Chapter 8: Your flattery wasn’t very effective, was it?

Chapter 8: Your flattery wasn’t very effective, was it?

After leaving the village school, Shen Moer headed towards her self-retained land, carrying a bamboo basket with two high school textbooks inside.

Since today marked the beginning of voluntary work for able-bodied laborers, and grain had just been distributed the day before, most households weren’t worried about food for the time being. This meant that not only the women but also the elderly in the village were taking a break at home.

As Shen Moer passed by Aunt Chen’s house, she saw a group of old ladies from the village waving large palm-leaf fans, sitting and chatting under a big tree by the roadside.

Seeing Shen Moer, Aunt Chen waved her fan and asked with genuine concern, "Moer, are you feeling better today? Did you manage to eat your fill after getting the grain yesterday?"

"Yes, I ate my fill," Shen Moer replied with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Thanks to Aunt Chen, Aunt Cai, Aunt Lu, Aunt Wang, Aunt Yang, and Aunt Zhang for your help. It wouldn’t have been so easy to bring the grain home without you. Thank you so much!"

Even though they had just joined in for the sake of company, being thanked so solemnly by Shen Moer made the aunts feel as though they had truly done a good deed. Each of them couldn’t help but hold their chin a little higher with pride and couldn’t resist chatting with Shen Moer for a while longer.

When they heard that Shen Moer was heading to her self-retained land, the aunts eagerly offered to go with her.

Even in good times, the father and daughter were almost starving despite having enough food. While others would manage to get by through various means, be it foraging from the hills or squeezing a bit more from their self-retained plots, the Shen family somehow always ended up hungrier.

Sure enough, when the group of people arrived at the Shen family’s self-retained land, they were met with a dismal sight. A few stalks of water spinach had been cut down to only a few sparse roots, some sparse leaves remained on the few yard-long bean plants, and the beans were even scarcer. As for the sweet potato ridges, the underground parts were invisible, and the leaves above ground had mostly been stripped away.

The aunts were filled with pity. This father and daughter were truly starving, having eaten everything they could from the field.

Their honesty was truly remarkable.

If it had been someone else, even if their own plot had been stripped bare, they might have resorted to taking from their neighbors' plots out of desperation. But as they passed by, the other families' self-retained plots were all neatly maintained. Even a pumpkin from the Zhou family had grown into their plot and remained untouched, turning into an old pumpkin.

"Shen Laoqi never went to the fields much when his mother was alive. After she passed, there was no one to teach him. His farming skills are really not up to par."

With that, the old ladies rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They fetched farming tools from Aunt Yang’s house and began loosening the soil, watering the land, and even pulled seedlings of amaranth, squash, and carrots from their own plots to plant in Shen Moer’s plot.

Being experienced laborers, they worked swiftly. In the time it took Shen Moer to fetch two buckets of water, the plot had transformed dramatically.

Shen Moer was pleasantly surprised by the aunts' enthusiasm. In her previous life as a princess, when her subordinates worked diligently, she would reward them generously.

But in this new world, she had nothing to her name, and these people weren’t her household staff. They had helped her out of pure proletarian camaraderie... Feeling both touched and freshly aware of this, Shen Moer decided to remember this kindness and repay them later.

It must be said, these village ladies could be quite annoying at times, gossiping and meddling in others' affairs, but when they were enthusiastic, they were truly enthusiastic. Without Shen Moer saying a word, they had helped fix up her plot and then, in a bustling crowd, dragged her along to the captain’s house.

The captain was out working, but his mother and wife were home. The old ladies began to speak up for Shen Moer and her father, accusing the other branches of the Shen family of being heartless.

His wife, Xu Hongmei, who had some education and a high elementary school culture, spoke with righteous indignation, "The people's production team exists to serve the people. The proletariat must unite and not oppress. It’s because Shen Laoqi is honest and has no one to support him that his brothers are bullying him. If the production team doesn’t step in, who will?"

Zhou ManCang was speechless. "Why haven’t I heard you say this before?"

Xu Hongmei replied, "Before, the father and daughter didn’t say anything, so we couldn’t just interfere, could we?"

The old lady chimed in, "Exactly. I’ve always thought that girl Moer was pitiful, but Shen Laoqi never said a word, so there was no reason for me to meddle. But things are different now. I’ve heard that if we don’t help them get justice, she’s going to hang herself at the entrance of the production team office. To avoid a tragedy, you have to step in!"

Hearing that Shen Laoqi had suddenly changed his nature and was preparing to fight for his only daughter, Zhou ManCang was still somewhat skeptical. That’s why, during the grain drying yesterday, he had his brothers negotiate first, intending to stall for time.

Perhaps after a few days, Shen Laoqi’s anger might subside.

But now, the fire had reached not only him but also his home. And Zhou ManCang knew very well that behind his mother and wife’s words, there was a group of old ladies pushing them.

Of course, the old lady wasn’t wrong. If a life were at risk, as the captain, he would bear full responsibility.

Originally, Zhou Mancheng had been thinking it was better to avoid unnecessary troubles, but now, sitting on a low stool, he took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Alright, I'll mediate for them this afternoon."

