That night, after Lin Lan returned home and unlocked the courtyard gate, she found Erwang asleep, slumped against the doorframe of the main room with a stick in his arms.
Maisui was also asleep, dressed in her clothes and curled up on the kang with a large shovel in her hand.
Sanwang and Xiaowang, being younger and without a care in the world, were sleeping very soundly.
Lin Lan felt a warmth in her heart. She tapped Erwang awake and told him to go sleep on the kang.
Erwang rubbed his eyes and, upon seeing Lin Lan, instantly became fully awake. "Mother, you're back!"
Lin Lan smiled. "Go to sleep on the kang."
Having obtained so much money, she was actually too excited to sleep. Unfortunately, Han Qingsong was away and the children were still young, so she had no one to share this good news with.
Although Erwang was sensitive and thoughtful, he was still just a child. After a day of fear and anxiety, his energy was completely exhausted. As soon as he lay down on the kang, he fell into a deep, unconscious sleep, not even bothering to take off his shoes.
Lin Lan took off his straw sandals, fetched some water to wring out a towel, wiped his feet, and then took off his clothes and laid him in a comfortable position.
The child was sleeping so deeply that he didn't react at all to being moved.
Lin Lan then did the same for Maisui.
Once the children were all settled, she went to check the courtyard, locked the gate, and closed the chicken coop. She thought to herself that she really needed to get a fierce dog to raise.
A typical local dog wouldn't cut it—they were bullies that picked on the weak and feared the strong. At the very least, she needed to find a mutt with some shepherd dog blood.
There was no money box in the house. Lin Lan thought for a moment, then temporarily divided the money into several portions, wrapped them in old rags, and hid them in inconspicuous places where the children wouldn't rummage around.
Actually, there were rural credit cooperatives at this time, but she didn't trust them and didn't dare deposit the money.
Rural cooperatives, supply and marketing cooperatives, and credit cooperatives were the "three carriages" established after the founding of the country. The cooperatives managed agricultural production and some water conservancy projects; the supply and marketing cooperatives connected urban industries with agricultural products; and the credit cooperatives were similar to the later agricultural banks and rural cooperative organizations.
However, given the function of credit cooperatives at this time, Lin Lan felt it was better not to deposit the money, lest she deposit it and be unable to get it back.
Because she was too excited, she suffered from insomnia. She thought about lighting a lamp, but felt it would be a waste of oil. Then she thought that she was now a wealthy woman, so why worry about a little oil? But then, she realized she had money but no ration coupons, so she couldn't buy kerosene, and had no choice but to leave the lamp off.
She just lay there letting her thoughts run wild.
She thought that now that she had money, she had to find a way to exchange it for coupons and supplies, cook delicious food for the children, make them clothes, buy them shoes, and let them go to school to gain knowledge so they could become successful people in the future—at which point, she, the old mother, could gracefully retire. Thinking of the children, she wondered what she should do herself. Now that she had capital, maybe she should find something to do.
At this time, the best business was to resell goods, but she needed to find a source of supply. She wondered if Han Qingsong could cooperate with her after he transferred to civilian work.
Aside from reselling, she couldn't really do anything else, or at least she couldn't do it in her own name. Private business was still being severely cracked down on; they called it the "capitalist roader" path.
Therefore, even if she wanted to do something, she had to do it with the production brigade. That would be considered a collective enterprise, which was legal and would be protected.
With these chaotic thoughts, she drifted off to sleep until the roosters crowed the next day.
Sanwang woke up first. Being a child, he was resilient. Although his head had been broken, he had eaten three eggs and slept through the night, making a full recovery.
"Cluck-cluck-cluck!" Outside came the sound of a hen announcing that she had laid an egg.
Sanwang rubbed his eyes, peered through the window, and said in surprise, "Mother, whose chicken flew into our house to lay an egg!"
He scrambled off the floor and rushed to pick up the egg before anyone could come to claim it.
When he came back, he saw a pool of blood on the ground and was puzzled. "Who bled here?"
Lin Lan woke up. Hearing Sanwang's voice, she couldn't help but wonder if this silly child had been beaten into being a fool.
She hurriedly got dressed and got up, not calling the other children, letting them sleep a little longer.
