Cuihua glared at her younger sister, "What are you saying? Cuihong is already so pitiful. That child is so honest. Sigh, I wonder how Lao Qi and Lao Ba are doing now!"
"The Zhao family told us to be patient, that this matter can't be resolved in a day or two. Actually, I think the famine these past few years might be an opportunity."
Upon hearing Cuiju's words, Cuihua's eyes widened considerably.
“You’re right. When famine strikes, there are plenty of people selling their children. We’ll use the grain to redeem our two younger sisters.”
Having saved up food for so many years, they were no longer under any pressure to get through this difficult period. Besides, although Cui Mei and Cui Xiang said they were going to school, they actually spent their whole week trying to earn money. With these two reliable people outside, and the sisters working together, they were sure they could bring back the seventh and eighth brothers.
The sisters had a wonderful idea in mind, but when Tang Youjin's house was vandalized, Tang Jiabao didn't dare to confront the culprit. So, he threw excrement at Tang Cuihua's doorstep that very night, and the sisters were woken up by the stench early in the morning.
When they opened the door and saw the scene, they were so angry that their back teeth were grinding. Cuihua and Cuiju picked up their tools and were about to go and settle accounts with Tang Jinbao. Cuihong couldn't let them take the risk, so she quickly followed them. But Tang Jinbao had already disappeared. Li Qingqing and her husband were still cleaning up at home. When they saw the three of them in such a disheveled state, they covered their noses and complained about the smell.
Her actions further confirmed that this was indeed their operation.
With just a glance from the sisters, Tang Cuihua and Tang Cuiju, undeterred by the stench, headed straight for their outhouse. Cuihong stood guard in their yard, shoving aside anyone who tried to stop them. Once the two sisters had pulled out the excrement from their outhouse, they dumped it all over their house, wherever they could find an empty spot.
The main room, the bedroom, and even the kitchen were all thoroughly soaked.
After throwing feces, the sisters looked at each other with disgust, then laughed at the mother and daughter who were already crying, and snorted.
"You pulled this yourself, you shouldn't mind, right? What do you call this? Treating yourself the way you treat us. How you treat us, we'll repay you tenfold, a hundredfold. This is the first time. Next time, bring it on, I don't believe I can't deal with you bunch of old, weak, and disabled people!"
Cuihua led her two younger sisters back victorious from the battle, and the villagers who had come to watch the excitement all gave her a thumbs up.
Tang Cuihua calmly responded to them: "This is the lesson they deserve. Who told them to let their sons come to my house and throw excrement? So what if they have sons? Just because they have sons doesn't mean they can bully people. Their three sons aren't home today because they ran away after throwing excrement. We're not afraid when they come back tonight. Bring it on! We're not afraid of anyone! We're barefoot and we're not afraid of those wearing shoes. Anyway, our reputations are already ruined, so let's all go to hell together!"
These words were not only spoken to the villagers, but also to the mother and daughter who were still wailing at home.
Upon returning home, the three sisters immediately scooped water to clean the front door. In addition to splashing water, they also sprinkled wood ash for disinfection. Fortunately, it was already cold that day; if it were summer, there would have been maggots crawling all over the place!
Less than two hours later, they heard that Tang Youjin had arrived. Cuihong immediately opened the door, grabbed a broom, and startled Tang Youjin so much that he backed away and stood five meters away, pointing at their noses and cursing their ancestors for eighteen generations.
“Go ahead and curse. We all share the same surname anyway. You're cursing our ancestors because you're afraid of yours. Besides, you're still my elder. If you keep cursing, aren't you cursing yourselves too? We don't care about the shame because our reputation is already bad. You don't care about the shame either because you've already lost all face. You won't care about a few more coins. Perfect, let's tear each other apart and see who can win!”
Anyway, it's just the same old moves, isn't it?
That night, the sisters didn't stay home to guard the house, but instead waited outside. Sure enough, they caught the three Tang brothers, Tang Jinbao, who had thrown torches at their house and set it on fire. The sisters made a huge scene that night. First, they took the men to the village chief, then they borrowed bicycles to go to the township to report the case. After a whole night of fussing, they sent the three cowards to the police station without any regard for sentiment.
With witnesses and physical evidence, they had no way to deny it, and they were caught on the spot. No matter how much they cried and wailed, the police didn't care and detained them directly. This was arson, and if it caught fire, the losses would not be limited to their family. Therefore, arsonists were severely punished in this era, especially those who caused significant damage.
Even though they haven't suffered any direct losses yet, the nature of the situation is already there. Three sons, if they want to get out, it's impossible without paying some price!
Cuihua is adamant about not forgiving or reconciling; let the court decide how to sentence her!
Therefore, the decision rested with the officials. Li Qingqing and her husband resolutely refused to bow to them or spend a single penny to save their son.
Because they refused to pay, the three men were sent by the local public security department to a reservoir in a neighboring county for labor reform for a year. If they behaved well, they would be allowed to return; if they did not behave well, they would continue their reform.
