Chapter 45: He Daixing’s Intentions

He Daixing’s sudden change of expression left He Yu standing there, unsure of what to do.

“It was Li Pang who said it. I ran into him on the road earlier, and he told me to stay away from the people in the cattle shed. He said the little sister we just met was a troublemaker.”

He Daixing’s brows drew together, his face dark and stern. It took tremendous effort for him to hold his temper in check.

He rubbed He Yu’s head. “Xiaoyu, not everyone living in the cattle shed is a bad person. Some may have ended up there because they were framed. We shouldn’t judge others based on a single remark.”

He Yu’s eyes lit up. “Grandpa, you mean the little sister isn’t bad? Then can I go play with them in the future?”

She really liked the little sisters. Ever since she saw them on the mountain, she’d thought Fang Mingxi was adorable, much cuter than He Xi.

He Daixing’s eyes flickered, and without hesitation, he smiled. “Why not? But the little sister is still young. You climb trees and play in the river with He Gao every day. Don’t take her to those places.”

He Yu nodded eagerly. “Of course! Then I’ll go play with her tomorrow. I don’t like He Xi, she’s so spoiled. She always needs someone to carry her.” And she always clung to Big Brother Gao, which was embarrassing.

“That’s fine. Do you still have any snacks in your pocket? If not, I’ll buy some at the commune this afternoon. You can bring them for the little sisters tomorrow.”

“Then I want peach pastries, big meat buns, canned fruit…”

“All right. We’ll buy everything.”

…

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, He Yu kept her promise. Early in the morning, right after breakfast, she grabbed a bag of things and ran outside.

Zhao Hongying couldn’t even remind her to wear gloves before she disappeared. Wiping her hands on her apron, she set a bunch of garlic on the courtyard table.

“How strange. Xiaoyu usually isn’t this excited. Where could she be rushing off to so early?”

A middle-aged woman peeling garlic looked up with a smile. “Where else can a child go? Either climbing the mountain, climbing a tree, or looking for He Gao. She won’t get lost.”

“I don’t know what’s so special about that boy. Xiaoyu follows him everywhere, she’s practically his shadow,” Zhao Hongying muttered as she set a stool down and picked up a large garlic bulb to peel.

“Oh, little sister, does your factory have any flawed cloth or cotton? If you do, I want to buy some. Mom and I will come in a few days to get it.”

The middle-aged woman, He Qiu, looked surprised. “Why buy cotton all of a sudden? Didn’t I bring home a few cotton coats earlier this year?”

Zhao Hongying finished peeling a few cloves and dropped them into a bowl. “They’re not for us, they’re for someone else.”

“Someone else?” He Qiu blinked, confused. Was the family returning a favor? Or did someone ask Big Brother for help? “Who?”

Zhao Hongying hesitated. “A child. There’s a child in the brigade without cotton clothes. Mom and I thought of asking you for some cotton and cloth so we can sew a few pieces ourselves.”

“Who exactly? Even flawed fabric isn’t cheap these days, let alone cotton,” He Qiu insisted.

All these years, she’d never seen Mom or her sister-in-law go out of their way for outsiders. Other than last year’s tragedy with He Goudan, she couldn’t recall any child receiving that level of help.

Since Big Brother became Brigade Leader, unless someone was truly unfortunate, she’d never heard of the family helping anyone. At most, a little extra grain, nothing more.

Now they wanted to help someone, and even make cotton clothes. Cotton was precious, and not every worker in the county town had cotton clothing. And there were other poor families in the brigade. If they helped one, would they be expected to help everyone?

He Qiu didn’t agree with the idea, but since it came from her sister-in-law, someone she’d hardly ever argued with, she didn’t want to speak harshly.

She advised gently, “Sister-in-law, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but helping an outsider once may lead to helping forever. If we give these clothes away, what if more needy families come? Will we have to keep taking care of them?”

“It’s not that. I just,” Zhao Hongying began, but someone interrupted her.

“Don’t try to persuade your sister-in-law. This was my idea,” Zhang Guihua said, coming out with a stern face. “Stop asking questions and just tell me if you have the materials.”

Her darkened expression made He Qiu instantly unhappy.

“Mom, what do you mean your idea? Sending things to He Goudan was one thing, but now you’re giving cotton clothes to someone else?”

Zhang Guihua slapped the back of her head. “Someone else? You’ve been in leadership too long, did all your studying go into a dog’s stomach?”

Holding her head, He Qiu stared in confusion. “What does this have to do with studying?”

Zhang Guihua rolled up her sleeve, revealing scars on her arm. “Look at these scars. The ‘outsider’ you mentioned is the granddaughter of the person who once helped your mother, our entire family’s benefactor. Do you think she doesn’t deserve cotton clothes?”

A thunderbolt seemed to hit He Qiu. Her vision blurred, and the garlic in her hand dropped and rolled into the trash. “This… how is that possible?”

A benefactor?!

Their family had only ever had one true benefactor. That person had been a high-ranking leader in Beijing. How could their granddaughter end up in Maple Leaf Brigade? Mom couldn’t be mistaken, could she?

“Hmph! Why not? You know what’s happening outside. Plenty of former officials in the county town have been brought down,” Zhang Guihua said with a cold snort, touching the ten-centimeter scar on her right forearm with deep gratitude.

Years had passed, and though the wound had healed, the scar, stitched for hours by the director of the provincial hospital, remained. Whenever she saw it, she remembered that terrifying night.

“If your brother hadn’t contacted the hospital back then, my arm would’ve been gone. And the medical bills? Someone else paid them. Without that money, your schooling would’ve been in danger.”

Her gaze hardened as she pulled down her sleeve.

“It’s a pity. The leader who once paid for a soldier’s mother’s medical bills has now been wronged and sent here, along with a little girl barely over a year old.”

“In a situation like this, how could your mother and sister-in-law not help?”

A shiver ran through He Qiu. “Mom, sister-in-law, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” Wiping her tears, she ran into the house and soon returned with a yellow shoulder bag.

“Mom, this is the money I brought back. Tell me when you come to the city, I’ll get you the cloth and cotton, no matter what.”

She stuffed ten large bills into Zhao Hongying’s hands. Zhao Hongying hesitated. “Little sister, that’s too much. I have money.”

He Qiu waved her off and pulled out even more bills. “Sister-in-law, you are you, and I am me. This is from me.”

She gave a bitter smile. “Mom is right. Without the benefactor paying the hospital, our family couldn’t have afforded the medical bills. And those few extra yuan helped me finish vocational school.”

Zhao Hongying looked at the older woman, and when she saw her nod, she finally tucked the money away.

“All right, I’ll keep it. But the cloth doesn’t need to be anything fancy, ordinary flawed fabric will do. Nothing for the benefactor should attract attention.”

“Understood. I’ll also look for children’s shoes and pants. I’ll make sure everything is prepared.”

As the three discussed how to get everything ready, none of them noticed that He Yu had returned and had been crouching by the doorway for a long time, unmoving.