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When the crops in the fields were almost ready, the couple who went home for lunch brought back some good news. The production team announced the end of guard duty, which meant that from that day on, everyone was free to go to the mountain to pick the remaining crops.
The sweet potatoes, potatoes, and taro in the fields couldn’t all be harvested completely, so there were still many left. This was an opportunity for the commune members to go to the mountain and pick what they could find, and whatever they picked would belong to their own families.
Upon hearing the news, the entire village sprang into action. After lunch, everyone brought their tools and headed straight to the designated area. At this time, it didn’t matter if a family had many or few members; those with more people had an advantage, as they could help each other pick more. Almost every household in the village locked their doors and concentrated on going to the mountain, all for the sake of securing food.
When Wang Zhenhe and his family arrived at the mountain, many people were already busy in the fields. At this time, no one had time to talk. Everyone was focused on picking as much as they could. The mountain was filled with people, but there was no loud noise. The only sounds were the rakes and the surprised exclamations of joy when someone found something good.
The five siblings from the Wang family may have been young, but they were all skilled workers. They were especially adept at using the small hoes, and they had sharp eyes. They could work while looking around, and whenever they saw something exposed on the ground, they would pick it up and put it in their baskets.
On the other hand, Wang Deshan and his family of four were noticeably slower than the children. Wang Zhi and Wang Zhenguo were good at eating, but not so good at working. After a while, they would put down their rakes and look around, taking the opportunity to rest. Zhu Qiyu was not very pleased and gave Wang Zhi a push.
“What are you looking at? Hurry up and pick. Are you waiting for others to bring it to you.”
Wang Deshan couldn’t help but sigh at the behavior of his two children. He didn’t even bother shaking his head this time. These two were really lacking compared to the other children.
“Grandpa, there’s more over here. Come pick here,” Mingcheng waved to the old man from a distance. He was more willing to approach his grandfather, but not the others. He didn’t want to deal with those malicious people.
The old man picked up a basket and ran over to his grandchildren to avoid getting angry at his two unreliable children.
Wang Deshan saw that Mingcheng’s basket was filled with a lot of items, and then looked at his own two children who were still being lazy and unproductive. He couldn’t help but sigh.
It was Sunday, and many children had been brought to the mountain by their parents. Although the children couldn’t pick much, having a little was better than nothing. Xiao Xiang and a few others approached Mingcheng, comparing who had picked the most. However, when they saw the contents of the Wang siblings’ baskets, they felt disappointed.
“Mingcheng, you guys are really efficient. In such a short time, you’ve already filled half a basket. You guys are really something,” Xiao Xiang said.
Unable to compete with Mingcheng and his group, the children could only continue picking. Wang Zhenhe and Zhang Lan went to pick sweet potatoes, as they already had potatoes at home, so sweet potatoes were a rare commodity. As for the taro, the Wang siblings were busy with that.
“Grandpa, why are you here?” Zuo He was surprised to see the elderly men coming with tools.
Zuo Zhanshan picked up his grandson and kissed him. “Silly boy, we’re here to help. The autumn harvest is over, so we’ve come to help your uncle’s family pick some things. We’ll also join you for dinner later.”
Old Cui joked as he picked up items, “Old Left, I’ve never seen you being unhelpful. You were so happy eating that cake.”
The old men filled the children’s baskets with the items they picked, and soon their baskets were full. Fortunately, Wang Zhenhe had prepared by bringing several sacks, fearing that they wouldn’t have anywhere to put the items once their baskets were full. They emptied their baskets and placed the full sacks on the ground, and everyone continued picking.
However, Wang Qian was cautious. She was afraid that the hard-earned items would be stolen, so she kept an eye on the sacks from time to time.
It turned out that someone with no sense of shame had appeared, and it was none other than Wang Dehong, the third uncle of the Wang family. He was sneakily opening a sack, preparing to steal something.
Wang Qian grabbed a handful of mud and ran over. Mingyuan saw his sister suddenly leave and also noticed the situation. “Sis, Uncle Dehong is stealing from our stuff.”
The people nearby who were picking things looked up when they heard Mingyuan’s shout. Indeed, Wang Dehong was taking things out of someone else’s sack.
Some of them started to comment, “What’s with Wang Dehong? What kind of relative is he? He’s always so stingy and has never been generous to his family and friends. Now that he sees how much the Zhenhe family has picked, he’s getting envious. But it’s one thing to be envious, why would he stoop so low as to steal? How shameless.”
Zuo Zhan shan and Wu Changyong saw the children running out with their tools and noticed that someone dared to steal from them. “This is outrageous,” Wu Changyong said. “He dares to steal from me. This is unacceptable.” He grabbed a rake and followed the children.