Of course, they are different from those who voluntarily go to participate in labor. The latter receive wages, while they do not; they are only provided with food. However, their workload is definitely greater than that of those who voluntarily go.
By the time Tang Youjin and Li Qingqing regretted their decision and went to get the money, the person had already left.
When Tang Cuihua learned of this, she sneered, "Now look what's happened, all three sons are probably going to hold a grudge against this woman."
Upon hearing that Tang Jiabao had been arrested and sent to a reservoir for labor reform, the people who had been pressuring them to pay a bride price came directly to their door, beat and smashed things, and demanded 180 yuan to settle the matter.
A month later, news came that the girl had had an abortion and was sent by her brother to live with relatives in another city. It was likely that she would get married in another city in the future.
Their local reputation was beyond repair, and they weren't going to put all their eggs in one basket. After receiving compensation, they decisively left, which was a wise decision on the part of these parents.
The current situation is that the Tang family's eldest branch has lost money and grandchildren, and their house is smelly and dirty, so much so that everyone who passes by has to hold their nose.
Not only their son, but even their only daughter, Tang Cuicui, refused the matchmaker's offer to find her a husband, preferring not to earn the money rather than arrange the marriage, lest it cause them trouble in the future.
It was already quite cold at that time, a dry and chilly cold. It wasn't snowing or raining. This farce was probably the only source of amusement to be found at the end of the year.
When the Gregorian New Year of 1959 arrived, Tang Cuihua could clearly feel that the communal canteen, which served two meals a day, had started to only serve thin porridge and no longer solid food.
This is a signal, a signal of food shortages.
She didn't care if the nail stood out; she just cooked cabbage when she was hungry. In the summer, they would gather firewood whenever they had free time, so they never lacked it. They also secretly bought oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. As long as they didn't starve, they wouldn't stand out.
There are always those lazy, complacent birds that are the first to hop out and express their dissatisfaction and protest.
The cafeteria staff also cater to different groups based on their individual circumstances. If there are many people making a fuss, they will try to appease them; if there are few people, they will pretend not to hear and ignore them.
From the very beginning, Cuihua and the others never intended to rely entirely on the cafeteria to get through the winter. They also noticed that all the troublemakers in the past were those who were lazy and gluttonous. If such people start going hungry now, they'll starve to death in the next three years.
Her eldest uncle's family, as well as her grandparents, were among those causing trouble. Her second uncle and younger uncle's family were not seen, which meant they were clearly prepared.
Unlike the eldest son's family, who have been busy scheming against others for the past six months, they never expected that they would end up scheming against their own family.
The Lunar New Year hadn't even passed yet, and things were already like this. Cuihua simply couldn't imagine what would happen after that.
“Take good care of our own home. Make Cuihong put away anything that shouldn’t be there.”
She is now incredibly grateful that she has Cui Mei and Cui Hong, these two walking warehouses, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to do things so easily.
"I wonder how the Tao family is doing. My little sister told us not to worry about them, that they're hiding in a very secure place. I hope they're all safe and sound."
Xiao Jiu dared to say this because she had searched through all the places where her grandparents hid things again and put everything into her own space. Anyway, she was the one who usually did all the climbing and scrambling, so they couldn't see what was going on above the roof beams and naturally didn't know that their granddaughter had moved all the valuables in the house.
Every night, Xiaojiu would prepare special meals for them, either snacks, boiled eggs, or at the very least, steamed cornbread. Sometimes he would even make dumplings or buns with cabbage and radishes. He was always trying to find ways to improve the elderly couple's diet.
Grandpa felt embarrassed as he ate, saying, "No, we can't just waste all the food we've worked so hard to save."
Xiao Jiu didn't mention that they hadn't touched a single grain of the food they had saved up. During this time, everything they ate and used came from her space. But in the spirit of being thrifty, they didn't dare to cook for themselves like that anymore. They used to cook every two days, but later it became every three or four days. Each cooking session was enough for three to five days' worth of supplies.
What can I do if I don't take supplements? I can't stand it! I'm so hungry at night that I can't sleep. It's terrible!
Little Jiu has never gone hungry in all her life.
The elderly couple went hungry about 10 or 20 years ago. They were young then, but now that they are older, how can they withstand such hardships?
Xiao Jiu not only had to take care of his grandparents, but also had to deliver food to the county town. Of course, the cornbread and coarse grains he made were made from the coarsest and cheapest grains. In addition to cornbread, there were also rice balls. The dark rice balls were processed with dried vegetables. If they were presented as large rice balls, they would attract the attention of many people.
When preparing for our parents, our third sister's share was naturally indispensable.
Those working on the production line are naturally the ones who feel the pressure the factory is under this year most acutely. Because of the rising grain prices, these wineries that rely solely on grain for brewing are the most sensitive to the situation. With the significant drop in alcohol sales, it seems unlikely that they will be able to resume operations after the New Year.
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