Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 84 Going Home to See My Parents (Subscription Request)
"Zhou Yan, here."

In the morning, when Zhou Fengnian rode his bicycle to the agreed intersection, Zhou Yan had been waiting for a while.

Moreover, she went to buy some things early and exchanged the tickets she had secretly saved for a bottle of wine, so that she would not go there empty-handed.

"Why are you bringing anything? Didn't you just tell me to buy it?"

"That won't work. After all, this is your first visit, so you still need a gift."

Zhou Yan shook her head and smiled, then she saw there was a cushion on the back seat of the bicycle, and she felt even happier; there was no cushion yesterday, so they probably prepared it because they thought she would feel uncomfortable riding in a bicycle.

"Okay, get in the car. It's a bit cold on the road. I'll try to ride faster and get there earlier."

Zhou Fengnian gestured for him to get on the bike and said with a smile. He had a lot of things on the basket and the crossbar of the bike, and with Zhou Yan following behind, it would be a big challenge to ride to Hongjia Village.

Fortunately, I have good physical strength and good cycling skills.

Zhou Fengnian has dozens of skills, and the proficiency simulation cheat is very powerful. Doing one thing repeatedly can improve proficiency.

Even if he keeps steaming buns, he will become the God of Food one day.

The same goes for cycling. He rides every day, and his cycling skill has risen to level four. He can ride very fast on the snow without falling.

"Zhou Yan, you can live with my sister then. I will send you back in a few days before the New Year."

"Okay, Fengnian, I've already told my family before I left."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, and then pulled her neck into her scarf; Zhou Fengnian suddenly rode too fast, and the cold wind blowing into her mouth was a bit uncomfortable.

Before leaving, she told her father that she would not be back for a few days. Lu Honghui was so angry that she immediately yelled to stop Zhou Yan.

How can you stay out all night before getting married?
Isn't this just a way of lowering your status? You'll be bullied if you marry her.

Because her worth was too low, she couldn't get a dowry. Lv Honghui was still thinking about saving some money for her two sons.

However, Zhou Yan ran fast. Seeing that Lu Honghui failed to stop Zhou Yan, Zhou Xiangde anxiously called his wife back.

Otherwise, if Lu Honghui could yell in the yard, the Zhou family would really lose face.

Lu Honghui still knew how to keep her face, but after she came back, she and Zhou Xiangde started to quarrel in a low voice.

If it weren't for the obstruction of her as a father, she would have controlled Zhou Yan completely and saved her from talking back to her as a mother after so many years of studying.

Zhou Xiangde didn't get along with them either. He was also very angry. After cursing for a few words, he ate and went back to work. The machinery factory had a holiday early, but they had to work normally at the steel rolling mill and could not rest until the New Year.

"This woman is always trying to stir up trouble, and she doesn't even consider how old her daughter is."

Zhou Xiangde secretly cursed his short-sighted wife in his heart, saying that his daughter was so arrogant even though she was already so grown up.

He was so angry that he didn't go home for several days and was thinking of going to the yard to make a scene. If the news got out, their family would be embarrassed.

Zhou Xiangde knew that his daughter was protesting against them. She went to her boyfriend's house before getting married. Her attitude was too humble, and it almost showed that she would not marry anyone but that man.

We have to talk about this after the New Year!

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It is not too far from Sijiucheng to Sanshui Commune. They are both near Changping, and there are buses there.

However, it was still a long way to walk from Changping, so Zhou Fengnian chose to ride his bike back.

Fortunately, he rode fast and steadily, and the road near Sijiu City was not difficult to ride, so he arrived at Hongjia Village near noon.

"Hey, the third son of the Zhou family?"

When he rode to the entrance of the village, he saw two villagers who were going up the mountain to chop firewood. When they saw Zhou Fengnian riding his bike, they were stunned for a moment and then greeted him.

"Uncle Dayong, I got off work early this year, so I came back and left first."

Zhou Fengnian saw that the man carrying firewood was an acquaintance of his, the militia captain Hong Dayong.

However, it was too cold outside, so Zhou Fengnian didn't chat much. He just said hello and rode his bike towards the village.

After entering Hongjia Village, he rode to his doorstep in a short while.

After letting Zhou Yan get out of the back seat, Zhou Fengnian parked the car and knocked on the door.

"Dad, I'm back, open the door for me."

After shouting twice, there was soon the sound of a door opening and footsteps coming from inside, and then the wooden door was opened.

Seeing his most promising son, Zhou Fugui was also a little excited. He suppressed his tone and asked with concern, "Why are you the only one here? The elders didn't come back with you. Hey, who is this girl?"

"This is my boyfriend, Dad. Let's go in first. My elder and second brothers are still at work."

Zhou Fengnian pushed his bike and rushed home. He was very cold after riding for two or three hours.

After parking the car in the yard, the father and son took their things and walked towards the main house. There was a kang in the house, so it was very warm.

