The group of people were all beaming with joy. After a quick thought, they opened the door. That made sense; only through give and take could things last.
"Uncle, I can't eat that much by myself. Tomorrow I'll ask Third Master if he can send me to the commune so I can mail some to my sister and my uncle."
Liu Weimin nodded to himself; he was a kind-hearted child.
"Okay, go ahead. It will be even more inconvenient to go out when the heavy snow comes in a few days."
After thinking it over, he went back to the village office and talked to everyone about exchanging the cloth scraps. He wasn't in a hurry, but now that he'd mentioned it, it seemed like the heavy snow was really coming soon. People were exchanging mountain goods to mail to their relatives, and if he kept delaying, it might cause problems.
The villagers of Liujiatun were in an uproar again. Who could understand this? The day wasn't even over yet, and there were already so many ups and downs.
Good news this morning: meat will be divided up.
Before I could even get a bite of the meat, the wild boar arrived.
Just when they were all terrified, hey? The wild boar had been killed by Xiao Jian, the educated youth, and now it was time to divide the meat?
The meat hasn't been distributed yet. What did we just say? Little Jian, the educated youth, got them some scraps of cloth, and they didn't need money or coupons; they could exchange them for mountain produce.
Each piece of news was quite shocking. The wives and mothers of Liujiatun could hardly believe it. On their way to the village office carrying their own mountain produce, they were still confirming with each other whether it was true or a dream.
Although scraps of cloth are worthless, the hardships of rural life are something others may not know, but they deeply understand them.
They could only go to the city a few times a year, but they knew that the city had many good things, such as fine grains, meat, brown sugar, white sugar, pillowcases and fabrics, and even the big iron pot they had been longing for for half their lives, as well as bicycles that were only available in other villages. They could remember a trip there for a long time.
They also remembered that things in the city could only be looked at, not touched.
Not to mention large places, even in the commune's public supply stores, people could tell at a glance that they were peasants from the countryside, without money or ration coupons, and couldn't afford anything. They would say the most unpleasant things, as if being peasants was some great sin.
They could only afford a piece of this fabric when they got married to make a new outfit, which would make many people envious for a long time. They cherished this outfit and would never take it out normally. They would only wear it occasionally to make a grand occasion.
When a new member joins the family, they would alter the clothes of adults, and the younger children would wear the older ones. At least three children would wear the same clothes. In the end, when they could no longer be washed properly and could no longer fulfill their purpose, the adults would regretfully replace them.
At this point, the dilemma arises again: which clothes should be altered for the adults? This one has too many patches, that one is for work, and there's not much room for choice. If you alter one piece for the child, the adult will have one less piece.
In a few days, the temperature will drop. Some families have more able-bodied children, so they can stay at home. But most families have only one child, so they have to go out to collect firewood in thin clothes. After all, it's true that they don't have cotton-padded clothes and the houses are drafty.
That's the situation. Sometimes, people might have some savings, but where would rural people get ration coupons? So, things have always been difficult, and getting more and more difficult.
Now, let alone cloth, even scraps of cloth are known to be valuable. No wonder they can't believe it; I've heard that in the city, these are things that people would fight over.
"Sister-in-law, do you think it could be true? Oh dear, the more I think about it, the less likely it seems real. I heard that these things are in high demand in the city!"
The person next to him hurried a few steps forward and tugged at the basket.
"I was also startled. But then I thought, what the village chief said must be true."
Besides, would you feel at ease if I didn't come and see for myself?
"If you ask me, it might be true. When has Weimin ever lied to us? Doesn't he always think of us when there's something good going on?"
"Hey, how big can that scrap of fabric be? Could we piece it together to make a garment for the child? I'm not picky. If an outer garment won't do, we could at least piece together some pants or a vest. They'll need it next summer anyway, right?"
"Haha, Auntie, what if they're all scraps of floral fabric? How about we piece together a floral dress for your grandson?"
"What are kids going to choose? If they don't want it, they can just go around naked."
"Sigh, if they were all dark colors, I was thinking of getting your uncle a new pair of pants. He only has one, and it's almost rotten. I'm too scared to wash it now."
"Why is life so hard for us country folk?"
Inside the village office, Liu Weimin and several village officials were inside, while a crowd of onlookers waited outside to watch the spectacle as the meat was distributed.
"Really? Those two bags wouldn't be them, would they?"
Wang Guihua entered earlier than them.
"Shall we start changing now?"
Seeing that everyone was listening intently, Liu Weimin didn't say much.
"Let's change it."
As you all know, this year has been a bad year, but ever since Xiao Jian, the educated youth, came, good things have happened one after another, and everyone has benefited from her help.
Given the situation back then this year, calling it a life-saving favor wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?
Then he raised his chin to look outside.
"We've gotten a lot of good stuff from the mountain, and this too. When the wild boar came down the mountain, people were afraid it would harass the village, so they stopped it and brought back so much meat."
I know some people are still unhappy, feeling that she was given too much meat.
I'm just asking you, is your life worth this much flesh?
Are the lives of your parents, wife, and children worth this much flesh?
Is the life of so many men and women in our village worth this meat?
Our village doesn't have as many rules as other villages. You keep the small things yourself, but hand over two-thirds of the big things to the village. If you're capable, go and get them yourself. If you're not capable and still want to take what's readily available, then shut your mouth.
In our Liujiatun village, there has never been anyone who would eat from a bowl and then curse the cook.
They've only been here a few days, haven't gotten any good things yet, but have brought you a lot of benefits, so don't talk about what's right or wrong. If anything is right, it's me, the village head. We village cadres are incompetent; this is our responsibility.
"good."
A loud response came from outside.
The villagers all turned around and unconsciously made way for each other.
Upon seeing this, Liu Weimin and the others quickly stood up.
"Secretary Lin? What brings you here?"
Outside the crowd was Secretary Lin of the commune, who was limping through the crowd and into the house.
"Old Liu, you guys are right to be so aware."
Fellow villagers, this is indeed the responsibility of our leaders.
The country sent us to lead everyone in building up the countryside, hoping that our fellow villagers and our peasant class can carry forward the spirit of hard work and self-reliance, and use their own hands to work diligently in their respective positions to contribute to the country's development.
Moreover, everyone did a great job; you are the pride of our Xiangyang Commune.
Blah blah blah, the villagers listened with great enthusiasm, and finally, unable to refuse the villagers' warm invitation, Secretary Lin was invited to eat a not-so-authentic pork stew.
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