I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s
Chapter 64: To the Brick and Tile Factory

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: To the Brick and Tile Factory

Wang Lianhua and Xifeng arrived a bit late, after Shen Meng and Xie Jinghao had already finished eating with the kids. They had hesitated to leave home, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

If they were coming to help with the chores, they would have surely left early. But going to someone’s house for a meal, for some reason, they just couldn’t pick up their feet to head over. They initially didn’t want to bring the kids with them, especially since Shen Meng had mentioned ahead of time about making pork trotter soup in the evening. Going by themselves was fine, but bringing the kids along just wasn’t appropriate.

Last night, Yaoyao and Gao Gao clung to their mother and wouldn’t let go, asking to be held, while Daqing and Erqing ran out after dinner to play with Mingyang’s kids. Today was the first day of the new term. Daqing was the only one who had entered the third grade, which made him look more important among all the children. Even Mingyang was more polite to him, as his mother had said that schooling costs a lot of money.

They gathered together, taking branches to write and draw on the ground in the yard, with Ming Liang even putting on the airs of a little teacher, and Shen Meng following along in the learning.

The original host had attended literacy classes and recognized a few characters but not many. Shen Meng thought of having Mingyang and the others teach her what they learned every evening. Over time, she could go to the county to buy a couple of books to keep up appearances, so when it was time to show her abilities, no one would be suspicious.

"They’re all playing!" Xifeng said joyfully while holding Gao Gao, giving Wang Lianhua a tug on the way.

The latter held Yaoyao without speaking, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Shen Meng quickly stood up and moved chairs for the two of them, "Sit down, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time, how come you only arrived now?"

"Kids being troublesome, hehe," Wang Lianhua said sheepishly, with Xifeng next to her wanting to laugh but receiving a glare instead.

Seeing the way both of them were acting, Shen Meng guessed they probably felt embarrassed at the last moment. She chuckled lightly and went to the kitchen to bring out the pork trotter soup that had been kept warm.

"Come drink, I’ve been keeping it warm for you, added some soybeans and kelp in there. It’s really good for women. I’ve also made a sauce for it, but it’s a bit spicy. Can you handle the heat?"

"We can, we can. I love spicy food. Oh my, you can’t smell it from outside, but it smells amazing up close."

Shen Meng served a bowl for each of them, and Gao Gao and Yaoyao got some too. She also gave each of them a small piece of vegetable pancake.

"This pig trotter has plenty of meat, let the kids gnaw on it. The vegetable pancake is made with cabbage and vermicelli, elder sister-in-law and Xifeng, you should have one too." Before, she had asked Daqing; they had stuffed themselves with cornbread pancakes and thin soup for dinner.

"We’ve already eaten. Didn’t you just say to come over for a couple of sips of soup? If you hadn’t mentioned it during the day, we wouldn’t have come over tonight."

"Exactly, and look at your pork trotter soup – there’s kelp and soybeans, and all this meat, how come there’s so much? Xiao Meng, this isn’t right. If you keep this up, next time, we really won’t come."

Shen Meng giggled twice and said, "Yes, yes, yes, it’s just that I have something I wanted to ask elder sister-in-law and Xifeng for help with, hehehe. I’ve cleared up the private plot. Right now happens to be the prime time for planting. I’ve gotten some vegetable seedlings and fruit trees, thinking of planting them now. I can take my time with these things, but I was thinking about building a fence around the private plot and would like to ask Yong Jun to lend a hand."

Xifeng took a sip of the meat soup, her expression one of contentment, as if there was a little person dancing in her heart. Hearing Shen Meng’s words, she immediately put down her bowl.

"Hey, never mind the fence. My elder sister-in-law and I will help you plant vegetables after we get off work tomorrow. You should take it easy with your build; let’s do it together later."

Shen Meng nodded immediately, agreeing very promptly.

Xie Jinghao couldn’t help but smile as she watched from the side. It seemed that her elder sister-in-law had been planning this all along. Just now, when Daqing mentioned what they had for dinner at home, the expression on her sister-in-law’s face wasn’t quite right. It was clear she felt bad for the other two sister-in-laws and was afraid they wouldn’t accept the benefits, so she came up with this idea. Now she really saw what her elder sister-in-law was like.

The next day.

After the family had breakfast, Shen Meng sent Lu Mingkai to Xie Jinghao’s place, asking her to help look after the child because she needed to make a trip to the county. She had planned to buy a bicycle before, and it was time to put it on the schedule, so as not to be inconvenienced by everything.

She rode in Uncle Guai’s bullock cart all the way to the county. Finding a secluded spot, she took a Flying Pigeon brand bicycle out of her space and rode it to the brick and tile factory on the edge of the county.

The brick and tile factory was bustling with activity. Even though it was already autumn, the laboring men were still topless, huffing and puffing as they moved bricks and pulled clay. When Shen Meng arrived on her bicycle, several unruly men whistled at her.

"Did you see that? There’s a woman over there, and she’s quite fetching."

"Keep it down, didn’t you see what she’s wearing? That red checkered fabric isn’t cheap. My wife’s been wanting it for a long time, and I haven’t even bought it for her. Don’t mess with her; she could be a relative of some leader. If you provoke her and end up getting punished, that’s on you."

"What’s the big deal if I just said a few words? It’s not like it’ll make her lose a pound of flesh. Besides, what’s a woman doing not staying at home and coming to a place like this where there’s so many men? She probably ain’t a good woman."

Kong Wenxiang was passing by several cart-pulling workers with a ledger for accounting, and upon hearing their gossip, he put his hands behind his back.

"Do you still want to work here? Badmouthing a female comrade like that. What kind of place do you think this is? This is a brick and tile factory, a proper place. What else could she be here for if not for the bricks and tiles in your hands? Surely not to smell your sweaty odors."

Those who had been discussing were caught red-handed by the factory director, and they quickly shut their mouths.

Kong Wenxiang stared at the man who said "she isn’t a good woman" for a good while before he turned and walked away.

The profitability of the brick and tile factory was incredibly high. Typically, only those with connections could get bricks and tiles, and even then, they were scheduled for after the New Year. He worried about this every day, and some workers weren’t helping, just slacking off. They received high wages every month and even got a meal provided by the factory. He was truly infuriated by this and powerless to fire them—if he could, he would have chased them away long ago.

After dealing with the workers, it was time to check on the female comrade who had caused such a stir at the brick and tile factory.

When he arrived, he saw the gatekeeper talking to a female comrade. From a distance, he could tell she was quite attractive. For a woman to come to such a place from so far away, it must be that the men in her family couldn’t support it, otherwise, they wouldn’t let their daughter-in-law work so hard.

"What’s going on?"

"Good morning, Factory Director. This comrade was inquiring about the price of black bricks and tiles, so I gave her a quote. She came from the Lu Family Village production team, which is quite a distance away. After making such a long trip, we can’t just send her away!"

The gatekeeper spoke cautiously, worried that his actions might displease the factory director.

Shen Meng looked at Kong Wenxiang, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she flashed him a smile.

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