Chapter 102: A Pleasantly Surprised Lin Zhiyin
Zhao Weiguo said gravely, "This must be strictly supervised. We have to ensure that everyone who comes to work for grain is from a family that needs it most. We absolutely cannot let people take advantage of this. Anyone whose family can still get by is strictly forbidden from participating!"
"Alright!"
Everyone nodded in unison, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.
Liu Xiufen smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Dongzi. You handled this beautifully. In times like these, for someone to be willing to share their grain... Dongzi, you’re the first in the village to do so."
Everyone nodded. In truth, they all had a good idea of which families might have extra grain stored away. But in the current situation, grain meant life. Who would dare to bring any out so easily? Only Zhao Wendong, who knew what the future held and was now aided by his ability to hear animals’ thoughts—an incredible advantage for hunting—had the confidence to offer some up to build his prestige.
On the surface, however, Zhao Wendong had to remain modest, so he quickly waved his hands with a humble attitude.
"Oh, stop, Aunt Liu. I just got lucky. The public canteen has been shut down now. Otherwise, all this stuff would belong to the village. How could I possibly keep it for myself?"
"Mm, what Dongzi says makes sense!"
Third Master Zhao nodded in agreement. Normally, anything from the sea and the mountains was considered the public property of the Commune and the production team. Any harvest Zhao Wendong brought in would typically require a portion to be handed over. However, their team had disbanded the public canteen before the new year due to the food shortage. At that time, it was announced that everyone was to find their own food by any means necessary, and whatever they got, they could keep without surrendering any of it. Who would have thought Zhao Wendong would be so capable? He had really lucked out.
"By the way, Dongzi, since you’ll be away for a while, you’ll definitely need to go to the Commune to get a travel permit. Take your nomination letter with you and hand it in tomorrow. It’ll save me a trip."
"Sure!"
Hearing Zhao Weiguo, Zhao Wendong nodded in agreement immediately. Zhao Weiguo then saw the other slip of paper in his hand—the one for resold grain—and handed it to Zhao Wendong as well.
"You take this slip, too. Aren’t you passing through the county seat? Go to the county grain station on the village’s behalf and see what the situation is. If you can manage to bring some grain back, it’ll be a pleasant surprise!"
"You got it!"
What could Zhao Wendong say? It was the first task of his new post; of course he had to accept it. Third Master Zhao began to grind ink. He quickly wrote out the travel permits for Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin, as well as the nomination for his position as Civilian Militia Captain. Then, he stamped them all and told Zhao Wendong to take them to the Commune the next day. With that, the meeting was adjourned.
Third Master Zhao clapped Zhao Wendong on the shoulder.
"Dongzi, you’re a good lad. You handled things beautifully today. On behalf of Old Nian and the other four families, I thank you. Tomorrow, I’ll get the horse-drawn sleigh ready for you and pack plenty of dry fodder. Just come get it in the morning."
"Alright, thank you, Third Master!"
Instead of heading home, Zhao Wendong went straight to the Educated Youth quarters. He hadn’t told Lin Zhiyin about the trip yet.
Outside the quarters, a group of figures was gathered by the sea.
Zhao Wendong found it strange. Why weren’t these male and female Educated Youths holed up for the winter? Why were they out here in the sea breeze? He glanced over, saw that Lin Zhiyin wasn’t among them, and paid them no further mind, heading directly to the women’s quarters to knock on the door.
When Lin Zhiyin heard it was Zhao Wendong looking for her, she came out quickly. Zhao Wendong noticed her face was still a bit grubby, but her hair had clearly been washed. It was no longer matted in clumps or a complete mess.
"When did you get back?"
Lin Zhiyin spoke first, before Zhao Wendong could say a thing. He was quite pleased by this and broke into a wide, happy grin.
"I got back at noon. What are those Educated Youths doing by the sea in this cold?"
A thought seemed to cross Lin Zhiyin’s mind, and the corner of her mouth curved into a smile.
"They’re looking for seafood!"
"Huh? Are they crazy? What could they possibly find on the beach in the middle of winter?"
"It’s because of you. Didn’t you notice that all the boats are gone from the shore?"
Zhao Wendong looked back and saw that it was true. At the simple little dock, aside from the team’s motorized sailing junk, all the other fishing boats were gone.
"Because you brought in a four-thousand-jin catch, a lot of people have been rushing to go out to sea lately. The Educated Youths have been wandering the beach, too, hoping they might get lucky like you."
