Shuzhen and Lianshan couldn’t say anything more, and couldn’t persuade him, so they just let him be.
However, the bedding at home wasn’t enough, and these six were all dressed extremely thinly, with an utter lack of quilts. If Liu Shouyi wanted to stay, he had to go back and bring over all the bedding from home.
Otherwise, in this freezing weather, without bedding, wouldn’t someone be half-frozen to death?
Liu Shouren nodded, just as Lian Hai could take him back to fetch whatever bedding was available at home, and also send Lian Yue and his wife home to report to Lin Yuanzhi, the team leader.
So that when Accountant Sun would use this as a reason to report them, they could have something to say.
During this time gap, Lianshan simply arranged the seriously ill ones who, though awake, were still weak. Then he hurriedly brought in a pile of chopped wood. Without anyone telling them, Old Yang and the two who were less sick automatically went to scrub the pot, add water, and light the fire.
If not for Lianshan stopping them, these few might have even taken on the cooking tasks.
Being enthusiastic and proactive is a good thing, but seeing their dusty, dirty faces, Lianshan still firmly shook his head.
How the cooking turns out is secondary — just looking at their scruffy appearance, can he trust them to make food that Shuzhen will eat?
So he quickly and skillfully cooked a pot of millet porridge, and from the pickled vegetable jar, he fetched some of the pickled garlic aubergine, perilla leaves, and sour cucumbers that Shuzhen had made.
Fearing that Shuzhen, used to having dishes with her meals, might not be accustomed to this simple millet porridge with pickles, he also fetched some pickled mushrooms from the vat and stir-fried them with Chinese cabbage.
When the aroma wafted from the kitchen, these six men, young and old, who couldn’t say how many days it had been since they’d eaten a proper meal, couldn’t help but have their stomachs rumble loudly.
Yet even so, when the food was served, no one took another look at it; instead, they all watched Lianshan warily. As if he wasn’t serving a delicious meal, but bait with fish hooks.
After all, ever since the movement began, they had faced divorce, broken relationships, public criticism, big character posters. Even their closest family and loved ones saw them as serpents and scorpions, avoiding them as much as possible. Even strangers, knowing they were of the black five categories, couldn’t help but show disdain and spit. It seemed as if not despising them would mean they weren’t expressing their pure, upright, and progressive thoughts.
Being discriminated against and ostracized so much, they were inevitably suspicious of someone who suddenly showed them kindness.
Although this family had previously gone all out to protect these seriously ill ones, not hesitating to fall out with that accountant, giving them water and medicine, and even ignoring others’ gazes to bring these members home. They provided meals and arranged bedding, truly didn’t seem like bad people.
But, in these times, who has the words "bad person" written on their face?
They were people betrayed by friends, family, even their own children and partners. No matter how hard they tried to believe in the goodness of human nature, it was unavoidable — once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope!
This intricate and complex thought process was something Lianshan couldn’t understand, but Shuzhen could empathize with deeply.
Knowing that the more they explained their lack of ulterior motives, perhaps the harder it would be for others to let go of their distrust.
So she simply didn’t pretend to show her kindness like the protagonist of a book, using her honest and kind points to move people, becoming anyone’s redemption or a lighthouse in the darkness.
Instead, she directly smiled and told them that while completing a task, she was also thinking about making an investment.
After all, as the old saying goes, even a pauper or a magnate can change three times over; who knows if one day they might shake off their current bad reputation and restore their past glory?
When that time comes, today’s help in their hour of need could be worth a lot!
A pot of millet porridge is a bet; if she loses, it’s only a matter of two bowls of millet. If she wins, she might exchange a pot of millet porridge for a bright future — how could this deal not be profitable?
With an obviously cunning and sly speech, yet because of her clear and open eyes, it was interpreted as a statement crafted to put them at ease. Unintentionally, it earned her praises of kindness, thoughtfulness, wisdom, and so on.
It’s not entirely their fault for misunderstanding; who could blame Shuzhen for being so righteous when she argued with Accountant Sun on their behalf to stay at the guesthouse and go to the hospital?
As soon as Shuzhen finished speaking, Old Yang, unable to resist the temptation of millet porridge, spoke first: "Okay, okay, if that day really comes, I, Old Yang Yang Fugui, promise not to fall short. Eating your millet and repaying you with gold millet is no problem at all, because I’m a successful capitalist! Tell you what, give me a potato, and I can set up a multinational factory, just that capable!
I don’t know if in my lifetime I’ll see the country allow private business."
When he spoke of this, there was an indescribable melancholy in Old Yang’s tone.
The sourness almost made Shuzhen want to pat his shoulder and tell him to hold on; that the darkness before dawn wouldn’t be too far away.
Once Old Yang started speaking, the rest began gradually introducing their names and backgrounds.
Of course, none were as forthright as Old Yang about what might happen someday, but the lifesaving grace from the couple was deeply embedded in their hearts.
And after a brief introduction, Shuzhen was truly stunned. Originally, she only intended to help her younger brother-in-law, so he wouldn’t end up as a scapegoat or a punching bag for this sickly old man, who didn’t seem capable of much.
But it turned out, in this act, she had saved a few future giants?
The serious-faced Wu Liguo, who looked as if someone owed him grain and repaid it with sorghum, was a national hero. Years later, on the evening news, he could still be seen in uniform, with an authoritative face, attending important national meetings.
The bespectacled, melancholic Dong Shu, seemed to be an internationally renowned writer?
The severely feverish Wu Hao, who didn’t survive in a past life, and Wei Lai, one was a young professor in the Music Department at B University, the other held a top position in H City.
Retired because his ancestors were high officials in the Qing dynasty and his family kept some old relics, Jiang old man was the least capable. But that didn’t matter; what mattered was he had a capable and filial granddaughter!
Given her ruthlessness in past life battles with Accountant Sun, Shuzhen had reason to believe that Sun wouldn’t fare well this time, either.
And whether active or passive, ultimately they saved the old man’s life. Based on this alone, the big leg she would cling to didn’t need them seeking it; it would naturally extend toward them, one that couldn’t be pushed away!