The Revolutionary Committee people had arrived some time ago and, upon arrival, immediately began inspecting things with an air of importance.
Not only did they pry open the door of Wang Yongshun’s house, but they also went inside and searched thoroughly. During the search, they discovered half a chicken that hadn’t yet been eaten by the Wang family. In a corner of the yard, there was also a pile of chicken feathers that hadn’t been cleaned up.
Now the evidence was clear. Among the onlookers, Widow Sun immediately recognized that the feathers belonged to her chicken.
She had a small yellow hen, and weren’t those feathers exactly that color?
Widow Sun was furious, wishing she could beat up Li Chunjuan all over again. That chicken had been saved to entertain guests at her daughter’s wedding! She had cried for days over it!
There were two people from the Revolutionary Committee: one was a slick-haired young man with a flashy appearance, and the other looked like a complete greenhorn.
These two, seeing the situation clearly, decided on the spot to arrest Wang Yaozong and take him back.
Nowadays, some of the commune’s functions had been handed over to the Revolutionary Committee. For cases like Wang Yaozong—a bad element—it was the committee that took over first, handled things, and only then handed them over to the militia for detention.
When Tian Youfu returned, this was the scene he walked into.
He couldn’t help but curse aloud. He had no idea whose legs were so fast that they had run straight off to inform the Revolutionary Committee.
Tian Youfu wasn’t trying to shield the Wang family. It was just that some things, once reported, moved to a different level of handling. If it hadn’t been reported, he definitely wouldn’t have ignored it—at the very least, he would have made Wang Yongshun compensate everyone for their losses.
But now that it had been reported, the authority to make decisions was no longer in his hands.
Tian Youfu was frustrated. With Wang Yaozong causing such trouble, he himself would now have to write a self-criticism, admit at the commune that he hadn’t handled things properly, and the brigade’s hope of being named an “advanced unit” this year was now slim.
The more Tian Youfu thought about it, the angrier he got. What kind of crap was this?!
He had known about the missing chickens in the brigade, but who would have thought someone actually stole them?! Tian Youfu felt utterly wronged.
Their brigade was close to the mountains—not only were there wild cats, but also foxes and weasels.
These kinds of animals couldn’t be dealt with like wild boars with annual prevention efforts; each household just had to guard their own property.
Besides, their brigade had strict management. Any unstable elements had already been taken care of by Tian Youfu.
He had truly not expected a thief to emerge in the brigade!
And a thief this bold!
Even if you had to steal, couldn’t you at least wait a bit? The New Year was already over. Most households that still had chickens were keeping them for eggs and were guarding them closely. And now that the weather was warming up, wild animals weren’t coming down the mountain as much.
Stealing now?! Damn it, it’s like the thief was just waiting to be caught!
With Wang Yaozong causing this mess, Tian Youfu decided to stop caring altogether. When he saw the Revolutionary Committee people, he just put on a “do whatever you want” attitude.
Screw it, I’m done!
The greenhorn put on a serious face, shouted a few slogans, then asked how many chickens Wang Yaozong had stolen. After doing the math—ten chickens stolen and one more killed but not successfully taken today—it totaled eleven chickens.
Chickens weren’t cheap these days, especially those raised for a year—they were much heavier. When the price was calculated…
The slick-looking young man made the decision: “We’ll set the compensation at thirty-three yuan.”
Three yuan per chicken—a normal market rate.
But the onlookers were not happy.
Three yuan for a chicken? They’d rather have the chicken!
These were well-raised hens that could still lay eggs!
But given the Revolutionary Committee’s reputation, no one dared to complain. They all just looked aggrievedly at Tian Youfu.
Tian Youfu: …
Why are you looking at me?!
Tian Youfu was exhausted. He felt like he must have had terrible luck this year—what a mess to start the new year with!
The Revolutionary Committee people heard that Wang Yaozong was at the clinic and weren’t pleased.
