A cold wind swept snowflakes into the courtyard.
Su Jianguo stood at the main gate, his broad frame blocking it completely. He held a tobacco pipe in his hand, unlit, his face cold as he looked at the crowd outside.
“On such a freezing day, instead of staying home, what brings you all to my house?” Su Jianguo spoke, his voice cutting through the wind.
Wang Chunhua pushed her way to the front, her eyes darting into the courtyard. Catching the lingering scent of meat buns, she swallowed hard with craving.
“Brother, listen to you. The snow has blocked everything for three days, and our homes ran out of food long ago. Jianjun and the two kids are so hungry they can barely walk. We’re family, flesh and bone. Your family eats fine flour and meat every day—surely you won’t just watch your own brother’s family starve? Lend us ten catties of fine flour, and give a few buns to the kids to fill their stomachs.”
She said the word “lend” with righteous conviction.
Aunt Zhang beside her chimed in: “Brigade Leader, we’re all fellow villagers. My husband is so hungry he can’t even get out of bed. Your family is well-off—show some mercy and lend us a bit of grain. We’ll definitely pay it back after next autumn’s harvest.”
Several villagers behind them echoed the sentiment, clamoring about their poverty.
Su Jianguo sneered.
“Borrow grain?” He tapped the doorframe with his tobacco pipe, producing a crisp sound. “During the grain distribution after the autumn harvest, it was divided per capita. Did anyone’s family get less? I, Su Jianguo, have been fair and square—I’ve never shortchanged anyone in the brigade.”
He pointed at Su Jianjun’s nose.
“Jianjun, where did the coarse grain you received go? You sold it to speculators in town for money to buy liquor and meat. Now you have no grain to eat—who’s to blame? Do I, Su Jianguo, owe you anything?”
Su Jianjun shrank back from the scolding, not daring to reply.
Wang Chunhua grew anxious: “Brother, that’s all in the past! Now lives are at stake! As the brigade leader, if you don’t care whether the commune members live or die, and if this gets reported to the commune, you won’t keep your position!”
This was blatant moral coercion.
Su Jianguo’s face darkened. Just as he was about to erupt, crisp footsteps sounded from behind.
Su Nianqiu, wearing her white cotton-padded jacket and holding a worn account book, walked to Su Jianguo’s side.
“Dad, the wind is strong outside. Go inside and eat your buns. I’ll settle accounts with them.” Su Nianqiu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a chill.
Su Jianguo looked at his daughter, nodded, and stepped aside half a pace, but still remained protectively nearby.
Su Nianqiu opened the account book in her hand, her gaze sweeping over the crowd outside the gate.
“Aunt says lives are at stake?” Su Nianqiu looked at Wang Chunhua. “Fine. Since there’s no grain to eat, the brigade office has emergency reserves. Those are kept for disaster relief. Dad, according to the rules, if people are truly starving, the brigade office can open the granary, but for every catty borrowed, one and a half catties must be repaid after next autumn’s harvest. Moreover, families receiving relief grain must work ten extra work points during spring land reclamation next year. Aunt, if you go to the brigade office and stamp your fingerprint now, you can immediately receive ten catties of dried sweet potatoes.”
Wang Chunhua’s expression changed.
Borrow one catty, repay one and a half, plus extra labor? She usually didn’t even want to work in the fields—why would she want such a hard task? And that was dried sweet potatoes, nowhere near as delicious as the Su family’s fine flour meat buns.
“Nianqiu, how can you be so stingy! Your family has so much fine flour—what’s wrong with sharing a bit to help relatives? You have to force us to borrow usurious grain from the brigade office?” Wang Chunhua argued unreasonably.
Su Nianqiu smiled. But the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Did the white flour in my house come from the wind?” Su Nianqiu closed the account book. “My father also relies on work points to eat.”
She turned to look at Aunt Zhang.
“Aunt Zhang, has your family run out of food? Yesterday when I went to the outhouse, I heard the commotion of a chicken being slaughtered in your yard. Your husband can’t even get out of bed—must be stuffed full, right?”
