Chapter 1: Need Food
When Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei set off, there were only two of them, but when they arrived at the Lin family home, a large group of people followed behind them. In addition to Lin Hongwei, who was called by Xie Wei, there was also a group of militiamen they met on the way, who were also unceremoniously called by Xie Wei to carry grain, as well as some villagers who came to watch the show.
When Lin Weiguo and his wife came out, they saw that the yard was full of people. Lin Weiguo's legs immediately went weak, fearing that these people were there to criticize him, and he grabbed his wife's hand.
Li Chunlian was also a little scared, but seeing her husband like this, she couldn't help but feel even more disgusted. She really didn't know how she could have been so blind to choose such a good-for-nothing!
When Li Chunlian saw Xie Wei walk out of the crowd, her legs went weak.
Li Chunlian still vividly remembers Xie Wei's actions during his last visit to their home. The thought of him fills her with dread, so when she saw him now, her intuition told her something bad was about to happen. She pinched her husband, signaling him to go over and ask what was going on.
Lin Weiguo was jolted awake by the pinch, and his legs were no longer so weak. He walked up and was about to ask them what they were doing there when he saw Lin Qingqing in the crowd.
She was wearing a red cotton-padded coat today, her skin dazzlingly white in the sun, her complexion rosy, clearly indicating she was doing well. Seeing her reminded Lin Weiguo of his mother and sister, who had just been sent to a farm, and the scorn he'd suffered these past few days. His expression instantly changed, and he stormed over, shouting, "You still have the nerve to come back!"
"Why shouldn't I have the face to come back?" Lin Qingqing didn't think she owed the Lin family anything.
These words were like adding fuel to the fire. Lin Weiguo's anger was instantly ignited. He looked around the yard, went into the woodshed, grabbed a thick wooden stick, pointed at Lin Qingqing, and cursed, "You just wait, I'll beat you to death!"
Lin Hongwei had just gotten off the car repair shop when he heard this. He quickly walked around the crowd and strode into the yard, pointing at Lin Weiguo and asking, "Who are you going to beat to death?"
Those who followed him chimed in, saying, "He wants to beat Qingqing to death!"
"I think he's just morally corrupt, just like his mother, both of them are bad elements!"
As they were discussing this, members of the militia came out from behind and stood in a row. Seeing them and hearing their conversation, Lin Weiguo was afraid of being labeled a bad element, and he immediately cowered: "Brother Hongwei, you...you misheard."
"Did I hear you wrong? You're still holding a stick!" someone shouted.
Upon being reminded, Lin Weiguo immediately dropped the stick in his hand and explained, "I was herding chickens! Uncle Hongwei, don't listen to their nonsense, I'm perfectly fine!"
“That’s right, our family studies Quotations every day now, and our thinking is very upright!” Li Chunlian walked over and said, putting on a smile for Lin Qingqing. “Qingqing, don’t misunderstand, your second brother definitely didn’t mean to beat you. We welcome you back! We really regret not discovering Comrade Zhao Chunhua’s ideological problems sooner, which caused you so much injustice. But don’t worry, we strongly disapprove of her behavior and have now firmly severed ties with her.”
Speaking of Zhao Chunhua, Li Chunlian was filled with righteous indignation, but when facing Lin Qingqing, her attitude was warm and friendly. In just a few words, her change of expression was so fast that Lin Qingqing was amazed.
“Actually, if you ask me, you shouldn’t have registered your household in that Xingfeng brigade. After all, we are your family. Your older brothers treat you like their own sister. Of course, I know you must have been heartbroken, which is why you registered in another brigade. But you came back today, so you must still be thinking about us,” Li Chunlian said, rubbing her eyes and feigning emotion. “However, you can come back by yourself in the future. There’s no need to bring so many people. It’s terrifying to see this when you open the door, isn’t it?”
"I will definitely be more careful in the future," Lin Qingqing nodded.
