At the foot of Mount Nanyue, before dawn, a thin mist permeated the air. Outside the Nanyue Temple, there was already a bustling crowd of people who came to burn incense and worship Buddha. They carried incense back and forth, and my mother, sister, and I were among them. After fulfilling our vows, we decided to climb Mount Nanyue again.
After buying tickets, we started walking uphill. There were quite a few steps, so we took our time and occasionally took a few photos as mementos. It was midsummer, and the trees on both sides of the road were lush and green. The air in the mountains was fresh, with a hint of coolness. There were also many people on the road, mostly pilgrims to the Nanyue Temple. The Nanyue Temple was located at the foot of Mount Nanyue, and it was said that the gods worshipped there were very powerful. Many people in the vicinity came here to pray and make wishes, so the temple was always bustling with incense. Over twenty years ago, my mother traveled a long distance from her hometown to this place to pray to the gods for a son, and that's how I came to be, the only boy in the family. Since I was young, my mother would often tell me and my sisters about this, and she said that we would go to fulfill our vows in the future. This time, with both me and one of my sisters at home, we finally made the trip.
Over twenty years ago, when my mother was pregnant with me, it was already her fifth child. At that time, the country was implementing the one-child policy, which required each household to have only one child. This policy had been in place for several years, and most families in the cities had only one child, while people in rural areas were engaged in a guerrilla war against the policy. Perhaps it was because people in the cities were more educated and could actively respond to the national policy, or perhaps it was because the punishments were more severe. If someone was found to have a second child, not only would they lose their bonuses and awards, but they could also be fired from their jobs and become unemployed. In the countryside, farmers relied on their land for their livelihoods, so they were not afraid of losing their jobs. Therefore, implementing the policy in rural areas was much more difficult. At that time, prominent slogans were painted on houses in the village, such as "Family Planning is Good," "Late Marriage and Late Childbirth, Fewer Births and Better Births," "Family Planning is the Basic National Policy of Our Country," "Having a Boy or a Girl is the Same, Daughters are also Heirs," and so on. However, most people in the village ignored these slogans because they held a very traditional belief - "raising sons to support parents." Unlike city dwellers who had pensions, rural people relied on their sons to support them in their old age. Therefore, most of them had a strong desire to have a son. However, at that time, this simple pursuit clashed with the family planning policy implemented by the country.
At that time, the neighbors in the village were still united in evading family planning. As soon as they heard that someone from the family planning office was coming to the area, the news would spread from afar. Then the pregnant women in the village would hide and conceal themselves. If they were caught, they would be forcibly aborted in the hospital. If it was too late for an abortion, they would be detained and had to pay a certain amount of fine to be released, called the "social upbringing fee." I heard that the wife of Mr. Liu, who lived opposite our house, was caught and forcibly aborted in the hospital. After a few unsuccessful attempts to find the pregnant women, the family planning office started to conduct secret investigations. The families with pregnant women in the village became even more vigilant, hiding whenever they heard strangers coming to the village.
At first, when my mother's belly was not very noticeable, it was still okay. But as her belly gradually grew bigger, the news spread, and the people from the family planning office frequently came to our house. It was probably because my mother was seen by someone from the family planning office when she went out one day. That day, many people came, and the news spread from afar, saying that Director Li brought two cars of people and was walking towards our house from where they parked. At that time, my mother's belly was already quite big, so she immediately packed some food and left the house in a hurry, heading towards the mountain behind our house. She followed the mountain road up the mountain, and when she got tired from running, she would stop and rest. According to her recollection, I was restless in her belly at that time, kicking her whenever I moved. Whenever there was a big movement, she would feel pain and had to stop and sit under a tree by the side of the road for a while, gently stroking her belly to calm me down before continuing on the journey. It took about half an hour of walking and running to reach a cave on the mountaintop called Tianhua Cave, which was the most commonly used hiding place for family planning in our village. My mother had to stay there until the people from the family planning office left, and then my father would come up the mountain to pick her up before she could go home.
However, the people who came that day didn't give up easily. They didn't stop until they found my mother. They searched inside and outside our house, and when they couldn't find her, they stayed at our house. Director Li insisted that my father and grandfather hand her over, saying that this violated the country's policy and increased the burden on society, which was unacceptable. The others were instigating from the side, and in the end, they threatened that if we didn't hand her over, they would demolish our house. They seemed ready to take action. At that time, in addition to my father, grandfather, and grandmother, many neighbors came over to help persuade them. They said that we didn't understand the national policy, and it was unreasonable to come and accuse us without confirming whether she was really pregnant or not. Among the group of people, there was a new face who claimed to have seen her. He said that a few days ago, he came to this area for an inspection and saw my mother with a big belly. My father said, "Where did you see her? My wife hasn't been home for the past few days. She went to stay at her parents' house. What you saw is probably a ghost." The other side argued back. They argued back and forth like this for the whole afternoon. They said they would demolish our house, but they were stopped by my father and the neighbors.
Later, they said they would take my grandfather away, but my father refused. Director Li kept saying that if we didn't cooperate, they couldn't carry out their work properly, and when the blame came down from above, no one would be able to bear the responsibility. Family planning was a national policy being implemented nationwide, and our family couldn't be an exception. After delivering a long speech, he was echoed by his subordinates, and our neighbors also refuted a few words. They said they didn't understand these grand principles, and they were all farmers who couldn't understand these things. They argued back and forth like this, and in the end, they couldn't come to a conclusion. Some neighbors who were just watching the excitement went home to prepare dinner. Later, my grandfather, with a sense of righteousness, said, "Alright, I'll go with you." My father and grandmother naturally disagreed and said it was not possible. But my grandfather said that even if they did something to him, they couldn't do anything to me, otherwise they would stay here and not leave. When those people saw that my grandfather agreed, they didn't need to resort to violence today, so they felt somewhat relieved. They helped persuade us, saying that they wouldn't do anything to the elderly, but they had to give an explanation to their superiors. Later, my father and grandmother could only agree. When my grandfather was taken away, it was already dark. As soon as they left, my father went in the direction of Tianhua Cave.
Later, my father went to ask Director Li to release my grandfather, but Director Li refused and said that this matter had already been reported to the leaders. Our family was considered a serious case of exceeding the birth limit, and the situation was severe. The decision had already been made, and we had to pay a fine of 5,000 yuan to release my grandfather. At that time, 5,000 yuan was a astronomical figure for our family. How could an ordinary farmer's family have so much money? But there was no other way. My grandfather was still being detained, so my father had to borrow money from everywhere. At that time, a uncle who lived in the city lent a large sum of money to our family. Finally, we managed to gather the 5,000 yuan and brought my grandfather back. "Fortunately, I am a boy, otherwise, such things would continue to happen." I stood at the observation deck on the top of Mount Nanyue, looking at the mist-shrouded peaks, and remembered the stories told by my elders, sighing with emotion.
My mother, sister, and I visited various attractions together, such as Shangfeng Temple, Zhurong Peak, and Zhurong Temple. We were a bit tired, so we decided to take a car down the mountain. I was bored on the car, so I took out my phone and checked my friends' moments. I saw a friend's post about solving the problem of low population growth rate in our country. An expert proposed the establishment of a second-child birth fund to stimulate people to have a second child. A certain percentage of personal wages would be deposited into a designated account, and the money could only be withdrawn when a second child was born. If no second child was born, the money would be returned after retirement. "Heh." I closed WeChat, put away my phone, and looked out at the mountains and forests. The mist on the mountaintop gradually dissipated, just like those old memories, disappearing like smoke.
- The End -