Li Xiulan chimed in, "Those mother and daughter-in-law in the west courtyard, who knows what they're always fighting about. They bicker every few days, what a lot of energy."
Liu Yuemin pouted, "That Liu Dabao, a leopard can't change its spots. Any woman who marries him has had eight lifetimes of bad luck. I heard the team just paid out work points, and he went straight to the gambling table without even going home. Turns out he lost it all in two hands. It must be that Widow Liu still doting on him, that's why the mother and daughter-in-law are clashing."
Gambling, whoring, drinking, smoking – a family can't prosper if any one of these habits takes hold, let alone when Liu Dabao had all of them.
After a brief moment of gasps and sighs, everyone buried their heads back into their work.
...
At the Liu residence, Widow Liu was cursing her daughter-in-law, Yue Hongmei, at the top of her lungs. "Take a look at yourself in the mirror before you speak! With your looks, you should be grateful that our Dabao even wants you, let alone bringing along a tag-along child. I'm telling you, if you want to stay, keep quiet and stop causing trouble every day. If you don't want to stay, then get out quickly."
It was wrong for Liu Dabao to lose money gambling, but Yue Hongmei had actually hit Liu Dabao. Her own son, she had never hit, but this spendthrift woman dared to bully her own man. She absolutely wouldn't tolerate it.
Yue Hongmei shot back unapologetically, "What about my looks? I think I'm fine, a hundred times better looking than you. And what's wrong with having a child? If my husband hadn't died, would I have found a useless lump like Liu Dabao? Don't flatter yourself. I at least wanted to find a proper man to live a decent life with. Look at the dirty things you do, I'm embarrassed just hearing about them! If you want to support a man, go find one. If I see you bringing another man home again, I'll kick you out along with him."
Having her daughter-in-law point at her and curse, Widow Liu was furious. "This is my house, and it's not your place to call the shots. Pack up your junk and get out."
"Your son slept with me, and you still want me to leave? No way. If you can't stand it, you leave. What kind of mother, what kind of son. Look at how you've spoiled Liu Dabao. Don't talk about me hitting him today, if I see him gambling again, I'll chop off his fingers!"
"How did our Liu family end up with such a jinx as you..." Unable to win the argument, and no match for her daughter-in-law in a fight, Widow Liu slapped her thigh and burst into wails.
...
At the Gu family home, the sisters-in-law had finished preparing dinner. The men had also returned from harvesting grain, and the children playing outside were called back home.
Looking at Rui Rui's rosy cheeks from playing, Chen Lishu took off his hat and scarf, then used a warm towel to wipe his head, face, and hands before calling him to the table to eat.
Because there were so many people, the large family was divided into two tables. The adults sat on the floor, while the children used a low table on the kang.
"Today, Dad, Fourth Brother, and I went to the neighboring commune to collect grain. I heard they've officially announced land redistribution, and I expect it will be our turn soon," Gu Xingguo shared the good news excitedly with the family.
Zhang Xiaoju said, "When I was at work today, I ran into my dad and Uncle Sun. They were rushing off in a horse-drawn cart to a commune meeting. The results should be out tomorrow or the day after."
Since the neighboring commune already had news, it was almost certain that these matters would be settled. The entire family was very excited.
After dinner and cleaning the kitchen, Liu Yuemin couldn't wait to return to her room to inquire about the grain collection.
"How did it go? How much grain did you collect today?"
Gu Xingmin was lying on the kang, playing with their daughter. Hearing her question, he immediately sat up straight. "Guess how much grain I collected today?"
Liu Yuemin couldn't quite guess. "Two hundred catties?"
Gu Xingmin shook his head. "Guess again, guess higher."
"Dad and Big Brother collected less than four hundred catties. Did you really collect five hundred?"
Gu Xingmin lay back down with a proud grin. "Something like that."
He had initially thought that Liu Dashan, with his lazy and deceitful nature, wouldn't want to cooperate with them. Who knew that this time, several households had a lot of grain to offer.
Liu Yuemin couldn't stand his smug look and pushed him. "You didn't want to go it alone back then, don't forget whose credit this is."
"Naturally, it's yours. Oh, right, didn't you fancy a pair of silver earrings? As soon as we make money this year, I'll buy them for you."
Gold wasn't allowed for private transactions now, so being able to buy silver jewelry was already quite good.
"A pair of earrings to appease me? You need to add a pair of silver bracelets too. That way, we can keep them for Feng'er's dowry later."
"Okay, whatever you say."
On the other side, Zhang Xiaoju was also discussing matters with Gu Xingye.
"This morning when we were cooking, they mentioned the supply and marketing cooperative. Third Sister-in-law said we could contract it out, but I feel like it's not reliable. You know how poorly it's selling now, and if we invest more money into it, won't we just be losing money?"
"Since Third Sister-in-law said it, I think it can definitely make money. Why don't you ask her again when you have time? Field work is too tiring, I wouldn't want you to do it. If we can contract the supply and marketing cooperative, you can work there all the time."
Zhang Xiaoju would be quite reluctant to stop working. Hearing Gu Xingye's words, she nodded. "Alright then, I'll ask Third Sister-in-law more carefully tomorrow when I have time."
...
Zhang Changhe and Sun Yuzhu returned from the commune meeting as dusk settled. Although tired and hungry, both men looked excited.
The household responsibility system had finally been decided!
After a quick meal at their respective homes, they summoned the other two great team leaders and the village accountant to discuss the specific matters of land distribution. They didn't return home until past ten o'clock at night.
The next afternoon, the village's long-unused broadcast suddenly crackled to life: "All villagers, please note: Everyone who hears this broadcast, please come to the brigade headquarters immediately to discuss land distribution. If you don't hear it, please inform your neighbors. Land distribution is a major event..."
"Mom, did you hear what the big broadcast outside said? They're asking us to go to the brigade headquarters to talk about land distribution." Liu Yuemin excitedly dropped what she was doing and ran out of her room.
What do farmers value most? It was undoubtedly land. Now that the land was about to be distributed into their hands, who wouldn't be excited?
Soon, Zhang Qin and Chen Lishu also came out of their rooms.
"Your father isn't here, let's go take a look and see what they're saying," Li Xiulan said as she put on her shoes and got off the kang.
Upon hearing about land distribution, other households in the village exploded with activity.
Weren't the landlords and rich peasants who were criticized in earlier years criticized because they hoarded land for themselves? Now that times had changed, they never imagined that one day this land could belong to them.
"Did you hear that? The loudspeaker said they're distributing land. I never even dared to dream of this."
"Exactly, let's hurry up and go. We don't know how it will be divided. What if it's first come, first served, and the good spots are taken by others? We'll be in a pickle."
"Haha, then hurry up and run!"
Soon, the villagers, chatting and laughing, arrived at the brigade headquarters. By the time Chen Lishu and the others arrived, the courtyard of the brigade headquarters was already crowded with people.