Chapter 12: Gossips in the Brigade

While they were chatting, a few more elderly women arrived, carrying eggs.

Once the cart was nearly full, Grandpa Wang didn’t wait any longer and urged the ox forward.

Among all the passengers, Mu Mian was the only child. In this era, very few parents would take their children out just for fun.

Forget children—if adults didn’t have serious business to attend to, they wouldn’t go to town either.

The rural roads were rough, and the ox cart wasn’t particularly fast. The main advantage was that it made the journey easier. When Mu Mian looked back, she could still see some people walking in the distance.

As the ox cart swayed and rumbled along, Mu Mian’s attention soon shifted from the people in the distance to the chatter inside the cart.

A group of middle-aged and elderly women had gathered together, forming what felt like a grassroots intelligence network. One moment, they were talking about a fight between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from the east side of the brigade. The next, they were gossiping about how the eldest and second sons of another family couldn’t get along.

Their mouths never stopped, exchanging stories back and forth.

Mu Mian sat in the middle of these women, her little head darting back and forth as she listened intently—just like a curious little animal in a melon patch, eager to hear every piece of juicy gossip.

About halfway through the journey, Cao Chunfeng suddenly lowered her voice and whispered, “Hey! Did you hear what happened last night? I heard that the second branch of the Shi family— that little bully—snatched something from Tian Hongjuan’s daughter and even beat her up. I heard her head was bleeding!”

Mu Mian’s eyes widened. “Which Shi family?”

Qingfeng Brigade was the largest brigade under Hongxing Commune, covering a vast area with a large population.

When it was first established, several brigades had merged together, resulting in a mix of surnames.

Unlike Yangliu Brigade, where half the people were surnamed Liu and the other half were surnamed Yang—leaving only a small portion with different surnames—the Shi family wasn’t the only one with that name in their brigade.

With so many people in the brigade, Mu Mian’s young mind couldn’t remember them all at once, so she didn’t immediately realize which Shi family they were talking about.

Cao Chunfeng continued, “Which Shi family could it be? It’s Shi Dabao’s family.”

Aunt Wang frowned. “That Shi Dabao is really out of control. He’s been spoiled rotten by the second branch of the Shi family. A ten-year-old boy bullying a seven-year-old girl—what kind of behavior is that?”

Zhao Meihua chimed in, “Shi Chuncao just doesn’t have a clear head.”

Aunt Li nodded in agreement. “She’s bound to suffer the consequences one day. Look at Shi Dabao—what kind of future can a boy like that have? I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in jail.”

After listening for a while, Mu Mian finally managed to connect the names with her memories.

There were several Shi families in their brigade. One of them had an old man named Shi Dazhu and an old lady named Shi Chuncao. It was said that Shi Chuncao had been sold as a child bride to Shi Dazhu’s family because her family was too poor. That’s why she had always used her husband’s surname.

The couple had six children—the eldest and youngest were sons, while the four in between were daughters.

When it came to the two sons of the Shi family, there was plenty to say.

In a brigade as large as Qingfeng, there were always one or two people who were considered promising. Among the younger generation, the most successful was Mu Zhuo—he had not only finished high school but had also joined the military.

Among the older generation, although Mu Fugui held a job at the commune, he wasn’t considered the most accomplished.

The most successful one was Shi Dazhu and Shi Chuncao’s eldest son—Shi Xingfu. He was intelligent, had studied up to middle school, and was hardworking. He started as an apprentice in the city and later became a skilled technician at the factory.

He married a wife and had two daughters—Shi Xiaozhu and Shi Xiaolian.

Unfortunately, he passed away young. There had been a fire at the factory, and he died trying to save the machinery. The factory later provided compensation.

However, after he passed away, his wife Tian Hongjuan and their two daughters could no longer stay in the factory’s residential compound, as the housing was reserved for employees.

With nowhere else to go, the mother and daughters had to return to the brigade. They now lived in the southwest corner of the brigade, a remote area where they were rarely seen.

