Chapter 346 - 303: Faint Hope
Chapter 346: Chapter 303: Faint Hope
The shift away from the collective work of the production teams created problems come harvest time. The threshing machines of that era were heavy and cumbersome, and came with numerous small, fiddly accessories. Moving one required at least three or four people, which was a huge struggle for households with few able-bodied workers. Furthermore, each production team only had two threshers, and they weren’t sold to individuals; villagers had to draw lots to determine who could use them. If each family fended for themselves, the reaped rice couldn’t be threshed and brought home promptly. Leaving it in the fields overnight meant it could be ruined by rats and wild birds, or a significant amount would be lost as grains fell into the dirt.
Given the circumstances, the villagers spontaneously developed a system of mutual aid. Whichever family drew the lot to use the thresher, everyone else would go and help them with their harvest. It was still like the collective labor of the old production team days, but with a few key differences: all the grain was carried back to the host family’s home, and the host was expected to provide meals—three a day, complete with meat and vegetables.
This system was far more efficient, ensuring every household could get their grain harvested and stored in time. It also helped maintain the bonds among the villagers from the old team. It was an excellent solution.
Every day, Xiao Man and Grandpa joined the group to reap rice, work the thresher, and carry loads on shoulder poles. As a Cultivator, her constitution was stronger and she had more physical power, but compared to the rigors of Cultivation, the long hours of manual farm labor were still grueling. Fortunately, she could drink from the Spiritual Spring to quickly banish her fatigue and recover her stamina.
After two busy weeks, all of the Mo family’s grain was harvested. Grandpa and Grandma stopped letting her join the group work, telling her to just stay home and sun-dry the grain. Grandpa went out by himself each day to "repay the labor" owed to their neighbors.
Two days after their own harvest was complete, relatives began showing up at the door, claiming they were there to help with the grain.
The first to arrive was Ahua, with her youngest son and his new wife—the very same couple she’d come to borrow money for a while back. The young wife had a baby strapped to her back, and the son was pushing a bicycle with a large bundle tied to its rear rack. Ahua herself carried a smaller bundle, and when she opened it, it was full of clothes and diapers. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they were moving in.
Grandma thanked Ahua profusely. She served them a lunch of stewed meat and fried eggs. After they finished eating, she gave them two packs of noodles and two packs of sweet biscuits, helped Ahua pick a basket of gourds and greens from the back garden, and tucked a small red envelope of money into the baby’s hand before finally seeing them out the courtyard gate.
As soon as they were out of sight, Grandma’s smile vanished. She heaved a long sigh of relief, her change in expression worthy of a movie star.
Xiao Man found it both amusing and a little heartbreaking. ’Grandma’s sight has returned, and her life is a hundred times better than before, but she’s still getting pestered by all these relatives and friends. She has no shortage of troubles.’
Take Ahua, for example. In the years since Xiao Man had gone to study in Ping County, Ahua had brought her youngest son and daughter-in-law to stay several times. She always used the excuse of helping with farm work and would stay for three to five days at a time. But she didn’t just stay; she fell back into her old habits. She would often pull Grandpa aside to speak with him in private for ages. Although Grandpa would tell Grandma about it afterward, Grandma suspected he never told her the whole story. He only ever mentioned one recurring topic—Ahua wanted her son to be formally adopted by Grandpa and Grandma, move in, and care for them in their old age.
Of course, Grandma was against it, and Grandpa had never agreed either. But Ahua was relentless. Every year, during a seasonal festival or the busy farming season, she would bring her son and daughter-in-law over. This time, she’d even brought her newborn grandson along.
Grandma truly couldn’t stand such persistence. She was exhausted from dealing with it, but she couldn’t afford to offend Ahua, either. After all, Ahua had once done Grandpa a great favor, and Grandpa had never even asked her to repay the money he’d lent for her youngest son’s wedding.
This time, even though the grain was already harvested and nearly dry, the family still wanted to stay for a few days, offering to help pull weeds in the plantation as an excuse. It was Xiao Man who finally spoke up, saying there was no room left and that guests from out of town were arriving the next day. Only then were they too embarrassed to insist on staying.