“Bad elements like him deserve to be beaten by the masses. Why send him for treatment? In my opinion, his crimes should be thoroughly exposed first.”
The slick-looking young man spoke gently, but his actions were ruthless.
Tian Youfu nodded agreeably. “He doesn’t have any major injuries. The clinic said he can be discharged today.”
Wang Yaozong, whether from cowardice or strategy, had pretended to faint early on, so he hadn’t been beaten as badly as Li Chunjuan. The clinic confirmed it was just superficial wounds.
The greenhorn, still wearing a serious face, ordered Tian Youfu to bring a few people to escort Wang Yaozong back for interrogation.
He believed that someone who dared to steal chickens had probably done other bad things too.
That’s how bad elements were—he had experience.
Tian Youfu readily agreed and immediately sent people to fetch Wang Yaozong.
Once the two Revolutionary Committee men were gone, Tian Youfu began looking for someone to vent his anger on.
“Where’s Wang Yongshun?! That damned bastard, where’s he hiding?!”
When a son does something wrong, it means the father has failed! Especially since Tian Youfu already disliked the way Wang Yongshun always hid when trouble arose.
Now that the Revolutionary Committee had taken Wang Yaozong away, he had to find Wang Yongshun, give him a good scolding, and ask how he planned to handle the situation!
Others in the brigade were also looking for Wang Yongshun. Everyone figured he must have run off into the mountains, so they organized search parties to go look for him.
Tian Youfu was already psyching himself up. He planned to give Wang Yongshun a serious dressing-down.
He used to think Li Chunjuan was the real troublemaker, but now it seemed Wang Yongshun had just been hiding his true colors all along!
Meanwhile, on Wang Ying’s side—she had come to the county this time to buy medicine, while Xu Shuang was focused on buying her own “essentials.”
The two arrived in town with plenty of time to spare, and Wang Ying asked Xu Shuang, “Should we check out the restaurant first?”
Xu Shuang agreed that it was about time to return to work, so the two of them first went to the state-run restaurant.
Upon arriving, they realized that the state-run restaurant, which was supposed to open at 8 a.m., wasn’t just deserted—it hadn’t even opened its doors!
Xu Shuang frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected a government-run restaurant to be like this.
This was government work—how could they not show up on time?
Wang Ying sighed for a moment and tugged Xu Shuang to leave first. “Looks like Xie Yuejin has chosen money over his future.”
The two of them had analyzed this last year. They’d said that Xie Yuejin had two options: either work properly and secure his position at the restaurant, or sneak around and skim goods for himself. But if he chose the latter, Xu Shuang definitely couldn’t keep him in the kitchen.
The two paths were mutually exclusive. If he picked one, he couldn’t have the benefit of the other.
Wang Ying had always thought the man was shrewd—most likely planning to edge out Xu Shuang and seize benefits for himself.
But now it was clear: this guy had decided to milk this period of “opportunity” for all it was worth.
Skipping breakfast service entirely, not even selling steamed buns—was he planning to swallow the whole meal’s worth of profit?
Xu Shuang squeezed Wang Ying’s fingers, his thoughts unknown.
As the two of them waited in the cold wind for the bus, Xu Shuang suddenly snapped out of his daze, pushed aside his thoughts, and tucked Wang Ying’s hand into his coat pocket to warm it.
Wang Ying sweetly intertwined her fingers with his. They were both dressed warmly; the only thing freezing was their ears.
Xu Shuang regretted leaving in such a rush that he’d forgotten to bring a hat. Wang Ying, on the other hand, was reminded of a childhood winter essential from her past life—ear warmers!
Ah! Winter was almost over this year, but by next winter, she absolutely had to make ear warmers for Old Lady Xu, Xu Shuang, and herself!
The bus finally arrived, much later than scheduled—understandably so, given the slippery roads this time of year.
Wang Ying and Xu Shuang got on. To their surprise, the bus wasn’t too crowded—there was still one available seat!
