“Mom, recently I’ve been feeling occasional pain in my chest, like needles poking in. Can you give me fifty yuan? I need to see a doctor in town tomorrow.” After lunch, Li Xiaopang privately talked to Xiaopang’s grandmother about this.

Xiaopang’s grandmother, eyes widened, replied, “Is your body made of gold? Fifty yuan to see a doctor? Just go to Dr. Zheng at the village health center.”

“Why is it okay for you and dad to go to town for medical treatment last time, but not okay for me? Dr. Zheng can’t cure this illness. I heard it’s a mental problem. If not treated properly, one could die suddenly, even when they seemed fine just moments before.” Xiaopang’s mother was lying with a serious face.

It wasn’t exactly a lie; she remembered someone who was perfectly fine one moment and then suddenly died.

Xiaopang’s grandmother didn’t believe her. “You never had this illness before. How did you suddenly get it?”

“Before, I didn’t. But ever since Daming ran away with someone, I’ve had it,” Xiaopang’s mother replied.

Xiaopang’s grandmother’s face darkened. “What are you saying?”

“I’m telling the truth. People everywhere are saying that Daming ran away with someone, abandoned his wife and child. How can I be okay? I cry every day, feeling like I’m suffocating. You said he went to avoid trouble, fine, but it’s been over a month. Isn’t it time for him to come back? Where is he?”

“Maybe something happened,” Xiaopang’s grandmother said, sounding uneasy.

“Whatever happened, I’m sick and need treatment. Whether you and Daming arranged this, intending to make me so angry that I die, or Daming simply ran away by himself, I’m going to see a doctor. If you don’t give me money, I’ll ask the brigade leader for a loan. I’ll even go to the police for help. The police are powerful; they can definitely find out where Zhuang Daming is.” Xiaopang’s mother didn’t care about filial piety.

Her son was unfilial to her, so why should she care about being filial to her mother-in-law?

This was a threat, and Xiaopang’s grandmother felt guilty.

Hearing Xiaopang’s mother talk about going to the police, she worried about her son being found.

This was a real elopement, a scandal.

Although they had left using their introduction letter to pretend to be a married couple, if the police found out… Xiaopang’s grandmother dared not think about it.

Moreover, during this time, her daughter-in-law had been well-behaved and hadn’t caused any trouble.

Suddenly asking for money, she might really be sick.

All along, despite her fiery appearance, this daughter-in-law had been relatively docile, especially since she had given birth to their only grandson.

They had been indulgent.

“I don’t have fifty yuan. Medical treatment doesn’t cost that much. I’ll give you ten yuan,” Xiaopang’s grandmother said.

Seeing her relent, Xiaopang’s mother hated her even more.

She knew that her mother-in-law understood the situation.

Trying to brush her off with ten yuan? Unacceptable. “I’ll go ask the village leader for a loan or go to the police to bring Daming back. Without a man in the house, anyone can bully me. Do you want me to suffer?”

“You… twenty yuan, that’s all I have,” Xiaopang’s grandmother said, heart aching.

Xiaopang also knew that fifty yuan was impossible.

Before, she thought that the money from the old couple would be left to Xiaopang in the future, so she didn’t care.

But now, she had to. “Forty yuan, not a cent less. If forty yuan isn’t enough for my treatment, I’ll come to you for more.”

In the end, they settled on thirty yuan.

Having received the money this time, Xiaopang’s mother began to think about what excuse to use next time.

Would she say her mother was sick and she needed to visit her? Or would she say her father was sick and she needed to visit him?

The Village Committee’s playground

“Time to distribute the meat!”

“Enjoy your meat!”

The children surrounded the meat stall, bouncing around with joy as they shouted.

Then, to the anticipation of the whole village, the meat distribution began.

The meat was distributed according to the number of people in each household. Those with work credits would have them deducted, while those without would have to pay.

For those under 18, they received 4 oz of meat, and for those 18 and older, they received 8 oz.

