After a long and tiring night, the group dragged their weary bodies home, where Li Jin'e had already prepared breakfast.
"Mom, eldest brother and sister-in-law, has Xuewen's fever gone down?"
Grandma Wu nodded. "I'll retire."
Huang Xiaomin rubbed his fingers together to warm them and then touched his face. “The fever has indeed subsided. Last night I heard some noises coming from my older brother’s room. When I got up, I saw him packing his things. I was even thinking of going with him.”
"No need, someone can take care of things. It's no use having too many people." Huang Xiaoguo patted him on the shoulder. "Alright."
Li Jin'e and Wang Huijun's relationship grew stronger every day. They were worried about Huang Xuewen's illness. Just now, while cooking, they even asked if they should take the food to the clinic.
After his fever subsided, Huang Xuewen woke up, but his eyes were glazed over and he looked a little tired.
Wang Huijun fed him some rice porridge and coaxed him to sleep.
The couple huddled against the wall all night, half asleep and half awake, their bodies stiff. After breakfast, they took Huang Xuewen back to their room to rest.
Seeing that the child was alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Old Mrs. Wu asked Li Jin'e, "Have you finished distributing everything I asked you to yesterday?"
"It's all sorted out." Seeing that Old Lady Wu didn't seem to be going back to her room to rest, Li Jin'e paused for a moment. "Mom, you didn't get a good night's sleep, why don't you go back to your room and catch up on some sleep?"
Grandma Wu waved her hand and said, "Do I look like someone who hasn't slept all night?"
Li Jin'e looked up and down, then slowly shook her head. "It doesn't seem like it."
"You can divide the remaining four portions among yourselves. Give one to Gu Qing and one to me. I'm going out to see the village secretary and Cui Fen."
Gu Qing was taken aback. "No, no need, Aunt Wu. I've already troubled you enough. How can I ask you to buy something for me?"
Grandma Wu took the things and had Li Jin'e deliver them to her room, saying, "Be good, listen to me," as if coaxing a child.
Li Jin'e now completely obeys Old Lady Wu's words. As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up the things and delivered them to Gu Qing's room.
With everyone rushing to each other's homes, and Wu the old lady already heading towards the village secretary's house, was already out of her house.
Visiting her before the Lunar New Year is a custom in her hometown.
Gou Cuifen heard a knock on the door, opened it, and saw Old Mrs. Wu carrying some things in her hands. "You?"
Old Mrs. Wu skillfully pushed her aside, "What? It's almost New Year's, can't I even come to visit you?"
Gou Cuifen readily agreed, "You come all this way, and you even brought things? Seriously, if you're going to be so formal next time, I'll just kick you out with a stick."
Grandma Wu smiled and said, "No, no, next time I'll just bring my own food and eat at your house."
The two men entered the house chatting and laughing. The village secretary was sitting inside, smoking a cigarette, puffing and exhaling. Smoke swirled around his head, making him look like he was about to become an immortal.
As soon as Gou Cuifen entered the room, she fanned herself with her hand, saying, "Smoking so early in the morning."
The village secretary was about to retort when he looked up and saw Old Lady Wu entering with him, and he swallowed his words back.
"Sit down quickly, you have to have lunch here." Gou Cuifen pulled Old Lady Wu to sit down first.
When the village secretary saw her bringing gifts to his door, his eyebrows twitched. "Don't bring gifts to my door anymore. It'll cause gossip."
Grandma Wu was taken aback, pondering the village secretary's words. Could there be some change in the situation?
"What gossip could there be? The village secretary and Sister Cuifen have been a great help to me since I came to Shanyao Village. Isn't that normal?"
The village party secretary sighed, "You can visit each other in the future, but please don't bring gifts anymore."
Old Mrs. Wu glanced at Gou Cuifen, who winked at her and whispered, "He went to a meeting in the township. I heard that the situation is quite serious recently, and he has repeatedly emphasized that cadres should keep themselves clean and maintain a clean work style."
Grandma Wu nodded. "I understand."
Seeing that she was really listening, the village secretary tapped his pipe on the corner of the table. Being able to understand was better than any gift.
Is there something you want to ask?
Grandma Wu smiled sheepishly, saying that anyone who could be a village cadre must have some skills.
"It's nothing. I heard from Sister Cuifen that another batch of people from our village will be sent to labor camps after the New Year?"
The village party secretary nodded. This wasn't a secret; everyone in the village knew about it.
"That's right."
When Grandma Wu thought of the letter Guo Zhixia had written to her, she couldn't help but frown.
She opened her mouth as if to ask about the list of those being sent down, but swallowed the words back. This was not something someone like her, whose family had been sent down to the countryside, should be asking.
The village secretary noticed her worry and assumed she was concerned about Huang Mancang in the cowshed. "Don't worry," he said, "there's more than one cowshed. Besides, those who are sent down are all well-educated and polite people from the city, even if their class background is a bit problematic."
"Cough cough cough..."
Upon hearing Gou Cuifen's cough, he immediately opened his eyes wide and coughed a few times while covering his mouth.
Old Mrs. Wu blinked and said, "The village secretary is right. Those monsters and demons should be sent to the cowshed for reform."
"How can the farm be transformed without accepting its reforms?"
The cold sweat that covered the village party secretary's back gradually subsided.
The tension in Gou Cuifen's eyes visibly eased.
The village party secretary's words just now were problematic in their stance. If this gets out to someone with ulterior motives, losing his position as village party secretary would be the best-case scenario; if it's categorized as a matter of political stance, his entire family...
Old Mrs. Wu understood and immediately changed the subject, "Sister Cuifen, let's go. Why talk about such unlucky things? Aren't you supposed to cook for me?"
Gou Cuifen glanced at the village secretary's grim face, then stood up and pulled Old Lady Wu to the kitchen.
As soon as the two left the living room, the village secretary visibly lowered his back and slapped his mouth hard.
Too much talk leads to mistakes; I should be more careful in the future.
In the kitchen, Gou Cuifen scooped out two bowls of somewhat grayish-looking noodles from a large earthenware jar, added water and kneaded the dough, opening her mouth to speak, then closing it again.
A moment of silence fell over the kitchen.
After washing her hands, Grandma Wu took over the task of kneading the dough. "Sister Cuifen, let me do it. I'm from the North and I'm good at kneading dough. Why don't you make some sauce for our noodles?"
"Okay, okay, what do you want to eat? Meat or vegetarian?" Only after saying that did I realize that my words were a bit inappropriate.
These days, who doesn't like to eat meat and smell the aroma of meat? It's like asking someone else for a second.
Grandma Wu grabbed her hand as she turned around, saying, "I like scallion and egg, so you'd better fry a lot of eggs today, since I came on an empty stomach."
The village secretary and his wife are now on tenterhooks. If she doesn't make some demands, they're afraid they'll be restless all day long after she gets back.
The meat was precious in this village. Throughout the year, a pig was divided among all the villagers, and even the village secretary's family didn't get much meat.
If she were to suggest eating now, it would inevitably seem like she doesn't know her place, so suggesting egg and minced meat sauce would be the most appropriate.
Eggs can be considered a type of meat dish; they're not as rare as meat, but they're not that different.
"Okay, okay, okay, Mingxia, you don't know, I'm really good at making scrambled eggs with toppings."
Gou Cuifen's tone changed noticeably.
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