The mother and daughter were picking vegetables inside when they heard someone outside say, "Is Shunsheng here?"
Hu Nianchun replied, "Which one? The director? He's not home, he hasn't come back yet. What's up?"
The man walked into the room, saying as he went, "There's a meeting at the brigade meeting tonight, so be sure to attend on time." He spoke in a very official tone.
"What kind of meeting is it?" Hu Nianchun asked as he went out to greet them.
The man didn't stop. He walked straight to the kitchen door, glanced at Zhao Mingyue sitting on a small stool, and said, "Let's discuss how to deal with the tea plantation."
"Oh, I see. I'll have the old man go over there."
Zhao Mingyue looked up and saw the other person smile at her, revealing a shiny gold tooth: "Mingyue's home?"
Zhao Mingyue thought for a moment. Wasn't this the village head, Zhao Jinyun? She greeted him expressionlessly, "Uncle Head."
Zhao Jinyun laughed and nodded: "Tell your father to remember to come, he can't be absent."
Hu Nianchun quickly replied, "I understand."
Zhao Jinyun turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back. Hu Nianchun lowered his voice and said to Zhao Mingyue, "Don't talk to him." Zhao Mingyue hummed in agreement, understanding what her mother meant. When she was young, she was quite naive and well-protected by her parents and brothers. She didn't know that Zhao Jinyun was actually a beast in human clothing. When he was the village head, he abused his power and ruined countless young girls. Later, after she got married, she gradually heard about Zhao Jinyun's deeds from others. Thinking that she had actually escaped the clutches of this beast, she realized she was truly lucky.
There are some people who are always adept at seizing opportunities in the worst of situations. Take Zhao Jinyun, for example. He only had a primary school education, but he possessed a silver tongue, a knack for twisting the truth, and a heart utterly ruthless. At the start of the movement, he joined the Revolutionary Committee, gaining its trust by exposing others. He gradually climbed the ranks to become the village head—a minor official whom later generations would utterly disdain—yet he held the future and destiny of countless people in his hands. They were the clowns of their time, hated to the core yet beyond redemption.
Hu Nianchun emphasized to his daughter again, "Did you hear me?"
"Mom, I know." Zhao Mingyue nodded. She was no longer the Zhao Mingyue of the past. She had never suffered a loss back then, and she was even less likely to suffer a loss now. "There's a meeting tonight, and I'll go with Dad to take a look."
Hu Nianchun glanced at his daughter: "What are you going to do, a girl like you?"
Zhao Mingyue remained silent. She remembered a major event that occurred in the village in 1976: an entire tea garden was dug up to be converted into terraced fields. Their village was a renowned tea-producing region, where generations had harvested and processed tea. Although previously privately owned, it became public property after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and tea production flourished for a time. However, during the Cultural Revolution, in pursuit of higher grain yields, many tea gardens were cleared and converted into farmland, drastically reducing tea production. It never recovered, and during the political movements, tea production shrank even further, with their village's thousands of acres of tea gardens essentially abandoned. The tea gardens became deserted, neglected and unattended except for villagers who picked a little to process.
In 1976, the village passed a resolution to cut down all the tea trees, uproot them, and transform the land into terraced fields for grain cultivation. After the Cultural Revolution ended, with the recovery of the market economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the domestic tea industry flourished again. Tea trading was one of Zhao Mingyue's initial businesses. However, Moon Bay Village, which had always been at the forefront of local tea production, lost its early advantage and its economy lagged behind other villages in the township.
Later, when Zhao Mingyue returned home in glory after achieving success, the tea plantations she saw after the land reclamation project was complete were devastated. The village's economy only slowly escaped poverty after she reinvested in the tea gardens. These events left a deep impression on Zhao Mingyue, so she wanted to do everything she could to salvage the situation and prevent a recurrence of the tragedy. More importantly, attending the meeting would allow her to see that person again; so much time had passed that she had almost forgotten what he looked like in his youth.
The mother and daughter prepared the meal and waited for a while before Zhao Shunsheng and Zhao Minglang returned. It was already late, so Hu Nianchun took the fish basket from Zhao Minglang, poured the small fish into a wooden basin, and prepared to clean it.
Zhao Shunsheng said, "Let's eat first, we'll deal with it later."