Li Chunlian's face lit up with joy, and she was about to tell those people to hurry back when she heard Lin Qingqing speak up again: "But there's no way today, after all, I'm just a girl and I can't carry that much grain."
"Grain? What grain?" Li Chunlian's expression changed.
Someone scoffed, "Wei Guo's wife, just pretend you're stupid. What grain would Qingqing ask you for? It must be the grain distributed by the autumn harvest team!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Li Chunlian cursed, thinking that Lin Qingqing wasn't even a member of the Linjiazui Brigade anymore, so why should she get a share of the brigade's grain? But seeing that Xie Wei and Lin Hongwei had come, Li Chunlian wasn't sure either. She managed to force a smile and asked, "Qingqing and the others are talking nonsense, right? That's grain that the brigade allocated to our family. How could you take it away?"
"I remember that grain was distributed to individuals according to work points," Xie Wei said casually.
Lin Weiguo was already unhappy, and when he heard Xie Wei say that, he couldn't hold back anymore and shouted, "Who are you? What right do you have to interfere in our family affairs?" He didn't recognize Xie Wei and only thought he was a member of Xingfeng Brigade.
"Weiguo, this is Commander Xie Wei. Watch your tone!" Lin Hongwei said with a stern face.
Upon hearing the name Regiment Commander Xie, Lin Weiguo knew who he was and felt a little intimidated. However, the thought of the grain made him resentful, and he muttered, "So what if he's the regiment commander? The regiment..."
"Even an elder shouldn't meddle in other people's family affairs!"
“Comrade Lin is now a member of our Xingfeng Brigade. The brigade has assigned me to help her get grain, so,” Xie Wei said, squinting his eyes, “this is no longer a family matter, but a matter between two brigades.”
“That’s right, this is a matter for two brigades, no, even the entire commune,” Lin Hongwei chimed in. “Weiguo, it’s not that your uncle doesn’t want to speak up for you, it’s just that Comrade Zhao Chunhua’s matter has had too much of an impact. Secretary Zhou of the commune said that not only should Comrade Zhao Chunhua be severely punished, but Comrade Lin Qingqing’s life should also be properly settled. So it’s a matter that both brigades agreed to let Qingqing come to collect her work points and grain. If you don’t agree, I can only have the militia take the grain away. At that time, how much grain she gets will not be up to me.”
Upon hearing this, Li Chunlian couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Are you trying to rob me by force!"
After returning home, Li Chunlian not only lost her mother-in-law, but also received the money from Old Lady Lin's savings. She felt that she was now in charge of the household and regarded all the money, coupons, and grain in the house as her own, so she was unwilling to share them with Lin Qingqing.
“Taking someone else’s things is robbery, but Qingqing came to take the work points and grain that the brigade had allocated to her. How can that be called robbery?” Lin Hongwei said indifferently, thinking that Li Chunlian was really clueless.
Even his mother-in-law had been sent to the countryside, and she had no idea what terrible things had happened to her family! If it weren't for the fact that they were from the same clan, he would have labeled Lin Weiguo's whole family as bad elements long ago. Forget about food, it would be a problem if they could even keep their belongings!
The onlookers chimed in, "That's right, this isn't robbery!"
Lin Weiguo, who was already suppressing his temper, became so angry at the laughter that his eyes turned red, and he shouted, "Shut up!"
Lin Weiguo was furious, and the onlookers were also unhappy. They were all from the same clan, and they shouldn't be making such a fuss over something like this happening to the Lin family. But what kind of mess had Old Madam Lin made?! If word got out, she would ruin the reputation of the entire Linjiazui brigade!
Now they not only have to endure the pointing fingers and gossip from other brigade members, but their sons and daughters are also facing marriage troubles because of this, and every household is sighing with regret. But what about the Lin family? Apart from Old Mrs. Lin and her daughter being sent down to the countryside, everyone else is doing well. How can anyone be happy about that?
And what about Lin Weiguo? What kind of attitude is that! Someone immediately shouted, "Uncle Hongwei, look at him! He's so short-tempered, there must be something wrong with his thinking. I think he really needs to be criticized and educated!"
