Old Lu had his two sons working on the grave site at the nursery while he himself went back home, carrying a hoe—time to offer sacrifices to the Horse God!

He walked briskly, not stopping to chat with anyone who spoke to him along the way, simply giving a brief, dismissive response.

“Today, the second master went to repair the grave, which means he’s acknowledging that Shaotang is gone. Oh, it’s so tragic.”

“Such a pity, Shaotang was such a good child. Losing a son while still having white hair is too much for the second master to bear.”

“Be mindful, don’t poke at the second master’s heart.”

No need for condolences, advice to stay strong, or reminders to take care of oneself.

Does anyone really need reminding?

If it were that easy to move on, who would still be grieving?

Old Chang stood at the street corner, sneering at Old Lu’s retreating figure.

He had once genuinely sympathized with the Lu family, offering constant comfort, but instead of showing gratitude, they made a big fuss over trivial matters, causing quite a scene.

From the time his eldest daughter-in-law was forced to apologize until now, he felt embarrassed and humiliated, not daring to go out in the evenings for fear of being seen, feeling ashamed.

A person’s dignity!

The Lu family had stripped him of his dignity!

They had made his family look bad in the production team and even the brigade.

This… this was not the work of decent people.

The good image he had built up over the years in Lu Family Village was completely destroyed by Fang Dihua.

Since they didn’t value his sympathy and refused to give him face, he would start to hate the Lu family!

Let them realize that losing someone like him, a good person, was their loss!

What was even more ridiculous was that the Lu family had incited their children to avoid his grandchildren.

How petty was that?

Adults argue; what does that have to do with children?

His older grandchildren used to enjoy playing with Lu Ping, and the younger ones liked to gather around Tian Tian and Pan Pan.

Now they were all avoiding his children.

Truly… petty!

This was actually something Fang Dihua had told the children.

During dinner last night, she instructed them to stay away from Old Chang’s children, saying, “If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked.”

Old Chang’s family was always comparing their children with others, so the kids were bound to pick up bad habits.

Old Lu had no idea what others were thinking. He was only anxious to get home to study.

He had never truly believed in Marxism-Leninism.

Although his family had once given up everything to support the revolution, he saw it as supporting his eldest brother, much like how his grandfather had sacrificed everything for the Boxer Rebellion.

To him, this was akin to spending money to build connections and arrange work—just adapting to the times, rather than a deep-seated ideological commitment.

His belief in the revolution was stirred.

After all, his activities were confined to his own area of a hundred miles.

His family was the richest in the village and lived comfortably.

He treated his tenants and workers well, and they lived well, too.

He thought everything was going fine.

But when he opened the Communist Manifesto and read the first line, it felt like an electric shock: “A specter is haunting Europe…”

He couldn’t help but think about his own family, his maternal grandfather’s family, the people he knew, as well as the traitorous village head, the landlords who collaborated with the Japanese, and the traitors who sold out their country.

Even though his reflections came a bit late, with the revolutionaries already having achieved victory in the national defense war, his third son was still fighting.

His third son believed in Marxism-Leninism, and he wanted to deeply understand what it was, just like he used to study traditional Chinese medicine as a child.

He had a characteristic—and a strength—that whatever he was interested in, he would delve into deeply.

When Lin Shu’s father-in-law came back, she just greeted him and then went on with her own tasks.

In those days, living together as a big family meant that the father-in-law and daughter-in-law rarely chatted, and the same went for the elder brother and younger brother’s wife.

Seeing his granddaughters, Tiantian and Panpan, reading comic books under the eaves in the yard, Old Man Lu went inside to find his books.

When he saw the newly brought Capital and the new collection of Mao’s writings, he became very interested and sat down next to his grandchild, focusing intently on reading.

Lin Shu was delighted to see the old man and the two children so eager to learn.

Soon, Fang Dihua came back carrying a hoe.

She put the hoe down and went to the west window to fetch the water that Lin Shu had been drying.

Glancing at the cotton and cloth on the kang (bed-stove), she was surprised and asked Lin Shu what was going on.

Lin Shu said, “Mother, this is the fabric and cotton that eldest sister-in-law returned to me after borrowing it for these years.”

Fang Dihua didn’t believe it and preferred to believe that a rooster could lay eggs. “Can she really return it to you?”

Lin Shu replied, “That’s what I understood. She said I didn’t have proper clothes, so she gave me fabric to make my own clothes. I figured this is just her returning the fabric she borrowed.”

Fang Dihua thought for a moment, then her face darkened. “If she returns it, then you should go to the supply and marketing cooperative to get new fabric. I’ve been saving fabric coupons.”

Lin Shu said, “Mother, this is what she returned to me. How can I return it to her? That would be unfair to me!”

Fang Dihua was speechless.

She felt like her daughter-in-law was plotting something.

She didn’t say anything more.

As the light dimmed after washing the hair, she told the old man and the children not to read anymore to avoid straining their eyes.

With his poor eyesight, Old Lu paid extra attention to the children’s eyes.

Panpan immediately began happily telling her grandmother stories from a picture book.