"Mother, look, an egg!" Sanwang's eyes were bright.
Lin Lan took the egg. "You're injured, you need to eat something nutritious. Your nainai thought we couldn't live without hens after splitting the family, so she gave us three."
Sanwang laughed. "My nainai could be that generous?"
Lin Lan smiled without answering. Sanwang laughed heartily, which tugged at his wound. "Ouch."
Lin Lan quickly told him to stay still. "Don't touch your forehead. Go let the doctor change the dressing when you finish work at noon."
She was still afraid of scarring, but there was nothing she could do about it; even in the modern era, there weren't many good ways to prevent it.
Soon Erwang and Maisui woke up one after another. They didn't linger in bed like before, but immediately got up to help Lin Lan cook.
Lin Lan said, "Boil water and steam the pancakes. Use the boiling water to whisk this egg into a large bowl, and we'll all drink it together."
"Yay, egg drop soup!" The children were very happy.
Maisui tended the fire, and Erwang managed the pot; the sister and brother worked together in perfect harmony.
First, they put the boiling water into the ceramic jar Lin Lan had bought to let it cool, which would be enough to drink for the day. They also whisked a large bowl of egg drop soup and then heated up the pancakes.
Lin Lan let the children divide it up, and she kept instructing Sanwang, "Do not get it wet. If the wound gets wet, it will get infected, and you'll end up with a fever and your head will rot."
Sanwang was shocked. "It will really rot?"
Maisui teased him, "You're silly. Can't you just keep it dry?"
"But I'll sweat!" Sanwang cried out in alarm.
Erwang said, "Just lie there honestly and fan yourself with a cattail leaf fan, and you won't sweat."
When they went to work after breakfast, the barefoot doctor stopped by to check on Sanwang. Seeing him bouncing around, he laughed and said, "Children are resilient; one night's sleep and everything is fine. Adults aren't so lucky."
He was talking about Han Jinbao.
Han Jinbao's toe had been smashed, and it was swollen, red, and shiny. Fortunately, it wasn't broken, but it was enough to make him suffer. Although he had gone to the commune health center to drain the blood, once the initial numbing pain wore off, it hurt even more after a night's sleep. It was a heart-piercing, lung-stabbing pain, and he cried non-stop at home.
In any case, the whole village could hear him.
Lin Lan naturally didn't care. She had instructed the children to keep Sanwang and Xiaowang at home, and that Erwang and Maisui could come back to rest after cutting grass to prepare for cooking.
She went to work herself.
At work, she couldn't help but be bombarded by oblique inquiries from the commune members.
After all, the scene yesterday had been too chaotic—all the cursing, the smashing of vats, the fighting, and the trip to the commune health center. The aftermath was even more explosive.
Rumor had it that Lin Lan had chased her meimei and Han Ersao with an axe, and when she couldn't hit them, she chopped up the furniture. It was said that she had killed a whole yard of chickens, declaring that one chicken was worth a life! She had also split the wardrobe open and smashed a giant hole in the pot.
Gossip always becomes unrecognizable after it makes a round.
But one thing remained unchanged: Lin Lan had struck it rich and now had hundreds or thousands of liang in her hands!
Of course, they didn't know the exact amount. Han Yongfang's family wouldn't gossip, and the Han Laotou family was too ashamed to talk about it, so they could only try to find out from the Han family children.
But the children spoke incoherently, and since they didn't know the full picture, what they said varied.
In short, there was money, and there were even IOUs!
Tsk tsk, Lin Lan was truly impressive; she was worthy of being the village bully!
Lin Lan naturally didn't join in their fun. She played dumb when asked indirectly, and pretended to be angry when asked directly, which actually terrified the women, who were afraid she would go on a rampage and hit them.
Zhang Caihong and Dong Huahua, however, were increasingly kind to her. They all knew she was having conflicts with her mother-in-law and couldn't pick vegetables from the garden.
"My family can't finish them, they'll get old if we leave them too long; just go ahead and pick some."
Lin Lan certainly wanted to eat vegetables, but she couldn't just take them for free. She said, "Thank you, saosao and meimei, for looking after me and the children, but it's not good to always take yours for nothing. How about this, I'll buy them with money."
