Chapter 34: Scheming
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After exchanging a few idle words, Li Aiguo was just about to go back inside when Madam Jia, First Auntie, and a group of elderly women from the courtyard came in from outside.
“Food supplies are getting tighter by the day. If you want to buy some fine white flour, you’d better go early tomorrow.”
“What dream are you having? Fine white flour? My cousin works as a porter at the grain station. He says they haven’t sold any fine white flour for nearly half a year.”
“Then what are we supposed to do? My third boy’s birthday is next month, and his greatest wish is to eat steamed buns made from white flour.”
...
Supplies had already begun to run short in those days. Not even the black market had any fine white flour for sale.
Some families in the courtyard could not even afford cornmeal.
Madam Jia usually ate only fine white flour. The moment she thought of coarse black corn buns, sour saliva rose in her mouth.
She looked up at the sack of flour on Li Aiguo’s shoulder, and it seemed especially offensive to her.
“Some people eat enriched flour every day, yet never think of helping the poor families in the courtyard. They have no conscience at all.”
Li Aiguo turned his head, said goodbye to Third Auntie, and walked toward the rear courtyard without paying Madam Jia the slightest attention.
Madam Jia had thrown a punch at a wad of cotton. With nowhere to vent her anger, she was left fuming.
When she returned home, she saw the empty sack in Madam Jia’s hand. Qin Huairu gave a subtle smile.
“Mother, you didn’t manage to buy any fine white flour?”
“Don’t mention it. I’m furious!”
Madam Jia sat down in a chair and gulped noisily from her enamel mug.
After wiping her mouth, she narrowed her triangular eyes.
“There wasn’t any fine white flour at the grain station in the first place.”
“I asked around too. You can’t buy any at the black market either.”
Qin Huairu was secretly delighted.
Cornmeal cost two cents a pound, while fine white flour cost ten cents—a fivefold difference.
The Jia family now lived entirely on Jia Dongxu’s meager wages.
Madam Jia insisted on eating fine white flour. Wasn’t that simply making life impossible for everyone?
Qin Huairu’s thoughts did not escape Madam Jia’s notice.
Anger rose in Madam Jia’s heart. She lifted her head, intending to give Qin Huairu a thorough scolding.
Then her eyes suddenly shifted as an idea occurred to her.
A warm smile spread across her face. She beckoned Qin Huairu over.
“Daughter-in-law, I know how filial you are. You must have a way.”
Qin Huairu shuddered and forced a smile.
“Mother, I’m just a country girl. What could I possibly do? Back when Silly Zhu was around, he had plenty of connections, and we could ask him to help us buy some fine white flour.”
“Silly Zhu is still sitting in the police station.”
“Why don’t you wait a few more days? He’ll be released soon.”
Madam Jia rolled her eyes.
“If we ask Silly Zhu to buy flour, we’ll still have to pay for it. Your mother has found a way that won’t cost us a penny.”
Buy something without paying...? Qin Huairu was dumbfounded.
She had only recently married into the Jia family and still had not grown accustomed to their way of doing things.
Madam Jia curled her lip disdainfully.
“Li Aiguo carried home a whole sack of enriched flour. That stuff is even better than fine white flour. You used to have a decent relationship with him. Go to his place and borrow ten or eight pounds. That boy will surely agree.”
“Li Aiguo got enriched flour?” Qin Huairu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
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She knew the Li family’s circumstances very well. In order to pay for his father’s medical treatment, that fool Li Aiguo had spent every last bit of the family’s savings. They had barely been able to afford food.
Otherwise, she would never have married into the Jia family.
“I saw it with my own eyes. There’s no mistake. I heard he passed the railway driver’s examination and received a reward from the railway division.”
Whenever Madam Jia thought of this, anger filled her stomach.
“How could Li Aiguo possibly compare with Dongxu? Why is he so lucky?”
By then, Qin Huairu could no longer hear Madam Jia’s voice. Her mind was in a daze.
Li Aiguo had actually passed the railway driver’s examination. His future would certainly be brighter than Jia Dongxu’s.
She felt a little regretful about the choice she had made.
Seeing Qin Huairu standing there in a trance, Madam Jia snapped angrily, “If you have even the slightest bit of filial piety, go to the Li family right now and borrow some enriched flour for me!”
“Mother, how could I possibly...” Qin Huairu came to her senses, her face filled with helplessness.
“What’s so embarrassing about it? We’re only borrowing food to tide us over. It’s not as if we won’t pay him back.”
You’ve never returned anything you borrowed...
Naturally, Qin Huairu did not dare say that aloud.
Seeing her reluctance, Madam Jia grew even angrier. Her triangular eyes narrowed to slits.
