Chapter 59.2

Not long after they left, they encountered the team clearing snow and ice from the roads in the village.

Since they were from the same village, it was natural to greet each other.

In the crowd, Qin Qingman saw the Qin Jianming brothers and Liu Sangunzi. After days of early morning snow shoveling, the three of them looked very worn out, more so than Chuchu, who had recently started his physical training and looked much healthier.

When Qin Jianming and the others saw Qin Qingman, they didn’t dare greet her. Instead, they hunched their backs, lowered their heads, and pretended not to notice her.

They didn’t want to speak to Qin Qingman, and Qin Qingman had no intention of acknowledging them either.

She exchanged greetings with a few familiar villagers and then continued toward the village entrance. Aunt Ah Yun was about to meet them, so they had to pick up the pace.

Once Qin Qingman and Chuchu had walked a good distance, Qin Jianming muttered quietly to himself.

“They’re definitely going to scam someone dressed like that!”

His family had been the first ones tricked by Qin Qingman. At first, he hadn’t realized it, but after working day in and day out with exhausting tasks, he finally understood they had all been deceived by her appearance.

Qin Qingman was far from weak or easily fooled; she was actually quite formidable.

It was only now that he realized this, but it was too late. The thought that after spring, the three of them might be assigned to shovel manure made Qin Jianming feel especially bitter and regretful.

He regretted not seeing it sooner.

Qin Jianming deeply regretted not realizing things sooner. Both he and Liu Sangunzi had heard Qin Jianming’s muttering, and although they didn’t speak up in agreement, they both nodded in understanding, their faces showing that they too shared the same unease.

Qin Qingman was definitely not someone to be underestimated.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have suffered such a big loss.

“She married an officer, you know. I heard the officer is very high-ranking, with lots of money. My mother said the dowry was three sets of furniture and a lot of cloth, along with household items. It was enough to fill half the yard. There’s no way she’s so poor that she can’t afford clothes.” Qin Jianming muttered, likely venting his frustration.

“My mother had already made a new cotton jacket for Big Sis, and it was a brand new one. She was going to give it to Big Sis as a wedding dress.” Qin Jianming added, the bitterness clear in his voice.

This statement revealed the source of Qin Caiyun’s hatred toward Qin Qingman.

In those days, fabric ration tickets were incredibly precious. A new outfit, from buying the cloth to making the clothes, consumed so many resources. The idea that her own future wedding dress had been worn by someone else was a deep betrayal, one that could understandably fuel resentment.

Qin Caiyun wasn’t just angry at the clothes being used to make up for Zhu Hongxia’s loss; she was also angry at Qin Qingman, who had accepted the clothes.

If Qin Qingman had refused the clothes, would they still belong to her?

This was why Qin Caiyun had harbored such intense hatred for Qin Qingman for so long. The grudge from the past, including her actions in trying to steal Liu Hechang away, was also linked to this bitterness.

Liu Sangunzi, listening intently to the muttering of the Qin brothers, was paying close attention.

He cautiously looked around, making sure no one was paying attention to their conversation. Seeing that the others were distracted, he quickly scooped up the snow with his shovel and whispered, “I heard from others that no one’s seen the bicycle or the watch, right?”

Liu Sangunzi wasn’t concerned with who Qin Qingman and her brother were trying to deceive with their shabby clothes. What he was really interested in was the dowry that Wei Ling had given to Qin Qingman.

Liu Sangunzi was 32 years old this year, and his children were about 10 years old, while he was still single.

Being single, he longed for a wife, children, and a warm home.

“That dowry didn’t include a bicycle or a watch, but I heard that next spring they plan to build a house, and after the house is built, they’ll buy a bicycle and a watch.” Qin Jianming said, sharing his inside information.

“Buying all that stuff must cost a lot of money!” Liu Sangunzi thought to himself. He felt like he might never get married.

His parents had passed away long ago, and he was just living day by day, with nothing saved up. If marrying a wife required such a big dowry, even if he sold everything he had, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“The three sets of furniture and the watch aren’t cheap. If you buy them all, it’ll probably cost at least nine hundred to a thousand yuan, and that’s not even counting the rarest ones. The rarest items also need ration tickets. Without tickets, even if you have money, you can’t buy them.” Qin Jianming added, his voice tinged with both envy and bitterness.

If Qin Qingman still acknowledged their family, they could have gotten some benefits too, but now, he didn’t even dare call her.

This situation, Qin Jianming thought, was all his mother’s fault.