In Ning Shu’s family, the two adults received 1 lb of meat, and the three children received 12 oz, for a total of 1 lb and 12 oz.

“I want spare ribs or pig’s trotters. Can I have a little extra?” Ning Shu was one of the last in line.

The meat was distributed based on work credits, with the household with the most credits going first.

The old Zhuang family had six adults working, so they had plenty of credits and were near the front of the line.

Ning Shu had only worked half a day, and if it weren’t for Lin Guodong working for about a month, she would only have half a day’s worth of credits.

The biggest disadvantage of being last was that the fatty meat would almost be gone. In this era, oil was scarce, so people liked fatty meat for the added oil content, which was important for their diet.

“Ning Zhiqing, there’s not much fatty meat left. Can you leave some for us?” A woman behind Ning Shu asked with some embarrassment.

She was in poor health and couldn’t work, and the men in her family were not working, so they had fewer work credits than Ning Shu’s family.

“I’ll ask…” Ning Shu asked the meat distributor, “Can I have spare ribs and pig’s trotters, and can you give me a little extra fatty meat for someone else?”

Everyone was used to Ning Shu’s preference for spare ribs and pig’s trotters. After all, she had been in the countryside for five years, and every year during the meat distribution, she would ask for spare ribs or pig’s trotters.

The distributor agreed readily, “Bones are included in the weight. Since your family gets 1 lb and 12 oz, I’ll give you 2.5 lbs. Is that okay?”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Ning Shu agreed readily. She received 2.5 lbs of spare ribs and didn’t leave immediately.

After everyone had received their meat, another pig that hadn’t been distributed was brought in, and the next step was to sell the meat.

Ning Shu was near the front for this, as there were few people in the village willing to spend money on pork.

For example, in the Zhuang family, seven adults received 3.5 lbs, and eight children received 12 oz, for a total of 5 lbs and 1 oz, so they wouldn’t buy more meat.

In this era, families had many children, and those without a share were even more numerous, so many received 5-6 lbs of pork. Therefore, there were few families buying meat.

“I’ll take 30 lbs of lean meat,” Ning Shu said boldly, asking for 30 lbs of pork.

“Ning Zhiqing used to buy 10 lbs in previous years. Why do you want 30 lbs this year?” The meat distributor asked curiously.

Ning Shu explained, “Guodong is leaving after the New Year, so I want to make some jerky for him to take with him.” She was telling the truth.

Even if there was meat in the army, it wasn’t something they could eat regularly, and for the past five years, Lin Guodong had been receiving his monthly meat rations.

Although he could eat meat in the army without using his ration tickets, it was still limited.

Lin Guodong was also there and, hearing her say this, felt moved.

Although he tried to hide it, there was a slight curve at the corners of his mouth.

Er Bao’s eyes widened when he heard his mother say she was going to make jerky for his father. “Mom, does that mean we won’t eat meat anymore? I’ve never had jerky before.”

Lin Guodong’s moment of emotion was ruined by Er Bao’s words.

This unfilial son, how could he be upset about his father having some jerky?

“Ha ha ha…” someone laughed. “Er Bao, if your father eats all the meat, you won’t have any left to eat.”

“That’s right, you can’t let your mother give all the meat to your father.”

“Er Bao, go home and hide the meat.”

Ning Shu was also amused and exasperated. “If I don’t give your father any meat, he won’t earn any money. Do you want that?”

Er Bao said, “Mom can earn money too. When my brother and I grow up, we’ll earn money too.”

Ning Shu replied, “But you’re still young and can’t earn money yet. And you eat so much that the money I earn isn’t enough for you to eat.”

Ah?

Er Bao remembered that his mother earned a lot of money.

He looked at the meat, then at his father, and noticed that his father’s face didn’t look good.

He also had some survival instincts: “Then give Dad a little bit.”

“Okay, you decide later,” Ning Shu readily paid.

The 30 lbs of meat included not only lean meat but also pig’s trotters and spare ribs.

