Chapter 6

When Shen Shaoyuan paused to speak, Shen Mo’er had already picked up a slender bamboo basket and gone ahead to collect the grain.

Ding Shouchang, an experienced accountant, moved the beads on his abacus swiftly. Before long, he not only settled the accounts for the Shen second brother’s household but also calculated the grain allocations for the Shen third and seventh brothers’ families. Adjustments were made where necessary—deductions here, supplements there—everything was clear and precise.

Shen Mo’er took from the basket a patched-up hemp sack. Seeing her so weary, Zhou Peijun helped her load the grain into the sack.

A few pounds of rice rested at the bottom, atop it lay freshly dried corn cobs, and the remaining potatoes were placed directly in the bamboo basket.

Though the grain didn’t look like much, for just two people it was quite sufficient. In fact, per capita, it might even be more than most households.

Looking at the bulging hemp sack, Shen Mo’er smiled with satisfaction.

Such a small amount of grain was once insignificant to her. But the situation now was different. Though their family still had a treasury, it only contained some dry food that would be gone soon. They dared not touch the treasury’s contents, for it couldn’t be exchanged for grain. Therefore, the future of their meals depended entirely on the collective’s grain distribution.

This grain was their crucial wealth.

Surprisingly, this feeling was somewhat refreshing.

In contrast to Shen Mo’er’s good mood, Cao Mei watched helplessly as their grain was handed over to others, feeling as though a piece of her own flesh was being torn away.

Shen Lingling and Shen Jianshe wore grim expressions. Shen Lingling glanced at Shen Mo’er and inexplicably sensed that this usually inconspicuous cousin looked somehow different today.

Yet Shen Lingling did not dwell on it. She knew the temperaments of the seventh uncle and Shen Mo’er. Surely, they only spoke out because the family was truly desperate for grain. Otherwise, they would never have dared to raise their voices.

“My mother wasn’t aware of the situation and didn’t know your family was out of grain,” Shen Lingling said gently, restraining her emotions. “We are all family. If you face any difficulties, just come to us. We can discuss and resolve matters ourselves. There’s no need to trouble Brother Peijun and the others.”

Since the grain had already been returned, Shen Lingling did not mind speaking more kindly.

As expected, after hearing her words, Zhou Peijun and Ding Shouchang’s expressions softened considerably.

Just as Shen Lingling felt a bit pleased, the crowd suddenly fell silent. Then she heard an exclamation: “Seventh Uncle, what did you say? You—you—you want to exchange the houses back with your nephews?!”

What on earth?!

Shen Lingling suspected she had hallucinated. She turned incredulously toward where Shen Shaoyuan stood, murmuring, “Second Brother, did I hear wrong?”

Shen Jianshe looked equally puzzled. “Since when did Seventh Uncle want to exchange houses?”

Shen Mo’er moved the sack and bamboo basket aside to avoid blocking those behind her. After settling everything, she said, “You didn’t hear wrong. My family plans to exchange the houses back with you. The house we’re living in now has many broken tiles. It’s fine when it’s sunny, but when it rains, the house feels like a waterfall inside—completely uninhabitable. Cousin, you just said that if I had difficulties, I should tell you. Well, our biggest difficulty right now is this.”

Shen Lingling wanted to say that was just a polite remark—who really took polite words seriously these days?

But in this setting, if she said that, she might as well discard her reputation.

She forced a smile. “Everyone’s living fine. Why exchange houses back and forth? If the roof is leaking, the sensible thing is to fix it while the weather is good.”

Shen Mo’er shook her head, her expression a mixture of grievance and sorrow, tinged with a hint of injustice. “The two blue-brick tile houses grandfather left to my father don’t have these problems. But the house we live in now has half its walls made of yellow mud. If it rains like it did recently, the walls might collapse.”

Shen Jianshe couldn’t help but interrupt. “That’s because your family never properly repaired the house. Once fixed, these issues wouldn’t happen.”

Shen Mo’er lifted her head, her clear eyes gazing at him with a somber light. “We’d like to repair it, but we have no money!”

Shen Jianshe suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Could she be hinting she wanted to borrow money from him?

He hurriedly said, “It’s true that it’s hard to make money in the countryside these days. No one is saving much. If it’s really difficult, you can borrow some from the collective first and repay it when the work points are settled. Repairing the house is a proper matter; the team leader should agree.”

Shen Mo’er nodded, seeming to accept his suggestion. Shen Jianshe breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

But just as he was halfway through catching his breath, Shen Mo’er spoke again: “Our family doesn’t earn many work points. When the settlement comes, it definitely won’t be enough to fix the house. Besides, I don’t understand why, when my family has two blue-brick tile houses, we live in such a broken mud house. Why must we struggle to save money to repair it?”

She looked at Shen Jianshe. “Cousin, you’re deliberately bullying us, aren’t you? You took our house just because we’re a father and daughter with no one to support us.”

Shen Jianshe was halfway through a breath when he choked and began coughing violently.

Shen Lingling’s face darkened. For once, she lost her composure and raised her voice sharply, sharp and cutting: “Shen Mo’er, what nonsense are you talking? The house swap was agreed upon by Seventh Uncle himself. How can you call that bullying?”

Shen Mo’er looked frightened, biting her lip, as if gathering every ounce of courage, she whispered, “But exchanging two blue-brick tile houses for one broken mud house—isn’t that bullying? By that logic, Cousin, if you gave me your teaching job and I gave you my labor work, would that be acceptable?”