"You guys eat first. I'll clean up before it gets dark so we don't have to turn on the lights," Hu Nianchun said without looking up.
Since her father entered the door, Zhao Mingyue had kept her lips tightly pressed together, staring intently at her still tall and healthy father, afraid to speak lest she burst into tears. In her previous life, after her mother passed away, Zhao Mingyue wanted to bring her father to live with her, but he refused, citing his preference for rural life. She knew he was worried about her future; she had married into the Cheng family, had no children, yet still had to support her elderly father, and the Cheng family would gossip. Therefore, he insisted on living alone. Like a lone goose without a mate, his later years were extremely desolate. Approaching seventy, the old man began learning to do laundry, cook, and prepare meals, living alone for nearly ten years.
Zhao Shunsheng washed his hands and turned to look at Zhao Mingyue: "Mingyue, what's wrong with you today?" Daughters are always closest to their fathers, and every time he comes home, she is the first to rush up to greet him, but today she is standing there motionless.
Zhao Mingyue sniffed and turned her face away: "Dad, you eat first, I'll go help Mom clean the fish."
Zhao Shunsheng said, "Then Minglang and I will go take a shower first, and we'll come back for dinner later."
As dusk fell, the family finally sat down to eat together. Since it wasn't completely dark yet, they didn't turn on the lights to save oil. Zhao Mingyue was used to bright electric lights and wasn't quite used to the dimness, but being young and having good eyesight, she ate with relish even in the faint light.
“Mingyue, why are you only eating sweet potatoes? Go get some rice,” Hu Nianchun said.
Zhao Mingyue shook her head: "I think sweet potatoes are delicious, I like eating them." The team's annual grain rations were limited, so the family always had to mix in some other grains to have enough to eat. They would eat sweet potatoes mixed with rice for several months each year. Every time they ate, her mother would automatically and consciously eat the sweet potatoes, trying to leave the rice for her father and the others. Zhao Mingyue had grown tired of sweet potatoes since she was a child, so no matter how much people promoted sweet potatoes as an excellent anti-cancer food, she hadn't been very interested. But tonight, she found the sweet potatoes tasted especially sweet.
Zhao Minglang looked at his younger sister: "Mingyue, why the change in your attitude today? Who usually complains about sweet potatoes being unpalatable?"
Zhao Mingyue wrinkled her nose at her third brother: "Can't I eat what I like today?"
Zhao Minglang laughed: "Alright then, if you like it, help your brother eat it too."
Zhao Mingyue said, "Third Brother, I'll eat all your meals too."
"You little devil!"
Zhao Minglang was only three years older than Zhao Mingyue, and they were the closest. She had always been her third brother's little shadow since childhood. All of this changed after they each got married, with two other people and two other families involved. Zhao Mingyue's sister-in-law was particularly shrewd and liked to take advantage of others, which gradually led to a rift between them. Especially since Zhao Mingyue herself had no children, yet her family was large and wealthy, she arranged for her brothers' children to work in her company. However, these people weren't willing to work diligently; instead, they were all scheming to make money, calculating inheritance rights, and relentlessly sabotaging each other to gain attention.
Zhao Mingyue was very troubled by her nephews and nieces, but there was nothing she could do. Many Chinese companies faced this problem, especially since she didn't have a clear heir. Talking about money always hurt feelings, and that's how her relationship with her brothers had become distant.
Zhao Mingyue preferred this kind of life where they had nothing but their family was harmonious and happy. When people are in hardship, their feelings become especially strong, and there are no barriers between them. People often say, "Share weal and woe, share weal and woe," but in reality, most of the time, only hardship can be shared. Once wealth arrives, everyone has their own thoughts and schemes, and the previous state of solidarity and cooperation disappears without a trace.
"Dad, the brigade is having a meeting later, and I'd like to go and watch," Zhao Mingyue said.
Zhao Shunsheng said, "Let her go." Zhao Shunsheng wasn't sexist; in fact, he was somewhat sexist, since he only had one precious daughter. He was very open-minded, so Zhao Mingyue continued her education until graduating from junior high school. At that time, high school admissions were based on recommendations, with only two spots available per brigade. Zhao Mingyue's family background wasn't considered good, and despite her excellent grades, she wasn't eligible for high school and had to return home to farm.
"Thank you, Dad!" Zhao Mingyue smiled sweetly.
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