Chapter 13: Don’t Even Think About Using Them

“Sanya, you and Ali stay at the hospital to take care of Goudan. We’ll head back for now and have your mother come over to take your place tomorrow morning,” Wang Hongjie said, regaining his composure and beginning to arrange the follow-up matters.

Sanya was Goudan’s mother, and Ali was Goudan’s father.

“Alright!” The two of them responded in unison, now that they knew Goudan was no longer in danger.

The rest of the group followed Wang Hongjie, preparing to return to the village.

But just before getting onto the donkey cart, Su Miaomiao suddenly spoke up.

“Village Chief, you all go ahead. I want to stop by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few things. Even the bowls at home are all broken.”

Wang Hongjie nodded. He was well aware of the poor conditions over at the cowshed.

“Then how will you get back?” Wang Hongjie asked.

“I’ll just walk back.”

“You know the way?” He frowned.

“I remembered it on the way here,” Su Miaomiao nodded.

Wang Hongjie furrowed his brows again, thought for a moment, and said, “We’ll take you to the supply store, and then you can ride back with us. You’re a young girl, and this is your first time in the county. If you get lost, we’d have to come looking for you.”

“Thank you, Village Chief.” Su Miaomiao understood he was trying to make things easier for her and accepted gladly.

So the group drove the donkey cart to the county supply and marketing cooperative.

At that time of day, there weren’t many customers. A young girl with two braided pigtails was dozing behind the counter.

“Excuse me, I’d like to buy something,” Su Miaomiao said gently.

“Hmm?” The girl blinked sleepily, then stood up when she saw a customer. “What do you want?”

“I’d like a few bowls, a pound of meat, and five pounds of white rice,” Su Miaomiao glanced at the shelves.

At the time, goods were still scarce, and selection was very limited.

“Do you have ration tickets?” the girl asked, still fairly polite.

“No,” Su Miaomiao shook her head.

All their household goods had been completely taken by the inspection team.

“It’ll cost more without tickets.”

“That’s fine,” Su Miaomiao responded quickly.

Seeing how readily she agreed, the girl gathered all the items Su Miaomiao requested and placed them on the counter.

“That’s 2 yuan and 50 cents altogether.”

Su Miaomiao looked at the meat and rice in front of her, then asked, “Do you have any cloth bags?”

“Yes, 2 cents each. Do you want one?”

“Yes.” Since the Wang family was taking her back to the village, it wouldn’t be right to carry everything in her arms.

The girl turned around and pulled out a cloth bag from under the counter.

It was made of two plain pieces of fabric stitched together—no fancy design, but sturdy and practical.

Not many people bought these, of course. In an era where most couldn’t even afford food, who would waste money on something like this?

Su Miaomiao didn’t mind. She paid for everything, packed it all into the cloth bag, and walked over to the donkey cart waiting by the roadside.

“Let’s go,” Wang Hongjie ordered his son Wang Qingshan once Su Miaomiao got into the cart. He didn’t say another word.

Su Miaomiao also sat quietly, while the others kept stealing glances at the cloth bag on her lap.

In those days, anyone who could afford to shop at the supply cooperative wasn’t an ordinary person.

Their village barely entered that place even once a year, and Su Miaomiao’s bag was stuffed full—they couldn’t help but wonder what she had bought.

But since the village chief himself hadn’t said anything, the others didn’t dare speak either.

So, in complete silence, they returned to Shimatuo Village.

Su Miaomiao now lived in the cowshed at the village entrance. As the cart reached the old locust tree at the village entrance, she jumped down.

“Village Chief, thank you for bringing me back,” Su Miaomiao said with gratitude.

“You saved our Goudan—I’m the one who should be thanking you,” Wang Hongjie said, increasingly pleased with Su Miaomiao.

Who wouldn’t like a young person who was both capable and humble?

“Then I’ll head home now. I’ve been out nearly the whole day—my family’s probably worried,” Su Miaomiao said goodbye to them.

“Alright, hurry home then,” Wang Hongjie nodded.

Only then did Su Miaomiao carry her cloth bag and head toward the cowshed where she lived.

Wang Hongjie also called for his family to prepare to go home.

On the way back, Wang Qingshan couldn’t help but ask his father:

“Dad, that girl was sent down here for re-education, so how does she still have money to shop at the supply cooperative? Her bag was stuffed full—she must’ve bought a lot of stuff.” Wang Qingshan couldn’t help swallowing as he spoke.

The harvest had been poor this year, and he’d never had a full meal in his life.

Just sitting next to Su Miaomiao earlier, he felt like he could smell the aroma of rice and meat coming from her bag.

“Don’t even think about touching their stuff. Without her, Goudan would’ve died,” Wang Hongjie said, clearly aware of his son’s thoughts.

“I’m not trying to take anything. I just thought—if they really have a lot, maybe they could share a bit with the village. Everyone’s struggling right now,” Wang Qingshan lowered his head.

“How much do you think they could possibly have? People sent down here get checked over and over again. What could they even bring with them?” Wang Hongjie snorted.

The light in Wang Qingshan’s eyes dimmed. “You’re right.”

“Anyway, from now on, look after their family more. Also let the others in the village know—don’t bully them,” Wang Hongjie instructed.

Wang Qingshan nodded. “Got it, Dad.”

After speaking, he pulled his waistband tighter—maybe the hunger wouldn’t feel so strong that way.

Meanwhile, Su Miaomiao was already hurrying back home with her cloth bag.

Halfway there, once she realized no one was around, she began adding more things into the bag.

The things she’d bought from the supply cooperative were just for appearances—what she really intended to use came from her personal storage space.

As she walked, she stuffed more in until the cloth bag was almost bursting.

Su Miaomiao had to stop for now and planned to find another chance later.

—

At that moment, the Huo family had just returned home after finishing work.

For lunch, Huo Mama had cooked cornmeal porridge again. It was a bit thicker than in the morning and had a little chopped greens and winter melon added in—at least now, a pair of chopsticks could stand in it.

After a whole morning of labor, the four Huo brothers were not only physically exhausted but also painfully hungry. The thin porridge from earlier had long worn off.

But none of them started eating yet.

“Why hasn’t little sister come back yet? Don’t tell me she got distracted and forgot the time?” Huo Minxue asked, a bit worried.

“What if something happened? Should I go look for her?” Huo Xinyuan immediately got anxious when he heard that.

Huo Jianguo also looked concerned. He was about to tell his three sons to go out and find her when he saw a slender figure slowly walking toward their house.

“That’s Miaomiao, right?” Tang Chunlan also noticed.

“I’ll go meet her!” Huo Xinyuan immediately ran up to greet her as soon as he saw Su Miaomiao returning.

“Little sis…” Huo Xinyuan had a big smile on his face, but he froze for a second when he noticed the large cloth bag she was carrying.

Surprised, he asked, “Little sis, what are you carrying in that bag?”