Chapter 10

Lin Hongna wasn’t concerned with Gu Shi’an’s affairs.

She was thinking about something else.

No one would have thought that this vigorous people’s commune movement would drag the country, which was in a state of disrepair, into another bottomless abyss.

It had only been about ten years since the founding of the country, and whether you were from the city or the countryside, everyone had to tighten their belts. The city people were a bit better off, with at least one or two members of the household receiving commodity grain. The government provided grain and oil rations, but in the countryside, old farmers could only earn work points by laboring in the fields. They worked from dawn till dusk, like the oxen pulling the production team’s mill, and by the end of the year, the grain they received was barely enough to feed their families.

In fact, life wouldn’t be too hard to endure if it continued this way. After all, things would get better when the children grew up, right?

But then came the commune canteens, forcing everyone to smash their iron pots and turn them into steel. The government forced everyone to eat from large communal pots.

At first, the canteens were operating well because the government had food. They served three dishes and soup, with plenty of white steamed buns. The commune members ate greedily, stuffing the leftover buns into their pockets to take home. The leftover food and vegetable scraps were thrown into the pigsty to feed the pigs!

But after only a few months, in 1959, the country ran out of surplus grain. In 1960, a severe drought hit the north, and the south suffered floods. In 1961, the country experienced the worst floods in a hundred years, with the Yellow River and Songhua River overflowing, leaving millions of hectares of farmland flooded and barren. Combined with the pressure from the Soviet Union, the three-year famine began, leaving countless bodies in its wake.

In her previous life, Lin Hongna had been driven out of the Gu family, and her own family blamed her for bringing shame to them. They didn’t even let her into their home.

Lin Hongna clutched the 100 yuan that Gu Mancang had given her and married a useless temporary worker from the power plant. They lived through three years of hunger, initially surviving on the government’s relief grain. But once the relief ran out, they had to eat things like bean cakes for livestock, stale cornmeal buns, elm tree bark, sweet potato vines, wild grass, and fruits. Anything that could be eaten, no matter how disgusting, was chewed and swallowed. When there was nothing left, she would tie her stomach with a rope and endure.

Those three years were so hard that even now, remembering them made her shiver.

Meanwhile, Lin Yao, because she married into the Sun family, didn’t go hungry during the famine years!

It’s because Sun Jialiang’s brother-in-law was the director of the county grain station.

No matter the time, the people working at the grain station would never go hungry.

Thinking of this, Lin Hongna’s eyes grew cold.

However, when she thought of her cousin, who had replaced her by marrying into the courtyard, Lin Hongna smiled.

Yes, she had already taken Lin Yao’s good fortune, hadn’t she?

Lin Yao had married Gu Shi’an, while she, Lin Hongna, was now involved with Sun Jialiang.

Men were like cats that liked to steal fish. Lin Hongna had given Sun Jialiang a little sweet treat, and he had already loosened up, promising that in a little while, he would find an opportunity to make Lin Hongwu a permanent employee.

Lin Hongna wasn’t doing this for some fake brotherly love or false sentiments; she was doing it for the money!

Lin Hongwu had agreed that if he could get a permanent position, he would give half of his monthly salary to her.

When compared to all those empty words, nothing was more practical than money.

Lin Hongna thought to herself that once she had money, she would take the opportunity to disguise herself and make a few trips to the black market. She would buy as much rough grain and flour as she could, along with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sorghum. She would store them in the abandoned cave on the back mountain. Relying on others wasn’t as good as relying on herself. In these times, no one could rely on anyone else. She had to fill her own stomach first.

As for her parents and brother at home, whether they are alive or dead, it all depends on fate.

*

In August, the jasmine flowers were fragrant, and Yunshui County remained hot and humid.

In this era, with no air conditioning or electric fans, sleeping in the stifling, steamy courtyard was a regular occurrence. Waking up in the middle of the night from the heat was nothing out of the ordinary.

For Lin Yao, whenever she opened her eyes at night, it was guaranteed that she had woken up from the heat. Unable to sleep due to the warmth, she would get up, pour a little hot water into the basin, add a scoop of cold water, and wipe her face and sweat off her body. After drinking a big bowl of boiled water, she would fan herself with a hand fan, hoping to fall asleep after a few moments.

Fortunately, the commune’s canteen had finally opened.

The head chef of the canteen was none other than Zheng Dacheng’s disciple and nephew, Zheng Lei, also known as Chef Xiao Zheng.

Speaking of Zheng Dacheng, although he had a bit of a temper and often looked down on others, his culinary skills were beyond reproach, and he was equally strict with his own nephew.

Zheng Dacheng worked as a head chef at the steel rolling factory, where many eyes were on him. The factory had over a thousand employees, and it was clear that without some real skill, one could not command respect.

Chef Xiao Zheng had a baby face and a constant smile that made him far more likable than his uncle.

On the first day the canteen opened, Chef Xiao Zheng showed off his skills.

Initially, Director Ge was worried. He thought, “This young fellow just graduated a month ago and is still using a big iron pot. Can he manage it? We can’t afford to let him ruin the reputation of our second commune’s canteen!”

As soon as Chef Xiao Zheng entered the kitchen, Director Ge quietly observed from the corner.

To his surprise, Chef Xiao Zheng was swift and confident. He used a high flame, skillfully thickened sauces, and even tossed the wok like a master.