"Mom, second sister-in-law, and little sister, I'm back."

Zhou Fengnian said with a smile, feeling much more relaxed after returning home, and then immediately introduced her to his family: "This is Zhou Yan, my girlfriend. I brought her back for you to see."

Zhou Yan greeted shyly, "Hello, uncle and auntie, I am Fengnian's girlfriend, Zhou Yan; I work in the same factory as Fengnian and I am currently a broadcaster."

After that, he took out the Xifeng wine he bought, handed it over and continued, "This is my first visit. I'm sorry to bother you, uncle and aunt."

"Old Third, are you a girl?"

When Zhou's mother saw Zhou Yan's appearance, she was already quite delighted. She couldn't find anyone as beautiful as her in the surrounding area.

And he is a worker in the city, their family is really blessed.

"This kid didn't even tell me in advance. Girl, let me get you a glass of water."

After Zhou's mother put her grandson on the kang, she came down and poured Zhou Yan a cup of hot water: "Warm your hands, you look cold."

"Mom, I'm cold too."

"What can you do if you pour it yourself?"

Although she disliked her son interrupting her conversation with her future daughter-in-law, Zhou's mother still poured Zhou Fengnian a cup of hot water.

Then he pushed Zhou's father aside, pulled Zhou Yan to sit on the kang, and asked with a smile: "Miss, why are you here at this time? Does your family know?"

'They all know'

"We've had our holiday early, so we'll take advantage of the time before the New Year to bring Zhou Yan back to visit. My eldest brother and second brother won't get off work for a few days, so they can come back together then."

Zhou Fengnian interrupted and said, "Mom, Zhou Yan and I haven't eaten yet, what are we having for lunch?"

Father Zhou on the side said, "Yes, it's time for lunch, don't let the child go hungry."

"Mom, you stay with my brother and sister-in-law, I'll do it at noon."

Second sister-in-law Zhang Fangfang spoke, then put the child down and prepared to cook.

"Second sister-in-law, I brought back some preserved food. Let's have that for lunch."

"it is good."

Zhou Fengnian also took out peanuts, melon seeds and other things, gave some to his younger sister, and let her sit aside to eat.

While someone was cooking, Zhou's mother couldn't wait to ask Zhou Yan some questions. Every parent seemed to be very interested in asking about their children's marriage. Seeing that Zhou's mother asked too deep questions, Zhou Fengnian would interrupt her.

After all, it’s my first time visiting your home, it would be bad if I got scared.

Zhou's father also asked about the situation in the city. Although he had mentioned some of it when the eldest son and his wife came back to send the children last time, he wanted to ask more about his youngest son's situation.

When Zhou Fengnian heard his father ask this, he started bragging.

He concealed and embellished what he had done, which shocked Zhou's father and even his mother.

What the world's best? She had never heard of such a thing before. It surprised her more than the thousand-pound fat pig she had heard about a few years ago.

Zhou Fengnian also brought back the cup given to him by the factory and gave it to his father to drink water from, so that he could save face in public.

Every time he drank water, he would take it out and the words "Model Worker" would appear on it. Father Zhou was definitely the most handsome guy in the village, and he could attract more attention than if he smoked Daqianmen cigarettes.

"This is good, this is good!"

After taking the cup, Zhou's father smiled and said that next time he went to the brigade meeting, he would bring the cup to ask the village party secretary for water.

"Dad, I see the house is cleaned up?"

Zhou Fengnian looked around and asked, not only was there a new kang in the room, but even the yard and the wall had changed, and there seemed to be a chicken coop.

Father Zhou said, "I cleaned it up a bit. Your mother was stingy. She originally wanted to build you a room, but she said it was unnecessary and she just built you a kang."

The Zhou family is not short of money now. Zhou Fengnian sends back 120 yuan a year. Not to mention Hongjia Village, they are the richest family in the entire Sanshui Commune.

So I hired someone to clean up the yard, built a pigpen and a chicken coop, and built a brick wall.

Zhou's mother immediately said anxiously: "Zhou Fugui, don't talk nonsense, the third brother just pulled a curtain and it became a room."

"There's no need to build a house. How much firewood will be wasted in the winter. Just having a kang will be enough."

Zhou Fengnian said that since he would not be living there for long, it would be a bit of a waste to build a house for him.

"Mom, Zhou Yan is not leaving tonight. She can stay in my younger sister's room. Do you have any extra bedding?"

"Yes, you brought back a lot of things from the city, and I just happened to make a new quilt."

After saying this, Zhou's mother went to the cabinet beside the kang to get the bedding. She had originally made the bedding for Zhou Fengnian, but now that her son had brought his girlfriend back, she decided to give it to Zhou Yan.

After Zhou's mother took Zhou Yan to the fourth and fifth sisters' rooms, Zhou Fengnian glanced out the window and asked, "Dad, are you planning to raise pigs and chickens?"

"Well, I have this plan."

