Chapter 64

So, that morning, Chen Jiayi was the first to arrive. However, after waiting the entire morning, she not only got nothing but also became a spectacle for the villagers, who watched her as if she were a monkey.  

Growing impatient, she did not go looking for Shen Yiyi. Instead, she went to Brigade Leader, asking to collect her share first, only to be rejected by the village chief standing nearby.

Her frustration was understandable.  

At that moment, she saw Shen Yiyi and the others approaching but made no move to stand up and line up with them.  

Shen Yiyi did not mind. In the end, when it was time for Chen Jiayi to collect her rations, she would have to come over obediently.  

The first to receive his share was Li Chen.  

Since Li Chen was assigned ten work points nearly every day, he received a considerable amount of grain.

Although most of it was coarse grains, there was a fair share of fine grains as well. Once loaded onto the wooden cart, it was nearly a full cartload.  

In addition, he was allocated fifty yuan. Without hesitation, Li Chen used the entire fifty yuan to buy rice and wheat.  

Everyone was stunned by his extravagance, but they soon realized that this was not all.  

At that time, as long as someone had a rural household registration, they were entitled to basic rations, regardless of whether they worked or not.  

Naturally, Shen Yiyi was also entitled to them. However, since she did not work and had no work points, she felt too embarrassed to claim them.  

Moreover, she feared that someone might feel it was unfair and report her. After all, as an Educated Youth sent to the countryside to aid rural development, it would be easy for someone to report her for not working. If that happened, she might have no choice but to join the others in the fields next year.  

Shen Yiyi did not even want Li Chen to work in the fields, but there was nothing she could do about the policies of the time. She could not change them, but she certainly did not want to go to the fields herself.  

So, she had to use the winter months to figure out a way to avoid it.  

After distributing Li Chen’s rations, it was finally Chen Jiayi’s turn.  

She dawdled over, testing the Brigade Leader’s patience to its limit. With a furious shout, he startled her into hurrying over at once.  

The scorekeeper calculated Chen Jiayi’s work points, and when Shen Yiyi saw the numbers, she was genuinely surprised.  

Among the women in Qingshui Village, Chen Jiayi could indeed be considered a “hero among women” when it came to labor.  

Naturally, she received a substantial amount of grain. In addition, she was allocated thirty-six yuan.

The village chief handed the 36 yuan directly to Shen Yiyi. As for the grain, Shen Yiyi took all of Chen Jiayi’s 80 jin of rice and 100 jin of wheat.  

At the supply and marketing cooperative, rice was priced at 0.15 yuan per jin, and wheat at 0.13 yuan per jin, but purchasing required ration tickets. Here, however, the village chief, Brigade Leader, and accountant made the decision to set the price at 0.2 yuan per jin for rice and 0.18 yuan per jin for wheat when selling to Shen Yiyi.  

Calculating at those prices, the grain accounted for 34 yuan. Adding the 36 yuan Chen Jiayi was allocated, the total came to 70 yuan.  

This meant Chen Jiayi still owed Shen Yiyi 30 yuan.  

However, Shen Yiyi had no intention of accepting coarse grains as repayment.

She did not lack coarse grains, nor did she plan to send any home. Instead, she told the village chief that she would deduct the amount from Chen Jiayi’s future work points.  

Chen Jiayi was so enraged that her eyes widened in fury. If she earned any money next time, wouldn’t Shen Yiyi just take it again?  

“No! I don’t agree!” Chen Jiayi protested, determined to defend her interests. “If you’re going to deduct from my work points, then just settle it all at once! I can give you all these sweet potatoes and potatoes!”  

“Then I won’t deduct from your work points anymore. If you have the ability, return the money to me now.” Shen Yiyi scoffed.  

Chen Jiayi choked on her words and turned to the Brigade Leader for help.  

Although the Brigade Leader and the village chief had their differences, they were both from Qingshui Village.

Moreover, members of Old Li’s Family were standing nearby, eyeing the situation with keen interest.  

Shen Yiyi was not only the creditor but also half a member of Qingshui Village, giving her both reason and advantage.

After weighing the situation, the Brigade Leader naturally sided with her.  

Left with no options, Chen Jiayi could only drag her coarse grains away in anger.  

Shen Yiyi, however, did not leave. Instead, she smiled and asked the village chief: “Village Chief, is the remaining grain still available for purchase?”  

As soon as she spoke, the crowd was stunned.  

She still wanted to buy more?  

The village chief glanced at the grain behind her. In addition to what Li Chen had received, there was also Chen Jiayi’s fine grain. On top of that, Li Chen had already spent 50 yuan, which meant he had bought 200 jin of rice and 100 jin of wheat.  

Unable to hold back, the village chief asked: “You’re still buying? Can you even eat all of this? Wasting food is not allowed.”  