Seeing them jeering, Li Chunlian gritted her teeth in anger, but she was afraid that Lin Weiguo would really be sent to a farm.
She quickly tugged at his sleeve, forcing a smile as she said, "Uncle Hongwei, don't listen to their nonsense. Weiguo has a good temper. You're right, the grain distributed to Qingqing is hers. But as you know, Weiguo is the second son, and we can't make the decisions at home. So I was thinking we should ask our eldest brother and sister-in-law for their opinions first."
Lin Hongwei didn't care whether he asked or not, and asked Xie Wei and Lin Qingqing, "What do you think?"
"We're taking the grain with us today," Xie Wei said.
Li Chunlian quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, it would be best to finish things today. However, the grain in the cellar is all piled up together, and it's troublesome to count it. You have time, Jiuquan Qingqing, and Commander Xie is busy too. How about this, we'll count the grain this afternoon and deliver it to you tonight, is that alright?"
Hearing Li Chunlian's words, Lin Qingqing found it somewhat amusing.
Lin Qingqing knew without even guessing what Li Chunlian was planning. Now that she had taken the person away, how much of the grain would be left when she delivered it to her tomorrow would be entirely up to Li Chunlian.
Unfortunately, Li Chunlian treated her like a fool, but Xie Wei wasn't. Lin Qingqing laughed and said, "This is fine too..."
Li Chunlian's face lit up with joy. She thought to herself that although Lin Qingqing was ruthless, she was still so stupid. She smiled and said, "Then this matter is settled..."
"Comrade Xie, do you think we should calculate the amount of grain owed to me now, or wait until they deliver the grain and we can count it?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Wei smiled slightly and said, "Let's calculate now." He then reached out his hand to Lin Hongwei, who quickly took out his work point book from his pocket and handed it to him.
Li Chunlian stared at their actions, her expression freezing: "Calculate? How do you calculate it?"
Xie Wei didn't answer, but instead opened the work point book, found Lin Qingqing's name, and said, "In the past year, Comrade Lin Qingqing earned a total of 2456 work points. According to the work points, after the autumn harvest, Comrade Lin Qingqing will receive..."
As Xie Wei spoke, Li Chunlian's expression grew increasingly stiff. Then she heard Xie Wei ask Lin Qingqing, "Do you always eat dried sweet potatoes at home? Do you eat rice?"
Lin Qingqing shook her head: "I barely ate anything."
"Then let's say we eat one ounce of rice every two days, and six ounces of coarse grains per day..."
Li Chunlian couldn't stand it anymore and said, "How can the grain be divided like this!" According to Xie Wei's calculations, Lin Qingqing could take away several hundred catties of grain, but more importantly, at least a hundred catties of fine grains were among them.
Li Chunlian knew her family's situation. When the grain was distributed, Old Lady Lin sold a lot of fine grains and bartered with others for some coarse grains. If the grain distribution was really as Xie Wei described, then...
We'll have to cut out most of our refined grains at home. How will we survive after that?
Xie Wei wasn't annoyed at being interrupted, and asked calmly, "How do you want to divide it?"
"Of course, the remaining grain at home will be divided according to the number of people!" Li Chunlian said, then realized something was wrong and added, "Comrade Zhao Chunhua's share should also be deducted!"
“Well, the work points and grain earned by Comrade Lin Qingqing will be distributed according to the current grain supply per capita, while the work points and grain earned by Comrade Zhao Chunhua will go to your Lin family,” Xie Wei said, clapping his hands. “Comrade Li has a good plan.”
The onlookers burst out laughing: "I think she just doesn't want to share the food!"
"In my opinion, Lin Qingqing's grain should belong to her, and Zhao Chunhua's grain should be confiscated!"
