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Wang Qian ran to the front with the sack. “Hey, Auntie, Are you so kind to collect the grain rations for our family? Since I came alone, why don’t you kindly help me carry it home? It wouldn’t be in vain after all the fuss you made here for half a day.”
Zhu Qiyu and her daughters didn’t expect Wang Qian to arrive so quickly. Seeing her granddaughter rebuke her, the elderly lady scolded her angrily, “You little brat, you’re everywhere. You’re an ill-mannered child.”
In the past, when Zhu Qiyu scolded her, Wang Qian usually didn’t argue back. After all, she was a legitimate granddaughter of the Wang family. However, after being repeatedly insulted, she couldn’t take it anymore. Last time, she had almost lost her life at the hands of this old lady.
“Auntie, you keep calling me a little brat, but aren’t you the biggest rabbit here? Besides, I am the legitimate granddaughter of the Wang family. If you keep insulting me, be careful that our ancestors don’t climb out of their graves to hold you accountable. You’re even insulting our ancestors. You’re really bold. You dare to insult our ancestors. Tsk tsk, Auntie, you should be careful,” Wang Qian’s triumphant manner infuriated the old lady. The members who were collecting the grain rations burst into laughter. “The Wang family girl is right. We’ve never seen anyone insult their ancestors like this. She really doesn’t know her place. I wonder how she’ll face the Wang family’s ancestors in the afterlife.”
The public’s opinion was clear. The old lady’s behavior and the Wang Zhenhe family’s experiences had left a mark on everyone’s hearts. So, when Wang Qian spoke up, everyone chimed in. It was necessary to support her, and besides, the child’s words were quite good, leaving the old lady speechless.
Under the curious gaze of the crowd, Zhu Qiyu left in a hurry with her children. She had come early today, hoping to take some grain rations from the third family, but she didn’t expect things to turn out this way. Although she was filled with anger, she had nowhere to vent it. She left with a sullen expression.
The earlier commotion was quickly replaced by the joy of receiving the grain rations. The Wang family received over a thousand pounds of grain, but after deducting the initial loan of a hundred pounds, they were left with just over nine hundred pounds. This amount was not quite enough for a family of six. However, the mother and daughter were not worried, as they had their space to rely on. The other members, who were unaware of the situation, looked at them with sympathy.
Wang Zhenhe and the elderly men finished digging up the roots from their allocated lands on the mountain, borrowed a car from someone to transport them back home. As it was almost noon and the mother and daughter hadn’t returned, he and several elderly men went to the courtyard to look for them. However, on the way, he also heard about the commotion caused by his mother.
“Ah, Zhenhe, is this woman still a mother? She’s really ruthless. If I were you, I would have given her a piece of my mind a long time ago,” said Old Wu, who was straightforward and couldn’t stand such unfair treatment. When the Wang family’s affairs were discussed among the elderly men, they all grumbled about the old lady’s unethical behavior.
“Uncle Wu, I consider that woman as if she never existed. I am not her son. If she can harm my daughter, how much affection can she have for me? Even if I am considered unfilial, I cannot let my wife and children suffer again.”
As they were well aware of the situation, everyone agreed that Wang Zhenhe should not acknowledge this woman as his mother.
“Zhenhe, filial piety does not mean blind obedience. The old man is right. You can do as she says, but when it comes to your old lady, it’s foolish to be obedient. It could be fatal. Qianqian is a good example. When we heard about the child’s situation, if it weren’t for the fact that she is your mother, we would have wanted to send her to prison. People like her deserve to be imprisoned for ten or eight years,” said Zuo Zhanshan.
Even intellectuals like Old Chen couldn’t stand it, let alone others. Old Cui stepped forward and embraced Wang Zhenhe. “Nephew, listen to your uncle’s advice. Stay away from your mother. Only then will your children’s lives have sunshine. Otherwise, I suspect that your wife and children will be suffocated,” he said.
Wang Zhenhe had long given up on his mother after all the trouble she had caused. “Uncle, if I continue to associate with them, I won’t even be able to face my children. You know, my daughter Qianqian is only seven years old. Our old lady actually went so far as to harm her. It’s inhumane,” he said.
The elderly men knew that Wang Zhenhe had given up on his mother, so they didn’t say anything more. Everyone brought back the grain rations that the Wang family had received.
The amount of grain rations brought back was not much, but the elderly men advised, “Zhenhe, don’t worry. We still have some grain rations. If you need more, come to us. Even if we have to eat less, we can’t let the children go hungry.”