At this time, cash was valuable, while the vegetables in the garden weren't considered much in the countryside.
Two or three wen was enough to buy a meal's worth.
They refused to take it. "Qingsong wife, are you mocking us? Do you think we're after your money?"
"Don't misunderstand, I don't mean that. I just think it's better if we keep clear accounts; that way I can eat them with peace of mind. Otherwise, I'll be too embarrassed to keep picking them."
Her clear sense of right and wrong, and her refusal to take advantage of others, actually surprised Dong Huahua and Zhang Caihong. She really was different.
It seemed that having suffered enough, one would truly progress.
Lin Lan gave them 50 fen, which would be enough to eat vegetables from their gardens until autumn.
By then, Lin Lan could plant her own autumn and winter vegetables—radishes, carrots, Chinese cabbage, spinach, and chives could all be planted. As for mustard greens, she could plant them herself or buy them; 30 fen would buy a huge pile, enough to pickle. She could even buy Chinese cabbage and radishes; a few mao was enough to hoard a small mountain of them.
In the countryside, these things were cheap, whereas money was precious. Therefore, if one didn't lack cash, buying them was naturally cost-effective, unlike in the city where one had to buy state-distributed goods and a catty of cabbage cost two or three fen.
Here, three fen could buy a large Chinese cabbage.
With this settled, Lin Lan was very happy. At noon, she told Maisui and Erwang that they could go to the two households to pick vegetables every day, just enough for one day's eating—no need to pick too many.
As she passed through the Han family alley, she heard Han Laotai's shrill screams.
Lin Lan: ...
Day after day, was this woman equipped with a program to sell misery?
"God damn it, when did she go to the public security bureau to report me?"
"Quick, go find her!"
Lin Lan wondered if this "her" referred to herself.
She hurried home and found the courtyard quiet. She didn't hear Xiaowang herding the ducks, didn't hear Sanwang playing around, nor did she hear Erwang and Maisui arguing over cooking.
"I'm back," she called out.
Erwang instantly flashed out from behind the door, pulled her inside, and motioned for her to be quiet.
Seeing his mysterious look, Lin Lan was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Erwang moved his eyebrows to give her a look.
Lin Lan went to the room and, sure enough, heard the voice of a stranger.
"Young friend Han Sanwang, how are you feeling right now? Do you feel dizzy?" someone asked inside.
Lin Lan rushed in, only to see a person in a public security uniform taking notes in a booklet.
She looked at Sanwang lying on the kang, groaning. Looking at his performance, he was nothing like the bouncing Sanwang from the morning; he looked like he was on his deathbed.
Lin Lan was so worried she ran over. "Sanwang, don't scare your mother."
"Sister-in-law Han, you're back? Please cooperate with us in making a statement." It was a gentle voice.
Lin Lan looked and realized with surprise, wasn't this Officer Liu?
"Officer Liu, you... why did you come?"
Although she had dreamt of reporting the case at night, this couldn't be real, right?
Officer Liu said, "We received a report that Han Qinghua committed an assault in the village, so we came specifically to investigate and take a statement."
Did someone really report it?
"Officer Liu, may I ask, who reported it?" She really hadn't gone—even though she had wanted to—because she had already gotten the money...
"It was Han Dawang who reported it. Didn't you tell him to go?" Officer Liu was puzzled.
Lin Lan exclaimed in surprise. Dawang went to report it? Her heart felt a surge of excitement, followed by a bit of guilt for having blamed Dawang earlier.
This child had been waiting for this moment.
What a good child.
He is a child worth teaching!
After Officer Liu finished taking the statement, he asked Lin Lan a few more questions.
Lin Lan was a bit confused. "Officer Liu, is Han Jinbao hitting my son serious enough to get him arrested?"
Although Han Jinbao hit Sanwang, in reality, it would be treated as a domestic dispute, and the public security would not care at all.
She hadn't gone to report it immediately because it would be useless, so she had sought out Han Yongfang, utilized his sense of justice, and then threatened them with Han Jinbao and Han Jin yu's corrupt lifestyles to get the money.
She hadn't expected it to actually work.
Officer Liu hesitated. He thought it wasn't a secret, and Lin Lan was also the victim and had the right to know, so he said, " Han Dawang reported that Han Qinghua has reactionary behavior."
