Chapter 136 Family is the most important thing when nothing is wrong (1/2)

Captain Chen Fengshan walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

His square face was dark and menacing in the dim light, exuding a fierce aura that seemed to belong only on the battlefield.

The chaotic noise in the courtyard suddenly fell silent, as if an invisible hand had gripped its neck.

"Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? Are you wailing like a mourner?"

Chen Fengshan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like an ice pick, piercing into everyone's ears.

His gaze swept across the courtyard like lightning, finally settling on Jin Yuhong, who was clutching firewood and weeping bitterly. His brows furrowed into a knot.

Lu Hongwei quickly stepped forward, rubbing his hands together and forcing a smile: "Captain, it's nothing serious, just... something about firewood, a small misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstand?"

Duan Zhou's temper flared up instantly. Pointing at Jin Yuhong, he yelled, "Captain, you be the judge! Is this what she calls borrowing? Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around to touch our male educated youth's woodpile, what the hell is the difference between this and stealing?!"

Jin Yuhong cried even louder when someone pointed a finger at her, her shoulders trembling as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"Captain Chen... the kang (heated brick bed) in our room is like an icebox, my sister and I are freezing to death... we really didn't mean to..."

Jin Zhihong, who was standing next to her, had a deathly pale face and was biting her lips so hard they were almost bleeding. She wished she could disappear into the ground on the spot.

Chen Fengshan listened without showing the slightest emotion.

He'd been in the army for years and seen all sorts of troublemakers; a little girl's tears and grievances meant nothing to him.

He walked up to the woodpile, glanced at it, and immediately understood everything.

“Living in a group means following the rules of the group,” he said, his voice icy cold.

"If you're short of firewood, you can go up the mountain to collect it or report it to the brigade. But if you're dishonest, you're breaking the rules."

He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over all the educated youth present.

"You're here to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, not to act like pampered young masters and misses. If you can't even learn how to stick together for warmth, how can you talk about building the Four Modernizations?"

His words made everyone lower their heads in shame.

Jin Yuhong's sobs seemed to be cut off, stuck in her throat.

Chen Fengshan then turned his gaze back to her: "You, Jin Yuhong, right?"

Jin Yuhong shuddered in fright and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Alright, stop howling." Chen Fengshan's tone was full of impatience. "Since we're so short of firewood, the brigade will give you a chance to earn some. Starting next week, for a month, you'll go to the reed field to cut reeds. Six work points a day, and every day after work, you're allowed to bring back a bundle of reeds to burn."

Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the courtyard.

Cutting reeds is the worst job a human being can do in winter.

The wind on the riverbank was so strong it could blow your soul away; the reed leaves were so sharp that you could easily get cuts and scratches on your face and hands.

Jin Yuhong's face turned pale instantly, her lips trembled, but under Chen Fengshan's unquestionable gaze, she couldn't utter a single word.

"It's settled then," Chen Fengshan declared decisively.

"Remember this, everyone: the educated youth settlement is a collective. If this happens again, it won't be as simple as cutting reeds. Go back to sleep!"

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back, turned around and left, leaving behind a courtyard full of young people with different thoughts.

Yu Hao stood at the back of the crowd, coldly watching Jin Yuhong's dazed look, feeling completely numb.

His own affairs are a hundred times more deadly than this pile of firewood.

He turned and went back into the house. A cold wind blew in, and Yu Siyuan, who was on the kang (a heated brick bed), shivered.

"Cousin, what's wrong?" Yu Siyuan had finished eating and was reading a book.

Yu Hao didn't say a word, but plopped down on the cold edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), feeling as if all his strength had been drained away.

There were no lights on inside, but the snow light streaming in through the window illuminated the despair on his face.

His mind was a complete mess.

His father's words, "We must tell them the road is blocked," and Yan Yu's words, "Your grandfather can handle it," were like two hands, tightly gripping his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.