Chapter 68 : Delivering Things to the Cowshed

The next day, Su Mo was woken up.

The usually quiet village seemed a little noisy at this moment. Su Mo turned on the flashlight and checked the time, finding that it was only five o’clock.

Now that she was awake, Su Mo stopped lying down and got up to see what was going on.

Su Mo walked out of the yard and discovered that the source of the noise was on the road leading to the commune. There were torches and shouting voices everywhere.

Su Mo was startled and hurried back to the house, put on another layer of clothing, locked the door, and rushed to Lu’s house with a flashlight.

She had to go over and find out what was happening.

When they were almost at Lu’s house, a man came out of a house not far from Lu’s house. Su Mo shone her flashlight on him. She had seen this man when he was toasting at the banquet that day. Lu Changzheng had called him Second Uncle.

She asked, “Second Uncle, what happened?”

The man looked for a while before recognizing her and said, “Oh, you’re from Changzheng’s family, what’s wrong?”

“There’s all this noise on the road, what happened?”

Uncle Lu smiled when he heard this: “Nothing happened. It’s just the Shatin Brigade coming to pay their public grain.”

Su Mo was relieved. She had never seen such a thing before in the city, no wonder she got so scared and woke up early this morning.

“Oh, so that’s it. I thought something big had happened,” Su Mo said, breathing a sigh of relief. This Shatin Brigade should be the one where Li Jiaao was located.

Some villages with small populations could only set up one production team, and then several production teams were merged into one production brigade. It was rare for a village like Lujia Village, with a large population, to have a production brigade.

“Why are they here so early? Are they going to work at the human resources purchasing station so early?” Su Mo wondered. The fighting spirit of this era was truly incomparable to that of later generations.

“Just wait a while before work starts. When it’s time to pay the public grain, there are people at the purchasing station day and night. If you go early and finish early, you’ll avoid disturbing the afternoon team otherwise, you’ll be criticized.”

The sooner they paid, the sooner the team could distribute the money and food.

“Have you seen it before? Do you want to go see it together?” Uncle Lu asked.

Su Mo thought for a moment and replied, “Okay, I haven’t seen it, so I’ll go with you.”

It was a good excuse to go out and deliver something to the cowshed. If anyone asked her where she was, she could say she was just watching the fun.

Su Mo followed Uncle Lu to the main road and found it bustling with people, some holding torches, some pushing carts, some pulling carts, and some simply watching the spectacle. This was probably just the middle section of the line, as it seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions.

Su Mo was amazed. She hadn’t expected it to be so spectacular.

Uncle Lu found someone he knew and asked, “Tietou, which part of the line is this?”

The man named Tietou replied, “Collecting grain.”

Uncle Lu smiled and said, “It seems that the harvest in Shatin Brigade is also good this year. The line for collecting grain is so long.”

Farmers were happy as long as they had a good harvest. With more food, everyone could have enough to eat, and only when they were full could they work hard for the revolution and socialism.

Su Mo stood and watched for a while. After the grain collection team, there was the surplus grain team, which was also quite large. Behind them were people driving pigs and carrying other crops.

Su Mo guessed that they had lined up like this on purpose. This way, the team appeared long and impressive at a glance. It was probably a way for the team to show off its strength.

Uncle Lu had already followed the team to the commune to watch the excitement. Seeing that the team had almost left, Su Mo walked along the main road and hurried up the mountain when no one was paying attention.

They hurried all the way, and when they were almost at the cowshed, Su Mo took out the prepared backpack and put it on her back. She took out a few pears from her space and placed them inside. She also took out half of the fruit candies and egg cakes and added them. She then took out 10 leek-filled buns, wrapped them in the large oil paper that Sister Liu had given her before, and put them in. Lastly, she stuffed half a strip of bacon inside.

Then, she went to the cowshed.

After making sure there was no one around, Su Mo picked up a few small stones and threw them at the cowshed door, then hid and imitated a few bird calls. Soon, Su Tingqian came to open the door.

