Chapter 34: Reporting to the Brigade Leader

Chanterelles, morels, matsutake…

Where on earth did these two little brats find all that?

Liu Damazi couldn’t make sense of it. Losing track of the He family kids was already frustrating enough, but how could two random children they bumped into also pick up rare mushrooms? Was their luck really that terrible?

Unwilling to accept it, Liu Damazi stretched out his hand and barked at Tang Yao, “Hand over the mushrooms you picked. Otherwise, I’ll report you for secretly pocketing the Maple Leaf Brigade’s property.”

He was copying Wang Dazhu’s earlier approach. The people in the cattle shed feared being reported the most. A little intimidation should be enough to trick the girls into giving up the mushrooms.

Sure enough, the moment Tang Yao heard the word report, the courage she had finally gathered evaporated.

She trembled as she leaned against Fang Mingxi, her face filled with panic. “Xixi… he’s going to report us…”

Fang Mingxi’s eyes darkened as she glared angrily at Liu Damazi.

“You already stole our wild pheasant, and now you want our mushrooms too? I’m going to the Brigade Leader to file a complaint!”

Report? Fine, who was afraid of whom? Their things came from legitimate sources. Who said people from the cattle shed weren’t allowed to forage on the mountain?

He Daniu and Liu Damazi exchanged glances. Then, without warning, they lunged forward and grabbed for Tang Yao’s basket.

These men were habitual offenders; never mind people from the cattle shed, even widows and orphans in the village had suffered at their hands. After all, those households had no one to protect them. As long as the men refused to admit anything, who could prove it?

And now their targets were cattle shed residents, making them even easier prey.

The group moved with practiced ease. One man seized Tang Yao’s arm, another pried at her fingers, their force completely unrestrained.

“You’re the bad guys! I’m telling on you!” Tang Yao cried as she struggled desperately to hold onto the basket, but her small body was no match for four grown men. Her restrained hand hurt so much that she burst into loud sobs.

Fang Mingxi panicked and shoved at them.

“Let go! Stinky Damazi, don’t hit my older sister!”

“Ah! Get lost, you little brat!”

Fang Mingxi bit down hard on He Daniu’s leg. He hissed and instinctively pushed her away by the head.

Caught off guard, Fang Mingxi toppled into the bushes. She scrambled up quickly, only to see the four men still tugging at the basket, Tang Yao’s arm already reddened from their grip.

Her expression hardened. She grabbed a large rock and aimed it at Liu Damazi’s head.

“DON’T YOU DARE HIT MY OLDER SISTER!!!”

“Stop! What are you doing?!”

A young voice rang out. The four men turned to see a little girl, seven or eight years old, with twin braids, emerging from the trees. Behind her stood several of the He siblings.

The He siblings had quite the haul, their baskets were full, and their arms were piled with wild strawberries. They showed little reaction to the scene, but He Xi paused, a strange flicker crossing her eyes as she glanced at the mushrooms scattered on the ground.

Liu Damazi and his group quickly released Tang Yao, muttering awkwardly, “We were just playing with them…”

The little girl, He Yu, snorted coldly. Stepping forward, she pointed at them and scolded, “Don’t think I didn’t see it! Four adults bullying little kids. I’m telling Grandpa you even dare steal from children!”

He Yu’s grandfather was the Brigade Leader, He Daixing. Raised under his strict guidance, she was straightforward, upright, and absolutely intolerant of bullying. The moment she saw the confrontation, she couldn’t keep silent.

He Jun slipped the wild pheasant egg into his pocket.

“Who said we bullied them? We were the ones who saw the mushrooms first. They stole our things.”

“That’s right! We caught the wild pheasant, and we saw the mushrooms first. What’s wrong with taking back our own stuff?”

Liu Damazi’s group finally caught on and began spouting lies without hesitation.

They knew Tang Yao and Fang Mingxi wouldn’t dare tell the truth. If they spoke first and turned the story around, they could shift all the blame. With no witnesses and everyone belonging to the same brigade, people would surely believe them.