Shen Mo’er had been out for a while, and not only did she return with a completely renewed private plot, but she also came back with vegetables generously given by the aunts. There were cowpeas, water spinach, tender squash, and even a golden honeydew melon.

There wasn’t a single drop of cooking oil at home, and apart from salt, there were no other seasonings. Shen Mo’er washed a small handful of water spinach and made a vegetable soup over a fire. They didn’t prepare anything else, and for lunch, the father and daughter simply ate some cakes along with the vegetable soup.

The cakes were made by the most skilled pastry chef from the prince’s mansion, and naturally, they were delicious. Unfortunately, once this meal was finished, there would be no more.

Fortunately, the grain that had been taken away was retrieved, and with the additional ration from the production team, there was no immediate worry about food at home.

Of course, it would be difficult for the father and daughter, who were used to a life of luxury, to adapt to such a drastic change. But adapt they must, since from now on, they would have to live in this world.

In the evening, just before it got dark, every household had already finished dinner.

After dinner, Shen Mo’er moved a broken chair to the front of the door, enjoying the cool evening breeze. She skillfully disassembled a worn-out cotton padded jacket, pulling out the clumped, rain-drenched cotton, tearing it loose and tossing it into a bamboo basket by her feet.

Now that the father and daughter were penniless, even this clumped cotton, if properly dried and aired, could still be of some use.

After a day of labor, Shen Shaoyuan leaned against the wall, glancing at his precious daughter, and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

His little Mo’er, in Great Liang, was more cherished than a princess. She had learned embroidery from the best embroiderers in Great Liang, not to make her own wedding dress like other young ladies, but simply to embroider a pouch for her father. Now, that skill was only used to mend tattered clothes.

Shen Shaoyuan couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

When Zhou Mancheng arrived, this was the scene he saw: a gaunt girl was hugging a patched cotton jacket, pulling out the cotton, while another gaunt man, Shen Laoqi, looked at his daughter with such sorrow that he was on the verge of tears.

Zhou Mancheng could understand Shen Shaoyuan’s feelings. If it were him, with only one daughter who had nearly starved to death, he would be crying too.

If before Zhou Mancheng had been somewhat forced into handling this matter, now he genuinely wanted to help this poor father and daughter.

When the Shen family members gathered in the production team office, Zhou Mancheng, without realizing it, began to speak on behalf of the father and daughter he viewed as pitiful.

"Before he passed away, our old man divided the house. Each of you brothers got two rooms, and this was witnessed by village officials and elders of the clan. This cannot be denied. As for how you exchanged houses later on, as long as both parties were willing, we have no authority to interfere."

Zhou Mancheng continued, "Now, Lao Qi wants his house back. I just asked, and when you exchanged houses, there was no written agreement or compensation. It was initially a borrowing arrangement, so it’s reasonable for Lao Qi to want his house back now."

The eldest Shen brother, Shen Shengli, had a dark face etched with wrinkles, and a deep frown line between his brows. Frowning, he said, "Team Leader, this is a matter between us brothers. There’s no need for the production team to get involved. We can handle it ourselves."

His family was the largest, and they occupied one and a half rooms of Shen Laoqi’s house.

If Shen Laoqi were to take back his house, Shen Shengli’s second and third sons, along with their families, would have to sleep on the streets.

Shen Shengli now regretted his decision. If he had known this would happen, even if it meant death, he wouldn’t have taken his family to drink wedding wine at the production team in the back mountain.

If he had been in the village when the incident where grain was stolen happened, he would have forced the third son’s family to apologize properly to Shen Laoqi, ensuring the matter didn’t escalate to the point of involving the house.

"Lao Qi, even though we don’t share the same mother, we’re still real brothers. Your mother passed away early, and our father was old. As the elder brother, didn’t you help me a lot? If my third son’s family took your grain, I’ll give him a proper scolding. I’ll make sure they apologize to you and your niece. How about that?"

Shen Shengli believed he understood his half-brother well. Like his stepmother, Shen Laoqi had a soft personality and wasn’t very clever.

He had always been like this, easily persuaded by a few kind words to give away his good things, and often misled by his similarly aged nephews.

Those two rooms had been obtained through such tricks as well.

Shen Shengli believed that if they stalled for a bit, once Shen Laoqi’s anger dissipated, the matter would die down.

However, before he could finish speaking, Shen Shaoyuan waved his hand and interrupted, "The grain issue was resolved yesterday, so let’s not bring it up again. Today, we’re talking about the house. Elder brother, let’s not drag others into this. I’m afraid if we keep dragging things out, you’ll trick us again."

He didn’t care what expression Shen Shengli had on his face and continued speaking to Zhou Mancheng, "I’m not very clever, but I’ve figured this out. The people’s production team is for the people. When there’s an issue, we should rely on the organization. Team Leader, this is the situation. I trust the organization and I trust you. My daughter and I are relying on you to ensure fairness."

Shen Shengli: "..."

Not clever? With such smooth flattery, how could you not be sharp?!