Chapter 103: Setting Off with Lin Zhiyin
Back home, Zhao Wendong announced that he had become the Civilian Militia Captain. Chen Yanmei’s face lit up with excitement as she rubbed her hands together.
"My youngest? You’re really the Civilian Militia Captain now? All the militiamen in our production team will be under your command? Your dad too?"
Zhao Wendong glanced at Zhao Dashan and said with a smile, "That’s right. But I’m not planning on keeping him. He’s too old. I’m going to kick him out. From now on, the militia will only take people in their forties or younger. I want quality, not quantity!"
Zhao Dashan knew Zhao Wendong was just teasing him, but he couldn’t help shooting him a glare and muttering indignantly, "You unfilial son!"
"Oh, and one more thing!"
Zhao Wendong then told them about trading grain for the horse-drawn sleigh. He also explained how he’d given a hundred jin of grain to the production team—part trade, part loan—to be distributed to the families on the verge of starvation in exchange for labor. He shared his worries as well, and when he was done, his family fell silent.
Zhao Dashan was the first to speak.
"Youngest, what you’re thinking is right. Let’s do it. We’re living well, but we can’t just watch the people in our team live in poverty, and we certainly can’t watch them starve to death. Otherwise, people will curse us behind our backs. Let’s do as you say. The villagers aren’t ungrateful people; they’ll remember our kindness!"
"That’s right, my youngest. Do whatever you think is best. The whole family supports you! I’ve been on edge these past few days, feeling like we’re eating well and dressing warmly, living like those capitalists and old landlords. I’ve been waking up from nightmares for several nights!"
Chen Yanmei had made her stance clear. The family had been living hand-to-mouth, on the brink of running out of food. It was Zhao Wendong’s miraculous rise that had solved their problem of having nothing to eat this winter, so she now had unconditional faith in him.
Song Xiaoyu, however, was focused on something else.
"Third Brother, are we really going to build a house? A big, blue-brick, tile-roofed house like the supply and marketing co-op?"
"Yes! If we’re going to build, we’re going to build it right. This winter, we’ll help the villagers survive, putting the whole village in our debt. Then, next spring, I’ll offer some payment or rewards, and I guarantee the entire village will help us build our house. Even if some are jealous, they’ll be in the minority."
"Um, I’m not worried about what people will think. I’m just wondering... for building a house, where will the money and all the materials come from?"
The rest of the family nodded in agreement. Song Xiaoyu had a point. In this day and age, money alone wasn’t enough. Bricks and tiles were planned-economy goods, and ordinary people had no allocation.
"Don’t worry. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m sure we’ll find a way. Trust me!"
"So, Third Brother, how big are you planning to build?"
Song Xiaoyu asked the question that was foremost on her mind.
Zhao Wendong chuckled. "I’ve already thought it out. If we’re building, we’re building big. At least ten or twenty rooms. Eldest Brother’s family can have three, Second Brother’s family can have three, Mom and Dad get three, I’ll take three, and we’ll bring Grandma and Grandpa over too!"
Zhao Dashan couldn’t listen anymore and quickly cut him off.
"Oh, give me a break! That’s bigger than the supply and marketing co-op! Why don’t you just say you want to fly to the moon!"
"But I can fly! My Golden Roc can!"
Zhao Wendong pointed proudly at his cage. His Golden Roc was now fully tamed. He planned to take it with him tomorrow to build their rapport on the road.
Seeing his smug expression, Zhao Dashan was momentarily speechless. Then, remembering something else, he instructed him.
"On your trip this time, you’ll be passing by your second aunt’s place, right? Remember to go see her!"
"Okay, got it."
Zhao Wendong nodded, making a mental note. Seeing that his dad was finished, Zhao Wenjun spoke up.
"By the way, Third Brother, the old quilts we have left at home are completely worn out. The ones we got from Er Gouzi’s family aren’t in great shape either. We need to get the cotton re-fluffed!"
They had originally planned to head back with their things first thing tomorrow morning, but the quilts weren’t really usable now.
