“Oh my goodness—they’re really something! These are all precious goods!”
The old woman was stunned, her mouth agape. “Let’s pick out the best for ourselves and trade the rest. Just imagine how many favors we’ll owe.”
“Exactly. Oh, Mom—I’ll probably have to make a few more trips over the next few days. You know the situation—they’re still living in the ancestral hall, and that’s no way to live. I’m thinking I’ll help my niece get that house built.
Living in the ancestral hall makes everything inconvenient.”
The old woman understood right away—so that was it. The ancestral hall wasn’t a good place for black market dealings.
“Go ahead—make as many trips as you need. Get that house built soon, and life will be more comfortable.
The ancestral hall is no proper place to live.”
She was all for it. As long as her daughter-in-law wasn’t always funneling things to her own family, helping out in a real crisis was perfectly fine.
Even if she weren’t happy, she wouldn’t say anything—and right now, she was pleased.
“I’ll take a couple days off to watch the kids. You focus on getting the house built. Once it’s up, you can move in before winter hits—living in that ancestral hall will be miserable when it gets cold.”
It was freezing in winter, sweltering in summer—no place for people.
And all those ancestral tablets were still in there, even if they’d been put away.
“Thanks, Mom—you’re the best! Were the kids a handful today?”
“Nope—they were good as gold. They only cry when they’re hungry—otherwise, not a peep.”
Mentioning her two grandsons brought a smile to Cai Juhua’s face.
Lin Xia felt the kids’ bellies—they were flat.
They must be hungry.
She unbuttoned her shirt to nurse.
Halfway through, she noticed something wrong—the kids’ appetites were growing, but her milk supply seemed to be dwindling.
She’d been eating well every day—shouldn’t be a nutrition problem.
“Mom, come here!”
“Coming, coming—what’s wrong?”
“Mom, I don’t think I have enough milk. The babies aren’t full—I feel like I’m empty.”
The old woman frowned.
“It was enough a couple days ago—why the sudden change? These past couple days…”
She did the math—her daughter-in-law hadn’t been eating poorly. Meat and eggs every day—it shouldn’t be a lack of fat. So the babies must be growing hungrier.
“Hmm—that’s a problem. Their appetites are getting bigger, and soon you’ll only have enough for one.”
“I’ll have your dad figure something out—see if we can get some formula to supplement. Formula coupons are hard to come by, so we might have to look elsewhere…”
“Wait—why not ask your brother’s family? If they can get all this precious stuff, their connections are strong. Maybe they can get formula too. Then we can mix breast milk and formula—our grandsons will grow up plump and healthy.”
They were barely out of the month—still needed careful nurturing.
By six months, they could start mixing in rice water; by one year, they’d be eating solid food.
“Right—why didn’t I think of that? I’ll ask tomorrow. Mom, have Dad ask around too.”
“Good idea—we can’t let my grandsons go hungry.”
…
“Sis, does that mean we’ll have a house to live in soon?”
Xiaogu looked at her with big, eager eyes.
“Yeah—in a couple of months, we’ll be able to move in.”
Over dinner, Lin Xiaohe brought everyone up to speed on what happened today.
“Auntie and Second Aunt are both going to take goods from us to trade for cash—so we won’t be short on money.
Once the house is built, we can move in. Life will be better than now—but I don’t know who to ask for beds and cabinets. There’s no real carpenter for miles around.”
Lin Cai frowned. “I do know a carpenter—but I can’t move, so I can’t go find him.”
“Who?” Liu Yuexiu was curious—she didn’t know her husband knew a carpenter.
“I met him up in the mountains. He does excellent woodwork, but he lives far from here.
From the foot of the mountain, a round trip would take a full day.
He’s not easy to find, and I can’t walk. The brigade leader knows him too—we met him together.
Maybe we could send the brigade leader with some things to make the trip?”
“That’s a good idea. The brigade leader is trustworthy—he’s the best person to send.”
Liu Yuexiu agreed.
“Okay—I’ll go see the brigade leader tomorrow and ask him to make the trip. While we’re building the house, the furniture can be made at the same time.
Then when the house is done, we can move in right away.”
Lin Xiaohe was really looking forward to having a place of their own—her eyes sparkled.
“That’ll be soon—two or three months. By then, your father and I should be better too.”
Liu Yuexiu smiled with satisfaction. Life was getting brighter—she’d never dared to imagine this before.
…
At the brigade leader’s house
He hadn’t been idle either—he was thinking about who to assign to the job.
Couldn’t pick anyone with bad blood, anyone lazy, or anyone who was too nosy. He needed honest, hardworking men.
There were plenty of those in the village.
He quickly settled on ten people. They’d start by clearing the rubble, saving whatever could be reused, and hauling the rest away.
“What are you so busy with? You haven’t stopped all afternoon.” His wife handed him an enamel mug. “Can’t you sit still for a moment? Got nails in your pants?”
“You don’t know—Lin Xia came to see me today, wants to build her third brother a house. As the brigade leader, of course I have to keep busy. Can’t leave it to Xiaohe and Xiaogu—they’re just kids. And she lives in town—coming back is a hassle, can’t count on her.”
“That’s true—you should be busy. Can’t do much else—they need food, and we can’t exactly bring them to our table. We’ve got our own family to feed.”
His wife sighed. “Any word on when relief grain is coming?”
“I asked today—soonest is still half a month. They gave me the specs—low standard, ‘substitute grains.’ I’m guessing rice bran, wheat husks, that sort of mix. Better than eating clay, but barely keeps you alive.”
“Who knows how much we’ll get. At least it’s something.
I wonder how long the relief will last. When will the heavens give us a break? Once it rains, there’s hope.”
“I walked by the river today—the water’s even lower. In the shallowest spots, it’s not even finger-deep.
At this rate, in a few days we’ll be short on drinking water.”
Good thing it was a big river fed from the mountains—there was still some water. The village’s two old wells didn’t yield much either.
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