RIRW – Chapter 36

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The departure of these educated youths had no impact on Zuojiatun. Once they left, everything returned to normal. Some villagers even gathered around Zuo Shuisheng to ask, “If these educated youths bring coal back, how will it be distributed?” Zuo Shuisheng thought about it and said they would distribute it uniformly in winter so that no household would be left out.

Seeing everyone’s satisfied expressions, Zuo Shuisheng felt that his suggestion to the commune leaders to send these youths to the coal yard had been a wise one. He remembered that the idea had come from a casual comment by Comrade Shen Yiming, and this made him think even more highly of Shen Yiming. He seemed reliable and capable. If only Comrade Shen were a local from Zuojiatun, he could even take over as the production team leader in the future.

Not only was Zuo Shuisheng pleased with this outcome, but so were Zuo Dacheng and his wife.

The troublemaking educated youths would only be working at the coal yard for a few days, and since the commune didn’t intend to investigate further, no one would find out about Su Xue and her connection to the Li family.

Relieved, Zuo Dacheng felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart. He even ate a bit more during lunch.

“Tomorrow’s a rest day for the team. I’m planning to pick up some work,” Zuo Dacheng mentioned during lunch. With the holidays approaching, he wanted to earn some extra money to buy a few things for his wife and daughter. Over the years, he hadn’t bought anything for his family. Now that they had their own household and could make their own decisions, he was determined to provide something this time.

Zuo Dan said, “Dad, don’t be in such a hurry. Third Uncle told me a few days ago that he’ll need your help soon. He said there’s work for you.”

Zuo Dacheng was surprised. “What kind of work could I do for him? Besides, he usually goes away for days at a time, and I can’t manage that.”

The third brother was unencumbered, but Zuo Dacheng had a family to care for and couldn’t be away from home all the time.

Zuo Dan replied, “It’s not about going out with the truck. He mentioned that it’s work you can do at home. It won’t interfere with your regular tasks, and since the team isn’t busy right now, you could even do it in the evenings. Don’t bother going out to pick up other jobs. You’d barely make a few cents a day.”

She remembered how, in the past, her father used to go out to make tables and chairs for people, earning just three or four cents a day—five or six on good days—while working long hours. It was exhausting. Meanwhile, she and her third uncle’s business were short on people.

Hearing that the work could be done at home, Zuo Dacheng’s interest was piqued. “Are you sure your third uncle said that?”

“Absolutely. Third Uncle is doing really well now, making big money. Otherwise, why would Grandma let him live on his own? And,” she turned to Li Hui, “Mom could even help with this work. Our family could easily make a yuan a day.”

“Me? I can do it too?” Li Hui’s face lit up. Over the years, aside from earning labor points and her two cents a day, she hadn’t made any extra money. And even then, the team often didn’t have cash to pay them.

“Yes, you can! When Third Uncle gets back, I’ll talk to him about it. Third Uncle is amazing now!” Zuo Dan said, her face full of admiration.

Zuo Chengcai came back in the evening, carrying a heavy basket on his back and reeking of blood. When he entered the house, he gave the old lady quite a fright.

Fortunately, her son wasn’t injured; the blood came from the mountain goods inside the basket.

When Grandmother Zuo saw the contents of the basket, her cloudy old eyes lit up instantly. Her third son had promised to bring her meat, and he had delivered! So much meat—she wondered how long it would last.

“Mom, we have to process this meat tonight; otherwise, it’ll spoil. Let’s make smoked meat—it has to be fragrant and delicious,” Zuo Chengcai said between bites of a hard biscuit, his speech muffled.

The old lady looked at him and said, “Of course I know that. My smoked meat skills are famous! Back in the day, the old landlord’s family would invite me every year to help with their smoked meat. If their family hadn’t been overthrown, we’d never lack for meat. But Third Son, why did you buy so much meat at once? How are we going to eat all this?”

“Mom, this isn’t just for us to eat.” Zuo Chengcai, finally full after finishing his biscuit and water, patted his stomach and smiled at his mother.

Grandmother Zuo wasn’t amused. Her face fell, long and stern. “What do you mean? Not for us to eat? Who are you planning to give it to? You little rascal, bringing back meat and not letting me eat it? Who are you planning to spoil with this meat?”