His mother was too stubborn. All it took was for her to apologize to Qin Qingman and admit her mistake. Saying sorry wouldn’t cost anything or harm her in any way, so why not apologize? Look at how the aunt and the third and fourth aunts apologized, and not only did Qin Qingman forgive them, but she even gave them meat to eat.

The more Qin Jianming thought about it, the deeper his resentment for Zhu Hongxia grew.

But Liu Sangunzi, on the other hand, was stunned by the value of the dowry that Qin Jianming was talking about.

It seemed like he would never get married in this life.

Still, Liu Sangunzi, who had never experienced the pleasures of having a wife, wasn’t willing to give up. His eyes flickered as he came up with a devious idea. “Jianming, has your Big Sis’s hair grown back yet?” he asked. Though Qin Caiyun’s scalp had been injured by a goose, making her hair look a bit messy, wearing a hat or turning off the light wouldn’t affect her ability to be someone’s wife.

Qin Jianjun was already a person with a lot of cunning, so as soon as Liu Sangunzi spoke, he naturally understood what he meant.

He glanced at Liu Sangunzi with disdain and said, “It’s none of your business. Don’t pry.” Although Qin Jianjun didn’t necessarily have a strong brotherly affection for Qin Caiyun, he also looked down on Liu Sangunzi, who was in his thirties and barely had enough to eat.

Someone like him becoming his brother-in-law would be beneath him.

Liu Sangunzi was left seething with anger, his words effectively silencing him.

“Well, we’re both thieves, but you dare look down on me? Don’t forget what kind of person you are.”

With dissatisfaction in his heart, Liu Sangunzi slammed his shovel into the ice and snow on the ground. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could return home and warm up by the fire. Wasting time by being lazy was only wasting their own time.

After all, everyone had been assigned their own section to shovel.

No one could take advantage of anyone else.

While Liu Sangunzi was angrily shoveling snow, the Qin brothers were also busy stomping their feet to keep warm as they worked on their assigned snow clearing task. Their tasks had been arranged, and they couldn’t slack off or escape it.

This was because there were militia members who would inspect their work. If they were found not following the rules, they would be taken to the Educated Youth camp, where they would face hunger and be forced to memorize Chairman Mao’s quotations.

The two Qin brothers had once tried to be clever and cheat by slacking off, but Security Officer Qian Xiangyang had seen through their tricks, and they had been severely scolded. After that, they dared not try anything clever again.

It wasn’t until nearly eleven o’clock that the snow and ice on Kaoshan Village’s roads were cleared.

As soon as they finished and the inspection passed, everyone hurried back to their homes. Qin Jianjun went straight to the kitchen as soon as he got home. He saw Qin Caiyun, who was wearing a hat and cooking, and casually said, “Stay away from Liu Sangunzi from now on.”

Without waiting to see if Qin Caiyun understood or not, he turned and left.

Qin Caiyun, who had been cooking, froze for a moment, then her face darkened.

She had caught the meaning in Qin Jianjun’s words. That old bachelor, Liu Sangunzi, might be interested in her and was planning something underhanded.

“Pah!” she spat in disgust.

Qin Caiyun’s face was dark with a hint of red, her anger and frustration bubbling up. She was both angry and furious. How dare Liu Sangunzi, a man like him, even think about her? Even if there was something wrong with her, she was not the kind of person that a lowly rogue like Liu Sangunzi could marry.

He should look at himself in the mirror before dreaming! He couldn’t even take care of himself, and yet he was daydreaming!

Although Qin Caiyun was furious, she understood one thing: Zhu Hongxia was still lying in bed recovering and still needed her care. As long as she was needed in this house, she had value. But once Zhu Hongxia no longer needed her, she would definitely be discarded as a useless burden.

At that time, perhaps someone could afford the bride price, and no matter who the person was, Zhu Hongxia would make sure she married.

Whenever Qin Caiyun thought about how Zhu Hongxia might interfere in the latter half of her life, she felt a sense of urgency.

No, she needed to act quickly.

Qin Qingman had no idea that her brief visit had triggered a chain of events. Within a short time, she and Chuchu arrived at the village entrance. As they reached the entrance, they saw Ah Yun’s husband driving a cow cart toward them.

The cow belonged to the collective farm and was considered public property.

However, in winter, villagers could take the cows home to care for them. They would get the fodder from the collective farm, and the families taking care of the cows were responsible for keeping the animals warm. When spring came, the cows had to be returned to the collective farm in good health.

Ah Yun’s family was relatively well-off, so they would take a cow home to care for during the winter. The advantage was that they could use the cow for the whole winter.

But this kind of cow-keeping didn’t count as labor credits.