Xu Shuang pushed Wang Ying into the seat and stood facing her.
Once they arrived in town, Xu Shuang first took Wang Ying to visit his mentor, Chen Dong.
This time, they didn’t go to Chen Dong’s house but instead to the state-run restaurant in the county seat.
As soon as Wang Ying walked into the restaurant, she was stunned. The county’s state-run restaurant…
It was huge!
At least three times the size of the one in their town!
There were two cashiers up front, and a few idle waiters sitting around chatting.
Xu Shuang, clearly familiar with the place, asked someone to pass along a message to his mentor. In no time, Chen Dong came out from the back kitchen.
“Hey, weren’t you supposed to be staying at the commune for the winter this year? You’re out early,” Chen Dong said, surprised after not seeing his apprentice for so long.
As soon as they met, he handed Wang Ying a big handful of roasted sunflower seeds he’d fried himself.
Wang Ying happily held the seeds and started munching. Xu Shuang chatted softly with his mentor—not exactly in private, but his voice wasn’t loud either.
Luckily, Wang Ying had sharp hearing and didn’t miss any of it.
Chen Dong: “Same price as before. Get it ready early. When the time looks right in a few days, bring it over.”
Xu Shuang: “What about the fish?”
Chen Dong: “Fish? Is it the big ones you brought last time? Prepare three of those for now. I’ll test the waters.”
Xu Shuang: “We probably won’t sell much in early spring. We need to leave some time for them to spawn. Wait until summer or winter—that’s a better time.”
Chen Dong: “Alright! I’ll have Liu Duo send you a list later.”
…
Once they were done talking, Xu Shuang ordered a plate of soy-sauce stir-fried chicken noodles for Wang Ying. “This is my mentor’s specialty. Mine’s not as good as his.”
Chen Dong grinned proudly. His culinary skills were so-so overall, but he’d taken in a talented apprentice who outshone him most of the time. Still, there were one or two dishes he’d perfected over the years—dishes that were now his signature. He could make them with his eyes closed.
In this area, Xu Shuang would still need years of experience to surpass him.
Wang Ying’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”
Chen Dong returned to the kitchen, and not long after, a server brought out two big bowls of stir-fried chicken noodles.
The glossy, richly sauced chicken pieces sat atop white noodles. There were golden-fried, tender potato chunks and strips of red chili peppers…
Wang Ying swallowed hard and immediately picked up a mouthful to eat.
The taste exploded in her mouth—savory, spicy, with just a hint of sweetness. The thick sauce clung perfectly to the noodles—not too salty, not too bland. The noodles were springy and smooth. Combined with the flavorful chicken, the whole dish was irresistible.
Wang Ying devoured a whole bowl in one go. She looked at the leftover sauce and regretted not ordering a steamed bun. From experience, she knew dipping a bun in that sauce would be amazing!
Chen Dong came over while cracking sunflower seeds, eyes squinting in delight.
Wang Ying gave him a big thumbs-up. “Delicious! The sauce is amazing, the chicken’s handled perfectly, and the potatoes are cooked just right!”
Chen Dong was so pleased by the flattery that he was practically floating. “Next time you come, I’ll make it for you again! Just say my name and put it on my tab!”
Wang Ying savored the memory of the noodles and nodded firmly.
She would definitely come again!
Chen Dong: “Right, I forgot to ask—what brings you to town this time?”
Even his own apprentice couldn’t come and go freely, since going from the commune to town required an official letter of introduction. So if there was something urgent, Chen Dong usually went to find Xu Shuang himself or sent a junior apprentice.
Xu Shuang explained that they’d come mainly to buy medicine for the commune.
Chen Dong clapped his hands. “Well, that’s perfect timing! Wait here.”
Chen Dong returned with a mysterious package and handed it to Xu Shuang. “Help me deliver this to Doctor Chen at the county hospital. Just tell him this is what he asked for.”
