Chapter 97: Pickling Sour Cabbage
Mu Lantu claimed to be an educated youth.
“Ah, an educated youth!” the aunt praised, then whispered, “Do you have a partner? If not, I can introduce you to someone!”
“Are you a matchmaker, Auntie? I bet a lot of marriages in your village are thanks to you, right?”
“Exactly! I’ve matched more than a dozen young men and women in our village! One couple, let me tell you, they’re quite something—”
Mu Lantu chimed in at the right moments. It was just casual chatting—he didn’t mind as long as the aunt didn’t actually start matchmaking him. He could talk with her all day if needed.
As they entered the county town, two uniformed police officers appeared, each riding a bicycle.
The young errand runner from earlier jumped off the back seat of one of them.
“Officers, the two people on the cart are the robbers.”
The cart driver also called out, “Officers, over here!”
Mu Lantu stepped forward. “Hello, comrades. I’m the victim. Here is my introduction letter.”
“Alright, please come with us to the police station to give a statement.”
The cart driver, eager to do a good deed, beamed like a blooming chrysanthemum. “Officers, shall I take you there in my cart?”
“Thank you very much.”
The others went about their business. Mu Lantu rode the cart to the station.
At the station, Mu Lantu recounted the entire incident truthfully, even including how he had tried to save the robbers with meat buns.
When he returned to the village, he first went to see the team leader before heading home. This was something the leader should be told so he could warn the others.
Xu Jincheng and the others were pickling sour cabbage: chopping vegetables, tending the fire, blanching greens… busy and bustling.
Mu Lantu thought of dishes like sour fish soup, sour cabbage with beef, pork and cabbage with vermicelli, and sat down on a nearby stool.
“My household should pickle some cabbage too.”
Xu Jincheng asked when she planned to do it.
“Tomorrow,” Mu Lantu replied.
Lin Shuzhen immediately said, “We’ll help you then, okay?”
The male educated youths all turned to look—so enthusiastic?
Lin Shuzhen rolled her eyes. What did they know?
“I just figure, more hands make light work.”
Lu Manman explained, “Shuzhen’s sour cabbage is delicious. Every year she helps pickle, and she’s the MVP.”
Lin Shuzhen had been in Dongfanghong Brigade for four years now.
“I’d love for you to help,” Mu Lantu said. “But my yard’s too small—no space to work. Could I use your space? I’ll provide the water and firewood myself.”
Everyone laughed. Mu Youths was always so proper and considerate—he’d surely treat them to something good. And his cooking was nothing like theirs—he measured out salt granules and only dipped his chopsticks in sesame oil…
Now they understood Lin Shuzhen’s “enthusiasm.”
Lin Shuzhen awkwardly turned her face and kept salting the cabbage. She just wanted some tasty food—wasn’t a crime.
Dong—dong dong—
It was the sound of the village bell.
Xie Xiaojun wondered aloud, “Why are they ringing the bell this late in the afternoon?”
Outside, the team leader’s son bellowed, “Tomorrow morning at 8, one person from each household, meeting at the drying field—Tomorrow at 7 AM, one person per household, meeting at the drying field—”
The voice grew louder, then faded, circling the entire brigade.
The educated youths grew excited.
Zhao Chengxin swallowed hard. “Are we getting grain and pork distribution?”
At that, everyone else started to salivate too.
“Maybe! It’s getting colder, and if it snows, going out will be hard.”
The next morning, after breakfast, everyone rushed to the drying field.
Though only one person per household was requested, everyone who was curious came anyway. The kids were already on winter break and came to join the fun too. The field was packed, a sea of people.
The team leader stood atop a millstone and shouted, “Quiet down!”
Silence fell instantly.
“It’s cold, so I’ll keep it short! Two things today. First, the day after tomorrow—we’re distributing grain and pork!”
Cheers erupted.
“Grain! Pork!”
“It’s New Year’s!”
The team leader banged a gong.
“Second—starting tomorrow, don’t go to the county town alone. Always go with others, especially elderly folks and young women!
Yesterday, on the way back from town, Comrade Mu ran into two robbers. Luckily, Comrade Mu is capable and nothing bad happened. If he’d been stabbed, losing property would’ve been the least of it!”
Someone joked, “Who’d rob us? We’re dirt poor! Not like Comrade Mu who’s rich!”
The sour tone almost wafted to the neighboring brigade.
The joy on the educated youths’ faces instantly vanished. The guy wasn’t talking about them, but since they were all from the city, would the villagers lump them all together as “rich”?
The team leader struck the gong again, eyes sharp as knives.
“Who just said that? Come on, stand up and say it again!”
Everyone looked toward San Hanzi.
San Hanzi ducked behind someone and squatted down, hiding completely.
