Chapter 39: Even the Landlord Has No Surplus Grain

After finishing lunch with his father, Liu Weidong headed back. There was no point in worrying about the situation in the Second Production Team, but with his wife and sister-in-law facing the upcoming college entrance exams, it was a case of "sharpening the spear before the battle, even if it doesn't shine, it will still be bright."

He arrived back in the city around three o’clock. His wife had gone to visit her parents, so Liu Weidong, not in a hurry to get home, went straight to the Third Department Store to find Manager Wang.

When he mentioned buying cigarettes and liquor, Manager Wang chuckled.

"What are you agonizing over? Do you think those top-eight spirits and national-brand cigarettes are meant for the common folk? You may have money, but would you really be willing to spend over twenty yuan on a bottle of Moutai? Don't look at me as the manager of the Third Department Store; the few times I've tasted those, it was because someone else was treating. You should be content; at least because of our connection, you can get them at all. For anyone else, even with money, you wouldn't find them."

Liu Weidong sighed. "To be honest, Brother Wang, I just bought a house and don't have much spare cash left. If I keep subsidizing the village like this, I won't have enough to pay for my wife's tuition when she gets into college. I noticed the Friendship Store has things like wild ginseng and deer antlers; does your store buy wild ginseng?"

Manager Wang was stunned. "You have wild ginseng? How many leaves? Is the quality good?"

"I dug it up in the mountains this year. It’s a six-leaf and a five-leaf plant intertwined. The quality is top-notch. I wanted to hold onto it until the market price went up, but if I’m really in a bind, I’ll have to part with it."

Manager Wang stood up and closed his office door.

"Weidong, do you know why they set up that Friendship Store on the fifth floor?"

Liu Weidong blinked. "For foreign friends to buy things?"

Manager Wang shook his head. "People might believe that about international trade stores in Beijing or Shanghai, but since the Soviet experts left, when have you ever seen a foreigner in Binjiang? That Friendship Store has import quotas and can get some foreign goods. As for who buys them, you should know. The people who can afford luxury goods hold high positions. The ginseng we have in the store is just for show; if it were any good, it would have been snatched up long ago. If you want to sell your wild ginseng for a high price, you have to sell it to those people."

Liu Weidong nodded. "I understand. I also have a few antiques. If you can bridge that connection for me, Brother Wang, we can both make some money."

Although Manager Wang insisted they were brothers and shouldn't talk about money, the glint in his eyes was genuine.

After purchasing the cigarettes and liquor, Liu Weidong carried them home. To his surprise, both Lou sisters were back.

"Didn't you two go home? You didn't stay the night with your mother?"

Lou Yanru’s eyes turned red. "Mom took us to see Dad this morning. They had a bit of an argument in the visiting room, and we were afraid of getting scolded, so we didn't dare stay."

"What were they arguing about? Your father is already under enough pressure in the 'cowshed' as it is. What was the cause?"

Lou Yanru hesitated, but Lou Yanhua blurted it out.

"Everything. Mom blamed Dad for being too principled in the beginning. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't be implicated. She was also worried that Dad’s status as a 'Rightist' would affect our chances of getting into college. And she mentioned my sister’s relationship with you..."

At this point, Lou Yanhua looked at Lou Yanru and fell silent.

Liu Weidong figured that Song Qian must have said something unpleasant to Lou Nan, perhaps pressuring Lou Yanru to divorce him.

"Yanru, I saw Jin Xu today. She mentioned that many educated youth married to commune members are lining up to get divorced at the commune office just to return to the city. If you get into college, that’s great, but if—heaven forbid—you don’t pass, I won't stand in your way if you truly want a divorce."

Lou Yanru stomped her foot in anger. "What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not divorcing you! At worst, I’ll just sever ties with my mother."

Even knowing his wife was speaking out of anger, Liu Weidong was deeply touched. He hurried to the yard to slaughter a rooster.

After stewing the chicken, the three of them sat in the yard to enjoy the cool air.

Lou Yanru complained, "Weidong, why are you wasting money again? Buying all this expensive tobacco and alcohol?"

Liu Weidong sighed. "It’s not like I wanted to buy it; I’m buying it on behalf of the team. I have to front the money myself. You know how our village solved the food shortage by selling timber? Someone went to the commune to file a report, and the commune leaders keep giving Uncle Jianguo a hard time. Isn’t this just a way to extort bribes?"

Lou Yanru spat, "How shameless! They didn't care when the villagers were starving, but the moment we have a little gruel to drink, they come to scrape the bottom of the barrel. With leadership like that, how can the Qianjin Commune ever improve? Weidong, you really should have accepted Factory Manager Li's offer to work at the oil plant and leave the commune for good."

"Don't get angry, Yanru. The leaders are just using policy as a pretext to squeeze us. Once the policies change and land rights are assigned to households, what excuse will they have? I’m different from you; you’re a city dweller by birth, but I was born and raised in the Daqing Mountains. I can't just up and leave."

"But if you’re always a farmer, my mother..." Lou Yanhua started, then stopped herself.

"Will your mother use the barrier between farmers and city residents to force your sister to divorce? Don't worry, Yanru. In six months at most, the country will undergo earth-shaking changes. By then, being a city resident might not even be as desirable as being a farmer. Just wait and see."

Although the sisters felt Liu Weidong was exaggerating, neither refuted him. Hoping for better policies was, at the very least, a pleasant thought, and given Liu Weidong’s recent string of surprising successes, neither dared to dismiss his words as mere fantasy.

"Weidong, I let my father read the draft of the novel you wrote. He didn't say a word for a long time after finishing it, and his eyes were red. I also told him that you taught my sister to sing and that you let me put my name on the novel. He kept praising you for being clever and talented. But my mother... she doesn't believe for a second that you were the one who did all this."

Liu Weidong smiled and waved his hand. "Let’s leave these things at that. Don't mention them to anyone else. It’s better that your mother doesn't believe it. I only want you two to get into college; I never expected her gratitude."

After dinner, Liu Weidong helped the sisters with their practice questions for a while before returning to his writing.

Lou Yanhua seemed to have given up on her academic studies for the night, sitting in the yard playing the accordion. She was already getting the hang of *Again Seeing the Cooking Smoke*.

"Weidong, I see you’re tired of writing. Why don't I give it a try? You’ve told me the story already, anyway." Lou Yanru rested her elbows on the table, looking at him with wide eyes.

"That’s a good idea. It’s truly difficult for a man like me to mimic a female author's voice. Give it a shot, and if it doesn't work, I’ll revise it for you. Pay attention to the emotions, the historical background, and the protagonist's inner thoughts—that’s the essence of this book. I’ll go help Yanhua with her playing."

With that, Liu Weidong got up and went into the yard.

Neither *Again Seeing the Cooking Smoke* nor *So Many People in This World* were suited for the accordion; the best choices would have been Pu Shu’s *White Birch Forest* or Li Jian’s *By the Lake Baikal*. It wasn't that Liu Weidong didn't want to "copy" them, but those songs weren't suitable for a beginner like Lou Yanhua.

As he guided her through some accordion techniques, the astonishment in Lou Yanhua’s eyes was impossible to hide.

"Brother-in-law, I’m curious—is there anything you can't do?"

Liu Weidong laughed. "Stop wasting your brain cells thinking about me and focus on your studies. Once you get into college, a vast new world will open up before you. By then, you’ll realize that your brother-in-law is nothing special; I’ve just put in a little more effort than the average person."