“I can finish it.” Shen Yiyi said with a smile, unafraid to reveal her intentions. After all, buying this much grain without a clear reason would make people suspicious. If anyone suspected she was reselling it, that would be troublesome.

“This isn’t just any grain. The rice and wheat from our village are plump and full, incredibly delicious. So, I thought I’d send some home for my parents to try.”  

Since all the grain was grown by the villagers of Qingshui Village, hearing such praise about their rice made the people around them very happy.  

Especially the village chief, who beamed with pride and said: “That’s right! This year, our village’s grain ranks among the top three in quality in the entire commune. Just a few days ago, when we delivered the public grain, the leadership even praised us specifically! Sending some back to your parents is definitely worth it.”  

As he spoke, he glanced at the accountant. The accountant checked the ledger and smiled as he nodded.  

The village chief then said: “Originally, we weren’t planning on selling any more grain, but since you’re such a filial child, we’ll make an exception. You can take another 100 jin each of rice and wheat—no more than that, though.”  

This was exactly what Shen Yiyi had intended to buy. She took the 36 yuan from Chen Jiayi’s share, added another 2 yuan, and thanked them with a bright smile.  

With that, Shen Yiyi’s household left fully loaded. The wooden cart was so packed that it took two trips to transport everything.  

Jiang Ailing wasn’t just feeling a little bitter this time—she was completely sour with jealousy.

As soon as she got home, she wasted no time in sowing discord with Mother Li.  

“Mother, Second Sister-in-law is sending way too much grain back to her maternal family! And it’s all fine grain! Don’t even try to say that her family gave her the money for it—we all saw it just now. It was Second Brother who spent his hard-earned money to buy that grain!”  

“I’m just saying, Mother, you’re Second Brother’s own mother, Second Sister-in-law’s mother-in-law. Yet, here you are without any fine grain to eat, while she only thinks about her parents in the Capital City. Isn’t that just disrespecting you?”  

Not content with just stirring the pot, Jiang Ailing added fuel to the fire. “Second Sister-in-law married into our family, yet she still keeps helping her maternal family like this. That’s just not right! If you ask me, Mother, you should go over there right now—before she sends the grain away—and bring it back for yourself! At least that way, you’d get to eat it instead of her sending it off to her family!”  

When Mother Li first heard that Shen Yiyi had bought so much grain to send home, she did feel a little sour inside.  

But she remembered what the old man had told her, so she held her tongue and said nothing to Shen Yiyi.

However, lately, Mother Li found Jiang Ailing particularly unpleasant to the eye.

So instead of losing her head and rushing next door to seize the grain as Jiang Ailing had suggested, she became even more clear-headed.  

Anger surged within her as she glanced around. Spotting the broom at the doorway, she took two quick steps forward, grabbed it, and swung it straight at Jiang Ailing.  

“You damn troublemaker, Jiang Ailing! Are you telling me to take the grain for myself, or do you actually want it for yourself?”  

“Mother, you’re hitting me?” Jiang Ailing was in utter disbelief. But before she could process it, the broom came down again. She dodged hastily, letting out a shriek. “Ah! Mother, stop hitting me!”  

“What? I can’t hit you now?” Mother Li swung the broom down once more. “Whether Second Daughter-in-law is helping her maternal family or ours, whether she cares about me or not—don’t you think I, an old woman, would know that myself?”  

“Or do you think I’ve been kicked in the head by a donkey and lost all sense? Trying to sow discord? Tell me, just what exactly are you plotting, huh? Are you only happy when our family is in complete chaos?”  

“You keep running your damn mouth! Running it and running it! You think you’re the only one with a mouth, huh? Pah! If I don’t shut you up today, who knows what other nonsense you’ll spew in the future!”  

Jiang Ailing was so terrified that she immediately covered her mouth and lowered her head, only to have the broom get tangled in her hair.  

Mother Li was strong, and in the struggle, a good chunk of Jiang Ailing’s hair got pulled out. The pain and fear made her clutch her head, screaming as she scrambled to escape, looking like a madwoman.  

Seeing that Mother Li was truly determined to beat her, she panicked and shouted for her husband. “Li Sanhong! Where the hell are you? Your mother is going to beat me to death! Li Sanhong! Are you dead or what?”  

In this era, it was not uncommon for a mother-in-law to discipline her daughter-in-law, but for Mother Li—who was notorious in Qingshui Village as a fierce mother-in-law—this was actually the first time she had ever laid a hand on one.  

Her infamous reputation had spread because, whenever she scolded someone, she could dig up and curse their ancestors going back eighteen generations. And every time Jiang Ailing was on the receiving end of one of her tirades, she would go out and exaggerate the story. Over time, Mother Li’s reputation as a vicious mother-in-law became widely known.