The canteen could not rely on just Chef Xiao Zheng alone, so women from the neighborhood took turns helping. Some stoked the fire, some chopped vegetables, while others kneaded dough and steamed buns. Each person had a specific task.

The commune’s canteen was open for everyone to eat as much as they wanted, as Director Ge had insisted during the meeting.

They steamed two or three baskets of buns at a time, and the kitchen was filled with smoke and steam.

Chef Xiao Zheng quickly prepared three dishes and one soup: braised pork with potatoes, scallion tofu, marinated wood ear mushrooms, and winter melon and pig liver soup. The aroma was irresistible, and the taste was even better.

Director Ge couldn’t help but smile until his cheeks hurt.

Chef Xiao Zheng was amazing!

That day, the commune members eagerly rushed to the canteen like a stampede. Everyone was eager to grab a seat with their lunchboxes. The scene was like an army charging over a narrow bridge.

No surprise there—today’s meal was especially good, with meat, vegetables, and steamed buns. If they were late, there might be nothing left.

Gu Shidong was at the front, holding his lunchbox and charging ahead.

In those days, eating at the commune’s canteen meant waiting in line.

With the youngest son leading the charge, Zhang Cuilan wasn’t in a hurry at all. She even had time to pull weeds from her small garden.

Lately, with the heavy workload at the steel rolling mill, Gu Mancang had been eating all his meals at the factory canteen.

Even though it was afternoon, the sun was still scorching. Lin Yao’s fair skin became even more radiant after a short exposure to the sun.

Gu Chunmei had brought two large straw hats from home, one for her and one for Lin Yao to shield themselves from the sun.

Zhang Cuilan also had one.

When Gu Shidong saw this, he was upset. After getting his food, he ran up to his sister, complaining, “Second Sister, why do I not have a straw hat? You’re biased!”

Gu Chunmei replied, “What do you need a straw hat for? Go away!”

Gu Shidong was upset and wondered why he couldn’t have a straw hat too.

The child mumbled, planning to make a fuss if he wasn’t allowed to skip washing his feet tonight.

Zhang Cuilan swiftly slapped his head, “Little brat, what are you thinking? If you don’t wash your feet tonight, just wait and see how I deal with you!”

Gu Shidong widened his eyes, “Mom, how do you know what I’m thinking?”

Zhang Cuilan snorted, “You little rascal crawled out of my belly, so I know exactly what you’re up to. I can tell what you’re thinking the moment you stick your butt out!”

Gu Shidong: “…”

The canteen set up more than twenty red-painted tables, with four people sitting at each table. The tables were filled with delicious dishes, winter melon soup, and fresh steamed buns, all tempting the people to salivate.

Before they started eating, Director Ge had to hold a small meeting, emphasizing that although everyone could eat their fill at the canteen, they must not waste food. They should only take as much as they could eat, and anyone caught wasting food would be severely punished.

Everyone had been working all day and was already starving. The smell of the food made it hard to focus on Director Ge’s speech. When he finished, they casually mumbled a few “mhmms” and quickly dove into the food, devouring it like hungry wolves.

In the blink of an eye, half the bowl of braised potatoes was gone, and many steamed buns had disappeared as well. A few older women weren’t afraid of the heat and stuffed buns into their pockets.

Director Ge turned a blind eye. As long as no food was wasted, secretly stashing a few buns wasn’t a big deal. After all, they weren’t cooking their own meals at home anymore.

Gu Shidong gobbled down two large buns. When he saw Wang Shengcai’s mother from the courtyard stuffing five or six buns into her clothes, he thought, “Isn’t that hot? How is she carrying them around?”

He had an idea and started to stuff buns into his own clothes like Old Lady Wang.

Lin Yao looked at him in surprise, “What are you doing, Dongzi?”

“I’m stuffing buns to take home and eat tonight,” he said.

Zhang Cuilan frowned and scolded him, “Look at you! Put them back! Don’t learn from those shameless people!”

“Okay,” he said, obediently.

Lin Yao thought about what Director Ge had said during the meeting about not wasting food. She felt something wasn’t quite right.

*

By evening, the heat finally faded, and the courtyard, which had been quiet all day, became lively again.

The wind had picked up outside, and after a long day of work, Gu Mancang returned home covered in oil. He had spent the whole day tinkering with machines in the workshop, and his large hands were smeared with machine oil.

Gu Shidong quickly ran over to help. He fetched some water to wash his hands and brought out the bamboo chair that his father usually sat in, placing it in the courtyard so his dad could rest.

Gu Mancang was a little caught off guard. His youngest son was never particularly diligent.

After washing his hands, Gu Mancang discovered that his youngest son’s sandals had worn out, and he wanted a new pair.

Gu Mancang smiled and agreed.

Gu Shidong was so happy that he jumped around with joy.

Zhang Cuilan gave her youngest son an eye-roll. 

It was a hot summer night and mosquitoes were buzzing. Lin Yao wanted to take a bath, so Gu Chunmei lit some mugwort and helped her fumigate the bathroom inside and out.

Even so, Lin Yao still felt the presence of mosquitoes.

Seeing her wrinkle her delicate face, Gu Chunmei couldn’t help but complain.

“You’re so picky! Just wait, I’m done dealing with it. When my brother comes back, he’ll take care of the mosquitoes for you!”

Lin Yao chuckled, thinking that Gu Chunmei was just joking.

Little did she know, the words would come true. A few days later, Gu Shi’an really did come back.