Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

As evening fell, smoke began to rise from the chimneys.

Liu Guilan stood at the gate of her yard, holding a basin of freshly washed cabbage, and sniffed it hard.

A strong, pungent aroma of meat, infused with spices, forcefully filled my nostrils.

That wasn't just ordinary stir-fried shredded pork; it was a real stew of large chunks of meat, so oily and flavorful that it would whet your appetite.

"Whose house is this? Don't they want to live like this, even though it's not a holiday?"

Liu Guilan muttered something, slammed the bowl of cabbage in her hand onto the ground, feeling a little uneasy.

She is the wife of Zhang Dali from the east end of the village.

Zhang Dali is a formal worker at the county forest farm, earning a fixed salary of thirty-eight yuan per month, with labor insurance and benefits.

In this mountain village, her family was considered "upper class," and they always walked with an air of superiority.

But recently, things haven't been going well for the forest farm.

I heard that the timber quota has been reduced, and Dali's salary has been withheld for two months.

Tonight's meal is just cabbage stew with glass noodles; they didn't even put a single piece of fried dough in it.

But the meat smells so good.

Liu Guilan turned her head following the smell, her gaze passing over her own low wall and landing on the dilapidated thatched houses next door.

That's Sanlengzi's house.

A well-known impoverished household in the entire village.

San Lengzi, true to his name, is not very bright and only has a lot of clumsy strength.

My wife is a sickly person, coughing all the time. Our two kids are dressed like beggars, and we can't even borrow salt from them.

"No way..."

Liu Guilan narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

With San Lengzi's family being so poor they were practically penniless, could they afford to cook this kind of dish?

Just then, the broken wooden door of San Lengzi's house creaked open.

A little girl came skipping and hopping out.

She is Er Ya, the eldest daughter of San Lengzi.

Liu Guilan's eyes widened instantly.

Er Ya was wearing a brand new red corduroy smock.

Those were the most sought-after items displayed prominently in the supply and marketing cooperative. Each piece cost several yuan and required cloth coupons!

In the setting sun, the red corduroy reflected the light, making your originally dark and thin face look red.

Er Ya was still clutching something in her hand. She unwrapped the colorful candy wrapper, stuffed it into her mouth, and her cheeks bulged out.

A rich, milky aroma wafted over on the breeze.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

Liu Guilan swallowed hard, a surge of anger rising within her.

This one piece of candy is worth more than a pound of salt in her family!

Did this guy's family strike it rich? Or did they rob the supply and marketing cooperative?

"Er Ya!"

Liu Guilan couldn't help herself and shouted over the wall, forcing a stiff smile:

"This dress is so beautiful! Who bought it for you?"

Er Ya was happily munching on candy when she heard the shout. She looked up at Liu Guilan and called out in a clear voice:

"My dad bought it! He also bought my mom a new scarf!"

"Your dad?"

Liu Guilan pursed her lips, completely disbelieving.

"Where did your dad get his fortune? How come he has the money to buy this?"

Just as Er Ya was about to speak, the voice of San Lengzi's wife came from inside the house:

"Er Ya! Where have you been! Come back for dinner! The meat is stewed until it's tender!"

"Hey! You're here! Time to eat meat!"

Er Ya cheered and ran into the house, leaving Liu Guilan with a silhouette of her in new clothes and the increasingly strong aroma of meat.

Standing in the wind, Liu Guilan looked at the few wilted cabbages in her pot and suddenly felt that the weather was even colder.

……

Half an hour later.

San Lengzi hummed an off-key tune as he came out to empty coal ash, carrying a dustpan in his hand.

His face, which was usually always frowning, was now flushed, and the grease on the corners of his mouth hadn't been wiped clean, clearly indicating that he had just had a lavish meal.

"Hey, you're such a simpleton."

Liu Guilan had been waiting for this for a long time.

She pretended to splash water at the door, and when she saw San Lengzi come out, she immediately went up to him, her eyes scanning him up and down:

"This food looks good! It smells delicious from two miles away. What, did the forest farm recruit you?"

