I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 5 Stealing Seeds

After a bowl of hot rabbit soup, Gao Huaiyi's fatigue from the past few days dissipated considerably, and his injured arm also felt much better. The family enjoyed a rare meaty meal that night, and their hearts were filled with warmth. He slept soundly through the night, and by dawn the next morning, the pain in his arm had lessened considerably, and he was no longer as unable to move as he had in the previous days.

His parents got up early to pack their farm tools, preparing to go to the production team to earn work points. Gao Huaiyi saw that his health had improved considerably and did not want to stay at home alone and cause gossip, so he took the initiative to get up and go to work in the fields with his parents, pretending to be a down-to-earth and honest young farmer as usual, so that no one would notice anything unusual.

The family, carrying bamboo baskets and hoes, stepped out of their courtyard. They hadn't gone far when they encountered familiar neighbors on all sides. The family living right next to theirs on the left, also of the same clan and surname—Gao—were relatives from the same ancestor. They were a kind and gentle couple, Grandpa Gao and Grandma Gao. The two families were close friends and often helped each other out.

When Grandpa Gao and his wife saw Gao Huaiyi and his family leaving for work, they immediately stopped and greeted them with smiles. Grandma Gao's eyes fell on Gao Huaiyi, and she asked him with concern. When she heard that he had fallen and injured himself on the mountain yesterday, she quickly and carefully inquired about his well-being, asking if he was feeling better and if his wound was still painful. She also reminded him not to overexert himself while working, so as not to aggravate his old injury.

Gao Huaiyi politely smiled and replied, thanking the elderly couple for their concern. After a few simple pleasantries, he mentioned the difficult times the production team was facing. Despite their hard work year after year, they still didn't have enough food to eat, and life was tough and difficult.

After saying goodbye to the Gao family, our relatives on the left, we turned right to the Wang family, our next-door neighbors. They were the honest and kind Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang. The couple were simple, honest, and gentle; they never caused trouble and were always very kind to others. Seeing the group hurrying along, Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang warmly greeted them and inquired about Gao Huaiyi's fall the previous day, offering words of comfort and advice for him to rest well.

Directly in front of the house lived the Liu family. Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu were both hardworking and capable people who had spent their lives diligently earning work points. They were also generous and straightforward in their dealings with others. After meeting, they would greet each other with "Good morning," chat for a few minutes about the weather and farm work, and exchange pleasantries. They were all old neighbors from the same village who had lived together for many years, seeing each other all the time, so they always exchanged a few words of greeting and performed the proper etiquette.

They walked and chatted, the atmosphere among neighbors harmonious and friendly. But they hadn't gone far when they bumped into Gao Huai-ren, whom they had fiercely rebuked the day before, leaving in a rage, his face flushed. Now, Gao Huai-ren was with several lazy men of similar character, all idle and unwilling to work in the fields. This group was notorious in the village for their laziness, unwilling to work for work points, spending their days wandering around, only interested in freeloading and taking advantage of others.

Gao Huai-ren spotted Gao Huai-yi, who was traveling with him, at a glance. His face instantly darkened, and he stared at Gao Huai-yi with unfriendly eyes, his gaze filled with resentment and anger. Several of his cronies also looked over, their expressions a mixture of scrutiny and provocation.

Gao Huaiyi remained calm, giving the other party a cold glance. His heart was unmoved; he couldn't be bothered to waste a single word on these ignorant scoundrels. The two sides continued to dislike each other, neither taking the initiative to speak, creating an awkward and tense atmosphere. Ultimately, Gao Huairen, mindful of Gao Huaiyi's parents' presence, dared not cause trouble or provoke them in public. He could only reluctantly avert his gaze and lead his men away dejectedly.

The group didn't linger and hurried towards the assembly point. Once everyone had arrived, the production team leader was already waiting. After counting the number of people, the leader began assigning tasks for the day's farm work. Some villagers, trying to be clever and lazy, rushed to do the easier, less strenuous tasks. The leader didn't say anything, only glared at those few cunning villagers. Then, he led the entire village to the brigade warehouse to prepare for planting crops and distributing various grain and vegetable seeds. Taking advantage of the season, they worked diligently every day, hoping to earn more work points at the end of the year and receive a larger share of grain rations.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, everyone picked up seeds and prepared to get to work. Gao Huaiyi deliberately acted exceptionally diligent and proactive. Without waiting for instructions from others, he took the initiative to rush forward and help carry various seeds from the cloth bags into the warehouse. He was quick and efficient, appearing honest, hardworking, and able to endure hardship, with no indication of any ulterior motives.

