Coo coo coo (3)

I am planning to keep a record of Dad's memories, his life stories, etc..  Some of those are sad, and depressing, some are the happy memories of his childhood or even adulthood.  All very good stories, worth keeping in the cyber space - they might be of interest of some.

Dad is the oldest son and he went to make a living in the Guangzhou - also because he went to high school there before China was liberated by communist.  He somehow got a "hukou", the right to stay in the city and worked for meager wages.  Because of his background, he cannot get a good job such as joining the communist party or become a government official.  Not to mentioned that he is under constant threat if there is any political movement.  I suppose that's the famine in early 60s, dad was 20 something and the villagers sent his 2 younger brothers (8 and 10 years old) on the train to Guangzhou.  When dad saw those 2, he cannot believe how emaciated they were.  In the rural country side, it seems like food is even harder to get.  He recalled that the youngest uncle not only very skinny but started to grow hair all over his body like monkey.  He took them in.  Later I suppose my aunt got married to a some guy who can provide food for her, and managed to arrange Dad to live in a barn next to a farm by the edge of city center.  Grand mum also came to live with Dad. 

The first paycheck Dad got, he could buy some meat but he decided to buy a air gun.  That is the start of this bird hunting years.  Before he went to the steel factory for work every morning, he went around the farm and forest to shoot some fowls, birds, anything that flew and his air gun can take down.  The catch were taken home for Grand mum to cook for the whole family.  

He constantly feels guilty about those birds he killed.  He talks about birds all the time when we were growing up, how pretty they are, how graceful they look, how the daddy/mummy bird feed their young ones.