I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 24 Cafeteria

On the dirt road at the village entrance, the wind swirled dust past the base of the wall. Li Hongshan, his face full of anger, stared intently at Gao Huaiyi in front of him. His chest heaved violently, and his voice rose several decibels, full of certainty and fury.

"Gao Huaiyi! Don't play dumb! You're the one who hit me!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Huaiyi showed no sign of panic. Instead, he frowned innocently, spread his hands, and said with a hint of self-righteousness, "Uncle, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What makes you think I hit you? Do you have any evidence? Don't accuse someone without evidence."

"Evidence? What evidence do you need!" Li Hongshan trembled with rage, pointing at Gao Huaiyi's nose. "I just left your house, and I was attacked from behind after only a few steps. Who else could it be but you? What a coincidence!"

The two were arguing loudly and shrilly, which quickly attracted many villagers who were strolling and cooling off at the village entrance. They gathered around in twos and threes, watching the two arguing and whispering among themselves.

"Aren't these Li Hongshan and Gao Huaiyi? Why are they arguing?"

"Judging from this, Li Hongshan was beaten and he is convinced that Gao Huaiyi was responsible."

"Gao Huaiyi still denies it, and the two almost came to blows during their argument."

Amidst the murmurs of conversation, Li Hongshan, emboldened by the villagers' words, glared at Gao Huaiyi with a stiff neck: "Look, everyone's here! Do you dare say you didn't do this? Do you dare swear in front of the whole village?"

Seeing this, Gao Huaiyi simply raised his voice and, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect, shouted to the surrounding villagers, "Fellow villagers, please be the judge! I heard about the beating my uncle received at night a few days ago, and I felt quite sorry for him. But without even asking what happened, he immediately accused me of it. Isn't that just baseless accusation?"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly aggrieved and indignant: "From beginning to end, he couldn't produce a single piece of evidence. There were no witnesses, no physical evidence; he just relied on a coincidence to try and pin the blame on me! I, Gao Huaiyi, am an upright and honest person. How could I possibly do such a despicable thing as harming someone behind their back? I implore everyone to give me justice!"

The villagers' attitudes changed instantly after hearing Gao Huaiyi's words.

"That's right, you can't just accuse someone without evidence."

"Exactly, anyone would be angry if they were falsely accused for no reason."

"Maybe Li Hongshan offended someone in the past. He's lazy and has caused a lot of trouble. Maybe it's someone else's revenge."

The villagers' whispers were like needles piercing Li Hongshan's heart. He was so angry that his face turned ashen, the veins on his forehead throbbed, and his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his palms.

He knew perfectly well that Gao Huaiyi was the one who had attacked him that day, but he absolutely could not reveal the truth. Once the truth came out, his disgraceful deeds would be exposed, and he would never be able to hold his head up in the village again, losing all face.

The frustration and anger were stuck in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. He clearly held the truth, but he couldn't produce a single piece of evidence that could be presented. He could only watch helplessly as the other party twisted the truth and gained the upper hand.

Gao Huaiyi took in Li Hongshan's embarrassment, and seeing that the other remained speechless, a barely perceptible smug smile appeared on his lips. He cleared his throat, his tone returning to calm, and said to Li Hongshan, "Uncle, since you can't produce any evidence, let's just let this matter drop. It's getting late, so I won't argue with you any longer. I have things to attend to at home, so I'll head back now."

After saying that, without waiting for Li Hongshan's response, Gao Huaiyi turned and walked past him, heading into the depths of the village without looking back. His steps were calm and light, showing no trace of the agitation he had felt during the argument.

Li Hongshan stood frozen in place, staring intently at Gao Huaiyi's receding figure. His eyes were filled with crimson rage, his teeth were clenched so tightly that they made a grinding sound, his cheeks were taut, and his whole body exuded an almost frenzied aura of violence.

He wanted to rush up and argue, but he was helpless; he wanted to shout back, but he had nothing to say. All his anger, resentment, and frustration were bottled up inside him, with nowhere to vent, and he could only watch helplessly as Gao Huaiyi's figure disappeared into the alley.

The wind blew again, stirring up dust that landed on Li Hongshan's shoulders. The surrounding villagers were still whispering among themselves, but he could no longer hear what they were saying. His heart and eyes were filled with anger, and his chest heaved rapidly.

