Chapter 36 Section 3 My Brother’s MLM Connection

There are two meals a day in the rural areas of Northwest China, one meal at around ten o'clock in the morning and one meal at around four o'clock in the afternoon. After breakfast, I went to the cemetery outside the village alone.The cemetery is several hundred meters away from the entrance of the village, and all the old people in the village are buried here.The tombs of my father, Genshengbo, and Wanlingbo are all next to each other. There are two small cypress trees on the top of my father's tomb, which my younger brother transplanted here from the cliff.There are dots of white snow hanging between the branches and leaves of the cypress trees, and the wild grass is shaking in the cold wind, which makes people feel sad.There are wreaths on the graves of Genshengbo and Wanlingbo, the wreaths on Genshengbo's grave are newer, and the wreaths on Wanlingbo's grave are only skeletons.

Now, the three old buddies are still together and accompany each other, so they shouldn't be lonely. It began to snow again, and the wind slammed the snow particles on the face, which was extremely painful.Looking around, I was the only one around, and it was very quiet here.The weather is very cold, and my heart is also very cold. I took out the Hongta Mountain and lit them one by one. I lit three in total and stuck them on the graves of my father, Gensheng Bo, and Wan Lingbo.Hongtashan, that is the best cigarette in their eyes.Once, an official came to the village, as if doing research, and distributed a piece of Hongtashan to every farmer he met.Uncle Gensheng was reluctant to smoke, so he pinned it to his ear. When the smoker had gone away, he took the cigarette from his ear and looked at it over and over again: "Oh, this is what people call Hongta Mountain?" Wan Lingbo held a dry cigarette in his mouth. Guozi said: "Whenever we can smoke on Hongta Mountain every day, we will enter a communist society."

I knelt in front of their graves, letting the wind and snow blow me.I know that it is rare for me to come back from the south, and when I see my father and the others again, I don't know when it will be.I believe that my father, Gen Shengbo and Wan Lingbo can know that I am back and can see that I am back. At some point, my younger sister and younger brother also came and knelt beside me.They may not be able to find me, but knowing that I must have come to the cemetery, they rushed over.First my sister cried, and then my brother and I cried too. We cried in front of our father's grave, almost fainting.

I don't know when, my mother came, and she pulled us up and said, "Go home, your father knows that you are living well now, so he is relieved. Don't be sad." We stood up, leaving three snow pits in front of my father's grave. Over the years, I have been working hard, and I always tell myself: I am different from them, not at all.The vast majority of my colleagues come from urban families, many of whom are well-to-do.They didn't suffer as much as I did when they were kids.They don't have to work hard to have a house, a car, and their own material happiness.And I have nothing, I came to the city with 200 yuan, I ran all the way behind the bus to recruit people to save money, I drank the leftover mineral water from others to find a job ... So, I must work hard, I must change my own destiny, and I can only change my own destiny and the destiny of my family by relying on myself.

The gap between rich families in cities and poor families in rural areas is unimaginable, measured in light years.Thirty years ago, when "his" father was wearing a brand-new Chinese tunic suit and walked into the office canteen for dinner, "my" father was walking on the snowy mountain road with his back on his back; While watching cartoons in front of the TV, "I" was hungry and cut out cement packaging bags to make homework for myself.Twenty years ago, when "his" father was driving a private car on the spacious roads of the city, "my" father was sweating profusely in the field of responsibility with a hoe in his hand; When I was a student, "I" studied hard in front of the kerosene lamp.Ten years ago, when "his" father stood on the balcony of his villa and looked into the distance, "my" father had to go home to recuperate because he had no money to pay for medical expenses; when "he" boarded the plane to go to a foreign country When I was studying abroad, "I" had to come to the city where he lived to work because of the high debts... In the past 30 years, "their" family has made a living at every step, and "our" family has nothing.In the past thirty years, "he" has enjoyed all the happiness in the world, while "I" has suffered all the sufferings in the world.Now, "I" wants to catch up with "him" and let "my" children be like "his" children, which is not easy.

