Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 6 Eliminating the Barrier
"Third brother? You're back."

Early in the morning, the fourth daughter Zhou Chunhua and the fifth daughter Zhou Xiaomei saw their third brother whom they had not seen for a long time, and they looked a little strange when they greeted him.

"Fourth brother, fifth brother, Third brother hasn't seen you for a long time. I'll go to mother's place to ask for candy and snacks later."

While speaking, Zhou Fengnian took out two big black tens from his pocket while his mother was cooking and not paying attention.

One of them stuffed a piece of paper into the box and whispered, "Here, this is from Third Brother. Keep it safe and don't let mother know, or she will definitely confiscate it from you."

"Hey, Third Brother, this is..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, just keep it to yourself."

Zhou Fengnian quickly covered Zhou Xiaomei's mouth. The fifth child was only eleven years old, and the biggest money he had ever seen was banknotes. He had never touched such money before.

When I suddenly saw Dahei Shi today, I was so surprised that I didn’t know what to do. Even Zhou Xiaomei didn’t know Dahei Shi. It was her old sister Zhou Chunlan who told her.

"Third brother."

Zhou Fengnian reminded: "Go back and put the money away first. This is for you, and no one can take it away."

"Yeah, I see. Thank you, Third Brother!"

"Thank you, third brother!"

The two sisters laughed so hard that they couldn't stop, and hurried back to the house to put the money away.

This scene happened to be seen by the eldest sister-in-law who was about to open the door to leave the house. Then the eldest sister-in-law Qu Ying turned back into the house and slapped Zhou Weitian twice while he was still sleeping.

Zhou Weitian was woken up by a slap in the face. When he saw his wife, he asked, "What are you doing, wife? Why don't you sleep a little longer in the morning?"

"Why are you still sleeping? Didn't you say yesterday that the third brother was back? I just saw something. It seems that the third brother gave money to the fourth and fifth brothers early in the morning."

Qu Ying felt a little aggrieved when she said this. After she married into the Zhou family, she had to do the same amount of work every day.

She either collected firewood and fetched water, or cut grass and fed pigs. When she got married, the family was still tightening its belt to support the third child's schooling.

As a result, the third brother came back and gave benefits to his two younger sisters first, and he did it secretly. Who is he guarding against? Is there an outsider in the house?
"Money? What's wrong with money? The third brother also gave money to me and the second brother yesterday. Oh, I was too sleepy yesterday so I didn't tell you."

After Zhou Weitian came to his senses, he sat up from the bed, took out five big black tens from his pocket and shook them in front of Qu Ying:
"How about it, wife? This is given to me by my third brother. My second brother's family also got fifty. My third brother also brought back a lot of good things yesterday. Today, he gave me and my second brother's family three feet of cloth."

The distribution was Zhou Fugui's idea. He knew that the eldest and second sons also contributed a lot to Zhou Fengnian's schooling.

Moreover, the eldest and second wives suffered a lot after they got married. Zhou Fengnian helped the family but didn't give them any share, so they lost their loyalty.

"I wanted to tell you last night, but I was too sleepy and forgot."

Qu Ying first counted the money happily over and over again. Although there were only five big black tens, she seemed to never have counted enough.

After counting the money, he said to Zhou Weitian with a dark face: "You didn't tell me such an important thing, and I almost got angry with Lao San. Zhou Weitian, what else can you do!"

Zhou Weitian got up and put on his clothes with grievance, saying, "What does it have to do with me? You're just thinking too much."

Qu Ying ignored Zhou Weitian and continued to immerse herself in joy.

Although they haven't separated yet, the couple usually saves some money, does sewing and mending work for others, or goes out to the mountains to find food in their free time. If they are lucky, they can earn a few cents.

In addition, Zhou Fugui did not take all the money. He would give a few dollars to his two married sons every year, which allowed Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan to save five or six dollars every year.

When Zhou Fengnian came back this time, he gave Qu Ying fifty dollars at once, which was equivalent to their savings of ten years. It would be strange if Qu Ying was not happy.

The previous dissatisfaction in my heart towards the third son of the Zhou family had long disappeared.

After a while, when it was time for breakfast, Qu Ying and Zhang Fangfang greeted Zhou Fengnian warmly. Zhou Fengnian was also very talkative and told him about the situation in the city, where supplies were in short supply everywhere.

But he is getting better now. Next time he comes back, he will bring more things back home and his elder and second brothers.

After hearing this, the two sisters-in-law couldn't stop smiling. They no longer doubted Zhou Fengnian. After all, he had given them five big black tens last night, and there were still three feet of cloth to be divided later.

"Okay, why are you talking about far away? Third brother, you should take care of yourself in the city. You are the only one who has not married yet."

After finishing his meal, Zhou Fugui interrupted Zhou Fengnian's wish-making and asked, "What are your plans today? Are you going back to the city?"

Zhou Fengnian thought for a moment and said, "Dad, I may have to leave soon. The factory has to start work tomorrow, and I can't go back too late at night.

There are patrols in the city at night, and those who are caught not returning home may be detained for a night; I can’t stay at home for long this time, I will come back next time.”

"Okay, go back. We have everything we need at home. Just take care of yourself."

Zhou Fugui opened his mouth, but didn't say what he wanted to say. He felt that the selfish third brother seemed to have disappeared.

Maybe it was just his illusion. At that time, the third brother was really busy with factory affairs and had no time to care about other things.

This time he came back with a bunch of things and cash, adding up to almost three hundred yuan, as if he was planning to make up for all the losses from the past few years.

As long as he doesn't feel like a burden to the family, Zhou Fugui doesn't know what a level 14 technician means, but he knows that his third son has been promoted two levels in four years since graduation.

"Let's go now, don't leave it too late. If there's no bus going from the commune to the city, we can arrive in the evening if we leave now."

After thinking for a while, Zhou Fengnian said, "Then I will leave soon. It is not easy to ask for leave in the factory, but when the factory is free, I will definitely come back more often, Dad and Mom."

He couldn't help much by staying in the village, so he had to leave before noon, otherwise he would not be able to make it back in time.

Coming back this time can help my family members to ease their worries. It will be enough if they come back often and bring some things back.

If Zhou Fengnian became an engineer, he would be able to bring his parents to the city to live out their retirement years.

The feelings were not that deep, it was just that he took over the responsibilities of the original Zhou Fengnian, they had the same name and surname and he also took over the opportunities of the original person.

It's just a small favor of taking care of the family, so it's okay for him to take on this responsibility.

Afterwards, before going to the fields, Zhou Fugui went back to the house and took out the cigarettes he had hidden yesterday.

However, I hesitated for a moment when choosing what cigarettes to take. After thinking for a while, I decided to take a pack of Daqianmen.

I couldn’t pack the Economy brand cigarettes, but Daqianmen was just right, costing only 35 cents, and few people in the entire Hongjia Village had ever smoked them.

After his father and his elder and second brothers went to the fields, Zhou Fengnian also packed up and left.

But he left with nothing, as his family was too poor and there was nothing for him to take with him.

However, the two brothers Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jiaan patted their chests and promised that next time they went into the mountains, they would walk further away and set more traps.

When we catch a rabbit or a pheasant, we will send it to Zhou Fengnian.

There is no prey at all on the nearby hills as they were all eaten up in the past few years, but there may still be some on the distant hills.

Because those who go into the mountains to hunt never go far, otherwise they might die if they can't come back after dark.

Zhou Fengnian naturally refused immediately, because if his greed caused his elder and second brothers to get into trouble, then he would be in trouble.

(End of this chapter)