The grain treated with pesticide powder was difficult to avoid. If they didn’t eat it, they’d starve, but eating it caused heartburn. The Hongxing Commune had only two old elm trees, and the women were all eager to gather the tender leaves from them.

“Have you heard? Fang Quizi’s kang is made of wood, and it’s filled with grain,” someone shouted.

“What? A kang full of grain? Is he crazy? Does he really have grain?”

“For all these years, as warehouse manager, the commune has inspected his house many times and never found a single grain.”

“He’s been hiding it in the kang. Just now, Su Xiangwan, the secretary from Xiaosong Village, found it out,” someone yelled.

“People are starving to death, and the warehouse manager has all this grain hidden? Beat him up!” someone screamed.

Lin Shuhong couldn’t stop the commotion. Upon hearing the news that Fang Quizi’s kang was full of grain, the people of Hongxing Commune rushed in, one after another, pushing Fang Quizi to the ground, spitting on him.

At that moment, everyone realized that Fang Jinhui seemed to have run away.

Now, this was about the third generation of communists, the “rotten third generation.” The grandfather was a hero, but the grandfather was also corrupt—so how could his grandson escape?

Su Xiangwan, holding a kitchen knife, teamed up with Dashan to corner Fang Jinhui behind a mud brick wall.

“Big Aunt, we’re family! You can’t treat me like this. You don’t know how much my uncle loves me. When I was little, I even peed on his neck!” Fang Jinhui was a hopeless sycophant, but he was also very good at pretending to be weak.

Song Jianguo was still hesitating, and Song Qi said, “Turns out he’s from the third generation of communists. We were too scared to touch him, but now that his grandfather is disgraced, he’s a rotten third generation too, so we can beat him, right?”

Song Jianguo thought about his soft and chubby little Ashe and remembered how she had kept vomiting until she was limp and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, he said, “Secretary, give me your kitchen knife. You go back first, because this is Qing Shan’s big nephew. If we beat him, I’m afraid he might get angry with you.”

Su Xiangwan handed him the kitchen knife but also reminded him, “We can’t cause a death. Just get your revenge, okay? Then tie him up and hand him over to the village committee.”

As the village secretary, she couldn’t let her villagers get away with causing someone’s death.

“Okay,” Song Jianguo said, holding the knife, and walked toward Fang Jinhui.

The so-called accounting check was just a cover-up. It wasn’t until Lin Shuhong took her to the village committee meeting that Su Xiangwan found out that Fang Jinhui’s uncle, the warehouse keeper, had embezzled over 5,000 pounds of fine wheat and more than 3,000 pounds of millet.

His house was filled with hollow wooden beds, and the grains were stored inside the beds, which were then covered with a layer of mud.

On the surface, it looked like a normal bed, but inside it was full of grain—well, actually, it was the lives of children who had died from hunger.

Now, they were opening the warehouse and distributing the food. The Red Star Commune, in the transition between seasons, was likely to have white flour to eat now.

Furious villagers not only wanted to distribute the food, but some were carrying forks and hoes, smashing and chopping, turning Fang Jinhui into a bloodied mess.

Lin Shuhong several times tried to intervene to protect him, but the enraged villagers shoved her out.

In the Fang family’s yard, the sounds of wailing were like a scene from hell.

Finally, Lin Shuhong decided to ignore it. She closed the door and let the villagers vent their anger.

This turmoil went on until the afternoon. Thankfully, the villagers were simple and honest, and fearing someone might die, they didn’t beat Fang Jinhui to death.

Because of Su Xiangwan’s success in finding food, and with support from the village secretaries, Lin Shuhong even rewarded her with ten yuan worth of food and daily goods coupons.

It was an unexpected bonus. Su Xiangwan waved as she left, and Lin Shuhong even joked with her, “If you can find a few more beds of food like this, our Red Star Commune won’t have to worry about food next year.”

With the food coupons in hand, Su Xiangwan went to the supply and marketing cooperative, planning to treat herself to a good meal.

To her surprise, she found a rooster clucking in a corner of the cooperative.

When she asked, she learned that it was also part of the food rations, though it had been confiscated from a household that secretly raised chickens.

With the eight yuan coupons, she could just buy the rooster.

Su Xiangwan decided to buy it and take it home.

“Mom, why did you go alone? Why didn’t you take me?” As soon as she got home, she bumped into Yedan.

Xianghong was also calling out, “Sis, your two kids are impossible. They wouldn’t listen, and when you left, they both wanted to go to the Red Star Commune. I almost couldn’t stop them.”

Little Zhi Zhi had gone out with Su Xiangwan and now was crawling toward her aunt, her soft little legs unfolding in her arms.

Of course, Su Xianghong had a lot of questions, and the three of them were talking so fast it was almost too much for Su Xiangwan to handle.

But it was Gou Dan who asked the most practical question: “Mom, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

Su Xiangwan held up the live rooster, which was still clucking. “Big luck, big fortune, tonight we’re having chicken.”

Immediately, both Gou Dan and Lu Dan froze and swallowed their saliva.

These two silly kids had never eaten pork, and never even had chicken before—it was a rare treat for them.

…

After receiving the report, Song Qingshan and Song Tingxiu hurried back from the reservoir, abandoning the leaders from Beijing.

It had been many years since they last saw Fang Jinhui. Now, the two of them were tied to a tree, facing each other. But strangely, neither of them had been beaten.