Xu Shuang made a show of trying to peek inside, but Chen Dong cackled. “No point in looking—you young guys don’t need it anyway.”
Xu Shuang, Wang Ying: “…”
Xu Shuang immediately showed his disdain and didn’t even want to touch it.
Chen Dong also reminded them, “When you get there, make sure to hand it over somewhere with no one around.”
He was really afraid that his blockheaded apprentice would just hand it over in broad daylight in front of everyone—that would ruin his reputation!
Xu Shuang grabbed Wang Ying and left. He casually stuffed the package into the cloth bag they’d brought.
As the two of them walked away, they could still hear Chen Dong laughing behind them.
Wang Ying tried to make conversation: “What were you talking about with Master just now? What goods were being ordered?”
Xu Shuang replied, “Actually, the past two years have been under a lot of scrutiny, so I haven’t really been sending stuff out. Mostly I just work alongside my master. My master knows a lot of people—cadres’ families, workers’ families, and even some food connoisseurs. These people often want to try some mountain delicacies. I’m responsible for gathering them, and my master helps distribute them.”
Wang Ying’s eyes sparkled: “Does that make a lot of money?!”
Seeing how money-hungry she looked, Xu Shuang laughed, “Not a lot, but more than my salary.”
He explained, “Actually, the city’s more tightly controlled. A lot of people live in communal buildings, so if one household eats well, all the neighbors will know. So typically, it’s just some mountain goods or the occasional bit of meat—nothing more. Especially not grains. If a family’s always eating refined grains, they’ll attract attention.”
“Like right now in early spring, what we can gather are mushrooms that pop up after it rains and some wild greens. When we deliver these, we say they’re from rural relatives—people can enjoy something special without drawing attention.”
Xu Shuang didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. All the goods were things he worked hard to collect in his spare time, always doing it quietly. Even the folks in the brigade didn’t know, and even Old Lady Xu knew very little.
Though their earnings in the past couple of years weren’t as good as before, both Xu Shuang and Chen Dong agreed: during sensitive times, being cautious wasn’t a bad thing.
And since both of them were state employees, they couldn’t be too high-profile.
So starting two years ago, Chen Dong only kept in contact with three to five households. He claimed they were old friends or relatives. As long as he wasn’t caught red-handed exchanging goods for money, he could always say he was just visiting with gifts.
There was no way to catch him with any real evidence.
Xu Shuang said, “In a few days I’ll take you up the mountain—there’s tons of good stuff there.”
The springtime mountains, once awakened, would generously reward those who sought their bounty.
Thinking of all the delicious mushrooms and wild greens, Wang Ying was already drooling.
Good thing spring was almost here!
The two of them arrived at the county hospital. Xu Shuang frowned as he located the doctor surnamed Chen and handed over the package that Chen Dong had entrusted him with.
Dr. Chen was overjoyed—it wasn’t even for himself; he’d asked for it on behalf of a relative.
Ah, the woes of middle age…
Looking at the young man in front of him, Dr. Chen couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
He used to be like that in his youth—great build, good looks!
Xu Shuang then took Wang Ying to buy the medicine needed for their brigade. After asking around a bit, they finally found the gynecology department.
Xu Shuang felt awkward: “Why is it sold in gynecology!”
Wang Ying wasn’t surprised. Matters between men and women were always seen as the woman’s responsibility. If a man cared too much, people would start to wonder if something was wrong with him.
Since it was the gynecology department, Xu Shuang felt too uncomfortable to go in, so Wang Ying went alone. Soon she came back out with a small paper packet, about the size of a palm.
Xu Shuang looked at it strangely: “Isn’t that a bit too little?”
That tiny packet—looked like it didn’t even have twenty or thirty in it! What good was that? Not even enough for a month!
Wang Ying: “…”
“It’s not too little.”
