Pingan Village had a big news: the Liu family was going to split up, and they even asked the brigade cadres to help with the split. Xia Juhua looked at Li Changwang's family in front of her and asked in disbelief, "Did the old lady agree?"
"It's no use if she disagrees. Liu Erzhuang is determined this time. I heard that he distributed the food in the warehouse last night. Now he is asking the brigade cadres for help in settling the work points for these years with old Mrs. Liu."
Xia Juhua felt that this account was not clear, and indeed it was not clear. Sun insisted that there were many people in the family, and they had a lot of food and expenses. Not to mention that they had no money saved, they did not borrow money from others because she suffered and supported her son, so that the whole family did not have to go out to beg for food.
What could the brigade officials do to Sun? She acted like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, making sure that the brigade officials would not go into the house to look through it. Sun was not afraid of people looking through it either. One of her words was true, that is, she had little money.
As early as when Liu Sizhuang and his family went to Sun's village, Sun had let Liu Sizhuang take away most of the money. In addition to not wanting Liu Sizhuang to have to please his brother-in-law, it was also because Sun Guizhi had always said how much her brother and sister-in-law loved her. So she asked them to take the money and ask Sun's family to keep it for Liu Sizhuang first, so as to prevent the money from falling into the hands of Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang if the family was really divided.
At that time, Sun thought that it would be An Baoling who proposed to divide the family, and she was also prepared to divide Liu Sanzhuang's family - she had her second son, who was a production team leader, to take care of in her old age, and her most beloved fourth son was by her side, so Sun was not sad at all to divide up the stupid third son.
Not wanting to split up the family with Liu Erzhuang, Sun Shi certainly couldn't really let Liu Erzhuang break the lock of the barn, but watched the two families weigh the grain according to the main grain and miscellaneous grain. Sun Shi once suggested that it had been so long since the autumn harvest, and the grain eaten by the two families should be deducted, but Liu Erzhuang shut her up with one sentence: "Mom, have you forgotten whose work points were used to buy these grains?"
All the food was taken away by Liu Erzhuang, the unscrupulous partner, and An Baoling, the unfilial daughter-in-law. Sun secretly felt lucky that she had asked Liu Sizhuang to take the money to his brother-in-law's house. So even though the brigade cadres had said so much, Sun refused to give a penny.
Finally, Liu Erzhuang and his wife discussed with An Baoling and came up with a compromise plan. The dividends from the first four years could be converted into the house the two families currently live in. As long as Sun took out the dividends from the two families this year, they would not care.
What can Sun do? She threw a tantrum and said that she had no money, and she did not agree that Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang should continue to live in the east and west rooms. In a word, if they wanted to divide the family property, they should move out of the old Liu's house. From then on, she no longer had these two sons.
That's not right. She still wants these two sons. She wants each of them to give her 100 kilograms of staple food every year for her old age.
Li Changshun, the team leader, couldn't stand it any longer and yelled at Sun: "Old Liu, you don't give your two children any money, and yet you want them to give you 100 kilograms of food per child per year. Aren't you afraid that you will choke to death if you eat them?"
Sun was daring to act like a spoiled child to others, but was a little scared of the captain. Li Changshun was a veteran who had joined the army during the Anti-Japanese War and had a lot of military medals. If he hadn't been unable to cross the river due to a lame leg, he wouldn't be the captain of the Ping An Brigade now.
More importantly, when Li Changshun and Liu Erzhuang's father worked together as porters for the landlord, they wore the same pair of pants. Later, Li Changshun couldn't stand the bullying of the landlord and wanted to run away to join the army. At that time, he asked Liu Erzhuang's father to go with him, but Liu Erzhuang's father was beaten by Sun and stayed behind to continue working, so Li Changshun had to fight the Japanese alone.
When they met again, the man who fought the Japanese was only lame, but the one who was left to carry the goods had already died. In order to protect Sun from falling into the hands of the Japanese, Li Changshun spat at Sun, called her a spendthrift woman, and never spoke to her again.
