Chapter 32: Visiting the Sick

Knowing that Wang Dongqiu would come to apologize with Wang Dejun the next day, villagers were waiting at the village entrance early.

He Haiming specifically had He Daniu and He Liangliang take the last batch of public grain to town. All twenty-five educated youths from Dafeng Village didn’t go because He Haiming had specifically found them last night and asked them to all go to He Zhaoyang’s house in the morning to support Zhao Heping.

So, after breakfast, Wang Shuning went to visit him, bringing five eggs.

Lü Beichu and Zhao Heping’s room wasn’t large; twenty-five people couldn’t even stand there unless they were back-to-back.

He Zhaoyang brought out all his chairs and stools for the educated youths to sit on, like a village meeting, except these twenty-odd people were all young people; village meetings usually involved influential elders.

Wang Dongqiu and Wang Dejun couldn’t carry two hundred catties of grain. Since He Laodong and Zhao Heping had been injured by Guixi Village’s ox, they didn’t use an ox cart this time; they used a cart to pull the grain.

Last night, Wang Dongqiu had released Wang Dejun from the ancestral hall. Knowing he had to compensate with two hundred catties of grain and twenty yuan, he hadn’t closed his eyes all night.

“Village chief, I really didn’t intend to injure them. Yesterday afternoon was just bad luck; we encountered their grain transport team at the intersection, and they were one ox cart ahead of us. I was worried about not being able to deliver the grain before seven o’clock, so I wanted to get ahead. We had already yielded in the morning, and it was our turn in the afternoon, but the people from Dafeng Village wouldn’t budge an inch. I wanted to imitate them and use the ox cart to hit the sacks, but the ox lost control, and the responsibility isn’t entirely mine.”

Wang Dejun felt aggrieved. He hadn’t expected things to become so serious. When He Laodong and Zhao Heping were injured, he panicked and immediately sent them to the clinic, afraid of causing a death, which could lead to imprisonment.

Wang Dongqiu walked slowly. Because of this incident, Dafeng Village had come to make a fuss; not only did Wang Dejun suffer losses, but Guixi Village also paid half. He, as village chief, was blamed by the villagers. Although one hundred catties of grain was distributed to each household, each family didn’t get much, but it did affect the collective interests.

“Don’t look so dejected when you get to Dafeng Village. Apologize sincerely and resolve the matter. If you cause more trouble, you’ll have to pay more. It’s thanks to your parents’ fuss yesterday that He Haiming relented so quickly.”

As they approached the village entrance, they saw many elderly people standing there; they were pointed at as they passed.

Wang Dejun and the others arrived at He Laodong’s house first. He Chunxi stared at them impassively, not even offering them water.

Wang Dejun bowed deeply and apologized, giving the compensation in front of everyone. Then he was asked to leave by He Laodong’s mother.

He Haiming looked at Wang Dongqiu with slight embarrassment. “Aunt Guya is heartbroken for her son; it’s understandable that her attitude isn’t good.”

Wang Dejun didn’t say anything; Wang Dongqiu quickly waved his hand, saying it was fine.

When they arrived at He Zhaoyang’s house and saw a group of young people sitting in the yard, the people from Guixi Village felt a pang of unease.

Wang Shuning looked at the two groups coming in; the age and height differences were significant; now, bending over made them seem even shorter.

Zhao Heping leaned against the headboard, glancing at the ten yuan on the bed and the one hundred catties of grain piled in the room; he finally felt relieved. His family wasn’t well-off; this grain would be enough for him to eat for a while.

Lü Beichu frowned when he saw the sacks were filled with sweet potatoes, corn, and other coarse grains. “The village just harvested rice; they’re giving one hundred catties of coarse grain. Their apology isn’t sincere.”

Few families in the village could afford to use fine grains for cooking; for them, coarse grains were enough to fill their stomachs. But for educated youths from better-off families, eating coarse grains for every meal was unbearable; they needed a mix of coarse and fine grains.

Wang Dejun’s face stiffened. Fine grains were expensive; the village hadn’t distributed grain yet; even if they did, his family would have to sell the rice in town or exchange it for more coarse grains to survive.

The room was crowded with educated youths; Wang Dongqiu and Wang Dejun could only stand at the door; Lü Beichu’s voice was loud, making them feel awkward.

“Ahem.” He Haiming cleared his throat.

He wanted the educated youths to support Zhao Heping, but one hundred catties of fine grain was a bit much. The educated youths felt it was justified, but the villagers didn’t think so. They always complained about wanting fine grain and white rice; it was considered wasteful and not thrifty.

One bowl of white rice could be eaten as three or four bowls of cornbread.

Wang Dongqiu explained, “The village hasn’t distributed grain yet; rice is expensive. Dejun’s family is saving money to send their child to school next year; they don’t have much money. If the village hadn’t helped pay half, they wouldn’t have been able to get through the year. Zhao Zhiqing is from the city; he probably hasn’t eaten much sweet potato or corn. These are nutritious; they’re newly harvested this year and won’t spoil until next year.”

Towards the end, Wang Dongqiu’s speech slowed down; Wang Shuning felt embarrassed for him. The village had given them sweet potatoes and corn on their first day here; she sometimes roasted them.

It wasn’t corn harvest time; the corn kernels they brought were old and dried; if they were used for cooking, they had to be soaked for several hours; they could only be ground into corn flour to make pancakes.

Zhao Heping must have been tired of eating them; if he had money, who would want to eat coarse grains?

He Haiming had to interrupt. “Zhao Zhiqing must be tired; let him rest.” Then he left with the people from Guixi Village.

After they left, the other educated youths also left one by one. They weren’t familiar with him; if the village chief had spoken, they wouldn’t have come.

When most people had left, Lü Beichu moved the grain to the kitchen, sighing to Zhao Heping, “It’s all coarse grain; I didn’t bring any bones to make soup for you.”

Zhao Heping smiled. “It’s also my fault for not dodging quickly enough. The village chief said I don’t have to work for a while; I should rest my leg and wait until after the New Year.”

Only the five people who had come with Wang Shuning remained in the room; they spoke more freely.

Zhang Meili, sitting on a chair, said, “There’s no New Year’s holiday in our first year in the countryside; we have to stay in the village; I’m starting to miss home.”

Wang Shuning stood up to leave. “Even without a holiday, we don’t have to work; it’s relatively relaxed. Zhao Heping, rest well; I’ll go back first.”

Zhao Heping nodded. “Thank you for the eggs; they’ll last me for several days.”

Only Wang Shuning was generous enough to bring meat when visiting the sick.

“Rest well; don’t walk around too much; it’s not good if you have any sequelae.” Lü Beichu and Guo Jingyi were a couple; He Zhuzhu’s family only had one woman and two children. Today, Zhao Heping had received a favor from her; if he got sick someday, at least someone could help him.

When Wang Shuning returned home, He Zhuzhu was sitting at the gate chopping wood.

Not going to town to deliver grain meant fewer work points, but an accident had happened yesterday, and today He Haiming didn’t let the women go; it was all men, afraid of another accident.