Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The winter in the south was damp and bitterly cold, especially after the snow stopped and during the thaw. The damp cold's "magic attack" could freeze a person to tears. However, winter vegetables were also the most delicious—frost-touched greens were sweet and tender, tasting good no matter how they were cooked.

At noon, Wang Guizhi used fresh greens just pulled from their private plot, added a bit of lard, and made rice porridge with greens, serving it with a piece of preserved vegetable flatbread for each person.

The family had long run out of salted meat. The meat in the cakes was borrowed early that morning from He Yingyu. Most of the finished cakes were given to Old Gao and his son, leaving just enough for the rest of them to eat with the porridge.

There were actually two pheasants, but with Cadre Li and Dai Xianghua present, it wasn't appropriate to cook them. Last night, they had only made a stew with dried fish, tofu, and other ingredients. The tofu made a couple of days ago was finished, and the tofu used was borrowed from someone else.

Ever since Shen Guoqiang became a worker and Shen Guoqing could earn work points, this was the first time Wang Guizhi was feeling the pinch so badly, having to scrape together ingredients just to make a meal.

On one hand, buying the job for Shen Guoqing had nearly emptied the family savings. And now the new year was right around the corner and that rascal about to get married, she needed to quickly save up for the bride price. On the other hand, raising a group of children at home and wanting to give them good food really required a lot of effort, especially since food was the most precious commodity these days—even having money didn't guarantee you could buy it.

After the meal, the little ones gathered around the charcoal brazier to continue writing letters, while Wang Guizhi took a small bag of rice and picked out the small stones from it.

In Shanxi County, New Year's rice cakes were made with a mix of late japonica rice and glutinous rice. Each production team only grew a small amount of both types, so each household naturally didn't get much. The rice in this bag was the late japonica variety.

Wang Guizhi still had some grain coupons. She planned to exchange for more late japonica rice at the next village fair to make more rice cakes. She also needed to figure out how to get more soybeans to make more tofu. Later, she could dry more tofu to add another dish to the table.

While writing his letter, Xiao Jie suddenly let out a gleeful cackle: "Little Stone's full given name is actually Gao Fei. Haha, we can write both these characters now! Why didn't he think of it before? He said he was a big bird, flying really high. Uncle Dai even said he might be called 'Dapeng' (a mythical giant bird). Hahaha, so his name is just Gao Fei."

Besides writing to Little Stone, the children also wrote letters to Xiao Zhuzi and Xiao Wei, telling them the good news that another little friend had found his parents.

Especially for Xiao Zhuzi, who was said to be from the same province as Little Stone. Although Dai Xianghua repeatedly emphasized that the two places were actually quite far apart, Xiao Jie didn't care. In his letter to Xiao Zhuzi, he wrote three times, urging Xiao Zhuzi to visit Little Stone and look after him.

Although Xiao Zhuzi's family was also from the countryside, they were fairly well-off. Xiao Zhuzi's father knew how to weave bamboo and was reportedly a master craftsman in their area. Xiao Jie instructed Xiao Zhuzi to have his father teach Gao Fei's father, so Little Stone's family could earn more money.

However, his letter was scrawled with crooked characters and filled with random drawings. Whether Xiao Zhuzi would understand it upon receiving it remained to be seen.

Lin Mian knitted his brows slightly, also trying his best to offer suggestions for Little Stone: "He could continue collecting scrap, dig for bamboo shoots, pick mushrooms, or learn more characters to help others write letters. It seems he could also go up the mountain to dig medicinal herbs to sell. It's a pity we don't recognize any herbs."

Xiao Dizi leaned on the edge of the table, looked at Lin Mian, suddenly slapped the table, and said in her childish voice, "Sell! Xiao Dizi sell! Sell for Little Stone brother!"

Shen Banyue glanced at her and asked, "Sell what?"

Selling cuteness?

Xiao Dizi wrinkled her little brows, hesitated for several seconds, then said, "Sell pheasant. Xiao Dizi not eat. Sell for money for Little Stone brother."

Shen Banyue was amused by her expression of "reluctantly parting with a treasure." She patted Xiao Dizi's tousled little head and smiled, "We won't sell the pheasants. We'll think of other things to sell later."

Wang Guizhi was also amused by them and laughed, "You kids, it's like you're obsessed with money. At such a young age, you're always worrying about how to earn it. Earning money is for adults. You lot should just eat, sleep, study hard, and grow up healthy."

The children exchanged glances and obediently agreed in unison, "Okay, Grandma Wang."

Their attitude was excellent, but whether they could actually follow through was another matter.

