Shen Fujuan’s heart felt like it was swinging on a cliffside swing, soaring to its peak once again.
By all accounts, the village chief should have been the most respected person in the village.
But Black River Village was different.
In her previous life, it was Huang Wenqiang who held sway. In Shen Fujuan’s memory, the village chief had hardly played any role at all.
Almost all matters in the village, big or small, were decided by Huang Wenqiang and his nephew Huang Chaoying.
The village chief’s presence was minimal, but if he truly wanted to stir up trouble, he could indeed cause them significant problems.
He sighed and stretched out his hand, wrinkled from years of overwork.
Opening his palm, a dozen or so grains of rice lay quietly in his hand.
Perhaps they had accidentally dropped them somewhere while packing.
For a moment, Shen Fujuan felt as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
They had been sent down to Black River Village because they had made mistakes.
What if they made another mistake in Black River Village?
Even if these grains weren’t secretly hoarded by them, as long as they were found in their home, the accusation would be unavoidable.
At best, it could be called hoarding grain; at worst, it could be labeled as undermining class unity.
Huang Wenqiang was the highest-ranking leader in their commune, and if it came to sentencing, his opinion would ultimately matter.
Many thoughts raced through Shen Fujuan’s mind, and she even began thinking about how to escape.
“Be more careful next time.”
But to her surprise, after saying this, the village chief tossed the few grains of rice in his hand away.
The hearts of the entire family, which had been lodged in their throats, instantly settled back down.
Shen Fujuan looked at the village chief with gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you.”
This was a stroke of luck amid misfortune. Although they had made an oversight and been discovered, fortunately, it was the village chief who had found them.
“These days, when food is scarce, everyone has to find a way. Life is hard—” The village chief glanced behind him. “You’re part of this batch sent down to the countryside, right? And you have a pregnant woman in your family?”
It seemed the village chief had already learned about their family composition before arriving. Shen Fujuan nodded gratefully.
“We brought these grains from the city. My daughter-in-law is in poor health, and she needs extra nutrition while pregnant. Our family had no choice but to take the risk—”
Although the village chief seemed to be on their side for now, Shen Fujuan didn’t dare let her guard down. She put on a show of hardship in front of him.
“Ah!” The village chief rubbed his head vigorously. “My daughter-in-law was also pregnant last year, but with no food at home and no way to supplement her nutrition, the child was starved to death!”
In these times, such things were not uncommon.
But hearing about it happening to others and experiencing it firsthand were two different things.
Shen Fujuan stared at the village chief for a moment, then, to everyone’s surprise, turned and went back into the room.
When she returned, she was holding a small cloth bag of rice and four or five eggs.
In this era of scarce resources, Shen Fujuan’s willingness to give so much was already considered remarkably generous.
Even the village chief hadn’t expected that a moment of compassion would yield so much food!
“We owe you our thanks for today’s matter. Our family doesn’t have much food left, but please take this as a token of our gratitude.”
The village chief was also a simple and honest farmer. At first, he was unwilling to accept the gifts, but under the family’s persistent persuasion, he reluctantly nodded in agreement and carefully hid the rice and eggs as he made his way home.
After closing the gate again, Su Jianjun still couldn’t quite understand Shen Fujuan’s actions.
“Mom, aren’t you just handing them evidence against us? And earlier, so many people searched for so long without finding where the rice was hidden, yet you went in and took it right in front of him…”
At this point, Su Jianjun had no choice but to assume the worst about everyone.
What if the village chief was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, playing both sides?
Shen Fujuan chuckled softly.
“The rice and eggs aren’t engraved with any of our names. Once they’re carried out of here, who can tell whose family they came from?”
As long as they firmly denied it, they might even be able to turn the tables and accuse the village chief.
“If he’s a smart man, he’ll understand what I mean.” Su Xianchan’s gaze was heavy as she glanced in the direction the village chief had disappeared into the pitch-black night.
“Dad, do you understand?” Su Jianjun, who could never quite grasp these subtle social intricacies, looked at Su Jiaxuan with a frustrated expression.
He thought the person in the family who would understand him best would be his quiet, reserved father.
Unexpectedly, Su Jiaxuan responded with a faint, calm “Hmm.”
Leaving Su Jianjun feeling somewhat awkward all by himself.
“I don’t believe it, you must be lying to me!”
Su Jianqiang sighed helplessly, “Our dad graduated from Tsinghua University and even studied abroad on a government scholarship. Did you think everyone was as thick-headed as you?”
Facing the disdain of the entire family, Su Jianjun felt the harshness of the world.
Was he even their biological son?
Their family managed to weather the storm of being reported, but Huang Wenqiang kept an increasingly watchful eye on them.
He even brought a small wooden stool and sat right at the edge of the Su family’s plot, watching intently.
He refused to believe he couldn’t catch the Su family red-handed!
“Lift your hands higher! Harvesting while hiding like this—people might think you’re trying to steal public grain!”
“And you! Both of you are high-risk individuals, so be careful!”
In Huang Wenqiang’s words, it was as if their guilt had already been confirmed. His tone was arrogant and haughty, as if he wished he could point his finger right at the Su family’s noses and scold them.
“Secretary Huang, have you ever seen anyone work with their hands raised above their heads? If you suspect us of stealing rice, don’t blame us later for working slowly! If it rains and the rice rots in the fields, you can’t blame us then!”
Su Jianjun couldn’t hold back any longer. He straightened his back and retorted sharply.
Bending over to harvest rice was already exhausting enough, and having to listen to Huang Wenqiang’s meaningless nagging made it even more irritating!
Huang Wenqiang stood at the edge of the field with his hands on his hips. He was naturally thin and lanky, and under the sunlight, his shadow stretched even longer.
He looked like a tall, slender sugarcane.
It was hard not to laugh.
Su Jianjun’s cheeky attitude only infuriated Huang Wenqiang further. Just as he was about to continue his scolding, a sudden, urgent cry erupted from the other end of the field.
A young girl stumbled over from that direction, her jet-black hair sticking to her face as she ran.
“Stop right there, or I’ll break your legs!”
Behind her, a man in his thirties chased after the girl, cracking a whip in his hand with a sharp, whistling sound.
But the more he shouted, the faster the little girl ran. Though she looked thin, she was surprisingly quick on her feet, and in no time, she had already reached Huang Wenqiang.
“Secretary Huang, stop her quickly!” the man yelled at Huang Wenqiang.
Huang Wenqiang responded with a casual grunt, sticking out a foot and tripping the girl, sending her sprawling face-first.
Shen Fujuan winced just watching it.
The little girl looked up, terrified, at the man chasing her.
Shen Fujuan caught a glimpse of her face.
It was actually Su Lina?!