Shen Lingling stared in disbelief, wondering if Shen Mo’er had lost her mind to say such audacious things.

Not only did she want to take back the house, but she also coveted her position as a private school teacher!

It must be said, in an era when most people were illiterate and even primary education was split into lower and upper levels, a junior high graduate like Shen Mo’er could indeed teach at the elementary level as a private teacher.

House and job both... Shen Lingling couldn’t help but suspect these two were deliberately coveting her position.

Perhaps they proposed exchanging houses just to pressure her family into trading jobs. After all, it was entirely plausible and feasible.

Shen Lingling felt her temples throb and her heart pound fiercely. She instinctively stepped forward, reaching out to grab Shen Mo’er—

At that moment, Shen Mo’er suddenly stepped back two paces, crying out in panic, “Father!”

Before Shen Lingling could react, Shen Shaoyuan nimbly darted through the crowd, blocking in front of Shen Mo’er. Looking at Shen Lingling with a pained expression, he said vehemently, “Lingling, how could you do this? It’s one thing to bully me, but now you’re bullying Mo’er? She lost her mother young and suffered terribly with me, her useless father. She nearly starved to death, and yet you still bully her. I truly misjudged you!”

“Oh heavens, I’m so useless. I couldn’t even protect the house left by my parents or my only child. What’s the meaning of my life? Please, strike me down with lightning—I don’t need those heartless people struck dead, just me, the useless one!”

Shen Lingling: “……………”

She tried to explain, “Seventh Uncle, you misunderstand. I’m not bullying Mo’er. I just wanted to reason with her.”

Shen Shaoyuan glanced at her and nodded sadly. “I know. You want to reason with her, just as your eldest uncle and father reasoned with me, asking me to give up the house for my nephews’ marriages.”

Shen Lingling: “………………………”

She continued trying to explain, “Seventh Uncle, it’s not like that. The house isn’t my doing. My eldest brother lives there…”

Shen Shaoyuan nodded. “Yes, your eldest brother lives there, so your house is free. Your second brother and you each have one and a half rooms.”

Shen Lingling: “I, no, I didn’t…”

She suddenly realized she was only digging herself deeper, unable to clarify anything.

Shen Jianshe, who had wanted to speak up, fell silent when Shen Shaoyuan implicated him. He even took a step back, carrying the grain sack.

Seventh Uncle’s words were not entirely baseless. Although the eldest brother lived in that house, Shen Lingling and he benefited from it.

Of the two remaining rooms, one was occupied by their parents, and the other was shared between the siblings, one and a half rooms each.

Having half a blue-brick tile room had allowed Shen Jianshe to marry and start a family years ago.

Though only half a room, those old houses were spacious—half a room here equaled a full room elsewhere.

At this moment, Cao Mei, who had been quietly observing, suddenly spoke up: “If you ask me, borrowing a little grain among brothers is nothing. I borrowed some not long ago and paid it back! Unlike the first and second branches, who borrowed houses and kept them for nearly twenty years! Our family never does such shameless things. We always act with honor. Only the blind and deaf would badmouth us behind our backs!”

Actually, it wasn’t that her family didn’t want the house. When the “borrowing” happened, her children were too young to marry. Without a legitimate reason, the first and second branches naturally had no intention of sharing.

Because of this, Cao Mei had been resentful for years.

The first and second branches benefited, but her family did not—meaning her family lost out!

With this grudge in her heart, and given today’s events, she seized the chance to cast some cold remarks.

The villagers, queuing for grain, watched the Shen family drama unfold with great interest. Cao Mei’s words suddenly grated on their nerves.

So, you want to use this opportunity to whitewash your own grain theft?

The righteous Aunt Chen was the first to object: “Let’s be clear—it wasn’t borrowing grain; it was outright stealing! Don’t act like a crow laughing at a pig’s blackness.”

“That’s right! If Mo’er hadn’t fainted from hunger in the field and Seventh Uncle hadn’t been provoked to ask you for grain, would you have spat out the meat you ate?”

“Ah, that father and daughter really had a hard time. The old Shen family was a bit too much. Though Seventh Uncle and the others aren’t from the same mother, that doesn’t justify bullying!”

“Lingling usually seems nice, but who’d expect her to bully others? Mo’er is already so pitiable. Don’t frighten her anymore.”

…

Taking advantage of the noisy crowd, the women of the eighth production team began to speak up in support.

The father and daughter were too soft-hearted; they needed backing.

Shen Lingling felt completely tongue-tied. She regretted involving her second brother; she should have let him handle it alone. Why did she have to meddle?

But regretting it was useless now. She opened her mouth, finally saying, “These things were decided by our elders. I’m not involved. Seventh Uncle, if you have any issues, talk to Eldest Uncle or my father.”

With that, she turned without looking back and squeezed out of the crowd.

Seeing her leave, Shen Jianshe quickly shouldered the grain and followed.

Cao Mei, noticing the siblings slip away, rolled her eyes and hurried off as well. Her two grandsons, seeing their grandmother leave, hurried after her.

In an instant, the people from the second and third branches had all left.

Shen Shaoyuan, however, was not in a rush. He repeatedly thanked the villagers who spoke on his behalf. Seeing that the team leader was less busy, he quickly squeezed over and said, “Brother Man Cang, you’ve got to stand up for me. I’m really in a tough spot. Sob sob, we’re just a father and daughter alone now, and we can only rely on the state and the organization!”

Zhou Mancang: “???”