Compared to Shi Xingfu, the youngest son, Shi Xinggui, was completely useless. He had neither intelligence nor strength and couldn’t even earn as many work points in a year as an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy.

Yet, Shi Dazhu and Shi Chuncao still doted on their youngest son endlessly. Aside from being the youngest, there was another reason—Shi Xinggui and his wife, Li Guiyan, had a son, Shi Dabao. He was their only child.

As people often say, “The youngest son and the eldest grandson are a grandmother’s lifeblood.”

Shi Xinggui’s family had both.

On top of that, Shi Chuncao was extremely biased towards boys. No matter how accomplished her eldest son had been, the fact that he didn’t have a son meant nothing to her.

After Shi Xingfu passed away, the factory compensation money was something Shi Chuncao wanted to take entirely for herself—she didn’t want to leave a single cent for the widow and her daughters.

In the end, Tian Hongjuan had to threaten her with her life, and only after intervention from both the brigade and the factory was she able to keep half of the money.

Mu Mian turned to Cao Chunfeng and asked, “Was it Shi Xiaolian who got beaten up?”

Cao Chunfeng nodded. “Who else? That little girl found some wild eggs, and Shi Dabao wanted to snatch them. When she refused, that brat beat her up.”

Mu Mian frowned. “Was it serious?”

Cao Chunfeng sighed. “How could it not be? She was bleeding heavily! The poor girl fainted on the spot and had to be carried to Old Li.”

Old Li was the brigade’s barefoot doctor. His skills weren’t great, but he could handle things like heatstroke and stopping bleeding.

Mu Mian shook her head. Last night, her cousin and aunt had come over to her house. They had been so busy talking that she hadn’t noticed any commotion from the neighbors.

One of the elderly women asked, “How was it handled in the end?”

Cao Chunfeng replied, “What else? Compensation, of course.”

Aunt Li clicked her tongue. “That stingy old hag, Shi Chuncao—would she be willing to pay?”

In that old woman’s eyes, everything good should go to her grandson. Paying money for a girl she looked down on? That was like cutting off her own flesh!

Cao Chunfeng sneered. “Willing or not, she had to pay. Zhu girl got tough—she said if they didn’t give a proper explanation, she’d report Shi Dabao to the commune. That brat is all bark and no bite. The moment he heard he might be sent to the police station, his legs went weak, and he started crying for his grandma to pay up.”

Zhao Meihua sighed. “That mother and her two daughters are really pitiful. Fortunately, there’s still Shi Xiaozhu.”

Cao Chunfeng nodded. “Exactly, but it’s still a pity.”

The women continued chatting, each adding their own thoughts. Mu Mian leaned against her grandmother, quietly matching the people in their conversation with those in her memories.

Speaking of Shi Xiaozhu, she was very familiar with her because Shi Xiaozhu was the elementary school Chinese teacher in their brigade.

She was only seventeen this year, just as smart as her father. After graduating from junior high, she even got into high school, but after Shi Xingfu suddenly passed away, she couldn’t continue her studies.

After all, her mother, Tian Hongjuan, was not in good health, and her younger sister, Shi Xiaolian, was still little. How could she feel at ease leaving them alone in the countryside? Besides, there was also her little uncle’s family in the brigade.

So, Shi Xiaozhu returned to the brigade with them. The brigade leader wanted to take care of their family, and Shi Xiaozhu was indeed capable, so she became an elementary school teacher.

The conversation about the Shi family didn’t last long before the women moved on to talk about other families.

Time passed unknowingly as they swayed along on the ox cart.

When they got off, everyone carried their baskets or back baskets and headed straight for the purchasing station. Zhao Meihua didn’t have many eggs in her basket, so it didn’t take long to count them. After receiving the money, she came out and saw her granddaughter standing obediently at the door, glancing around.

Zhao Meihua asked, “Want to go play? Your father and the others probably won’t be here for a while.”