During the heavy snow season, having a cow to work with was more convenient than walking. Besides Ah Yun’s family, Zhang Hongmei’s family also kept livestock. Both families did this for their own convenience.

“Ah Yun, Uncle.” Qin Qingman and Chuchu greeted as they saw Ah Yun’s couple.

There were also two other villagers at the village entrance, waiting to ride on Ah Yun’s cart into town. Hearing Qin Qingman and Chuchu’s greeting, they also nodded and greeted Ah Yun’s couple.

There weren’t many people, and the sled was large enough to fit them all comfortably.

Chuchu was small, so as soon as Qin Qingman got on the cart, she immediately held the child in her arms, placing the wicker basket on the sled.

“Qingman, are you going to celebrate your uncle’s birthday?”

Xiu Lan, who had just gotten on the cart, noticed the wicker basket Qin Qingman was holding. Curious as always, she looked inside as she settled into the cart. The blanket that had covered the basket was now disheveled from the bumpy ride, revealing a small portion of the monkey head mushrooms inside.

Seeing the scarce monkey head mushrooms, Xiu Lan couldn’t help but ask.

At the same time, she cast a surprised glance at the not-so-new cotton coats Qin Qingman and her younger brother were wearing.

Everyone in the village knew what kind of life Qin Qingman’s family was living now. Not to mention the envious bride price Wei Ling had given, even the coal Qin family had received just a few days ago was something the villagers were aware of. Compared to the past, Qin family had long been different from the old days.

The other passengers on the cart also focused their attention on the wicker basket when they heard Xiu Lan’s question.

Gui Ying, even more surprised, asked, “Qingman, you’re really going to celebrate your uncle’s birthday?” She knew the Wan family well. In fact, she was on her way to Hongqi Farm today to visit her daughter, who had married a farm worker. That marriage had always been her pride.

Faced with the curious gazes of the others, Qin Qingman couldn’t exactly say she was going to her uncle’s house to slap his face, so she lowered her head and said in a humble tone, “My mother asked us to stay close to my uncle’s family while she was still alive. He’s the only uncle I have.”

Her late mother had indeed told her so, otherwise, she wouldn’t have bothered to teach Xu Lianhua how to cook while still in her confinement period.

Xiu Lan and Gui Ying exchanged a glance and, realizing they shouldn’t say too much, chose to keep quiet.

Recalling the recent relationships between Qin Qingman and the other families in Qin’s household, and looking at the worn cotton clothes she and her younger brother wore, they couldn’t help but make their own guesses. Instead of saying anything inappropriate, they switched the topic to something else.

The most common topic of conversation was hunting.

With less than a month left before the New Year, if they didn’t go hunting soon, many families might not have enough meat for their dumplings.

Since it was a matter concerning the upcoming New Year, the group became lively and engaged in the conversation.

As long as it wasn’t windy today, they weren’t worried about the cold wind. The conversation continued all the way into town. Once they arrived, Xiu Lan was the first to get off the cart.

Her youngest son worked at the town’s iron factory, a state-employed worker. She had come to town today to bring him some mountain goods, and she also had some New Year’s items to bring back to the village, so as soon as they arrived, she parted ways with the others.

“Hubby, take Gui Ying and Qingman’s brother to the farm entrance. I’ll go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to pick some things. You can find me later.” Ah Yun said to her husband before nodding to Qin Qingman and Gui Ying and getting off the cart to head into the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Her daughter was getting married after the New Year, so she needed to buy a lot of things and would need to take her time choosing.

With two people gone from the sled, there was much more space, and Qin Qingman and Gui Ying chatted casually as they passed the time.

As for Chuchu, he had long since fallen asleep in her arms.

The child exercised a lot every day, so he used up a lot of energy. Sleeping was the quickest way to restore his strength.

The sled glided effortlessly through the snow, and the cow hardly exerted itself. With each crack of the whip, they got closer and closer to Hongqi Farm.

The sound of the whip cracking in the air stirred Chuchu from his sleep, and he opened his eyes.

“Big Sis, where are we?” Chuchu was extremely familiar with the small plot of land in Kaoshan Village. Once they left the village, he didn’t understand much, especially since he hadn’t started school yet and didn’t recognize the big characters for Hongqi Farm.

“We’re here.”

At Qin Qingman’s response, the sled came to a stop, and the large gates of Hongqi Farm came into view.

Just like Huang Wanqing, Qin Qingman had the same luck—she ran into Zhao Tiancheng and his group right as they got off the cart.

This time, it was Wu Weimin who caught Qin Qingman’s eye.

He was the son of the director of Hongqi Farm.