I secretly sold grain at age 60

Chapter 9 First Steps into Town

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, everyone else in the village carried their farm tools and headed to the production team to work, but Gao Huaiyi was the only one who didn't set off.

He kept thinking about the wild rabbit and chicken he had hunted yesterday. Holding such good meat in his hand, he knew he needed to supplement his nutrition at home, but he couldn't eat meat all the time. Right now, the most important thing was to buy more grain. Only with enough grain to eat and no hunger could he confidently do what he wanted in this era. Thinking of this, Gao Huaiyi looked up at his parents and said, "Father, Mother, I won't go to work today to earn work points. Yesterday, because Gao Huairen was with me, I still had two wild animals that I hadn't brought out, and I hid them! Today I'll try to see if I can sell them and get more grain." His parents were happy to hear there were still two animals. "Where did you hide them? Don't let anyone steal them! And selling things privately these days is speculation; don't get caught! It's better not to take that risk! If we don't have enough to eat, so be it. Family matters are more important than anything else. Don't worry, Mother, I'll be careful. Safety is the most important thing, I understand." The parents exchanged glances. Gao Huaiyi's father said, "Okay, you go and give it a try. If it doesn't work out, just run. Don't worry about danger, just run." Gao Huaiyi replied, "Okay, I understand, Dad. Could you put in a good word for me with the team leader?" The father said "Okay" and took his mother to the team to work. Gao Huaiyi packed his things, took some water, because the distance to the town wasn't far—only a two-hour walk—so he didn't need a letter of introduction. Gao Huaiyi secretly avoided the villagers and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, quietly made his way to the town alone, hoping to try his luck and see if he could sell some wild game privately to get some cash to help support his family.

I walked cautiously, choosing only secluded paths, afraid of being spotted by acquaintances from the village. After more than two hours, I finally reached the main street of the town. The town now was nothing like the one I remembered from the past; it was full of two-story buildings and paved roads. Now, only the government offices, state-run restaurants, and supply and marketing cooperatives had somewhat impressive entrances; the rest of the town was not much different from the village!

In these times of great tension, there is a crackdown on speculation and profiteering everywhere. Cadres and militiamen patrol the streets from time to time, their sharp eyes scanning passersby. Many villagers who try to secretly trade goods are caught and reprimanded as soon as they show their faces. Not only are their goods confiscated, but they are also taken back for questioning, making the matter known to everyone.

There were absolutely no vendors on the entire street who privately bought wild game or meat; no one dared to get involved, for fear of getting into trouble and bringing disaster upon themselves.

Gao Huaiyi wandered around the entire town, and the only place openly and legally doing business was the state-run supply and marketing cooperative. Everything in the cooperative was rationed; cloth required cloth coupons, meat required meat coupons, and grain required grain coupons. Cash was useless. Gao Huaiyi was penniless, without a single coupon. He felt helpless, not even wanting to go inside and take a look, let alone buy anything.

He stood on the street for a long time, hesitating, and then another idea came to him. He thought that if all else failed, he might as well try his luck at the meat processing plant in town.

But then he thought about it again. He only had two wild rabbits and one domestic chicken, which was too few and scattered to be worth making a special trip to the meat processing plant. The plant bought and slaughtered in large quantities and wouldn't even look at his few pieces of wild game. Going there would be a waste of time and would also expose the fact that his prey was of dubious origin. It wouldn't be worth the effort.

Thinking of this, Gao Huaiyi slapped his thigh and let out a soft "ouch," feeling a surge of frustration.

He was so focused on selling meat to earn money that he completely forgot about the most important thing.

He possessed a personal space that others could only dream of. The space offered a stable and gentle environment, ideal for survival. If he had properly cared for and raised the two live rabbits there yesterday, sheltered from the wind and sun, and free from predators and wild animals, they would have been able to reproduce and breed in no time, eventually producing baby rabbits. A steady stream of wild rabbits would then be a hundred times better than rushing to sell them at a low price now.

