Qian Shulan followed her original body's memory, turned right, walked for five minutes, turned left again, and found the home of her original body's eldest brother.
At this time, the Qian family was cooking, and thick smoke was billowing from the chimney of the kitchen.
The two children were squatting in the yard playing with stones. When they saw her come in, they looked at each other and a hint of fear flashed in their eyes.
Qian Shulan naturally noticed their vigilance, stopped a few steps away, and asked with a smile, "Where is your grandfather?"
The older girl is called Qian Yueqiu, she is twelve years old this year. When she heard her question, she pointed to the right with her little hand and replied with a trembling voice, "Inside the house."
Qian Shulan nodded at her and praised her with a smile, "Good girl."
Qian Yueqiu opened her mouth in surprise, with the same look of disbelief as her father had before.
Qian Shulan sighed in her heart. Ever since she knew the memories of her original body, she could understand Qian Shulan's attitude towards Qian Minghua.
Following the direction Qian Yue had pointed, she arrived at the east room. The door was not locked, so she knocked gently.
The person in the room coughed and said, "Come in."
Hearing the response, Qian Shulan walked in immediately.
A short, skinny old man was sitting on the bed, listening to the radio on the bedside table. His face looked serious and his brows were furrowed.
Qian Minghua was sitting on a stool in front of the bed and listening with him. He was rubbing a hemp rope in his hands and his expression was equally serious.
When he saw her, Qian Minghua looked slightly surprised. He quickly stood up and greeted her.
Qian Shulan nodded at him indifferently. It was not that she was deliberately showing off, but what happened in the morning almost made this man suspect that there was something wrong with her.
Although Qian Shulan's attitude was very cold, Qian Minghua felt flattered and didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.
Qian Shulan didn't care about Qian Minghua's awkwardness. She greeted Qian Weihan, "Brother, are you busy?"
Qian Weihan came back to his senses and saw that it was his sister. He quickly turned off the radio, asked her to sit down, and asked with a smile, "Little sister, why are you here now? Do you have something to talk to me about?" He originally wanted to go see her after dinner, but he didn't expect her to come first. Qian Weihan was quite surprised. His sister hasn't visited him for more than ten years. In the past, when she had something to talk to him about, she would ask Shouren and Shouyi to come. Why did she come in person today
Qian Shulan sat on the bed and nodded. She had something to do.
Only from her original body's memory did she understand why Qian Minghua looked at her as if she were a ghost just because he said thank you to her.
It’s a long story. Qian Weihan joined the revolution when he was fifteen. When he was fighting the Japanese, his penis was blown off. He never got married.
Originally, Qian Shulan wanted to adopt her twins, a boy and a girl, to Qian Weihan so that he would have someone to rely on for the rest of his life. However, before she could even open her mouth, Qian Weihan actually saved Qian Minghua by coincidence and adopted him.
After Qian Weihan knew his sister's idea, he proposed to adopt the twins as well. However, he had once seen Qian Minghua, who was still very young, bite a wild rabbit with his bare hands in the mountains. He was frightened by his ferocious appearance and did not dare to give his newborn children to such an evil star, so he refused immediately.
The original body's plan failed. Because his family was too poor to raise so many children, he had to give his twins, a boy and a girl, to someone else. That family was well-off and should be able to take good care of them.
Because of this, the original body had a lot of complaints against Qian Weihan. She refused to talk to him for many years. Later, her husband died and she felt she had no one to rely on. So she took the initiative to write to Qian Weihan.
At that time, Qian Weihan had just retired from the army. Seeing that her sister was willing to forgive her, she took the opportunity to register her household registration in Wangjia Village so that she could take care of her only sister.
Because of this, Xie Weihan felt sorry for his sister and obeyed her almost everything she said. Whenever there was something delicious, she was the first person he thought of.
The original body gradually became less indifferent to her only brother, but she had no good face for the nephew who had taken away her son's identity. She would pretend not to see him when they occasionally met on the road. Not to mention polite words like thank you, Qian Minghua was lucky that she didn't say anything bad.
Qian Minghua felt that he had taken advantage of the Qian family and that it was only right that he should be looked down upon, so he was always respectful to the original owner.
Qian Shulan glanced at the radio. She had just heard her elder brother listening to the radio, which seemed to contain the words "Great Leap Forward". She was unsure of Qian Weihan's thoughts, so she was a little nervous. "Brother, I have something to tell you."
Qian Weihan saw his sister lowering her head, twirling the corner of her clothes, and seemed to be in a dilemma. He was a little confused, but he still encouraged her, "Just tell me what's wrong. I will definitely help you with anything I can do."
Qian Shulan felt a warm feeling in her heart and considered her words in her mind.
Seeing that his aunt kept her head down and didn't say anything, Qian Minghua thought that she wanted him to leave, so he stood up and wanted to go out.