Zuo Chengcai quickly explained, “Mom, who else would I spoil? I bought this to make money.”

He pulled her to sit at the small dining table and spoke in a hushed voice, “The driver I work with on my runs—he goes long-distance—said that people in the big cities love this kind of thing. He asked me to collect some and process it. Once it’s done, we’ll get paid.”

“Isn’t this black-market trading?” Grandmother Zuo asked, her face filled with alarm.

Zuo Chengcai rolled his eyes. “Mom, that’s his black-market business. We’re just doing the processing. We’re not selling anything ourselves, so how can this be black-market trading?”

Grandmother Zuo frowned, still feeling uneasy about the arrangement.

Zuo Chengcai continued, “For each piece of smoked meat we process, we’ll earn a dime. Not just smoked meat—he also asked us to make bamboo baskets, like the ones we use for vegetables. Each basket pays twenty cents. He said they’d take as many as we could make.”

That added up to thirty cents at a time. Smoking a few pieces of meat together didn’t take much extra time, and weaving bamboo baskets was something she could easily do at home. She could make at least three baskets a day.

“Oh my…” she thought, beginning to calculate the potential earnings.

“Anyway, we’re not doing black-market trading. We’re just laborers being exploited. Even if people find out, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Grandmother Zuo declared firmly.

Zuo Chengcai grinned widely, his teeth barely visible in his smile. “Mom, all the money will be yours. It’s your hard-earned cash, and no one can take it away from you.”

Her own money… Grandmother Zuo’s heart raced. It had been years since she’d earned money herself. The money her sons used to turn in wasn’t really hers, and once the family split, it was gone. But if this was her money, it wouldn’t matter whether the family was split or not—it would still be hers, untouchable by anyone.

Seeing how pleased his mother was, Zuo Chengcai added, “Mom, let’s also get my second brother and his wife involved. They’re good with their hands and can earn more. The more we make, the more we earn.”

Grandmother Zuo had no objection to that. After all, it wasn’t like they were competing for business. “What about your eldest brother’s family?” she asked.

“Mom, if you don’t want the whole village finding out about this, you should let their family handle it. You know what my sister-in-law is like—she’ll probably sell us out. She might even let the Xu family find out.”

Grandmother Zuo nodded, realizing the truth in his words. Her eldest daughter-in-law’s restless personality couldn’t be trusted to keep things quiet.

After discussing it, mother and son decided to bring in Zuo Dacheng’s family of three for the job. If anyone asked, they’d say the meat was bought for the New Year celebrations and would be eaten gradually. Why so much? Because their third son had the ability to provide it. As for the bamboo baskets, they’d claim they were making some for personal use and giving the extras away as gifts. After all, their third son had many friends—how could others compare?

Since Zuo Chengcai was rarely home and spent most of his time traveling, no one could be certain about his affairs. Whether he earned money or not was entirely up to the Zuo family’s narrative.

After reaching an agreement with Grandmother Zuo, Zuo Chengcai set out in the dark to discuss the matter with Zuo Dacheng’s family.

He used the same reasoning he’d given to Grandmother Zuo, leaving Zuo Dacheng and his wife, Li Hui, stunned.

Neither had expected that the very idea their daughter had casually mentioned earlier in the day would come to fruition that night. Both were overjoyed and excited. Who wouldn’t want to earn money? Especially after the family split, their desire to make a better life had only intensified.

It didn’t take much persuasion for the couple to agree. Zuo Dacheng was especially grateful to his younger brother and couldn’t find the words to express his thanks. “Third Brother, I’m truly thankful to you. This is such a great opportunity, and you still thought of me and your sister-in-law.”

He and his younger brother hadn’t been particularly close in the past. With their age gap and him spending his youth apprenticing in the city, they had few opportunities to bond. Later, when he returned home and started a family, Zuo Chengcai was often away, so their paths rarely crossed. He hadn’t expected his younger brother to help him so much now.

Zuo Chengcai quickly dismissed the gratitude. “Second Brother, don’t make this sound so distant. We’re family. Of course, we should earn money together. Besides, you and Sister-in-law are meticulous and reliable—I feel reassured leaving this in your hands.”

Turning to Zuo Dan, he beckoned, “Dandan, go to my place and fetch the bamboo basket patterns.”

“Yes, Third Uncle!” Dandan replied obediently and left with him.