Hearing this, Zhao Wendong let out a cold laugh. ’Can they really compare to me? Are they reincarnated? Can they hear the thoughts of animals? Trying their luck without a plan is just a waste of effort!’
"Hmph! Let them be. It’s all pointless struggle. They won’t find anything. They can’t copy my luck. By the way, tomorrow morning, put on all your thickest clothes, bring your cotton quilt, and get your things packed. You’re coming with me."
"Where are we going?"
Lin Zhiyin was dumbfounded. ’What’s he doing? I was just starting to soften up, and now he can’t wait anymore? Is he going to just abduct me?’
"I borrowed the team’s horse-drawn sleigh. I’m taking you to find your parents tomorrow!"
"Ah!"
At his words, Lin Zhiyin clapped a hand over her mouth, staring at Zhao Wendong in disbelief as tears began to stream down her face.
She was so happy, so emotional, that she couldn’t control herself. Her parents were her greatest worry. Was the one thing she had longed for these past two years really about to happen? She could hardly believe it.
When Zhao Wendong had promised to help her before, she thought he was just trying to comfort her. Even if he had been serious, she never imagined it would happen so soon!
"Don’t cry. Just think about what you want to bring them and get it ready. Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll take care of it!"
"We’ll set off at dawn tomorrow. Just wait in your room, and I’ll come get you!"
After saying this, Zhao Wendong turned to leave, but Lin Zhiyin quickly grabbed his arm and said through her sobs,
"Thank you, Zhao Wendong!"
As she spoke, she tried to bow to him, but Zhao Wendong, with quick reflexes, caught her and held her steady. His expression grew serious as he stared into her eyes.
"Listen to me, Lin Zhiyin. Everything I do for you, I do because I want to. I don’t need your thanks. All I want is for you to be happy. That’s enough for me!"
With that, he turned and left, leaving behind only his dashing silhouette and a completely stunned Lin Zhiyin, who stood frozen to the spot.
After a long moment, Lin Zhiyin finally let out a long breath, pushing the thought of Zhao Wendong from her mind. She reached into her coat and pulled out a photograph. In it, a little girl in a beautiful dress stood between a handsome, talented-looking man and a beautiful woman. She slowly caressed the photo, murmuring to herself,
"Dad, Mom, I’m finally going to see you. With the help of a good person... no, a fool. How are you? I miss you so much!"
On his way back, Zhao Wendong was still mulling over his next steps. Between his second sister-in-law’s identity, Lin Zhiyin’s political background, his family’s conspicuous wealth compared to others, and his plans to build a new house in the spring, he and his family were bound to become a public target. ’When others are living hard lives and you’re living well, what is that if not a betrayal!’
To defuse this situation, he had to get the vast majority of people in Dragon King Pond on his side. He needed them to not only feel that his family deserved to live well and eat their fill but also to feel grateful to them. He had to strike the right balance in this; going too far would be as bad as not going far enough.
As for whether his family should just quietly make a fortune, hoarding a full granary during a famine while others starved, hiding away to live their own comfortable life—Zhao Wendong had seriously considered it. But he knew he couldn’t do it.
First, most of the families in the village shared the surname Zhao; they all came from the same ancestors. Moreover, in his past life, none of them had wronged him. He couldn’t just stand by and watch them starve, especially when he had the ability to help.
Second, they all lived in the same village. If his family’s chimney was the only one smoking every day and everyone in his household had a healthy, rosy complexion, did he really think the others were fools? They would storm his house and tear his family apart in minutes.
Third, even if they could hide it for a while, it was still a full twenty years until the "opening up." They were living under a system of collective life, with distribution based on work points. What, take his family into the mountains to hunt? Ha. The mountains were collective property, too.
Fourth, if they built a new house, ate fish and meat every day, and wore new clothes, what about the pressure from the Commune, or even the county? Even if the villagers were sentimental and left them alone, the Commune and the county officials wouldn’t be so indulgent. ’You’re living more comfortably than the elders. Is that normal?’
Once an order came down from above, without the support of the entire village, it would be as easy for others to crush him, Zhao Wendong, as it would be to crush an ant.
Therefore, his first step had to be using the famine to earn the life-saving gratitude of more people. Then, he had to lead them toward a better life. Only by doing this would others support and champion his own prosperity. Otherwise, the fate awaiting his family would certainly not be a good one.