Grandma walked back to her room, her head bowed in sorrow. Xiao Man knew she was upset, likely thinking again about the son who had been stolen from her. There was nothing Xiao Man could do at times like these, so she just pretended not to notice, putting on her straw hat and continuing to rake the grain on the sunning ground. ’Should I ask Grandpa Tang again?’ she wondered. ’He said he would help look for him. It’s been so long. I wonder if there’s any news.’
’It’s been decades, so realistically, the chances are slim. But if they don’t look, they won’t even have that slim hope to hold onto. And what if they do find him? Putting everything else aside, Grandpa and Grandma could finally be reunited with their son, mending the biggest regret of their lives. Grandma would no longer have to endure Granny Mo’s sharp-tongued taunts or Ahua’s silent pressure.’
Liang Xiaoju was in the second group of relatives to arrive, saying they were there to help with the harvest. With her were her older sister, a paternal cousin, and a maternal cousin. Xiao Man had no idea what Grandma Mo was thinking, sending a group of all girls. What’s more, they only came to help Grandpa’s family with the threshing. The families of Boss Mo and Mo Laoer were also short-handed, but there was no talk of the girls going over to help them.
The four girls, all around fifteen or sixteen and carrying small, floral-print cloth bags, knocked on the courtyard gate at dusk. Grandpa was out "repaying labor," which meant he would be eating at a neighbor’s house. Grandma and Xiao Man had already sat down at the table, bowls in hand, but now they had to push back their own dinner, wash more rice, and stir-fry a couple of extra dishes to have enough for everyone.
As it happened, a mobile film crew was in the village that night, and they were showing a movie called *Red Peony*.
The moment Liang Xiaoju heard there was a movie, she became incredibly excited. She immediately threw herself into helping with dinner—stoking the fire and preparing the food—planning to rush over to the elementary school to save some good seats as soon as they finished eating.
With her sisters there for company, Liang Xiaoju made a point of not even glancing at Xiao Man. Instead, she chattered away with the other girls, their laughter bright and happy. Xiao Man was used to her antics and couldn’t be bothered to react. She was simply exasperated. ’This petulant girl is so childish and dense. What does she think she’ll accomplish by acting like this?’
They hadn’t even finished dinner when Grandpa returned. Seeing Liang Xiaoju and the other girls, he chuckled and thanked them for their trouble. Then he explained that all the grain had been threshed, so there wasn’t any work left. He suggested they go home the next day to help their own families sun-dry their grain, lest an unexpected rain spoil it.
After saying his piece, Grandpa went into the house to find some clothes and take a shower. As the girls were getting ready to leave for the movie, Grandma took out four one-yuan coupons and gave one to each of them. A ticket for the village movie showing cost ten cents, and the rest was enough to buy a twenty-cent cup of melon seeds to snack on during the show, with still some change left over.
The other girls happily took the money, but Liang Xiaoju refused, shooting a sideways glance at Xiao Man. "Grandma, why are you only giving one to each of us? Doesn’t she get one?"
"Oh, you mean Xiao Man?" Grandma replied. "Don’t you worry about her. You all just take the money and go on ahead."
Liang Xiaoju pouted. "Grandma, you’re always so biased. You’re going to spoil Xiao Man rotten!"
Grandma: "..."
Xiao Man finally snapped. "Liang Xiaoju, would it kill you to use your brain? Grandma is *my* grandma, so what’s wrong with her favoring me? And even if she does spoil me, that’s our family’s business. Who are you to meddle? If you can’t stand it, then don’t look. Who asked you to come to my house anyway?"
"You... Mo Xiaoman, you’re so bossy and unreasonable!"
Mustering a sudden burst of courage, Liang Xiaoju threw the one-yuan coupon from Grandma onto the ground. Her eyes red, she pointed a finger at Xiao Man and shouted, "What do you mean, *your* house? In your dreams! You’re not even part of the Mo family! You can look, but you can’t touch anything here! Grand-uncle was originally going to adopt *me*! I’m the one who should be the granddaughter of this house, but you’re just too thick-skinned and refuse to leave! Haven’t you already found your birth parents? City officials, aren’t they? Why don’t you go back to the city? Why do you insist on staying here and fighting me over this small inheritance? Are you that greedy? Ever heard the saying about a snake trying to swallow an elephant? Careful you don’t burst!"