Fang Jie returned home and continued making a cotton-padded jacket for her daughter. She'd finish it in another day or two, then she'd make one for her two sons. This year there was plenty of fabric and cotton, so she'd make a pair of cotton-padded trousers for each of her three children, and if there were any left over, she'd make one for herself too.
Fang Jie worked while making plans.
A strong wind was blowing outside, and the weather looked like it was about to change. The three children didn't go out; instead, they stayed on the kang (a heated brick bed), some reading and others dozing off.
The next morning, Fang Jie cooked corn porridge, made ten pancakes, and stir-fried a plate of potato shreds to make pancake rolls. A delicious breakfast was ready.
The family of four sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) to eat. Fang Jie rolled up a pancake and handed it to her daughter.
Song Fanxing said sweetly, "Thank you, Mom!"
Fang Jie smiled gently.
On the Song family's side, Li Zhen felt that her mother-in-law would get better soon, and was afraid that her mother-in-law would kick her out after she recovered.
I got up early this morning and cooked corn porridge and steamed two sweet potatoes.
Song Dalong saw his wife carrying a bowl of corn porridge and breaking off a small piece of sweet potato before leaving.
He asked, "Wife, where are you going?"
Li Zhen: "I'm bringing food to my mom."
"Why don't you eat first and then go?"
"No, I have to behave well before Mom gets better and try to appease her. The 500 yuan hasn't been found yet, and only Mom knows where it's hidden. We have to behave well so that the third brother's family doesn't get there first. If Mom gives them the money, we won't get anything."
"Mom would never give the money to the third son's family."
"Why?"
"The third brother's family doesn't have a son, but we do."
Li Zhen slapped her forehead, "Oh right, I forgot about that. Haitao is our treasure. With him around, Mom will always put our family first."
Song Haitao stuffed a sweet potato into his mouth and smiled smugly.
Song Dalong: "Wife, sit down and eat first. We'll bring Mom her food after we finish eating."
"OK."
Li Zhen plopped down.
Old Mrs. Song was so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back, but finally Li Zhen brought her food.
She wanted to curse, but then she remembered Song Fanxing's words and forced herself to suppress her anger.
With her son by her side, Li Zhen felt more confident and only fed her mother-in-law corn porridge; she ate the small piece of sweet potato herself.
Old Mrs. Song took a sip with disdain.
"This is all you're going to give me to eat?"
Li Zhen: "Mom, it's good enough that we have something to eat. Many families in the village don't even have corn porridge. Their stored grain has long been gone. You should be content."
When Grandma Song recalled the food she had eaten during that period, the corn porridge in front of her was really hard to swallow.
"I don't want to eat. Get me something nice to eat."
Li Zhen picked up the bowl, downed the corn porridge in one gulp, patted her bottom, and left.
Old Mrs. Song shouted, "Li Zhen, why did you drink my water? What am I supposed to eat? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
Li Zhen: "Mom, didn't you say you weren't going to eat? I'm still hungry, so I can't waste it and I'll drink it."
"Then what should I eat?"
"Didn't Mom want to eat something delicious? Wait, the grain will be distributed soon. After the grain is distributed, I'll cook something delicious for Mom."
Old Mrs. Song was furious. "By the time the grain is distributed, I will have starved to death."
“If you lie still, you won’t burn much energy and you won’t starve. By the way, Mom, where did you put your money? Da Long and I haven’t worked this year, so we need to give the team money to buy work points in order to get our grain. You need to give us some money.”
Old Mrs. Song finally lost her temper and cursed, "You wretch! I won't give you a single penny, so give up on that idea!"
Li Zhen wasn't angry. She said, "Mom, if you don't give us money, how will we buy work points? If we don't buy work points, we won't get any food, and your precious grandson will starve to death."
Thinking of her only grandson, Old Lady Song stopped cursing, but remained silent, still fuming.
Li Zhen left triumphantly, knowing that her mother-in-law would definitely give her the money.
A short while later, the loudspeakers in the village blared.
It was the voice of Captain Song Guoqiang.
"Fellow villagers, good news! Good news! Please send someone to the brigade to collect your grain! Please send someone to the brigade to collect your grain!"
Fang Jie's face lit up with joy. She quickly wiped the stove clean, washed her hands, took off her apron, found a basket, and prepared to go out.
The three children chased after her, saying, "Mommy, we want to go too."
Fang Jie waved her hand, "Let's go, let's go together."
Song Yaohui also picked up a basket and carried it on his back.
When Song Fanxing arrived at the brigade, she was stunned. The line for receiving grain was incredibly long, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Fang Jie automatically joined the queue.
Everywhere you could hear children shouting and cheering that they were going to get their share of food.
Song Yaohui and Song Yaohua recalled that they had been just as excited in previous years. This year, thanks to the divine intervention, their family had no shortage of food, so they weren't as excited. However, they were still happy to receive a share of the grain.
Song Fanxing glanced around and saw Huang Juan leading Song Dani and Song Erni in front of her in line, but she didn't see Song Dalong's family.
At this moment, Song Dalong and Li Zhen were interrogating Old Lady Song.
"Mom, where did you hide the money?"
Old Mrs. Song remained silent.
Li Zhen: "Mom, the team has already started distributing grain. Hurry up and give us the money. What if we don't get any grain if we go too late?"
Song Dalong: "That's right."
Seeing that her mother-in-law was keeping a straight face and not saying a word, Li Zhen gave Song Haitao a wink.
Song Haitao knelt down in front of Grandma Song with a thud. "Grandma...Grandma, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten enough for days. I'm so hungry that I'm dizzy and can't concentrate in class. Grandma, please give my parents some money. I know you love me the most."
Song Xiaomei also knelt down with a thud, "Grandma, I'm so hungry I'm dizzy too..."
Old Mrs. Song spat, "You little brat, you deserve to starve! Why are you eating so much? What a waste of food!"
She turned to look at Song Haitao with heartache, "Grandson, get up quickly. Don't worry, Grandma won't let you go hungry."
Song Haitao jumped up with delight and looked at Song Xiaomei triumphantly. Song Xiaomei knelt there aggrievedly, not daring to move unless her grandmother spoke.
Old Mrs. Song looked at Li Zhen and said, "Let Li Zhen go out, and I'll give you the money."
Li Zhen: "Mom, what are you doing? Are you keeping an eye on me?"
Old Mrs. Song glared at her. "Yes, I'm keeping an eye on you. I know you're after my money."
Li Zhen pouted and had no choice but to go out first.
As soon as Li Zhen left, Song Dalong immediately asked, "Mom, where's the money?"
Old Mrs. Song said reluctantly, "In the lining of the black cotton-padded coat in my trunk."
Song Dalong: "Mom, you really know how to hide things! You hid them in the lining of your cotton-padded jacket, no wonder..."
"No wonder what?"
Old Mrs. Song's mind raced. "Da Long, did you and that bitch break into my house? Were you trying to steal my money?"
Feeling guilty, Song Dalong quickly tried to cover it up, "Mom, no, we didn't go through your room, we really didn't."
Old Mrs. Song was very shrewd and could tell at a glance that her son was lying.
Thankfully, they didn't find the money.
Song Dalong quickly rummaged through the box and soon found a black cotton-padded coat.
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