Chapter 3

The expressions of everyone present had clearly shifted when they looked at Cao Mei and Tian Fang.

After all, although food was scarce, it was still far better than during the ’58–’59 famine—how could it have come to such starvation? It turned out that all the grain had been borrowed away, and the family had been without food for several days… Going without meals for days would naturally cause severe hunger.

“That’s not right. No one has an abundance of grain; how could they just openly borrow from others? If they need to borrow, they should go through the brigade and deduct it when the grain is distributed. Borrowing and leaving a family without food for days—what kind of thing is that?”

“Hah, they say it’s borrowing, but there’s no intention of returning it. This isn’t borrowing; it’s outright robbery!”

“I’m not surprised Cao Mei would do something like this, but Tian Fang is involved too? I never expected that.”

“Tsk, I told you she’s all talk and no action, just sweet words with no substance—you wouldn’t believe me.”

Most of those working the fields were elderly or children; more precisely, aside from the children, most were middle-aged women. These women were known for speaking their minds, especially since a few of them were at odds with Cao Mei and Tian Fang, so they began to chatter among themselves.

Cao Mei immediately flew into a rage. “What nonsense are you talking about? I never said I wouldn’t return it—how is this robbery? Besides, the grain I borrowed isn’t even yours. Why do you have to meddle and complain?”

She forcefully pushed past Shen Mo’er, speaking with righteous indignation: “My family is large and doesn’t have enough grain to eat. Your family is small with fewer mouths to feed. We’re relatives; what’s wrong with borrowing some grain from you? How can you be so stingy? When there’s no grain, just go dig up some wild vegetables and roots to eat. Isn’t that how everyone has gotten by? Why are you making such a fuss?”

Her shamelessness stunned the others, and the ever-helpful Aunt Chen quickly retorted, “If your family lacks grain, why don’t you dig up some wild vegetables and roots to eat?”

Shen Mo’er, pushed by Cao Mei, stumbled and fell to the ground, crying out, “But I didn’t want to lend it! My father’s not even home, and you just took all the grain without leaving even a single potato for us… sob, I’ve dug up wild vegetables, but they don’t fill you up. Sob, I’m really starving and have no way out. Am I going to starve to death? Sob…”

Shen Shaoyuan caught his daughter, his face flushed with anger. “Sister-in-law, you took all the grain while I wasn’t home, and now look at Mo’er. You’re still scolding and pushing her? You—you’re going too far! Are you trying to kill us?”

Everyone then understood the situation better: Cao Mei had taken all the grain from Shen’s house while Shen Laoqi was away.

The Shen father and daughter were timid and probably didn’t dare to ask for it back, or even if they had, Cao Mei would refuse—everyone believed she was capable of such behavior.

Shen Laoqi’s household had two able-bodied workers and no other burdens, so they should have been self-sufficient. They likely didn’t dare to ask the brigade for grain, which left them without food.

If Shen Mo’er hadn’t fainted from hunger, they might never have dared to bring this matter up.

Once the truth was clear, everyone’s eyes grew even more disdainful. What sort of people were these?

Zhou Peijun was furious. “Aunt Cao, they didn’t even want to lend it, and you just took it all. If that’s not robbery, what is? Don’t glare at me. If you’re not convinced, let’s call the police and have them sort this out. We’ll see if they say Aunt Cao did the right thing or if they haul you off to a cell for a few days!”

Cao Mei was still glaring at Zhou Peijun in defiance, but when she heard about being taken to jail, her anger weakened. “It’s just a little thing; why call the police?”

She didn’t think she had done anything wrong but knew Zhou’s brother-in-law was a cop, and she feared that if Zhou stirred him up, she might really get arrested.

Zhou Peijun wasn’t actually going to call the police; Cao Mei was clearly in the wrong, but in the countryside, people preferred to settle disputes within the brigade. Otherwise, if it became public, the whole brigade would be disgraced.

He shouted, “Then why aren’t you returning the grain immediately?!”

Having to give back the grain that had fallen into her own pocket made Cao Mei naturally unwilling. Moreover, she didn’t care about the stolen grain—after all, her family had been eating dry food every day and had almost finished it all.

Cao Mei muttered, “There’s no grain left at home; it’s all gone.”

Shen Mo’er softly whimpered, “There were more than forty jin of grain, plus over twenty jin of potatoes. How could it all be eaten? Sob…”

Everyone gasped. That was about sixty to seventy jin in total—a considerable amount.

They despised Cao Mei even more. Even if it was just an emergency loan, they might borrow one or two jin at most. Taking so much was outright robbery. What kind of people were these?

Zhou Peijun directly challenged her. “I don’t believe your family has no grain left. Come on, let’s go now and see for ourselves.”

This matter was serious. If something happened to Shen Laoqi and his daughter from starvation, the Yangliu brigade would gain a notorious reputation.

Zhou Peijun decided swiftly and led the way to Shen Laosan’s house.

Cao Mei hurried after him, protesting, “Alright, alright, my family still has some grain. Besides, it wasn’t all taken by me alone; Tian Fang and I split it. I can’t be the only one returning it, can I?”