Qian Shulan hurriedly called him, "Minghua, you should listen too."
Qian Minghua showed a little surprise on his face, but still stopped.
After he sat down, Qian Shulan came between the two of them and whispered, "Brother, I heard a few days ago that the higher-ups are going to set up people's communes across the country. At that time, all canteens will have to be handed over to the collective and we will all eat from the same big pot."
The reason why I revealed this to Qian Weihan was that the Great Leap Forward was not something that happened overnight. There was a lot of preparation in the early stages. As early as 1955, some places had opened communes. No one knew how effective they were, but the news was reported in the newspapers. Qian Weihan once told the original body about this as a joke.
Last December, it was broadcast everywhere on the radio that Chairman Liu officially announced the goal of "surpassing Britain and catching up with the United States" at the Eighth Congress of the Chinese Trade Union.
Qian Weihan's heart shuddered. He had just heard on the radio that there would be a "Great Leap Forward" and that even proposed to surpass Britain in five years and catch up with the United States in ten years, such a ridiculous goal.
Mobilizing the masses was a successful experience during the war years. However, after entering the stage of economic construction, the method of mass movement is obviously not applicable. Because the economy develops according to laws, it must have scientific management, strict process requirements, and must abide by various rules and regulations. Only in this way can we produce qualified products and achieve sustainable development.
These people don't understand anything at all, yet they still give blind orders. He can imagine how chaotic the next few years will be.
Qian Shulan continued, "I heard that the higher-ups are going to have everyone go make steel. Brother, if everyone goes to make steel, who will farm the land? If there's not enough food to harvest and there's no production, won't people starve to death?"
The more Qian Weihan listened, the more relieved he felt. He glanced at his sister and found that his sister was indeed a member of their Qian family and had even thought of this.
How could he not think of what his sister could think of? What was said on the radio just now was just empty talk, but the higher-ups had already determined the goal, and it wouldn't be long before the day came when it was issued, so it was inevitable.
However, he was just an old Red Army soldier, and his biggest connection was with his old superior.
He tried writing a letter to the old leader, but his power was limited after all, and he might not be able to change the decision.
Therefore, he only needed to make a brief mention and ask the old leader to take care of himself.
"Brother, I'm talking to you." Seeing that Qian Weihan was distracted by her serious question, Qian Shulan pushed him angrily.
Qian Weihan came back to his senses and smiled at her flatteringly, "I heard it. Then we must work hard to store food."
Qian Shulan was delighted to see that he actually agreed with her point of view, "Brother, do you believe me?"
Qian Weihan pointed to the radio and said, "I heard it on the radio. It contains the latest instructions from the Party."
Qian Shulan breathed a sigh of relief. She originally thought that if Qian Weihan didn't believe it, she would make him believe it even if she claimed to be a god. But who would have thought that this was not necessary at all.
She whispered to Qian Minghua, "Minghua, when you report your production to the county, don't falsify it. Otherwise, people might starve to death. You will become the sinner of Wangjia Village."
Qian Weihan nodded, feeling a little relieved. He originally thought that since he adopted Minghua, his younger sister had always looked down on Minghua and always criticized him whenever they met. He did not expect that she would still remember Minghua at the critical moment.
Minghua also looked at Qian Shulan with gratitude, "Aunt, I will."
Qian Shulan felt a little ashamed. The original body was not kind to Qian Minghua at all. If the original body knew about this, it would be considered kind of her not to go down the well to investigate. She waved her hands and said, "We are all family, why should we be polite?" She paused and felt a little worried, "I just don't know if you can withstand the pressure?"
Qian Weihan glared and shouted, "If he dares to cheat, I will skin him alive."
Qian Shulan shook her head with a serious face, "Brother, don't be so confident. Minghua may not be able to make his own decision when the time comes. If everyone else's report is inflated, how can he be their opponent? Besides, if everyone else's report is inflated, and only our village reports the truth, then when the time comes, our village will have a lot of food left, won't we become a sitting duck? How can we sleep peacefully?"
Qian Weihan sighed inwardly, "What you said makes sense!"
Qian Minghua listened thoughtfully.
Qian Shulan took a look at the radio in Qian Weihan's hand. He could get such a good thing, so maybe he could also get other things.
When she was in school, she remembered the "unified sales and purchase" policy implemented in that era. Even if she had money, she might not be able to buy things. She was just an old country lady, so she should not be able to get a ticket.
She glanced at Qian Minghua, smiled and said to Qian Weihan, "Brother, can you help me think of a way to buy something?"
Qian Weihan saw that her eyes had been fixed on the radio, and thought that she was attracted to it, so he patted his chest and agreed, "Okay, no problem."
Qian Shulan was immediately delighted, "I want a flashlight, a pen, a military water bottle and a watch." Qian Weihan knew a lot of people, so it was much easier for him to buy these things than for her.