As for the specific behavior, it naturally couldn't be leaked casually.
However, Lin Lan understood instantly. Illegal behavior at this time was different from the future. Most illegal acts at this time involved speculation, slandering leaders, improper lifestyle, corruption, and so on.
Han Jinbao hadn't been wronged at all.
Moreover, Dawang had been following him all along and knew everything about him. Reporting him was a guaranteed hit.
My son Dawang, I give you a thumbs up!
Lin Lan happily gave a thumbs up.
Officer Liu glanced at Lin Lan with surprise.
"Officer Liu, how will Han Jinbao be punished? Have those charges been confirmed?"
"We're taking him back for investigation. We still need to ask teachers and students at the school to testify. If confirmed, he will be detained first, then wait for trial. Whether he goes to a labor camp or gets fined and sent home, we'll see."
There was a lot of room for maneuvering here. There were no real "jail terms" at this time because supplies were already tight, so naturally, they wouldn't let people rot in jail and waste food; they would all have to go to labor farms to farm.
If one had no connections or resources, no one would speak for them, so they would have to go to a labor camp. Whether it was ten years or three years depended on the situation.
If one had connections and was willing to do favors, they wouldn't have to go to the labor camp; at most, they would be educated and sent home.
Han Qinghua's third brother was a military officer; the higher-ups still left some leeway on this point.
It was just that Han Dawang's report made too much noise to ignore. How to judge it, they would hold off for now, detain Han Jinbao first, and then quietly greet Han Qingsong when he returned.
It depended on Han Qingsong's intent.
Lin Lan didn't know this, and Officer Liu naturally wouldn't reveal a single bit.
Officer Liu took the statement to the Han house.
Lin Lan followed him. As soon as she entered the door, she saw the courtyard was in chaos.
Seeing her approach, Han Laotai's eyes turned red, and she stumbled over to hit her. "You wicked woman, you're so vicious! You're trying to kill my son!"
Lin Lan shrugged. "Old lady, you're making groundless accusations; I haven't done anything."
Han Laotou had a gloomy face. "Qingsong wife, you've taken the money and the IOUs, why still refuse to let him go?"
Han Jinyu was also there, scolding Lin Lan, calling her insane, ruthless, and vicious... in short, she used every word she had learned in all her years of schooling.
Han Dasao said, "Third saosao has been at work all morning; she didn't report it at all."
Officer Liu also said it wasn't Lin Lan who reported it, but he didn't mention Han Dawang.
"Then who? Who is meddling in other people's business?" Han Jinbao's expression was ferocious, his eyes popping out.
He actually was born good-looking, but he was always squinting and making faces, and now, out of hatred, he looked truly fierce.
He suspected it was Han Qingyun; that kid liked to meddle.
Officer Liu and his colleague were about to handcuff Han Jinbao.
Han Jinbao instantly started selling misery, groaning, and showing his toes, which were still purple and swollen.
Officer Liu said, "He can't run anyway, no need to handcuff him."
If handcuffed, that would be truly shameful, and he wouldn't be able to clear his name when he returned home later.
They took Han Jinbao out. Han Laotou and Han Laotai chased after them, especially Han Laotai, who seemed reluctant to part, as if her heart and lungs were being torn out.
"Officer Liu, you... you must not hit my child..."
She even brought up the fact that her third son was a military officer, offering to pay money to bail him out.
Officer Liu's colleague darkened his face. "Madam, don't slander us. No one dares to break the rules; we are all acting according to facts."
"Mother—" Han Jinbao couldn't act tough anymore and kept crying for help.
Han Laotai felt a heart-wrenching pain.
Lin Lan watched coldly. One reaps what one sows; this was a crop the mother and son had planted themselves—one had spoiled and indulged, the other had been reckless. The result was no surprise.
At this time, Han Jinbao glared at Lin Lan, his eyes full of resentment.
Lin Lan said coldly, "I was at work, I wasn't the one who reported it; it's useless to hate me. You should hate yourself for having evil intentions."
Some people were always like this—they wouldn't reflect on their own crimes and would only resent the victim for not forgiving them.
In the evening, Dawang returned from outside. He didn't say a word when he entered the room and started gnawing on a pancake.
