WN:TRMSHADSW 21

As Su Jin walked along the path, the village dogs that spotted this unfamiliar face couldn’t help but bare their teeth and snarl, their eyes filled with hostility.

Oh my god.
Su Jin patted her chest in fright.
If that big yellow dog hadn’t been chained up with iron, it might have come charging at her like a cannonball.

“Da Huang! Stop barking or I’ll stew you!”
At the word stew, the big yellow dog yelped in fear, tucking its tail tightly between its legs and wagging it apologetically, its ears drooping back as it whimpered pitifully.

“Oh my, whose young wife is this?”
The dog’s owner—a village woman around thirty—had her hair neatly tied into a bun at the back, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes. Her nose was a bit flat, but overall she looked easygoing and friendly.

“I’m from Jiang Heng’s household,” Su Jin replied.

The woman suddenly understood.
“Oh~ so you’re the new bride Jiang Heng brought home! I’m from the Ji family—just call me Sister-in-law Ji.”

Su Jin nodded. “Alright.”

Sister-in-law Ji looked her over and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen you wandering around the village. My dog probably hasn’t seen you before and thought you were a stranger.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t have anything to do today, so I thought I’d take a walk,” Su Jin said.

Sister-in-law Ji chatted as she shook the chaff from her sieve. “That’s right, you’ve just arrived. You should walk around more and get familiar with the place.”

Looking at the dogs, Su Jin’s heart started itching. She was a dog lover—she really wanted a puppy of her own.

“Sister-in-law Ji, where did your dog come from?”

With a smile in her eyes, Ji replied, “Another family’s female dog gave birth to a litter, and I happened to be there. They couldn’t keep that many, so they gave me one to watch the house!”

“Do you know if there are any puppies left?” Su Jin asked hopefully.

Ji thought seriously for a while, then shook her head. “Hmm… No, none of the village dogs are having puppies now.”

Su Jin nodded, but the idea had already taken root in her heart—she wanted to raise a dog!

“Alright, Sister-in-law, you go on with your work. I’ll keep looking around.”

“Okay!”

As Su Jin’s figure disappeared down the road, Sister-in-law Ji muttered to herself, “That rascal Jiang Heng—where did he find such a pretty wife? I should have my man go ask him for some tips one of these days.”

After walking another round through the village, Su Jin felt like she was the idlest person here. Most of the women were busy working for their families, or helping out with collective tasks.

Eventually, her wandering brought her to the far end of the village, where the houses were spaced farther apart.

Many of the houses there were old and crumbling.

Su Jin frowned to herself. Couldn’t these be fixed up and lived in again?

The stranger and more unusual the place looked, the more curious she became.

She stepped inside one of the abandoned yards. Weeds grew thickly, with some small saplings scattered among them. Climbing vines covered one wall completely, and the scattered bricks on the ground were green with moss.

It wasn’t too dark inside; sunlight streamed faintly through the gaps.

There wasn’t much furniture—just a broken wooden table and a few small stools.

But Su Jin noticed several faint marks leading toward the inner room—drag marks, like something heavy had been pulled across the floor.

Crack!

The sound of a twig snapping made her heart jolt.

She instinctively ducked into a corner behind the wall. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but her cautious nature made her react faster than she could think.

“Big bro!”

“Shh! Keep your voice down.”

“I got it.”

Su Jin strained to hear them—two men, both speaking carefully, as if afraid of being overheard.

The older one looked furious, about to curse, but then he swallowed it down and hissed in a low voice, “Look at what you’ve done! I shouldn’t have brought you along.”

“What? What did I do?”

The older man jabbed his finger toward the floor. “Are you blind or are you trying to get us caught? You left drag marks this long—do you want people to know we’re hiding something here?”

The younger man looked panicked. “Big bro, I didn’t notice!”

“And when I came in, I saw the weeds bent in the wrong direction.”

The older one rubbed his chin, carefully surveying the area.

Su Jin’s instincts told her this man was cautious—meticulous, even. She needed to find a better hiding spot.

Quickly, with her agile movements, she darted to a nearby tree, climbed up, and crawled onto the thick beam under the roof.

“Go check around,” the older one ordered. “If someone saw us, we’re both dead.”

“Got it, big bro.”

The two men peeked out through the broken window.

“Relax,” the younger one said after a while. “I checked—no one’s here.”

The ground showed no fresh footprints, the weeds looked undisturbed, the trees hadn’t shed new leaves, and there weren’t any fresh scratches on the wall.

Only then did the older man exhale.

“Listen,” he said gravely, “we have to be careful about this. If we get caught, our whole families will be done for.”

“I know, big bro.”

“Knowing isn’t enough—remember it!” He jabbed the younger one’s forehead hard.

Su Jin blinked in confusion. What on earth? Are these guys criminals? Murderers?

Then she heard the older one say, “If you want the industrial coupons this year to visit Xiulan, you’d better work harder.”

After listening a bit longer, Su Jin understood.

It was 1975—times were strict. Under the collective economy, private trade was forbidden.

If anyone got caught selling things on the side, they’d be branded as speculators and arrested by the Red Armband patrols.

“Don’t worry, big bro,” the younger said. “I’ve already contacted a few buyers from the city. They’re desperate for food—some families’ grain jars are already empty.”

“Good. But be careful—some of those ‘buyers’ might be undercover.”

“Understood.”

Their footsteps eventually faded away.

Su Jin frowned in thought. Aren’t their families supposed to have enough grain? Why risk selling it?

At that time, food was as precious as gold—it was the currency of the market.

Strange, she thought, shaking her head.

But she didn’t have to worry. She already had enough money and food—no need to risk anything in the black market.

She slipped out quietly and hurried home.

When she entered the yard, Jiang Heng stood there like a statue—tall and stern, his sharp eyes glinting like an eagle’s, his expression a mix of anxiety and anger.

The moment Su Jin opened the door, he questioned sharply,
“Where did you go?”

“I just went for a walk nearby,” she replied.

Sensing his mood was off, she asked carefully, “What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Heng didn’t know how to answer. Last night, Su Jin had treated him coldly. Early in the morning, he’d swallowed his frustration and cooked breakfast for his still-sleeping wife.
When she woke up, she hadn’t even looked his way.

He felt stifled—hurt and resentful.

“It’s nothing,” he muttered, suppressing the lump in his throat.

“Oh, by the way,” Su Jin asked, “why didn’t I have to go earn work points today?”

“No need,” he said flatly. “A bunch of new educated youths arrived in the village. There’s enough manpower now. You don’t need to help with oil pressing anymore.”

Su Jin had thought the work was strictly assigned, one person per post. She didn’t realize Jiang Heng had already planned to keep her from hard labor.

Jiang Heng pursed his lips, sharpening a knife as he spoke casually—but his ears were pricked, waiting for her answer. “So, you went around the village today?”

“Yeah, just wandered a bit.”

“You’re still not familiar with the place. It’s good to look around more.”

“Hey, by the way,” Su Jin said suddenly, “why haven’t those broken houses at the edge of the village been torn down?”