The 2.5 lbs of spare ribs she had received earlier wouldn’t be enough to eat.

After buying the meat, Lin Guodong naturally picked it up, and the family walked away in front of everyone.

“Ning Zhiqing is really lucky. She bought 30 lbs of meat in one go. Who could bear to do that?”

“I think Guodong is the silly one. If it were me, I definitely couldn’t stand such a spendthrift wife.”

“Get out of here. Ning Zhiqing can earn money herself.”

“That’s right. I heard she transferred her job to Lin Xiaojing. She’ll be following the army later. She must have made a lot of money from transferring her job, right?”

“Yeah, if she hadn’t transferred her job, she would have been a worker herself. She’s capable.”

“She’s really capable, isn’t she? With so many educated youth coming to the countryside, she’s the only one who could find a job in the county town.”

This made the other educated youth present a little embarrassed.

However, as a result, after the New Year, the educated youth began to go to the county town more often.

They also wanted to learn from Ning Shu, maybe they would find a job too.

Ning Shu naturally didn’t know about this.

When she returned home, she began to make jerky.

It was only a few days before the New Year, and if she didn’t hurry to make the jerky, it would be too late after Lin Guodong left.

Ning’s family was filled with laughter, but Lin Xiaojing from the old house seemed a bit troubled at the moment. “Xiao Mian, why are you here?”

Despite being surprised by her friend’s visit, she was still very happy. “Come to my room.”

“Yeah.” Yu Xiaomian was familiar with the old house. Seeing that there was only Lin Xiaojing at home, she asked, “Are your parents not here?”

“Today is the meat distribution in the brigade, so they went there. I’m reading books on clothing at home. I’ll be working at the clothing factory after the New Year, and I want to learn some things. These books were recommended by my sister-in-law, and they’re really informative.” She took Yu Xiaomian to her room and poured her a glass of sweet water. “Drink up, it’s very sweet.”

“Okay.” Seeing her friend’s warm hospitality, Yu Xiaomian’s originally nervous and uneasy heart gradually calmed down.

She took a sip of the sweet water, which indeed was very sweet and warmed her heart.

She took a deep breath and asked, “Xiao Jing, you said your third brother is a military officer. Is that very impressive?”

“Of course, but why are you asking about my third brother?” Although Lin Xiaojing and Ning Shu had let go, once bitten by a snake, one would be afraid of well ropes for ten years.

Whenever a woman mentioned her third brother, she would be on guard.

“It’s like this. Yesterday, Zhang… Zhang Zihao suddenly came to find me. He asked me to invite you out, and… he gave me ten yuan.” Yu Xiaomian mentioned the matter. “You mentioned before that Zhang Zihao was bothering you, so I didn’t agree. I’m worried he’ll find someone else to invite you out. You see, he’s from the city and is definitely more capable than us country folks. If he wants to harm you, we won’t be able to do anything. Can we ask your third brother for help?”

Lin Xiaojing didn’t expect it to be such a big deal.

Zhang Zihao had bothered her before, and now he dared to ask Yu Xiaomian to deliberately invite her out.

What did he want to do? In the past, as simple as she was, she wouldn’t think of anything that would ruin a person’s reputation.

But Ning Shu had taught her a deep lesson.

If Ning Shu could ruin her third brother’s reputation and then marry him, then Zhang Zihao, wanting to deal with a weak girl like her, would surely be simple.

And she would start working after the New Year, while Zhang Zihao was still a city dweller.

How could she defend herself?

No matter how careful she was, she couldn’t guard against everything.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Xiaojing was a little scared.

She wasn’t someone who could solve everything on her own, and she wasn’t so strong-willed.

But she also didn’t want to worry her parents.

What should she do?

Looking at her good friend, if Yu Xiaomian hadn’t agreed to Zhang Zihao, she might have been implicated.