But only he knew in his heart that he had already secretly planned his plan. Now he had a portable supernatural space of five acres, and an incredible time flow of one day outside and three days inside. As long as he collected all kinds of crop seeds, put them in the space and quietly cultivated them, he would not have to worry about not having food to eat in the future, and he would not have to watch his family suffer from hunger year after year.

The production team's warehouse is currently filled with sacks of all kinds of high-quality seeds, the most scarce and rare varieties of that era. There are plump, round millet seeds, firm sorghum seeds, drought-resistant corn seeds, and soybean seeds, essential for oil pressing. In addition, there are also winter essentials like Chinese cabbage seeds, sweet and delicious carrot seeds, crisp and flavorful green radish seeds, and all sorts of common vegetable seeds.

While pretending to be carrying bags diligently, Gao Huaiyi secretly used his mind to collect handfuls of each type of grain seed and vegetable seed into his spatial storage space, taking advantage of the moment when everyone was busy and no one was paying attention to him.

He calmly calculated the quantities in his mind, taking no more of each kind, quietly accumulating only a small amount of high-quality seeds, not seeking a large quantity, but only a complete variety. Little by little, he gradually accumulated a complete set of seeds for various coarse grains, miscellaneous grains, fruits, and vegetables. The amount he brought in was just right, enough to cover his entire five acres of land, more than enough for him to sow and cultivate in batches on his own.

Once he confirmed that all the desired seeds had been collected, with no missing varieties and just the right amount, Gao Huaiyi immediately put aside his thoughts and stopped hoarding any. He pretended to be nonchalant and continued to help everyone move the seeds, his expression calm and composed, so that no one would notice anything amiss.

All day long, everyone was busy tilling the land and sowing seeds, exhausted and drenched in sweat. In the blink of an eye, the sky gradually darkened, the sun set, the day's work was over, and everyone packed up their farm tools to prepare to go home.

Just as everyone was about to disperse, the brigade leader suddenly stood up with a serious expression, his brows furrowed, and spoke with a tone of doubt and dissatisfaction. "When we counted the remaining grain and vegetable seeds today, we clearly noticed something was wrong. Many of the various types of high-quality crops were inexplicably missing, with a lot of quantities missing out of nowhere. The numbers didn't match the numbers left over from previous years."

Upon hearing this, all the commune members present were stunned. They looked at each other and began to discuss, wondering why the seeds had mysteriously decreased. They speculated whether someone had carelessly spilled and wasted them, or whether someone had planted too many without reporting it, or whether someone had ulterior motives and had secretly taken public grain seeds.

In the 1960s, public resources were strictly guarded. Not a single grain of rice or seed could be privately hoarded or stolen. Planting more was fine, but once it was discovered that someone had stolen collective seeds, it was a serious offense. At best, one would be publicly criticized and made to write a self-criticism; at worst, one would have their work points deducted for the entire year, or even be accused of speculation and profiteering, which would bring shame upon their family.

Upon hearing this, Gao Huaiyi's heart skipped a beat, a wave of guilt and panic washing over him, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He never expected that simply taking a few handfuls of various seeds would be noticed by the captain at a glance. Fearing suspicion and being targeted, afraid that someone would discover his deception, he dared not continue standing in the crowd listening to the whispers and speculations. Forcing himself to remain calm and composed, he took advantage of the chaos and noise to slowly retreat a few steps, quietly hiding in a secluded corner to minimize his presence, lest he attract attention and be unjustly suspected and questioned.

While suppressing his panic and tension, he secretly rejoiced that he had taken very little and that his stealth had left no trace. At the same time, he made a silent vow to be more cautious in the future and never again take such risks, lest he inadvertently expose the secrets of the space and bring disaster upon his entire family.

The team leader glanced at the members, found nothing amiss, and then carefully examined the remaining seeds. They were indeed a little short, but not by much. He then told the members that perhaps someone hadn't controlled the number of seeds planted and had planted too many! He added, "It's alright, everyone go home!" Afterwards, everyone dispersed. Gao Huaiyi also followed the group home.