Seeing this, Su Mo hurried out and followed Su Tingqian into the cowshed and to the room where they lived.

When Mo Yurong and Zhang Zhen saw Su Mo coming, they quickly put down their work and went into the room together.

“Momo, why are you here today? Did you meet anyone?” Mo Yurong was a little nervous. Today the brigade was paying grain taxes, and there were people everywhere. Even the cows and donkeys had been taken away early in the morning.

“Mom, don’t worry. I didn’t meet anyone. I came here because I knew we had to pay the public grain today. Everyone went to the commune, so there are fewer people here,” Su Mo said.

“Mom, Dad, Grandpa Zhang, I brought some food for you,” Su Mo said as she took out everything in the backpack one by one.

Zhang Zhen saw that although the items Su Mo brought out were not many, the variety was very complete and included almost all the daily necessities. He couldn’t help but admire her.

The couple quickly packed up the items and put them in the small hole they had dug a few days ago.

Mo Yurong felt distressed as she packed the items. She was afraid her daughter must be exhausted carrying so many things.

Su Mo opened the oil paper package of the buns and handed it to Zhang Zhen. “Grandpa Zhang, I’m learning how to make these buns. Try one.”

“Hey, good,” Zhang Zhen clapped his hands, picked up one, and took a bite. His eyes lit up instantly, and he took another big bite, saying, “Little girl, when did you become so good at cooking?”

“My mother-in-law taught me,” Su Mo lied.

Zhang Zhen had also heard Su Tingqian talk about Su Mo’s marriage and sighed, “If he treats you well, live a good life with him. If he treats you badly, don’t be afraid. Divorce is not uncommon these days.”

“Yeah,” Su Mo nodded. Seeing that Zhang Zhen had finished eating the bun, she said, “Grandpa Zhang, have another one.”

Zhang Zhen was almost emaciated, which showed how difficult his life had been since his demotion.

Zhang Zhen waved his hand, “Save it for later.”

“I took ten of them; there’s enough for everyone to eat. The weather isn’t cold enough yet, so the buns can’t be kept for long. If you like them, I’ll bring more in a few days.” She had anticipated that there would be six people here, so she took ten buns.

“Okay, Grandpa Zhang will eat it at noon. Put it away for your dad first,” Zhang Zhen said.

At this moment, Su Tingqian was holding the cotton coat that Su Mo had made for him. He looked left and right, feeling that it was not safe anywhere he hid it.

This was made for him by his beloved daughter.

Su Mo rewrapped the oil paper bag and handed it to Su Tingqian. Seeing his expression, she felt a little strange. “Dad, what’s wrong with you?”

“It’s nothing, nothing,” Su Tingqian quickly took the things and put them away.

Zhang Zhen went out for a while, and when he came back, he handed Su Mo a roll of money.

“Xiaomo, Grandpa Zhang’s secretary, Xiao Ding, came with me in a hurry and brought almost nothing with him. Grandpa Zhang wants you to make him a cotton coat. His body shape is similar to your father’s, so you can just make it according to your father’s measurements.”

Su Mo waved her hands. “Grandpa Zhang, how can I take your money?” Is this another big shot giving her money?

“Xiaomo, Grandpa Zhang is here, so you can’t spend the money even if you have it. Take it. Grandpa Zhang will ask you to buy anything else he needs,” Zhang Zhen insisted.

Su Mo: …

Take it! Keep a calm mind and learn to enjoy the happiness of being supported by big shots.

Su Mo took the money and said, “Okay, Grandpa Zhang, if you need anything, just tell me and I’ll find a way to get it. Do you need any bedding or cotton clothes?”

Zhang Zhen was not polite. “I don’t need a mattress. Just get a quilt like your parents’. I have cotton clothes. You can buy some daily necessities.”

After all, he had been the mayor for so many years, and he still had some face. When he was demoted, he was allowed to prepare more complete things.