Chapter 33: Cornmeal Every Meal

With the carefree attitude of someone who has nothing to lose, Liu Honghe acted like a dead pig that’s not afraid of boiling water, making his family hesitant to provoke him.

His countryside assignment was still up in the air, and not only Liu Laohei, but Hu Meili was also on edge.

Before, Hu Meili hadn’t cared much about building a house, but after Liu Honghe’s antics, she couldn’t sleep soundly at night.

As soon as Lin Xiangnan graduated, she urged her to find classmates to gather information and get the building permit sorted out.

Du Ai-hong, who had taken over her mother’s job and was now part of the housing management office, told Lin Xiangnan directly when she asked about it, “Don’t worry, it’s no problem. Yesterday, we had a meeting internally, talking about all the people who have been coming to our office this month, complaining about wanting to build houses. Your grandpa even camped out at the housing management office for over a week. He’s bound to get it done.”

“So fast?” Lin Xiangnan exclaimed excitedly. “I thought it would take at least half a month.”

Speaking of which, Du Ai-hong got excited and gossiped, “You wouldn’t believe it. Yesterday, there was this old man, he was so dramatic. He cried and shouted, and even though he was so old, he wanted to kneel down and kowtow to our director, begging him to approve his building permit. He said his family was cramped for space. He scared our director half to death.”

Faced with such a shameless person, the director had no choice but to give in.

However, this was also because their situation met the requirements. Otherwise, no matter how much they begged, the director wouldn’t sign, not even for money.

Land was cheap, and people didn’t have that awareness yet. So, the Hu family had secured a spacious plot. Once the housing management office staff went to confirm the location, they could start construction.

Building a house was a big deal no matter what. Even though they were against superstition now, Old Man Hu still secretly consulted a blind fortune teller to find a good day to break ground.

Then, the whole family got to work, ordering bricks from the brick factory, river sand and cement from the sand yard…

Hu Meili was in high spirits for days because of this, and she didn’t even care when the factory leaders called her in for a talk.

Deducting her monthly bonus and not letting her be named an advanced worker this year didn’t bother her at all.

The purpose of being an advanced worker or a model worker was to get more money and be prioritized in housing allocation. But now, Lin Xiangnan had struck gold, somehow getting a thousand yuan, and all their problems were solved.

Before, she had worried that she wouldn’t be able to support the family on her own with her low salary. Now, she had no worries.

If the leaders wanted to talk to her, let them talk. If they wanted to criticize her, she would listen. If they wanted to deduct her bonus, she would take it.

She was just a regular worker, with no position. There was nowhere lower for her to go. She had worked at the factory for so many years and hadn’t made any major mistakes. The factory wouldn’t fire her. She was the breadwinner for the family of four. Who would dare fire her?

Being called in for talks every few days was stressful, but she could handle it.

Hu Meili was prepared for this, but Liu Laohei was not. After being called in by the leaders twice, he couldn’t take it anymore.

To make matters worse, Liu Honghe at home was not someone who would back down. Even on the last day for signing up for the countryside program, he refused to budge.

Lin Xiangnan wasn’t going to the countryside. Why should he?

The pressure from both home and work forced Liu Laohei to compromise. The day after talking to the factory leaders, he relented and allowed Liu Honghe to take over his job.

The leaders were initially reluctant. One was a strong worker, and the other was a young apprentice. They couldn’t be compared. But Liu Laohei pretended to be sick and even paid a doctor to give him a certificate, so the factory leaders had to reluctantly help him with the paperwork.

Hu Meili was surprised that Liu Honghe actually pulled it off. She was afraid that Lin Xiangnan would follow suit and demand to take over her job, so she loudly scolded her in front of Lin Xiangnan.

“Retiring so young. He’ll regret it sooner or later.”

“Not to mention that the family income is halved. Just think about it, for the next ten years, he won’t be earning anything, and he won’t have a pension. How can he live comfortably asking his children for money?”

“I, Hu Meili, will never live such a miserable life.”

Lin Xiangnan hadn’t even thought about her job, but seeing Hu Meili like this, she couldn’t help but deliberately ask, “Didn’t you say you were going to give your job to Big Brother in a couple of years so he could come back to the city? What’s the difference with Liu Laohei?”

“I can’t let your Big Brother stay in the countryside forever.”

Hu Meili said confidently, “Out of the three of you siblings, Xiaodong has suffered the most. I can’t just think about you and Xiaoxi, I have to think about Xiaodong too.”

If she could, she would keep every child in the city, by her side.

Speaking of which, Hu Meili couldn’t help but sigh, “I never thought Liu Laohei, who seems so careless, would actually take a step back for his children. He’s a good father after all.”

This time, Liu Honghe was satisfied, but Liu Hongshan was not happy.

Why should Liu Honghe get a job for free, while he had to pay for his?

If they wanted to be fair, the debt should be the family’s, not his alone.

Liu Laohei thought about it and agreed, “Before, your Aunt Hu was still here, and she was the one who was supposed to pay it back. She had some opinions about it. Now, under these circumstances, the family should help you pay it back.”

Liu Honghe had been fighting for so long, finally getting a job and staying in the city, so his standards were low.

He shrugged, unconcerned. “I’m an apprentice now, only earning 18 yuan a month. I’ll keep 1 yuan for spending money, and I’ll give the rest to the family.”

Liu Hongshan said, “We still owe over a hundred. We agreed to pay it back within two years, and we even wrote a promissory note. We only have one year left. We can’t disappoint those relatives who were willing to lend us money.”

The Liu family had borrowed a total of three hundred to buy the job. Last year, Liu Hongshan only gave the family a few yuan for food, and the rest went to paying back the debt. With Liu Laohei’s secret contributions, he had paid back a hundred.

This year, the Zhao family compensated Liu Hongying with a hundred, and Liu Laohei decided to pay that back first, so there was still a hundred left to settle.

Liu Honghe was young and had never managed money, so he simply said, “Pay back whatever we owe.”

“We need to pay back about twenty yuan a month. My salary will go towards paying back the debt, and the money you give the family will be for living expenses.”

“Okay,” Liu Honghe agreed readily.

What could seventeen yuan buy? After paying the monthly rent, water, and electricity bills, it was barely enough for the family of four to eat for a month.

Their family’s monthly grain ration averaged 28 kilograms per person. Flour was 17 cents a kilogram, rice was 14 cents a kilogram, cornmeal was 8 cents a kilogram, and the cheapest seasonal vegetables were 3 cents a kilogram. Even if they ate cornmeal every meal and the cheapest vegetables, it would be enough.

Both Liu Honghe and Liu Hongshan did manual labor, and eating like this for a long time would definitely take a toll on their health.

But to pay off the debt, they had to tighten their belts.

Seeing the Liu family’s living standards plummet, everyone in the courtyard couldn’t help but shake their heads.

“It’s either corn porridge or cornbread every day, no oil or water. Just looking at it makes me hungry,” Hu Meili said spitefully to Lin Xiangnan. “When we eat later, let’s close the door so they don’t smell the food.”

For so many years, Liu Laohei and Hu Meili’s salaries were considered above average, and they had never been so financially strapped when it came to food.

Their ration coupons usually weren’t enough. Before, Hu Meili even secretly bought expensive grain to ensure her children’s health.

Who would have thought that, just after getting divorced, Liu Laohei lost his job and was eating corn porridge every day. Their life was so miserable.

Hu Meili was scared. “Thank goodness I divorced quickly, otherwise, I would be another sad person eating corn porridge and cornbread every day.”