As the two walked out, Zuo Dacheng and Li Hui couldn’t hide their smiles. They felt hopeful about their future. Their third brother truly seemed to have made something of himself.

Outside, Zuo Chengcai and Dandan stopped to have a private conversation.

“Dandan, I’ve done everything you suggested. Grandma is all fired up, boiling water and preparing the mountain goods. But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re tricking her into working for us—and even paying her for it. It feels a bit off. Grandma’s essentially become one of our workers,” Zuo Chengcai said, feeling conflicted. Though he wasn’t exactly a model citizen, it still felt odd to assign tasks to his own mother.

Zuo Dan patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Uncle, this is for Grandma’s own good. We can’t hire outsiders to do this work and let her miss out on earning money, can we? Besides, if you make Grandma work without paying her, do you think she’ll be happy about it? This way, everyone’s talents are put to good use. Grandma stays busy, and she won’t have the time to hover over the younger generation’s affairs. She might even start worrying about us taking advantage of her instead.”

She had already decided that in their family business, she would be the chairman of the board, her third uncle would be the CEO, and Grandma and her parents would start as regular employees. Depending on their performance, they could later be promoted and given raises. But anyone who didn’t perform well would be fired without hesitation.

Zuo Chengcai also felt that if he didn’t pay Grandma for her work, she definitely wouldn’t be happy. If she found out he gave this money-making job to someone else instead of her, he guessed she’d probably break his legs. Yeah, Dandan really understood Grandma.

As they were about to head back to their respective homes, Zuo Dan reminded Zuo Chengcai, “Make sure you don’t slip up and let anything out, or we won’t be able to make a single cent in the future.”

The idea of not earning money made Zuo Chengcai a thousand times unhappy. “I wouldn’t even dream of talking about it!”

The next day, on his day off, Zuo Dacheng went into the mountains to gather bamboo.

Early in the morning, Li Hui and Zuo Dan were called over by Grandmother Zuo. The previous evening, Grandmother Zuo realized that her physical strength wasn’t what it used to be. Then, after hearing Zuo Chengcai mention that there was still a lot of mountain goods left, she thought to herself that if she couldn’t make money, she shouldn’t let it go to waste by giving it to someone else. So, she decided to pass on her skills to Li Hui and Zuo Dan. Of course, there was a condition: Li Hui would have to give her three cents for each piece she made.

Grandmother Zuo was a shrewd woman. Though she was illiterate, she was excellent at counting. Her mind quickly worked out the math, and she figured that if she did all the smoking meat herself, it wouldn’t be as profitable as passing the technique to Li Hui. After all, she would still be the one earning the money.

So, despite having some reservations about Li Hui, Grandmother Zuo taught her the craft without holding back, offering no shortcuts.

Next door, Xu Fengxia, who had just woken up, heard the commotion and smelled the long-forgotten fragrance of smoked meat. She remembered that when she first married into the Zuo family, not long after, her second son had returned from the city with a large piece of pork. Grandmother Zuo, not wanting to share it with everyone, made smoked meat out of it, and every day, each person would get a slice. The smell had stayed in her memory all these years.

She swallowed, stepped on her own stool, and leaned against the wall to watch. She couldn’t see much, so she changed her position and peered through the small window above Grandmother Zuo’s kitchen.

Inside, Grandmother Zuo was teaching Li Hui how to smoke meat. “You need to control the heat carefully. You can’t let the meat burn. No open flames, or it will taste charred…”

Seeing the pile of meat in the basin, Xu Fengxia couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Where had Grandmother Zuo gotten all this meat? And she was still teaching her second daughter-in-law how to make smoked meat. Why wasn’t this skill being passed on to the eldest daughter-in-law, but instead to that “bourgeois” second daughter-in-law?

Xu Fengxia clenched her teeth in frustration as she watched from the wall. She stomped her foot angrily, but the stool she was standing on was already wobbly. The next moment, she tumbled to the ground.

She likely landed in the chicken coop, because the hen squawked loudly in panic.

Grandmother Zuo heard the noise and scowled. “What are you doing? Don’t scare the old hen! If it doesn’t lay eggs tomorrow, don’t even think about getting it back!”

Since the family split, the old hen was rotated between households. Each family got one day to keep it, and the eggs laid on that day were theirs. The hen was so well-loved, it was treated almost like a family elder.

