Chapter 15 – Hard-Earned Money
Lu Miao’s eyes rolled slyly, suddenly looking as crafty as a little fox. Carefree as ever, she pressed her advantage:
“In the south, doesn’t it rain a lot? I don’t even have an umbrella. Do you know how to weave a bamboo hat?”
“…”
“Here, here—the porridge has been sitting a while, the temperature is just right now. Comrade Lu, have a taste.”
“Thank you, Auntie～”
Chen Guifen soon returned. Lu Miao accepted the coarse porcelain bowl from her hands, smiling sweetly and obediently.
And how could she not be sweet?
Now that she had confirmed Fu Jingyou would finish the hat for her today, and even convinced him to weave her a bamboo rain hat, her mood couldn’t have been better!
The porridge in the bowl was thin, but the rice broth cooked over firewood carried a fragrant aroma.
After days of chewing on dry coarse grains, this bowl of rice broth was exactly to Lu Miao’s taste. She sipped it slowly, leaving not a drop.
Grain was precious, and Lu Miao certainly wouldn’t eat for free. She didn’t know how to calculate ration tickets for it, so when she stood up, she quietly left two fen coins on the table.
Chen Guifen didn’t notice her small gesture, but Fu Jingyou did. He said nothing.
Just as Lu Miao was preparing to leave, Chen Guifen called out:
“Comrade Lu, wait a moment. Auntie has something for you.”
Something?
What kind of something?
Lu Miao was puzzled, but obediently stood in the main hall and waited.
Chen Guifen soon returned, this time holding a gourd ladle filled with a few crisp cucumbers and small tomatoes, yellow with streaks of red.
“These all came from our family’s little plot. The harvest is better this year than before. Take them back to eat—don’t turn your nose up at them.”
Lu Miao was flattered and quickly accepted, thanking her repeatedly:
“Thank you, Auntie. Then tomorrow when we go to work, I’ll bring this half gourd ladle back to you.”
“The gourd ladle isn’t worth much—we have plenty at home. Just keep it at the educated youth station to use!” Chen Guifen waved cheerfully. “Go on now, walk fast. The sun is strong at this time.”
Lu Miao nodded, flashing her sweet smile again at Chen Guifen before running out with the gourd ladle in her arms.
Chen Guifen shook her head with a smile and turned back, just as He Hongjin came out from the kitchen.
He grunted: “You’re too softhearted. Whatever people ask, you just give.”
“Hehe, what else could I do? She’s just a young girl, so far from home. Don’t you feel sorry for her?” Chen Guifen chuckled as she collected the bowls. When she spotted two fen coins stacked on the corner of the table, she picked them up and asked:
“Whose is this?”
He Hongjin just grunted twice without answering.
Clearly, it wasn’t his.
Fu Jingyou also stayed silent.
Remembering who had been sitting there earlier, Chen Guifen immediately understood.
“That girl is spoiled, yes, but she’s genuine. She can’t manage cornfield work well, but hasn’t she still stuck it out these past few days?”
“Being upfront about what she can and can’t do is better. Think back to when the first batch of educated youths came—just remembering that half acre of peanut seedlings still makes my heart ache.”
At this, He Hongjin sighed as well.
Back then, thinking the new educated youths needed to ease into things, he’d given them lighter tasks to adapt. But who could’ve guessed they didn’t even recognize crops? Mistaking peanut seedlings for weeds, they pulled up half an acre.
It had made the second production team a laughingstock in the brigade. That was minor. But losing that half acre of seedlings…
Peanuts were an economic cash crop. Just buying the seed had cost plenty. That was the team’s hard-earned money.
He shouldn’t have brought it up. At the thought of it, He Hongjin scratched at his scalp, pained.
Then something occurred to him, and he asked urgently:
“You said Comrade Lu has been working in the cornfields these past few days? Which plot? Did you check? Don’t let her pull up my corn seedlings this time!”
At the table, Fu Jingyou straightened his back, about to speak. But Chen Guifen answered first:
“Don’t worry. I already asked the team’s experienced farmers to keep an eye out. Apart from working a bit slowly, Comrade Lu is dependable.”
“Ah, that nearly scared the breath right out of me.”
He Hongjin patted his chest. With the weather getting hotter and farm work piling up, he hadn’t thought of this issue.
“What about the others? How are they?”
“They’re fine too. That brother and sister pair from the Northeast are very capable. I asked before—they grew up in the countryside, so they’re quite skilled with farm work.”
Hearing this, He Hongjin relaxed a little. “What’s wrong with the higher-ups? Why do they always send us these golden treasures?”
Chen Guifen chuckled. “Golden treasures? Ordinary families could never raise a golden treasure like that.”
She was talking about Lu Miao.
He Hongjin sighed. “I don’t expect all of them to be useful. If even two or three can be counted on, that’s enough.”
As his pillow-side partner, Chen Guifen understood his thoughts. But she added:
“Later, when you have a chance, tell the old farmers in the team not to be so sharp-tongued when passing by. These city kids may work slower, but if you discourage them too much, won’t it hurt their motivation? In the end, isn’t it the team that suffers?”
“Alright, I know.”
He Hongjin nodded and left, hoe slung over his shoulder.
After finishing his meal, Fu Jingyou also stood to help clear the bowls, but Chen Guifen smacked his hand away.
“You go work too. Where do we need you here?”
Obediently, Fu Jingyou went to fetch a hoe. As he reached the door, Chen Guifen suddenly called him back:
“Ah wait, Jingyou, Auntie just remembered something…”
Fields close to the forest, and light work—those conditions didn’t leave many options. The few suitable plots were all far from the production team.
Letting Lu Miao go alone was out of the question. But if she went with the old farmers, whether young or old, just the thought of Lu Miao’s delicate, beautiful face made Chen Guifen uneasy.
After thinking it over, she settled on Fu Jingyou.
After all these years, he was like one of her own children. She trusted his character more.
Fu Jingyou hesitated, but since Chen Guifen asked, he agreed.
That afternoon, when he brought Lu Miao her straw hat, he passed on the message:
“Auntie said tomorrow you’ll be going with me… Since you’re a girl, she doesn’t want villagers gossiping. So she said we should head out early.”
“Mm.”
Lu Miao gave a small hum of acknowledgment, bowing her head as she turned the hat over in her hands.
The hat was woven from wheat stalks. Even ignoring its natural scent, it was clearly newly made. But…
It seemed rushed, lacking refinement. It wasn’t made with the larger brim she had requested.
Lu Miao wasn’t very satisfied, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she followed up on Fu Jingyou’s words with a question:
“So tomorrow it’s just the two of us?”
“Just the two of us.” Fu Jingyou pressed his lips together, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “It’s far. We’ll have to eat in the field at noon. Be sure to prepare dry rations.”
“Alright.”
(End of Chapter)