Old Lu was still immersed in the shock of newfound knowledge, feeling as though his soul had been cleansed.

His expression made Lin Shu think that he might as well put on a big red flower and head straight to the battlefield to defend the borders.

Lin Shu reminded Fang Dihua to wash her eyes and apply the eye ointment, and also asked Old Lu to help supervise.

The elderly’s well-being was the most important, so Old Lu quickly instructed Fang Dihua to fetch the medicine.

Fang Dihua also took Lin Shu’s request for purple herb ointment to the hospital, where a Dr. Yan wanted to discuss the preparation of the ointment with him.

Old Lu said, “He just needs the prescription; it’s nothing secret.”

He thought that what he had learned from his master and medical books was very simple and assumed everyone could easily learn it.

Old Lu was very different from those who were only average; he was particularly humble, not at all arrogant, and didn’t consider himself impressive.

Lin Shu could understand his feeling.

Once someone learns a particular piece of knowledge, they can’t go back to ignorance.

It seems like that knowledge should be simple for everyone.

She said, “Father, if Director Yan wants to discuss it, just go. Initially, you can help the hospital prepare the ointment to earn some extra money and food stamps. Gradually, you might even become a barefoot doctor.”

She knew her father-in-law was a focused and inquisitive person.

If he really became a barefoot doctor, he would surely continue to study medicine, and eventually, he could become a formal doctor at the hospital.

A good doctor’s reputation isn’t restricted by age or seniority.

In ten years, he might very well achieve a renowned status.

Those excellent old Chinese doctors often charge five hundred for an appointment!

Even after retirement, many clinics still compete to hire them.

The better the medical skills, the more in demand they are.

She wanted her father-in-law to become a renowned doctor, and then she could enjoy the benefits!

She wanted to rely on her in-laws and children to succeed!

She wanted to indulge herself wildly on the path to success!

Old Lu was worried there might be some issue or that someone might be deliberately causing trouble or trying to deceive him into going to the county for trouble.

Fang Dihua thought his concern was unnecessary. “Dr. Yan seems very upright.”

Old Lu replied, “Alright, I’ll go have a look.”

Fang Dihua added, “But don’t work for free. We shouldn’t be demanding too much. One pound of food stamps and one yuan a day is reasonable. If the ointment turns out well, it’s only fair to get some back for yourself.”

If it’s just one prescription, it might only be worth visiting a couple of times a month.

Two yuan and two pounds of food stamps isn’t a lot.

Indeed, the third daughter-in-law’s advice was right; it’s better to have him become a barefoot doctor so he wouldn’t have to leave home frequently.

The local labor could still earn full work points and medical subsidies.

Lin Shu had great confidence in her father-in-law.

He didn’t just know one prescription; he was skilled in other treatments like acupuncture and massage as well.

This would all be useful.

The herbal salve was just a starting point.

Old Man Lu thought simply: earn some cash and grain coupons to buy meat buns for his grandchildren. “Alright, I’ll go.”

Fang Dihua said, “Tomorrow, have the eldest and second sons go repair the grave. You take leave to go to the county hospital and visit the county committee to thank the leaders for coming to express their condolences.”

Old Man Lu agreed.

Since they got married, the old couple had always made decisions together without needing to inform their sons and daughters-in-law.

To Fang Dihua, besides Lu Shaotang’s sons and daughters-in-law, everyone else was unreliable.

At this moment, Lu Shaocai poked his head over the east courtyard wall. “Uncle, Aunt, for the memorial service tomorrow, my eldest aunt has asked Changfu to notify the second aunt and the two younger sisters. Have you informed them?”

He was referring to Old Man Lu’s elder sister and her two daughters.

Fang Dihua snapped, “I already said there’s no memorial service!”

Lu Shaocai replied, “Aunt, I know you’re upset, but the leaders are coming. We should at least set up a couple of tables to show our appreciation.”

Fang Dihua coldly said, “When the third son returns, I’ll set up ten tables to show our gratitude. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Lu Shaocai was taken aback.

Was his second aunt crazy?

The person was already dead, and she was still talking about setting up tables?

He thought he should take the opportunity to make some money from the memorial service.

Once the time passed, the opportunity would be lost.

He still didn’t believe Old Man Lu and Fang Dihua’s claim that the service would be simple with no banquet and no leaders.

He assumed Old Man Lu wanted to avoid him taking charge of the memorial service and was trying to get close to the officials.

That wasn’t going to happen; he had to be involved.

It would be better if the relatives from the second branch didn’t come.

Those were his relatives, and with more of his own people, they would be in control.

The gifts and condolences from the leaders would rightfully be his.

The next morning, Old Man Lu was set to go to the county hospital.

He had already asked for leave from the production team leader the night before. The leader understood the situation and agreed to the leave.

In those days, taking leave meant losing work points.

Even so, not everyone could take leave freely.

Some people took leave to work secretly in the city or engage in speculative ventures to make money.

If they took too many leaves, the team would deduct money.

Some people who were absent for one or two months were required to pay the team one yuan per day or they wouldn’t be allowed to buy food from the team.

Food was scarce.