Chapter 6: The Plague-Stricken

5:30 PM.

The whistle for the end of the shift at the steel rolling mill sounded. Leng Yongkang tidied up the tools at his workstation and prepared to walk toward the workshop exit with his coworkers when someone caught up from behind.

"Brother Leng, did you go to the office earlier?"

Leng Yongkang saw it was Deng Jianshe from the same workshop and stopped to wait for him.

"Yeah, went to draw this month's wages."

"I heard your sister-in-law had an accident yesterday. How is she? Is the injury serious?"

"She had a minor surgery. She can be discharged after recovering for a few days."

Upon hearing it was a minor surgery, Deng Jianshe felt relieved. "Thank goodness. Did you draw your wages because you were short on cash? If the medical expenses aren't enough, I have some money here."

Having a brother willing to help in times of trouble made Leng Yongkang extremely grateful. "Thanks, it's enough for now. My mother helped pay for the surgery yesterday."

"Hey! Brother Leng, is that your niece?"

Deng Jianshe knew Leng Hui, but today, he almost didn't recognize her.

She stood openly at the factory gate, letting everyone look at her, no longer the timid and cowardly girl she used to be.

Leng Yongkang looked over; it was indeed his daughter.

Leng Hui had been waiting specifically for him, so she naturally noticed him too.

"Why did you come to the factory? Shouldn't you be at the hospital taking care of Mom?"

Leng Hui glanced at Deng Jianshe, who was walking with Leng Yongkang. He looked familiar, but she couldn't immediately place him.

However, remembering her purpose, she reached out to Leng Yongkang. "Mom suffered a lot this time. The doctor said she needs to eat more nutritious food. I don't have any money or ration coupons on me, so I'm here to get some from you."

Mindful of Deng Jianshe, who hadn't left yet, Leng Yongkang reluctantly took money from his pocket. "Our family is in a financial hole this month. This is the salary I drew in advance; I have to pay it back to your grandma."

Leng Hui raised an eyebrow, ready to snap back at him.

Before she could speak, Leng Yongkang added, "You have your own private savings, so I won't give you the money. I specifically traded for these two milk powder coupons; you can use them to buy two cans of milk powder or malted milk for your mom."

Without a word, Leng Hui snatched all the money and coupons from his hand. She did a rough count; Leng Yongkang's monthly salary was a little over thirty yuan, plus several types of coupons.

The coupons issued each month varied. This month, besides the two milk powder coupons, there was half a jin of cotton and two taels of meat coupons.

Leng Hui pulled out the two milk powder coupons, the cotton coupon, and the meat coupon, then pulled out two ten-yuan bills. "I don't care who you intended these milk powder coupons for. Since you gave them to me today, no one is getting them back. And this cotton coupon is just right for me to get my mom some new clothes; her clothes were torn when she fell."

As for the money, it was obviously for buying her mother nutritional supplements.

What kind of man doesn't support his own wife and children, only caring about his brothers and nephews?

Snatching the money and coupons from an adult left both men stunned.

By the time Leng Hui stuffed the money back into his hand, Leng Yongkang finally reacted and tried to grab the two ten-yuan bills back. "You child, didn't I say this money is to be paid back to your grandma? The surgery fee I paid yesterday was our living expenses for the month. If you take this, what will the whole family eat? Are we supposed to drink the northwest wind?"

By the end, Leng Yongkang was a bit angry. If they weren't at the factory gate, he would have actually tried to snatch it back.

This child had been too unruly these past two days.

Leng Hui gripped the money and coupons tightly and took a step back. "If you pay her, Mom and I won't have anything to eat anyway, so it's not much different from drinking the northwest wind."

Leng Yongkang cared about his reputation. He glanced at Deng Jianshe, who hadn't left yet, and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense. Would the family ever short you and your mom on rations?"

He was also secretly annoyed at Deng Jianshe for having no sense of boundaries; he was trying to discuss things with his daughter, so why was he hovering nearby?

"Whether you shorted us or not, you know in your heart. I'm afraid you just choose to turn a blind eye."

When she went back this morning, the family hadn't cooked for her and her mother. It wasn't that he hadn't heard what Old Lady Leng said; he was just used to turning a blind eye.

Mistreating his wife and daughter—that was a low thing to do.

Leng Yongkang couldn't do anything about the departing Leng Hui, and he couldn't stand Deng Jianshe's look of disdain. After exchanging a few polite words, he hurried home.

When he returned to the residential compound, he could hear Old Lady Leng's cursing while he was still downstairs.

Most of the neighbors upstairs and downstairs were cooking in the corridors. While they were busy chopping and stir-frying, their mouths were never idle, chatting about this and that.

Seeing him return today, everyone tacitly lowered their heads to cook.

Leng Yongkang had a bad premonition. As soon as he entered the house, a dark shadow flew at him. Instinctively, he blocked it with his hand, and a black chaff pillow fell at his feet.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Old Lady Leng sat cross-legged on the bed, pointing at him and cursing, "You plague! You dare ask me what I'm doing? Why don't you ask what that money-losing goods you sired did today?"

Leng Yongkang looked at Sun Xiaojuan, who was sitting by the table, in confusion.

Sun Xiaojuan sighed and pointed to the wooden chest under Old Lady Leng's bed. "They say it's hard to guard against a thief in the family. Big Brother, your Huihui committed a grave mistake today. She actually dared to pry open the lock on Mom's chest and steal the eggs and flour the family worked so hard to save. The eggs and flour Mom saved were for entertaining guests during the holidays. She ruined them; how are we supposed to entertain guests when they come?"

"That can't be right. Huihui isn't that bold."

However, as soon as he said that, Leng Yongkang remembered Leng Hui snatching his money and coupons at the factory gate that afternoon.

If it were the old Leng Hui, Leng Yongkang would have guaranteed she wouldn't do such a thing.

But the current Leng Hui? She was truly capable of such rebellious acts.

Old Lady Leng glared at her eldest son, who dared to contradict her. "We went out this morning and she was the only one home. If she didn't pry it, did a ghost do it?"

Leng Yongkang picked up the pillow from the floor, walked into the house, patted it, and threw it to Old Lady Leng. "Mom, can you stop shouting about everything so the whole compound knows? Isn't it embarrassing?"

Now he realized what the neighbors' looks meant when he was walking upstairs earlier.

"It's you who should be embarrassed for raising such a disgraceful thing." Old Lady Leng spat at him. Seeing Leng Mei bring in the food, she quickly got off the bed to put on her shoes and let her second daughter-in-law set the table.

In this era of hunger, nothing was more important than eating.

The girl was at the hospital, so she couldn't deal with her now, but she would settle the score when she returned.

Dinner was very simple: a bowl of green beans, a bowl of salted vegetables, and the staple was porridge made from mixed grains.

Even with coarse grains, the family's food was rationed. The men got large bowls, one per person. The women got two-thirds of that amount, and the children only got a small bowl.

Leng Mei was seventeen this year, but at home, her portion was still calculated as a child's, with only a small bowl of porridge per meal.

Leng Yongkang saw that everyone had a bowl and the porridge in the pot was already at the bottom. "Why didn't you cook more porridge tonight? I was planning to take some food to Xiaolin and Huihui later."

Old Lady Leng popped a piece of salted vegetable into her mouth. Hearing this, she slammed her chopsticks onto the table. "Send what? Since they dared to steal the family's eggs, they can just eat dirt!"

Remembering how money had been flowing out like water these past two days, Old Lady Leng asked, "Didn't you say you were drawing your salary today? Where is it?"