Chapter 38: Seeking Favor or Blackmail

 

**It was rumored that Longtou Village had a bountiful harvest of sweet potatoes, and this naturally caught the envy of other teams. As the year-end festival approached, the practice of visiting neighboring villages, which had been dormant for two years, began to revive. The first to test the waters was Li Jiacun, a friendly village of Longtou Village.

The reason for forming these neighborly relationships was that at this time, disputes could arise between villages over issues like mountain fields and water resources. Conflicts and fights over these resources were not uncommon.

Some small villages had to rely on larger villages to protect their interests, while larger villages needed to gather smaller villages or form alliances with villages of similar size to strengthen their position when dealing with conflicting interests.

These allied villages were called "neighborly villages," while villages with conflicts were known as "enmity villages."

During the year-end festival, people from different villages organized visits to their allied villages to foster good relations.

Typically, men participated in these visits, although there were a few women involved, such as the women's team leader or influential female villagers. In some places, women served as production team leaders, and these female leaders also took part in the visits.

However, when Li Jiacun came to Longtou Village for their neighborly visit this year, it wasn't the women's team or an influential figure like Liu Meilan who came but Liu Meilan herself, along with her one-year-old son, Li Xinye.

Neighborly visits usually took on special forms, such as forming acting troupes (rural theater), lion dance teams, dragon dance teams, or lantern processions.

The spring festival of 1960 was the second spring festival since Tang Ailian's rebirth, and by this time, Tang Ailian was a year and a half old.

This year, due to the severe drought, there were fewer people expected to participate in neighborly visits. However, Li Jiacun sent more people this year than in previous years. Li Jiacun, a small village with just over thirty households, sent a total of fifty-six people.

Tang Ailian couldn't help but sneer inwardly. It seemed like they had ulterior motives.

However, this was justified since they had brought a lantern procession. Among all the forms of organization, a lantern procession required the most participants.

If Li Jiacun's neighborly visit seemed suspicious, then Liu Meilan was truly there to create trouble.

In theory, last year was when Liu Meilan visited Liu Xiujun's house, so this year, it should have been Liu Meilan's turn to visit Liu Xiujun's house. However, Liu Meilan had not come to visit at all from the second day of the lunar new year until the twelfth day. She only arrived in Longtou Village on the thirteenth day, along with the neighborly visit group, and then proceeded to Tang Ailian's house.

Upon seeing Liu Xiujun, Liu Meilan smiled broadly, showing all eight of her teeth. "Sister Xiujun, Happy New Year! I've come to pay my New Year's respects to you."

Liu Xiujun felt a bit awkward because she was busy with hosting the neighborly visit group and didn't have time to entertain Liu Meilan. "Um, Happy New Year! Lanmei, you see, we're all very busy today, and I don't have time to entertain you."

"Oh, don't worry, Sister Xiujun. Even though I've come to pay my New Year's respects today, I also consider it part of the neighborly visit," she said, shaking her son Li Xinye's hand.

Wait, she was one of the participants in the neighborly visit?

Today, the group from Li Jiacun had come for a lantern procession, where each participant held a square glass lantern with different characters on all four sides. Under unified direction, they would change the characters shown on their lanterns to create different patterns and auspicious phrases.

But Liu Meilan had brought her one-year-old son along. Could she possibly participate in the lantern procession?

"Ha, my Li Xinye is a lucky child. Since I'm a mother now, of course, I came along. Today, I'm here both to pay my New Year's respects and participate in the neighborly visit," Liu Meilan said proudly.

They chatted for a while, and then Liu Meilan hinted that she needed grain.

"Sister Xiujun, you have no idea what we've been eating in our team lately. Wild vegetable dumplings with rice bran and sweet potato leaves in watery gruel. It's tolerable for adults, but my son Li Xinye is just over a year old. What should I do? If you don't help me, my Li Xinye won't be able to make it."

While Liu Meilan spoke, she also indirectly indicated that she had helped Liu Xiujun conceal the fact that they ate eggs from the large canteen while Tang Ailian was in her womb.

Clearly, she was seeking to return a favor.

Liu Xiujun was nearly floored by this. The matter of her eating eggs from the large canteen while pregnant had already been resolved back then. It was Liu Meilan who had acted uncooperative and almost caused the women's team leader to be removed from her position. Now she dared to take credit? And blackmail her with her secret?

No, she was using her secret to blackmail her!

(End of this chapter)