Listening to the discussions, Li Chunlian's face turned pale and then red. She felt that she was already being generous by agreeing to share the grain with Lin Qingqing, so why should Lin Qingqing get so much grain? But they outnumbered her, and Li Chunlian couldn't help but feel a little insecure. She stammered, "I can't share it like you said. There are so many people in our family. How can we survive without so much grain?"
"Is the Linjiazu Brigade running out of food?" Xie Wei asked Lin Hongwei.
"That's not true. Our brigade not only receives enough grain to eat, but every household has surplus!" Lin Hongwei waved his hand decisively, and said to Li Chunlian with a stern face, "Weiguo's wife, you need to speak properly!"
Li Chunlian choked: "I meant that we have a lot of children in our family, so we don't have enough food to eat."
"Is raising children Comrade Lin's business?" Xie Wei asked again.
The more Lin Hongwei listened, the more he felt that Li Chunlian's words were absurd. He said, "Alright, now you're making so many excuses. What were you doing back then? If your Lin family hadn't mistreated Qingqing, would she have had so much grain left? If Zhao Chunhua hadn't had some mental issues, would Qingqing have left the Lin family and settled in Xingfeng Brigade?"
“But it’s not our fault. Zhao Chunhua used to be the one in charge!” Li Chunlian retorted.
"Zhao Chunhua is in charge, but didn't you just stand by and do nothing? Now that Qingqing has come to collect the grain, it's time for you to make amends, but what have you said and done?" Lin Hongwei was extremely disappointed with the attitude of Lin Weiguo and his wife. "And you still have the nerve to tell me that you have no problems with your thinking?"
Li Chunlian and Lin Weiguo, who had been so arrogant just moments before, turned pale upon hearing these words.
Having problems with one's thinking is a serious matter!
“I’m telling you right now, if you cooperate, the brigade will be lenient because you’ve distanced yourselves from Comrade Zhao Chunhua. But if you refuse to cooperate, and word gets out, even if I don’t say anything, people will suspect that you have some kind of ideological problem.”
The more Lin Hongwei spoke, the sterner his expression became. Li Chunlian and Lin Weiguo finally couldn't take it anymore, their legs went weak and they sat down on the ground, trembling as they said, "We'll cooperate, we'll cooperate!"
...
When they set off in the morning, the oxcart was empty, but when they returned, it was piled high with grain and two thick cotton quilts.
It was lunchtime, and the streets were full of people heading home from work. They were shocked to see them returning with their loads. Someone close to Xie Wei stopped him and asked, "Did you get all this grain from the Lin family?"
After Old Lady Lin was arrested, the Lin family became notorious in Yutian Commune; everyone knew about their personalities. They had treated their adopted daughter, Lin Qingqing, harshly before, but now that Old Lady Lin had been sent to the countryside because of her, it was already a miracle the Lin family didn't hate her; how could they possibly give her so much food?
"We got it back from the Lin family," Xie Wei nodded.
"Is the Lin family really that generous?"
"This must weigh several hundred kilograms of grain, right? It looks like it's mostly rice to me?"
Some petty people muttered, "Could it be that the brigade secretly subsidized it?"
Lin Qingqing didn't hear the man's mutterings, but Xie Wei did. He glanced at him indifferently and only spoke after seeing him shut up: "The Linjiazui Brigade Secretary said that the work points and grain belong to Comrade Lin personally, and the Lin family is not allowed to take more than they need. When Comrade Lin was at the Lin family, he ate more coarse grains and consumed less rice and flour, so he brought back 100 jin of rice, more than 100 jin of coarse grains, and about 100 jin of sweet potatoes."
Yutian Commune is located in the central part of the country, with fertile land. After a year of hard work, one can get nearly 150 catties of fine grains and more than 200 catties of coarse grains. Because rice is planted twice a year, the brigade will distribute rice once around the beginning of autumn and again in October or November. Therefore, Lin Qingqing brought back about the same amount of coarse and fine grains.
As for sweet potatoes, they are harvested around the same time as late rice. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow and produce a lot, so although the brigade did not plant many, each person received about a hundred catties.