The next day, the weather warmed up slightly, and the sun was brilliant. The children, who had their hearts set on earning money, discussed it and decided to take out their tools and baskets again to go collect scrap.

The scrap they collected last time was still piled in the storage room. They planned to collect more over the next few days, and when Shen Guoqing returned, have him help take it all to the scrap collection station to sell.

They could have asked Shen Wenyi to help sell it, but these past couple of days, he had been under the brigade leader's strict supervision to study, and they hadn't even seen a trace of him.

The group called for Shen Wendong and Zhao Xuehai along the way. When they reached the village entrance, they found a crowd gathered there. Zhao Xuehai and Xiao Jie reacted the fastest, darting over and then quickly darting back.

Xiao Jie reported in a chirpy voice to his friends, "It's Educated Youth Hu! That bad Educated Youth Hu has been brought back by the commune militia. Wow, Educated Youth Hu looks a lot uglier now. She used to look like a sister, now she looks like an auntie."

The crowd parted slightly just as Hu Caidie walked over, hearing every word.

Her face instantly fell. She glared fiercely at Xiao Jie, her mouth twitching as if she wanted to curse, but she held back due to the circumstances.

Meeting her gaze, Xiao Jie jumped in fright, "Sister Yue! She looks so fierce!"

Shen Banyue: "..."

With a mouth as sharp as poison, who else would she glare at?

Talking bad about someone is one thing, but you actually called her ugly, said she aged from a sister to an auntie. If the militia comrades weren't following behind, Shen Banyue suspected Hu Caidie would have pounced on Xiao Jie to tear him apart.

The militia led Hu Caidie towards the brigade headquarters. The commune members around pointed and whispered. Many aunties warned their husbands and children to definitely stay away from this female comrade in the future.

Courting was one thing, but she helped her partner scheme against others. This kind of foolish and poisonous woman would bring great misfortune to any family that got involved.

It just so happened this girl had a pretty face. Before her arrest, some young men in the village actually had a favorable impression of her. If she hadn't chosen Shen Guoqing, with his uniquely strange thought process, as her "target," she might have actually succeeded.

"Xiao Yue the Hero, you must protect me. I feel so in danger right now!"

A voice spoke up gloomily behind Shen Banyue. She rolled her eyes and turned to see Shen Wenyi squatting behind them. Her gaze lingered on the two large dark circles under his eyes for a few seconds before she asked, "Weren't you studying hard at home, 'hanging from the beam and stabbing your thigh'?"

Shen Wenyi first gave her a thumbs up, "Xiao Yue, I've discovered you're a genius. Your learning ability is especially strong, your learning speed especially fast. Look at you now, you can even use idioms like 'hanging from the beam and stabbing your thigh'."

After blowing this rainbow fart, he let out a long sigh and whispered, "I sneaked out. Hu Caidie is back. My dad has to do a handover with the commune militia and then resettle her."

Lin Mian looked at Shen Wenyi with disapproval and said seriously, "Brother Wenyi, you're already cramming at the last minute. If you're not serious, that's not a good learning attitude. Studying is a very serious matter. You must approach it with a solemn attitude and persevere consistently."

Shen Wenyi: "..."

Wait, isn't this kid usually very quiet? Why does he go on and on when it comes to studying, just like his dad?

That little look in his eyes, as if he'd committed some terrible transgression...

"I'm saying, Xiao Mian, studying is important, but you also need to balance work and rest, right? What normal person can stand studying non-stop? If this goes on, by exam day, how will I have any energy left to take it?"

Lin Mian shook his head and said seriously, "Many great scientists are like this. They study tirelessly every day to climb the peaks of science."

Shen Wenyi: "..."

You know, you were cuter when you were a silent gourd.

Shen Wenyi pointed at himself and said weakly, "Xiao Mian, look at me. Do I look like someone who can become a scientist and climb some peak?"

Before Lin Mian could answer, a voice that was both hoarse and loud, like a broken gong, rang out beside them, "I think you don't want to climb any peak, you want to reach for the heavens! If you don't want to study, fine. You go carry manure for me. From now on, all the brigade's manure is your responsibility. You'll carry manure for me for the rest of your life!"

Shen Banyue turned to look. The voice actually came from the brigade leader. His eyes were bloodshot, his face flushed with anger beneath his dark complexion, his expression so fierce it made Xiao Dizi tremble.

Shen Wenyi was horrified, "No, no, no! I won't carry manure! Wait, old man, weren't you supposed to do the handover with the militia? How did you get here?"

