Wang Xianghua had been looking after the chicken farm for the past two years, and her interactions with people were different from before, making her bolder.
This time, when the eggs from the chicken farm were smashed for no reason, Wang Xianghua felt heartbroken and decided that these people must be taught a lesson.
Without consulting Su Changjiu, she led a large group of people to the commune.
The people at the commune also knew who Wang Xianghua of the Hongxin Chicken Farm was, and they received her.
Upon hearing Wang Xianghua's account of what happened, they were also very angry.
Eggs were precious commodities, and a thousand eggs were no small matter. These foolish people had actually smashed them.
The commune cadres, without even seeking approval from their superiors, directly demanded that Zhu Yuling and her children compensate for these eggs.
They were to compensate at the market price and also provide an equivalent amount of egg coupons.
The money was one thing; eggs were indeed a hard currency, but the price wasn't high, only five fen per egg.
A thousand eggs amounted to fifty yuan, which wasn't a small sum, but for Zhu Yuling, it wasn't an impossible amount to produce.
However, over a hundred catties of egg coupons made Zhu Yuling feel completely overwhelmed.
Wang Xianghua, though appearing rustic, was good at calculations. After stating her compensation demands, she began to tally everything meticulously.
Eight eggs made a catty, so a thousand eggs were one hundred and twenty-five catties.
Wang Xianghua said it was fine to calculate it as one hundred and twenty catties, and the remainder could be waived.
Even in Beijing, Zhu Yuling's family only received one catty of egg coupons per month.
One hundred and twenty catties of egg coupons would require ten years to save, even if the entire family didn't eat a single egg throughout the year.
Let alone producing it immediately, even if given time to gather them, it would be impossible to collect them all at once!
Zhu Yuling almost fainted.
She truly regretted it. Why had she smashed those eggs? Why not do something else?
It would have been better to steal a few and boil them to eat.
Now, she regretted it deeply, but no matter how much she regretted it, they still demanded compensation for the eggs.
Even if they bought them, they wouldn't have enough of these egg coupons!
After much deliberation, Zhu Yuling finally decided to call people in Beijing for help.
Wang Xianghua did not know the specifics of how Zhu Yuling sought help.
However, she knew that the commune had stated that Zhu Yuling and her children were responsible for this matter and that she didn't need to worry about it anymore.
Wang Xianghua returned to the Hongxin Brigade in a good mood.
Although she still felt the sting of losing so many eggs, at least she didn't have to figure out how to provide a thousand eggs to the commune.
Shen Zizhen did not inquire about the matter, pretending not to know.
This small incident, like a fleeting flower, soon disappeared.
Even Wang Xianghua did not know whether Zhu Yuling had compensated the commune for the eggs.
Nor did she know if Zhu Yuling and her two children were still at the commune or if they had already left.
Many people in the Hongxin Brigade didn't even know that a few people had come and done such a thing in Hongxin Brigade.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of August.
Grandma Su thought that her grandchildren hadn't been to school in a long time, and their old schoolbags were tattered and unusable. So, she decided to make a new schoolbag for each of them.
Coincidentally, Chen Zi'an sent over some old clothes. Grandma Su gritted her teeth and took apart a few of the old garments.
After sewing and mending, she managed to make ten identical new schoolbags.
"Grandma, can you embroider a red star on the schoolbags?" Su Xiaotian propped her chin on her hand, watching Grandma Su do needlework.
Grandma Su was a skilled old lady, and in her youth, she was an expert at needlework.
Now that she was older, her eyesight wasn't as good, and she couldn't do very fine work, but making schoolbags was no problem at all.
"Okay, Grandma will make a schoolbag with a red star for my good darling!"
Grandma Su, who granted every wish, smiled and found some red scraps of cloth, and indeed sewed a red star onto the schoolbags of several grandchildren.
Su Xiaotian held her new schoolbag, beaming with joy.
Regarding the topic of fashion and trendiness, Su Xiaotian believed that what was accepted by most people was trendy.
A schoolbag like this, if it were in later years, would probably be considered too rustic to be seen in public.
Children decades later would likely disdainfully throw such schoolbags into the trash.
But in this era, it was definitely capable of leading the fashion.
In this era, fabric was scarce, and children either had no schoolbags, or if they did, they were made of pieced-together scraps.
Even the educated youths who came from the city felt extremely honored to have a military green bag, comparable to carrying a Chanel bag in later years.
