In the fiery red era of the heavens, refrigerators are refreshed daily.

Chapter 54. The Battle Between Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law
I huddled on the kang (heated brick bed) at night, shivering from the cold even under two quilts, unable to sleep at all. Just thinking about this winter... makes the hairs on my body stand on end! I'm terrified!
Dad, Mom! I can't take it anymore! Please, you must help me!
First, food! My stomach is practically empty. Send me some national food coupons! Ideally, send some every month so Xiangmei and I can go to town to buy some cornbread to stave off hunger, otherwise we'll really starve to death!

Second, money! The meager subsidies we received as sent-down youth weren't even enough to buy a pack of cigarettes. Sending a little money to Xiangmei and me each month, even ten or eight yuan, would be nice, enough to buy some food and other necessities and improve our lives. My mouth was practically watering at the seams!

Third, and most importantly—cotton!
Before winter arrives, please send plenty of cotton! The more the better!
My and Xiangmei's quilts, cotton-padded jackets, and cotton-padded trousers all need to be thicker! And the soles of our cotton-padded shoes also need to be the thickest and sturdiest possible! These are lifesavers! Otherwise, we'll truly freeze to death in winter!
Winters here drop to minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius; even a piss can freeze into an icicle. I don't want to turn into an ice sculpture!
You guys really need to take this seriously! My life depends on you!
Er Guangyao rushed up
X month X day

The letter was filled with heartbreaking words, expressing accusations against the environment, resentment towards his companions, fear of labor, and an extreme desire for food and clothing.

The depiction of cold and hunger carries a deliberately exaggerated sense of horror, as if one were in hell.

Yang Guangming could even imagine his second brother's worried and resentful expression as he wrote the letter.

He has always been like this, shirking responsibility and unable to endure any hardship, always feeling that others owe him something.

After receiving the letter, it had already been circulated among the family members.

Zhang Xiuying read it again, her eyes reddening once more. Her hand holding the letter trembled slightly, and she kept murmuring:

"What a tragedy... what a tragedy... how could our Yaoyao endure such suffering... she's lost ten pounds..."

It was as if the hellish scenes described in his son's letter were right before his eyes.

Yang Yongkang smoked in silence, the smoke thickening, his brows furrowing into a deep frown, the pipe unconsciously twirling between his rough fingers.

Yang Guanghui put down the rubber shoes he had half-polished, his dark face full of worry, and said in a muffled voice:
“The Northeast… is tough. The farm work is heavy, and the weather is cold. Yaoyao… has never been very strong since he was a child.”

Although he felt his brother might have exaggerated, the harsh environment was certain.

Li Guihua pursed her lips and handed the letter back to her mother-in-law, her tone somewhat dismissive, but she didn't dare to make it too obvious:
"Yaoyao is... a bit spoiled. He said his roommates were bad, but I think... it's not necessarily all their fault."

However, hunger and cold were always real.

She quickly calculated in her mind that the burden of providing support would likely fall on her own shoulders.

“Meimei’s letter…”

Zhang Xiuying picked up Xiangmei's letter again, and tears finally fell:
"This little girl has always only reported good news and never bad news since she was little!"
If you can't sleep because of mosquito bites, do you just casually say, "I'll get used to it"?
Can you get used to cornmeal and sorghum rice?

She must have been exhausted and hungry too! She just wouldn't say! She didn't want us to worry!
These two little girls... I feel so sorry for them..."

She couldn't continue, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

A heavy, unyielding worry permeated the front building. Zhuangzhuang seemed to sense the uneasy atmosphere and squirmed restlessly in his grandmother's arms.

"Alright, what's the use of crying!" Yang Yongkang abruptly knocked away his cigarette ash, his hoarse voice breaking the silence with the decisiveness of a head of the family. "We've received the letter and know the situation. Now we need to find a way to help, as much as we can!"

Zhang Xiuying forced herself to cheer up and wiped away her tears: "The old man is right! We need to discuss how to help them!"

The family meeting began, with serious and specific topics.

"The most important thing is cotton!"

Zhang Xiuying's tone was resolute, as if she were commanding a life-or-death battle: "Yaoyao is right, the winters in Northeast China are truly freezing! The cotton we stored in the house to make quilts and cotton-padded jackets for them seems to be not thick enough or warm enough!"

Make sure to send another batch before winter! The more the better!

She looked at her husband and eldest son: "Yongkang, don't use the cotton coupons your factory issued this year to make new quilts. Save them."

Ah Hui, go to the workshop and see if anyone has extra cotton coupons they'd like to exchange. We can trade them grain coupons or something else!

She then looked at Li Guihua, her eyes filled with expectation and pressure: "Guihua, you have many relatives on your mother's side, so please help us think of a way to exchange some cotton coupons."

"At home, we take apart and wash the quilt covers and linings, fluff up the old cotton, and we can scrape together some money."

Li Guihua quickly calculated in her mind that she felt a pang of guilt at the thought of supporting her brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

But her mother-in-law's eyes were bright, her husband was looking at her too, and more importantly, he had just praised her as the best mother-in-law in the world...

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile: "Don't worry, Mom! My little family with Ahui won't be buying any new cotton this winter."

I'll think of something... I'll talk to my girlfriends and see if we can exchange for more cotton coupons, and try... try to get two jin of new cotton for Yaoyao and Meimei!

She specifically emphasized that it was the contribution of "our little family," clearly defining the boundaries.

"Good! Guihua, you're so sensible!" Zhang Xiuying nodded approvingly and breathed a sigh of relief. Two jin of new cotton, plus the old cotton that the family had scraped together and the coupons they got in exchange, should be enough to solve the big problem.

"The second thing is money."

Yang Yongkang chimed in, saying he was the most qualified to speak on the matter: "Yaoyao needs money, and Meimei may not say it, but she definitely needs it too."

Right now, Mingming just started working, and his salary isn't high yet. Ala and Xiuying get paid, and so does Ahui.

If I tighten my belt, I can still manage to send each of them thirty yuan every six months.

He looked at Li Guihua and said, "Guihua, this expense will be covered by our old couple's money, without affecting your and Ahui's salaries."

Upon hearing this, Li Guihua felt a little relieved. If her in-laws were paying for it themselves, then she had no objections.

Thirty yuan for half a year, that's five yuan per person per month. Although she still felt it was a bit much, since her husband's younger brother seemed too demanding, she could only nod in agreement since her in-laws had made the decision.
"As long as Dad and Mom make the decision, we're happy. We're happy if it helps our younger siblings."

Her tone was somewhat insincere.

Zhang Xiuying, however, caught the fleeting reluctance in her daughter-in-law's eyes and knew perfectly well what was going on.

She didn't spell it out, but her tone turned serious: "This is life-saving money! Yaoyao said he was so hungry he could barely walk. Meimei is still a young girl, no matter how sensible she is. She's far from home, and having some money in her hands to buy some necessities will make her feel more at ease."

That's settled then!

She asserted her authority as a mother-in-law, making the final decision. Li Guihua pursed her lips and fell completely silent.

(End of this chapter)