Sugar cubes
Wangjiazhuang is a place where two branches of the Wang family have lived for hundreds of years.
They intermarried and fought each other. When things were good, they were united; when things were bad, it was common for them to gather their young men and fight each other to the point of bloodshed.
Not long after the founding of Xinhua State, the clan chief and elders were gone, and now the brigade leader is in charge. He is still a young man in his thirties. At first, everyone was not used to it, but later they realized how good it was.
It's obvious to everyone that the brigade leader is much poorer than the clan chief and elders.
The old man who used to wear a fine cotton gown and wield a whip is gone. Now, when the brigade leader, dressed in patched clothes, patrols the fields to see who is slacking off, everyone's enthusiasm for work increases.
Except for Wang Shuitao.
A month ago, Wang Shuitao was sitting at home eating fried chicken and drinking cola, lying in bed watching TV series. She was an ordinary girl who had just entered college.
A villainous female supporting character with the same name as her caught her attention in the drama, and she stubbornly endured the discomfort of the extremely frustrating plot to watch the finale.
All the characters in the drama achieved the so-called happiness they wanted, except for Wang Shuitao, who was so angry while holding her phone that she was on the verge of exploding.
I was so angry that I couldn't slap myself into the screen, so I left one-star reviews for this terrible TV series on various platforms. Then I fainted because of staying up all night and being too angry.
Who knew that when she woke up, she would become the inexplicably vicious sister-in-law in the drama.
On the first morning after arriving, because I wasn't used to eating whole grains, I ate a little slowly, and my mother took everything off the table. I was so hungry that my stomach was practically sticking to my back, so I had to get out of bed.
She hadn't eaten enough, so she rolled up her trousers and went into the paddy field. Just as three or five leeches had latched onto her shriveled calves, Wang Shuitao fainted in the muddy water.
Those nearby were startled and rushed to rescue the seedlings that had been crushed and bent over.
Wang Shuitao was at least given a day off to go home and rest.
At lunchtime, before I had even taken two bites, my mother brought out a large basin and began to devour all the food on the table.
During the busy farming season, they made dried sorghum mixed with sweet potatoes. After being hungry for half a day, Wang Shuitao already knew that food was precious, and she had to pick up every single grain of rice and stuff it into her stomach.
He couldn't bear to let her take it to someone else, so he reached out and stopped her.
This was their first fight.
Wang Shuitao suffered a complete defeat.
The mother, Qian Liju, couldn't understand why her daughter had suddenly gone mad, but she was ruthless when she attacked her.
This kid is so disobedient, he needs to be given a good beating.
Wang Shuitao persevered in her struggle against her mother while gradually becoming familiar with farm work.
I feel like every day is soaked in blood and tears, and I wish I had no memories of the past, so that I wouldn't feel that life is so bitter that I can't go on living.
Painful days always seem to pass exceptionally slowly.
One morning a month later, my older brother, who had been in the army for five years, returned home on leave.
A fierce argument erupted in a mud house at the east end of the village, escalating into a full-blown brawl.
The main actors in this farce were Qian Lijuan and her daughter Wang Shuitao.
The incident stemmed from a dispute over a permanent position at a county-level sugar factory that the eldest brother, Wang Jinbu, had brought back.
Although Wang Jinbu was the origin of everything, she clearly had no say and could only squat timidly to one side with her head in her hands.
He tried to pretend he hadn't seen his mother and sister's frantic fight.
Qian Liju raised her large palm to slap Wang Shuitao on the back, trying to force her into submission.
After numerous failures, Wang Shuitao is now quite experienced.
At that moment, Qian Liju ducked and dodged to the left, causing her to miss her target and fall forward, losing her balance.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wang Shuitao circled behind her, clenched her strong, bony hands into fists, and began to punch her repeatedly.
Qian Liju cried out in pain, "You unfilial little beast, are you going to beat your mother to death?"