Shen Zhenxing didn't want to answer his foolish son's foolish question. He glanced around, picked up a wooden stick from the ground, and swung it at his idiot son. Shen Wenyi let out a shriek of fright and dodged, pleading repeatedly, "Dad, I've rested enough. Right now, immediately, I'll go back to study."

Then he muttered under his breath, "Who knows what questions they'll set? Studying might not even be useful!"

Shen Zhenxing, swift as lightning, landed a solid hit on him, "Studying might not be useful, but not studying definitely isn't!" His hoarse voice rose several pitches, almost cracking.

The blow made Shen Wenyi yelp and wail. Not daring to say another word, he took off running home, "I'll study, I'll study, alright?!"

Staring at his idiot son running farther and farther away, Shen Zhenxing let out a long, heavy sigh.

This troublesome rascal.

"You're heading to the willow grove? Be careful, don't go into the water, and come back early," Shen Zhenxing softened his voice, cautioning the children.

The children all nodded in agreement. Shen Banyue couldn't help but add, "Grandpa, you should take care of your health too!" Your voice is so hoarse—clearly, you're stressed and agitated. In these times, there were no regular check-ups. What if you had high blood pressure or something? It would be terrible if Shen Wenyi didn't collapse from exhaustion, but you did first.

Shen Zhenxing paused in surprise, then smiled and said, "Alright, I'll listen to Xiao Yue." A daughter really knows how to care for you, unlike those bratty boys who only know how to annoy him.

After Shen Zhenxing left, the children continued on their way to the willow grove.

Zhao Xuehai cackled with glee, "A full-grown man like Brother Wenyi still gets a scolding from the brigade leader for not studying properly. Haha, that's hilarious!"

Lin Mian glanced at him and said coolly, "If you don't study hard now, you'll end up just like Brother Wenyi when you grow up."

Zhao Xuehai: "..."

Shen Banyue was tickled pink. Lin Mian's tongue was as sharp as a razor.

Shen Wendong agreed with Lin Mian's point: "Idle young, needy old—that's exactly how it is. Actually, my dad has been studying these past couple of days too. He said if he meets the conditions, he plans to sign up and give it a try. But my dad is much more serious than Brother Wenyi. He doesn't need Uncle breathing down his neck; he studies in his room on his own. Last night when I got up, the light in his room was still on."

Shen Banyue had always thought Shen Zhenhua was quite an interesting person. He had an unusually broad-minded and clear-sighted demeanor, and occasionally displayed perspectives that surpassed those around him.

She guessed Shen Zhenxing must have informed the villagers about the towel factory's potential recruitment exam. It remained to be seen how many people in the village would sign up.

The next day, the commune summoned all the brigade leaders for a meeting and indeed announced the recruitment news. The age requirement was quite lenient—able-bodied young and middle-aged adults were eligible—unlike later eras where job postings demanded both youth and work experience. As for education, except for two or three positions where elementary school education sufficed, all others required at least junior high school level.

The education requirement screened out quite a few people. In Xiaodun Brigade, aside from Shen Zhenhua and Shen Wenyi (uncle and nephew), three others signed up.

On the third day, the five of them obtained introduction letters from the brigade and went to the commune to register. As Dai Xianghua had said, the exam was indeed scheduled for the fourth day.

The brigade arranged an ox-cart to take the five to the commune.

Shen Zhenxing had probably been too tense these past few days. He woke up that morning feeling dizzy and with a headache. He had originally intended to accompany them to the commune personally but ultimately had to give up. In the end, He Yingyu brought Shen Wendong, and Wang Guizhi brought the four children, all accompanying the group to the commune.

Plans couldn't keep up with changes. Shen Banyue had originally wanted to wait until Shen Guoqing returned before selling the scrap, but now that they had a 'free ride' on the ox-cart, they naturally brought the scrap along.

After dropping the five 'examinees' at the entrance of the towel factory and watching them enter, the group stood outside the factory gate, gawking at the place for ages.

Yunling Commune only had this one factory, so everyone naturally knew about it.

However, the towel factory had been established by transferring some production lines from the county textile mill. Its workers were either assigned from the county textile mill or directly recruited from the commune. Back then, only a little over ten spots were allocated for recruitment exams across all brigades. Xiaodun Brigade had particularly bad luck and didn't get a single candidate accepted.

So, for the commune members of Xiaodun Brigade, they knew such a factory existed but weren't really familiar with it.

Perhaps because they were gawking for so long, the elderly guard from the gatehouse couldn't help but come out, eyeing them warily. "What are you all doing here?"

Quick-mouthed Xiao Jie immediately replied, "Grandpa, we're taking a good look at what this factory is like."

