Huang Wenqiang had been a man who abused his power in his previous life.
Anything confiscated by him would inevitably end up in his possession.
Shen Fujuan had experienced this once before in her past life and would not fall for Huang Wenqiang’s tricks again.
Seeing this woman dare to defy him, Huang Wenqiang felt a surge of anger. He casually picked up a nearby whip, intending to show Shen Fujuan who was truly in charge in Heihe Village!
Not far away, a somewhat weathered voice suddenly spoke up.
“Wenqiang, that’s enough.”
Everyone looked up to see Huang Chaoying, hands clasped behind his back, slowly walking over.
“Times are tough for everyone. They made these shoes by altering their own clothes—what’s wrong with wearing them?”
Though Huang Chaoying’s voice was calm, it carried an undeniable authority.
“Besides, their shoe sizes don’t match yours. What’s the point of taking them back if you can’t even wear them?”
With Huang Chaoying’s intervention, the family quickly grabbed their sickles and headed to the fields to work.
“Isn’t that Director Huang Secretary Huang’s uncle? Why did he help us?”
Once they reached the fields, Su Jianjun still couldn’t make sense of it and whispered his question.
Shen Fujuan lowered her voice as well. “At best, he’s a distant cousin. Uncle Huang holds a high position in the village. If it weren’t for his age, Huang Wenqiang wouldn’t even have a chance at becoming the commune director!”
Su Jiaxuan watched Huang Wenqiang walk away in the distance, then took Shen Fujuan’s sickle and gestured toward the ridge with his chin.
He told her to go rest.
Shen Fujuan felt a little embarrassed. “Xiaorou is pregnant and should rest more, but there’s nothing wrong with me. It’s better to earn a few more work points.”
If they didn’t work, Huang Wenqiang would find an excuse to deduct their work points, which wasn’t a solution either.
In the long run, their family would put in just as much labor as others but end up with significantly less food for no reason.
Shen Fujuan couldn’t bear the thought.
“You’re not well.” Even when expressing concern, Su Jiaxuan’s tone remained stiff.
Shen Fujuan couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t worry, if I start feeling unwell, I’ll go rest on my own.”
At noon, Huang Wenqiang arrived with the commune’s meal delivery team.
“One scoop of vegetables per person, no exceptions! Everyone must supervise each other. No one is allowed to take advantage of the collective!”
Quoting slogans at every opportunity had become Huang Wenqiang’s signature trait.
In her past life, Shen Fujuan had heard these words so often her ears had grown calloused. Now, she naturally let them go in one ear and out the other.
While the food was being served, Huang Wenqiang didn’t rest either. He forced everyone to sit by the ridge, holding a little red book in his hands and reciting from it in somewhat awkward Mandarin.
Over and over again, like a monk chanting sutras.
When the line reached Shen Fujuan, Huang Wenqiang used his somewhat withered right hand to forcibly take the ladle from the server.
“For these key individuals under special observation, I must personally oversee their education. Otherwise, the results won’t be thorough, and the dregs of their old ways will remain deeply rooted in their minds!”
Huang Wenqiang scooped up a large ladle of cabbage and potatoes.
Just as he was about to pour it into Shen Fujuan’s bowl, he pulled the ladle back as if joking and knocked it heavily against the side of the pot.
Most of the potatoes and cabbage fell back, leaving only a ladleful of watery broth with a faint trace of oil floating in it.
Shen Fujuan was absolutely certain that Huang Wenqiang was targeting her.
“Secretary Huang, you only gave me soup,” Shen Fujuan reminded him.
It wasn’t because the commune’s food was particularly delicious that Shen Fujuan insisted on arguing.
Rather, they still had a whole afternoon of farm work ahead. If the meal they ate at noon had neither oil nor salt, it would be difficult to muster any strength in the afternoon.
If this continued long-term, it would inevitably affect their work efficiency.
Huang Wenqiang responded with a righteous “hmph”: “For people like you who don’t do much work but still want to eat as much as others?”
Huang Wenqiang snorted coldly: “You should be secretly happy I’m even willing to serve you food!”
“Social parasites and scum like you should consider yourselves lucky you haven’t starved to death yet!”
Zhao Xiaorou received the same treatment as Shen Fujuan—the two bowls combined didn’t contain even a fist-sized portion of vegetables.
Seeing Zhao Xiaorou being bullied, Shen Fujuan wasn’t having it. She stood next to Huang Wenqiang, hands on hips, ready for confrontation.
“Before we starve to death, we’ll go to the county town first and voice our grievances! Let everyone hear how our commune’s Secretary Huang lives off public provisions without doing any work, bullying us and throwing his weight around in the village!”
Seeing Shen Fujuan speak up, Zhao Xiaorou also put her hands on her hips, mustering courage to shout boldly: “That’s right, Secretary Huang! Do you think you’ll still be able to keep your position as secretary then?”
With both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law joining forces, and both threatening him, Huang Wenqiang actually felt somewhat afraid in that moment, but he still put on a brave front: “If I let you leave Black River Village today, I’ll change my surname from Huang!”
Shen Fujuan wasn’t afraid at all. She was someone looking at the present from the perspective of the future—how could she be threatened by Huang Wenqiang?
“Secretary Huang, before being transferred here, I was a professor at Peking University. If one day I can return to Beijing, do you think your good days will continue?”
Who could say for sure what would happen in the future?
Outcomes were always changing moment by moment. Huang Wenqiang had no choice but to take Shen Fujuan’s words seriously.
Extremely reluctantly, he picked up the ladle and added another scoop of vegetables to their bowls, then threw the ladle back into the basin with a heavy thud.
They barely managed to finish the meal with cold water.
After eating the coarse grain cornbread, Shen Fujuan only felt bloated. Her stomach felt somewhat uncomfortable, so she paced back and forth on the spot to relieve the sensation.
But Huang Wenqiang couldn’t stand it again, finally finding an opportunity to save face: “If you think you’ve eaten too much and feel stuffed, give your food to someone else tomorrow! Don’t waste food here!”
This argument was somewhat unreasonable—it sounded fine at first glance, but upon careful thought, it was full of holes.
However, this time Huang Wenqiang was just venting verbally without actually affecting Shen Fujuan’s interests, so they didn’t rush to refute him.
One piece of cornbread was completely insufficient to sustain their afternoon labor. Even Shen Fujuan, who did less work, felt her steps becoming unsteady, as if the world were spinning around her.
When it came time to record work points, Shen Fujuan finally earned a full eight points for the day.
This sense of achievement somewhat alleviated her physical fatigue.
On the way home, the family had only one thought in their minds.
They needed to hurry back and eat something to fill their stomachs. If they didn’t replenish anything at all, Huang Wenqiang would work them to death!
Not long after stepping out, Shen Fujuan heard a loud thud from behind, followed by panicked shouts from others.
“What do we do? He looks like he’s about to starve to death!”
“Quick, go find Secretary Huang! What can we do here?”
Shen Fujuan’s memory was instantly awakened.
She quickly recalled the identity of the person who had collapsed.
Then, Shen Fujuan abruptly turned around and looked toward the crowd.