Closing the door, the team leader’s wife called out to the people inside and led Bai Jiu into the main room. The entire family was gathered there, including both of her sons.
When they saw Bai Jiu walk in carrying bags of things, all eyes turned to her.
Gao Weimin immediately stood up to offer his seat. "Bai Jiu, you’re back." He hadn’t been in the village during the meat distribution today, so he had no idea she had returned.
"Yes, I’m back," Bai Jiu replied, feeling genuinely grateful to Gao Weimin.
The only person in the family who didn’t welcome Bai Jiu was the team leader. Seeing his wife and son treating her so well only made him feel incredibly annoyed.
"What are you here for this time?" he asked, cutting straight to the chase.
It was hard to blame him for his attitude. Whenever Bai Jiu came around, trouble followed—whether it was arguing, fighting, or threatening to report someone. The most terrifying part was her habit of threatening murder-suicide with her entire family at the drop of a hat. Anyone would be terrified and fed up with that kind of behavior.
Bai Jiu didn’t mind the team leader’s hostility. She was used to it, after all; this wasn’t the first or second time.
"My letter of introduction is about to expire. I want to spend the New Year at my parents’ house this year, especially since my oldest brother is getting married in the first lunar month," Bai Jiu said directly, stating her purpose without missing a beat. She had never been one to beat around the bush.
Hearing that she only needed a letter of introduction, the team leader breathed a sigh of relief. "Fine, I’ll write it for you in a bit. Another half a month." Since it was the winter off-season, he was more lenient; he would never have approved such a long leave during normal farming times.
Bai Jiu was not happy to hear it was only for half a month. "That won’t do. I need at least three months." She was prepared for a long-term battle. She wasn’t short on money or supplies now, and she wasn’t the least bit worried about her and her children’s livelihoods. Therefore, earning work points in the village really didn’t matter to her.
When she boldly asked for three months, the team leader refused without a second thought. "No way."
Bai Jiu hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. "Why not?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"After the New Year, the ground will thaw, and it’ll be time to work the fields. If you take three months off, do you plan on not working at all?" The team leader glared at her, thoroughly displeased with her outrageous request. "If everyone in the production team acted like you, who would do the farm work?"
No matter what she said, there was no way he would approve it. She would either be chased back by the city authorities or she could come back obediently and work.
Bai Jiu was speechless. It was as if the production team would collapse without her. "Team Leader, the team isn’t exactly short of my labor," she pointed out, exasperated.
"That still won’t do! No one is allowed to shirk their work. If everyone were like you, how would we fulfill the state’s quotas? How would we build our nation? How would we achieve the Four Modernizations?" He wouldn’t write that letter even if the sky fell.
Bai Jiu hadn’t expected the team leader to actually get angry. "Then how long can you approve?" she asked, forced to settle for less. In truth, she didn’t know much about this era; everything she knew came from books. People in this time genuinely prioritized building the nation above all else. Not daring to push too far, she had no choice but to compromise.
"One month at most! If you’re so capable, find a way to stay in the city and never come back!" The team leader was driven mad by her constant attempts to push her luck.
Bai Jiu rolled her eyes. If she could stay, she wouldn’t need his reminder—jobs were just too hard to find. Hearing that she would only get a month, she swallowed her frustration and finally agreed. It seemed she would have to work harder at her plans.
Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, the others finally dared to speak up.
"Bai Jiu, where are Xiuxiu and Zhengyang?" Gao Weimin asked, changing the subject to ease the tension.
"They’re at my parents’ house. It’s freezing out, so I didn’t bring them back," Bai Jiu replied with a smile.
The team leader’s oldest son, who had escorted Bai Jiu to town last time, had brought back one of her quilts when he returned. Seeing his father leave the room to write the letter, he immediately asked his wife to fetch it.
"Bai Jiu, I had my wife sun your quilt. I’ll carry it back to your place in a bit," Gao Weiguo said with an honest, good-natured smile.
Bai Jiu had nearly forgotten about it until he brought it up. "There’s no need for that, Brother Gao. Just consider the quilt my New Year’s gift to you and your wife." She was a bit of a germaphobe, and the thought of using something a man outside her family had slept in was genuinely unacceptable to her.
"That... wouldn’t be right, would it?" Gao Weiguo hadn’t expected such good fortune. That quilt weighed at least seven or eight catties, and it was practically brand new. It was soft and fluffy, clearly stuffed with top-grade cotton. Was she really giving it to him? Was he dreaming?
The quilt he and his wife used had been made for their wedding and weighed only five or six catties. At night, they had to layer their old, worn-out blankets over it, or they would freeze to death.
"What’s wrong with that? It’s just a quilt. Please don’t stand on ceremony with me, Brother Gao." Bai Jiu absolutely did not want it back.
Aunt Li stood silently to the side, smiling as she watched her foolish son. Her eldest was honest and dutiful, while her youngest was shrewd but principled. She was deeply satisfied with both of her boys. She had felt that quilt herself; it was indeed excellent, far better than anything they owned. When Bai Jiu offered to give it away, Aunt Li was actually quite tempted. Her eldest son had a small child, and those two thin quilts of theirs were truly not enough for the winter.
"Besides, I haven’t had the chance to thank you for last time, Brother Gao. I made you make a trip in that blizzard, and you didn’t even get to drink a cup of hot water," Bai Jiu said, expressing her genuine gratitude.
"It’s nothing, it’s nothing! We’re all from the same production team." Gao Weiguo waved his hands frantically. However, he didn’t dare make the decision to accept such a heavy gift. He turned to look at his mother. Seeing that she wasn’t giving him any hints, he began to feel uneasy again.
"That quilt is too nice. You should really take it back later, Bai Jiu." He didn’t know what his mother was thinking, but he simply couldn’t accept something so valuable.
"Please don’t. I have more at home. Or do you think the gift is too small, Brother Gao?" She wouldn’t take the quilt back even if her life depended on it. If she hadn’t known, it would have been one thing. But knowing full well that someone else had used it... the thought just made her skin crawl.
"No, no, not at all!" Gao Weiguo shook his head and waved his hands simultaneously, desperate to show he didn’t mean that. But the more anxious he got, the more he stumbled over his words.
It was truly rare to find such an honest man in the team leader’s family.
"Bai Jiu, please don’t tease him. My brother isn’t good with words. This quilt really is too valuable," Gao Weimin explained, unable to bear watching his brother’s face turn crimson.
"What’s valuable or not? We’re all so close. You, Brother Gao, the team leader, and Aunt Li have helped me so much. This little gift is nothing. If conditions allowed, I would have given something even more substantial."
Whether her words were sincere or not, they were music to Aunt Li’s ears. When Xiuxiu and Zhengyang were hospitalized, Weimin had run himself ragged helping out, and Aunt Li had harbored some grievances about it. But seeing how tactful and generous Bai Jiu was being now, her heart felt much warmer toward the younger woman.
While they were chatting, the team leader emerged from the inner room.
"What gift?" he asked, looking puzzled after catching only snippets of the conversation.
For once, Gao Weiguo was quick to speak, immediately telling his father about Bai Jiu gifting him the quilt.
The team leader’s mouth twitched violently. "Fine, if she wants to give it, just accept it." The team leader wasn’t going to stand on ceremony with Bai Jiu.