The Su family's children, all with military green schoolbags sewn with red stars, indeed attracted considerable attention in the brigade.
There were all sorts of envious and jealous glances.
Seeing this, Su Taohua also made identical schoolbags for her two children, using a pair of worn-out pants that Su Xiaoliang had sent.
She had originally intended to mend these pants for Xiaogang to wear, but upon seeing the schoolbags of the Su family's children, she resolutely cut up the worn pants.
Watching Su Taohua gnash her teeth and reluctantly hold the scissors, Shen Zizhen chuckled.
He directly took the scissors from Su Taohua's hand and neatly cut the pants open at the worn knees.
Now, even if Su Taohua was reluctant, there was nothing she could do, unless she planned to wear these pants as shorts.
"Oh dear, I was wondering why you cut it for me?" Su Taohua said with a mournful face.
"It's alright, these pants were also quite worn out, so it's good for making schoolbags," Shen Zizhen said leisurely.
He had been in a very good mood these past few days.
He had indeed received some news in recent days.
It seemed that the college entrance examination was really going to be reinstated, and it was said that his case had also been resolved, and he would soon be able to return to Beijing.
If the rumors were true, not only would his former position be restored, but he would also be compensated for the losses of the past two years. Then, he would be able to make two new outfits for each child.
Of course, these were just thoughts in Shen Zizhen's mind, and he didn't mention them to Su Taohua.
Su Taohua was not someone who dwelled on things or blamed herself. Since the pants had already been cut into two pieces, she calmly proceeded to make the schoolbags.
After making two schoolbags, as there was still some fabric left, Su Taohua made one for Su Xiaocao as well.
With several children going to school together, the Su family's children had them, and their family also had them. If Su Xiaocao were left alone, it wouldn't be good.
Now, the children of Hongxin Brigade, each with an identical schoolbag, reported to the county town.
The uniform military green schoolbags became a scenic sight even in the county town.
When the children got off the bus, they were seen by many city dwellers, who were very envious.
Some children clung to their parents, wanting the same schoolbags.
However, not every family had the means to make schoolbags for their children.
Especially these military green schoolbags, which were even rarer.
Inevitably, some people blamed Su Xiaotian and the others.
"I don't know whose family is so wasteful, making schoolbags out of perfectly good fabric instead of something else?"
"Exactly, it's too wasteful! So much fabric, enough to make a whole outfit!"
But whether it was envy or jealousy, it was ultimately someone else's business, and they could only vent their frustrations.
Su Xiaotian had been to the county town many times and had never been stared at before. But this time, she was being stared at.
She scanned the surroundings and suddenly realized why so many people were looking at them – it was all because of the schoolbags.
Amidst the envious and jealous gazes of many children and adults, Su Xiaotian and the others first went to Chen Zi'an's home.
It wasn't that they didn't want to go back to their own home. In the daytime, only Su Manxiu was at home.
Su Manxiu was startled when the brigade leader brought so many children to her doorstep.
Then she was pleasantly surprised.
"You're here. I heard school starts tomorrow, and I was wondering why you hadn't arrived yet," Su Manxiu said with a smile.
At the same time, she warmly invited Su Changjiu and the others to sit down.
After entering the house and drinking a cup of water, Su Changjiu handed the children over to Su Manxiu, said many polite words, and was about to leave.
Su Manxiu refused, saying that they had to have a meal before leaving, no matter what.
But Su Changjiu refused no matter what, repeatedly saying that there were many matters to attend to at the brigade and resolutely left.
It was almost noon, so Su Manxiu asked them to help watch Chen Xiuyuan, the child, while she busied herself with cooking.
Su Xiaocao and Su Xiaomei exchanged glances, and then each carried half a bag of grain to the kitchen to find Su Manxiu.
"Auntie Manxiu."
"Cousin Manxiu!"
The two girls called out in unison, and Su Manxiu turned around with a smile.
"What are you two doing?" Su Manxiu asked, seeing the bags in their hands.
"My dad asked me to bring this. Last time, we ate at Auntie Manxiu's place for several days. My dad said that since Auntie Manxiu is in the city, she has to buy everything, and it's not as convenient as in the countryside, so he asked me to bring this grain."
Su Xiaocao handed over the bag in her hand with a smile.
Su Xiaocao was actually a shy girl, but because Su Manxiu truly took care of them, the younger generation, she felt close to Su Manxiu.