For a while, Lin Xiaojing couldn’t find anyone to discuss this with.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Lin Xiaojing silent, Yu Xiaomian became nervous. “Can’t you ask your third brother for help? Or is your third brother not here? That’s right, your third brother is a soldier, so he should be in the army. What will you do?”

Lin Xiaojing was still thinking, but hearing Yu Xiaomian’s words was like a blow to her.

This matter had to be resolved while her third brother was around.

As Xiao Mian said, they were all ordinary people. To deal with someone like Zhang Zihao from the city might be like hitting a rock with an egg.

Lin Xiaojing thought that her third brother was different; he was the most capable person in their family, and he must know a lot of people.

However, she was still a bit embarrassed to ask her third brother for help.

After all, when it came to matters between men and women, she couldn’t bring herself to speak up.

She also remembered her mother saying that her third brother and Ning Shu were now a family, and she shouldn’t be so calculating.

After thinking for a moment, she said to Yu Xiaomian, “Let’s go to my third brother’s house.”

“Okay.”

Lin Xiaojing took Yu Xiaomian to Ning Shu’s house first.

She thought that if they weren’t at home, they should be at the meat distribution. Fortunately, they had already returned and were having a lively time.

“Auntie, you’re here?” Yi Bao was playing in the yard and, upon seeing Lin Xiaojing, called out happily.

Lin Xiaojing nodded and smiled gently at Yi Bao. “Yi Bao, I’m here to find your mother. Is she home?”

“She’s inside with dad, slicing meat. They’re going to make jerky,” Yi Bao said, then shouted inside, “Mom, Auntie Xiaojing is here!”

Ning Shu heard her son’s words and stopped what she was doing.

Slicing more than twenty catties of meat into slices took quite a bit of time, but fortunately, although Lin Guodong wasn’t good at cooking, his knife skills were decent.

“You slice, I’ll go out and take a look.”

“Okay,” Lin Guodong replied.

Ning Shu went out of the kitchen and saw not only Lin Xiaojing but also another young girl, the classmate Lin Xiaojing had met at the gate of County No. 2 Middle School that day.

“Xiao Jing, why are you here?” Ning Shu asked curiously. Lin Xiaojing rarely came here.

The last time she came was to inquire about clothing-related matters, so she recommended her a few books.

“Third Sister-in-law…” Lin Xiaojing called out and then asked a little awkwardly, “Third Sister-in-law, can I talk to you? I have something I want to ask for your opinion.”

“Oh?”

“Sure, let’s go to Sanbao’s room,” Ning Shu said, leading them in.

In the study room, Er Bao and San Bao were playing.

Her room and Lin Guodong’s room were adjacent, but compared to her room, Sanbao’s room was more suitable for them.

“Okay.” Lin Xiaojing took Yu Xiaomian with her.

Ning Shu looked at the two of them and couldn’t help but wonder if what Lin Xiaojing wanted to say was related to this classmate.

In Sanbao’s room, Ning Shu asked them to sit down and then said, “Go ahead, no one can hear us.”

Although Lin Xiaojing was still a bit embarrassed, she wasn’t as awkward.

After all, if she didn’t handle this matter carefully, she would be finished.

So she said straightforwardly, “Third Sister-in-law, it’s like this. There’s a male classmate in our class named Zhang Zihao. He has been pestering me before, and he even said he likes me. But I’ve clearly rejected him and told him I don’t like him anymore. I thought this matter was over, but now Xiao Mian came to find me, and she said…”

Lin Xiaojing repeated what Yu Xiaomian had said.

When she mentioned Zhang Zihao liking her, she wasn’t embarrassed at all, just angry.

It wasn’t pleasant for anyone to be liked by someone they didn’t like, and he was still pestering her.

“Yes, sister-in-law, I’m worried that even if I reject Zhang Zihao, he will find someone else to ask Xiaojing out. So, I said I would consider it, to keep him hanging, and then tell Xiaojing about this.” said Yu Xiaomian.

