“Dong Huimin, use your head before you speak. How exactly have I been protecting Xiao Mandong? I said you were spreading rumors because someone saw Wang Yuanyuan and Yang Xueqiang walking this way together this morning… Now they’ve gone into town together. Are you satisfied with that answer?”
Dong Huimin’s mind went blank. When she had just arrived at the old residence, she had also run into Wang Yuanyuan nearby…
Her chest felt tight, and even her fingertips began to tremble. “Has Yang Xueqiang gotten a marriage introduction letter?”
The trembling in Dong Huimin’s voice revealed the unease and fear in her heart.
When she heard the brigade captain’s answer, Dong Huimin collapsed directly onto the ground…
The corners of Xiao Mandong’s lips lifted in an almost imperceptible smile. If Dong Huimin hadn’t deliberately picked a fight with her, Wang Yuanyuan and Yang Xueqiang probably wouldn’t have gotten away so smoothly.
The Old Party Secretary suddenly felt dizzy. He shouted toward the crowd, “What are you waiting for? Go find them! Hurry, hurry!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he toppled over. Fortunately, the onlookers caught him. Xiao Mandong was the village doctor, so she immediately stepped forward and took his pulse.
“It’s nothing serious. He’s just overcome with anger. Carry him home and let him rest.”
Several members of the Yang family arrived one after another and carried Secretary Yang back home. They were terrified that something might happen to him. Although he had already retired, he had been the village secretary for most of his life and still held considerable influence in the village. Even the brigade captain took him into consideration when assigning work.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Xiao Mandong was about to leave with Diandian when the brigade captain called out to her.
“Educated Youth Xiao, the old doctor in the village heard that you’re back and wanted to ask whether you could put off returning for one more day. He wants to visit his son and see his little grandson. You went into town and didn’t come back, and the old man was nearly worried sick.”
“Sure, Uncle. Please tell him I’ll go back tomorrow…”
Before she could finish, Dong Huimin grabbed her by the hem of her clothes.
“Mandong, please, can you lend me your bicycle?”
She had to go after that bastard. Yang Xueqiang had to marry her—he could only marry her. The only way she might catch up with him was by riding a bicycle. But there was only one bicycle in the entire village. Secretary Liu rode it into town every day, and now only Xiao Mandong had one.
Xiao Mandong shook Dong Huimin off in disgust.
“Don’t say I didn’t bring the bicycle back. Even if I had, I still wouldn’t lend it to you.”
Her disgust was written plainly across her face.
Dong Huimin truly felt as if the sky had fallen. Watching Xiao Mandong walk away, she ground her teeth in hatred. Every time she went up against Xiao Mandong, she ended up suffering for it.
Xiao Mandong followed the brigade captain to the brigade office and called the hospital. She asked a colleague to pass a message to Xiaoli, who worked in the cafeteria, telling her to bring Bowen back again tomorrow.
Then she went with Shunzi to the neighboring village to fetch Bowen. The moment Bowen saw Xiao Mandong, he jumped up and down with excitement.
“Little sister… Go home and see little sister…”
Judging from Bowen’s condition, it was obvious that Shunzi’s maternal uncle’s family had taken excellent care of him. Even when they were leaving, Bowen kept turning around and grinning at his great-uncle.
To avoid attracting gossip, Shunzi took Bowen directly to the brigade captain’s home. The brigade captain’s wife invited Xiao Mandong to dinner that evening, and Xiao Mandong accepted without being polite.
After being up all night the day before, she was feeling a little tired. Once she returned home, she collapsed onto the bed and slept until five in the afternoon. When she woke up, she felt completely refreshed.
She took a bag of rice and some eggs out of her space, filled a bottle with liquor, and then went to the brigade captain’s house.
The moment she entered, she smelled the delicious aroma of food. The brigade captain’s wife, Auntie Song, hurried over to greet her. When she saw what Xiao Mandong was carrying, her expression darkened.
“You girl, why did you bring all this? We only looked after Bowen for a few days, and you already gave us so much money. Now you’re bringing things just for one meal too. How can we accept this?”
“Auntie, I receive state-issued grain, and there’s also a cafeteria at the hospital. There’s no way I can eat it all myself.”
Smiling, Xiao Mandong placed the food in the kitchen. Her job had become a convenient excuse for bringing things out of her space whenever she needed to.
“You girl. Your little sister will be on winter break soon, so you need to save more grain.” Auntie Song carried dishes to the table as she chatted casually with Xiao Mandong.
Before the meal was served, Secretary Liu unexpectedly arrived, carrying a bag of peanuts.
“Oh, with this much good food, I came at exactly the right time to freeload!”
Before the brigade captain could reply, Secretary Liu went straight to the point.
“I went to the commune today. The secretaries of two villages told me they wanted to buy some grain. I was thinking that our village had a pretty good harvest this year and that every household had some grain left over. I thought I’d discuss it with you—tomorrow, we can ask the villagers to sign up if anyone wants to sell grain.”
Xiao Mandong, who had been helping in the kitchen, felt her heart jolt when she heard Secretary Liu. How could she have forgotten such an important event?
“Uncle Liu, Brigade Captain,” Xiao Mandong said as she carried a dish into the main room. “We can’t sell our grain. Not only should we not sell it—we should be buying more.”
“Oh, so that’s why there’s so much good food today. We have a guest!” Secretary Liu quickly beckoned Xiao Mandong to sit down. “Tell us, why can’t we sell it?”
He felt that Xiao Mandong always managed to surprise him, so he was naturally willing to hear her out.
“My family has practiced medicine for generations. We have to go into the mountains to gather medicinal herbs, and reading the weather is one of the skills we must know. Based on the weather on the day this year’s first snow fell, I predict there will be a major snowstorm before the New Year. It could even become a snow disaster. When that happens, grain will certainly become scarce.
“If we can buy some grain cheaply now, we’ll be able to sell it later at the market price and make a little profit. The village’s finances will be better off, and everyone can have a good New Year.”
The two men fell silent. After a long while, the brigade captain spoke first.
“Even if we know grain will become scarce, at most we can choose not to sell ours. But buying more? How could we possibly do that? There’s only so much money in the village account. What good would it do? And if we lost money, how would everyone get through the New Year?”
Secretary Liu tugged at the collar of his padded jacket, feeling frustrated as well. If other communes were selling grain, did that mean the doctor who gathered herbs in their village could also predict the weather?
A chance to make money was right in front of him, yet he had no way to seize it.
“I have money. I’m willing to lend it to the village. If we make a profit, everyone can have a good New Year. If we lose money, I’ll find a way to deal with the grain myself. The village won’t be responsible for anything.”
She knew how severe this year’s snowstorm would be. She couldn’t just stand by and watch the villagers starve.
Secretary Liu hurriedly refused. “How could we let you do that? How can we let a young woman take on such a huge risk? No. At worst, we simply won’t sell our grain…”
“Uncle Liu, don’t worry. Even if there isn’t a major snowstorm, I still have enough grain. It definitely won’t go to waste.”
“Let’s eat first. We can talk after everyone’s had their fill,” Auntie Song urged them.
Secretary Liu stopped the discussion, and everyone took their seats. Xiao Mandong had just taken a bite of egg when hurried knocking came from outside.
“Brigade Captain, something terrible has happened! Dong Huimin drank pesticide!”