"Alright. Perfect timing. I’ll be driving the horse-drawn sleigh, so I can drop you guys off at the Commune first. I have some business there too. After you get the cotton re-fluffed, you can take our sleigh and head into the mountains directly from the Commune."
"Okay, I’ll go tell Er Gou, then. We’ll go to the Commune with you tomorrow morning."
"Wait, Eldest Brother. Find a piece of fatty meat to take to Grandma and Grandpa. Let them render some lard from it to eat!"
Because Zhao Wendong was leaving on a long trip, and Zhao Wenjun and Zhao Ergou were heading into the mountains for a second time, Chen Yanmei and Song Xiaoyu stayed up late, busy preparing dry rations for them.
Early the next morning, the first thing Zhao Wendong did after waking up was to start packing supplies. He packed all sorts of game, a good amount of grain, and the seal. After a moment’s thought, he also took a jar of ginseng, wrapped it carefully in many layers of an old quilt, and placed it at the very bottom of everything.
Needless to say, his mother and sister-in-law had already prepared all the other food and necessities for him. Zhao Ergou had also arrived early. After the three of them ate breakfast, they first went to Third Master Zhao’s place to get the horse-drawn sleigh. After returning and loading it up, Zhao Wendong drove directly to the Educated Youth Point.
He had just reached the entrance and hadn’t even stopped yet when Lin Zhiyin, who had been waiting, heard the noise and ran out. She was carrying a small bundle and the new quilt Zhao Wendong had bought for her, and nothing else.
"Let’s go. Get on!"
Zhao Wendong patted the spot next to him, the "passenger seat" he had saved just for Lin Zhiyin. Once Lin Zhiyin was on the sleigh, Zhao Wendong shouted, "Giddy-up!" and the large brown horse started off towards the Commune with a CLIP-CLOP-CLIP-CLOP.
Back in the women’s dorm at the Educated Youth Point, Li Juan listened to the sounds of Zhao Wendong and Lin Zhiyin departing and cried her heart out, her sobs earth-shattering.
The other two young women in the room looked at each other. ’Thank goodness I never made a move on Zhao Wendong,’ they thought, ’or I’d be just as miserable as Li Juan right now.’ They all understood: with Lin Zhiyin leaving with Zhao Wendong like this, the only thing left was for them to make their relationship official.
The big brown horse didn’t reject Zhao Wendong; on the contrary, it seemed rather fond of him. Perhaps it was because they’d interacted a lot recently and had gotten familiar with each other. It was very obedient to his commands.
Once the horse was moving steadily, Zhao Wendong pointed to the two brothers behind them and introduced them to Lin Zhiyin.
"This is my eldest brother, Zhao Wenjun, and that’s my younger brother, Zhao Ergou."
"Hello!"
This time, Lin Zhiyin didn’t deliberately keep her head down as she had before. Instead, she greeted the two of them openly and confidently.
Zhao Wenjun paused for a second. ’This Lin Zhiyin seems different from the pampered daughter of a capitalist I remember,’ he thought. ’She’s not so timid or shabby anymore. Is it just my imagination?’
Zhao Wenjun nodded in response, while Zhao Ergou grinned and greeted Lin Zhiyin enthusiastically.
"Hello, Third Sister-in-law!"
With just that one phrase, he immediately earned an appreciative look from Zhao Wendong. ’The more I see of this kid Er Gouzi, the more I like him,’ Zhao Wendong thought.
Lin Zhiyin smiled, a little shy, but didn’t correct him. Sitting on the sleigh, she watched the northern snowscape flashing by and thought for the first time that winter in the Northeast was actually so beautiful. ’Why did I only ever feel the cold before?’
Half an hour later, the big brown horse trotted into Qianjin Commune with a CLIP-CLOP-CLOP. Zhao Wendong drove the sleigh straight to the Commune’s cotton-fluffing shop.
Arriving at the shop’s entrance, Zhao Wendong said, "Er Gou, you watch the sleigh for a minute. Lin Zhiyin, you can get down and stretch your legs."
With that, he and Zhao Wenjun, each carrying two or three old quilts, pushed aside the heavy cloth curtain and entered the shop.