Ning Shu nodded, praising Yu Xiaomian, “You’re really clever, and what you’re doing is right. By keeping Zhang Zihao hanging, you’re indeed giving Xiaojing a lot of time to deal with this.” Then, she said to Lin Xiaojing, “Your friend is smarter than you, huh?”

Lin Xiaojing: “Hmm.”

Although she was happy that her friend was praised, why did Ning Shu have to belittle her? It felt a bit unfair.

“Sister-in-law, you’re too kind. I’m not smart,” Yu Xiaomian said, feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise.

Ning Shu asked again, “So Xiaojing, what do you think now?”

“I don’t want anything to do with him. Originally, I was in the countryside, and he was in the city, so I wasn’t afraid of him. But after the New Year, I’m going to work in the city. I’m afraid he’ll find out where I work, and if he does something bad, I… I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle him. So, sister-in-law, what should I do? Can I ask San Ge for help?”

“You can,” Ning Shu didn’t refuse, “He’s your real brother, so it’s natural to ask him for help with such small matters. But I think you might be able to handle this yourself. Do you want to try to handle it on your own?”

“Huh?” Lin Xiaojing was surprised. Could she?

Ning Shu said, “In everyone’s growth, you can’t always rely on others. You have to learn to handle things yourself. Of course, like today, if you encounter something you can’t handle, you can come to me for advice. I’m still very happy about that. It shows that you treat me as your own, and it shows that you are intelligent, not just trying to be strong all the time. Asking for help is not shameful; in fact, it’s a commendable courage.”

“So, Third sister-in-law, how should I solve this?” Lin Xiaojing was willing to handle it herself if she could.

“Hehe…” Ning Shu gave a mysterious smile, showing her previous domineering attitude, “I think, people like your male classmate, staying in the county town is also a disaster. Maybe temporarily solving it will only make him come back to pester you later. You should make sure he never appears in front of you again.”

Lin Xiaojing was startled, her voice trembling: “Third sister-in-law, you… you… you don’t want me to… to kill…” She couldn’t say the word ‘kill.’

Yu Xiaomian was also shocked.

Was Lin Xiaojing’s sister-in-law so scary? This… this was about killing someone?

No way?

She swallowed nervously, feeling like she shouldn’t have come.

She was getting involved in a murder case, what should she do?

Ning Shu rolled her eyes: “What are you thinking? Just sign him up for rural work.”

Phew… Lin Xiaojing breathed a sigh of relief.

Phew… Yu Xiaomian also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Lin Xiaojing and Yu Xiaomian looked at each other, and both of them had a gleam in their eyes.

It could really work.

Ning Shu continued, “But it’s not easy to sign up. You need to bring your household registration book. Or you can bribe the people in the neighborhood committee to write his name directly. If they refuse, then bribe his siblings. There’s always someone in the family who will help. After all, with the current situation, relationships within families are also precarious.”

She felt extremely proud to have taken advantage of the household registration book to benefit the Ning family.

If the policy allowed, she could even put down the names of Ning’s parents.

If she felt bad, then no one else would feel good either.

She just didn’t expect that Ning Qin found a good match during her visit to her family, the father of the female protagonist, Zhang Xian.

And Ning Qi went to replace her mother because she was sick.

And Ning Hua and Ning Shi still haven’t returned to the city.

“Third… third sister-in-law, I have another question.” Lin Xiaojing raised her hand.

She was thinking, sister-in-law is really too powerful, isn’t she? This is the woman who could drug her third brother.

In the whole brigade, there couldn’t be a second person like her.

Ning Shu nodded, “Go ahead.”

Lin Xiaojing asked excitedly, “What if we can’t bribe the people in the neighborhood committee, and Zhang Zihao doesn’t have any siblings?”

Ning Shu said, “That’s simple, just find your third brother.”

Now Lin Xiaojing was completely relieved, “Third sister-in-law, I’ll try it myself first. If I can’t do it, I’ll ask Third brother for help.” Her eyes were shining.

The girl who was somewhat afraid of Zhang Zihao was disappearing.