Wang Shuitao shouted even louder: "That kind of unfilial behavior is something I learned from you and Dad."
Qian Lijuan was choked, several words swirling in her throat but unable to come out, so she could only sit down on the ground and start wailing:
"Hey everyone, come quick! What kind of daughter is going to steal the family job? Come and judge this!"
Dust flew up and landed in her mouth, but no one cared.
Wang Shuitao rushed to the door, opened it, and shouted outside, imitating her: "Everyone come and see! What is karma? Unfilial descendants beget unfilial descendants! Come and see, come and see!"
There were several neighboring houses around the Wang family's mud house. As soon as the door opened, Qian Liju shut up.
Fortunately, the neighbors adapted to the new family atmosphere of the Wang family within a short month and became accustomed to it, so no one came over.
Just as she was relieved, Wang Shuitao suddenly turned around and said in a sinister tone, "Tell me, what do you want this job for? Are you going to use it to curry favor with Dad?"
Qian Lijuan, having her thoughts exposed, immediately fell silent and stopped talking.
She was very unhappy with what her daughter said. What did she mean by "trying to please"? Didn't a father get to enjoy the blessings of his son?
But she didn't dare say it out loud, knowing that her son would definitely not agree to give the job to his father, so she could only say that she wanted it herself.
Without reaching a conclusion, it was time to cook again. Wang Shuitao sat behind the stove with a blank face, tending the fire, when she heard rustling voices outside.
It was Wang Jinbu who said, "This job can be given to Tao'er. Stop arguing and hurting our feelings."
Because of Qian Lijuan's sudden silence after being questioned, he also felt that something was wrong and wanted to get the job for his sister as soon as possible.
But expecting the eldest brother to persuade their mother was impossible.
At lunchtime, Wang Shuitao watched as her mother carried out a bowl of food that was more than the total amount on the table, and surprisingly, she didn't make a fuss.
Judging that she must have gone far away, he immediately stood up and urged his older brother: "Give me the things quickly, I'm going to go through the factory entry procedures."
Wang Jinbu took out the letter of introduction and the family's household registration book and handed them to his younger sister. He watched her leave home and run forward at full speed, hoping that she could run faster and faster.
If Mom brings Dad back, then it's all over.
The gravel road leading to the county town was very rough. She was wearing canvas shoes with rubber soles. The soles were very thin, but fortunately, Wang Shuitao had thick calluses on her feet, so it didn't hurt.
It's the busy farming season, so there are very few people on the road, and they don't walk in a hurry. She just blows past them like the wind.
After asking for directions several times, Wang Shuitao finally arrived at the sugar factory, panting heavily, and only then did she feel a little relieved, her mouth still smelling of blood.
She hadn't fully forgotten what she learned from her teacher, and she knew that this was caused by bleeding from the capillaries in her lungs and mouth while running.
It's alright, there's nothing serious.
The factory now operates under military-style management. In the late afternoon, apart from the security department, no one wanders around the factory.
The security guard kept staring at Wang Shuitao, who was looking around, until she pulled out a letter of introduction from her pocket.
After carefully examining her, the security department released her without any problems. Seeing that she was a future employee of the same factory, the man even kindly helped her with directions.
The onboarding process takes place in a two-story building.
The lady who helped with the process was very kind. She not only ran around with her to help with the paperwork, but also said she would take her to see the staff dormitory.
On the way, the older woman seemed a little curious: "Little sister, I heard from my family that a man named Wang Jinbu is coming to our factory. Are you one of his relatives?"
After completing her onboarding procedures, Wang Shuitao felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders and answered cheerfully, "I am his sister."
Eldest sister: "Oh, I heard you made a name for yourself in the army, right? You're really capable. But there hasn't been any fighting lately, has there?"
Wang Shuitao nodded and said vaguely, "I don't know either. My brother didn't tell me to ask too many questions. He said he wouldn't let me know."
The older sister was still cheerful: "Yes, yes, it's better if we don't know about things in the army. Look, we've arrived."
