Chapter 80 What good will it do you to give me a few dollars?
Song Juan gave the three of them sweet potatoes: "Here, have some."
She thought that would get rid of them, but to her surprise, the three children wolfed down the sweet potatoes.
It showed no sign of leaving; instead, it howled even louder, attracting many people to come and watch the spectacle.
"What's going on? Why is the child kneeling on the ground?"
"Oh dear, they look so pitiful."
Sympathy for the weak is everyone's first reaction.
Someone recognized him as the child of Old Liu from the cooking squad.
"What are they doing kneeling at Battalion Commander Song's doorstep?"
"Could it be that Lao Liu offended Battalion Commander Song?"
Song Juan said, "That's not true. Don't talk nonsense. I'll go to the political commissar if you're not careful."
Shen Wanjun said, "Juan'er, go to Old Liu's house and ask his parents to come over."
The child is too young to distinguish right from wrong.
It's understandable that they came to our door asking for food, but the fact that they mentioned honeycomb briquettes right away suggests that their family members were behind it.
Huang Ya said, "They must have failed to steal the beeswax briquettes last time, so they've come up with a new trick this time."
People shouldn't be too kind.
In his opinion, he should have called Lao Liu over to apologize last time.
After all, he had caught the little girl on the spot.
Shen Wanjun asked, "Can't the Liu family afford to eat? That can't be right."
He's a cook; no one else will go hungry, but he won't.
These days, any job related to food is highly sought after.
Song Juan returned quickly, followed by an old lady.
"Sister-in-law, Lao Liu isn't here. This is Lao Liu's mother."
They lived in the same compound, and Shen Wanjun knew her.
Shen Wanjun stood up and politely asked, "Grandma Cui, is this your granddaughter?"
"They suddenly knelt on the ground asking for honeycomb briquettes. I don't know what happened. Please take them back."
Grandma Cui's shrewd eyes swept over everyone, finally settling on her three granddaughters.
Snap snap snap—
Three slaps landed, and the girls covered their faces and cried.
"Waaaaah, we need honeycomb briquettes! Without honeycomb briquettes, we won't have anything to eat, and we'll starve to death!"
"Waaaaah, we don't want to starve to death."
"Please, have mercy on us!"
The three of them seemed to have been rehearsed, crying as they recited their lines.
Grandma Cui nodded slightly in appreciation.
Joy flashed in the eyes of the three girls, and they cried even louder and more enthusiastically.
Grandma Cui turned to look at Shen Wanjun with a troubled expression: "Comrade Shen, it's not that I don't want to take them back."
She was truly at her wit's end.
Song Zhan pointed to the courtyard and said, "We don't have many honeycomb briquettes left. If you want to buy some, I can consider selling them to you."
When Grandma Cui heard that it would cost money, her brows furrowed into an ugly orange.
"Commander Song, you are the battalion commander, you receive such a high salary every month, why bother arguing with an old woman like me?"
What difference would it make if you gave me a few dollars?
Well, first she stole, and now she's asking for it again. Old Mrs. Cui really has a thick skin.
"You instructed your granddaughter to steal coal a few days ago, and now you want to take it for free? Are you even human?"
Song Juan, hands on her hips, angrily scolded, "What kind of grandmother are you? Look how hungry the child is!"
"Your son isn't without income; what kind of skill is it to covet other people's things?"
Song Zhan waved, and Zhang Kuan, who was trying to shoo everyone away outside, came running in excitedly.
"Battalion Commander, you wanted to see me."
After Song Zhan gave him some instructions, Zhang Kuan quickly ran out.
"There's no coal at home, how are we supposed to cook? If my granddaughter starves to death, it'll be your fault."
“You stand by and watch people die, hoarding large quantities of coal and not letting others use it.”
“In the old society, you were big landlords, you had capitalist ways, and you would have been dragged away and shot.”
Grandma Cui was not intimidated by the scene and kept hurling accusations at Song Zhan.
She looked around and said, "Everyone, please be the judge. Am I right?"
Those who had previously purchased honeycomb briquettes were reluctant to take advantage of Shen Wanjun's misfortune.
Some, overcome by jealousy, chimed in, "Yeah, why is it that none of us have coal to burn, while they have time to roast sweet potatoes?"
"Isn't this just capitalist behavior?"
Grandma Cui became more and more excited as she spoke, and her performance gradually improved.
Song Juan wanted to argue back, but Shen Wanjun stopped her, saying, "Ignore her."
"Mom, what kind of trouble are you up to now?" Zhang Kuan asked as Lao Liu arrived late.
"Let's go home, this is so embarrassing."
Old Liu was very embarrassed, so he reached out and pulled the third girl up from the ground.
San Yatou had already stood up, but when she met Grandma Cui's murderous gaze, her legs went weak and she knelt down again.
He continued reciting his lines from before.
Old Liu reached out to grab Grandma Cui, but she dodged him.
She plopped down on the ground, clapping her hands and shouting, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
"Oh dear, this is unbearable! Capitalists oppress ordinary people, and nobody cares."
"Others live a good life, while we can't even afford coal briquettes."
"Battalion Commander Song, Comrade Shen, are you trying to force our family to our deaths?"
Shen Wanjun gritted her teeth, she had never seen such a shameless person.
The crowd murmured among themselves, and someone said, "Comrade Shen, since you have plenty at home anyway, why don't you give them some?"
"Yeah, just consider it a good deed, look how much they pressured you."
Grandma Cui was very satisfied with everyone's reaction; this was exactly the effect she wanted.
Old Liu, his face dark, tried to pull her away, but she got up and knelt directly at the front door.
Upon seeing this, the three granddaughters also knelt down and kowtowed.
"Battalion Commander Song, Comrade Shen, please spare our lives!"
Political Commissar Hao and Zhou Lan rushed over upon hearing the commotion. They pulled Old Lady Cui aside and said, "Comrade, please get up first. If you have any difficulties, come to the organization. The organization will definitely help you solve your problems."
Grandma Cui stopped crying and asked, "Can the organization give me honeycomb briquettes for free?"
Zhou Lan said, "Once the bridge is repaired, the coal can be delivered."
"But it's not finished yet!" Grandma Cui started wailing again. "By the time the bridge is finished, our whole family will have starved to death."
Shen Wanjun stood up; the time was almost right, it was her turn to make her move.
"What are you doing?" Song Zhan pulled her back and said, "There are too many people over there, it's not safe."
Shen Wanjun patted his palm and blinked, saying, "It's time to test your acting skills."
Song Zhan didn't understand, and Huang Ya and Song Juan were also completely bewildered.
Shen Wanjun walked over and opened the door.
She asked softly, "Isn't what you want just honeycomb briquettes?"
She turned and pointed to the yard: "It's over there, you can go and move it yourselves."
"Fine, I'll give up and consider this a loss to avoid further trouble."
Dang Xianghong shouted anxiously, "We can't let them succeed, or they'll come back next time!"
Shen Wanjun seemed not to hear her words and smiled, "Go quickly."
Grandma Cui got up from the ground, her head held high.
She knew that no one in this compound could rival her.
Whenever she goes out, she always manages to gain an advantage.
Being invincible is also a kind of loneliness.
Grandma Cui had just walked up to Shen Wanjun when she suddenly shouted.
"Ouch~"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shen Wanjun lying on the ground, looking pained.
"Grandma Cui, I've already promised to give you honeycomb briquettes, why are you still pushing me away?"
"Ouch, my stomach hurts so much!"
"If this child dies, I will make your whole family pay with their lives."
Dang Xianghong was the first to rush out: "Sister, I'll take you to the hospital. You must hang in there."
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