Chapter 47
◎Sour and Sweet Paper Mulberry Fruit◎
The next day, Yu Juanfang used the floral plaid cloth to make a new set of clothes for Tangtang. The cream-colored shirt was paired with a red and black plaid bib dress. Two soft braids hung down her chest, looking stylish and beautiful. It was rare to find such brightly colored and good-quality cloth at the Hongqi Commune supply and marketing cooperative.
Yu Juanfang separated a portion of the things Su Juesheng had brought back and had Tangtang and Su Juesheng send them to the old Su family’s house for Yu Yahong, Wu Fangmei, and the others.
Since the family was divided, Old Madam Zhu had been living with the fourth branch. Usually, whenever the third branch had something good to eat, they would think of bringing a separate bowl for Old Madam Zhu. When Tangtang and Juesheng received any prize money from school, they would think of buying something good for their grandmother or bringing her some gifts.
Although the family was divided, blood was thicker than water. And in the past, Old Madam Zhu had not been harsh to these grandchildren. The two good children were still willing to be close to Old Madam Zhu.
As soon as Tangtang entered the door, she saw Zhang Chunni, who had come to the old Su family’s house for a short stay again. She greeted her politely and distantly, “Sister Chunni.”
When Tangtang was in the fourth grade, she had heard her eldest aunt, Zhang Guixiang, asking around for a husband for her niece. Now, several years had passed, and Zhang Chunni was still not married.
“Brother Juesheng came back from the army on leave and brought back some specialty gifts. This portion is for Eldest Uncle’s family… You can take it in.” Although the relationship between Yu Juanfang and Zhang Guixiang had not eased much in the past few years, since the second and fourth branches both had a share, Yu Juanfang would not do something that would give people something to talk about.
As for whether the portions in the oil paper bags were the same, that was unknown.
“What are they?”
“Oh, some southern pastries.”
“Alright, I know.” Zhang Chunni curled her lip in disdain.
As she spoke, Zhang Chunni’s gaze fell on the new clothes Tangtang was wearing, her eyes a little dark.
The colors were bright, and it was clear that they were not colors that could be dyed in a rural dye vat. The style was also the latest. It was clear that a lot of thought had been put into making these clothes. Tangtang, wearing this new set of clothes, with her hair neatly combed, and her long, curled eyelashes, didn’t look like a delicate girl who could be raised in these poor mountains and remote waters at all.
A sour feeling rose in Zhang Chunni’s heart. Even she had never worn such a good set of clothes. Although she looked down on Tangtang, thinking that she was just an adopted wild girl, she had to admit that Tangtang’s life was much better than hers.
“Little slut,” Zhang Chunni cursed silently in her heart. Why hasn’t that Su Yandi from Waguan Village come to take Tangtang back yet?
After delivering the pastries, Tangtang left the old Su family’s courtyard. Before going home, she went to the farmland where the two kinds of grain seeds were planted to take a look.
The wheat had been sown since last October. After surviving a winter, both kinds of grain seeds had sprouted.
Compared to the old grain seeds, the new grain seeds grew much faster and were a whole head taller. The green seedlings stretched in the breeze, and the ears of wheat that grew looked large and full. She estimated that in less than half a month, the new grain seeds could be harvested.
Tangtang also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. From the looks of it, even if this high-yield seed couldn’t increase the yield tenfold, it could still increase it by two or three times.
A smile appeared on her face. It seemed that in the coming year, no one would have to go hungry.
The next day, Tangtang went back to school. They were now third-year junior high students, and their schoolwork was much heavier than in the previous two years.
…
In April and May, after several consecutive sunny days, the paper mulberry fruit in the mountains ripened.
The paper mulberry fruit, also known as Fructus Broussonetiae, was a nutritious wild fruit. The ripe paper mulberry fruit was purplish-red and tasted sour and sweet. It was one of the favorite snacks of the children in the summer.
After a week of studying, Tangtang had just put down her schoolbag when she heard Wani calling her at the door. “Tangtang, I heard that the paper mulberry fruit in the mountains is ripe. Let’s go and pick some together.”
“Alright, alright.” Tangtang was very fond of her cousin Wani. When she was little, it was Wani who had always played with her. Wani’s old clothes that she had outgrown were all left for Tangtang. She went out, and the two sisters affectionately linked arms and went to the mountains.
“Sister Wani seems to be in a good mood.” A smile appeared on Tangtang’s face. It was rare to see Wani so happy, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
“I’m doing a good job as a class cadre. I’ve been recognized by my classmates and praised by the teacher.” Although this was just a trivial matter, for someone like her who always shrank in the corner of the classroom, couldn’t even speak properly in front of others, and would blush just from asking to borrow a pen, to be able to actively communicate with any classmate now was already a very big improvement.
“Sister Wani is so amazing.” Tangtang was also happy for her. She knew that with her cousin’s personality, it must have taken a lot of courage to take this step.
“But I’m still far behind Juexiao. Not only are his grades good, but his popularity in the class is also much better than mine.” Those who could go to high school were generally those who had decent grades in their respective communes and were willing to continue their studies. In the last exam, Wani had ranked in the teens in her grade, while Su Juexiao had ranked first.
