Chapter 14 – Handing in Public Grain (1)

“You like it? Then next time when he pees or drools, you can change him again.”

Si Yueyue held her forehead, feeling utterly helpless. “Mom～”

“Alright, alright, Mom knows you’re filial and don’t want me to get tired. But your mother is still strong. When I can’t move anymore, I’ll stay home every day, take my grandson out for walks, and you’ll earn money for us to spend.”

“Okay, then I’ll work hard to make money and give it all to you, Mom. Then you can eat meat every day and drink malted milk every day… spend the money however you want.”

“Hahaha… alright, Mom will be waiting.”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law continued watching the children for a while. Once the two boys yawned and fell asleep, Grandma Zhao got up and walked out of the room.

Over at the brigade—

Dong dong dong…

The brigade members, who had been working hard all day, were just putting away their tools and getting ready to end their shift when the sound of a gong rang out repeatedly.

“What’s going on? What now?”

“Yeah, we’re already done for the day. I still need to go home and cook dinner. If it gets too late, we’ll be fumbling in the dark and wasting lamp oil.”

“Exactly!”

“Alright, alright, just finish up quickly and go see what’s up. The sooner we go, the sooner it’ll be over.”

Once everyone realized it made sense, they immediately picked up the pace, and after finishing up, they rushed toward the drying yard.

Once the crowd was gathered, the brigade leader began to speak: “We’re handing in the public grain tomorrow. I’ll pick a few strong young men to come with us.”

The brigade leader rattled on, reading out the names of those selected: “Alright, that’s everyone. The rest of you work as usual tomorrow. Meeting adjourned…”

As soon as he said that, all the women in the brigade scattered, hurrying home to make dinner.

Lei Dashu and his son and daughter-in-law walked home at a leisurely pace.

“You’ll go to town to hand in the public grain tomorrow. The eldest daughter-in-law should go too. Buy some meat while you’re there. We won’t make a big fuss for An An and Lele’s one-month mark, just invite the family over for a meal.”

“Got it, Dad. Then I’ll also send a letter to Zhenzhen while I’m in town.”

“Mm.”

Just then, some boys darted over from the side and called out happily when they saw the adults.

“Dad! Mom! Grandpa～”

“Dad, Big Brother, Sister-in-law…”

Lei Dashu looked his younger son and grandkids up and down. “What have you all been up to?”

“Grandpa, Uncle took us to the river to catch fish. Look, so many little fish.” Lei Qingyun excitedly pulled over a small basket to show his grandfather.

Lei Jun leaned over to look into his son’s bamboo basket. “Whoa, that’s quite a few little fish. When we get home, we’ll have your mom fry them for you to eat…”

Zhang Guihua smacked her husband’s arm. “Do you think oil grows on trees? Frying fish uses up a lot of oil!”

Originally about to cheer in excitement after hearing Dad’s words, Lei Qingyun now looked at his mother with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Mommy, can we fry the little fish?”

“Mom… I want fried little fish too.”

Lei Yu thought about the crispy, fragrant fried fish and swallowed hard. “Sister-in-law, I want some too.”

Zhang Guihua was overwhelmed by the children’s clamor. She glared fiercely at Lei Jun.

He scratched his nose and quietly shut his mouth.

The Lei family patriarch looked at his sons and grandkids and rarely offered a suggestion: “Go ahead and fry the little fish for the kids. The autumn harvest has been tiring—this will be a good way to replenish everyone.”

“Alright, Dad.”

Since even the old patriarch had agreed, what more could she say?

“Oh~ oh~ fried fish~!”

Lei Qingyun raised his arms and bounced with joy.

The whole group chatted and laughed as they walked home. Lei Jun automatically picked up the children’s bamboo basket and started cleaning the little fish.

Grandma Zhao looked at the old man walking in and asked: “What was being arranged at the drying yard?”

“Nothing much. Just having some of the younger men go hand in the public grain tomorrow.”

“Is the eldest going too?” She remembered he went last year.

“Mm, I’m also having the eldest daughter-in-law go and buy some meat. It’s An An and Lele’s one-month mark. We’ll just have a meal with the family. No need for a big event.”

“Alright.”

“The kids caught some little fish. I asked the eldest daughter-in-law to fry them later.”

When Grandma Zhao heard that, she was alarmed. Frying little fish used up a lot of oil.

Lei Dashu could tell what she was thinking just from her expression.

“Just once in a while. Let the kids be happy. There hasn’t been much good food during the autumn harvest. Think of it as a reward.”

She knew the old man was right. She was just a bit heartbroken over how much oil it would cost—not that she was unwilling to let the family eat it.

“Alright, alright, only you know how to dote on the kids.”