When Wang Qian reached Wang Dehong, she didn’t say a word. She simply raised her hand and flung the mud directly at his greedy eyes. “Ah, my eyes! Who did this?” Wang Dehong was caught off guard and the mud blinded his eyes, causing him to curse.
“It was me, your aunt. What are you going to do about it? Come on, someone, catch the thief,” Wang Qian shouted in her high-pitched voice. The onlookers gathered around, curious to see how the young Wang girl would handle the sly old man. Their presence also served as moral support for Wang Qian, as Wang Zhenhe and his wife were not present, and they were worried that the child might be at a disadvantage.
Upon hearing the voices of the Wang family’s children, Wang Dehong felt a bit intimidated. He had never confronted the young girl before, and now they had crossed paths.
“You uncultured thing, whose Aunt do you think you are?”
Wang Qian retorted without showing any weakness. “I wouldn’t even want you as my grandson. With only three working hands, the Wang family’s grave probably has grass growing crookedly on it. It’s only because of you, a person like you. Where do you think you’re hands reaching? Stealing things, really? You’ve reached that age, with your hands and feet unclean. Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at? I heard that your eldest son is about to be promoted. Aren’t you afraid that his political review won’t pass? And your grandson is looking for a partner. Aren’t you afraid that people will say your family has a grandfather has three hands?”
Wang Dehong wanted to get angry, but he couldn’t. His eldest son saw that a crowd had gathered and came over to see what was happening. He was surprised to find his father among the crowd. After hearing the explanation from the bystanders, even he felt embarrassed.
“Dad, what are you doing? We’re all relatives. How could you do something so foolish? It’s bad enough that you’re stealing, but you’re stealing from my cousin’s family,” Wang Dehong’s son said, which caused dissatisfaction among the crowd. “You can’t say that, Zhenquan. It’s not right to steal from anyone. It’s not right to steal from anyone’s family. You can’t just let your father steal from anyone.”
Wang Zhenquan realized that his words were problematic and quickly corrected himself. “I’m sorry, everyone. I misspoke. I was upset just now. Please don’t take my words to heart.”
Wang Zhenquan’s wife, seeing her father-in-law’s behavior, became exasperated. “Dad, what are you doing? Zhenquan is about to be promoted. If your actions get out, what will the leaders at his workplace think? We have a reputation to uphold. Your eldest grandson is about to find a partner. What will people think if your reputation gets out?”
Wang Dehong was thoroughly embarrassed today, but he didn’t care about his reputation. If he had cared about his reputation all these years, where would he have gone to take advantage of others? However, today, being scolded by his son and daughter-in-law together, he really couldn’t show his face.
Wang Qian watched as his face turned from red to white. “Uncle, I advise you to be honest in the future. If you encounter someone formidable, they might deal with you. It’s a small matter if you get hurt, but it wouldn’t be good if you ended up disabled. Also, remember this: it won’t end well for anyone who covets things from our family.”
Wang Deshan stood in the crowd, originally intending to help his granddaughter, but after listening for a while, even he couldn’t help but admire her. No wonder his wife was afraid of this child. Today, hearing his granddaughter speak, he couldn’t help but silently applaud her. She Handled everything even better that the adults.
“Well said, with your grandpa Zuo and grandpa Wu here, no one will dare to bully you,” the two towering old men stood by Wang Qian’s side, giving Wang Dehong a sense of pressure. Their presence was imposing, something that Wang Dehong, a rural old man, couldn’t possibly contend with.
“Everyone, disperse. There’s nothing more to see,” Grandpa Zuo waved his hand, dispersing the onlookers. He and Old Wu then took Wang Dehong aside for a private conversation.
However, what they discussed remains unknown. After their conversation, Wang Desheng obediently went to pick peanuts, not saying a word. Even when curious people asked him, he kept his mouth shut.
When they returned home in the evening, Wang Zhenhe and his family learned about the incident that had occurred at noon. However, they were truly speechless about their third uncle. At his age, how many more years could he live, and yet he still behaved so improperly? Wasn’t he afraid of people talking behind his back?
“Dad, I think your third uncle will be more honest in the future. Grandpa Zuo and Grandpa Wu had a talk with him. I saw how imposing they were. Despite their age, their presence is something not everyone can handle.”
“Yes, my grandpa and Old Wu are very powerful. If your third uncle doesn’t behave, Old Wu might just give him a beating. My grandpa said that Old Wu is quite skilled, although not as good as my grandpa,” Zuo He nodded in agreement.