Chapter 40

Aunt Su had indeed saved them some food.

After dinner, they talked about the day’s harvest. Looking at the clear sky tonight, it should be sunny tomorrow. They hoped the weather would stay good for the next few days so everyone could finish harvesting the crops.

Although the corn hadn’t fully matured yet, it would be very dry and shriveled after being dried, but at least it could fill their stomachs.

But the sprouted sorghum was a big problem. Lin Yue heard them say they were going to harvest it and eat it, and couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle, can you still eat sorghum that has sprouted?”

Zhang Zhiqiang took out his old pipe, tapped it on the table, and said, “Whose grain hasn’t sprouted at the end? Don’t we all still eat it? As long as it doesn’t kill you, you have to eat it. What else can you do?”

Lin Yue fell silent after hearing this.

Sprouted sorghum and unripe corn were used to feed pigs in her time, but now people could only eat these things.

Aunt Su felt the atmosphere in the room was too heavy and depressing, so she tried to change the subject, “I saw Zhang Zhixiang’s grandson today. Guess why he ran to the West Ferry Channel?”

Everyone was curious and waited for Aunt Su to continue.

Aunt Su didn’t play coy and said directly, “That kid heard his father talking nonsense at home, saying that the big flood was a good time to catch fish. The kid took it seriously and actually went! You say, how can a father be so irresponsible!”

Zhang Zhiqiang slammed his fist on the table in anger, “That whole family of adults, none of them do anything right! They’re not ambitious themselves, and they’re always talking nonsense to their children. Such a good kid, he almost died!”

Aunt Su had originally wanted to change the subject and make the atmosphere less heavy, but she ended up making things worse. Her old man was even angrier.

Zhang Shouchang thought of something else when he heard about the reservoir, “Speaking of which, Dad, when the ground dries out a bit in a couple of days, we have to quickly organize people to repair the dam.”

Zhang Zhiqiang nodded, “Yes, I think the sun will be good for the next few days. After we finish harvesting the crops, we’ll organize people to go repair it.” He then turned to Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong, “Yuandong, you and your family can stay at my place for now. Wait until the dam is repaired before you go back, otherwise it might still be dangerous.”

Zhang Yuandong thought for a while and said cautiously, “Uncle, I went to West Mountain today, and when I passed by my house, I saw that the courtyard wall had been washed away by the water. That house belongs to the brigade. The courtyard wall is easy to fix, but we can’t stay there forever. There are still many empty houses in the village. I think we should buy one. What do you think?”

In 1960, many people fled to the Northeast, leaving many houses vacant in the village.

On the way back from the old house, Zhang Yuandong and Lin Yue had discussed this matter. Although she agreed, she didn’t expect Zhang Yuandong to be so eager and bring it up to Zhang Zhiqiang tonight.

Zhang Zhiqiang wasn’t very supportive, “If you have the money, have you thought about building your own house? Why do you want to buy someone else’s?”

Zhang Yuandong said, “I want to build a red brick and red tile house, but I don’t have enough money right now. And bricks are in short supply right now. It’s hard to buy them. It’s not worth building a mud brick house now. It’s better to buy an old one to live in for now.”

Zhang Zhiqiang thought for a while and nodded, “That’s a good idea. I remember that several families didn’t arrange for their houses before they left. They mortgaged them to the brigade. There are a few that are quite good. If you have enough money, it would be a good deal to buy one. It would be your own home.”

He tapped his pipe slowly in his hand, thinking about the vacant houses, before slowly saying, “The best one is Liu Daye’s house. It has four rooms, all square and neat. The courtyard is also big. The only problem is that it’s too close to your parents. It’s right next door.  Your uncle’s house is also good. It’s next to your aunt’s house, and it’s not far from here.”

Zhang Yuandong thought for a while and said, “After we’re done with this busy period, I’ll go and have a look with, with Lin Yue.”

Zhang Zhiqiang said, “That’s right. You should both go have a look. You have to make sure your wife is happy with it before you decide.”

It was really tiring today, and after talking for a while, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

The little kids weren’t sleepy yet. They were playing war games under the covers, making so much noise that the two adults couldn’t sleep either.

Wang Xiuxiang simply sat up and chatted with Lin Yue.

She had been unhappy with Lin Yue’s living situation for a long time, but she didn’t want to say anything. Now that they were finally going to move, she was even more excited than Lin Yue, “Your current house is too far away. Going to your place is like going on a pilgrimage to the West. If your husband wasn’t home, I would have already suggested it to you. I think you should choose your uncle’s house. It’s a bit small, but it has three rooms, enough for your family. And it’s close to my house, so it’ll be easier to visit each other.”

Lin Yue smiled, “I’ll go and have a look tomorrow. You don’t know, I’m a bit scared living in that house. It’s too close to the small forest. Every summer, I’m afraid snakes will crawl into my house. Even when I’m cooking and lifting the oil jar, I have to hold my breath, afraid that there’s a snake coiled inside.”

Wang Xiuxiang laughed, “When are you going to get rid of your fear of snakes? Everyone in the village respects and hates you for it. You’re the only one who’s afraid of snakes. You know, snakes are not afraid of people. It’s people who are afraid of snakes.