Tian Fang had been silent, hoping to get away with it. Hearing Cao Mei’s outburst, she knew she couldn’t hide anymore and quickly caught up to explain, “Old Cao did give me some grain, and I haven’t even touched it yet. I’ll go get it now.”

Cao Mei instinctively felt something was off, but since she had been the one to collect the grain and hand it over to Tian Fang, she had no grounds to argue. Seeing everyone scold her but not Tian Fang, and Tian Fang offering no support, she shot Tian Fang a furious glare. Tian Fang, however, pretended not to notice.

The others followed along as well. Many believed Tian Fang was unaware of receiving grain from Cao Mei, which made Cao Mei seem even more detestable—robbing grain and then using it to curry favor. It was shameless.

Aunt Chen helped Shen Shaoyuan support Shen Mo’er and muttered, “That Tian woman keeps her hands clean, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the rotten idea came from her.”

Shen Mo’er and Shen Shaoyuan exchanged a glance, thinking Aunt Chen was one of the few sensible people in the village. Tian Fang’s words were sweet, but her heart was bitter; surely, she was behind this crooked plan.

The group walked from the village entrance toward the heart of the village, arriving after about ten minutes.

The Shen family had four brothers: Shen Oldest, Shen Second, Shen Third, and Shen Seventh. The first three lived together in a row of sturdy blue-brick houses built when their father was still alive.

Before the old man passed away, he divided the family houses. Shen Seventh was also entitled to a share, but he hadn’t married yet. His older nephews, being slightly older and married, found the house cramped and “borrowed” it for themselves.

When Shen Seventh married, the nephews never returned the house. Instead, they pooled some money and bought a confiscated storage room from the village, patched it up, and handed it over to Shen Seventh as a form of compensation.

Anyone could imagine how sturdy a storage room could be.

Over the years, villagers often heard about Shen Seventh’s house leaking wind and water.

Seeing the row of solid blue-brick houses now, everyone suddenly realized: the Shen family had a history of borrowing and never returning!

People had known Shen Seventh had been taken advantage of before, but since it was a family matter and Shen Seventh himself kept quiet, no one had been able to help.

Today was different. Mo’er had fainted from hunger, and the father and daughter laid everything bare. With Zhou Peijun, the team leader, leading the charge, the villagers felt compelled to help.

A few enthusiastic aunts followed Cao Mei and Tian Fang into the main house, supervising as they retrieved the grain.

Tian Fang’s family hadn’t touched their grain yet, but they had only a few potatoes left. Cao Mei’s family had eaten all their potatoes and had little grain remaining.

Tian Fang sighed, “Our family is large, and the children are at the age when they eat a lot. Alas, even if we starve ourselves, we can’t let Mo’er go hungry, can we?”

Cao Mei cursed, “Take it all, just take it! You father and daughter have eaten your fill, so forget about us! Damn ingrates!”

What both of them said meant the same thing—they blamed the father and daughter for taking the grain without caring about their families.

Shen Mo’er weakly leaned on Shen Shaoyuan and asked, “Dad, is the brigade distributing grain today? Uncle Two and Uncle Three’s families shouldn’t be starving like us, right?”

Shen Shaoyuan choked back tears. “Don’t worry yourself. Your cousins are all capable and earn more work points than us; they won’t starve. Look at you, starving like this and still worrying if they have enough. You worry about them, but who worries about you? Don’t worry—you’re my only daughter. If anyone tries to keep you from eating, I’ll fight them!”

Everyone quickly realized that if anyone was truly starving, it was Shen Laoqi’s family, who had been without food for several days. Since the brigade was distributing grain today, and grain had been taken from them, Uncle Two and Uncle Three’s families wouldn’t go hungry.

Those families had more workers and, as Shen Laoqi said, earned plenty of work points, so their lives were better off.

Besides, how could Cao Mei and Tian Fang feel justified after robbing others’ grain?

Look at how they had driven honest people to tears and desperation, shouting and pleading for help!

Although people thought Shen Laoqi and his daughter weren’t like this ordinarily, as the old saying goes, “Forced to the edge, even the mildest will rebel.” When pushed too far, people dare anything.

No one thought Shen Mo’er and Shen Shaoyuan were wrong.

They only found Cao Mei’s unreasonable meddling hateful, and Tian Fang seemed just like Aunt Chen said—a sweet-talking hypocrite.

So when Shen Shaoyuan asked what to do if there was still a grain shortage, everyone unanimously said the brigade was distributing grain today. They would all supervise those two families to ensure the missing grain was fully compensated.

Shen Shaoyuan looked deeply moved. “Everyone is so kind-hearted!”

Shen Mo’er weakly expressed gratitude: “If it weren’t for your help, we wouldn’t know what to do…”

Especially Zhou Peijun and the kind-hearted aunts felt a strong sense of responsibility and mission: look at these honest father and daughter. Without their help, they might have been bullied into starving to death without resistance… We must help—help them all the way!