Even yesterday when Sun went to the brigade to complain, Li Changshun just listened to her crying with a gloomy face, waved his hand and drove her away directly, without saying a word from beginning to end. Sun came back and said that the brigade no longer allowed Liu Erzhuang to be the production team leader, but it was just a scare tactic.
Now Li Changshun finally spoke to Sun, but Sun didn't dare to say anything. She just kept saying "no money". Li Changshun slapped the edge of the kang and said, "No money means no money. Erzhuang, listen to your uncle. Just treat this money as feeding the dog. You and Sanzhuang are both good people, and the children have grown up. Whatever you earn next year will be yours."
An Baoling's eyes were red with anger: "Captain, Sanzhuang is still lying on the kang and can't get up. I don't know if he needs to see a doctor again. If he does, he'll have to pay. I borrowed the money from my sister-in-law to see the doctor."
Li Changshun glared at Sun and said helplessly to An Baoling, "Third daughter-in-law, don't think your uncle is trying to smooth things over. If you had separated from this spendthrift woman earlier, you could have lived two more days. Otherwise, she would have been pissed off to death earlier, and what would have happened to your two children?"
An Baoling gritted her teeth and said nothing. Sun wanted to speak, but she was afraid that Li Changshun would force her to pay the money if she opened her mouth, so she had to remain silent. Finally, under the witness of the brigade cadres, the parties signed a separation agreement:
Liu Erzhuang, Liu Sanzhuang separated from Sun and Liu Sizhuang. The houses they now live in belong to each family, and their current belongings also belong to each family. From now on, Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang will each give Sun 30 kilograms of staple food every year for her old age.
Xia Juhua was stunned when she heard An Baoling's story about the division of the family. Even though she had a reputation as a bad mother-in-law in her previous life, if she were really compared to Sun, people would still rank Sun first.
Even with all the chaos, Sun Shi can still get old-age food from Liu Erzhuang and Liu Sanzhuang every year. It turns out that her claim of being the best is fake. Not only will she not suffer any loss from the real best, but she will also make others so disgusted that they can't eat.
However, Xia Juhua was not in the mood to care about the troubles in the old house now. She was worried about Liu Zhishuang who went to the commune early in the morning. She wondered whether Sun Hongmei would really go to the commune to get a divorce today, or whether Liu Zhishuang would want to live with Sun Hongmei again after seeing her.
If Liu Zhishuang dared to bring Sun Hongmei back, then they would just split up the family, and it would be up to them to decide whether it was good or bad. Xia Juhua was furious, and she didn't care about Li Changwang's family.
Li Changwang's family was a chatterbox, but you could tell she had a good look on her face. She noticed that Xia Juhua's silence was different from her usual silence, so she left after not staying for long - she had already reported the letter to her, and Xia Juhua should know her feelings, which was enough.
Unexpectedly, not long after Li Changwang's family left, the angry An Baoling came to complain to Xia Juhua again - what's the use of just dividing the food, the New Year is coming soon, and it's the first New Year after the separation, everyone in the family must buy a new piece of clothing, and make dumplings on the night of the 30th?
An Baoling knew that the villagers sympathized with them and Liu Erzhuang's family at the moment, but if Sun and Liu Sizhuang could no longer get along, the old lady would definitely go to their two families to beg for food. Dare not give? Those who sympathized with them now would become those who attacked them!
What could Xia Juhua say? She was not a talkative person to begin with, and after thinking for a long time, she finally said something to comfort An Baoling: "No matter what, both of your families don't have to support Liu Sizhuang's family anymore, and you can live a normal life in a few years."
"I know this is the truth, but I just feel so aggrieved. Why did Liu Sizhuang beat people up and take all the money?" She and Li Daya discussed it quietly, and both thought that Sun might not have much money, so why ask where the money went?