He looked like he had been hungry for a day.
Lin Lan quickly poured him water and gave him some pickled vegetables. "Eat slowly, don't choke." She took the opportunity to send the other children out to collect firewood so she could interrogate him.
After eating two large flour pancakes, Dawang caught his breath and let out a burp. "I'm going to cut grass."
"You stop there!" Lin Lan quickly blocked him. Cut grass, my foot! Just a while ago you said you were going to cut grass, and then you disappeared in the blink of an eye and ran to the city to report them.
As a spectator, I have to give you a thumbs up.
But as your mother, I must punish you severely!
Dawang stood at the door, impatient, raising his eyebrows. "What for?"
"Don't you have anything to explain to me?"
Dawang shook his head.
Me! Lin Lan's violent temper flared, and she pulled out a burning stick. This child couldn't be left unpunished.
Dawang didn't seem afraid of being hit; after all, he hadn't been hit less since he was a child.
Lin Lan got angry seeing his expression—the "you can't kill me anyway, I'm not afraid of you" look.
But thinking that he was just a child and had secretly done such a big thing, she felt a pang of heartache.
Hitting children was something that gave one temporary relief but resulted in regret and heartache later on.
Lin Lan couldn't be so self-abusive.
She said, "How did you report it? Tell me."
Dawang squinted at her. "What for?"
Darn it! You're asking for a beating, aren't you!
Lin Lan roared in a low voice, "Let your mother have some fun too!"
Dawang: ... He looked at Lin Lan suspiciously, shocked and speechless.
Lin Lan put on an awkward smile. "Well, let's keep it quiet, Mother is an adult, I can't let others know."
Dawang: ... You're afraid of people knowing?
Seeing that he wouldn't be able to leave if he didn't talk, he had no choice but to perfunctorily tell Lin Lan the gist of it.
The "gist" consisted of two dry sentences.
"I turned in the reactionary books Han Jinbao was reading and dug out the cheesy love letters he wrote." Of course, there was more, but he couldn't tell the woman everything.
It wasn't until later when Han Qingsong returned that Lin Lan learned the details. She knew Han Jinbao and his friends were circulating some forbidden materials—something like The Heart of a Young Girl, which was a huge taboo at the time.
What's more, Han Jinbao's lifestyle was improper, and there were other issues. Relying on having some money, he would flirt with female students—not just one. Some female students were angry, and some male students were jealous, naturally leading to trouble.
Previously, no one had taken the lead, and Han Jinbao had a small power base, so no one dared to move.
Now that Dawang had poked a hole in it and the public security bureau went to the school to investigate, those students took the opportunity to fall into the well and uncover him one after another. Therefore, Han Jinbao's issues could be big or small; with this, it became serious.
In any case, he wouldn't be coming back easily.
Lin Lan couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. This kid Dawang shouldn't be underestimated. No wonder he grew up to be a big villain in the original plot; with this kind of scheming and means, that's what a villain should be like.
Thinking this way, Lin Lan became a bit sycophantic, eager to have a good relationship with Dawang. "Son—"
Before the old mother's mode could be activated, Dawang jumped and ran away.
Lin Lan: ...
At first, Han Laotai thought it was Lin Lan who played tricks to get her youngest son arrested and wanted to go tear Lin Lan apart. But Officer Liu said it wasn't Lin Lan who reported it, but someone in the school had accused Han Qinghua of reactionary behavior, which was very serious.
The old lady was terrified again, thinking of taking money to pull some strings, but where would she get money now?
All the cash in the house had been given to Lin Lan!
The Han family had gone from being relatively wealthy to destitute overnight.
That same evening, she went to pressure Lin Lan to bring out money to pull strings, but she was sternly refused by Lin Lan.
The old lady accused her: "How can you be part of the same family and not care? How can you have no human touch?"
Lin Lan tried to persuade her: "Old lady, how can you say that? I wanted to report him myself in the first place, and it was only to save face for the village secretary and your eldest son and daughter-in-law that I didn't go. And now you want me to give money to bail him out? You..."
Wasn't this daydreaming?
"Oh heavens, I can't go on living—" Han Laotai started crying and making a scene again, risking everything for her youngest son.
