Yu Rujia: "I'm not sleepy, but I like to stay in bed. The little ones insist on getting up when they hear me. Oh well, we're going to cut the meat later, so if I get up early, I might be able to pick out the parts I like."
Gao Shujing glanced at the little ones darting around in the kitchen and thought he should talk to them sometime and let them sleep on their own or with him.
Gao Shujing: "We'll have Guojing go with us to divide the meat later. If there are any leftovers, we'll buy some back."
Yu Rujia: "Well, if I have any, I'll buy them. You should go to the Tongfeng team first. Can you get it done before the New Year?"
Gao Shujing: "If there are no unexpected events, it will be finished the day after tomorrow. I will be at home on the 29th of the lunar year. If there is any work that is not finished, you can wait for me to come back and do it."
After breakfast, Yu Rujia took half of the adults and four children to the threshing ground to distribute the pork.
They arrived rather late, and many people had already received their share of meat. Huang Guihua was one of those who had received meat, and she stopped when she saw Yu Rujia approaching as she was about to leave.
Huang Guihua: "Rujia, why are you so late? If you come now, all the good pork will have been taken."
Yu Rujia: "There are several kids in the family. It takes a little time for each one to arrive, so it's already this late. It's okay, as long as we can get some. You have a few pounds of meat here, enough for a prosperous New Year."
Huang Guihua laughed and said, "Our family got more than five catties. We rely on today all year round. The two pigs are fat and there will still be four hundred catties after slaughtering. You should also get two or three catties."
Yu Rujia: "I only have half a year's worth of work points, so I can't get that many."
Huang Guihua: "Your work points alone are not enough. There are also human flesh for you to collect."
Yu Rujia knew she was referring to Gao Shujing: "You have so much meat at home, what are you planning to do with it? It's not going to get cured in this weather, is it?"
Not everyone eats meat as lavishly as Yu Rujia. Most people consider it a luxury to eat half a pound of meat a day. Given Huang Guihua's personality, she certainly won't finish the meat she received within half a month.
Even though the temperature is low now, it won't last more than a few days if left untreated.
After the start of spring, it rains more often, sometimes for up to half a month at a time.
Later generations described the rain in Province Y as follows: Last month there were two rain showers, each lasting half a month; this month is better than last month, with only one rain shower, which lasted for a whole month.
Some netizens joked that the weather forecast should stop saying "It will rain tomorrow" and "It will rain the day after tomorrow" and just say "It's a monthly rain package."
Huang Guihua: "If you can't make cured meat, you can smoke it. It just takes some firewood, but you can easily find a pile of firewood on the mountain. Smoked meat can last a long time. Do you want to smoke it? If so, bring it over and I'll smoke it for you."
Yu Rujia: "With so many family members and so little meat, we'll finish it in just a few days."
Huang Guihua: "How can we eat meat every day? Look at your children, which family in the village has children as strong as them?"
That's true; the kids in the brigade are tough, but they're far from being fat.
Duofu and his companions were all quite fat, and their faces jiggled as they ran.
Yu Rujia decided to have Gao Shujing teach Duofu martial arts after the New Year. Duofu is almost four years old, which is a good time to lay a foundation. He will definitely lose weight quickly by then, so she will have to find a way to increase his nutrition.
Yu Rujia: "I received so much from the police station, I can't let them go hungry."
Huang Guihua: "No matter how much you get, you'll eventually run out of it. You have to plan carefully."
A sarcastic voice rang out from the side: "If you run out of stuff, just ask Cadre Gao for more. Cadre Gao gets a salary of fifty-six yuan a month. Yu Zhiqing could use it all up without ever running out."
"Yu Zhiqing is really something else. She managed to hook up with a college student like Gao, who has four children, and use his money to support her children."
The two turned around and found it was Li Cuiniang.
This person spent a month in the police station, and then behaved himself for two months after returning. Last time, he was talking badly about Yu Rujia with others, and Gao Shujing suggested that the power lines be arranged based on his usual behavior.
Li Cuiniang's family was among the last few to have their electricity connected. Before it was their turn, the power lines ran out, leaving their home without power. This caused her family members to have a lot of complaints about her.
Upon encountering Yu Rujia, whom he considered the culprit, he inevitably ran into her.
Huang Guihua: "Is your mouth full of filth or what? You're not even speaking human language! Your Da Niu is ruined because of your filthy mouth, he can't even find a wife."
"What do you think my wife will do to you if I tell her that you've been talking nonsense outside again?"
In Shangfen Brigade, only a few households were without electricity. Outsiders, upon learning the reason why their homes were without electricity, categorized these families as people they would refuse to associate with.
Huang Daniu is about to turn nineteen. Jingdong's wife has always wanted to find him a wife, but unfortunately, because of the electricity problem, everyone knows about his family's character. Even matchmakers are afraid of ruining their reputation and dare not introduce him to potential partners.
Jingdong's wife often cursed and scolded Li Cuiniang because of this.
In the past, Li Cuiniang would have already retaliated. But after her trip to the police station, she realized that even as a mother-in-law, she couldn't just hit or scold her daughter-in-law whenever she wanted.
Li Cuiniang became more cautious in her actions, fearing that if she suppressed her daughter-in-law too much, her daughter-in-law would send her to jail, so she became much more docile.
Later, because of her gossiping, she became a household name in several nearby brigades, and her reputation was completely ruined. Her two wives gave her no kind looks and argued about separating the family property several times, so she dared not make any moves.
Upon hearing Huang Guihua say that she would tell Jingdong's wife what she had said, he was immediately terrified and his face turned pale. Reluctantly, he said, "If you want to fawn over her, then go ahead and fawn over her." Then he slunk away.
Huang Guihua: "Rujia, she's a loose tongue, don't take it to heart."
Yu Rujia: "People who talk nonsense will be punished by heaven. It's only tiring to argue with such people."
As they were talking, the group moved forward a few steps. Huang Guihua, carrying several kilograms of meat, couldn't keep following, so she left.
When it was Yu Rujia's turn, Secretary Li, who was distributing the meat, said, "Yu, why are you so late? All the good meat has been taken."
Yu Rujia: "There are so many kids in the family, always busy with this and that, and time just flies by. It's alright, as long as we can eat the meat. How much meat can Gao Shujing and I share?"
Everyone in the team knew that Gao Shujing and Yu Rujia were close. When the grain was distributed in December, Yu Rujia took Gao Shujing's share.
Hearing that she wanted to take Gao Shujing's meat with her, Secretary Li was not surprised and turned to check the work point record book.
Party Secretary Li: "You and Cadre Gao can share a total of two jin and eight liang of meat. Which piece do you want?"
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