When she asked for condoms, the doctor even looked surprised. After digging around for a while, she handed Wang Ying most of what she had in her drawer, and even kindly told her: they could be washed and reused!
Wang Ying’s ears turned red. Wash and reuse? Seriously? That kind of thing reused—wasn’t that just… gross?
But there was no choice. Once they were outside the hospital, she whispered everything to Xu Shuang.
He also didn’t think reusing them sounded right, but…
Xu Shuang: “I’ll write to my senior brother.”
Wang Ying: ???
“He’s in the provincial capital. Should be easier to get this kind of stuff there.”
Wang Ying also shared that the doctor had told her condoms weren’t well-known in smaller counties, so the hospital didn’t keep many in stock.
Xu Shuang said that, and got a gentle little punch from Wang Ying. She stuffed the paper packet into his hands and walked ahead.
Xu Shuang had to follow after her.
The two of them boarded the bus one after the other.
It wasn’t until they got back to the town that Xu Shuang finally got to hold Wang Ying’s hand like he wanted.
Both of them wore sweet smiles, but that sweetness faded when they saw that the state-run restaurant still hadn’t opened its doors.
It was already afternoon, and it still hadn’t opened!
Xu Shuang pretended not to see and just held Wang Ying’s hand tighter as they walked back to the brigade.
Wang Ying followed him and asked, “Is this okay?”
Xu Shuang: “Doesn’t really matter. I’m still on leave anyway.”
Wang Ying thought about it and agreed. If it’s closed, then it’s closed. It’s not like it’s going bankrupt. When Xu Shuang returned to work, it wouldn’t be his responsibility anyway.
The two of them returned to the brigade.
Just as they reached the entrance, they heard a commotion.
“They found Wang Yongshun! They found Wang Yongshun!”
“Turns out the guy fell down in the mountains and fainted in a ravine. No wonder we couldn’t find him!”
“Has he been brought back?”
“Yeah, they carried him back. But looks like there’s something wrong with his leg—probably needs to be taken to town.”
Wang Ying was puzzled: “What happened? My uncle fell in the mountains?”
An auntie who had been gossiping excitedly brightened up as soon as she saw Wang Ying: “No need to take him! No need! Wang Ying’s back!”
For the first time, Wang Ying felt like a big deal. Everyone who saw her seemed relieved and immediately rushed her toward home.
“Go home quickly and take a look. Your uncle was afraid of trouble and hid in the mountains, but he slipped and fell into a ravine. He’s still unconscious.”
Wang Ying ended up eating gossip the entire way home.
Wang Yaozong’s chicken-stealing incident got exposed. Oh ho!
Li Chunjuan and Wang Yaozong got beaten up. Haha!
The Revolutionary Committee came and took Wang Yaozong away. Hmmph!
Wang Yongshun fell into the mountains. Whoa!
…
Wang Ying deeply regretted going to town that day!
She should have stayed to watch the drama unfold!
But it wasn’t too late—she could still catch the tail end of the show!
She hurried home and strapped on her medicine box.
Not because she was so kind-hearted as to repay evil with good—Wang Ying didn’t have that kind of virtue.
But if Wang Yongshun woke up, that would be even more fun!
While he was unconscious, everyone felt it was inappropriate to ask him to pay for the chicken—after all, his whole family was either arrested or injured. Asking for money now seemed in poor taste.
Wang Ying disagreed—what’s wrong with asking?
She was determined to make sure her uncle faced everything clearly and fully awake!
Sure enough, Tian Youfu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Wang Ying return.
With the whole brigade watching her expectantly, Wang Ying deftly jabbed a few needles and promptly woke Wang Yongshun up.
While the crowd marveled at her excellent medical skills, they all wore the faces of debt collectors as they turned toward Wang Yongshun.
That man really was something—his wife and kid got beaten up, and he ran off into the mountains?
If he had guts, he should’ve stayed there forever!
But now that he was back, he had to face the consequences!
