While Bai Rushan and Bai Ruchuan went out to gather firewood, Bai Xue took out a handful of rice from the supermarket, about two ounces. She didn't dare take out too much because the Chaoyang Commune doesn't grow rice; they only grow corn, sorghum, and millet, and even the wheat isn't grown much.
During these times when nobody had enough to eat, everyone wanted to take more grain, whether it was coarse or fine grain. Fine grain was scarce, so people generally preferred to exchange their work points for coarse grains, just to fill their bellies.
Bai Xue placed the two ounces of rice into the cupboard and took out two eggs. The food that Bai Daliang had brought back from Grandma Bai's place was still there, all coarse grains, corn stalks, enough to feed her four younger siblings. She took out two eggs for Wang Cuihua as a supplement, and gave two ounces of rice for the two babies, to cook into rice soup over two to three meals for them to drink. The rice could also help Wang Cuihua recuperate, this would be enough.
Just as she finished, her two younger brothers came in with the firewood, followed by Uncle Quanzi from the east courtyard.
"Xiao Xue, Uncle borrowed a bull cart, quickly take your dad to the town clinic!" An Quanzi was panting heavily, clearly having run all the way.
"My dad's on the kang, Uncle please come in!" Bai Xue didn't dare delay, quickly letting them into the house.
"Where did everyone go?" An Quanzi looked around the room, worried that he wouldn't be able to lift Bai Daliang alone.
"It's okay, Uncle Quanzi, we can carry our dad!" Bai Rushan came in, immediately climbing onto the kang to get ready to lift the person.
"Yes, Uncle, the three of us can handle it! Let's hurry!" Bai Xue also stepped forward, and An Quanzi stopped talking, carefully turning Bai Daliang over, making sure not to touch the wound, and lifted him up. He had enough strength; even though they were all underfed, he managed without needing help from the three children, and carried him out.
Bai Xue quickly followed them out with the bedding to lay it out on the bull cart, so Bai Daliang wouldn't freeze to death on the way to town.
After laying it out, she went back inside to instruct her younger siblings.
"Don't worry big sister, I will make rice soup for the younger ones! I know to put sugar in! Just take dad to the clinic!" Bai Rushan assured, patting his chest.
"Big sister! You should go quickly! We've got things at home!" Bai Ruyun placed her sister, who had fallen asleep after drinking sugar water, on the kang, and got onto the ground. "I'll take care of things here, Mom!"
"Alright! Be vigilant! If Grandma and Third Uncle or Third Aunt come, make sure not to open the door!" Bai Xue, still uneasy, said one last time before heading out.
If this was the past life, how could a thirteen-year-old possibly cook meals and take care of a newborn baby?
But in these times, the children matured early; there's a saying, "In a poor family, the child became the head of the household early on."
Quanzi pulled the bull cart, and Bai Xue followed beside it. The two of them headed to town, and along the way, villagers from the fifth team of Chaoyang Commune occasionally stopped to ask about them.
In just a short hour, the news had spread throughout the village.
"Xiao Xue, sit up here and hold onto your dad!" An Quanzi, pulling the bull cart, turned back to say.
"Uncle Quanzi, with one less person's weight, the bull can go faster. I'll just stay beside the cart to hold onto dad!" Bai Xue was actually too cold to sit on the cart, walking helped her stay a bit warmer.
Looking at the old, not-warm-at-all cotton clothes and pants she was wearing, and the shoes that were supposed to be cotton shoes but were barely thicker than single-layered shoes.
She really wished she could take out the down jacket and snow boots from her supermarket space to wear!
"You are such a sensible child! If you get tired, just sit up! In this freezing cold, how can a little girl like you stand being both cold and hungry!" An Quanzi said, his breath visible in the cold air freezing his eyebrows with frost.
Bai Xue thought to herself, it was lucky she found an opportunity to eat a piece of bread and drink some milk, or else she would indeed be unable to bear both the cold and hunger.
Even though the original owner was a child of this era, raised here, at heart she partook of a more privileged culture!
"Xiao Xue! Quanzi!" Just as the bull cart was about to leave the village, Bai Dajiang came running after them, panting heavily.
"Second Uncle..." Bai Xue didn't really want to say anything. Opening her mouth let the cold air rush in, making her feel uncomfortable.
"I went to the team leader's house to exchange work points first. Here, Xiao Xue! Here's ten yuan! Take it, if it's not enough, your second uncle will find a way to get more!" he said, handing the crumpled ten yuan note to Bai Xue.
Bai Xue felt the stark contrast of this generous help from her second uncle, especially when compared to her third uncle who had hurt her dad. Both born from the same parents, yet the difference was like night and day!