“Qin Huairu, you’re just a country girl without even a grain ration book, and you’ve caused Banggeng to be denied one as well.”
“If Dongxu hadn’t taken a liking to you, marrying into our Jia family would have been more difficult than climbing to heaven.”
“And now, when I ask you to do one small thing, you drag your feet.”
“Are you hoping Dongxu will send you back to the countryside?”
Qin Huairu knew Madam Jia’s temperament all too well. If she did not go and borrow the flour today, Madam Jia would hound her without end.
And Jia Dongxu was weak-willed, always listening only to his mother.
She had no choice.
Qin Huairu coaxed Banggeng to sleep, changed into clean clothes, and stood before the mirror, carefully making herself look as pretty as possible. Then she swayed out the door.
Watching Qin Huairu’s retreating figure, the corners of Madam Jia’s mouth lifted slightly.
This country girl usually spoke softly and sweetly, but there was a stubborn glint in her eyes. She appeared respectful enough, yet clearly had a mind of her own.
Ever since Qin Huairu had married into the Jia family, Madam Jia had sensed that Jia Dongxu was no longer as obedient as before.
It had to be Qin Huairu scheming behind her back.
Madam Jia decided it was time to establish some rules for Qin Huairu.
Women had to be taught their place after marriage. Otherwise, they would never know how to respect their in-laws.
And this was only the beginning.
When Madam Jia had first married, the first thing she did each morning was bring tea and water to her mother-in-law.
In the blazing summer, she had to fan her mother-in-law. In the bitter winter, she had to wash her clothes.
If she made a mistake, she was either beaten or cursed. Even when she had done nothing wrong, she still had to stand obediently while being berated.
If she dared glare back or bare her teeth, fists and kicks were sure to follow.
But now she, Madam Jia, had become a mother-in-law herself. Naturally, she had to make the most of her authority.
...
After Li Aiguo returned home, he picked up a flour scoop and divided the enriched flour into six portions.
He kept one portion for himself, planned to give another to Zhou Tiehu that evening, and set aside a third as a gift for his future apprenticeship.
He gave the remaining two portions to his neighbors, Zhang Gangzhu and Auntie Liu.
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Both families had helped the Li family greatly while Li Aiguo’s father was ill.
Zhang Gangzhu in particular had been a tremendous help.
He was a butcher at the slaughterhouse and could buy pig offal at a low price.
To help nourish his father, Li Aiguo had often purchased pig intestines, hearts, lungs, and other scraps through Zhang Gangzhu.
By the way, Zhang Gangzhu’s wife had an interesting name: Wang Gangtie.
They truly were made for each other. Both were openhearted and straightforward.
When Zhang Gangzhu and Wang Gangtie saw Li Aiguo bring them a pound of fine white flour, the married couple could hardly keep their mouths from splitting into grins.
“Oh, little brother, your sister-in-law really has to thank you. My boy has been clamoring for steamed buns made from white flour for ages.”
Wang Gangtie took the flour scoop and gave Li Aiguo a hearty slap on the shoulder.
Li Aiguo saw her Adam’s apple bob and could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
By the way, Zhang Gangzhu and Wang Gangtie’s son was named Zhang Gangdan.
Back then, some people had advised them to give the child a more pleasant name, such as Jianguo, Jianshe, or Kangmei.
The couple had dismissed the suggestion, insisting that names like theirs made children easier to raise.
In short, this family’s defining quality could be summed up in two words: tough and sturdy.
Auntie Liu’s situation was rather different.
Both of her sons worked far away, and her own health was poor.
“Aiguo, this is such a precious thing. I’m already half-buried in the earth. Eating it would only be a waste.”
Auntie Liu gazed at the snowy white enriched flour, her cloudy eyes growing moist.
Li Aiguo smiled.
“Auntie, you’re still young. In a few years, you’ll have to hold grandchildren for Brother Tianquan and Brother Diquan.”
Liu Tianquan and Liu Diquan were workers on an exploration team. Three years earlier, they had suddenly been transferred away, and there had been no word from them since.
The only proof that they were still alive was the wages they sent home every month.
Li Aiguo had once gone with Auntie Liu to find the exploration team’s leaders.
The leaders said they did not know the specific circumstances either. All they knew was that the two men were carrying out an honorable mission.
From that point on, Auntie Liu was no longer consumed by worry.
...
After delivering the flour to both families, Li Aiguo returned to the rear courtyard.
The moment he stepped through the moon gate, he froze.
The door to his home stood wide open, its battered wooden panels swaying in the wind.
That wasn’t right. When he had left, he had clearly fastened the door from the outside with a length of cord.
Had a thief broken in?
Li Aiguo’s heart lurched. He rushed forward.
...
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