RIRW – Chapter 18

Some Chapters are password protected, please use - rirw2025c to unlock these chapters. This is to top theft of translations.

Before dividing the grain, it was necessary to deliver the public grain to the Dahe Commune. Once this task was completed, the autumn harvest for the year would be officially over.

On the day of delivering the public grain, the production team was bustling with activity.

Each production team weighed the collected grain and bagged it according to the quotas assigned by the commune.

Zuojiatun belonged to the seventh production team of the Dahe Commune. Due to poor soil quality, the team often fell short of its public grain quota and had to use coarse grain to make up the difference. As the time to deliver public grain approached, no one begrudged handing over their share. Instead, they anxiously hoped there would be enough fine grain to meet the quota.

“This year’s harvest is decent. We only need to make up 500 more catties of corn to cover the wheat shortfall. This year, every household can get their share of grain,” Zuo Shuisheng announced loudly after completing the calculations.

“That’s great! We’ll finally have enough to eat this year!”

Everyone was overjoyed.

Every year after the autumn harvest, people eagerly looked forward to dividing the grain. But they also worried about how much grain they would actually receive. When winter arrived, families often had to tighten their belts and rely on relief grain to get by. Knowing they would have grain this year brought tears of relief to everyone’s eyes.

Although Zuo Dan couldn’t fully empathize with the villagers’ struggles, she was deeply moved by the scene. In the resource-rich future where she came from, who could understand the hardships of this generation and their yearning for a full stomach?

Zuo Dan remembered her childhood, when her grandmother refused to throw away leftover food. As a child, she disliked eating leftovers and once secretly discarded them. When her grandmother found out, she was so upset that she ignored Zuo Dan for two days.

Back then, Zuo Dan thought her grandmother was stubborn. Now, she finally understood her feelings.

Only those who have experienced extreme poverty and hunger can truly grasp the value of food.

Zuo Shuisheng gathered some strong young men from the village to deliver the grain to the commune by cart. Meanwhile, the villagers returned home to await the afternoon distribution.

Zuo Dacheng went along too. He was one of the few literate people in the village and was known for being steady and reliable. Zuo Shuisheng valued his help and often involved him in important tasks.

Grandmother Zuo, her face glowing with excitement, led the rest of the Zuo family home, where they prepared bags for storing grain. They placed them in the courtyard, ready to head to the granary after lunch.

Xu Fengxia worked silently alongside the elderly woman. Once the preparations were complete and the old lady went to the kitchen to cook, Xu Fengxia pulled Zuo Hongjun into the house.

“What are you up to, acting all mysterious at home? Why can’t you speak openly?” Zuo Hongjun, squatting in the courtyard and happily smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, was in a good mood about the grain distribution. Being dragged inside by his wife, however, dampened his spirits.

Xu Fengxia, frustrated, said, “How can you be in the mood to smoke? Have you thought about what we’ll do now? Grain is about to be divided. There are four of us in our household, and three in the second household. All the grain will go to Mom’s place, and we’ll eat from the same pot. Our family is losing out!”

Before Zuo Hongjun could respond, Xu Fengxia started calculating. “And there’s Xiaocong’s schooling. Mom will definitely use grain to exchange for ration tickets. People in the city eat fine grain, so think about how much we’ll waste.”

A teenage boy not working, studying in the city, and the entire family still had to prepare food for him. Xu Fengxia hadn’t minded when she wasn’t working much herself. But now, after toiling hard during the harvest and seeing even their daughter, Zuo Huan, contribute, she felt increasingly resentful.

Zuo Hongjun’s mood, initially cheerful, soured as he listened. His smoking became more frequent, filling the room with a haze of smoke.

He had promised his father to keep the family together. But after losing his position as the team leader due to the second household’s troublemaking, he still harbored resentment. He felt he’d been living in shame. Were it not for his father’s dying wish, he would have separated from the second household long ago. Now, hearing his wife’s complaints, his heart grew heavy.

Yes, why should he support them when relations with the second household were so strained?

Xu Fengxia tugged at his sleeve. “So, what’s your plan, head of the household?”

Zuo Hongjun exhaled deeply. “Let’s talk after lunch.”

He took another long drag on his cigarette and blew out the smoke.

Meanwhile, on a small hill near the threshing ground, Zuo Dan was picking up firewood while chatting with Li Chenliang and Gao Wei, who were doing the same. Although they appeared focused on their tasks, they were secretly discussing trading grain.

Zuo Dan thought their behavior resembled that of an underground resistance group, sneaky and conspiratorial.

But she had no choice. She didn’t want others to know about her grain trading or see her interacting too much with male educated youths.

