Chapter 59: Wild Boars Can’t Eat Fine Bran

In truth, Zhou Dafu wasn’t beaten for skipping work to job-hunt in the city. He was beaten because he came back and asked his family for 200 yuan. Wasn’t that as good as asking for their lives?

Besides, the family didn’t even have that much money.

“Who told you that?” Zhou Yimin asked, looking at him strangely.

Zhou Dafu replied, “A kind-hearted person.”

“Kind-hearted my ass. That guy was trying to scam you. A job at the bakery factory for just 200 yuan? If you can get in, I’ll take your last name.”

“Huh? Uncle Sixteen, you’re not surnamed Zhou?”

Zhou Yimin shot him a glare. “Jobs in the city are scarce now. If it’s not at least 600 yuan, don’t even think about it. Only people who don’t know the market would believe that 200 yuan nonsense.

They’re just preying on country folks who don’t understand. Scam them for a quick buck and move on.”

The young men present gasped.

600 yuan?!

To them, 200 yuan was already a huge sum. 600 yuan? That was an astronomical figure.

Zhou Dafu was dumbfounded, breaking into a cold sweat. Luckily, his family didn’t have 200 yuan. If they did…

He didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen if he got scammed out of 200 yuan. His old man would probably strangle him to death. Just thinking about it was terrifying.

“N-no way… right?” he asked weakly.

“Why not? Do you know better, or do I? Bakery factory jobs are in high demand. There’s no way they’d sell a position for just 200 yuan. Use your brain and think!”

Who would sell a job involving food handling for just 200 yuan? That made no sense at all.

The only ones who’d fall for such scams were rural folks—because 200 yuan was already a fortune to them. Asking for more would just drive them away.

At this point, Zhou Dafu was so furious he could kill that so-called “kind-hearted person.”

200 yuan! How dare they!

“Alright, be more careful in the future. If the price is lower than what I mentioned, there’s something fishy going on. Keep an eye out,” Zhou Yimin warned.

With that, he got on his bicycle and headed home.

—

Over at home, Laicai and his sister, Laifang, were washing diapers for Qianqian. Laifu had already gone to school. Classes had officially started today, and all children aged seven and above were attending.

This time, no families were holding their kids back from school. In fact, they even wished the school would lower the enrollment age—so they could send five- or six-year-olds off as well.

After all, this would ease the burden on families. Plus, the kids would at least get to eat better.

“Wash your hands clean and come inside for food,” Zhou Yimin called to the two children.

Hearing this, Laicai and Laifang were overjoyed. They quickly put down the diapers, scrubbed their hands a few more times, and bounced excitedly into the house.

Zhou Yimin had bought a box of pastries from the store.

“Grandma, try some,” he offered the old lady first.

Grandma was pleased—not because she craved sweets, but because she loved how her grandson always thought of her first. For an elder, it was all about the sentiment. Whether she ate it or not didn’t really matter.

“Mmm! It’s delicious,” she said after taking a bite. It was soft, glutinous, and fragrant.

Third Aunt was also present. She accepted a small pastry from Zhou Yimin and popped it into her mouth.

It really was delicious! She had never eaten anything like this before. She guessed this must be high-end city food. The only downside? It was small—gone in just one bite.

Grandma chuckled and teased her, “Wild boars can’t eat fine bran.”

Zhou Yimin burst into laughter.

Third Aunt wasn’t offended at all. Instead, she joked, “Well, I’ve only recently started eating well.”

If it weren’t for her nephew Zhou Yimin, she wouldn’t have had the chance to try such good food. Look at the other women in the village—who else got to eat like this? None of them had her luck.

The village women were envious.

Every time she saw their envious stares, she couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

“That’s enough. I just wanted a taste. No need to give me more,” Third Aunt said, refusing when Zhou Yimin tried to offer her more.

Grandma wasn’t wrong about her. Even she felt like a wild boar that couldn’t eat fine bran.

Zhou Yimin didn’t insist. If she ate less, that just meant Laifu and the others could have more. It all worked out.

“Save some for your brother,” Zhou Yimin reminded the two greedy kids.

“Got it, Big Brother! These are for Dad and the others,” Laifang said, drawing a line with her finger on the pastry box to divide the untouched portion for the rest of the family.

—

Meanwhile, by the riverbed, Zhou Dafu and the others were carrying over sacks of corn seeds.

“Secretary, Captain, these are the corn seeds my Uncle Sixteen brought back,” Zhou Dafu reported.

The old village secretary and the others were overjoyed and immediately gathered around.

Opening the bags, they scooped up handfuls of seeds. As experienced farmers, they could easily judge the quality of the seeds.

These were clearly premium corn seeds—plump and full. They didn’t even seem to be the same variety as what they usually planted.

“Secretary, this corn is amazing!”

The old village secretary shot him a look. “You think I can’t tell?”

Did you really need to say that?

The man grinned sheepishly.

The brigade captain sighed in admiration. “Yimin really put in the effort.”

The village secretary nodded. “These seeds are hard to come by these days. Who knows how many connections Yimin had to pull? Keep your mouths shut and don’t spread this around.”

“Secretary, don’t worry! Even if my mother asked, I wouldn’t tell her.”

Everyone turned to look at him. Their mouths twitched.

Damn it!

Your mother’s been dead for years. How the hell would she ask? Of course, you wouldn’t tell her!

You think you’re funny?

Realizing his blunder, the man quickly corrected himself. “I mean, I wouldn’t even tell my father.”

From the crowd, an old man glared. “Who told you to tell me?”

Yep, that old man was his father.

Laughter erupted around them.

Someone chimed in, “That’s right! Secretary, don’t worry! If anyone dares spread this, I’ll be the first to deal with them.”

The village secretary snorted. “I’m talking about you lot specifically. You can’t keep your mouths shut. When you get home, make sure to explain this clearly to your wives.”

Women were the biggest source of leaks. Sometimes they just blurted things out while gossiping. It had happened too many times before.

With the seeds secured, everyone worked even harder.

Hoes swung high, making for a spectacular scene.

They also took the opportunity to clear the rocks from the riverbed.

“This soil doesn’t even need fertilizer,” someone remarked.

As farmers, they could tell how fertile the soil was. The riverbed soil was perfect for growing crops.

Their gratitude toward Zhou Yimin grew. They had a strong feeling that this corn would yield a great harvest, becoming their village’s most important staple.

So, they took their work seriously, meticulously tilling the soil.

At the same time, the neighboring villages—including Shangshui Village—began following suit. They realized the dried-up riverbed was prime farmland.

However, unlike Zhou’s village, they weren’t planting vegetables. Instead, they were scrambling to find grain crops—sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, sorghum…

Anything would do.

But getting grain seeds wasn’t easy. The government tightly controlled them.

Even so, they knew it was already late in the planting season. But it didn’t matter—whatever they could harvest was a win.

—

(End of Chapter)