Chapter 57

…

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ma Gensheng, after reading the announcement, saw only the words “Women’s Federation office” from start to finish, with no mention of the person who wrote the anonymous letter. He was furious.

They were trying to support Su Ye, but if helping Shanggou Village led to this kind of misfortune, who would help them in the future?

Ma Gensheng took the people from his village to the office of the Director of the Political Department. He was a representative of the poor and lower-middle peasants, a farmer honored by the province, and the representative of the entire village. Even the young soldiers didn’t stop him.

Ma Gensheng, with a red neck, said in an impassioned tone, “We are representatives of Shanggou Village. We entrusted Teacher Su Ye to help sell tea, and it was approved by the government. Why are you accusing Teacher Su of speculation and profiteering? We demand an explanation from the leadership!”

A female cadre from Shanggou Village, being sharp, questioned a female member of the Women’s Federation about the situation.

The female member of the Women’s Federation explained that someone had sent an anonymous letter to a certain leader, and that the one who sent it was the leader’s niece. Aunt Liu didn’t care who wrote the anonymous letter or the complex details, it was clear that the niece who sent the letter to her relative was not a good person.

In the countryside, the officials paid attention to avoiding nepotism, but city people didn’t even bother with such basic decency?

“The one who sent the letter to her relative, what was her name, Yao something? Tell her to come here, we need to ask her what she was thinking and why she wanted to harm Teacher Su,” Aunt Liu said loudly.

Although she felt a bit lacking in confidence facing someone as important as the political commissar, they were here to support their benefactor—there was no way they could back down!

“Yes, Aunt Liu is right! Teacher Su cares about her reputation and face. That female colleague didn’t even apologize, and now just posting a notice is supposed to be the end of it? We’re telling you, this isn’t over! If the army doesn’t want to handle it, we’ll go to the county Revolutionary Committee and have the county leaders take care of it.”

The political commissar furrowed his brow, asking his assistant to bring in the only person who knew the details, Yao Chunyu.

Yao Chunyu was working at the military hospital and was stunned when she was summoned by the soldiers.

When she entered the political commissar’s office and saw the large group of people glaring at her, her heart skipped a beat.

They were wearing simple straw sandals and clothes full of patches, with skin cracked from the sun and hands calloused from hard labor. It was obvious they were farmers from the countryside. Yao Chunyu shivered as she recognized one of them!

Many years ago, when she was sent to the poorest mountain village in the province, Aunt Liu had lived next door to her.

Yao Chunyu had spent over a decade in the countryside and had dealt with peasants for most of her life. They were crude and rude, narrow-minded, greedy, and stingy. They would argue over a piece of meat, and sisters would fall out over a few pieces of dowry money.

Now, standing in front of her, these same people were staring at her with a vicious look, asking, “So, it’s you, huh? You tell us, what benefit did you get from helping them slander Teacher Su?”

She never expected the people she had dealt with for so many years would so easily appear before her. After returning to the city, the one thing Yao Chunyu wanted to forget most was the dark, harsh years she spent in the countryside, including the husband she had left behind there.

A storm raged in her heart, and her mind went blank. “I didn’t… Teacher Su was slandered by someone else, I just helped them deliver the letter.”

Under normal circumstances, she would never have said something that could easily give her away.

Ma Gensheng noticed that the female comrade’s face had turned pale and didn’t want to scare her, but what could he do with his naturally fierce face?

Aunt Liu clicked her tongue. Having dealt with quarrels many times, she knew what was going on. They were both women, so she understood when someone tried to pretend not to know what was going on. This comrade Yao was clearly no good.

“Yes, you didn’t slander anyone, but you helped them! You clearly heard them slandering Teacher Su, but didn’t stop them. Not only didn’t you stop them, you even ^[1]“Stirred the pot” is an idiomatic expression that means to cause trouble or create a situation that leads to conflict, drama, or complications. It often refers to someone who deliberately … Continue readingstirred the pot by delivering the letter for them!” Aunt Liu sternly exposed Yao Chunyu’s intentions.

The political commissar originally didn’t know the cause of the situation, but after reading the report and the anonymous letter from his assistant, he understood. His face immediately tightened, and he seriously pointed to the anonymous letter.

He kindly told Ma Gensheng and the others, “The Women’s Federation office didn’t handle this properly. We will make sure to resolve this matter promptly. Teacher Su has indeed been unfairly slandered. Comrades, please calm down and sit down over there for some tea.”

The office of the Political Department quickly made a decision, determining to punish those who had slandered others’ reputations, like Zheng Yi and Jiang Shuhua, by requiring them to write a 10,000-character self-criticism and clean the residential hallways for a week, as well as apologize to Teacher Su. As for Yao Chunyu, for using her family connections to interfere with the work of the Political Department, she was required to write a 10,000-character self-criticism, suspended for a month, and apologize to Teacher Su. Yao’s salary was also docked for a month.

The few farmer comrades heard the punishment result and felt quite relieved, finally relaxing as they shook hands with the office comrades.

Yao Chunyu had originally thought the matter could be solved privately, but who would have thought these brash people would take the matter directly to the Political Department?

She trembled as she held the punishment notice. Once this notice was posted in the official processing section, how would the hospital view her? How would Gu Xiangqian look at her? Yao Chunyu had to work hard to calm herself down.

Su Ye… She had originally thought of her as just an ordinary rural woman, but she never expected her to be so surprising.

—

Gu Family.

After finishing his training, Gu Xiangqian returned home and found two skinny wild chickens lying in front of the door. A hint of confusion appeared on his usually serious face.

Could it be that Su Ye was lucky enough to have wild chickens deliver themselves to her door?