“We have to get some fine grain this time,” Li Chenliang insisted.

The last batch of cornmeal had run out quickly. He’d considered buying grain from other villagers, but before the autumn harvest, everyone was short on food and unwilling to trade.

As soon as he heard about the grain distribution, he approached Zuo Dan. After all, business was easier with familiar people.

Zuo Dan cleared her throat. “Fine grain? Sure, why don’t you ask the old team leader? Let’s see who in the village has fine grain to spare. Do you realize the fine grain we have barely suffices for the public grain quota? How could anyone afford to eat it?”

In truth, there was some fine grain, but each household only received about ten catties. If she made it seem too easy to obtain, it would raise suspicion and lower the price.

Li Chenliang, frustrated, said, “Millet or corn kernels will do.”

“That’s more reasonable. We don’t have any at home, but I can find some.”

Gao Wei chimed in, “We can get it ourselves.”

“Heh, then go ahead. Who knows this village better, me or you? Do you think anyone here is eager to trade grain with educated youths like you? And if someone finds out, who will bear the responsibility for speculation and profiteering? Let me tell you, I’m taking on a huge risk here. If you’re unwilling, then we won’t trade. It’s not like money is necessary in the countryside.”

“You little…” Gao Wei was too angry to speak.

“Dawei, is that how you talk to a girl?” Li Chenliang pretended to scold Gao Wei, then moved closer to Zuo Dan.

“Comrade Dandan, don’t mind him. Just talk to me. The first time I saw you, I knew you were a kind and good girl. Let’s do this: bring me as much grain as you can. I’ll pay the same as last time.”

“Don’t mention money—I don’t like that word,” Zuo Dan said, glancing at him. “We’re trading, understand? Speculation and profiteering are out of the question.”

Li Chenliang: “…” If not money, then what?

Annoyed, he said, “Fine, let’s trade. Just get us more this time.”

“How much?”

“Many, as much as we can get, we want it all,” Gao Wei chimed in.

Zuo Dan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Chenliang. He nodded, “Yes, as much as we can get. We can buy… exchange it.”

Zuo Dan squinted her eyes, sizing them up.

Such big talk, but it’s not just the two of them who can stomach it. They must have a way.

“You’re not exchanging it just for yourselves, are you?” Zuo Dan said, her tone certain. If they’re going to exchange food, it must be done transparently. If there’s any benefit, everyone should share it.

Li Chenliang looked at Zuo Dan, who appeared so shrewd, and almost wanted to knock on her forehead. How could this girl be so hard to deceive?

But if Zuo Dan weren’t here, this wouldn’t be so easy. He had no grassroots support in this village, and while it might be okay to exchange a little food, no one would help him with a larger amount.

At times like this, he couldn’t help but admire Shen Yiming. They were both educated youth, but Shen Yiming had a solid foundation in the village. He often had villagers inviting him to meals. In a time when food was as precious as gold, having villagers want to treat you to dinner shows how strong those relationships must be.

However, Li Chenliang didn’t want to do what Shen Yiming did, ingratiating himself with the villagers. He had come to the countryside to escape being controlled by the city, and to become hypocritical for some benefits felt too uncomfortable.

For Zuo Dan, the only one he had any relationship with, Li Chenliang couldn’t hide the truth, “Even our family in the provincial capital needs food. Preferably fine grain. Fine grain is also precious in the city, and we don’t have enough.”

A couple of rich men! Zuo Dan secretly thought. They don’t have enough fine grain to eat. Who has enough fine grain to eat these days? If you can get two meals of fine grain a year, you’d be happy.

They really think of fine grain as a staple food.

However, Li Chenliang’s words opened a door for Zuo Dan. It seemed like there were a lot of benefits beckoning her.

She frowned seriously, “You really want as much as you can get? Well, I have to make something clear first: we can’t take fewer vouchers. Whether it’s food stamps, cloth coupons, or industrial vouchers.”

“Okay, okay, not a problem. We have plenty of vouchers,” Li Chenliang boasted.

Their relatives had decent conditions and worked in proper institutions, so how could they be short on a few vouchers?

Zuo Dan snorted coldly. She still remembered who owed her two pounds of food stamps last time and never gave them to her.

When Zuo Dan returned home with the firewood, she noticed the atmosphere in the house was unusual.

The old lady was sitting at the head of the table with a stern face. Zuo Hongjun and his wife sat on her left, Zuo Dacheng and his wife sat on her right, Zuo Huan and Zuo Qing had moved stools and sat behind Zuo Hongjun and his wife.

Zuo Chengcai leaned against the door, drawing circles with his foot.