She's testing me.

If even a simpleton like San Lengzi gets into the forest farm, then the value of Dali's "permanent job" will be even lower.

When San Lengzi saw Liu Guilan, he chuckled and scratched his head:

"Sister-in-law is joking. With my brain, how could the forest farm possibly want me?"

"Then you are...?"

Liu Guilan lowered her voice and moved closer to San Lengzi, looking rather mysterious:

"Sister-in-law, you just saw Er Ya's outfit, and that White Rabbit candy. That must have cost at least a hundred or two hundred yuan, right?"

"Hey, we're neighbors. If you have any ways to make money, you can't keep it from your wife. Your brother Dali's factory isn't doing well lately, and he's really worried about it."

She stared into San Lengzi's eyes, trying to pry out some truth from them.

San Lengzi emptied the dustbin onto the garbage heap, dusted off his hands, and looked both honest and bewildered.

"There's no way you can get in touch with that, sister-in-law, you're overthinking it."

"Where did that money come from?" Liu Guilan persisted.

"I earned it through work."

San Lengzi sniffed and, following Zhao Shanhe's instructions, said in a mix of truth and falsehood:

"A few days ago, Brother Shanhe went into the mountains to collect mountain products and needed a laborer to carry them. That job is exhausting; carrying sacks weighing hundreds of kilograms onto the truck is something most people can't do."

He patted his muscular shoulders:

"I'm strong, so I went along and carried heavy loads for a few days. Brother Shanhe was kind; seeing how hard I worked, he gave me a little extra money."

"Carrying heavy bags?"

Liu Guilan frowned deeply, her face full of disbelief:

"When Zhao Shanhe was hiring, my son Dali looked down on it. He said it was just manual labor, and at best, it would pay about the same as what he earned in the factory. You've earned so much in just a few days?"

Upon hearing this, San Lengzi shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum.

"Of course, he can't compare to Brother Dali!"

He looked at Liu Guilan with adoration, his tone so sincere that no one could find fault with him:

"Brother Dali has a secure job; he's a government employee, his income is guaranteed regardless of drought or flood. He'll also have social security when he retires; that's a blessing for life."

"I'm just a day laborer, I don't know when I'll be there. It's only because Brother Shanhe took pity on me and gave me a few extra meals. It can't compare to Brother Dali's proper job, it can't compare at all."

After San Lengzi's barrage of flattery, Liu Guilan opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

They've already admitted they're not as good as you, what can you say?

"Alright, sister-in-law, see you later. There's still half a bowl of meat soup left in the house; I need to go back and make rice soup with it, otherwise it'll get fishy if it gets cold."

San Lengzi picked up the gray bucket, chuckled, and turned to leave.

Her steps were light and quick. Although her tattered cotton-padded jacket was old, it exuded a festive air no matter how you looked at it.

Liu Guilan stood there, watching San Lengzi's retreating figure, her teeth almost grinding to powder.

Can't compare?

It's incomparable!

While other fools are enjoying meat and soup indoors and wearing corduroy, your own "country people" are still lying on the kang (heated brick bed) worrying about their next meal!

What do you mean by guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood?

Is receiving fifteen yuan every two months considered a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood?

Why does this so-called "iron rice bowl" suddenly feel so unsettling?

"Zhao Shanhe..."

Liu Guilan chewed on the name, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Previously, everyone in the village thought that the young man from the Zhao family was just causing trouble.

But now...

Even a fool like San Lengzi can get meat by following him.

Then look at the cold, lifeless cabbage in my hand.

Liu Guilan suddenly felt that the world seemed to have changed.

"Zhang Dali!!"

Liu Guilan turned around abruptly and shouted into her house, her voice shrill and filled with a fierce anger:

"Stop lying there like a corpse! Come out and stew this cabbage!"

"All you do is guard your crappy factory all day! You can't even outperform an idiot! How can we live like this?!"