When Gao Huaiyi returned home, he first greeted his parents, and then told them in detail how he had earned money that day and also bought some daily necessities for Zhou Xiuying.

When his parents heard that he had earned money again, their faces lit up with joy, and they nodded repeatedly, relieved. His mother's eyes crinkled with happiness, and her voice was full of relief: "That's wonderful! Now the family has saved some money again, and we won't have to be so careful with our money when buying food anymore. Life will finally be a little easier."

The family chatted for a while around the warm house, easing the day's fatigue with laughter and conversation. As night deepened and the lights flickered inside, everyone went back to their rooms to rest peacefully.

The next morning, after the family had a quick breakfast and had just finished cleaning up the dishes, a crackling sound suddenly came from the village loudspeaker. Immediately afterward, the village official's loud voice echoed throughout the village.

"Notice! Notice! Attention all villagers! All villagers must attend the meeting at the commune compound immediately after breakfast. No one may be absent! All villagers, please proceed to the commune for the meeting immediately!"

The announcement was broadcast three times, its echoes still reverberating over the village. Mother put down the rag in her hand, her brow furrowed, and looked at Father with a puzzled expression: "A meeting right after breakfast? What could be so important? We've almost finished the work in the fields these past few days. Are they going to assign us some other tasks?"

The father picked up the rough porcelain bowl on the table, took a sip of cold water, and said slowly with a thoughtful expression, "Have you forgotten? There have been rumors in the village recently that the higher-ups are going to implement communal dining halls, haven't there? In my opinion, this meeting is most likely to be about putting that into practice."

"A communal dining hall?" Mother's eyes lit up, her voice full of anticipation. "That's a fantastic thing! If it really happens, the commune will provide all the grain, manpower, and vegetables, and everyone can eat together. Who will go hungry then?"

"That's right." The father nodded repeatedly, a relieved smile on his face. "The hardest hit were those poor families with few able-bodied members. In the past, each household cooked for themselves, and when food was scarce, they could only drink two meals of thin porridge a day, which was just watery soup and not enough to fill their stomachs. With the communal dining hall, at least they can eat their fill every meal and don't have to tighten their belts anymore."

The mother chimed in, "Yes, yes, at least there's something to look forward to now. Don't just stand there, let's hurry up and go, or we'll be late."

After saying this, the parents quickly straightened their clothes and headed towards the commune. Gao Huaiyi followed closely behind. As soon as he stepped out of his house, he saw that all the men, women, and children in the village had started moving, walking in twos and threes, gathering in a large group towards the commune compound.

Among the crowd, Gao Huaiyi spotted Gao Huai Ren at a glance. He was limping, pale, and frequently frowning as he walked, clearly still recovering from his injuries. People around him whispered that Gao Huai Ren had recently heard rumors that he had gone up the mountain to hunt wild game without permission, only to be chased by wolves and tumble down the hillside, breaking his leg and sustaining numerous other injuries. He had been recuperating at home for the past few days.

Gao Huaiyi's heart skipped a beat, and he wondered to himself: Could it be that the wolf chasing him was the one he killed last time? Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he thought to himself: He deserves it! He usually idles away his time, always thinking about scheming against others, and now he's suffering the consequences of his own actions.

The group chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the open space in front of the commune compound. The open space was already full of villagers, who were gathered in groups of seven or eight or five or six, talking in hushed tones.

"Do you think this meeting is really going to decide on the large cafeteria?"

"It's almost certainly true. The commune cadres came to the village to inquire about the situation a while ago, so it's probably going to be finalized soon."

"It would be wonderful if this could really be done. There are only two able-bodied people in my family, and we've always been short of food. Now we won't have to worry about that anymore."

"I wonder when the cafeteria will be completed, and whether we'll be able to eat a hot meal soon."

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, the conversation revolving around the purpose of the meeting and the large canteen. Meanwhile, many villagers continued to arrive from various parts of the village, converging on the open space.

Five or six minutes later, the village chief and production team leader, seeing that most of the villagers had arrived, went to the makeshift platform. The team leader picked up the microphone, tapped it with his finger, and tried several times: "Hey? Hello? Can you hear me? Is the sound normal?"

Once it was confirmed that the microphone was working properly, the noisy discussions gradually subsided, and everyone's attention was focused on the stage, quietly waiting for the captain to speak.