Zuo Dan, sitting in the courtyard and cracking sunflower seeds, was listening attentively to the sounds.

Xu Fengxia, still aching from her fall, didn’t even have the energy to reply. “Oh, my back… I’ve ruined it.” She glanced at the chicken coop. The hen that had just been ready to lay eggs now refused to enter the coop, squawking and wandering outside instead.

Zuo Qing, carrying the washed clothes, entered the house and saw his mother sitting on the ground, rubbing her back. He rushed over to help her up. “Mom, are you alright? How did you fall?”

Xu Fengxia felt embarrassed when she realized Zuo Qing had seen her in such a pitiful state, and she was furious. How could this girl be so clueless?

“Get out of the way, useless thing!” Xu Fengxia swatted Zuo Qing’s hand away and rubbed her back as she made her way out the door.

Zuo Qing watched her leave with tears in her eyes. Why did they have to split up the family? It would have been so much better if they hadn’t. Then her mom wouldn’t be yelling at her, and her second aunt could help her. Life had been so much better when the family was together—why had it all turned into this?

Inside, Zuo Huan was shouting, “Is the food ready yet? I’m starving!”

Zuo Qing quickly wiped away her tears and went into the kitchen to make breakfast for Zuo Huan.

Outside, Xu Fengxia went straight to Zuo Chengcai’s house and knocked on the courtyard door.

Grandmother Zuo yelled from inside, “Who is it, what do you want?”

“Mom, it’s me, Fengxia,” Xu Fengxia called out loudly.

Grandmother Zuo furrowed her brow, glanced at the meat she was smoking, and didn’t feel like opening the door. Xu Fengxia continued knocking, “Mom, I’ve seen it all, just open the door. How can you be so biased, always favoring the second family? You bought so much meat, and you didn’t even offer a bit to me and Hongjun. Why are you so unfair?”

Seeing the meat, Xu Fengxia became bolder and dared to complain to Grandmother Zuo.

Zuo Dan said, “I think Aunt must have been peeking earlier, and now she’s here to cause trouble. You’ll need to help sort this out, or my third uncle won’t be able to earn money anymore.”

Grandmother Zuo, fuming with anger, went to open the door. “What’s this about, making a scene? Do you have to yell so the whole village knows?”

Xu Fengxia saw the door opening and quickly dashed in, pointing at the meat by the wall. “Mom, you blame me for shouting, but I’m not shouting for no reason. Look at all this meat, and you didn’t even mention it to us. You only called the second family over. Tell me, how could you be so heartless?”

She cried, wiping her nose as she went on.

Zuo Dan watched her wipe her nose, almost choking on the sunflower seeds in her mouth.

Wiping her nose, Xu Fengxia continued to sob, “How is Hongjun not your son? You won’t even give him a bite of food. Mom, we’re just not happy about this!”

Both Grandmother Zuo and Li Hui were left speechless by her words. Grandmother Zuo was even more upset. “Give the eldest son meat? I haven’t even had a bite myself. This is money, do you understand? Such a waste!”

But she couldn’t explain that to the eldest family; if she did, the whole money-making plan would surely fall apart.

So, she pointed at Xu Fengxia angrily, “What’s your problem with the eldest family? This meat was bought by the third son for me to eat. I’ll eat it slowly. What’s it to you? The second family is good to me, they think of me and bring me food. If I give them a bite, it’s because I want to. And here you are making a fuss. How can you have the nerve?”

Li Hui chimed in to help, “Big sister-in-law, I haven’t eaten. Please don’t make a scene and upset Mom.”

That was a sharp reply! Zuo Dan added her own jab, “Mom, even if you gave her a bite, what’s the big deal? Grandma is still the head of this house.”

“I’ll give you some to eat later!” Grandmother Zuo snapped. “The third son bought this meat for me, and I can share it with whoever I like!”

Hearing this, Xu Fengxia burst into tears again. “Why is my life so miserable? Our Hongjun’s father doesn’t love him, and neither does his mother…”

Grandmother Zuo was even angrier at this, “You’re talking nonsense. The eldest has had everything handed to him from the start. He and the second son went into the city as apprentices, but they got kicked out, didn’t earn a penny, and his wedding was paid for by the second son’s wages. The second son didn’t even take a penny from the family when he got married! The eldest has always spent money like it’s nothing.” Grandmother Zuo then realized that the second son had it the hardest, growing up without anyone paying attention to him. And the second son had always been the most obedient, aside from hiding the truth about his wedding from her. He hadn’t done anything wrong.

