Chapter 8: Father and Son Go to Battle Together

After Yang Chunsheng and his sons departed, Yang Kaishan turned back into the house, got dressed, and grabbed a half-bottle of his prized liquor before heading to the brigade secretary’s home.

Yangjiazhuang was a village of moderate size, home to over two hundred households and more than 1,200 people, averaging three or four children per family. "Brigade" was the term used before the implementation of the household contract responsibility system; although it was now technically a village committee, people were still accustomed to calling it the brigade.

Once the policy for household land contracts was enacted, each person in Yangjiazhuang was allocated nearly two mu of land. However, some assets could not be divided and remained under the management of the village committee. These included the cattle; among the two hundred households, there were only three or four oxen in the entire village. Every family wanted an ox, but the price was steep—far beyond the reach of a single household. Consequently, they remained collective property. Anyone needing one just had to give advance notice, or they would take turns using them during the busy farming season.

About half an hour after leaving with the liquor, Yang Kaishan returned, leading two sturdy oxen from the brigade. He tied them in the shed and went back inside to sleep.

The next day, before dawn, the entire Yang family began to stir. Yang Chunsheng took his family out to harvest wheat ears, and Yang Kaishan joined them with his younger son’s family. Liu Cuihua stayed behind to make flatbreads for everyone.

After working for quite some time, the family had harvested wheat ears from four mu of land, loading them all onto flatbed carts. A single cart could carry roughly 1,000 catties. In the 1980s, the yield per mu was less than 500 catties, but since these were fresh, green wheat ears—unprocessed and still in their husks—the carts were already slightly overloaded. Fortunately, the two oxen served as the main source of traction.

By the time the harvesting was done, the sky had brightened, and people were beginning to head out to the fields. Liu Cuihua shoved the freshly made flatbreads into her eldest son’s arms and urged them to set off immediately. Seeing others heading out to work, Yang Chunsheng urged the oxen toward the city. Yang Donglai followed close behind, driving the other ox.

Every able-bodied male in the family, except for the two youngest, set out. This was a matter of survival for the family; if things went well, the profit from this would be double that of harvesting the wheat in the traditional way. The prospect of wealth is a powerful motivator; the potential for the family to become much more prosperous was the underlying reason the Yangs were taking such a risk.

As for the distance—a round trip taking over a dozen hours—none of them complained, driven by the lure of putting food on the table. Even if it had taken three days and nights instead of one, there would still be plenty of people willing to do it.

The ox carts, pulling the loads of wheat ears, had to rest every thirty li or so. The oxen were precious, and they couldn't just focus on speed; if they exhausted the animals, the entire haul of wheat wouldn't be enough to buy a replacement. Yang Xingwu had to stop for a break every ten li or so, and it was already past ten in the morning by the time they finally reached the city.

Upon arrival, the family looked at the well-dressed city dwellers with envy; they looked like typical country bumpkins coming to town. And in reality, they were. Villagers only visited the city under special circumstances, such as for medical treatment; usually, the furthest they went was the county seat. The Yang family was an exception only because they had a high school student, which gave them more opportunities to visit the city.

After a brief discussion, they drove the carts to the machinery plant’s residential compound where they had been the day before. This compound was well-known in the city, housing over a thousand factory workers and supporting a population of nearly ten thousand who relied on the factory for their livelihoods.

It was a day off, and many small vendors had set up stalls selling food, alongside people selling vegetables and eggs. Yang Kaishan led his family to an open space, untied the ropes, and tethered the oxen to a nearby tree. Yang Xingwu fetched some straw for the animals to feed on. After leaving the oxen in the care of his cousin Yang Xinglong, Yang Xingwu returned to the carts.

Customers began to arrive. Many were pleasantly surprised to see the carts full of wheat ears. The ears were still glistening with dew, clearly freshly harvested and incredibly fresh. Many rushed over to ask the price.

Yang Xingwu immediately called out, "Wheat ears! Fresh wheat ears! Picked just this morning, still covered in dew! Perfect for boiling or roasting! One cent per ear! No cheating on prices!"

Hearing this, an even larger crowd gathered around the two carts. A few shrewd housewives, thinking the price a bit high, asked, "Young comrade, these wheat ears are indeed good, but can the price be a little lower? I want to buy a lot!"

While busy counting out ears for other customers, Yang Xingwu replied, "Auntie, I really can't lower the price. I’m doing this to earn tuition for my younger brother and sister; otherwise, I wouldn't have the heart to haul these all the way here to sell! If you wait ten days, these green ears would be grade-A grain. If my family wasn't struggling to put food on the table, I wouldn't be selling them at all! If you think it’s expensive, I’ll add a few extra ears for you. How about that?"

"Oh, this poor child! He's so thin he looks frail. Don't be sad, child, things will get better."

"That's right! It’s the perfect season for wheat ears. Boiled until they flower, they are soft, glutinous, and sweet—perfect for both the young and the old. My elderly parents were just talking about how they hadn't had wheat ears in ages. I'm lucky to have found some today!"

"Indeed!"

Several women, moved by pity, spoke up for Yang Xingwu and each bought two yuan worth of wheat ears. Seeing this, those who had complained about the price felt embarrassed to push further and ended up buying quite a lot themselves. People love to follow the crowd, and once word spread that there were wheat ears for sale, many rushed to buy them. Before long, more than half of the stock was gone.

The father and the eldest son were kept busy, as were the grandfather and the second uncle. Yang Xingwu acted as the mediator, answering questions and handling the customers.

After the rush, with most of the wheat sold, the family finally had a moment to rest and eat. Yang Chunsheng took the cloth bag from the cart and handed out the flatbreads his mother had made that morning. As they ate and chatted, their faces were filled with joy; they hadn't expected to sell so much so quickly, and they were certain the rest would be sold in no time.

"Education really is useful. Look at how many people asked questions, and Xiao Wu didn't even get nervous!" Yang Kaishan praised his grandson while eating.

"That's right! I was so nervous when people were haggling, but Xiao Wu resolved it so cleverly! As expected of the intellectual in our Yang family—his schooling wasn't in vain! In the future, let your younger brother learn from him!"

"Uncle, you flatter me. I was just saying whatever came to mind!"

"Just saying whatever came to mind and you're that good? Doesn't that mean our Yang family is going to produce a scholar of great renown?"

"That's right! Haha!"