Father Zhou wanted to light a cigarette, but when he saw his two grandsons on the kang, he put the cigarette back and said, "Last year, we were not allowed to raise any pigs, but after the New Year, the policy was relaxed a bit. The commune said that each household can raise two pigs and five chickens."

In the past few years, people were not well fed and would just lie down and do nothing to save energy. Who would bother raising pigs?

It's just that people have a little more self-retained grain this year, so the breeding policy will be relaxed next year. However, it is still voluntary and you can raise livestock if you want.

You can earn meat from raising the pigs, but if they die you will have to pay for the piglets.

"You have to find the feed yourself. Every household is just not guaranteed to starve to death now. What are you going to feed the pigs with?"

Zhou Fengnian thought for a moment and advised, "Forget it, don't raise it. If you want to eat meat in the future, I'll buy you some from the city."

Father Zhou said unhappily, "I can go up the mountain to cut grass for pigs. The village hasn't raised pigs for several years. There is too much grass for pigs on the mountain. Don't worry about it. I know what's going on."

He is not old, but a rural laborer who is almost being supported by his son.

Some time ago, someone joked that he was living the life of a master, but that was not acceptable.

Moreover, if you raise two pigs, you only need to hand over one to the commune to complete the task; the remaining one can be sold to the public for more than half, and you can keep a lot for yourself.

This way there would be plenty of meat for the New Year, and Zhou's father also wanted to send some to his children in the city.

The same goes for raising chickens. After you hand in the eggs that have been laid and complete the task, you can keep the rest for yourself.

"You are the only laborer in the family, and you still go up the mountain to cut grass for the pigs. I don't care. Just be careful."

Zhou Fengnian knew that it was unlikely to persuade the old father to rest. Resting at this time was almost equivalent to degradation, and labor was the most glorious.

Then Zhou's father asked about the situation of other people in the city, and Zhou Fengnian told him everything he knew.

The eldest and second brothers were all pretty nice. Deputy Director Bai of the First Electrical Appliance Factory was considered a friend of his and took good care of his family.

In fact, it cannot be said that they were taken care of. Zhou Fengnian's brothers and sisters were all hardworking and diligent, with no signs of being slacking off.

"Why did you bring her back home? And let her live at home. Would her parents be happy with that?"

Father Zhou endured for a long time, but finally couldn't help but ask.

He had never seen anyone like this in decades, as she moved directly to her partner's house before getting married. Is this unique to the city?

"It has something to do with her family's situation, but don't worry, we are doing nothing out of the ordinary, and we plan to get married a few months after the New Year."

Zhou Fengnian felt that it was too troublesome to explain. Even if he told him, Zhou's father might still ask him a lot of questions. It would be better for him to directly solve Zhou Yan's family situation and tell him after they got married.

"It's okay to get married after the New Year. Then your mom won't have to worry so much and won't have to talk about this kind of thing every day."

Seeing that Zhou Fengnian didn't want to talk, Zhou's father didn't ask any more questions. He thought that this son of his was the smartest and most opinionated one.

Besides, he is just an old man from the countryside and can't help much in the city.

"Are you planning on having a party then?"

"We don't have such plans. We can't afford it. When the time comes, the village will just give out some candy and peanuts and melon seeds and make an announcement."

Zhou Fengnian paused for a moment and continued, "Let's have a meal together. I'll take you and mom to the city."

Although he had a good income and often went to the Pigeon Market, at most he could only put together three tables of food.

If there are more, Zhou Fengnian might be arrested for speculation.

After a while, my second sister-in-law Zhang Fangfang came in with some food and said, "Dad, it's a good year, it's time to eat."

Zhou Fengnian stood up and said, "I'll go call mom and Zhou Yan."

The two were probably talking in that room, and Zhou's mother liked to pry into other people's minds, so he forgot for a moment that Zhou Yan might be very uncomfortable being asked such questions.

However, when Zhou Fengnian pushed the door open, he found that it was not the case at all. The two of them were smiling and their relationship was much more harmonious than that on his side.

After hearing that it was time to eat, Zhou's mother and Zhou Yan got up and went over.

Steamed cured chicken and cured sausage, fried two vegetarian dishes, homemade pickles, and white flour flatbreads.

This was considered a pretty good lunch in the city. Zhou's father and mother had never eaten like this before.

The family had a comfortable lunch. After eating, Zhou Fengnian, who had been riding a bicycle for the whole morning, wanted to take a nap.

But Zhou's mother patted him and said, "Don't be lazy, take Zhou Yan for a walk, but don't go to dangerous places, even if the river is frozen."

If the villagers saw it, she wouldn't have to spread the news that her third son had a girlfriend in the city, and such a pretty girl.

Zhou Fengnian stood up and asked, "Mom, why do I hear you want me to go to the river?"

Zhou's mother immediately clapped her hands twice and said, "What nonsense! If you dare to hurt Zhou Yan, I will show you how I will deal with you."

(End of this chapter)