But Mu Lantu had seen clearly.
With reflexes like that, calling him “Hanzi” (a fool) was unfair.
“This whole thing was a private matter. Comrade Mu didn’t have to tell me. He could’ve just told those around him. So why did he come to me?”
Little Minmin ran up to the millstone, tugged her grandpa’s coat, stood on tiptoe, and shouted: “Because Comrade Mu wanted to kindly warn everyone, so no one would get hurt unprepared!”
The crowd laughed, then burst into thunderous applause.
“Well said, Minmin!”
“She’s so clever! No wonder she’s the team leader’s granddaughter!”
Aunt Chunhua and Minmin’s mom beamed under the compliments.
“You flatter us. She’s just a child—what does she know?”
Precisely because she’s a child, her words were the most sincere.
Some villagers who secretly envied Mu Lantu also clapped awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.
The team leader patted Minmin’s head, had her step down, and continued, “Don’t let me find out that some of you aren’t even as good as a kid. If anyone dares mess up our brigade’s unity—I won’t let it go. Meeting dismissed!”
On the way back, the educated youths felt much better—the team leader’s speech had smoothed over the earlier unpleasantness.
The team leader was the backbone of the Dongfanghong Brigade. As long as he was there, they believed life would stay peaceful.
Lu Manman broke the silence with a grin, “Let’s hurry up—we’ve got sour cabbage to pickle with Comrade Mu today!”
“Let’s go!”
Everyone jogged away.
The team leader, the accountant, and the secretary walked slowly at the rear.
The accountant said confidently, “That was San Hanzi, wasn’t it?”
The team leader took a drag on his pipe. “Don’t worry, a loach in a ditch can’t stir up much trouble.”
The secretary said, “We must keep our village in order. We’re just ordinary people—living safely and peacefully is the biggest blessing. As for the educated youths, should we remind them privately?”
Mu Lantu suspected the robbers were also educated youths and had told the team leader. If any of them were really struggling, it might be worth quietly helping them out, so they wouldn’t be driven to desperation.
The team leader waved it off. “No need. Going out of our way to talk would make them feel singled out. Besides, Xu and Lu are reliable. If something’s wrong, they’ll tell us.”
The accountant complimented him, “You’re always wise, Team Leader. Every time the educated youths arrive, you personally go to fetch them.”
The team leader snorted. “You think I do it for fun? Only by meeting them myself on the road can I get a feel for their character. So far, they’ve all been decent—no major trouble.”
Every time a new group of educated youths arrived, his wife would secretly observe them with a few discreet aunties—for protection as well as surveillance. Even as the team leader, he couldn’t claim every villager was good.
Mu Lantu’s group of six, along with Xu Huazhang and Miao Jiaze, were no exception.
All the educated youths thought the villagers were just curious about them and never suspected the team leader had arranged this.
Even Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang didn’t think much of it.
With so many eyes on them, they didn’t question every motive.
After moving the cabbage, water vats, water, and firewood to the educated youths’ compound, the group got to work.
Mu Lantu lit a big brazier in the courtyard. Anyone with cold hands could warm them. He also placed some small sweet potatoes and chestnuts next to it.
He was planning to pickle three large vats of sour cabbage.
Not a huge amount.
In Heiliao Province, winters were long, and every household would pickle several vats before the cold hit.
The educated youth compound had six vats going. With so many people, if they had more vats, they would’ve made more.
Mu Lantu had never pickled cabbage before, so he asked if he could watch.
Lin Shuzhen cheerfully replied, “Nothing to hide! It’s not a secret. I don’t have any tricks really—just follow the same steps as the village aunties.”
Mu Lantu watched the whole process and felt he’d learned it.
“You guys keep going—I’m heading into the mountains.”
Everyone knew what that meant and smiled.
“Go ahead, we’ve got it covered. Your cabbage will be clean and neat when you get back.”
Mu Lantu and Wangcai headed to the back mountain.
Many villagers were also hurrying into the mountains before snow fell. Mu Lantu avoided them—not because he didn’t want to be seen, but because he didn’t want to go with them. He would surely get results; if others didn’t, it’d be awkward.
After catching three wild chickens, he headed down and detoured to the river.
The river surface was frozen over with a layer of ice thicker than a millstone, shining white like a trapped dragon.
A bunch of kids were playing on the ice, pulling each other along as they slid.
Mu Lantu hesitated.
If he broke a hole in the ice—and a child fell in after he left—what then?
“Comrade Mu!”
The kids, led by Minmin and Tie Dan, ran toward him like bees to flowers, eyes sparkling.
No one in the Dongfanghong Brigade didn’t know how strong Comrade Mu was. They could guess what he wanted to do!