After hearing Xie Wei say that Secretary Lin had spoken up, and then learning how the distribution was done, everyone thought about it and believed Xie Wei's words, praising the Linjiazui Brigade Secretary for being fair.
Some more attentive people asked, "Will Comrade Lin receive a share of the year-end bonus?"
When it came to the year-end bonus, everyone perked up their ears; this was a big deal. You see, at this time, the bonus distribution wasn't just about handing over the grain and receiving the produce. At the end of the year, the work points had to be recalculated, and the unit price of each work point was calculated based on the brigade's annual income to see if the year had resulted in a profit or loss.
When the harvest was poor, after the year-end bonus distribution, the members did not...
But if you don't make money, you still have to pay the brigade money.
Of course, Xingfeng Brigade was one of the wealthier brigades in their commune, and they could usually get money after the year-end dividends. As for Linjiazui Brigade, they weren't doing so well in the past few years, but things have gradually improved, so they might also get dividends!
"Yes," Xie Wei said succinctly.
Lin Qingqing said with a smile, "Secretary Lin said that I should come over when the dividends are distributed." Others might not be sure if the Linjiazu Brigade would distribute dividends at the end of the year, but she knew clearly from reading the original novel that the Linjiazu Brigade not only made a profit this year, but earned quite a lot. She figured she could get thirty or forty yuan!
Don't underestimate thirty or forty dollars; in the 1970s, it was a huge sum of money, enough for her to cover a year's expenses if she spent it carefully.
Although Lin Qingqing was sitting on the oxcart, the others weren't very familiar with her, so they had mainly been talking to Xie Wei. Now, hearing her speak, they were all smiles and much warmer towards her, congratulating her on escaping her misery, telling her to settle down in the brigade, and instructing her to store the grain properly, among other things.
Lin Qingqing agreed to each of their requests and thanked them repeatedly.
Because of the pleasantries exchanged along the way, it only took about ten minutes to walk from the village entrance to the north of the village. Just as Lin Qingqing was about to speak to Xie Wei, she heard someone calling her from the stone bridge.
The other person was a middle-aged woman in her early forties, with short hair, wearing a blue cloth jacket, and carrying a cloth bag on her elbow. She had a smile on her face and seemed very warm, but her appearance was somewhat unfamiliar. Lin Qingqing hesitated and looked at Xie Wei.
Xie Wei noticed her gaze and called out as she approached, "Aunt Yang." He then introduced her to Lin Qingqing, "This is our brigade's women's federation director."
Lin Qingqing nodded and greeted the person, saying, "Hello, Director Yang."
"Hey!" Director Yang responded, walked to the oxcart and said, "I just went to the educated youth settlement to look for you. I heard you went to the Lin family to ask for grain. Is this what you got back from the Lin family? Wow, there are even two thick quilts!"
“I got them from the Lin family,” Lin Qingqing replied. “I left the Lin family in a hurry and didn’t bring any blankets, so I went to get two today.”
Director Yang said, "Oh, is this the blanket you used to sleep under?"
Lin Qingqing was taken aback, then shook her head and said, "No, my old quilt was too worn out to use. This is the quilt that Comrade Zhao Chunhua used to use."
Director Yang was also taken aback for a moment, and said, "The Lin family gave it to you? At least they have some conscience."
"They didn't give it to me willingly; Comrade Xie helped me get it." Lin Qingqing said, glancing at Xie Wei. Speaking of which, getting the quilt...
It took quite a bit of trouble!
Although Li Chunlian and her husband were terrified by Lin Hongwei, they dared not openly object because they were suddenly missing several hundred kilograms of grain, but they couldn't help but cry and wail. When they heard Xie Wei say that he was taking away one mattress and one blanket, Li Chunlian was even more upset. She said she didn't want to live anymore and almost banged her head against the wall.
