Because she was afraid of being discovered by others and there was no way to explain the source, Xiulan did not take anything out of the space for Xiuzhu to eat.
That girl only had one wowotou at noon, so there was no way for her to be full.
No wonder the people in this era were thin, because they didn’t eat well every day. Without nutrition, they really couldn’t grow well.
She could only sigh. It seemed that going to the country seat was imminent. With her being here, Xiuzhu, this girl must be raised to be white and plump.
After a day of work, when Xiulan went home, Weiguo had just returned as well.
Dinner was prepared by Lijuan again.
This was only done by Lijuan at Weiguo’s command. Otherwise, it would definitely fall on Xiulan’s head again.
From Xiulan’s point of view, Lijuan didn’t work the whole day, so she naturally had to take care of the housework.
Except for Yumei, who was pregnant in the family, Lijuan was not working at all. Even Xiuzhu, who was only six years old, had to work, but Lijuan didn’t have to, which was unacceptable.
Originally, Lijuan was working just like everyone else in the family. However, ever since Yumei got pregnant, she used the excuse that she needed someone to take care of her. So, with Weiguo’s consent, Lijuan didn’t need to earn work points now.
Working to earn work points was not mandatory, so you could choose not to work. But without work points, there would be no foodstuff. So, if you couldn’t get any provisions, you would likely starve to death.
***Original translation is from enchantesstranslations.com. Please read it on the translator’s website.
Those lazy families in the village or families who could not produce labor at home due to special reasons earned fewer work points and invested less, and the value of the rations and agricultural and sideline products they receive was not proportional. Negative numbers would appear in the final account books, which became upside-down households. Farmers who had been hung upside down over the years and had not paid their debts were called ‘old upside-downs’.
In the production team, the upside-down households were ridiculed as ‘third-class citizens’, which was a title that made them not able to raise their heads.
If there was an upside-down household, there was also a straight-up household, which was directly opposite to an upside-down household.
‘Straight-up households’ could enjoy the spring breeze, had some income on their account books, and could have a lively New Year celebration. They could even buy clothes with cloth tickets and put on new clothes for their children.
Like Xiulan’s family, there was not much labor in the family, but it was still a family with people working. They barely worked hard every year so that they would not fall into an upside-down household, but they would not be able to become a straight-up household.
Xiulan naturally had an opinion about Lijuan not working. Why is this mother-daughter pair at home so lazy, that even a child as old as Xiuzhu has to earn work points for their whole family?
This should be stopped, so she had to think of a way. She couldn’t let this mother-daughter pair be lazy at home and do nothing, and just opened their mouths to eat.
Unexpectedly, during dinner, she was given a chance.
Today, Xiulan shied away from Jinhua’s five kilograms of sweet potatoes. Yumei had whispered nonsense things in Weiguo’s ears, accusing Xiulan of not being good and herself being pitiful. Of course, she used the baby in her womb as an emotional card.
Weiguo was someone who looked forward to having a son, so even if he thought that Jinhua’s five kilograms of sweet potatoes shouldn’t be asked for, it was scary for him to think that Yumei would really be hungry as it would wrong the baby in her womb. After listening to her, he also felt that Xiulan didn’t give more consideration to Yumei and that she should not have rejected Jinhua’s five kilograms of sweet potatoes.
While he was drinking porridge with a few grains of rice, he said to Xiulan solemnly, “Xiulan, I heard that Jinhua dropped by to give you five kilograms of sweet potatoes to thank you today. Why did you refuse it?
“Our family doesn’t have much foodstuff anymore. If only you had accepted it, this can give your younger brother in your Auntie Mei’s womb something to eat. If you have done a good thing to someone, it is also right for that person to thank you!”
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