Xia Juhua shook her head meaningfully. She felt that Liu Sizhuang's money might not still be his money. If Liu Sizhuang really had money, the Red Team would have found it long ago. The Red Team was never polite when they searched homes and arrested people. It was normal to beat and search people. It was very unusual for a farmer like Liu Sizhuang to have so much money. If he really had money, the Red Team would have come to Ping'an Village to investigate. The Red Team had not made any move until now, which meant that the money was no longer in Liu Sizhuang's hands.
There was no need to ask who had the money. Xia Juhua felt that since the Sun family would grab a handful of dirt if they fell to the ground, when Liu Sizhuang's family was released from the commune in the future, the Sun family would not be able to return the money to Liu Sizhuang readily.
As they were talking, someone suddenly asked at the gate of the courtyard, "Is this Xia Juhua's home?" Before Xia Juhua could respond, four or five people came in, each wearing a red armband, puckered their eyebrows and stared at Xia Juhua and An Baoling who came out to greet them.
"I'm Xia Juhua." Xia Juhua answered, trembling in her heart. Why did the people from the Red Team come to her house just when she thought of them? Could it be that they knew what bad things she said about them in her heart?
"Are you Xia Juhua? Someone reported you for speculation. Come with us." The leader of the Red Team looked at Xia Juhua, an ordinary rural woman who seemed to work in the fields all year round. Her face was tanned, but her clothes were neat and clean. She looked more energetic than other rural women.
An Baoling recognized the leader of the Red Team, the one who had led the team to arrest Liu Sizhuang yesterday. She quickly stepped forward with a smile and said, "Captain, is there any misunderstanding? My sister-in-law is roasting peanuts for the supply and marketing cooperative, not speculating."