The old man eyed them suspiciously. This group, old and young, didn't seem like troublemakers out to cause damage, but it was indeed strange for them to keep staring at the factory.

"Take a good look at what the factory is like, and then what? What are you planning to do?"

Xiao Jie let out a gleeful cackle, startling the old man so much his eyes widened. Then he heard the brat say, "Our grand-uncle, Brother Wenyi, Brother Jiangang, Brother Jun, and Brother Wangping are all going to work in the factory! We're just checking out the place for them first."

The old man: "………………"

The recruitment exam candidates just went in, and you already know they're going to work here? And you're checking out the place for them first? How presumptuous can you be?

"Which brigade are you from? If you have nothing to do, leave quickly. If you keep standing at the gate, don't blame me for not warning you when the security department detains you for questioning."

Wang Guizhi hurriedly said, "Oh, we're leaving right now, right now. Sorry for bothering you!"

She didn't mention which brigade they were from at all. Patting Xiao Jie's head, she turned and walked away decisively. The others quickly followed.

"Let's go to the recycling station."

"Let's go! Off to sell scrap at the recycling station!"

The old man shook his head speechlessly, thinking to himself that these people were quite resourceful—coming for the exam and planning to sell scrap on the side.

The commune was only so big, so the recycling station wasn't far away.

He Yingyu watched Shen Banyue carrying a huge burlap sack as easily as if it were a cabbage the whole way and couldn't help but marvel, "I knew Xiao Yue was strong, but I never imagined she was this strong. I can't even lift that bag, but she carries it like it's nothing."

Wang Guizhi, holding Xiao Dizi, shrugged and said, "Just look at this little girl—so sturdy and heavy. Doesn't Xiao Yue carry her around every day like she's an enamel mug? Her strength might even surpass Guoqing's."

He Yingyu laughed, "Why don't you let me hold Xiao Dizi for a while?"

Xiao Dizi glanced at He Yingyu, immediately wrapped her arms around Wang Guizhi's neck, and shook her head firmly. "No! Grandma holds me!"

Wang Guizhi looked at her and smiled, "Aren't you afraid Grandma can't carry you? I think you've really filled out these past few months. If you keep growing like this, Grandma really won't be able to carry you anymore."

Xiao Dizi thought for a moment and said, "Sister can carry me."

Wang Guizhi chuckled, "That's right. Only your sister can carry you now."

Then she shook her head at He Yingyu, "It's not far; we'll be there soon. No need to switch." Country folks, used to working the fields, actually had considerable strength. Carrying a child for this short while didn't require switching hands.

Seeing that Wang Guizhi indeed didn't seem strained, He Yingyu didn't insist. Instead, she pointed at Shen Wendong and Lin Mian walking beside Shen Banyue and laughed, "Look at those two. They want to help but can't really do anything. They're like pigs trying to eat a hedgehog—can't figure out how to get it in their mouths. Oh my, it's killing me with laughter."

Shen Wendong and Lin Mian, who heard everything clearly: "..."

Shen Banyue, who also heard, twitched the corner of her mouth, thinking that indeed, birds of a feather flock together. There was a reason He Yingyu and Shen Zhenhua ended up as a couple.

After all, normally, which mother would compare her precious son to a pig?

Chatting and laughing, they soon arrived at the recycling station.

The old man at the recycling station remembered these children well. Without much fuss, he dumped the contents of the burlap sack onto the ground, skillfully separated the cast iron, wrought iron, aluminum, copper, and other materials, weighed each category, and calculated the total: thirty yuan, seven mao, and five fen.

This was the result of the kids' four days of collecting.

It couldn't compare to their first haul, but earning this much in four days was still astonishing.

Even though Wang Guizhi and He Yingyu had their suspicions, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly in unison. Was collecting scrap really this profitable?

The old man also sighed, "I don't know if you kids are just exceptionally lucky, but even digging around, you normally wouldn't find this much scrap metal. If you had been born over a decade earlier, during the Great Leap Forward's steelmaking campaign, with skills like this, think how much you could have saved for your families."

Wang Guizhi and He Yingyu exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile.

That was true. Back then, to produce steel, every household had donated their iron pots.

If they had had these kids' luck and dug up more scrap metal, they could have saved at least one more pot.

The children had already discussed how to use this money. Part of it would be sent to Little Stone, since he had helped collect the scrap too. Another part would be saved for buying some treats at the next big market fair, and some would be set aside to buy a gift for Shen Guoqing.

So the children didn't divide the money; Shen Banyue kept it all for now.

The towel factory exam wouldn't finish that quickly, and there was still plenty of time. Shen Banyue asked the old man if they could look around the recycling station to see if there was anything they needed. The old man waved his hand, "It's all junk. Look around as you please."