Dong Huahua came over to persuade her: "Auntie, what are you doing? They have concrete evidence from the school, and you still want to pull strings? Aren't you afraid your youngest son will die faster?"
Han Laotai was startled. "Director, what do you mean?"
"Auntie, we're in a crackdown, checking for bribery and corruption. If you go to stir things up, aren't you asking for trouble? Your crime will be compounded." If this kind of thing were to break out and the commune or county revolutionary committee named them, the Shanju village would lose face.
They, the cadres, would lose even more face.
Han Laotai started crying again; what to do?
"It's just a matter of lifestyle. It'll be fine once investigated clearly. Just cooperate and explain yourself properly; it won't be that bad. After all, we are from a poor peasant background; our roots are straight." Dong Huahua was also a clear-headed person. This kind of thing could be big or small; it would probably be a matter of one sentence when Han Qingsong returned.
Han Laotai seemed to understand, too. As long as it wasn't a matter of class antagonism, it didn't matter. In any case, he wouldn't be shot.
She also received guidance from Han Qingyun; the key was to wait for the third son to return.
Han Laotai then settled down, never having looked forward to her third son's return as much as she did now, so he could speak a word for the fourth son to be released.
However, she was still unhappy, applying plaster all day long and sighing. "Marrying such a jinx, I said at the time we should have waited for a lucky month, shouldn't have let her enter the door in such a rush... Hmph, I think we shouldn't have taken her at all; she's not as good as that Liu family daughter..."
Han Dasao heard her spouting nonsense again and hurriedly told her to stop, lest she provoke the third Han house again; it wasn't as if they hadn't had conflicts before.
Han Jinyu, however, was worried. After such a scene, she couldn't go back to school and had to avoid the limelight.
Han Laotou made her and her youngest son change their names. Jinbao and Jinyu could no longer be used to avoid appearing like they were dissociating from the poor peasants. In the end, they went to consult the primary school principal, Han Qingping.
Han Jinyu chose the formal name Han Qingshan, and Han Jinbao kept his name Han Qinghua. Jinbao and Jinyu were no longer to be used.
Once they settled down, Lin Lan's life became comfortable. Every day, she worked, cooked, washed, listened to the radio, and taught the children—it couldn't be more pleasant.
One day, it was the big market day again. Lin Lan asked for leave, instructed the children well, and rode her bicycle to the market.
On the way, she encountered several women who were all very envious. Some wanted to say a few cool words, but Lin Lan stepped on the pedals and rode away like the wind, leaving them far behind to eat dust.
"Look, look at that cocky look. She's famous again!"
"The most powerful shrew in the entire commune!" Although they didn't want to be bullied by their mothers-in-law or squeezed by their sisters-in-law at home, if someone else was criticized because of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, they would subconsciously feel a sense of superiority, feeling that they weren't as fierce and shrewish, and were gentle and kind.
Lin Lan went to the market and first bought the things she had wanted to buy before but hadn't been able to afford. Seeing people selling grain and eggs, Lin Lan bought them without hesitation.
They were cheap, so why not buy? The key was that they didn't need coupons.
Country folks brought eggs to the city to trade for grain coupons; one catty of eggs for two catties of grain coupons. After trading, one still had to take the grain coupons and money to buy grain. In other words, one was trading one catty of eggs for the qualification to buy two catties of grain—it was just a disguised price hike. So when people boasted that prices were cheap at this time, Lin Lan didn't know how they calculated the accounts. Even if grain cost one fen per catty, if it wasn't for sale or there were no supplies, you would just go hungry. Can you call that cheap?
The market generally sold coarse grains, such as dried sweet potato, sorghum rice, bean flour, etc., or steamed buns made of bean flour, sorghum flour, and sweet potato flour, which were bitter and astringent and quite unpalatable.
If there were people selling soybeans or wheat, that was very good, but there weren't many. Occasionally, someone would come to sell them because they needed cash urgently. Unless it was for medical treatment, school, or a funeral, most people couldn't bear to sell grain like that.
So if Lin Lan encountered it, she would definitely buy it. She didn't lack money, and she had five children growing up who were lacking grain. Buying it back would help herself and others, so why not?