However, I have no way out, I must go all out for my family and my children. It was also when I went home this time that I heard about my brother's deep involvement in a pyramid scheme. The younger brother rides a tricycle in the county town, which is dozens of miles away from his hometown on mountain roads.For a while, there were often some men in suits and women in suits riding on my brother's tricycle.They look refreshed, much like rich people.The man's hair is shiny and combed back uniformly, much like an official; the woman's face is smeared with powder, which is fragrant and white.However, they don't behave like rich people at all.At that time, there were already taxis in the county seat. No matter how far you traveled in the county, the price was three yuan, and the tricycle was one yuan.These people in suits and suits don’t take taxis, but take tricycles. When taking tricycles, they have to bargain: "Is fifty cents okay? I just have a few cents in change."

At first, my younger brother thought, let’s just say fifty cents, but when they asked for fifty cents again and again, my younger brother felt that something was wrong.Moreover, they all went to villages in the suburbs.What these people were doing, my brother never knew.Once, my younger brother asked a woman, who said they were engaged in scientific research.The younger brother was full of doubts: What kind of scientific research can be done in a dilapidated village? When my younger brother was riding a tricycle in the county town, he lived in the yard of a family.That family had several old cave dwellings, the roofs of which had been blackened, and were pasted with newspapers. The newspapers were crisp and yellow, with the contents of "criticize Lin and criticize Confucius" and "learn from Dazhai in agriculture" printed on them.In order to save money, my younger brother lives in a cave dwelling with a man who also rides a tricycle.This man with a mustache is called Ankang, and he is a few years older than his brother.He said that when he was born, his father was begging for food in Ankang, Shaanxi, and he gave him such a name after he came back.After he was born, the responsibility field was divided in the family, and his father never went out to beg for food. His life was really stable and he was in good health.

One day, Ankang said to his younger brother: "How much money can we make by riding a tricycle? A classmate of mine sells cosmetics and earns 10,000 yuan a month. He just came back from giving lectures in Hong Kong a few days ago." The younger brother asked Ankang's classmate Where, Ankang said it was in the county seat.He also wants to sell cosmetics, so he wants to take his brother with him. The younger brother with no social experience was tempted, so he followed Ankang to sell cosmetics.At the beginning, they had to train them and give them lessons. In the village on the outskirts of the county, they said that as long as you sell well, you can go up level by level, from ordinary managers to silver managers, and then to What gold managers, platinum managers, diamond managers, and the wealth of diamond managers is even the envy of US President Clinton.The younger brother and Ankang were fascinated by what they heard, dreaming of becoming a diamond manager in the future, which also made Clinton envious and gave us Chinese people a sigh of relief.

To sell goods in this cosmetics company, there is still a threshold, that is, everyone has to pay 2,000 yuan first.At that time, 2,000 yuan was a lot of money. You could buy a 19-inch color TV, and there were very few color TVs in rural areas at that time. Ankang discussed with his younger brother, and the two of them sold the tricycle that they had for dinner.Then I borrowed money from various places, and finally got 2,000 yuan, so I gave it away to others.After Ankang's classmate received the money, his eyebrows were wide open and his mouth was crooked.The younger brother said he never knew a person could be so happy.

After paying the money, they were taken to a building in the county town, and their movements were restricted instead.Several young men followed them day and night and did not let them go out.The boys made them write down everyone's phone numbers and dial them from a landline in the room. The doors and windows of this unit were closed, and the curtains were drawn all day and night, so that no sunlight could penetrate.They ate and drank in this unit, and they were completely isolated from the outside world. Only now did the younger brother realize that he had fallen into a trap.They were frightened and frightened, and they were starved of food. Clinton would not envy this kind of life.