I was so focused on selling these live rabbits that could reproduce for a long time that I was only thinking about making money quickly. I never expected to eat one of them yesterday. Sigh, I should have eaten the pheasant instead!

Gao Huaiyi felt increasingly regretful and remorseful, filled with self-reproach. He blamed himself for being impatient and impetuous, focusing only on the present and forgetting his greatest asset.

The town was under strict surveillance, wild game was nowhere to be sold, and with no money or ration coupons, there was no way to buy even a few household items. After all that effort, he had made no progress and gained nothing. Gao Huaiyi dared not linger outside, fearing that the patrolmen would spot him, so he could only dejectedly and stealthily return to the village along the same route.

On the other hand, Gao Huai-ren harbored a deep sense of resentment.

Yesterday, everyone witnessed Gao Huaiyi's incredible luck—catching a plump wild rabbit in a single trip up the mountain and returning with a bountiful harvest, much to the envy of those around him. Gao Huairen was already itching to do the same, feeling that if Gao Huaiyi could do it, he certainly could too. It was just a matter of trying his luck up the mountain; why should Gao Huaiyi get all the benefits?

The next day, when the production team went to work together, Gao Huai-ren didn't obediently follow everyone to work in the fields. Filled with jealousy and resentment, he impulsively slipped away from the team without telling anyone and ran alone towards the deep mountains behind the village.

He thought he might be even luckier; he could just wander around the mountains and catch some pheasants and rabbits, and bring them home to impress his family and outdo Gao Huaiyi.

But no matter how good his ideals were, reality slapped him hard in the face.

The back mountain forest was deep and dense, overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult to spot common prey. Gao Huai-ren had no hunting experience and knew nothing about mountain survival skills. He wandered aimlessly through the mountains for most of the day, running around breathless and aching all over, but he didn't see a single decent pheasant feather, let alone a rabbit or a pheasant.

Not only did they gain nothing, but misfortune also quietly crept in.

Unbeknownst to him, he ventured deeper and deeper into the remote, rarely visited forest. Suddenly, a deep, fierce roar came from not far away. Gao Huai-ren's hair stood on end instantly. He turned around and saw a lone wolf on a nearby hill, sniffing something!

Alone in this desolate wilderness, Gao Huai-ren encountered wild wolves and was utterly powerless to resist. Terrified, his legs went weak, and he no longer cared about finding prey; he only focused on turning and fleeing for his life.

In his panic, he lost his footing and slipped, tumbling and falling down the steep hillside.

He stumbled and bumped along the way, branches tearing his clothes and stones scraping his skin. By the time he finally rolled to the bottom of the slope and came to a stop, he was a complete mess. His arms were scraped and bleeding, his waist and legs ached terribly, and he had suffered many bruises and injuries. He was in so much pain that he could barely stand and was grimacing.

The wolf didn't chase after them anymore, but Gao Huai-ren was filled with fear and anger, feeling both embarrassed and frustrated.

He limped slowly down the mountain, enduring the pain, muttering curses all the way, his resentment finding nowhere to go.

From beginning to end, he did not reflect on his unauthorized absence from work and trespassing into the deep mountains, nor did he blame himself for being greedy, vain, blindly comparing himself to others, and overestimating his abilities.

Instead, they pinned all the blame on Gao Huaiyi.

In Gao Huai Ren's mind, the root of all bad things was Gao Huai Yi.

If Gao Huaiyi hadn't been so lucky to catch a rabbit on the mountain, making him envious, he would never have impulsively abandoned his farm work and ventured into the mountains alone. If he hadn't seen Gao Huaiyi's bountiful harvest and felt envious, he wouldn't have been so bewitched as to come to the deep mountains for a risky adventure, and he wouldn't have ended up empty-handed, nearly killed by wolves, and injured all over.

All the misfortunes, all the dangers, all the embarrassing situations—it was all because Gao Huaiyi was too prominent, all because Gao Huaiyi was too conspicuous. He was filled with resentment, feeling that Gao Huaiyi had provoked him for no reason, causing him to suffer and be unlucky for nothing. His resentment and hatred towards Gao Huaiyi deepened even more.