Qian Weihan was a little surprised when he heard her talking about things that were more expensive than the last. "Why do you need so many things?"
Qian Shulan couldn't find an excuse for the time being, so she just started to play tricks, "I'm very useful, big brother, don't ask!"
She did this completely from her original self. Qian Weihan, the elder brother, was really good to Qian Shulan, the younger sister. When Qian Weihan retired, he was seriously injured. Although he kept it a secret from the villagers, Qian Shulan, as her closest sister, still knew about it. After settling in Wangjia Village, Qian Weihan received an allowance of more than 100 yuan per month, and often helped his sister's family through many difficulties. Otherwise, the original self would not have been able to save so much money in the past few years.
The original body was a very shrewd person. She had asked Qian Weihan to buy her many things. Every time Qian Weihan asked her what she was used for, the original body would reply, "I am very useful, don't ask me anymore!"
Then, the original owner will resell the items to others and earn the difference.
The things that the original body wanted, such as military blankets, military coats, and military water bottles, were rare in the countryside. Many people had never been to the county town in their lives, so they didn't know which direction the department store door faced. Although the price the original body mentioned was a little more expensive than others, they bought them because they were hard to come by.
Qian Weihan knew what his sister had done, but he only had one sister, so he naturally couldn't let her embarrass herself, so he pretended to be ignorant. Nine times out of ten, he agreed.
He thought she was trying to make a profit from the price difference, so he didn't ask any more questions. He thought for a while and said, "I guess the watch won't work, but I'll help you think of a way to deal with the other three."
Qian Shulan wanted to ask why a watch wouldn't work, but then she heard Qian Weihan say, "Instead of buying a watch, you might as well buy a wall clock. A watch is so small, it would be a shame if you accidentally lose it. Buy a wall clock and hang it in the living room, so that everyone can see it and you can tell others about it and you will look good."
Qian Shulan's eyes lit up. Yes, a wall clock is good. It's cheap. It's very suitable for her 20 gold coins. If it was a watch, she would lose a lot.
"Okay, I'll hang the clock!"
Qian Weihan nodded with a smile, "Okay, I'll buy it for you."
Qian Shulan immediately reached into her pocket and wanted to give Qian Weihan money, but he stopped her, "You haven't bought the things yet, why give me money! Besides, you are my sister, it is only natural for me to buy things for you."
Qian Shulan was startled when she heard this, but she also knew that the other party was just being polite and it was impossible for him not to really give her money. However, she guessed that Qian Weihan declined because he was not sure whether he could buy everything for her. Otherwise, it would be the same if she waited until he bought the things before giving them to him. She would give Qian Weihan some benefits when the time comes. After all, she was not her original self and could not take advantage of others with a clear conscience. She would just pay more when the time comes. If Qian Weihan did not accept the money, she would exchange it for something else. After figuring this out, Qian Shulan did not refuse anymore. She glanced at Qian Minghua and saw that there was no displeasure on his face. She could not help but admire his calmness.
From her original body's memory, she had always had a lot of complaints about Qian Minghua, and her impression of him was all negative. But Qian Shulan thought this uncle was a good person.
He was obviously an upright man. There was a reason why Qian Weihan insisted on adopting him.
The three chatted for a while, and Qian Shulan said goodbye. But when she opened the door, she saw the two children who were playing with stones in the yard just now leaning on the door to eavesdrop. When they saw her, they were so scared that they wanted to run away.
Qian Shulan thought about the content of the conversation just now, her face became serious, and she glanced at Qian Weihan and Qian Minghua who were escorting her out from behind. The two immediately understood what she meant and began to be cautious. If what they just said was spread by these two children, it would definitely cause a big mess. Qian Minghua came over and educated them righteously, "Xiaoqiu, Xiaotao, it is wrong for you to eavesdrop on others' conversations. We should be upright in our conduct." He pointed to the empty space by the wall and said, "Go, I will punish you to stand there for half an hour. Also, you are not allowed to tell anyone what you just heard. Otherwise, I will punish you to not eat for three days."
Qian Weihan also felt that the two kids were going a bit too far. It would be fine if they were his own daughter, but if they were guests, he would be completely embarrassed.
Suddenly, Qian Weihan thought of something and strode to the kitchen. Seeing his daughter-in-law peeking over, he immediately understood what was going on. With a stern face, he scolded, "Come here too. Stand there for an hour."
Zheng Xiaohua was frightened and shrank her neck guiltily. Seeing her father-in-law and the man's ugly faces, she thought that they had probably guessed that she had asked the children to do this. She could only come out of the kitchen with her neck shrunk and a bitter face. When she walked past Qian Shulan, she lowered her head in shame, as if she was afraid to see people.
Qian Shulan felt relieved to see that she was not beyond help.