The leader of the Red Team glanced at An Baoling as if he didn't know her, and then continued to stare at Xia Juhua: "Do you want to go with us by yourself, or do you want us to tie you up and leave?"
"Pa--" The leading red team was suddenly hit on the neck from behind. The person who hit him angrily asked, "Where are you going? You rascal, why are you bullying people here?"
Xia Juhua was trying hard to think of what to say to gain the trust of the Red Team. The beaten Red Team leader and the Red Team members he brought were all stunned by the person who fell from the sky.
夏菊花喃喃的問：“夏大哥，你咋這麽早就來了。”
供銷社車老板兒不好意思的沖着夏菊花點了點頭：“虧的我來的早，要不這熊孩子又要欺負人。”
“三叔，我這是革命工作。”紅小隊隊長氣急敗壞的說：“你要是再幹擾我工作，我可真不客氣了。”
“你不客氣，你客氣過嗎？”車老板兒似乎對自己的侄子怨氣不小，指着他的鼻子問：“你來前也不打聽打聽，人家夏同志是替供銷社炒的花生，為這咱們供銷社還受到縣供銷社的表揚，你想抓夏同志，那才是破壞我們供銷社完成任務呢。”
紅小隊隊長顯然沒想到這個茬，不服氣的說：“你說她是替供銷社炒的，就是替供銷社炒的了？”
“夏同志不光替咱們供銷社炒花生，現在炒的可是從縣供銷社拉來的花生。那花生就是我從縣裏拉來的！”車老板對這個混侄子也是服氣，都多大的人了不想着正經幹活，天天帶着人不是抓那個就是鬥這個，全公社的人都被他得罪光了。
紅小隊隊長還是不服氣：“人家舉報人說了，夏菊花收取供銷社的加工費，就是投機倒把。”
夏菊花心裏一驚，面上也惶恐不安的問：“誰舉報的我？”
車老板見夏菊花吓着了，連忙勸她說：“夏同志你別着急。供銷社托你炒花生，你就不能下地幹活掙工分，供銷社當然得給你補償。現在可是新社會，供銷社也不能剝削你的勞動成果。”
紅小隊隊長一噎，發現讓他三叔一說，夏菊花炒花生收工錢咋那麽天經地義呢，自己再拿着說事兒，不就變成了要剝削夏菊花的勞動了？
平時标榜最聽老人家的話的紅小隊隊長，可不敢讓自己的行為，跟老人家認為應該消滅的剝削階級一樣。他不理車老板兒，惡狠狠的看着面色倉皇的夏菊花：眼前的人表現的倒跟一般農村婦女遇事一樣，可他怎麽就覺得那麽不對勁呢。
正想着怎麽出聲吓唬兩句，看看夏菊花是真老實還是跟自己裝樣子，王彩霞急三火四的進來了，她們這些供銷社的售貨員，自然認識公社紅小隊隊長：“哎呀夏隊長，你咋來了呢，是來調查炒花生的事兒嗎？”
夏菊花見王彩霞一進院就把話挑明了，心裏一塊石頭落了地，沖着她點了點頭。王彩霞也不等紅小隊隊長接話，就自己說了起來：
“我們主任就是怕有人不清楚為啥非得請夏同志炒花生，這才特意讓我跟老夏跑一趟。一來縣供銷社催的急，二來人家夏同志幫了供銷社這麽大的忙，連帶着解決了全公社明年的生産難題，可不能吓得她以後不敢幫忙了。”
“她能解決全公社的生産難題？”紅小隊隊長不信。
王彩霞對他的質疑一點兒也不在意，笑咪咪的跟他解釋：“咱們供銷社交到縣供銷社的花生，那可是所有公社裏的頭一份。縣供銷社說要支援地區供銷社，這才請夏同志再炒兩千斤花生。為了讓夏同志安心炒花生，別有什麽心理負擔，縣供銷社已經同意明年開春的頭一批化肥，優先供應咱們公社了，你說這是不是夏同志解決了全公社的生産難題？
此時的化肥可是搶手貨，都知道用化肥能增産，一開春從縣裏到生産隊，哪一級都挖門子盜洞的想往自己懷裏扒拉。如果縣供銷社真同意開春優先供應紅星公社的話，說夏菊花解決了生産難題真不過份。
“咱們革委會主任聽說之後，親口表揚了夏同志，還說這樣的同志要好好發揮她的作用，讓我們主任有條件的話獎勵夏同志呢。”王彩霞最後補了一句，又笑咪咪的看着紅小隊隊長。
革委會主任竟然都知道了？紅小隊隊長狐疑的看了王彩霞一眼，有心不信，他和王彩霞也打過交道，知道這也是個說話有根的人。
車老板兒見王彩霞話都說到這個份上了，侄子還站着不走，有些生氣的說：“咋地，你們紅小隊連革委會的話都不聽了？””
夏菊花無奈的拉了拉車老板的袖子，她只願快點兒把紅小隊打發走，生怕車老板兒這一句一句的，讓紅小隊隊長惱羞成怒。
