She mentioned she would also be involved in the effort, first starting with the local commune.

Everyone was thrilled to hear the news, and Pan Pan ran excitedly to tell his grandpa and uncle in the next room.

“Grandpa, Uncle, my Second Aunt said we’ll have electricity next year!”

People in the countryside envied city folk who had electric lights—no need to buy kerosene, just pull a switch, and the lights would come on, much brighter than kerosene lamps.

Lin Shu added, “With electricity, it’s not just about lighting. The village could even install an electric mill. Grinding grain would be so much easier.”

As someone who cooked regularly, she knew how tiring it was to grind grain manually—milling flour was especially exhausting.

If they had an electric mill, it would make a huge difference, and she’d be the first to support it.

After breakfast, everyone got busy as usual.

Lin Xia didn’t stay idle either and helped Lin Shu with sewing, like fixing buttons and hemming clothes.

Lin Xia planned to spend the afternoon…

Lin Xia had planned to return to her parents’ home, but Lin Shu insisted she stay the night and leave the next morning.

During the day, with everyone around, the sisters didn’t get a chance to talk privately.

The day passed quickly with all the chores. By the afternoon, after steaming two batches of large buns and one batch of dumplings, it was already dark.

After dinner, they went to bed early.

The two kids, excited to chat with their second aunt, soon fell asleep.

Lin Shu first asked how Old Lady Jiang was doing, thinking she’d visit her in the city after the new year if she had the chance.

Lin Xia replied, “Old Lady Jiang is doing well.”

Lin Shu then quietly asked if the Qian family had stopped bothering her.

Lin Xia said, “No, they haven’t. Qian Lisheng went to work at the Huang County branch and found a woman there to take care of his mother.”

Lin Shu was confused, “What do you mean?”

It was then that Lin Xia realized she hadn’t told her younger sister about how Qian’s mother had broken her leg and demanded that Lin Xia come take care of her.

Now that someone else was looking after Qian’s mother, Lin Xia didn’t mind sharing the story.

Qian’s mother had broken her leg and could no longer work.

Qian Lisheng and his father discussed the matter, and they decided Qian’s father would take over her job while they found an honest woman from the countryside to help care for her.

They were only paying the woman ten yuan a month.

Lin Shu laughed, “They sure know how to save money. If they’d hired someone in the city, it would have cost at least thirty yuan. Cooking, doing laundry, turning her over in bed, and taking care of a patient is exhausting work.”

Lin Xia said, “Exactly. They think they’re getting a good deal, but really it’s just their imagination.”

According to Old Lady Jiang, the woman from the countryside seemed hardworking on the surface, but she was actually quite cunning.

Whenever someone was around, she’d act like she was diligently working, but the moment they left, she’d slack off.

In the freezing cold, Qian’s mother developed bedsores, and she’d lost several pounds.

The woman also secretly ate Qian’s mother’s malted milk, eggs, and flour.

To reduce the number of times Qian’s mother had to use the bathroom, she would only give her a small amount of water each day, which caused her constipation and discomfort.

Qian’s mother was so furious that she spent her days pounding on the bed, cursing, and begging her husband to send the woman away.

But they had no other choice—if she didn’t stay, there would be no one to care for her, and Qian’s father was too busy fishing in the freezing weather after work to bother.

Lin Shu hugged her second sister and said, “Second Sister, you definitely shouldn’t pity that old woman.”

Lin Xia laughed, “Why would I? It’s all fine now. I wouldn’t feel sorry for her, that’s for sure.”

With Lin Xia being so nonchalant, Lin Shu felt no pressure in continuing to gossip.

Lin Xia added, “That old lady used to be so tough, but now she’s met her match. It’s true that every tough person eventually gets put in their place.”

Lin Xia went on, “That woman seems to have gone through some tough times herself. She’s shameless and knows how to play the sympathy card, always telling people how miserable her life has been. Even the people in the housing complex feel bad for her and keep advising Qian’s mother to be more tolerant.”

Lin Shu, listening, thought this woman might be even more devious than Mother Xu.

The two sisters stayed up late, whispering to each other.

The next day, after breakfast, Lin Xia had to go back to Linjiatun Village.

She hadn’t been back to her parents’ home for some time, and it wasn’t appropriate to stay too long at her third sister’s house during the New Year.

Even though Lin Shu’s in-laws were kind and didn’t mind, Lin Xia was still careful about it, considering her divorced status—it didn’t sound good to others.

Lin Shu couldn’t keep her, so she packed her sister’s backpack and sent her off to Linjiatun. “We’ll visit on the second day of the New Year. We’ll stay for a few days and have a good time together.”

Lin Shu asked, “Second Sister, are we going to Grandma’s place this year?”

Lin Shu didn’t really like the original character’s grandma and Auntie.

But with their mom around, there was no way Lin’s mother would skip the visit during the New Year, or else people would gossip behind their backs.

Lin Xia replied, “You don’t need to worry about it. Lin Yue and I will go.”

Lin Shu smiled, and after seeing her sister off, she went back home to start chopping ingredients for the dumpling filling.

They were preparing for New Year’s Eve dumplings.

She heard someone come by to borrow flour. Fang Dihua lent some, but another person got turned away.

Most families carefully saved their wheat flour, harvested in May, for special occasions like the New Year to make dumplings, steamed buns, and offerings for the ancestors.

After all, no one wanted to be stuck eating coarse bread while other families were enjoying dumplings, making their children envious and teary-eyed.