After bringing back the grain rations, Wang Qian remembered that there were still some edible items on the mountain that had not been collected. She suggested taking the elderly men out to gather chestnuts, walnuts, Chinese yams, and most importantly, wild grapes.
When she shared her idea with everyone, the elderly men naturally had no objections. Going out for a walk was a good thing. Even Zuo He was eager to go. Considering the situation, Wang Zhenhe suggested, “How about this? I’ll go and inform the comrades from the two work groups. I don’t want to cause them any trouble. You start cooking, and I’ll be back soon.”
At noon, the elderly men still had their meal at Wang’s house, but they all expressed that the grain rations they had saved belonged to the Wang family. Zhang Lan understood that their family was well-off in terms of grain rations, but she couldn’t say it out loud.
Wang Qian smiled and said, “Grandpas, please eat without worries. Our family’s grain rations are almost the same. Besides, we still have plenty of potatoes and sweet potatoes. We have diligent hands, and we can gather a lot of things when we go up the mountain later. Grandpas, please don’t hold back. I know what’s going on.”
The elderly men couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the sight of a seven-year-old speaking like an adult.
“Little girl, don’t blame us if you end up hungry. Your Grandpa Wu has a big appetite. If you let him eat to his heart’s content, he might even finish all our food,” joked Old Chen. Old Wu winked and added, “Old Chen, although I can eat a lot, I can also endure hunger the best. I can go without food for two or three days without any problem. You guys can’t do that. That’s the difference. Your literary bodies can’t compare to ours, right, Old Zuo?”
As the elderly men bantered, Zhang Lan quickly finished preparing the meal. Old Chen remembered something and took out the oil coupons from his pocket. “Look, I almost forgot. The old gang asked me to give your family these oil coupons. Niece, this is what we saved. Use it to buy oil for the children.”
Seeing the oil coupons in Old Chen’s hand, Zhang Lan couldn’t help but feel moved. Despite having eaten several meals at her house, the elderly men had been selfless in teaching her children. Each person received half a catty of oil per month, and they could only use a drop when cooking. This amount wasn’t even enough for the elderly men, but they had saved it to give to them.
The elderly men may be getting on in years, but they couldn’t do without oil. “Niece, please don’t refuse. You shouldn’t look down on us. If you don’t accept it, how can we come to your house for meals in the future? Take it. When we come for a meal, just use a little more oil. Besides, we’ve also shared meat with you, so we’re not lacking in oil. Let’s catch some wild game when we go up the mountain this time and have a good family meal,” insisted the elderly men.
The elderly men truly regarded Zhang Lan’s family as their own. They appreciated the family’s kindness and thoughtfulness, always making delicious meals for them. They were genuinely grateful for the family’s help during critical times and appreciated the care and attention they received.
“Mom, you should accept it for now. In the future, we’ll invite the grandpas over for a meal. When we go to the mountain to pick grapes today, I’ll make wine for the grandpas to improve their health,” said Wang Qian.
Old Wu was very interested in the grape wine she mentioned. “Girl, we heard you loud and clear. Don’t forget your Grandpa Wu’s share,” he reminded her.
After lunch, Guo Xing and Zhang Qiang also joined them. They wanted to go with the group. With the people they were looking after gone, staying in the production team’s courtyard wasn’t ideal, so they decided to go up the mountain with everyone.
As autumn arrived, the fruits on the mountain were ripe. The Wang siblings found the place where they used to gather fruits. The walnuts and chestnuts were still there, and there were some yams, although not as many. Even Guo Xing and Zhang Qiang were excited and began searching all over the mountainside. In autumn, there were naturally many things to be found on the mountain, as long as one was willing to look for edible items.
Both of them had families, so they wanted to take some things back for their families, saving money and enjoying delicious treats.
Zhang Lan and the children found the wild grapes. The vines on the branches and trunks were full of translucent, purple grapes. After tasting a few, Mingcheng and the others found them a bit sour. “Mom, can wine made from such sour things taste good? Won’t it turn into vinegar?” they asked. Since they had never tasted grape wine, their doubts were understandable. “Brother, wait until the wine is ready, and then you can taste it. I guarantee it will be good,” Wang Qian assured them.
Where else could one find such organic grape juice? Even in the modern world, it was a rare find.
While picking grapes, Wang Qian secretly stored some in her space. Everyone was busy picking, and no one noticed that her basket never seemed to fill up with grapes.
Zhang Lan did the same, filling her basket and then moving to her daughter’s side.
Wang Qian even took her mother’s share. When the siblings emptied their baskets to continue picking, she would take the opportunity to store some more.
She was afraid of taking too much, even though they had brought sacks and it was a painful task to carry such heavy things over a long distance.