5:30 PM.
As the closing bell rang at Zha Steel Factory, Leng Yongkang cleaned the tools at his workstation and prepared to follow his coworkers toward the workshop entrance when someone caught up from behind.
“Brother Leng, were you just at the office?”
Seeing it was Deng Jianshe from the same workshop, Leng Yongkang stopped to walk with him.
“Yes, I went to collect this month’s wages.”
“I heard something happened to your wife yesterday. How is she? Was she badly injured?”
“It was a minor surgery. She can be discharged after a few days of recovery.”
Hearing it was minor surgery, Deng Jianshe relaxed. “Thank goodness. Did you withdraw your wages because money’s tight? If medical expenses are insufficient, I have some money here.”
Touched by his friend’s willingness to help during difficulties, Leng Yongkang expressed deep gratitude: “Thank you, it’s enough for now. My mother paid the surgery fee yesterday.”
“Hey! Brother Leng, isn’t that your daughter?”
Deng Jianshe recognized Leng Hui, though he hardly dared believe it was her today.
Standing confidently at the factory gate under everyone’s gaze, she seemed completely different from her former timid self.
Leng Yongkang looked and indeed, it was his daughter.
Leng Hui had been waiting for him there and naturally noticed him.
“Why did you come to the factory? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital taking care of your mother?”
Leng Hui glanced at Deng Jianshe accompanying her father, finding him somewhat familiar though she couldn’t immediately recall who he was.
Remembering her purpose, she extended her hand toward Leng Yongkang. “Mom suffered greatly this time. The doctor said she needs more nutritious food. I have no money or coupons, so I came to get some from you.”
Though reluctant with Deng Jianshe still present, Leng Yongkang pulled money from his pocket. “Our family’s in debt this month. This is my advanced salary that I need to repay your grandmother.”
Leng Hui raised an eyebrow, ready to retort.
Before she could speak, Leng Yongkang continued: “Since you have your private savings, I won’t give you money. But here are two Milk Powder Coupons I specifically exchanged for. You can buy two cans of milk powder or Malt Extract for your mother.”
Without another word, Leng Hui snatched all the money and coupons from his hand. After a quick count – Leng Yongkang’s monthly salary was just over thirty yuan plus various coupons – she extracted two Milk Powder Coupons, a Cotton Coupon, and a Meat Coupon.
“I don’t care who you prepared these Milk Powder Coupons for. Since you’ve given them to me today, no one’s getting them back. This Cotton Coupon will just let me get new clothes for Mom – hers got torn in the fall.”
As for the money, of course it was for buying nutritious food for her mother.
What kind of man doesn’t support his wife and child, only caring for his brothers and nephews?
Her snatching of the money and coupons left both men stunned.
Only when Leng Hui stuffed the remaining money back into his hand did Leng Yongkang react, trying to reclaim the two Big Unity bills. “Child, I told you this money needs to be repaid to your grandmother! Yesterday’s surgery fee came from this month’s household expenses. If you take it, what will the whole family eat? Drink the northwest wind?”
His anger grew toward the end, and were they not at the factory gate, he would have genuinely tried to snatch the money back.
This child has been too unruly these past couple of days.
Leng Hui clenched the money and ration coupons, taking a step back. “Even if you hand over the money, Mom and I still won’t have anything to eat. It’s not much different from drinking the northwest wind.”
Leng Yongkang, concerned about saving face, glanced at Deng Jianshe, who hadn’t left yet, and scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense. How could the family ever short you and your mother on food?”
Secretly, he was also annoyed at Deng Jianshe’s lack of boundaries. A father and daughter were discussing matters here—what business did he have lingering around?
“You know perfectly well whether we’ve been shorted or not. I’m afraid you see it clearly but choose to look the other way.”
When she returned home this morning, no meal had been prepared for her and her mother. He had heard what Old Lady Leng said at the time but was accustomed to turning a blind eye.
Neglecting one’s wife and daughter—such behavior was simply not right.
Leng Yongkang could do nothing about Leng Hui as she walked away, and he couldn’t stand Deng Jianshe’s scornful gaze either. After exchanging a few polite words with him, he hurried home.
As he approached the Family Compound, he could hear Old Lady Leng’s cursing even before reaching the building.
Most neighbors upstairs and downstairs were cooking in the corridors. While chopping vegetables or stir-frying, they never missed a chance to gossip about this or that family.
Today, however, when they saw him return, they all tacitly lowered their heads and focused on their cooking.
Leng Yongkang had a bad feeling. As soon as he stepped inside, a dark shadow came flying at him. Instinctively, he raised his hands to block it, and a black Rice Hull Pillow fell at his feet.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Old Lady Leng sat cross-legged on the bed, pointing at him and yelling, “You wretched man! How dare you ask me what I’m doing? Why don’t you ask what that good-for-nothing daughter of yours did today?”
Baffled, Leng Yongkang looked toward Sun Xiaojuan, who was sitting by the table.
Sun Xiaojuan sighed and pointed under Old Lady Leng’s bed at a wooden chest. “They say it’s hard to guard against a thief in the family. Brother, your Hui Hui made a huge mistake today—she actually pried open the lock on Mom’s chest and stole the eggs and flour we’ve been saving with such effort. Mom saved those for hosting guests during the holidays. Now that she’s wasted them, how are we supposed to entertain visitors during the New Year and festivals?”
“That can’t be. Hui Hui wouldn’t dare do something like that.”
But no sooner had he spoken than Leng Yongkang remembered how Leng Hui had snatched his money and ration coupons at the factory gate that afternoon.
If it were the old Leng Hui, he would have confidently vouched for her innocence.
But the current Leng Hui—she was entirely capable of such rebellious acts.
Old Lady Leng glared furiously at her eldest son, who dared to talk back to her. “We were out all morning, and she was the only one home. If she didn’t break the lock, then who did? A ghost?”
Leng Yongkang picked up the pillow from the floor, entered the room, patted off the dust, and tossed it back to Old Lady Leng. “Mom, must you shout and let the whole Family Compound know about our business every single time? Isn’t it embarrassing?”
Only now did he understand the meaning behind the neighbors’ glances as he came upstairs.
“If it’s embarrassing, it’s you who should be ashamed, raising such a disgraceful creature.” Old Lady Leng spat at him. Seeing Leng Mei bringing in the meal, she quickly slipped on her shoes and urged her daughter-in-law to set the table.
In these times when food was scarce, nothing mattered more than eating.
As for that girl in the hospital—she couldn’t be dealt with now, but once she returned, she would get what was coming to her.
Dinner was simple: a bowl of green beans, a bowl of salted vegetables, and Mixed Grain Porridge as the staple.
Even with coarse grains, the family’s meals were strictly rationed—men received two large bowls each, one bowl per person. Women got two-thirds of that amount, while children only had one small bowl.
Leng Mei, now seventeen years old, was still counted as a child at home, receiving just one small bowl of Mixed Grain Porridge per meal.
Seeing that everyone had their bowl and the pot was nearly empty, Leng Yongkang said, “Why didn’t you cook more porridge tonight? I was planning to bring some to Xiaolin and Huihui later.”
Old Lady Leng picked up a bite of salted vegetables with her chopsticks and, upon hearing this, slammed them down on the table. “Bring what? If they dare steal eggs from the house, that mother and daughter can just eat dirt!”
Remember how money had been flowing out like water over the past two days, Old Lady Leng asked, “Didn’t you say yesterday you’d get an advance on your wages today? Where are the wages?”