Song Wei packed all her purchases into her bamboo basket. Many people looked at her as if she were a fool, but Song Wei ignored them. Of course, there were also those who stared enviously at her basket, wishing they could afford even a fraction of what she had bought.
People thought she might be a bit silly, but there was no denying she had the money to back it up.
Carrying her basket steadily, Song Wei left the butcher shop, heading for the agreed meeting place—the state-run restaurant.
The others were already there.
“Hurry up! We’ve been waiting for you,” Gao Le called out, excitement lighting his face. “Today, we lucked out—they have braised pork! It smells amazing. I ordered two portions!”
Gao Le and Zhao Su, both unafraid of spending money, had parcels from the post office stacked beside them. Judging by the size, they had received plenty.
Song Wei set down her basket and joined them without ceremony. The group laughed and chatted as they enjoyed their meal.
“This is what living should feel like. It’s so hard to get meat these days,” Gao Le remarked, savoring his food.
Both men were thoroughly satisfied by the end of the meal.
Once finished, the group headed toward the town’s edge, where their village’s ox cart awaited.
Several women were already seated in the cart, munching on fried soybeans and chatting animatedly.
Just as they were settling in, a rumbling tractor approached, puffing along with an air of importance as it passed their humble ox cart.
The driver, full of pride, stopped briefly to greet the elderly ox-cart driver, his tone dripping with arrogance.
In this era, owning or driving a tractor was indeed a status symbol.
After the tractor drove off, the cart’s passengers, including the ox-cart driver, all gazed at it with undisguised envy.
“What a good tractor,” one woman sighed.
“Imagine if our brigade had one of those. It would make hauling so much easier,” another chimed in.
From their conversation, Song Wei learned that the tractor belonged to the Fuxing Brigade. Apparently, the brigade had received an “Advanced Collective” award two years ago and was even praised by the commune’s leaders.
Last year, when the town received a tractor, the Fuxing Brigade, riding high on their success, had managed to purchase it.
Tractors were rare luxury items. The town might receive only one per year, and every brigade in the area scrambled to buy it. Not only were they expensive, but acquiring one also required connections and resources.
Unfortunately, the Ping’an Brigade lacked such connections. Even if they had the money, buying a tractor was out of the question.
The ox cart ambled slowly back to the Ping’an Brigade, the passengers chatting non-stop about the tractor, its image clearly burned into their minds.
When they returned to the educated youth dormitory, those who hadn’t gone to town looked on with envy or outright jealousy as the group unloaded their purchases.
Among the jealous were Xu Laidi and Luo Yecheng, who wore their feelings plainly on their faces.
Liu Linlin, however, had mellowed recently. While her fiery temper hadn’t completely vanished, she was more restrained, only targeting people she truly disliked—like Xu Laidi and the unfaithful Luo Yecheng.
Xu Laidi’s greed remained insatiable. Despite being chastised before, she couldn’t help but eye Song Wei’s basket greedily.
Having spotted a small piece of pork bone peeking out of the basket, Xu Laidi exclaimed loudly, “Song Wei, you bought meat!”
Song Wei frowned in annoyance. What rotten luck. The bit of pork bone must have been exposed during the jostling on the ox cart. It was barely visible unless you were paying close attention, but Xu Laidi had sharp eyes—and a nose like a bloodhound.
Even Gao Le and the others turned to look at her in surprise.
Glaring at Xu Laidi, Song Wei snapped, “Yes, I bought meat. What’s it to you? Or do you think I’m going to share it with you?”
Xu Laidi’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“Let me see it! I haven’t eaten meat in so long,” she whined, licking her lips as her eyes practically glowed.
She had been scrimping and saving, sending much of her earnings back to her family. Her diet consisted mostly of filling but cheap food like sweet potatoes, and she couldn’t even afford fine grains like rice or flour, let alone meat.
During previous meals, when Song Wei and the others had prepared fish or crayfish, Xu Laidi had been too stingy to trade anything for a taste. Now, seeing even a bone, she was practically salivating.
“Who do you think you are? Song Wei’s food isn’t yours to touch,” Liu Linlin scoffed, stepping in to defend Song Wei. “Besides, with your sticky fingers, who’d let you touch their food? Imagine you grabbing it—nobody would want to eat it after that!”
Xu Laidi’s face turned red with rage.
“Mind your own business, you nosy busybody! You’re the one with dirty hands!” she spat back.
Liu Linlin opened her mouth to retort, but Luo Yecheng interrupted, addressing her with an oddly soft tone.
“Linlin, what’s happened to you? You didn’t used to be like this.”
His gaze was full of a longing she once would have cherished, but now, it left her cold.
“I’ve always been this way. I just didn’t bother saying these things to you before. Now I’m clear-headed. Don’t like it? So what.”
Luo Yecheng was speechless.
He felt as if he were facing another version of Song Wei.
Meanwhile, Xu Laidi attempted to paw through Song Wei’s basket, only to be met with a sharp tug on her hair. She yelped in pain as Song Wei shoved her aside.
Song Wei brushed her hands off with disgust.
“Do you have no shame? Every time I bring something back, you act like a leech. Even if I bought meat, it’s my money and my ration tickets. Staring at it won’t make it yours!”
Li Juan chimed in with a grimace, “Song Wei, don’t let her near it. Last time I bought meat, I felt sorry for her and let her see it. She licked it!”
The room fell silent as everyone processed Li Juan’s story.
“I couldn’t believe it either,” Li Juan continued, still fuming. “I spent so much effort buying that meat, and she just stuffed it in her mouth! I had to wrestle it back and scrub it clean, but even then, I couldn’t enjoy eating it anymore.”
The group collectively recoiled in horror.
Song Wei immediately backed away from Xu Laidi, putting several meters of space between them.
Her glare was icy as she warned, “Come near me again, and I’ll slap you.”
Nobody would dare mess with her food like that. If Xu Laidi tried, Song Wei wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.
Feeling the intensity of Song Wei’s threat, Xu Laidi didn’t dare approach again, though her hateful glare toward Li Juan burned hotter than ever.
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