The younger brother and Ankang thought about how to get out.However, they couldn't talk, and they would be scolded by those guys when they spoke. One day, Ankang's classmate came in.He pouted like a corrupt official and said he came to visit them, with a kind smile on his face.The younger brother and Ankang understood, and they rushed into the kitchen, one picked up a kitchen knife, the other picked up a spatula, and pressed the neck of the "corrupt official" to make him spit out the money he had swallowed. The corrupt official was terrified, and cold sweat broke out on his bloodless face.He begged for mercy and said that he could let his brother and the others go. The younger brother said, "Take out the money." The corrupt official said: "The money has already been handed over to the superior, I can't make the decision." The younger brother said: "You can't be the master, so I will cut off your head today." The younger brother's hand holding the kitchen knife pulled hard, and there was a red mark on the corrupt official's neck. The corrupt official was terrified, knelt on the ground and said, "Please, don't kill me." Then, he said to the thugs, "Get the boss to refund the money." In the end, a thug went out and brought 4,000 yuan.The younger brother put the money on his body, the kitchen knife was still on the corrupt official's neck, and escorted the corrupt official downstairs.The thugs kept following, wanting revenge.The younger brother was in the aisle downstairs and saw a four-wheel tractor pulling a bamboo pole parked by the side of the road.The younger brother cut off the rope binding the bamboo poles with a knife, and the bamboo poles fell down with a clatter, blocking the way of the thugs.The thugs were furious, jumping and shouting.The younger brother pushed the corrupt official to the bamboo pole and ran away with Ankang. Later, my younger brother told me that when he was a child, he often heard his father tell the story of "Guan Yunchang went to the meeting alone", so he thought of Guan Yunchang at that moment, and did not expect to save his and Ankang's lives. Without the tricycle, the two had no means of living, so they worked as laborers on the construction site. When the younger brother narrated his thrilling experience, his expression was calm, as if he was narrating someone else's story.Our family was terrified. The younger brother said: "If I really couldn't get the money at that time, I would kill him with a knife." The mother said worriedly: "You killed him, how can you live?" The younger brother said: "I don't want to live anymore. He took 2,000 yuan from me. Most of the money was borrowed from others. How can I pay them back?" The younger brother also said that Ankang thought the same way at the time. For 2,000 yuan, the two young farmers were unable to repay, and the two young farmers were murdered.I was full of bitterness in my heart at the time, and I also hated these pyramid schemes very much.These are all human scum who only recognize money but not relatives. That afternoon, I went to visit my aunt, the widow of Gen Shengbo and Wan Lingbo. At Wan Lingbo's house, I happened to see Nizi and her husband Shiming.Shi Ming also dropped out of school before graduating from elementary school, and he carried his head into the field prematurely, with a slightly hunched back.Shi Ming is taciturn, always smoking, always smiling friendly. As early as ten years ago, Shi Ming and Ni Zi made tofu together.The backyard of their house is a tofu workshop. Every day before dawn, the two get up, light a fire to boil water, set up tofu bags, and start making tofu. The process of making tofu is very complicated. First soak the soybeans, then boil the soy milk, and then pour the soy milk on the tofu buns that form a cross and filter to completely separate the bean dregs from the soy milk.At this time, it is the most critical bit of brine.This procedure determines the quality of the tofu, and it is also a secret skill of the tofu owner. Most people will never let them see it; after that, the white tofu comes out. Nizi's family raised a tall mule. Every morning, after making tofu, Shiming put the mule into the cart and went out.There is freshly made tofu in the carriage.Shi Ming yelled all the way, sold tofu all the way, crossed mountains and ridges, no matter the wind or snow, and he could only come back when it was getting dark. When Shiming was running on the dirt road in the mountains, Nizi would pack up the utensils at home and pour the bean dregs into the pig trough.Her family also feeds several pigs, and bean dregs are a delicacy for pigs.She dressed the children and sent them to school.Then, she will carry the hoe to the field, and there are more than ten acres of mountain land at home that she will take care of. For ten years, the couple worked hard, worked hard and kept thrift, and finally lived a good life.When Shi Ming got married, he had nothing at home. He heard from his mother that the clothes for marrying a girl were borrowed from others.Ten years later, they built three new tile-roofed