"The third son of the Xu family is different from before; even Hu Dahai can't beat him."
"His fierce demeanor just now was because Hu Dahai said a few words to his wife. Nothing had ever happened before, hadn't it?"
"Oh dear, don't say that. Aren't you afraid Xu Kuo will turn around and beat you up?"
...
After driving the people away, Xu Kuo comforted his wife, but when he turned around, he saw Ren Hongmei with a worried look on her face.
"Mom, don't worry, this kind of thing won't happen again."
Xu Kuo thought that Ren Hongmei was frightened by what happened today.
Jiang Xiuying gently tugged at Xu Kuo, and the two moved to the side.
"Honey, Mom is worried about the autumn harvest."
"What's wrong? Isn't there an autumn harvest every year? Harvest it the same way you harvested it before, just like you harvested it this year."
Jiang Xiuying gave a bitter smile upon hearing this.
“Honey, in previous years, it was the eldest and second eldest brothers’ families who did the work. Now, we only have you as the only able-bodied person left in our family. My mother and I can’t earn many work points in a whole day. Moreover, in my situation, the team will only give us more when assigning tasks.”
Knowing what the two were worried about, Xu Kuo took Jiang Xiuying's hand and led her to Ren Hongmei.
"Mom, Xiuya, don't worry. Things are different now. I have plenty of strength and resources."
"By the way, before the autumn harvest, I'll go for a stroll in the back mountain. We don't have much rice and flour left at home. If I'm lucky, I might be able to exchange some more."
That night, Xu Kuo and Jiang Xiuying made love. After Jiang Xiuying fell asleep, Xu Kuo opened the system panel.
Remaining items today:
Premium hen meat (10 jin remaining) - Price: 5 points/jin
Premium bananas (5 jin remaining) - Price: 4 points/jin
Seasoning packet (5 jin remaining) - Price: 6 points/jin
Premium potatoes (5 lbs remaining) - Price: 3 points/lb
Premium sweet potatoes (20 jin remaining) - Price: 2 points/jin
Premium ribbonfish (3 jin remaining) - Price: 5 points/jin
Looking at the remaining goods for the day, Xu Kuo gradually came up with an idea.
The next day, Xu Kuo, as usual, made an excuse to take a stroll in the back mountain, and then went to the black market with the five catties of chicken, twenty catties of sweet potatoes, and three catties of potatoes he had exchanged. Before long, business came knocking on his door.
These days, people with a little money don't lack money, they lack food.
Xu Kuo exchanged the grain for some grain coupons and some money. Looking at the empty basket, he felt somewhat satisfied, but also vaguely uneasy.
He knew that while this kind of deal could solve his immediate problem, it was also quite risky.
On his way home, he suddenly realized that now that he had money, he should buy Jiang Xiuying something decent.
Thinking of how she usually saved every penny and couldn't even bear to buy a piece of candy, he felt a pang of sadness.
When he arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, he looked around. Although these things were insignificant in modern times, they were rare items in this era.
He used the tickets and money in his hand to buy some milk candy for Jiang Xiuying and some peach shortbread for his mother.
While paying the bill, he overheard people around him whispering about news from Taiwan.
"Have you heard? There's been news about those people who went to Taiwan a few years ago."
"Really? Is it good news or bad news?"
"It's hard to say, but since they mentioned it, I guess it's good news..."
The two walked away talking. Xu Kuo's heart stirred; he thought Jiang Xiuying would be happy to hear this news. He hurried home, but before he even reached the door, he smelled a stench. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the gate was covered in excrement.
Xu Kuo's heart sank. Ignoring the filth and stench, he kicked open the door. Before him lay a scene of utter chaos; everything in the house had been ransacked and smashed to pieces. His heart raced, his mind a jumble of confusion, unable to comprehend what had transpired in his home.
"Mom! Xiuya! Mom!" he shouted, his unease growing stronger.
Hearing the shouts, Ren Hongmei ran out crying, "My son, you're finally back!"
Seeing his mother's disheveled appearance, Xu Kuo was furious: "Mom, what happened? Who did this?"
"Don't even mention it! Everything was fine after you left, but just two hours ago, the village chief led a group of people in and barged in, saying it was an order from the county that Xiuya needed to be treated specially. They were going to arrest her, but luckily I was quick-witted and hid her in the cellar. They didn't find her, but our family is now in trouble!"
Ren Hongmei said, wiping away her tears.
Upon hearing that Jiang Xiuying was still in the cellar, Xu Kuo quickly pried open the cellar entrance and brought her up.
Seeing Jiang Xiuying's red eyes, he felt a pang of sorrow, knowing that she must have been through a lot of fright.
"Do these people have no respect for the law? What's wrong with them?" Xu Kuo was trembling with anger.
Jiang Xiuying said softly, "Honey, don't be angry. This is an order from above. They are just following orders."
Xu Kuo knew in his heart that in those days, orders from above were law, and subordinates dared not disobey. But looking at the mess in his home, he gritted his teeth: "We'll go to the county and demand an explanation!"
He knew in his heart that this journey might be fraught with danger, but for his family's sake, he had to stand up. He knew he could no longer back down and had to fight for justice for his family.
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