Chapter 25 Going to Uncle's House

She told Yan Ci about this problem.

Yan Ci asked, "We can't do business during this time, do you want to go to work?"

Bai Xiaoyue quickly shook her head:

"No, it's not as safe anywhere as the countryside these days."

Before she could come up with a good solution, the autumn harvest began.

This year's harvest is significantly better than the previous two years, and everyone's face is filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest. Everyone is full of energy.

Every day, everyone goes out to work in the fields as soon as it gets light, rests for a while after lunch, and then works until dark.

As soon as I get home, I have dinner, take a shower, and fall asleep on the kang (heated brick bed).

Bai's father and Yan Ci earned full work points every day. Seeing how hard Bai's father, mother, and Yan Ci worked, Bai Xiaoyue could only try to cook more delicious food for them.

She has to prepare meals every day, and with her daughter, she can only earn 2 work points a day.

She was quite content. Less was less, as long as she didn't have to pay the team extra. She could use the money to buy some food.

The autumn sun was still scorching, and by the time the harvest was finished, even Yan Ci had gotten a bit tanned.

Fortunately, Bai Xiaoyue wore a hat every day, and physical skincare was quite effective.

After the autumn harvest, the most important thing was to deliver the grain to the state. Under the supervision of Uncle Bai and Captain Ye, the best grain was selected and dried thoroughly.

Several oxcarts were fully loaded, followed by many strong laborers carrying loads on their shoulders, forming a grand and impressive procession.

Everyone went to deliver grain to the state with great joy.

Bai Xiaoyue watched the grain delivery team leave, and seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, she felt a sense of relief, thinking that the most difficult three years were finally over.

After paying the grain tax, the next thing to do was to distribute the grain. This was the first time Bai Xiaoyue had ever seen such a lively scene.

Everyone lined up, while the squad leader and the accountant were checking the grain and weighing it.

One by one, they went to receive their gifts in an orderly fashion. Those who hadn't received theirs chatted amongst themselves, their faces beaming with smiles.

Each person receives 360 jin of grain per person, only a small portion of which is refined grain, while the majority is coarse grain, including sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The rest was based on work points, with more work resulting in more pay. Families with more laborers received more grain, while those with fewer laborers received less.

Yan Xiaosong and Aunt Yan both received several bags of grain, but Bai Xiaoyue only received a small bag of work points.

Bai Xiaoyue was already very satisfied that she didn't have to give the production team any extra money.

Looking at the several large bags of grain that Bai's father and Yan Ci had received, she comforted herself that as long as there was food, there was no need to distinguish whose it was.

After the grain was distributed, Uncle Bai and the village officials chatted with beaming smiles, and Bai Xiaoyue was happy for them too.

After thinking it over, she had an idea: she would write about these lovely people, especially their hard work and dedication over the past few years.

The Red Star Brigade was able to get through these three difficult years safely thanks to their contributions.

She graduated with a degree in Chinese literature, so writing a story wouldn't be difficult for her. If it gets published, she should get some payment.

It also allows you to keep your money transparent, killing two birds with one stone.

However, I can only start writing when I'm hibernating, as everyone is preparing for winter.

Yan Ci and Bai's father went up the mountain to chop firewood every day. Bai Xiaoyue wanted to go with her mother to pick hazelnuts and join in the fun.

She had originally planned to go with her eldest cousin's wife, but then she heard from Bai's mother that her eldest cousin's wife was pregnant and couldn't go up the mountain.

Bai Xiaoyue was very happy to hear this, so she spent a long time at home rummaging around and took half a pound of brown sugar to visit her eldest sister-in-law.

Ye Fengqin was very happy to see Bai Xiaoyue come to her door:

"Xiaoyue, why did you come here? Didn't you go up the mountain?"

"Sister-in-law, my mother told me you're pregnant. I came to see you. How are you feeling?"

Bai Xiaoyue asked questions as she followed Ye Fengqin into the house.

Ye Fengqin said with a smile, "It's fine. I can eat and sleep well, and I don't have any reaction."

