Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

Liu Yun reluctantly came over and pulled his wife away.

Wang Defa glared at the two men with lingering fear: "Look at this, they actually smuggled so much grain from the brigade!"

"Liu Yun, you tell me, should we return the grain or the money?"

Liu Yun took the bill and panicked.

Over the years, I've been swindling and maneuvering, and I've never even calculated how much I've embezzled.

More than 10,000 catties of grain, enough to get arrested and executed twice!

“I think the best course of action is to return the grain. This year’s wheat harvest was poor, and with Accountant Liu providing ‘assistance,’ everyone can rest assured and wait for the autumn harvest.” Wang Defa deliberately taunted him.

Liu Yun broke out in a cold sweat: "No, Captain, where am I supposed to get all this grain?"

I need my money back! I need my three thousand yuan back!

Please, brigade leader, plead with the other villagers for me. I know I was wrong, and I'll never do it again!

Wang Defa nodded: "Alright, I'll put in a good word for you. Our team is full of kind and generous people; as long as you don't cause trouble, they probably won't target you specifically!"

Of course, he was just saying that. What the commune members actually did was none of his business.

Liu Yun was grateful. He went back inside and got three thousand yuan, which he handed to Wang Defa under his wife's fierce glare. He thanked her repeatedly.

Wang Defa counted the money, put it in his pocket, and headed straight for the brigade headquarters.

The compensation was calculated based on the market price and broadcast over a loudspeaker.

"Please come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, fellow villagers!"

People who had just started eating frowned impatiently: "What's going on here? Can't people even eat?!"

However, no one was delayed; they picked up their bowls and headed towards the brigade headquarters.

They chatted as they ate: "What's the team leader doing? Can't you wait until we're at work this afternoon to say what you have to say!"

Qiao Manman also came to watch the excitement, and saw Wang Defa standing in the middle of the courtyard shouting: "The accounts of the first ten years have been calculated, and it is true that some commune members received less grain."

Now, these members will be compensated. The compensation will be 25 cents per pound of grain, and whoever is called will come forward to collect the money.

Those not mentioned mean the calculation was correct. Don't complain; while you were eating grain, they were starving. Don't be envious of their money.

If you have any objections, you can come up and check the ledgers. If you still don't believe me, you can sue the commune.

Our production team is implementing open government affairs this year due to special circumstances. Everyone should trust the character and competence of our team leaders.

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, speculating about who would receive the money and how much.

"Chen Erhong, you will receive 135 jin less grain, and the compensation will be 33.75 yuan!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than everyone exclaimed, "Good heavens! How come so much has been distributed? If we had known, we would have had Liu Yun withhold our grain too!"

Chen Erhong scratched his head sheepishly and stepped forward to take the money. It was over thirty yuan! The moment he received it, his eyes reddened.

"Thank you so much, Captain! Thank you so much, Dong Zhiqing! If it weren't for you, all this money would have been wasted!"

Wang Defa nodded and told him to leave.

"Zhang Hushan, you will receive 320 jin less grain, but you will be compensated with 80 yuan!"

Wow, that's a lot! It's equivalent to two or three months' salary for a city dweller!

"Yes, my family might not even earn eighty yuan a year!"

"This is what the Tiger Mountain brothers deserve. Not to mention that he is a strong laborer, earning ten to thirteen work points a day."

On that day, he threatened the commune leaders to give us justice. I think whatever amount of money he received, he deserved it!

Listening to the discussions, Zhang Hushan couldn't help but wipe away his tears.

"Thank you, Captain!"

Wang Defa grunted in agreement and continued reading the list.

Qiao Manman was eating in the corner. Mmm, the black noodles mixed with mutated wheat flour were so delicious, so smooth and full of wheat flavor.

Ahhh, this green vegetable is so tender! It's crisp, juicy, and delicious with every bite.

Qiao Manman ate without looking up, but when she noticed someone tugging at her clothes, she looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Man'er, come up here! The brigade leader is going to give your family money!"

Qiao Manman was a little surprised; she thought the team leader would give the grain to the Qiao family.

"Qiao Runming will receive 120 jin less grain. He Nian will receive 35 jin less grain, for a total of 155 jin of grain, with compensation of 38.75 yuan."

In addition, I would like to mention two things. First, when our production team handed over the grain, Comrade Qiao Manman helped us buy two boxes of Daqianmen cigarettes. Here, I will reimburse her one yuan.

Secondly, Comrade Qiao Manman's article got our Qingshan Brigade published in the provincial newspaper twice.

On behalf of the Qingshan Brigade, I would like to express my gratitude to her and give her a reward of five yuan.

"I hope she will continue her efforts and make contributions, whether in Qingshan Brigade or the machinery factory, becoming a new socialist youth useful to the Party and the people."

Qiao Manman was surprised, but remained calm on the surface.

After delivering his heartfelt thank-you speech, just as he was about to put the money in his pocket, he heard Qiao Lao Er's wife raise her hand in objection.

"Captain, Qiao Runming and He Nian were shortchanged on their grain rations before the two families separated and severed ties. That compensation should rightfully be returned to our Qiao family!"

How could Wang Defa not know? He knew it perfectly well.

But he favored Qiao Manman and was willing to offend the Qiao family in order to give the money to the girl.

So he frowned and argued, "The severance agreement between your two families states that you are not allowed to ask Qiao Laosan for money under any pretext in the future."

Regardless of where the work points were previously recorded, we're now calculating compensation per person, so the compensation should rightfully go to Qiao Runming and He Niantou.

The Qiao family didn't obtain a formal document severing ties, so they couldn't remember what the terms were written.

Hearing Wang Defa say that, they all assumed it was true. Their faces flushed red with suppressed rage.

Qiao Manman smiled and thanked the team leader for making the decision for her, and then said a few words of blessing for the Qingshan Brigade to get better and better.

To lighten the tense atmosphere, everyone eagerly awaited the next "lucky one" whose name would be called.

The event lasted for nearly two hours before it ended.

Despite not having a lunch break, everyone was not only not tired, but also excitedly expressed their envy to their relatives and friends.

After all, you can survive by eating one more or one less bite of food, but it's not so easy to save money.

Those families with many able-bodied members could earn over a hundred yuan combined. Oh my, how enviable!

After distributing the money, there were still more than two hundred yuan left, which were all recorded in the public account and used to help elderly people living alone or to reward outstanding members.

Everyone agreed, thinking that the team leader was thoughtful and a good leader.

In contrast, there's the corrupt official Liu Yun: "My God, even a lowly accountant can amass so much wealth, what about his father-in-law? He's such a high-ranking official, surely he's not clean!"

The news spread quickly, and Liu Yun's father-in-law was placed under investigation.

Ultimately, due to the enormous amount of embezzlement and bribery, he was sentenced to 23 years of labor reform, and his life was hopeless.

Liu Yun's father-in-law was so angry that he died after learning that he had been implicated by his son-in-law.

I wish I could go back to more than ten years ago and break my daughter's legs, rather than let her marry that clueless guy.

Of course, these are things to follow.

In the afternoon, just as Qiao Manman was about to go to the fields to do some work and stretch her muscles, she heard Aunt Qiuhua say that the brigade leader had been called to a meeting at the commune.