Chapter 38: Sharing Eggs

“Big Brother, this candy is so sweet.”

Every time their big brother came home, he would bring them delicious treats, so the three little ones always dreamed of his return.

Laifu saved one White Rabbit candy, planning to give it to their mother.

After heating water and adjusting the temperature, Third Aunt bathed Qianqian, then took out an old baby outfit that Laifang had worn before and dressed the little girl in it.

At this time, clothes were passed down from generation to generation. Even if they were torn, they wouldn’t be thrown away.

Younger siblings wore the clothes of their older siblings, and the youngest rarely ever got new clothes.

If a neighbor had a newborn, giving them old clothes was a kind gesture, and they would be very grateful.

The little girl seemed hungry and started crying loudly.

Third Aunt understood immediately and rushed to prepare some milk powder. Sure enough, as soon as Qianqian drank it, she stopped crying and calmed down. Laifu and his siblings gathered around their little sister.

Laifu made funny faces to amuse her, Laicai had snot almost dripping down, and Laifang, being a little glutton, stared at her sister drinking milk with envy.

Zhou Yimin took out the bags of milk powder.

“Third Aunt, take this milk powder home and let Laifu and the others drink half a bowl every day too.”

Third Aunt was overjoyed. She felt her three children were truly lucky to have a big brother like Yimin. Other kids were still going hungry, but at least hers wouldn’t lack nutrition.

Just then, Grandpa came back from outside, calling Zhou Zhiming and the others, who were working, to come in for a drink of water.

“You all haven’t seen an award certificate before, have you? Look, the country gave this to our Yimin. And these…”

The old man called everyone in, but instead of offering water, he showed off his grandson’s certificate.

Zhou Zhiming and the others didn’t mind the lack of water. When they saw the certificate, they were all stunned. Besides that, there were enamel tea mugs, a thermos, and even a promotion by two work levels.

Each of these rewards made them envious.

They didn’t even know that Zhou Yimin had also received a cash prize—Grandpa didn’t tell them. Better to keep wealth discreet.

Otherwise, their eyes might have popped out even more.

“Yimin is amazing! The first award certificate in Zhoujia Village.” Zhou Zhiming sighed.

He was starting to believe that even their ancestors were favoring Zhou Yimin. Wasn’t all the good fortune from the family’s ancestral tomb drifting straight to his house?

Back then, Zhou Yimin’s father, Zhou Xuhua, had already shocked the whole village by becoming their first university student. People even said their great-uncle’s house had excellent feng shui.

“That’s right! Uncle Sixteen is the hope of our entire village.”

Zhou Yimin’s mouth twitched—wasn’t this something people used to say about his father? Now it was being placed on him?

…

Grandpa was thoroughly enjoying all the praise for his grandson and, in high spirits, decided to be generous.

“Wife, make some sweet soup for everyone. They’ve worked hard.”

Grandma, feeling equally proud, didn’t hesitate to offer a few bowls of sweet soup.

After drinking the soup, everyone took another look at the child Zhou Yimin had brought back and showered her with compliments, saying things like, “This child looks so lucky.”

A whole bunch of flattering words.

Not long after, some village women arrived.

When they heard that Zhou Yimin had taken in a child, they felt it was only proper to visit and offer their blessings. Those who could afford it even brought small gifts.

Everyone believed that the baby girl was lucky—after all, she had been found by Zhou Yimin.

The whole village knew about Zhou Yimin’s situation—his family had the best conditions in the village. It was clear that this little girl would have a good life.

“Grandma, I’ll boil all the eggs and share them with everyone, so they can get a bit of good fortune too.”

Grandma hesitated. The eggs her grandson brought back were mostly untouched—she was saving them for him. But with so many people around, she didn’t want to embarrass him.

So, with a smile, she agreed.

The crowd, hearing about Zhou Yimin’s award and achievements, poured on even more compliments, completely sweeping Grandma off her feet. She no longer minded the loss of a few eggs.

Third Aunt watched all this, feeling distressed at the thought of so many eggs being given away.

But then she thought about Yimin’s capabilities and let it go. After all, he had won a cash prize of several hundred! A few eggs were nothing in comparison.

If her own son had such achievements in the future, she wouldn’t hesitate to treat the whole village to eggs.

When the eggs were ready, everyone present got one, including Zhou Zhiming and the others working outside. But no one ate theirs—they all planned to take them home for their children to nourish themselves.

After the guests left, Zhou Yimin said to his grandmother, “Grandma, I brought back cured duck and chestnuts. Let’s have cured duck rice today.”

Grandma had no objections. Even if it hadn’t been her grandson who brought them back, as long as the house had them, she would let him eat whatever he wanted.

“Alright, let’s have cured duck rice,” Grandma said with a smile.

“Big Brother, I want some too!” Laifang sucked her fingers and looked at him expectantly.

“What do you mean ‘want some’? Come home with me for lunch,” Third Aunt scolded.

Zhou Yimin patted Laifang’s head and said to Third Aunt, “Third Aunt, stay and have lunch here. Call Uncle back too.”

“This…”

Grandma interjected, “If Yimin tells you to stay and eat, then stay. Why argue? Later, go call your husband over. How can those sweet potatoes at the communal kitchen be enough?”

Third Aunt’s eyes turned red, and she repeatedly thanked Zhou Yimin and Grandma. She silently resolved to take good care of Qianqian for Yimin.

Earlier, she had noticed the row of cured ducks hanging in the kitchen.

“Laifu should start school soon, right?” Zhou Yimin suddenly asked.

If he remembered correctly, Laifu was already eight—he was a bit late to start school.

Third Aunt smiled bitterly. “The village school shut down. If he wants to study, he has to go to Hongxing Commune.”

Hongxing Commune was about an hour’s walk away—quite far.

Besides, with the current tough times, most people were struggling to eat, let alone thinking about school.

Previously, Zhoujia Village had a school where kids could study up to third grade before going to Hongxing Commune for fourth grade. But earlier this year, the teacher fainted from hunger in class, so they had to close the school.

Zhou Yimin had never attended school in Zhoujia Village, so he wasn’t aware of this.

“Is the teacher from our village?” he asked.

Grandma replied, “Zhigao is the teacher. See that house over there? That’s his home.”

She pointed outside.

She also told her grandson that Zhoujia Village’s school had only one teacher, Zhou Zhigao, who was also the principal. He taught all three grades and handled every subject alone.

Zhou Zhigao had attended middle school, making him the second most educated person in Zhoujia Village—right after Zhou Yimin’s father, Zhou Xuhua.

Zhou Yimin was speechless.

Wow! One teacher handling everything?

If it were him, his head would explode.

At noon, Zhou Yimin cooked for the workers building houses, even adding a chopped-up cured duck to the meal. Although it wasn’t much, and everyone only got a few pieces, Zhou Zhiming and the others ate with great satisfaction.

By then, news of Zhou Yimin’s award had spread throughout Zhoujia Village. Many people admired and envied him, but at the same time, they felt proud.

After all, he was one of their own.

(End of Chapter)