“No… no, that’s not true…”

Tang Yao cried, wiping her tears. “My younger sister and I picked the mushrooms on the mountaintop. Then I slipped on the way down and accidentally knocked out the pheasant. They heard the sound and ran over to steal it.”

She regretted everything. She shouldn’t have shouted when she saw the pheasant. Otherwise, those men wouldn’t have heard it. Her younger sister wouldn’t have fallen, and none of this would’ve happened.

“Nonsense! What kind of wild pheasant with a working brain would just stand there and let itself get knocked out? I clearly caught it myself!” Liu Damazi roared.

THUD!

Fang Mingxi dropped the rock and stepped toward Tang Yao, her face cold. She pinched her thigh hard, forcing out tears that shimmered down her cheeks.

“Older sister… these uncles bullied us… We should go to the Brigade Leader. Can you tell me where he is?”

She looked at He Yu with tearful eyes. The scratch on her forehead, still bleeding, made her appear even more pitiful. He Yu felt a sharp tug in her chest.

She rushed forward and stood protectively in front of the two girls, like a mother hen shielding her chicks.

“All of you claim the wild pheasant is yours? Fine. Then come with me to find Grandpa.”

At the Maple Leaf Brigade’s courtyard square, the rain that had poured all morning had finally stopped. As the skies cleared, the brigade members who had been waiting since dawn finally saw what they had hoped for, the pork distribution.

He Daixing began with his customary speech, encouraging everyone to keep working hard next year.

Then he reported the brigade’s harvest numbers.

Finally came what everyone truly awaited: pork distribution and dividends.

This year’s harvest was excellent. After handing in the public grain quota, the brigade still had plenty left over. Even the pigs they raised were fat and sturdy.

After submitting the required pigs, two remained, each weighing at least one to two hundred jin. With seventy households in the brigade, each home could receive four to five jin of pork.

The freshly slaughtered pigs lay on the table, and the people in line could barely hide their excitement.

After a year of hard work, aside from grain distribution, this was the most anticipated day of the year. They not only received New Year’s pork but also dividends. Who wouldn’t call this a good day?

Liu Xiuhua stood midway through the line. Her family was large but hadn’t split households, so they only received six jin of meat.

Six jin wasn’t enough for such a big family. She had planned to buy extra, but with several “reform targets” assigned to the brigade this year, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to.

The others had similar thoughts. With dividends in hand, even after getting their pork, many lingered, eyeing the remaining meat and calculating whether they could buy more.

After a long morning of work, it was finally the cattle shed residents’ turn. But by then, most of the meat had already been taken, leaving only lean cuts and ribs that no one else wanted.

Old Yu and Zhong Zhicheng had been here a full year, so each received about half a jin of lean meat and half a jin of ribs.

Tong Lingxian, Fang Bo Song, and Wu Meixia had arrived only a little over half a year ago, so their households each received three liang of meat and a piece of rib.

None of them were disappointed, in fact, they carried their portions as if they were precious treasures.

Three liang of meat was already wonderful. The rib was an unexpected bonus. More would be great, but less wasn’t something to complain about.

Seeing meat still left on the table, the onlookers rushed forward with money ready.

But Liu Xiuhua had already set her sights on the last piece. As soon as the crowd parted, she swiftly grabbed a slab of pork belly.

“Brigade Leader, tally it for me,” she said, slapping down ten yuan without hesitation.

“Liu Damei, you’re too fast! Give me a little, won’t you?”

“In your dreams! I’ve got so many little ones at home, this isn’t even enough for them to gnaw on…”

The accountant weighed the meat and charged her accordingly.

Those who failed to buy any wailed in regret. Why hadn’t they moved faster?

He Daixing shook his head as the distribution wrapped up and the crowd began packing up to leave.

But just as everything settled down, he saw his granddaughter marching over, dragging an entire group of people behind her.