houses with pine rafters and pine purlins, which made the whole village envious. At Wan Lingbo's house, I saw Shi Ming. His hands were white and swollen, like he was holding two big fat geese, and he had frostbite on the back of his hands, which looked very scary.The winter in the north is extremely cold.Shi Ming pulled a cart of tofu from village to village, soaked his hands in icy water, and held the tofu like ice cubes, which made his hands look like this. While Shi Ming and I were chatting, my aunt sneaked into the kitchen and made a bowl of spicy tofu. The white tofu soup was covered with a layer of red chili oil and green garlic sprouts, which looked very attractive.Unfortunately, I just had dinner at home. Shi Ming smiled honestly and said, "I'll eat some more after I eat it. No one in this town is as good as my tofu. Try it." Shi Ming's face is full of simplicity and sincerity unique to a farmer, and his eyes are shining with self-satisfaction and pride.This is how he made his fortune.From his face, I read the steadiness and clarity, satisfaction and pride of a farmer. He has very low requirements for life, he just wants to do his best in this "job".And as long as I do my best as a reporter, I will also have this pride. Farmers are uneducated, but farmers are great. On the way home, I saw a frame cart approaching. There was a cow on the frame cart, and a ten-year-old child was leading the cow.The cow walked dully, very slowly, as if unwilling.Walking behind the cow was an old man with white hair and beard, driving a cart.They're shitting. I thought about my own life as a child.At that time, every summer and winter vacation, I kept pulling manure, cart after cart, pulling the excrement mixed with loess from the cattle pen to the field.Our fields are very far away from home, and they are full of valleys and slopes, and the roads are very difficult to walk.My sister is leading the cow, and I am driving the shaft. We pull three carts in the morning and three carts in the afternoon.Every night when I go to bed, my arm can no longer move because I have been holding the car shaft for a long time.At that time, my father and mother were sewing sacks at the grain station more than ten miles away from home, earning 10 yuan a day, and it was already late when they returned home.Sewing sacks can only be done by relying on relationships. Once I was pulling dung at night, and I also met wolves.At that time, my younger brother was very young and didn't dare to stay at home alone at night, so I put him in the compartment of the trolley and dragged him away.That night, my younger brother suddenly said: "Brother, there is a dog by the bank." When I saw it, my scalp was numb and my hair was standing on end. It was clearly a wolf.How can there be dogs in the ravine at night?The moonlight shone on the wolf, and the wolf's ears stood up high, only tens of meters away from us.At that time, there were very few wolf dogs in the countryside, and they were all stupid dogs.The stupid dog's ears drooped, but the wolf's ears stood up.I was terrified and terrified, but I had my underage younger sister and younger brother by my side, so I couldn't show any signs of fear.I whispered to my brother: "Come down and walk between the ox's noose, that is, between the two ropes connecting the ox and the cart. In this way, there will be a cow in front and me behind, and the wolf will have no chance." Very obedient, walked into the middle of the noose.I took the shovel from the car. The shovel was used to scrape the dung off the car, and now it has become my tool for dealing with wolves.The ox also found the wolf. It was panting heavily, and its two horns stood up high.I asked my sister to hold the cow nose rope, which is a thin rope that goes through the nose of the cow, so that the cow will not run away.The younger sister held a whip in her hand. The whip was more than two feet long. This was her tool for dealing with wolves.I quietly said to my sister: "Hold on to the cow and go back." We walked away from the field slowly, and the wolf followed quietly behind.I held the shaft of the car with one hand and the shovel with the other.I didn't dare to look back. I heard from my mother that the wolf is very smart. If you keep looking back at it, it will know that you are timid and will pounce on you.We walked tens of meters, and the wolf followed us tens of meters.The younger brother is holding the tail of the ox, and the younger sister is holding the nose rope of the ox. The ox is also very obedient, cooperating with us all the way.I was so nervous that I was covered in sweat, and I could hear my own violent heartbeat.In this way, we walked all the way in fear.Later, when we were about to reach the entrance of the village, we met our parents who came to look for us.I collapsed to the ground all of a sudden, my sister and brother burst into tears.The wolf quickly ran into the crop field. That year, I was in the second grade of junior high school, my sister was in the fourth grade of elementary school, and my younger brother hadn't gone to school yet.