She pointed to the house in front of her.
The factory dormitory is not inside the wall. The single dormitory has three floors, with large dormitory rooms for ten people, as well as rooms for eight and four people.
Next to it are single-story houses, some large and some small, ranging from 20 square meters to 70 or 80 square meters.
The older woman walked straight to one of the smallest bungalows before stopping and continued, "These are family rooms in our factory. We usually don't arrange these for single people, but you're different, young lady. You're a military dependent, so you can stay here without worry."
Actually, there are quite a few military dependents now, and they generally don't receive this kind of treatment.
The accommodation area isn't completely quiet right now; it's probably because family members are inside.
The older sister pulled a piece of paper from her large right trouser pocket, pressed it against the door, and asked Wang Shuitao to sign her name and put her fingerprint on it. As long as she was in the factory, the house would belong to her.
Wang Shuitao still had red ink residue on her thumb; she breathed on it and left a light, clear fingerprint on the paper.
Before she could retract her fingers, Wang Shuitao's vision went black and her legs went weak, and she was about to fall. Her older sister was also startled and couldn't react in time.
Fortunately, a hand reached out from the side and caught her arm in time, preventing her from falling to the ground and getting covered in mud.
Wang Shuitao jolted awake. Recently, she had developed a conditioned reflex from her mother's unpredictable slaps. Instantly, her vision cleared, her head stopped spinning, and her legs stopped going weak. She nimbly jumped to the side and then stepped on her older sister's foot.
After a period of chaos, she endured her dizziness and apologized to the two women repeatedly. Her older sister didn't mind and just asked if she was alright.
Wang Shuitao replied weakly, "I might have low blood sugar. I came from the countryside and didn't eat much at noon."
There wasn't much; Mom took it all and gave it to Dad. There wasn't any more to eat.
The man who reached out his hand nodded, said nothing, and left.
As the older woman took out her keys to open the door, she helped her inside, her mouth never stopping: "That's Engineer Meng from our factory. He's not very talkative. Come in and rest."
"I'll go get you some sugar water. We're never short of sugar here. From now on, you'll never have low blood sugar again."
Just as the eldest sister was about to knock on the neighbor's door, Meng Gong, who had just left, returned, holding a small white paper package in his hand and handing it to Wang Shuitao. His voice was not as deep as expected, but rather somewhat clear: "Candy."
Wang Shuitao looked up at him. This Engineer Meng had thick hair that shimmered with a reddish-brown sheen in the sunlight. His eyebrows were also thick and dark, and his nose was very straight. However, his lips were not rosy but rather a pale pink, and they were a little chapped. The shape of his lips, though, was quite nice.
Judging from his clothes, they were carefully dressed, with hardly any wrinkles.
"Thanks."
She said politely.
The small paper package was opened, revealing five or six brown candies inside. They were misshapen, uneven in color, mottled, and looked a little dirty.
It's not pretty in either color or shape; it's probably a defective product that didn't require a ration coupon. Sugar factories certainly wouldn't lack such good stuff.
Wang Shuitao casually picked one up and put it in her mouth. Hmm, it tasted like orange flavoring. Besides being sweet, it also had a very obvious industrial flavor.
After seeing that she had eaten, Meng Gong seemed relieved, said goodbye, and left without saying much.
The older sister stood beside her, grinning, and said, "What did I tell you? We'll never lack sugar here."
In this day and age, being able to work in a factory is something to be proud of, let alone a health supplement factory like a sugar factory. Now, the older sister is working hard to pass on this pride to Wang Shuitao.
The sweetness she had never tasted before traveled from the tip of her tongue straight to her brain, and the constant release of dopamine brought a small, genuine smile to Wang Shuitao's face.
The older sister was taken aback when she saw the girl; she was so thin she looked like a skeleton, yet her smile was so sweet.
Then I thought, she must be someone from our sugar factory, so I smiled at her too.
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