Lin Hongwei hesitated for a moment. Although he wasn't afraid of the Lin family making a scene, he didn't want anyone to die. But Xie Wei wouldn't budge, so Lin Hongwei had no choice but to take the quilt that Old Lady Lin had used before she was sent down from Li Chunlian.
Director Yang laughed upon hearing this: "No wonder the brigade leader arranged for you to help get grain." If it were anyone else, let alone these two quilts, they wouldn't have been able to get that much grain. She estimated that there were at least three or four hundred catties of grain on the oxcart.
"Perhaps they think I'm difficult to deal with," Xie Wei said half-jokingly.
Lin Qingqing looked surprised; this was the first time she had ever seen Xie Wei joke since she had been dealing with him. However, Lin Qingqing didn't quite agree with Xie Wei's words, shaking her head and saying, "You're the one who's more impressive."
Director Yang laughed heartily: "No matter how difficult or powerful they are, it's always good to have more grain. Comrade Lin, you should thank Wei Zi properly. He's been running around doing a lot of work for you lately."
"Yes, I've also been thinking about how to thank Comrade Xie," Lin Qingqing said earnestly.
"It didn't take much effort," Xie Wei said with a light cough, but instead of saying that no thanks were needed, he changed the subject, "Aunt Yang, what do you need Comrade Lin for?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious," Director Yang said, reminded by Xie Wei. "It's still about Zhao Chunhua. Didn't Secretary Zhou say before that she should be severely punished so that the whole commune would learn from this?"
"Yes, on the day they were sent down to the countryside, representatives from various units in the commune went to see them," Lin Qingqing recalled.
Director Yang nodded: "That's right, but Director Chen of the commune's women's federation said that this is not enough. She believes that Zhao Chunhua's matter is worth discussing. She wants the women's federation cadres of each unit and brigade to take this opportunity to organize a meeting to focus on studying this incident. It is imperative that all members of the commune and brigades know that Comrade Zhao Chunhua's behavior was wrong and that her thinking was problematic, so as to prevent such things from happening again and fundamentally improve the status and rights of women comrades."
Lin Qingqing sensed from Director Yang's words that the Women's Federation seemed to want to hold a legal education conference regarding this matter. Although the case of Old Lady Lin forcing her adopted daughter to have a child through a surrogate was an isolated incident, the underlying principles were the same. They could use this incident as a springboard to discuss selling daughters for dowries and drowning daughters.
Incidents involving children are not unacceptable.
However, Lin Qingqing was somewhat puzzled: "You came to me about this matter?"
"I thought that as someone directly involved, telling this story might make it more memorable, so I wanted to ask you to speak about it. Of course, if you don't want to speak about it, that's fine too, I..."
Lin Qingqing replied without hesitation, "I'm willing."
After the reform and opening up, those who were sent to farms for reform will be released one after another. That is to say, in five or six years at most, Grandma Lin and her daughter will be released. And people are forgetful. In five or six years, who will remember what they did? Then they will be able to live their own lives.
The farm reform can't trap them forever, but gossip can. If the Women's Federation's meeting is successful, Grandma Lin and her daughter will surely become infamous, and even if they are released a few years later, they will live in the shadow of it.
Lin Qingqing was never one to repay evil with kindness; she was more than willing to help the old lady and her daughter become "famous."
Director Yang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she agreed so quickly, and said, "Don't worry, I've discussed it with Secretary Xu. We'll calculate your work points during this period so you won't work for nothing."
This was an unexpected surprise, but Lin Qingqing felt that she had received a lot of help from Xingfeng Brigade and was a little embarrassed to accept it, so she quickly declined, saying, "This is not a heavy job, and it doesn't require work points."
“How can we not record work points?” Director Yang patted Lin Qingqing on the shoulder and said, “If you’re embarrassed, help me think of how to conduct this meeting.”
Hearing her say that, Lin Qingqing didn't refuse and said, "I will definitely think about it carefully."
Director Yang smiled and nodded, then made an appointment with Lin Qingqing to discuss the matter before leaving.
Author's note: New job. Got it!
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