my grandfather was detained for 15 days for violating public security regulations (considering the old man's physical condition, my father took him to be punished, in fact, he only needed to go to the detention center and sign his name every day). The man who set fire to the coach station was never found (no one would have recognized my grandfather) and the station was the cause of the damage. Because the death station of three period aunt needs to compensate 200,000 dollars. As he was a cadre of the armed police, the local government had no right to punish him. The incident was only notified to the army in charge of the third uncle.