As for what’s left?
No rush, eat well and rest up before talking.
...
The Chu Family wasn’t aware of what was coming their way, but early the next morning, a bolt from the blue hit them.
"What?! You’re not going to work?"
The old lady with bound feet was about to stamp her feet.
Chu River was sitting in the courtyard sunning himself, saying quite naturally, "Anyway, there’s guaranteed food even if I don’t work. I don’t eat that much each year anyway, so I might as well stop going."
"How can you not go to work?"
The oldest daughter-in-law, who cooked a al yesterday, suddenly had a bit of confidence today for so reason:
"Sister-in-law, if you don’t work, you don’t earn labor points. The team will criticize you, not to ntion there will be no food distributed at the end of the year."
Chu River looked up at her, "What you say makes sense, but I’m just not going."
She leaned back, "If the team asks, just say I’m feeling weak, and if they don’t believe it, let a doctor co and see."
"As for whether we’ll get food distributed at the end of the year... you all just need to work harder. The five grown n at ho can’t make up for my eight labor points a day, can they?"
He said it, but of the five grown n at ho, other than Old Chu, who could earn ten labor points a day, the rest could only earn eight points each.
"Little sister." The fourth brother, Chu Manwu, gently smiled and said, "Look at you, you’re much quicker at work than we are, and your strength is so great. You can earn labor points easily without getting criticized."
Chu River looked up at him, "Sure, you give that 20 yuan to recuperate, and I’ll go work whenever my health gets better."
...
The brothers instantly withdrew.
yuan, that’s a lot of money! Factory workers in the city officially earn only 22 yuan a month.
The Old Chu Family, with 11 people working throughout the year, only earned 800 yuan last year. Their little sister alone, by donating blood four tis, brought back a total of 120 yuan, which is quite cost-effective!
Indeed, 120. To avoid issues, each brother took her once, pretending it was her first ti donating blood, so each ti she ca back, she gave 20 yuan to their mother, and the rest went into her little pocket.
What about Old Mrs. Chu? She knew well her son’s nature. But since she had grandchildren, she just turned a blind eye.
Old Mrs. Chu’s mind was abuzz with calculations – Chu River, at sixteen, could earn 240 labor points a month, two to three thousand a year. In their village, labor points were quite valuable, worth three cents each, so it ca to about eighty to ninety yuan a year.
The young girl was still growing, blood replenished quickly too. Selling blood once every two months for 20 yuan ant 120 yuan a year.
All in all, Chu River could earn 200 yuan a year, not including food rations.
These were all steady streams of inco.
If the girl stayed until she was twenty, they’d see who in town was getting married, hoping for a dowry of two hundred yuan; whoever offered it, she’d be married to them...
This wasn’t just Old Mrs. Chu’s plan; it was a family plan.
Chu River was fully aware inside.
...
So when she ntioned the twenty, the brothers figured they probably wouldn’t see that money in the future, and they went off to work with furrowed brows, listening to the loudspeaker announcents.
With everyone gone, the chores at ho naturally fell on the children, while Chu River wandered off to the river.
She found out during her bath last night that there were fish, shrimp, and crabs in the river.
For so reason, her mouth watered as she thought of a large bowl of bright red, spicy, hot crayfish.
Even though they didn’t look quite the sa as the shrimp in the river, they were close enough and edible.
During work hours, there was no one around, and she wasn’t afraid of getting her clothes wet and cold. She just plunged right in.
The river was quite deep, but there were plenty of fish. Chu River thought this one looked good, that one was okay too, and for a mont, she held her breath for so long she forgot to choose the best one.
She picked over fish in the river for who knows how long, but then she figured she’d be eating for the long haul, so any one would do!
She had just knocked out a big fish with one punch when suddenly, with a splash, a young girl fell into the river.
Chu River: ...
...
She was a bit impatient.
It wasn’t wise to be too blatant about fishing now, especially since the fish in her hand was quite large. But soone was flailing and drowning, calling for help nonstop...
"Puff... cough cough... help... help..."
Chu River sighed, reluctant to let go of the fish but unwilling to see soone die, she quickly and deftly swam to the center of the river, holding the big fish by the gills with one hand and grabbing the other person’s collar with the other, pulling her to the surface.
As soon as she surfaced, she saw a man in a military uniform on the shore, halfway through taking off his shoes.
Their eyes t, both froze for a mont.
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