“Everyone has their own strengths.” Tangtang shrugged. “No matter how amazing he is, he can’t do needlework as well as Sister Wani, and he can’t cook.”
“You’re right.”
As the two sisters were talking, they went up the mountain. Tangtang, with a bamboo basket on her arm, went into the bushes next to them. The paper mulberry tree was a perennial deciduous tree of the Moraceae family. It was also called the paper mulberry tree, the paper mulberry peach tree, the paper mulberry milk tree, the valley wood, the valley pulp tree, the fake bayberry tree, etc. The bark, leaves, and seeds could all be used as medicine. A few years ago, before the family was divided, Tangtang and the others had to go up the mountain every day to gather pig feed, and the most common thing they would pick was the leaves of the paper mulberry tree.
The paper mulberry fruit already adorned the branches. The purplish-red berries were in clusters, looking very appetizing just by looking at them. A look of joy appeared on Tangtang’s face. She stood on her tiptoes and gently picked a string of the fullest paper mulberry fruit with her fingertips.
She picked a large paper mulberry fruit and put it in her mouth. The sour and sweet juice exploded in her mouth, mixed with a light, grassy fragrance. The purplish-red fruit also dyed her lips red. Tangtang and Wani ate their fill before picking another basket of fresh paper mulberry fruit.
They would take it back for their family to taste, and the rest could be used to make jam and wine.
Not long after going down the mountain, Wani had other things to do, so she and Tangtang parted ways.
It was not yet dark, and she was not in a hurry to go home to help with the cooking. Tangtang went to the fields in the river valley for a stroll. The wheat seedlings looked taller than they had last week, and they had also grown thicker.
“Strange.” Tangtang remembered that when she had passed by the sloping land where the old grain seeds were planted just now, the wheat there had also started to grow ears. Although the seedlings were not as thick as the new grain seeds, the ears of wheat were drooping, while the ears of this new grain seed were straight up.
Why aren’t the ears of this new grain seed drooping?
Tangtang squatted by the field ridge for a long while. A terrible conjecture appeared in her mind. After the sun set, twilight began to slowly envelop the earth. She looked around, and after making sure that no one was there, she quickly raised her hand, broke off an ear of wheat, hid it in her clothes, and ran home.
“Dad, do you know how many communes and production teams around here have planted this new grain seed that can increase the yield tenfold?”
Su Huimin had just returned from the county. Before he could catch his breath, he heard her incoherent words. “This new grain seed is now being widely promoted throughout the county. In the two or three neighboring counties, each county has seven or eight communes, and each commune has more than a dozen villages. I heard that several of the villages in our commune have planted this new grain seed.”
“But there are also one or two villages that want to wait a year to see the situation, and there are also some like our village that have planted half new grain seeds and half old grain seeds.”
“What’s wrong?”
The more Tangtang heard about this situation, the more her heart sank, as if a heavy stone of tens of thousands of catties was pressing on it. Two or three counties, involving more than two hundred villages, which meant that more than two hundred villages would face the situation of not being able to harvest any grain! Tens of thousands of people would have no grain for the winter, and everyone would have to go hungry next year!
Where in the mountains were there so many grass roots and tree bark to eat? Many people might starve to death.
Tangtang closed the courtyard gate and called the whole family together.
She took out the ear of wheat she had hidden in her clothes.
Seeing this, Su Juesheng’s eyes almost popped out. He lowered his voice. “Tangtang, how dare you steal the collective’s ear of wheat? This is destroying collective property. If you’re reported, you’ll be arrested and put in prison!”
Tangtang pursed her pale lips. She grabbed a handful of the ear of wheat in front of them, crushed it with her hand, and then opened her palm.
On her open palm, the crushed wheat husks were mixed with gray-brown debris. There was no trace of the wheat kernels.
“The ears of wheat from this new grain seed look plentiful and full, but they are actually all empty husks!” Tangtang had already looked at all the fields where the new grain seeds were planted, and they were all straight up ears of wheat.
Su Huimin’s face was grave, and Yu Juanfang’s heart sank. It was already dark outside, and every family was cooking. In a little while, it would be time to harvest the wheat.
Su Juesheng made a decisive decision. “Dad, how much money do we have left at home? Take it all out to buy grain!”
“It will be too late if we wait any longer.”
Yu Juanfang rummaged through the chests and cabinets in the room and only managed to gather a little over a hundred yuan and fifty catties of national grain coupons. There was nothing she could do. The family had four children in school, and the tuition and living expenses were all expenses. In the past, Su Huimin’s salary and Yu Juanfang’s work points were just enough for the whole family to spend.
The price of grain on the black market was double that of the grain station, and in years of famine, it would rise three to five times. A little over a hundred yuan could probably buy three hundred catties of grain, but this amount of grain would definitely not last through the winter.
“No matter how much there is, let’s buy the grain first. We can last for a while. Maybe someone has already noticed that something is wrong with the ears of wheat. If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to buy any grain.”
Tangtang remembered something. When she was seeing Zhou Shunian off, he had once given her a paper bag and told her to open it when she encountered difficulties in the future.
Tangtang went back to her room and searched for a while. She found the paper bag under the cabinet. She didn’t know what was inside. She gritted her teeth and tore open the paper bag, only to find that it was a thick stack of banknotes and grain coupons