Gu Xiangqian picked up the two chickens from the ground, took out his keys, and opened the door. As soon as he entered the house, he saw the table filled with dried wild delicacies—an impressive sight. Not only that, there was also a chicken with its feet bound lying on the floor.

Su Ye was making a wild chicken soup, using bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and goji berries sent by the villagers, and she had slaughtered a fragrant chicken from the back to cook the soup.

The kitchen was filled with a rich aroma, mingled with a slight sweetness.

Outside the window, the thick shade of the trees fell on her, and her dark eyes gleamed with a faint golden light like quicksilver. The fan she had made herself and the exhaust fan were whirling, and the golden chicken soup in the pot bubbled with a satisfying sound.

Su Ye held a bowl with both hands, squinting her eyes in contentment as she enjoyed the meal alone… If it weren’t for the peaceful, beautiful scene, Gu Xiangqian might have thought he had returned to the days before the famine, when food was plentiful and there was no hunger.

Gu Xiangqian couldn’t help but smile. He cleared his throat and asked, “What’s all this about?”

Su Ye took a sip of chicken soup and said, “It was given to me by others. Just now, a few village officials from Shanggou came by, and they insisted on giving me three chickens. After a lot of persuasion, they finally took two back—”

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that Gu Xiangqian was still holding two chickens, which looked similar to the one lying on the ground.

It was unexpected that, in the end, they had left the chickens at her doorstep before leaving. How stubborn they were—Su Ye couldn’t help but shake her head, feeling the villagers’ goodwill.

It was as sweet as the bowl of wild chicken soup she was holding—deliciously sweet and made with ingredients of kindness and broth of hope, creating a pot of soup that warmed the heart.

Before leaving, the village party secretary had said to Su Ye with hope, “We’ve harvested the early rice, and we’ll plant a second crop of late rice. As long as we work hard and plant the crops steadily, next year we’ll surely have enough to eat. Thank you, Teacher Su, for your help this year!”

“Gu Xiangqian, would you like a bowl of chicken soup?” Su Ye asked.

Not long ago, Su Ye weighed herself and found that she had gained 20 pounds since she first arrived. In these famine-stricken times, to be able to fatten up like this, Su Ye couldn’t quite describe the complex feelings in her heart. However, Gu Xiangqian showed no signs of gaining weight. He had maintained a smooth, healthy appearance, radiating energy.

Su Ye smiled and served him a bowl of chicken soup. When Gu Xiangqian saw that his wife had filled half a pot with soup, he greatly appreciated her thoughtful gesture.

He took a sip of the soup. The rich, mellow chicken broth was mixed with a slight sweetness. The rehydrated bamboo shoots were crisp with a subtle sweetness, and even the daylilies tasted crisp and sweet.

“Did you bring this from Shanggou Village? It’s really sweet.”

Su Ye nodded. “They grow such good tea over there, so the wild products from the mountains are also great. These mountain goods aren’t worth much, but these wild chickens are really precious—”

Su Ye glanced at the three chickens on the floor. She didn’t mind eating the chicken meat she had earned herself, but she was reluctant to eat the ones given by the villagers. Moreover, there was probably not much meat on them, and killing them for food would be too wasteful. It would be better to get a few plump and tender chickens from the back.

Gu Xiangqian saw through her thoughts and said, “Don’t you like eggs? If you’re reluctant to eat them, why not raise them?”

His words gave her an idea, and she took the three chickens to give them to Grandma Zhou.

When Grandma Zhou saw the three hens in Su Ye’s arms, although the hens were thin, they were full of spirit, much like free-range chickens but with smoother, shinier feathers and more vibrant colors.

Zhou Honghan’s eyes lit up when she saw the chickens in her arms.

Su Ye smiled and said, “Grandma, help me raise a few chickens. Aren’t you always complaining about pests on your fruit trees? A few chickens will do the trick. If the hens are well-fed and healthy, they’ll lay eggs, and you can eat as many eggs as you want.”

Grandma Zhou lived on the first floor, and her yard was fenced with bamboo. She had planted a few kumquat trees, which she pruned neatly. When the kumquats bore fruit, the golden, abundant fruits looked like a symbol of good fortune.

Zhou Honghan agreed, remembering that when food wasn’t a concern, the kumquat trees had been more for decoration. But now, with the skyrocketing prices of eggs and meat, even finding a few chicks had become difficult.

“These chickens are really beautiful. Where did they come from?” Zhou Honghan asked.

Su Ye leisurely followed the feathers of the chickens and replied, “They were sent by the people from Shanggou Village—”

Just as Su Ye finished speaking, several neighbors from the big yard gathered around and said, “Teacher Su Ye, you’re really something!”

“I didn’t expect Teacher Su to do such a big thing behind our backs. Do you still have tea? I’d like to buy a few pounds.”

“I really feel bad for you during this time. Who would have thought things would turn out like this? The things people in the courtyard have been saying are so harsh!”

The praise from those around her was endless, and even Su Ye, whose skin was as thick as a city wall, couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

She cleared her throat and humbly replied, “You flatter me. It’s just a small matter, nothing worth mentioning. I just hope no one misunderstands me.”

Who would dare misunderstand her now? The neighbors stared wide-eyed. They had certainly never seen how tough the villagers from Shanggou Village were.

The man who claimed to be the production team’s leader had a red face and was speaking non-stop to the leader. He angrily complained about how much food their village had been allocated this year, how long the entire village had been eating wild vegetables and tree bark, and how the children had even started eating mud. He went on and on, all the way to how Su Ye had brought them food.

It was as if he wouldn’t let the leader leave today without an explanation. He looked like he could call the whole village over at any moment.

A row of over ten villagers stood crowded in the office, making it seem as if bandits had entered a government office. It was truly a case of a scholar encountering soldiers—no matter how right you were, it was impossible to explain!