Everyone had a deep, sorrowful look on their faces, and there was no trace of the joy that had been there earlier when they were waiting for the grain distribution.

What happened? She was only gone for a short time. Was there something serious going on?

Zuo Dan put the firewood down next to the yard and walked into the house. “Mom, Dad, what’s going on here?”

Li Hui, worried the old lady might be upset, quickly pulled Zuo Dan to sit beside her, “Don’t speak, your uncle and aunt want to split the family. Your grandma is upset.”

What? They’re splitting the family again?

Zuo Dan almost revealed an excited look but quickly suppressed it and turned to an angry expression. “Aunt, how can you split the family now? We’re about to divide the grain, and you have so many people. How much grain are you going to give away? How are we going to provide for Xiaocong’s schooling? We were all going to support him together. This can’t be done. Grandma, please don’t let them split the family.”

“Pfft, cough, cough…” At the door, Zuo Chengcai almost choked.

After finally catching his breath, he looked at his niece with frustration. “Oh, my dear niece, why do you have to say everything so honestly? If this matter had stayed in your heart, it would have been fine, but now that you’ve said it, your aunt’s temper is like that. How can she not split the family?”

Sure enough, Xu Fengxia’s face turned as black as coal. She tugged at Zuo Hongjun and said, “See, I told you, as soon as I mentioned splitting the family, you disagreed. So you were planning on us supporting your children and Xiaocong’s education!”

“Dandan, what nonsense are you talking about?” Zuo Dacheng said angrily.

He had never thought about taking advantage of his elder brother’s family. He could afford to support his own son’s schooling.

Li Hui also pulled Zuo Dan, telling her not to talk nonsense.

Zuo Dan, feeling wronged, replied, “I’m not talking nonsense. Once the autumn harvest is over, there won’t be enough to go around. The work points will be divided by headcount. Our family has only three people. Uncle’s family has four. Xiaocong is already growing, and he needs a lot of food…”

Her voice trailed off, but the meaning was clear: Xiaocong needed food, and three people wouldn’t be enough. Four people together would be needed to support him.

Xu Fengxia angrily pointed at Zuo Dacheng and his wife, “Oh, the second brother! When I first mentioned splitting the family, you didn’t agree. Turns out, you were planning on us and your elder brother’s family supporting your children!”

“Sister-in law, I didn’t think like that,” Zuo Dacheng quickly explained.

Li Hui also said, “Sister-in law, Dandan is just a child. She doesn’t understand. We never planned anything like that.”

Zuo Huan coldly snorted, “Second Aunt, Dandan isn’t a child. If she’s saying this, it’s because she’s been thinking it all along.”

Zuo Dan honestly replied, “Huanhuan, what’s wrong with thinking this way? Xiaocong is the only male heir of our family’s generation. If we don’t support him, who will? I’m only thinking of our old Zuo family. I’m not getting any benefits from this. Don’t I still have to work with a wound on my head?”

“Who cares about you? The family is definitely splitting!” Zuo Huan angrily said. She had always wanted to split the family and have her own room. Now, after working hard and dividing the grain, she had to give some of it to others. Thinking about it made her uneasy and upset.

Zuo Qing looked up at the others, biting her lip. Seeing her parents’ expressions, she didn’t dare speak up.

She didn’t want the family to split. She knew how her parents were. It would be fine with her second uncle and second aunt around, but if they split the family, what would she do?

Zuo Hongjun, irritated, took a puff of his cigarette. “Mom, the family has to split. Whatever way you want to do it, just do it. But it has to happen. The second family took my position as team leader. I’ve been holding back for years, but I’ve been struggling. Now, the kids are all grown up. It’s time to split. Mom, I’m begging you.”

He finished speaking and wiped a tear away.

The old lady had remained silent, staring at the front door as if watching something.

Zuo Dacheng wanted to say they shouldn’t split, but when the words reached his mouth, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. His wife and others already thought he was being selfish for not wanting to split, and saying anything now would just cause more misunderstandings. So he decided to stay silent.

The whole family sat quietly, waiting for the old lady’s final decision.

But everyone knew that this time it wasn’t just talk like last time. The family would really split.

Zuo Dan bit her lip, occasionally glancing around, then lowered her head, her eyes darting as she calculated how to divide things after the family split so that they wouldn’t lose out.

Sigh… After a long time, the old lady finally sighed deeply.

With reddened eyes, she looked at her three sons. “If you want to split the family, then go ahead.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s hearts settled. Whether they had wanted the split or not, after today, the family would definitely be splitting. Otherwise, living together would just feel awkward.