Chapter 4: The Supply and Marketing Cooperative

Director Jiang had no intention of allowing the Su family to work right under his watchful eye. If he weren’t currently competing for the position of factory director, he wouldn’t even want to offer this job opening.

Madam Su’s choice suited him perfectly.

“All right, Aunt Su, I’ll get in touch with the sugar, tobacco, and alcohol department immediately. Who are you planning to send for this job?”

“Right here—my eldest son, Cheng Jundong!”

Su Li and Cheng Jundong had been sent out by Director Jiang himself. It wasn’t until Jiang left that Cheng Jundong dared to speak up.

“Mom—”

Cheng Jundong’s voice was hoarse.

He wanted to ask why, to ask how this could be, to ask if she’d mixed up his name with the fifth son’s. Even if it wasn’t the fifth son, there was still the second, third, and fourth—how could it have come down to him?

All the words hovered on the tip of his tongue but were stopped by his teeth.

Su Li didn’t look back. Supporting herself on the cart, she shakily climbed up, sat down with effort, then pulled up her other leg, finally patting her pants and turning her back to Cheng Jundong.

“I never considered giving this job to anyone else. You’re my firstborn.”

“Let’s go.”

No sentimental speeches, no grand principles—just that one sentence made the nearly two-meter-tall Cheng Jundong burst into tears.

He had been wrong.

He wasn’t a good son.

He had even thought his mother didn’t like him and secretly resented her for it.

He was a terrible person!

Looking at Su Li’s hunched back and the flicker of white hair, Cheng Jundong was overwhelmed with sorrow. When had his mother grown so old?

Su Li, gripping her waist quietly on the cart, knew her back looked quite stooped. She had practiced all night and deliberately styled her hair this morning to reveal the white strands, surely to deepen her son’s guilt.

The eldest son was honest but not foolish. She couldn’t fool him like the fifth son; she had to let him discover her deep motherly love on his own.

The less she said, the more Cheng Jundong’s mind filled in.

“Mom—”

“Push the cart properly!”

Su Li’s usual stern tone automatically translated in Cheng Jundong’s ears as: Mom cares about you.

Mother and son, one sniffling and grinning with snot, the other looking annoyed yet smiling with his eyes, pushed the two-wheeled cart down the dirt road. A gust of wind stirred up dust, smudging their faces with grime.

Su Li’s eyes were nearly closed from the dust, and she began to long for the greenery of the past.

“Let’s go to the supply and marketing cooperative.”

“Okay!”

Su Li gave the order, and Cheng Jundong eagerly pushed the cart toward the cooperative.

———

“Mom, should we go to the town one or the one at the mine?”

“Start with the town.”

“Okay!”

Cheng Jundong pumped his arms without asking further, diving into the task.

Su Li glanced at the low, dusty houses lining the road, their mud walls and lattice windows all coated in gray dust.

The cement factory was in town, and the dust it blew out settled everywhere. The few trees were a faint green through the haze.

There were no paved roads in town, just a compacted stone path. Bare-bottomed children played by the roadside, while a few elderly women sat outside their homes, picking vegetables.

Shuangxi Town was the largest and wealthiest town in the county because of its coal mine.

The town was richer than the villages, and the mine was richer than the town.

The only four-story building stood at the mine, housing a cultural club. Of course, Madam Su had never been there; she only heard about it from the fifth son, Cheng Junguo.

“Mom, we’re here.”

Cheng Jundong stopped the cart. Su Li immediately slipped back into character, turning around with a scolding tone.

“You have no sense at all! Give me a hand!”

“Okay, okay!”

Cheng Jundong hurriedly helped Su Li off the cart.

She made a show of struggling, rubbing her leg after stepping down, taking a moment before climbing the steps.

Cheng Jundong watched and felt remorseful—he really had no sense; he needed to change.

Following Su Li, he entered the bustling cooperative, where a crowd gathered around one counter.

“We’re out of mooncakes! None left today!”

A saleswoman wearing a red armband stood on a chair, waving her arms and shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Stop pushing! If you break this counter, I’ll make you work at it as punishment!”

“What are you doing? I said we’re out, why are you still climbing up? Are you going to kneel and beg for milk?”

“When will there be more? How would I know?”

Su Li directly felt the saleswoman’s arrogance, glanced at her a few times, and began calculating the days. Mid-Autumn Festival was still two weeks away, and mooncakes were already sold out.

Thoughts shifting, she moved toward the daily necessities counter selling toothbrushes, towels, and lunchboxes.

“Little girl…”

“Ma’am, I’m well over thirty, not a little girl.”

“Impossible! I’m fifty and can still tell! You’re just teasing this old lady.”

Su Li’s sincere disbelief pleased the saleswoman—no woman disliked being told she looked young.

“Ma’am, what would you like to buy?”

———

“Toothbrushes, towels, lunchboxes, some soap, hand cream, and the large white bottle for face lotion.”

Su Li rattled off several items in one breath. The saleswoman, seeing such a generous elderly customer, assumed there was a celebration at her home and chatted as she packed.

“Is there a celebration at your house?”

“My eldest son is starting work.”

Pride lifted Su Li’s mouth in a subtle smile. She awkwardly looked at the prices on the counter, her eyes tender, fingers reluctant to let go.

“Put it on the bill, I’ll take everything.”

“Mom—”

Cheng Jundong winced at the expense.

Su Li shot him a glare, and he fell silent.

The saleswoman prepared the bill. Su Li pulled money and receipt from her sock pile, packed the goods into a cloth bag, and Cheng Jundong, showing some sense, carried the bag, ready to leave.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Su Li went to the rice, flour, and cooking oil counter, buying ten pounds of flour, three pounds of sugar, and oil. Since she hadn’t brought a bottle, she bought a large bottle as well.

Cheng Jundong’s eyes widened in shock.

Was life no longer tight?

Was this really the same mother who usually lost money if she didn’t pick up coins off the ground?

Just as Cheng Jundong began to feel the stirrings of responsibility as eldest son and debated telling Su Li to spend less, aware they had a long road ahead, he dared not speak.

If he did, would his mother hate him again?

So he fretted silently as Su Li ordered him to put the goods on the wooden cart.

After placing the items, Su Li quickly moved to the clothing counter, her legs agile and her speech brisk.

“Three pairs of underwear, three pairs of socks, and some vests…”

She bought intimate clothing in one sweep, initially wanting fabric but sadly, no fabric coupons remained.

She stuffed the goods in, slung the small cloth bag over her shoulder, and left the cooperative. Cheng Jundong hurried over to support her as she climbed onto the cart.

“Let’s go home!”

All the way, Cheng Jundong’s heart ached. The feeling hadn’t passed even when they reached the front door.

The house door was locked. Cheng Jundong pulled a stone from the wall, where the key was hidden.

He opened the door and stepped inside when Su Li suddenly spoke.

“Eldest, put these in your room. You’ll need them for work.”