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Chapter 215: Chapter 208 Research Research
That afternoon, before dinner, Shen Yunfang had caught two young roosters and took them over to Old Lady Shen’s house.
Seeing her come over, Old Lady Shen was polite as always, insisting, "Yunfang, since you’ll be eating alone when you go back anyway, don’t leave, just eat here. The food is almost ready, and your uncle will bring some people back in a bit."
Shen Yunfang looked at her elder and second cousins squatting in the corner of the yard and listened to the sounds of her sisters-in-law and Shen Yunxiu scolding the children inside the house, and she firmly shook her head. "Old Lady, I really can’t; the pigs and sheep at home haven’t been fed yet. They’ve been starving all afternoon, I must rush back to feed them. Don’t worry about me, you all just eat."
"Oh dear, we can’t have them going hungry, you better hurry back. Whenever you have time, come over for a visit," Old Lady Shen smoothly backed down. In the countryside, people might miss a meal or two and it would be just fine, but livestock can’t miss a single one.
"Alright, I’ll be going then," Shen Yunfang said with a smile on her face, but in her heart, she thought, I certainly won’t come again. Just this once and I’ve already given up two young roosters. If I come again? I’d probably have to give up a few more chickens. Why not just stay at home and eat them, instead of coming here for everyone to scramble over.
So, with a smile plastered on her face but full of resentment in her heart, Shen Yunfang went back home.
Perhaps because the chickens finally satisfied their hunger, or because the autumn harvest work was drawing to a close, in any case, the three members of the work team returned to the commune early in the morning of the third day. It was Shen Yougen who drove them back with a horse-drawn cart, as ordered by Old Man Shen.
Shen Yunfang finally breathed a sigh of relief; these past few days she had been feeling restless and on edge.
She finally could settle down and properly take care of her own family’s harvest.
Aside from a few acres of autumn vegetables on the hillside that hadn’t been brought in yet, all the grain in the private plots and the backyard had been gathered into the granary.
Her harvest this year was not bad at all—altogether, from the two plots, she harvested over eight hundred pounds of corn, more than five hundred pounds of sweet potatoes, around one hundred pounds of soybeans, and also the peanuts she planted between other crops, which yielded an unexpected bonus of over a hundred pounds.
As for the grain distribution from the team, which happened every year, due to the arrival of the work team, Old Man Shen didn’t dare to go through with it. It wasn’t until a week after the work team left, and there were no directives from above, that he finally opened the granary to distribute the grain.
When it was time for grain distribution at Shen Yunfang’s, there was a small issue. The accountant Li brought his ledger to Old Man Shen.
Old Man Shen furrowed his brow as he looked at the ledger, then called Shen Yunfang over.
"What’s the matter, Old Man?" Shen Yunfang sensed there might be an issue; everyone else was joyfully moving grain to their homes, so why hadn’t she been called?
"You see for yourself," grumbled Old Man Shen with a dark expression. "Look at how little work you put in this year, yet you still have the nerve to come collect grain."
Shen Yunfang understood; this was about her having too few work points to qualify for the grain. That couldn’t be right, she had been careful with her calculations; it should have been just enough, even a bit extra. How could it be insufficient?
She took the small ledger from Accountant Li and looked at what was written densely next to her name: when and how much work she had done, and how many work points she had earned.
She reviewed it herself, and it matched her memory. It seemed no one had recorded it incorrectly, so what was going on?
"What are you looking at? Accountant Li has been doing this for years, could he really have made a mistake just for you?" Uncle Shen snatched the account book back.
"That’s not what I mean. Uncle, I’ve done the math, it should be enough, how come it’s not enough?" Shen Yunfang was also baffled; after all, this was her first time doing public work calculations in both her lifetimes. If there was a mistake, surely it was understandable.
"How can it be enough? You were calculating based on last year’s public work points, how could that be correct? Our team’s points vary every year. Now you’re in a fix, aren’t you? I told you time and again to work more; it wouldn’t have tired you out. But you were stubborn as a pig, refusing to work no matter what. Now look what happened, you won’t get any grain. I wonder what you’ll do next year," Uncle Shen said, throwing his hands up in a gesture of washing his hands of the matter.
"Hey, Uncle, wait up, let’s talk this out," Shen Yunfang quickly grabbed him, "Uncle, how about this? If I’m short of public work points, can I pay money instead? Whatever points I’m lacking, let’s convert it to money and I’ll pay. Would that work?"
Uncle Shen glanced at Accountant Li with his eyes, in truth this act was also for show. If Shen Yunfang was just an ordinary villager it would have been fine, he could have made the decision and no one could say anything. The problem was Yunfang was his niece; if he agreed to it right away, others would start to suspect something fishy.
Uncle Shen also feared people might gossip about it behind his back, so he wanted to get others to agree to it.
"You think you can just pay money and be done with it? You think you can just use it to offset your public work? If everyone in our team did as you do, just paying money to be done with it, then who would farm the land?" Uncle Shen pretended to be angry as he spoke.
"Ha ha, Captain, don’t get upset. Let’s talk things through. Yunfang is still so young, what does she know? You just need to teach her properly," Accountant Li said with a chuckle.
"Young? She’s married and about to have a child; how can she not understand such simple matters? It’s like she’s lived in vain," Uncle Shen reminded Accountant Li, alluding to the fact that Shen Yunfang was pregnant and deserved some consideration.
"Ha ha, Yunfang, don’t make it difficult for your uncle. He can’t just agree to this straightaway; after all, there are so many members watching. Let’s do this: don’t rush, once today’s matter is done, we’ll organize a meeting with the villagers to discuss what to do about this. Right, Captain?" Accountant Li still wore a smile.
With that said, how could anyone else have objections?
Uncle Shen looked at Accountant Li with a meaningful gaze. Since the work group arrived, his attitude had shifted, albeit subtly. Uncle Shen had taken notice of this change.
Normally, Accountant Li would have immediately echoed Uncle Shen’s sentiments, offering some placating response so the issue would just blow over—it wasn’t a big deal after all. But today, he suggested they discuss it further, which seemed quite thought-provoking.
"Did you hear that? This is your lesson. The grain is collective, it’s the state’s, it’s painstakingly cultivated by the members. Only those who contribute labour can receive grain. As for your situation, we, the leadership team, will have to discuss it and come to a decision," Uncle Shen narrowed the scope from a general members’ meeting back down to a smaller leadership meeting with a single statement.
Although Shen Yunfang had never been involved in bureaucracy, she was well-acquainted with treachery in business, which happened often. Judging from the attitude and words of Accountant Li today, she sensed there was a problem; the arrival of the work group must have stirred thoughts among certain individuals.
"Fine, then you all go ahead and discuss. My home still has half a bag of grain. If you haven’t figured it out by the time that’s finished, I’ll just come to your home with my bowl and take turns eating meals there. You can’t starve a pregnant military spouse, can you?" Shen Yunfang casually dropped these shameless words and headed home; there was nothing more for her to do today.
"This kid, what nonsense are you talking? As if others don’t know you’re a military spouse; you think you can threaten me like that? How many years have you been a military dependent? Isn’t it known throughout our village? You’re telling me this to threaten me? Let me tell you, there’s no way. Even if you complain to the commune, to the county, or even to the military district, it won’t work. I’m your uncle," Uncle Shen shouted after her retreating figure.
Accountant Li, with his head lowered, pondered over what Shen Yeqing meant by saying those words.