She bought 30 catties of wheat and 10 catties of soybeans, tied them to the back seat of her bicycle, and then went to see the supply and marketing cooperative.
Lin Mei was coming to send her cotton.
When she arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, she came at the right time. She bought five feet of labor cloth and half a catty of cotton.
The salespeople at the cooperative all knew her; when they measured the cloth for her, they were extra generous, afraid she would find fault.
Lin Lan felt that being shrewish was actually quite good. If she were timid, the salesperson would rip the cloth with precision to the last fraction of an inch.
The salesperson with the big braid who had sparred with her last time had a good attitude toward her this time. Lin Lan also knew her name was Qiu Dongmei; the other older one with a simple and gentle face was Wang Huijuan.
Lin Lan didn't have kerosene coupons, so she wanted to ask them to keep an eye out to see if they could collect some, or if she could buy some at a higher price.
Although the policy didn't allow for the reselling of coupons, kerosene and grain were essential supplies. When ordinary people didn't have enough, they naturally had to find a way. Everyone knew this, and salespeople often took the opportunity to earn some extra money.
Qiu Dongmei told Lin Lan: "No, there are no coupons, but do you want some candles?"
Candles were expensive and didn't burn long, but Lin Lan thought it was fine to buy some.
In addition, Wang Huijuan had saved a little kerosene. It didn't need coupons, but it was one mao more expensive than the market price per catty.
Lin Lan bought it decisively.
Although the market price per catty was 36 fen, a household was only allotted that much in coupons for the year, which wasn't enough.
Not to mention ten fen more, she would buy it even if it were twenty fen more. One couldn't have the house plunged into pitch-black as soon as the sun went down, like Han Laotai, who couldn't bear to light a lamp.
Of course, she let her sons stay in the pitch-black while she lit the lamp herself.
Light was a comfort to the human soul; she didn't want the children to live in the dark and develop a stingy personality.
Unfortunately, she still couldn't buy non-staple foods; she really couldn't get coupons.
After waiting for Lin Mei for half a day, she wanted to go out to find her, but in a quiet place, she saw a woman wearing a conical hat sneaking over.
Lin Lan: ...
She circled around and slapped Lin Mei, scaring Lin Mei so much that she was about to run away.
Lin Lan grabbed her. "What are you running for, it's me."
Lin Mei rolled her eyes. "You really don't lose out. I scared you once, and you scared me back."
She pulled Lin Lan away, and they went to a small alley where Liu Dajie was carrying a large bag of cotton, hiding behind a haystack.
"I went to a lot of trouble to get just this much. I guess the rest will have to wait until this year's new cotton is out."
Lin Lan saw that the cotton had been fluffed and folded into a square, and was very satisfied. "San Jie and Liu Dajie handle things so efficiently."
She paid according to the black market price. In addition to the market price, she had to pay for the cotton coupons. Now lint cotton cost about one yuan per catty. If cottonseed cotton was cheaper, one had to process it oneself and fluff it. Unless one planted it at home, one basically bought lint cotton.
There were three catties in total, and Lin Lan gave four yuan.
Lin Mei threw back a yuan. "Three yuan is enough."
Lin Lan refused. "I'll have to trouble Liu Dajie in the future, it's not just for this time."
Liu Dajie was speechless. My mother, this person really has money! People like her bought things by counting every fen, and even the rich would count every mao, but she was good—she was giving it away by the yuan.
Lin Lan had her own thoughts. If she wanted long-term trade relations, she naturally had to be generous.
Now she didn't lack money; she lacked materials. If she was generous, they would think of her first when they had good things in the future.
In an age where you couldn't buy things with money, this was the best way.
Lin Mei only asked for an extra 50 fen in the end and gave Lin Lan back 50 fen. "That's it."
Lin Lan didn't say anything more. San Jie and her mother had borrowed money from her before, so there would be opportunities to give them more in the future; there was no need to rush to return it now.
She invited Lin Mei home for a meal, but Lin Mei didn't have time. She gave Lin Lan a few spools of thread with two steel needles stuck in them. "We have things to do, we're leaving first. We'll talk when we're free."
After saying that, Lin Mei took the people and left in a hurry.