那個隊長的臉色的确很難看。紅小隊已經不複運動開始時的風光，別說沖擊革委會了，經費都卡在革委會手裏，要是他這個隊長不扣革委會招呼的話傳到公社，也就幹到頭了。
這是親叔說的話？紅小隊隊長挖了他親叔一眼，沖着夏菊花點了下頭，一句話沒說帶着人就走了。
安寶玲長出了一口氣，嘴裏說着吓死了。車老板兒反而冷哼了一聲，夏菊花有些後怕的問：“夏同志，我看那位紅小隊隊長有些怕你似的。”那可都是些混人，犯起生性來六親不認的主，能因為車老板兒是他叔叔就幾次聽他的冷言冷語，總讓夏菊花覺得不真實。
車老板嘆口氣搖了搖頭，王彩霞就替他把情況說了。原來紅小隊隊長的爹是兄弟裏頭大的，第二個兄弟沒養住，中間又隔了兩個姐姐，車老板才長成了，所以車老板的娘很疼這個小兒子。
因為心疼小兒子，特意求了生産隊和大隊的幹部讓車老板兒學會趕車，供銷社挑人的時候車老板也就進了供銷社，每天生産隊給他記十個工分，供銷社則管三頓飯。
車老板踏實能吃苦，趕車遇到搬搬擡擡的活一個人就幹了，供銷社有什麽“處理品”主任都帶上他一份，所以日子過的數得着的好。
他大哥家就不行了，孩子好幾個，還出了紅小隊隊長這麽個天天不下地的，拐帶着兩個兄弟也跟着他瞎跑，全家只有車老板兒大哥一個人掙工分，換口糧都不夠。車老板就時不常的給大哥點兒補貼。至于想買點稀罕東西啥的，更離不開車老板兒，所以別看紅小隊隊長嚣張，也不敢得罪狠了他三叔。
安寶玲聽了簡直覺得是天方夜譚，竟然還有得老娘偏疼，反而貼補別的兄弟的人？連聲說車老板兒仁義。夏菊花知道她是有感而發，笑了笑沒說什麽。
知道她家裏有正事兒，安寶玲有眼色的走了，走的時候跟夏菊花說，劉二壯已經跟李長順說了自己不當生産隊長，讓她有個心理準備。
自然是準備着別人當上生産隊長，不能跟以前一樣照顧夏菊花。好在現在夏菊花已經想開了，并不想跟上輩子一樣強撐着命工分當命，她已經有了點別的想法。
安寶玲一走，夏菊花當着王彩霞和車老板兒的面，把炒好的花生一一稱過，王彩霞也把該給她的工錢拿來了，夏菊花又把借王彩霞的錢還給她，都忙完了，幾個人才消停坐下說話。
車老板兒不知道什麽時候從車上拿下一捆粉條來，遞給夏菊花說：“這是我媳婦自己漏的粉，你別嫌棄。”
“這可不能收。”夏菊花趕緊推開那捆粉條：“這幾次都麻煩夏大哥運花生，我這錢才掙的這麽順當，應該我好好謝謝夏大哥。”
王彩霞拿出來的則是一盒桔子罐頭，趁着夏菊花和車老板兒推讓的時候自己悄悄放到了櫃子頂上，車老板兒就指着她說：
“你不能因為跟彩霞是親戚，就只收她的不收我的，以後大家往來的時候常着呢，我也想過年的時候托你替我炒點兒花生。你要是不收的話，我就不敢開口了。”
王彩霞則說這罐頭不是給夏菊花的，而是給她外甥劉保國吃的——當姨的疼外甥，夏菊花這個當奶奶的要是推讓的話，就是不認王彩鳳的娘家親戚呢。夏菊花只能無奈的收下，心裏十分過意不去。本想留兩人吃了飯再走，人家也不留，只說下回再吃。
哪兒那麽容易有下回呢，炒花生不是家家必需的東西，縣供銷社一下子炒了這麽多，年前應該不會再炒。來年，來年大家想的是怎麽吃飽肚子，供銷社怕是顧不上炒花生了。
說不定眼前的二十幾塊錢，就是夏菊花靠炒花生掙的最後一筆。
劉志雙蔫頭耷腦的回來了，跟夏菊花打了個招呼就回西廂房自己躺下了，直到吃中午飯的時候才露面，飯也沒吃兩口就放下筷子。
哪怕是自己主動提出的離婚，劉志雙心裏确實沒有什麽輕松的感覺：昨天回屋睡覺的時候，他發現自己的分紅和扛糧食包掙的錢，都被孫紅梅卷走了。當進劉志雙就想去孫家莊找孫紅梅要錢，最後還是忍住了。
娘已經替他操了不少心、受了那麽多委屈了，要是讓娘知道孫紅梅把錢都卷走了，又得跟着着急上火。于是劉志雙起早就到公社等着孫紅梅，想在夏菊花不知情的情況下，把錢要回來。
The person did arrive, but Sun Hongmei refused to admit that she had taken the money: "The money was in the cabinet, I don't know where it went. Maybe you didn't want our family to keep the fifty yuan from the betrothal gift, so you hid the money to trick me."
Sun Hongmei looked at Liu Zhishuang viciously and spoke vicious words, just like she was talking to an enemy. She was nothing like the considerate girl before marriage, or the careful and flattering young wife after marriage.