"That's great, she's carrying a good baby, life is a bit easier now, she's a lucky baby."

The two were chatting happily when Da Mao ran in and shouted:

"Mom, Grandma wants Aunt Xiaoyue to go over there."

The two sisters-in-law looked at each other, wondering what kind of trouble the old lady was up to now! There was nothing they could do; she was their ancestor, so Bai Xiaoyue had no choice but to go and listen to her lecture.

As soon as Bai Xiaoyue entered the door, she quickly went to Grandma Bai's side and asked:

"Grandma, what did you want to see me about?"

Grandma Bai looked her up and down:

"What's going on between you and that young man from the Yan family? If he's not willing, then find someone else. You're already so old, you can't afford to delay."

"Grandma, Yan Ci is willing. I'll go back and discuss it with him right now. Don't worry!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoyue realized that her grandmother was repeating the same old refrain, so she quickly slipped away after saying just one sentence.

Before she could catch her breath when she got home, her mother had packed a bundle, saying that her uncle had sent a message asking her to go back to her parents' home.

Bai Xiaoyue figured she had nothing else to do, so she took Chang Le to her uncle's house to hide away for a few days.

She took a few feet of the flawed cloth after the grain was distributed, since no household was short of food.

When her feet started to ache from walking, and her mother said that they would arrive after crossing just one more hill, she realized that she had been too hasty and had forgotten that people now travel on foot.

Fortunately, Bai's mother said that she could take an oxcart when she returned, which comforted her wounded heart and feet a little.

She already knew that her uncle's family had three children.

The eldest daughter, Ding Xiuhua, is 20 years old; the second daughter, Ding Xiumei, is 17; and the youngest son, Ding Zhiyong, is only 15 years old.

My uncle and aunt were very hospitable; as soon as they arrived, they cooked two sweet eggs for each of them.

This is already considered a very good standard of hospitality in rural areas.

After listening to her uncle and aunt talk for a long time, Bai Xiaoyue finally understood.

My cousin Ding Xiuhua had a fight with her in-laws and ran back to her parents' home crying, refusing to say what happened.

The uncle felt that his daughter must have been bullied by her in-laws, and that her son was still young, leaving her vulnerable on her own.

I wanted to ask my brother-in-law to go to the Ma family to seek justice, but the messenger didn't explain things clearly.

Upon hearing her uncle's words, Bai's mother stood up and said:

"Dayong, I'll go back now and have Yongkang come over tomorrow."

After saying that, she rushed home.

Bai Xiaoyue looked at her feet and decided that she shouldn't be too hard on herself and should rest for the night first.

Bai's mother walked quickly and arrived home before dinner. Bai's father and Yan Ci had already prepared the meal.

When Yan Ci saw that Bai's mother had returned, he noticed that there was no one behind her, and his eyes darkened.

After Bai's mother finished explaining the situation, Bai's father immediately said:

"I'll go over and take a look first thing tomorrow morning."

Without the mother and daughter at home, the dinner table lacked its usual lively atmosphere as there was no one to joke around. The three of them finished their meal quickly and went to rest.

Yan Ci lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep, feeling unwell all over.

Bai Xiaoyue, who was at the Ding family's house, was still awake, listening to Ding Xiuhua talk about her husband's family.

It turns out that Ding Xiuhua's husband has four brothers, and he is the third oldest. He is not liked by his mother, and consequently, she treats him badly as well.

The couple lived a very difficult life, doing the hardest work and eating the worst food every day.

They've been married for two years and still don't have children. With the sister-in-law stirring things up, their lives have become even more difficult.

This time, the reason why the whole family got eggs but the couple didn't was that their pent-up resentment suddenly exploded.

She had a big argument with her mother-in-law, then left her husband with the word "divorce" and went back to her parents' home.

She was too embarrassed to tell her family this time, afraid that others would say she was noisy and greedy, which would make her look bad.

It's not really about an egg, it's just that I feel it's unfair.