Coo coo coo (5)

After the great Famine in the 60s, great culture revolution started, the family was broken up.  I am not yet too sure what happened to my grand mother and uncles - too much to ask.  But Dad was moved back to his home town.  He needed to be re-educated by the farmers, the political movement that no one can say no to.  He was given a small shed, which is next to his old house.  However, he is not allowed to go in, he said, even a look to the front door would get him a beat up treatment. 

The maid who used to work for Liao's family is still around.  She was the suppressed, the victim by definition, hence the communist power gave her relatively more freedom.  She came to Dad's shed, brought him a pot, a rice bowl, chopsticks, some grains and a puppy.  The minimum he needed to start to live in the simple shed.  Dad took the puppy everywhere, even when he worked in the field.  Puppy sat at the side waiting.  He took the puppy in the rice stalk basket carrying the puppy home, he let the dog sleep with him at night.  Dad had nothing left in his life.  His family and belongings were taken away from him, he was seen as a criminal no one wanted to be associated with.  They were keeping each other company. 

The low productivity in the field can hardly feed the villagers - the planned farming didn't help anyone.  The whole village was half starved while keeping to work on the field.  Dad managed to feed the puppy with some of his ration, both of them were struggling to survive. 

He came home one day seeing a bowl of meat stew.  No puppy.  His neighbor's wife came to his shed explained she cannot see him keeping feeding the puppy, Dad was seriously emaciated while keeping up with the heavy laboring work.  Both of them will die.  She said she knew Dad will not be able to do this so she had to.