However, some families struggled because their rations were low—sometimes because they had to sell or trade fine flour for coarse grain due to financial emergencies, or because some just couldn’t resist eating their best flour first, regardless of their supply.

When it was time to make New Year dumplings and they ran out of fine flour, what could they do? Borrow, of course.

They could borrow from the production team or from households that had enough.

No one liked seeing others sad during the New Year, so they usually lent some flour, knowing the borrower was just managing things carefully.

But Fang Dihua was different.

She would only help those who were genuinely struggling.

She turned away those who were lazy or wasteful eaters.

“Cry at my house, will you? I’ll slap you!”

The woman who was denied flour left with a scowl, and as she walked out of the alley, she spat on the ground, muttering angrily, “Heartless! They’re slaughtering pigs, steaming buns, and making dumplings, but they won’t lend me a cup of flour. Hope they choke on it!”

Just then, Guangtou and Lu Changfu arrived with red paper, asking Old Lu to write Spring Festival couplets.

Back in the day, Old Man Lu didn’t interact much with families living behind the village.

He mostly socialized with his old friends and tenants, and rarely dealt with newcomers.

But ever since he became a barefoot doctor and Lu Dage became the village accountant, the whole village recognized them…

The bald man was a street hustler, and Lu Changfu, who prided himself on having once run with the street crowd in the capital, immediately hit it off with him.

They were birds of a feather.

Of course, the bald man had approached Lu Changfu on purpose.

In the past, he had looked down on Lu Changfu because, after all, Lu Changfu was just all talk—a poor man with nothing to show.

Initially, the bald man had wanted to connect with Lu’s older brothers, but quickly realized they weren’t interested in him.

Their attitude was always lukewarm.

So, he switched targets and focused on Lu Changfu instead.

Lu Changfu wasn’t too bright.

He appeared honest but was actually lustful and vain.

He liked to brag with people his age and secretly enjoyed gambling.

In previous winters, people would gather to play cards, but this year, the village secretary was strict.

Every evening at 8:30, he would patrol the village with Deng the loudspeaker, shouting for everyone to go home and sleep, warning them not to wander around at night.

The secretary said, “If you’re still out at 10 or 11 at night in the dead of winter, you’re either out to steal or gamble—or worse!”

Anyone caught would be punished!

Thanks to the strict management, the atmosphere in Lu’s village had improved.

Unlike other villages where people still gathered to gamble during the winter, things were much better here.

Men in other places gambled away their hard-earned money, often neglecting their wives and children, and in extreme cases, even gambling away their food rations.

Such a man, if he dared show up in Lu’s village, would have his legs broken by the village secretary.

Since Lu Changfu couldn’t gamble openly, the bald man would secretly invite him over to play for small stakes, just enough to satisfy Lu Changfu’s craving without losing too much.

Now, Lu Changfu frequently sneaked over to Widow Sun’s house, and his relationship with the bald man had grown close.

Bringing him along to write couplets wasn’t unusual at all.

The bald man stood in the Lu family’s courtyard, marveling at how spacious it was. “Wow, you could ride a horse in here!”

But, he thought, with a courtyard this big, if someone snuck in at night, no one would hear.

If there was a time when all the men were gone, and only the women were home, after they were sound asleep…

Maybe during the wheat harvest.

Just as his thoughts wandered, he locked eyes with a pair of big, dark eyes, and he was startled.

Panpan was looking up at him, asking, “Uncle, don’t you get cold with your bald head?”

The bald man raised an eyebrow. “I’m strong and don’t feel the cold, but others might.”

Panpan touched his own head.

It was freezing outside, and he was bundled up in a cotton jacket, pants, and hat.

He then asked, “Are you Zhang Xiaoliang’s new dad?”

The bald man replied, “Yes, I am.”

Panpan continued, “Zhang Xiaoliang said you’re really mean and that you hit people. Is that true?”

Guangtou(Bald Man) frowned. “Nonsense, I have a great temper.”

Lu Changfu had already placed the red paper down and told them he’d come back later to pick it up.

He quickly pulled Guangtou away.

Once they were outside, he whispered, “You’d better not argue with that little brat. That kid’s got a dark heart and will definitely get his dad to beat you up.”

Guangtou replied, “No way, Lu Shaotang is a soldier. Besides, I’m not bad at fighting either—I wouldn’t be afraid of him. If I get the chance, I’d love to go head-to-head with him…” But he couldn’t finish his sentence.

Coming from the alley to the east was a tall, burly man wearing a military uniform under a heavy military coat.

He looked imposing, almost steaming with heat despite the snow all around.

Lu Shaotang’s strides were long and swift, and in no time, he was in front of them.

His heart was warm from the anticipation of being home, but his face was cold and stern, with a tight-lipped expression that made him look fierce.

Sensing strange looks from people ahead, Lu Shaotang glanced sideways.

Lu Changfu quickly stood at attention, nervously saluting, “Third Uncle!”

Lu Shaotang gave Guangtou a brief glance, acknowledged with a grunt, and kept walking towards his house without slowing down.

After Lu Shaotang passed, Guangtou realized that his head was covered in a thin layer of ice—he had broken out in a cold sweat!

This man was… so intimidating!

He had heard stories about Lu Shaotang before, like the time he knocked out three of Xu Ermao’s teeth with a single punch.

He had also seen him from afar, but the face-to-face encounter was far more shocking than he had ever imagined!

It felt like a powerful lion had just walked past him.

If Lu Shaotang were dead, Guangtou was confident he could get money out of the Lu family.

But now that Lu Shaotang was alive, what could he do?

Maybe he could find a way to get Lu Changfu to steal for him?