Now that she thought about it, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. The second son’s wife and Dandan were much kinder and more considerate than Xu Fengxia and her two daughters.

“Get out of here right now, or I’ll have Hongjun move out with you!” Grandmother Zuo thought more about how she shouldn’t have been so lenient with the eldest family and how she had been too harsh on the second family. She was fed up with Xu Fengxia causing trouble after getting what she wanted. It was probably Xu Fengxia who had caused the eldest son to lose his leadership position back in the day.

Zuo Dan also warned, “Aunt, if you have something to say, just come to the front door next time. Don’t try to sneak in through the wall. If anyone finds out you’re sneaking into third uncle’s yard, what will third aunt think?”

Grandmother Zuo’s temper flared again, cursing under her breath. She muttered, “Sneaky thing, always sneaking around the younger uncle’s yard. What do you think you’re doing?”

These words left Xu Fengxia shocked.

She had clearly been sneaking around her mother-in-law’s yard, but if the old lady insisted that she was sneaking around her younger brother-in-law’s yard, and if that got out, Xu Fengxia would lose all face.

Not daring to argue with the old lady anymore, she quickly left, afraid that the old lady’s shouting would make the whole village find out.

Once Xu Fengxia was gone, Zuo Dan closed the courtyard door. Turning to Grandmother Zuo, who was still angry, she said, “Please don’t be upset. I’m worried that Aunt will talk to others, and if the people in the village find out about all this meat we have, what will they think? We can’t let her cause trouble, or else my third uncle won’t be able to make money anymore. How will we give you a good life?”

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Zuo’s expression changed, “She dares! I’ll go talk to her right now. If she dares to say a word of nonsense, I’ll kick her out!” With that, she stormed off.

Li Hui, worried, asked, “Do you think everything will be okay with your grandma going? Should we go check?”

Zuo Dan reassured her, “What could happen? Grandma can handle Aunt just fine.”

Grandmother Zuo had been Xu Fengxia’s mother-in-law for many years and had always been able to suppress her. There was no way she couldn’t handle her now. In this family, the best person to deal with Xu Fengxia was Grandmother Zuo.

Zuo Dan even thought that Grandmother Zuo could take on the role of the family’s security guard.

They didn’t know exactly what Grandmother Zuo said to Xu Fengxia, but Zuo Dan didn’t hear any commotion between them. It seemed like Grandmother Zuo didn’t want anyone to hear them argue, so she probably didn’t make a scene. When Grandmother Zuo returned, she reassured Li Hui and Zuo Dan that Xu Fengxia wouldn’t cause any problems.

Zuo Dan wasn’t worried that Grandmother Zuo was just trying to calm her down. After all, on the surface, this matter was being led by her third uncle, and Grandmother Zuo stood to benefit from it. She trusted that if anyone did try to cause trouble, Grandmother Zuo would fight back.

For the whole morning, Li Hui and Grandmother Zuo were busy making smoked meat. Li Hui was quick to pick it up, mastering the craft in no time. Zuo Dan watched from start to finish but didn’t learn anything. She simply didn’t have the talent for it. She had never been good at cooking and had no interest in learning. She wasn’t motivated to try. So, Grandmother Zuo quickly gave up on her and told her to go learn how to make bamboo baskets in the afternoon. Li Hui would continue making the smoked meat with Grandmother Zuo, while Zuo Dan would work with Zuo Dacheng on the baskets. Everyone was assigned tasks.

In this money-making venture for the Zuo family, Grandmother Zuo had clearly taken on the role of the leader. She was full of energy, and it made her appear years younger.

That evening, Zuo Chengcai returned with more mountain goods and complained to Zuo Dan. He said that Grandmother Zuo had been staying up late, sneaking into his room at night to secretly discuss the business with him, planning how to make more money.

Zuo Dan thought that Grandmother Zuo’s professional attitude was quite impressive, and suggested they give her a little bonus as a reward for her efforts.

Zuo Chengcai replied, “If she lets me sleep through the night, I’ll give her an extra dollar!”