“Don’t you dare keep a snake in the house, you’re the only one who’s scared!”

Lin Yue chuckled wryly, “I don’t care what other people are like, I’m just scared, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

The two of them chatted for a while longer, until they were so tired they couldn’t keep their eyes open. They forcefully subdued the mischievous little monkeys and finally got to sleep peacefully.

The harvest from the fields took three and a half days to transport to the threshing ground.

The sorghum and corn had to be dried before they could be threshed. It rained a few times in between, but fortunately, it wasn’t heavy, and after three or four days, they were almost dry.

Zhang Zhiqiang divided the people into two groups. The young and strong went to repair the dam, leaving most of the women and children to work on the threshing ground.

Lin Yue and Zhang Yuandong took some time to go and look at the two houses. Both houses were made of adobe bricks, and because they had been vacant for years, they were both in a state of disrepair. The courtyards had been planted with vegetables.

Of the two houses, Liu Daye’s was indeed bigger and more organized. Zhang Yuandong’s uncle’s house was also good, although it only had a front gate and two main rooms. There were a lot of repairs needed, but the location was good, and the neighbors were all good friends with Lin Yue.

Zhang Yuandong had a deeper affection for his uncle’s house. When he was young, he wasn’t loved by his father or mother, and luckily, his uncle was good to him.

Sometimes, when he saw that Zhang Yuandong had been wronged, his uncle would go and scold Zhang Zhiwei and his wife.

When Zhang Yuandong was young, he was often bullied, and it was thanks to his uncle’s brothers that he was taken care of.

It could be said that thanks to his uncle’s family, Zhang Yuandong hadn’t completely become a wild child when he was young.

After discussing it, they both decided to take his uncle’s house, so they went to Zhang Zhiqiang and Secretary Liu to finalize the deal.

The house was priced at 120 yuan, and Zhang Yuandong paid without hesitation.

Lin Yue looked at him sideways. It wasn’t that she thought Zhang Yuandong should give her all the money, she was just curious how much he actually earned now.

He was already sending back 50 yuan in allowance every month, and he had bought so many things to send back recently, she wondered if he didn’t need to spend any money in the army.

They decided to arrange for people to help them fix the house after the autumn harvest. This work, like the repair of the courtyard wall last time, was free of charge, but they would need to provide the materials themselves and also provide the workers with two meals a day.

For the next few days, Lin Yue stayed on the threshing ground, threshing the sorghum and corn, afraid that it would rain again. She often rushed home in the evening to eat a quick bite, then went back to the threshing ground to work under the moonlight.

The adults were busy on the threshing ground, while the children were catching grasshoppers in the nearby meadow.

When they caught a lot, the bolder children would use stones to build a simple stove and start a fire to roast them on the spot.

Autumn grasshoppers were full of seeds, and when they were roasted over the fire, the aroma spread for miles.

Some adults couldn’t resist the temptation and would ask their children for a couple.

If they encountered a mischievous child who liked to go against the grain, they definitely wouldn’t give them any.

If the parents lost face, they would definitely get a beating with their slippers, needless to say.

Threshing sorghum required hitting the ground hard, and the threshing ground was full of dust. If people stayed on the threshing ground all day, they would all be covered in dust. When they got home, they would wash up and go to bed as soon as they got on the kang.

Lin Yue didn’t have time to move back, and she continued to stay at Aunt Su’s house for these days.

They were about to finish threshing and could store the grain after two more days of drying, but then something happened.

The morning sun wasn’t very harsh. After the third gong was struck in the village, people came out in twos and threes from their homes and walked towards the threshing ground.

Zhang Yuandong had to travel back and forth to the county every day. The county was quite far, and it took over an hour to get there by bicycle.

He had applied for a sidecar from the Public Security Bureau where he worked. He was just pushing the sidecar out of Aunt Su’s house.

There were very few bicycles in Tian Da Village, let alone this kind of sidecar that was only available to government officials.

Along the way, Zhang Yuandong received countless curious glances. Some mischievous children deliberately ran back and forth in front of and behind the sidecar, then gave their companions a look of pride, as if they were the ones riding the car.

Zhang Yuandong was helpless. It was rare to see a car in the village. At first, the adults and children were quite wary, afraid of bumping into it. They only dared to look from the side. Only a few who were familiar with him would ask a few questions.

After a while, when they got used to him, no one was afraid anymore. Honking the horn was useless. Instead, it made everyone even more curious.

He was now wearing his police uniform. He had dark blue trousers with red thread edging, a white police shirt, a brown belt around his waist, and a white peaked cap with a dark blue brim.

This outfit made him look even more broad-shouldered and trim, with an outstanding temperament.

Especially now that he was riding a police sidecar, all the young girls and wives on the road were secretly giving him the eye.

Older women also loved to look, and they dared to tease him.

Liu Wusensen shouted, “Look at Little Gray’s figure. Don’t say the young wives can’t take their eyes off him, even I can’t take my eyes off him! Oh, this horn is so loud. It’s much more useful than the old gong the captain uses. You just have to honk the horn, and all the wives in the village will run out!”

The other aunts laughed, and Zhang Yuandong never dared to honk the horn again.