Aunt Zhang’s old face flushed red, and she stammered, “That… that was saved for the New Year…”
Su Nianqiu’s gaze swept over the villagers behind her, calling them out one by one.
“Uncle Li, you still have two hundred catties of potatoes hidden in your cellar, right? Auntie Zhao, your family just had someone bring back twenty catties of cornmeal from town the day before yesterday.”
With each sentence she spoke, the people outside the door grew more uneasy.
There were no starving people here. The heavy snow had blocked the mountains, and everyone was just reluctant to eat their own stored grain. Smelling the aroma of meat from the Su family, they had come to freeload and take advantage. If it were the old Su Jianguo, he might have compromised for the sake of face and his reputation as the team leader, handing out a few black flour buns to send them away.
But now, Su Nianqiu refused to indulge these parasites.
“Every family’s livelihood is built by themselves. If you want to eat white flour and meat, go earn it yourselves with your own abilities. Want to take advantage of my Su family?” Su Nianqiu took a step forward, her eyes sharp. “Not a chance.”
“You!” Wang Chunhua, flushed with anger and shame, pointed at Su Nianqiu’s nose. “What are you, a loose woman, acting so high and mighty for? Carrying a bastard in your belly, yet you dare lecture your elders here…”
Slap!
A crisp slap rang out.
Su Jianguo withdrew his hand, his face ashen as he glared at Wang Chunhua, who had been knocked into the snow.
“Wang Chunhua, if you dare insult my daughter one more time, I’ll break your legs today and throw you out of the village!” Su Jianguo had completely lost his temper.
Su Jianjun, frightened, hurriedly went to help his wife up.
Wang Chunhua covered her face, sitting in the snow and wailing loudly, but she didn’t dare utter another curse word.
“Get out, all of you!” Su Jianguo roared.
Aunt Zhang and the other villagers trembled in fear, turned around, and ran home. Su Jianjun also dragged Wang Chunhua away, half-pulling and half-carrying her.
The area outside the door was now quiet.
Su Jianguo closed the courtyard gate and bolted it. Turning to look at Su Nianqiu, he sighed.
“Qiu’er, was Dad too impulsive? With this slap, I’m afraid my reputation won’t sound good.”
“Dad, you did well,” Su Nianqiu said, linking her arm with Su Jianguo’s. “When dealing with people like this, if you’re not tough, they’ll climb all over you. Reputation is earned through actions, not by pleasing others.”
Su Jianguo smiled. “Come on, let’s go back inside and eat the buns. They’ve gone cold.”
Father and daughter returned to the kitchen. The buns had been reheated by Li Xiulan.
After finishing two buns, Su Nianqiu returned to her room. She sat by the window, gazing at the snowy scenery outside. Su Nianqiu carefully recalled the memories from the book about this period.
Not far from the Su family’s courtyard was the educated youth point of the Red Flag Brigade.
After the snow stopped, rumors about the restoration of the college entrance exams would spread across the country as if they had wings. The educated youths in the village would be the first batch to take the exams.
She was well aware of the history from her previous life. Among these educated youths, there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Future university professors, political heavyweights, and business tycoons were all among this group of youths wearing tattered cotton-padded jackets.
Although she was confident she could pass the exams herself, going to Beijing for university while bringing a child would require connections and resources. Going it alone would be too exhausting.
If we could win over these future leaders in advance, form a study group, and provide them with review materials and some material support… that would be like sending charcoal in snowy weather.
This favor, once we reach Beijing in the future, would become the strongest protective talisman.
Su Nianqiu touched the “Self-Study Series for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry” on the table, already forming a plan in her mind.
Once the snow melts tomorrow, it’s time to visit the educated youth point.
Just then, a rapid knocking suddenly came from outside the main gate.
“Brigade leader! Is the brigade leader home? Something’s happened! The educated youth point has collapsed!” The voice of militia company commander Wang Weidong anxiously cut through the wind and snow.