The children were excited, but Wang Guizhi and He Yingyu had no interest in rummaging through piles of scrap. So they followed the old man into the small room next door. The old man had a brazier going, making the room quite warm—much more comfortable than freezing their hands and feet while digging through junk.

Shen Banyue also recalled that two lifetimes ago, she had a roommate who loved reading novels and once said that if you ever time-traveled to the 60s or 70s, you must go look for treasures at the scrap station—you might just stumble upon unexpected finds.

Moreover, she remembered the original book's description of Xiao Dizi, the female lead, saying she had exceptionally good luck, with the potential of a koi fish, a symbol of good fortune. While living with Shen Guoqiang and his wife in Jiangcheng, she had scored some finds at the scrap station several times.

Although Xiao Dizi hadn’t yet lived with Shen Guoqiang and his wife, and this wasn’t Jiangcheng, there was no harm in trying, right?

After all, this little girl’s luck was truly remarkable. Over the past few days, she had dug up two more gold beads, smaller than the previous ones but clearly from the same chain.

Shen Banyue suspected that if they kept digging like this, the little girl might just dig up an entire gold chain for herself.

The items at the scrap station were piled up haphazardly, but they were roughly sorted into categories: scrap metal in one pile, wood in another, old newspapers and books in another, bottles and jars in another, and miscellaneous junk in yet another.

The scrap metal pile took up quite a bit of space, but there wasn’t much of it, likely because it was regularly collected and processed.

Even though the era of mass steel production was over, the country still lacked steel. Even if the quality was poor, it could be melted down and reused—if nothing else, it could be made into ordinary tools or household items.

Since they themselves were collecting scrap metal to sell, they naturally weren’t interested in it. The three boys quickly headed to the pile of old newspapers and books. Xiao Jie, with his sharp eyes, spotted a few tattered and incomplete comic books, while Shen Wendong and Lin Mian were more interested in the newspapers and books.

Shen Banyue followed behind Xiao Dizi, letting her lead the way wherever she wanted to go.

Xiao Dizi looked around here and there, finally settling on the pile of bottles and jars.

The clever girl kept her hands stubbornly tucked in her sleeves and only stretched her neck to look, like an old man huddling his hands in winter. After looking for a while, she pointed at a small, dirty, blackish jar about the size of a palm and said, "This one, sister, Xiao Dizi wants this."

Shen Banyue glanced at it but couldn’t see anything special about the jar. Still, since the little one wanted it, she reached out and picked it up.

The jar felt quite light in her hand, covered in so much dust that its original color was unclear. But upon closer inspection, she could see some black patterns on it, which looked quite delicate.

Shen Banyue knew nothing about porcelain, having only heard of blue-and-white porcelain at most. Since the patterns on this small jar were black, even as a layperson, she knew it couldn’t be blue-and-white porcelain. So, she couldn’t tell whether it was an antique or something valuable.

But the jar was small and pretty. Earlier, they had agreed that each of them could pick one item for under one yuan. Since Xiao Dizi liked it, of course she could buy it.

She found a clean old newspaper from the pile, wrapped the jar up, and tucked it into the empty sack. "It’s dirty. Wash it when we get home before playing with it."

Xiao Dizi nodded obediently.

Since the little one had made her choice, Shen Banyue went to take a look at the wood pile.

Currently, aside from her clothes, she kept everything in her "treasure bag," which was sometimes inconvenient. For example, when going out, she only needed to bring some things, while the rest had to be taken out and left on a stool.

So, she wanted to see if there was a small wooden box she could use to store some of her belongings.

As for wooden chests or the like, she didn’t even consider them. Who would sell usable furniture to a scrap station?

What was piled up here were mostly items too broken to be of any use. Some of the wood looked decent but had been chopped into pieces, probably items "confiscated" by the Revolutionary Committee.

Shen Banyue searched through the pile of broken wood for a long time and finally found a small wooden box under a heap of chopped-up tables, chairs, and bed boards.

The box was only twenty centimeters long, and its lid was partially broken off. It was probably too small and damaged to be of any use, which was why no one had taken it.

After searching for so long, this was the only thing Shen Banyue found that was barely suitable for holding a few things, so she didn’t hesitate and decided to take it.

However, as she carefully placed the wooden box into the sack—being careful not to accidentally damage the jar inside—she suddenly felt that something was off about the box.

It was just a wooden box, without even a lock, so why did she sense the presence of metal?

Shen Banyue held the box, concentrated, and then raised an eyebrow in surprise.

There really was something inside.