Chapter 316

Auntie and the others were still waiting in line, but it seemed like it would be some time before it was their turn. By then, they weren’t sure if there would still be any cabbage left.

As time passed, an hour quickly went by, and finally, it was their turn.

At that moment, Auntie called out, “Dongshen, go tell Uncle Li and the others to bring the cart over.”

“Okay,” Dongshen replied.

With that, Dongshen ran off towards the courtyard.

After running for more than ten minutes, he finally returned to the courtyard.

Uncle Li and the others had been waiting for a while, with the cart and baskets ready, all set to transport the cabbage back.

Dongshen, out of breath, said, “Auntie asked you to come and help carry the cabbage.”

Upon hearing this, Uncle Li and the others sprang into action.

Each person carried a basket, and the younger and stronger ones pushed carts. Although carts were in short supply, they were the main tool for transportation this time.

When they reached the cabbage-buying area and saw the long line stretching as far as the eye could see, they knew just how many people had come for the cabbage.

Despite the long queue, no one dared to jump the line. Regardless of whether you were a leader, a worker, or an ordinary citizen, everyone stood in line with their food coupons or tickets.

The staff also didn’t dare to cheat. With so many eyes watching, any funny business would be hard to get away with.

Auntie and the others were picking out the best-looking cabbages, discarding any with broken or damaged leaves to ensure they got the finest produce.

After more than an hour of busy work, Auntie and the others finally managed to buy all the cabbage they needed for the courtyard. Every cabbage they selected was in excellent condition.

Uncle Li and the others had been waiting nearby and immediately rushed over to help. They placed the cabbages onto the carts, arranging them as efficiently as possible to carry as many as they could.

Some people who couldn’t borrow a cart used children’s bamboo carts instead. They dismantled the small front tables, allowing them to carry around forty to fifty pounds of cabbage.

With everyone working together, the job was done quickly. Now it was time to head back.

The women didn’t return empty-handed either; some carried cabbage in their hands while others helped steady the carts. The carts were not secured, so a bump or jolt could cause the cabbage to fall, wasting even more time.

With Uncle Li leading the way, filled with determination, they made their way back to the courtyard.

Normally, it would take only fifteen to twenty minutes to reach the courtyard, but it ended up taking over half an hour. The cart, though capable of carrying more cabbage, was prone to tipping over.

After passing a steep slope, they had to stop and reorganize the cabbage that had fallen off the cart before continuing.

Once back at the courtyard, everyone finally sighed in relief.

But their work wasn’t over. Now that the cabbage was home, there were still other things to attend to. This was a big job.

Given the importance of having enough vegetables for the next few months, they couldn’t afford to slack off.

However, after such strenuous physical labor, they did need to rest a bit.

After all, they had already bought the cabbage, so the rest was just routine.

Zhou Dazhong, as usual, was getting up to go to work, but as soon as he stepped out of his room, he saw that some people were already dealing with the cabbage.

When Third Uncle saw Zhou Dazhong, who was just waking up, he kindly reminded him, “Dazhong, aren’t you going to buy some cabbage?”

The people in the courtyard had put in a lot of effort to get cabbage for the winter, but many still hadn’t been able to buy any and would have to wait for the next round.

Those who had gotten their cabbage were happily sorting through it.

“Third Uncle, my family is in the countryside. Did you forget? I’ll go back later and get some,” Zhou Dazhong replied.

After saying this, he prepared to head to work. Just then, a middle-aged woman walked into the courtyard, carrying a large bag of vegetables and dragging a young boy along.

Upon seeing her, Zhou Dazhong quickly went over, “Mom, why are you here?”

“I was worried you wouldn’t have vegetables for the winter, so I thought I’d bring you some,” Huang said.

Parents are always like that, thinking of their children first. They don’t care about themselves as long as their children are okay.

Zhou Dazhong looked at the vegetables his mother had carried over. She had probably walked here, unwilling to spend the money on transportation.

Third Uncle asked, “Dazhong, is this your mother?”

Zhou Dazhong’s mother had been to the courtyard before, but Third Uncle hadn’t been home that time.

The courtyard’s head elder was responsible for knowing who came and went, to prevent any undesirable people from entering. Though he had no real authority, for those who aspired to be officials, it was a good opportunity to gain some experience.

Just like with a certain courtyard, the second uncle, who had always wanted to be an official but lacked education, had managed to become the second elder of the courtyard, relishing the small amount of authority he had. It was no wonder that others found him unpleasant.

“Third Uncle, this is my mom,” Zhou Dazhong explained.

“Mom, this is the courtyard’s head elder, Third Uncle!”

Huang greeted him, “Hello, Third Uncle!”

“Hello, Dazhong’s mom!” Third Uncle replied.

Huang then pulled out two fresh cabbages from her bag, saying, “Third Uncle, I hope you don’t mind. Please take care of our Dazhong in the future!”

The two cabbages weren’t worth much, but if they could help her son build a relationship, even if she didn’t know exactly what the head elder did, it couldn’t hurt to try.

“No, no! Thank you. We’re all neighbors, we should look out for each other,” Third Uncle replied, sounding righteous.

Looking at the fresh cabbages, they seemed to have just been picked from the field, even better than the ones they had queued for. It appeared that Dazhong didn’t need to line up at all—he had better cabbages and didn’t even have to pay for them.

When the others in the courtyard saw this scene, some of them began to murmur in envy, “He’s only giving them to Third Uncle, does he look down on us poor neighbors?”

“Exactly! Just flattering the courtyard’s elders.”

“Those are his vegetables, he can give them to whomever he likes. Why are you all so concerned?” someone couldn’t help but say.

However, Zhou Dazhong and Huang didn’t hear this. Otherwise, they would have stepped forward to discuss it. The things in their home were theirs to give as they pleased, and it was none of their business.

Zhou Dazhong quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly took the things from his mother’s back, pulling her inside the house.

(End of Chapter)