Lin Lan bundled the things on her bicycle and ran to the slaughterhouse group. Although there were no meat coupons, she could buy pig offal, bones, trotters, and the like; as long as she was lucky, she could buy them with money.
Lin Lan was lucky and bought a pig tail, a piece of pig liver, and two trotters.
She rode her bicycle home; the children had already returned, and Dawang was carrying water.
He could only carry two half-buckets now, and the pressure made his shoulders sink, his waist arching involuntarily.
Erwang was cooking, Maisui was chasing Sanwang and told him not to go into the water, and was also directing Xiaowang to drive the ducks back and chop up wild vegetables for them to eat.
The three hens were scratching the dirt at the courtyard gate, not having run back to the old lady's house themselves.
Lin Lan was very satisfied.
The children ran over to help her unload the things, and Lin Lan whispered, "Hurry, go boil water; we're boiling pig trotters and the tail to eat."
The children were all excited and rushed to help. First, they had to roast the hair off the trotters and tail over the fire, then scald them with boiling water, and finally put them in a pot with green onion, ginger, and star anise to stew.
In addition, they soaked a large handful of soybeans, and when they were soaked, threw them into the pot to stew together.
It had to be stewed for at least an hour or so, so they couldn't eat it at noon and would have to wait until evening.
Therefore, they had the usual meal at noon and rested for a while before going to work.
When Lin Lan went to work, she told the children, "When it's ready, come back and drink the soup; each of you can drink a large bowl of pig trotter soup."
...
In the county public security bureau prison.
Han Qinghua cried with a mournful face. "Eldest brother, you must save me."
Zhao Jianguo was in a difficult position. "Jinbao... ah, brother, it's not that I don't want to save you, look at what you've done yourself. You even dared to read those books? How many times did I warn you?"
What was the use of saying these polite words now? You had also read plenty of them at the time, Han Qinghua thought, but he didn't dare say it out loud; his heart was filled with hatred for Lin Lan and Dawang.
Through Zhao Jianguo, he already knew it was Dawang who had taken the lead in reporting him; it was naturally instigated by Lin Lan, otherwise, that silly kid wouldn't have had such a heart.
No matter how much he talked, Zhao Jianguo just wouldn't budge. He only said: "My uncle can't manage this area; he's in the factory..."
"Can't your uncle talk to the people in the revolutionary committee and the defense department? Ask him to help me." Han Qinghua was really anxious. Although no one hit him and no one criticized him, being locked up here was enough to make him suffer. Listening to other people crying, his heart felt fuzzy.
Wait until he got out; he definitely wouldn't let that vicious woman go!
"I did want to seek out that path, but it's not possible. Do you know how much a meal costs for my uncle to invite him out? We can't afford to see him at all. Originally, I had a chance to get 500 yuan and then invite him to help, but alas, it failed." Zhao Jianguo shook his head and sighed.
"500 yuan?" Han Qinghua's eyes lit up. "I know where to get it, never mind 500 yuan, even 1,000 yuan is fine."
Zhao Jianguo also got excited. "Where? Tell me quickly!"
Han Qinghua looked around.
Zhao Jianguo smiled. "Don't worry, no one is watching you."
They weren't very important criminals, just temporarily detained, so there was no need for anyone to watch them; they couldn't run anyway.
Han Qinghua hesitated for a moment and glanced at Zhao Jianguo. "There is money, it just depends on whether you dare to take it."
"Brother, do you look down on me?" Zhao Jianguo couldn't stand being slighted.
Han Qinghua gritted his teeth. "Lean over, I'll tell you quietly."
Zhao Jianguo thought it was funny, but still cooperated. He was used to Han Qinghua bragging and saw him being big-handed toward others, believing Han Qinghua had money.
After whispering for a while.
Zhao Jianguo's eyes widened. "Brother, you're capable, this could work."
Han Qinghua let out a cold hum and hated fiercely: "That was originally my money; there's nothing wrong with me doing this. Instead of letting her take it, it's better to give it to eldest brother."
Zhao Jianguo thought for a moment. "We have to plan it well; we can't let them catch our trail."
They couldn't grab it openly, so they had to steal it secretly. They must find an inside person, and how to scout the place and how to act must be well planned.
1,500 yuan—that was not a small sum. Zhao Jianguo was very, very tempted!
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