Mu Mian shook her head. “I don’t want to play. I’m just looking around.”

There really wasn’t much fun in the commune. No cinema, no zoo—those things were only available in the county, and you had to take a bus to get there.

Mu Mian looked up at her grandmother. “Grandma, are you going to buy something?”

She had just noticed that several women, after selling their goods, rushed straight to the supply and marketing cooperative, as if they were afraid the good stuff would be snatched up if they were late.

Zhao Meihua replied, “We only need a few boxes of matches at home. I don’t feel like squeezing in there, so I asked your Aunt Chunfeng to bring them for me.”

After saying that, she was about to take her granddaughter to the post office but paused, thinking for a moment. “I figure your brother’s call will take at least another hour. Let’s go to the recycling station and get a bundle of newspapers first.”

The walls at home were peeling a bit, and she needed to paste another layer.

Mu Mian’s eyes widened slightly. “The recycling station?”

Seeing the sparkle in her granddaughter’s eyes, Zhao Meihua chuckled. “It’s not some fun place.”

Mu Mian grinned sheepishly. It really wasn’t anything exciting, but she had read too many novels. In those stories set in this era, the protagonists always found valuable things at the recycling station.

She had good luck. Maybe she could give it a try too!

Finding treasures was all about luck, after all.

—

The recycling station wasn’t big. An old man was the only one there, watching over the place. There weren’t many things around, and it wasn’t too messy—at least still somewhat decent.

But in another two or three years, it would probably get much worse.

Thinking of the future, Mu Mian subconsciously sighed. By then, this place would be overflowing with all sorts of discarded items.

Zhao Meihua didn’t pay attention to her granddaughter’s shifting emotions and called out, “Old Brother! I need a bundle of newspapers.”

The old man was a bit hard of hearing. Zhao Meihua had to repeat herself twice before he responded, “Ten cents, take it yourself.”

Walking over to the pile of newspapers, Zhao Meihua frowned when she saw them scattered everywhere. “Why are they all loose? Why didn’t you tie them up?”

This time, the old man’s hearing suddenly improved. He replied loudly, “Too lazy. Do it yourself.”

Zhao Meihua: “………………”

Mu Mian wanted to help, but Zhao Meihua waved her off. “No need. It’s dusty here, and I don’t want your new shoes to get dirty. I don’t feel like scrubbing them.”

Mu Mian looked down. She had indeed worn new shoes today—the ones that little boy’s mother had bought for her. They were pretty but not as dirt-resistant as cloth shoes.

Since she had nothing to do, Mu Mian casually looked around. Other than newspapers, the place was filled with discarded bottles, jars, and broken furniture.

The bottles and jars were all either cracked or chipped.

In the southeast corner, there was a pile of broken furniture—some missing legs, others completely falling apart. They were probably only good for firewood.

After scanning the place and confirming that it was indeed full of junk, Mu Mian: “………………”

Maybe her luck wasn’t that great after all!

Just as she was about to look away, her gaze landed on a cabinet in the southeast corner. The carvings on it were quite pretty, so she walked over for a closer look.

Unfortunately, the cabinet was too broken to be salvaged.

Just as she was about to turn away, she suddenly noticed a small box with the same carved patterns tucked into the corner of the cabinet.

It wasn’t big, just a little longer than half her forearm. The lock was broken, and one of the four corners was chipped, but after a wash, it would still be usable.

When Zhao Meihua returned with the newspapers, she saw her granddaughter holding a small box. “Want to use it to store your little trinkets?”

Mu Mian did feel a bit tempted. She mainly liked the carvings—handcrafted and beautiful. Among all the broken furniture, this was the only piece that still looked decent.

Hehe, she actually managed to find something useful. What a win!

Just as she nodded, the old man nearby noticed and called out, “Three cents!”

Mu Mian, who had exactly one dime in savings and hadn’t even brought it with her: “………………”