At this time, one work point was only worth about five cents or so. Ten yuan came from exchanging two hundred work points, a robust laborer could only earn about ten work points a day, which meant it would take twenty days to earn those ten yuan. And usually, by the end of the year, people exchanged their work points for grain, and which household could afford to exchange for so much money just like that!
As it was, the food in Second Uncle's family wouldn't be enough, and using cash to buy from the supply store was not possible, as they also required food stamps to buy grain.
"Brother Quanzi! Please help get my eldest brother to town first. I'll go back and try to pull together some more money to send to the clinic, in case ten yuan isn't enough!" Bai Dajiang said to An Quanzi after giving the money to Bai Xue.
"Alright! Dajiang, you can also tell my family that we should still have two or three yuan at home!" An Quanzi agreed without hesitation.
"Thank you!" Bai Dajiang said as he turned to head back.
"Second Uncle! Don't trouble yourself! I'll figure something out!" Bai Xue said in a low voice, since she had plenty of resources in her supermarket space, she could surely come up with a solution without having to borrow money everywhere.
She was worried that Aunt might be unwilling. Even though the money would eventually be repaid, it could cause tension between the couple.
Bai Xue, though thirty at heart, thought these things through thoroughly.
"My dear child, what could you possibly do? Don't worry, Second Uncle will handle it. Getting your dad healthy again is the top priority!" Bai Dajiang patted Bai Xue's back before walking away.
Back at the Bai Family's old house, things were not peaceful either. Bai Dahe, in pain all over, was crying out, and Grandpa Bai Bold was giving him a thrashing with his cane.
"You beast of a creature! How could you raise a hand against your own brother? I'll beat you to death today! Cough! Cough! Cough!" he was so angry that he started coughing heavily.
"Old man, stop beating him! Rushan and Ruchuan, those two brats, have already beaten their third uncle to a pulp, do you still want him dead?" Grandma Bai screeched in her cracked voice.
Bai Dahe's wife, Li Guihua, stood beside them, too afraid to say a word.
The three children just sat on the kang, unfazed, watching everything without making a sound.
"Mom... Mom... Help! Dad's going to kill me!" Bai Dahe, hearing Grandma Bai speak up for him, quickly hid behind her.
"This is also Daliang's fault! If he hadn't come wielding a knife to take our grain, Dahe wouldn't have hit his big brother, right?" Grandma Bai cautiously glanced at the old man as she spoke.
Generally, Grandpa Bai didn't get angry, but once he was angry, Grandma Bai was quite afraid of him.
"Humph! Stealing our grain? I don't need to explain myself! Quickly, bring out all the money we have left at home! Take it to the clinic!" Grandpa Bai said coldly and sternly.
"Old man, where would we have any money left? The ten yuan we exchanged from the team during New Year is all gone! We have two kids who need to study, where would there be any spare cash!" Grandma Bai instantly objected upon hearing about giving money.
"The money for those two kids' education was all paid by Daliang, don't think I don't know. You even went and made a scene asking for Daliang's kids to withdraw from school to take the money back! Quickly give me the money, or don't blame me if I beat you too!" Grandpa Bai lifted his cane.
"Okay, okay, okay! I'll give it! This unfilial son, not only stealing grain but also making me give money!" Grandma Bai was terrified by the cane, muttering and grumbling as she fished around in the kang cupboard. Reluctantly, she took out a tattered cloth bag and emptied the contents.
It was all in bits and pieces, not even up to two yuan.
Grandpa Bai didn't believe it, but he had no choice; he was watching with his own eyes, helpless in the situation. In the end, he sent all the one yuan and eighty-five cents with Li Guihua to Bai Daliang's place.
Without him knowing, Grandma Bai had a petrified look, hesitantly searching through the cabinets and finally pulled out a shabby little cloth bag, reluctantly handing over the meager amount.
"That damn brat Bahe! You lay hands on your own brother!? I'll hit you till you die today! Cough cough cough…" He was so angry he coughed heavily a few times.
"Old man! Stop hitting him! Rushan and Ruchuan, those two little brats have already beaten their third uncle black and blue, and now you're also hitting him! Do you really want him dead!" Grandma Bai shouted shrilly.
Li Guihua simply looked on, not daring to intervene.
The three children sat on the kang as if nothing had happened, just watching in silence.
"Get out, old lady! Or else don't blame me for beating you too!" yelled Grandpa Bai angrily, swinging his cane.
"Okay, okay, I'll get it from where it's stashed in the bed, but I don't want to give it!" Grandma Bai quietly grumbled as she went to retrieve a worn-out cloth bag from the kang cupboard. She reluctantly retrieved one yuan and eighty-five cents, handing it to Li Guihua under duress.