Song Jing’s roommates hurried over to help him push the large package inside, all of them eyeing him with curiosity.
Song Jing coughed, slightly embarrassed. “I’m not sure who it’s from. Let’s open it and see.”
“Oh, could it be from your girlfriend, Sergeant Song?” one of them teased. “She must really care about you to send such a big package!”
“Don’t start. I don’t have a girlfriend,” Song Jing replied, rolling his eyes at them.
As he opened the package, various items came into view. There were two large jars of mushroom paste, which Song Wei had carefully packed in plastic containers rather than glass, to avoid breakage during shipping. He also found a big bag of dried mushrooms, a large bag of chestnuts and walnuts, a smaller bag of roasted pine nuts, and a small jar of honey. Song Wei had even wrapped everything in multiple layers of newspaper for extra protection.
Finally, he found a mix of wild mountain nuts, which she’d also bagged up.
“Wow, there’s so much in here!”
The roommates quickly honed in on the mushroom paste. Not shy at all, they grabbed a jar and popped it open. A delicious, savory scent filled the room.
“Now this, this is amazing!” one of them said, breathing in the aroma. “Perfect with rice!”
“Hey, Sergeant Song, we’re all good buddies, right? Friends share their good fortune!” They all turned to him with hopeful smiles.
Song Jing shot them a warning look. “Hold on a minute. I don’t even know who sent it yet, so put that down.”
He spotted a single letter in the package and opened it, and the familiar handwriting quickly made it clear—it was from his younger sister, Song Wei. She’d put a lot of effort into carefully imitating the original Song Wei’s handwriting so he wouldn’t suspect a thing.
Even before reading it, he felt a strange unease. As he continued to read, his expression darkened.
The previously cheerful roommates now looked at each other awkwardly, suddenly quiet as they observed him.
Clutching the letter, Song Jing’s knuckles turned white, and the paper itself crinkled under his grip.
“Sergeant Song… is everything alright?” one of them asked, hesitating.
Song Jing clenched his jaw. “These things are from my sister. She had a job, and she shouldn’t have been sent to the countryside.”
At his words, his friends immediately understood why he looked so upset. Though officials had promoted “going to the countryside” as an honorable mission, they all knew from experience that farm work was grueling. In this era, becoming a worker—even temporary—was seen as something of honor.
Song Jing wanted to go see her. Despite his sister’s cheerful words about “enjoying” the countryside, he knew it was just her way of reassuring him.
And as for the money he had been planning to send home, well… his so-called father and stepmother could forget about it.
Back in the countryside, Song Wei had no idea that, after reading her letter, her brother had decided to cancel the money transfer to their father’s family. And not only that—he’d filed a request for leave to come and see her.
After the heavy rain, more mushrooms popped up in the forest, but the arrival of late autumn meant fewer edible wild greens. Song Wei had peeled and hung the firmer persimmons under the eaves to dry, while the nearly dried mushrooms were now stored in a large basket.
Today was a big day for the Ping’an Brigade—grain distribution day. Nearly every family in the village had come to the threshing ground, and despite their sun-darkened skin and worn clothes, they all looked happy and eager.
Song Wei took Heidan to join in the fun. Of course, it was not just for fun, but mainly because she had to buy some food after everyone’s rations were distributed.
“What’s the rate per work point this year?”
Villagers gathered in small groups, chattering away. “It’s five cents per work point this year.”
“Same as last year, huh?”
“We should be glad it didn’t go down. I heard in some villages they lowered it.”
“So, how much grain is your family exchanging? We’re planning to…”
Song Wei stood nearby with her hands behind her back, listening to the conversations like an old village grandpa.
At the front, the team leader called up each household one by one, who then explained the type and amount of grain they wanted. Most opted for coarse grains, which were cheap and filling.
Everyone preferred refined grains, but they were expensive and considered a luxury. With so many mouths to feed, most households needed to stock up on the cheaper grains to last the whole year. If there were enough work points left, they might get a small amount of refined grain as a treat.
The team hadn’t planted much refined grain, so Song Wei wouldn’t be able to buy much from them, even if she wanted to.
“What? That’s all the work points we’ve got? There’s no way!” A commotion broke out as someone loudly protested for her household’s work points.
The voice sounded familiar. Song Wei tiptoed to get a look and, sure enough, it was none other than old lady Niu.
Right now, old lady Niu was loudly accusing the officials of undercounting her family’s work points and accusing the scorekeeper of skimming off the top.
The team’s scorekeeper, Jiang Xiaowan, looked furious, her face bright red with indignation.
Old lady Niu’s family was in the third team, where Jiang Xiaowan was the scorekeeper.
“Who would even bother to steal those measly points from you? You know better than anyone how lazy your family is! Your son doesn’t even work in the fields, and the others barely put in any effort. Now you’re blaming me?”
The party secretary’s family and other team leaders looked at old lady Niu’s family with disapproval.
Still, old lady Niu didn’t back down, throwing herself on the ground, slapping her thighs, and wailing that she was being unfairly treated. Her daughter and daughter-in-law joined in, mirroring her behavior.
Only old lady Niu’s son stood by idly, watching as if it were only natural for the women in his family to cause a scene.
The team leader’s face grew darker, and so did Jiang Xiaowan’s and the other leaders’ expressions.
“Mrs. Niu!” the team leader finally shouted, his voice booming. The others immediately quieted down, intimidated.
“If you think this is unfair, go ahead and complain!”
The team leader pointed toward the village gate with a stern expression.
“Everyone here knows exactly what your family is like and how little work you put in. Go on, I’ll be here waiting to see just how far you get with those complaints!”
Others cast disdainful glances at old lady Niu and her family. With the team leader clearly angry, old lady Niu’s family finally started to look nervous.
At that moment, old lady Niu’s husband, Old Man Wang, rushed through the crowd, grabbing her by the arm and scolding her loudly.
“What’s all this nonsense? The team leader’s in charge of the grain, and you’re making a scene? With our work points, we’re lucky to get this much grain! You’re just making things worse!”
While he berated her, he threw a sheepish grin at the team leader.
“Sorry, team leader. This woman doesn’t know what she’s saying. We’ll take the grain based on what you calculated.”
The team leader and others watched coldly, unimpressed.
Everyone knew Old Man Wang had only shown up to play the good guy once things got serious. He’d let his wife and family make a scene and only stepped in once the leader got angry.
What a shameless act! Everyone knew his family’s reputation, and it was anything but good.
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