Su Xiaomei directly placed the bag in her hand on the table and said, "Cousin Manxiu, my mom said that Xiaogang and I will bother you even more in the future. If you don't accept this grain, then my siblings and I won't dare to come anymore!"
Hearing Su Xiaomei's words, Su Manxiu couldn't help but playfully poke Su Xiaomei's forehead and say, "You child, you're quite the talker. Are you really not going to come if I don't accept it?"
Su Xiaomei smiled and said, "Yes, we won't dare to come. Your husband works alone, and it's not easy to support a family of three. How can I have the nerve to come and freeload?"
Su Manxiu thought about it and realized that it made sense. If she didn't accept it this time, perhaps these children would really stop coming to her house in the future.
Su Xiaotian walked in from outside and also saw this scene, so she smiled and said to Su Manxiu, "Auntie, this is also a token of appreciation from Auntie Taohua and Uncle Brigade Leader. Please accept it!"
After saying this, she then said to Su Xiaomei and Su Xiaocao, "Sister Xiaomei, Sister Xiaocao, when you come from home in the future, just bring some of our own pumpkins, cabbage, and radishes."
Others might not know, but Su Xiaotian knew that Grandma Su, because she had a lot of grain coupons, had often subsidized Su Manxiu.
However, she had only given Su Manxiu grain coupons, not grain or money.
Coincidentally, Chen Zi'an had some money. With the grain coupons, the family of three ate quite well, often having white rice and white flour, and rarely saw coarse grains on the table.
"Yes, when you come in the future, just bring some vegetables," Su Manxiu also said busily.
Su Xiaomei smiled and said, "Cousin Manxiu, dried vegetables, radishes, and cabbage are not valuable. How can we have the nerve to send them to you!"
For farming families, grain was the most precious thing, which was why they chose to send grain to Su Manxiu's family.
"Even if they're not valuable, I have to buy them with money, and even if I buy them, they might not be fresh. It's better than what grows well in our own fields," Su Manxiu explained.
It was only because they had a small yard where they could grow some vegetables. Otherwise, queuing up to buy vegetables would be a terrible hassle!
"I brought a lot of vegetables this time. You can see, leeks, radishes, garlic, beans, whatever you want!" Su Xiaotian said with a bright smile.
Auntie Manxiu's family didn't lack grain and money too much, but with so many children suddenly arriving, vegetables would definitely be lacking.
Grandma Su had prepared a lot of vegetables for her to bring, and of course, she hadn't forgotten to bring some air-dried meat for Su Manxiu.
There was air-dried pheasant, wild rabbit, as well as some wild boar and lamb, enough for the family to eat for a long time.
But Su Xiaotian wouldn't say now that she had brought so much meat.
"Sister Xiaomei, Sister Xiaocao, think about it, with so many of us, how many vegetables do we need for one meal? The vegetables in Auntie's small vegetable garden would be eaten up in two meals by so many of us!"
The two felt that what Su Xiaotian said made some sense, but they also felt that it wasn't entirely true.
Where exactly was the discrepancy?
"I'll accept this grain, but don't bring me any more grain in the future," Su Manxiu said, already taking out the rice bin to start cooking.
This rice was bought secretly by Su Laosan when the children were taking their exams.
Su Manxiu originally didn't intend to accept it, but Su Laosan said that she shouldn't subsidize her own family, lest her brother-in-law look down on her.
In Su Laosan's opinion, Su Manxiu had already married up by marrying Chen Zi'an.
If her life became even more difficult because she subsidized her nieces and nephews, and her brother-in-law looked down on her, it would be even worse.
They were now workers in the county town, with salaries and various coupons. Coupled with the coupons subsidized by their family, buying some grain to send over was not a big deal.
Su Manxiu did not hide this matter from Chen Zi'an.
Chen Zi'an smiled and said at the time that relatives should help each other, and it was also right to be clear about things, so it was nothing.
But in his heart, he had also wondered where these coupons from the Su family came from.
He had even suspected that these coupons were fake.
But practice had proven that these coupons were real, realer than real.
[Author's Note]
Today is still four thousand words. I've said for a long time that I'm too busy, and I'm really sorry, but it's true. This is the sixty-second consecutive day of work, with no rest days, and almost every day working overtime. This is how it is at the end of the year. Please forgive me, dear readers, and don't dislike me, Shiguang!