Song Jianguo and Song Qi didn’t dare to beat them. The villagers were too timid, too soft-hearted to really hit them. They only used the kitchen knife to threaten them.

As soon as Song Tingxiu saw Song Laosan, he immediately grabbed his belt to strike him, but Song Qingshan stopped him, saying, “Let’s find a room and quietly beat him there. Don’t hit his face; we’re public servants, and it wouldn’t look good if his face is ruined.”

“Uncle, you’re the best, right?” Fang Jinhui, seeing he wouldn’t be beaten, was overjoyed and said, “Big uncle, I really didn’t do anything. But my big aunt, you should see what she’s like. I hid the grain at home, but it was meant to be shared with our relatives. Big aunt took it all and divided it up. Now the people of Red Star Commune have food, but what’s in it for her?”

Song Qingshan, pulling Fang Jinhui aside, removed some weeds from his head and said, “I heard you broke a child’s back in our village?”

“It was an accident when we were playing, the kid fell and broke his back. It wasn’t my fault, and my mom already paid compensation,” Fang Jinhui replied.

“You also hit your mom?” Song Qingshan asked again.

Fang Jinhui, seeing his uncle’s stern face, smiled awkwardly. “She was always hitting me, I just accidentally pushed her. Big uncle, I really didn’t mean it.”

“Well, I imagine you also didn’t mean to pee in that little girl’s mouth, right?” Song Qingshan continued. “I’ve heard from several young girls in the city that you’ve touched them, harassed them. I guess that’s not true either.”

Fang Jinhui immediately took a deep breath. “No way! I didn’t do anything like that. It’s all made up. You can ask my grandma, I really didn’t.”

Suddenly, with a quick motion, Song Qingshan pinched somewhere, and Fang Jinhui yelped, “Uncle, what are you doing?”

Song Qingshan released his grip and said, “Caiji is a girl, Zhizhi is also a girl. Our family doesn’t have many girls. Jinhui, I believe that anyone who has committed any crime can redeem themselves, but those who bully little girls can never change.”

“I really didn’t do anything! Nowadays, city girls are more open, after all, we have a military unit, and many young girls can’t be driven away. They just want to stick to me, and many of them came to me voluntarily.” Fang Jinhui tried hard to defend himself. “Who told us we have authority now?”

At just fifteen years old, you wouldn’t call him a child. He was already fully developed, with the physiology of an adult.

However, due to his age, the law would treat him as a juvenile in cases of misconduct.

“If anyone dares to lay a hand on Caiji or Zhizhi, do you know what your uncle would do?” Song Qingshan patted his nephew on the shoulder.

Fang Jinhui quickly replied, “I’d definitely beat him up.”

“No, your uncle wouldn’t let that kind of person live another day, do you understand?” Song Qingshan patted his nephew on the shoulder again. “Go, play, go.”

Just like that? Fang Jinhui never expected this. He grinned and said, “Thanks, Uncle, thanks, I’ll head out now.”

“On the tractor, I’ve got some explosives to send to the reservoir. I don’t have time to take you, can you find your way back to the city?” Song Qingshan added.

Fang Jinhui paused for a moment, then smiled. “How could I not find the way? I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was thirteen, traveled all over the place. Don’t worry, Uncle, really.”

Back at Xiaosong Village, since Su Xiangwan now lived farther from the village, it was right on the main road, clearly visible from a distance.

On both sides, there were wheat fields surrounding a small courtyard. The lush green farmland looked indeed beautiful.

Half a year ago, Song Qingshan had started planning to save up for a house, gathering bricks, tiles, and wood. Everything was self-earned.

Of course, for a rural man, nothing was more important than a house. Seeing his new home brought him real joy.

What surprised Song Qingshan even more was that his two sons were standing by the road, their arms around each other’s shoulders.

As soon as they saw him, they jumped up and shouted, “Dad, Dad!”

Song Qingshan was delighted. His sons were growing closer to him.

“Waiting for Dad, huh?” Song Qingshan picked up Lu Dan and tossed him a little.

Gou Dan walked behind them, his voice very sincere. “No, we were waiting for you to come back so we could eat chicken. I’ve grown up and never had chicken before.”

“Chicken? Where’s the chicken from?” Song Qingshan asked.

“From Big Chicken, Big Victory!” Gou Dan was quite knowledgeable. “Tonight we eat chicken.”

After a pause, he added, “The chicken was traded by my brother Jinhui. We’re going to have a good meal today.”

Ever since Fang Jinhui had chased Su Xiangwan away, Gou Dan had grown more confident.

Today, he was especially excited to eat the chicken Jinhui had brought. His smile could barely be contained.

“Where’s your mom? Is she okay?” Song Qingshan asked Donkey Dan.

Lu Dan, appearing unconcerned, replied, “She’s fine, all happy when she got home, even carrying a big rooster.”

The child mimicked holding something in his hands.

Song Qingshan remembered what Su Xiangwan had said about Xiao A’s clothing, and now he finally understood the discomfort she had been feeling. He also realized why she didn’t want him in bed with her.

He then asked, “Song Donghai, Song Xiling aside from big underwear and snowflake cream, is there anything your mom likes? Should I buy her something?”

Gou Dan thought for a while and said, “She once said she wanted a “bulaji.” Dad, what’s a bulaji?”

The child didn’t know what a bulaji was, but Song Qingshan did.

He quickly said, “I know, I know. I’ll get someone from Beijing to bring a bulaji for your mom, the biggest one we can find.”