Zhao Cuilan had already finished cooking and was keeping the food warm in the pot, so Zhang Guihua only needed to fry the small fish.

Before long, the Lei Family began their meal. The children, watching the Lei family patriarch pick up his chopsticks, immediately reached impatiently for the fried fish.

“Awoo… the little fish is so delicious—one bite per fish, crispy and fragrant!”

“Of course! Your mom’s fried fish is one of a kind in the whole brigade—no one else can make it taste like this.”

“Mom is the best!”

“Big Sister-in-law’s fried fish is so, so good! Next time we catch small fish from the river, Big Sister-in-law can fry them for us again, right?”

“Fry, fry, fry—careful or Old Mom will fry you instead, you little rascal.”

“Hehehe… fry Little Uncle!”

Lei Jun patted his giggling youngest son.

“When you can earn ten yuan a day for your mom, forget fried fish—I’ll fry meat for you every day.”

“Mom～you’re just trying to stop your son from eating fried fish. How could I ever make ten yuan in a day? Even Big Brother can’t make that much.”

Lei Jun: Why’d this suddenly involve me?

“Not just Big Brother—no one in our whole brigade makes ten yuan in a day. That’s way too high of a bar.”

“Who says no one? Yueyue made sixteen yuan today. No—sixteen yuan and seventy cents. And she even got a food coupon.”

“Who? Yueyue? My sister-in-law?”

“My Second Sister-in-law? No way. Isn’t she in postpartum confinement at home? She hasn’t even left the house. Where’d she earn money?”

Lei Dashu, sitting nearby, observed quietly. His wife wasn’t the type to talk nonsense. If she said Yueyue made money, then she definitely did.

“Tell us the whole story.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? Yueyue wanted to write articles.”

“Yeah.” he nodded: “that’s true.”

“When Zhenzhen came back last time, Yueyue had her take one of her finished articles and mail it out when she left.

Today, the mailman came with a letter—her article was accepted, and they sent back sixteen yuan, seventy cents, and even a food coupon as royalties.”

Zhang Guihua looked stunned. “Oh my heavens, just from writing she earned sixteen yuan and seventy cents?”

Si Yueyue: Big Sister-in-law, this isn’t just “writing a few words.” alright…

“That’s right.”

“Yueyue is amazing—she didn’t even have to leave the house. She’s in postpartum confinement and still getting paid. Studying really is worth it.”

Grandma Zhao cast a sweeping glance across the room at all the boys, young and old.

“Did you see that? Studying really is useful. You can sit at home and still bring in money. Yueyue said something like… something about gold in books…”

Lei Qingshan immediately nodded and chanted: “Within books lies a house of gold, within books lies a beauty like jade.”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one. You all better study well, understood? If you don’t take it seriously, watch out for your hides.”

Lei Dashu didn’t say anything upon hearing this. He had always supported the kids studying. At the very least, he wanted them to finish junior high.

——

The next morning,

It was still dark.

The brigade leader led the young and strong men from the brigade in loading sacks of grain onto tractors and ox carts.

The vehicles were packed full, leaving no space for passengers, so everyone else had to walk behind on foot.

The dirt roads at this time were hard to walk on. The tractors and ox carts, weighed down with grain, moved slowly. The brigade leader assigned two people to walk alongside each cart.

The others followed behind, keeping watch for any bags that might tear or grain that might spill.

Whenever they encountered deep pits or steep slopes, the young men had to rush forward to lend the carts a hand.

This journey was full of hardship and challenges, but after over an hour of careful effort, they finally arrived at the grain station.

The work wasn’t done yet—now came the station’s inspection process.

A long line had already formed outside. They had to wait their turn as each group’s grain was inspected and weighed.

Zhang Guihua, seeing that there was still a bit of a wait, turned to Lei Jun and said:

“You stay here and keep an eye on the grain. I’ll go to the post office to send a letter, then buy some meat. I’ll also pass a message to Zhenzhen directly, so you don’t have to run back and forth. Once I’m done, I’ll wait for you at the town entrance.”

“Alright. Be careful.”

“Mm, I’m going.”

Lei Jun watched his wife leave, then turned back to chat with Lei Jianguo beside him.

“Where’s Sister-in-law off to?”

“Sigh… It’s the two nephews’ one-month mark. With how things are at home, we can’t afford a big celebration.

So I asked my wife to see if she could buy half a jin of meat. Just enough for the family to have a cheerful meal together.”

Lei Jianguo heard Lei Jun’s words and sighed softly. He had once envied Zhenzi so much—who would’ve thought things would turn out like this?

“Ah, look at my memory. I almost forgot—just a few days ago, I saw Mom making tiger-head baby shoes and asked her about it too.”