1968: Started from breeding

Chapter 265 is about that one! The one who gave birth!
early morning.

Before dawn, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys.

Su Wenchen and Jiang Li got up early in the morning to start packing.

Su Wenchen slowly said, pressing a wrapped packet of tea leaves into a crevice of the wicker box.

"To be honest, I was quite anxious when I received the news that I had to go to Beijing for a meeting, and I didn't prepare anything decent."

"I only sent a packet of Suzhou Biluochun tea through someone in Jiangsu Province, but I guess your dad certainly doesn't lack this kind of specially supplied tea."

"Once we get to Beijing, I'll go to the department store there and buy a bottle of Moutai!"

"That stuff is really hard to buy here; there's practically no stock left!"

Jiang Li, who was packing clothes into a box nearby, immediately refused.

"Don't buy any alcohol. My dad doesn't drink much. There was a lot of alcohol at home before I left, but he gave it all away to his old buddies."

After packing her clothes, Jiang Li got up and took out some preserved meats that had been cleaned and wrapped in oil paper from the kitchen.

Instantly, a unique, smoky aroma from pine branches, mixed with the distinctive flavor of chicken, filled the air.

"Just bring some of these cured meats that our commune members smoke by hand."

"These were all ordered in advance by some of the aunties in our brigade. They were smoked using roosters raised by our brigade. We originally planned to save them for the New Year!"

"Let me tell you, we used to mostly use hens for smoking, but ever since someone smoked our whole flock of roosters once, they discovered that our small roosters have a unique flavor when smoked."

As he spoke, he took a sniff.

"It smells good!"

"Unfortunately, I'm pregnant, so I can't eat too much of this!"

"So we don't need to bring any cigarettes or alcohol, just some of these farm products will do."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a soft knock sounded at the door.

Su Wenchen got up and opened the door to the room.

The eldest sister-in-law stood at the door, holding a leg of lamb already wrapped in oiled paper, her breath steaming in the air. As soon as Su Wenchen opened the door, she immediately squeezed in.

“Ah Chen, I saw the lights were on in your room, so I knew you were up and packing your things.”

"Your older brother and I don't have anything good to give you, so please take this leg of lamb with you."

Seeing this, Su Wenchen felt a warmth rise in his heart, but he waved his hand repeatedly in refusal.

“Sister-in-law, how can I accept this? It was given to me by someone to thank my brother for saving my life. What would it mean if I took it?”

As they were talking, Su Wenchen declined the lamb leg that his sister-in-law offered him.

At that time, a leg of lamb was actually quite valuable. As time progressed into the 1970s, resources were indeed not as scarce as before.

However, to say that we are fully full is not an exaggeration. At most, we have improved from being half full to being about 70% full and fully full.

Of course, this varies from person to person. In cities, conditions are better, and people can eat more meat, but meat is still very scarce. A whole leg of lamb is definitely a valuable gift at this time.

Seeing that Su Wenchen wasn't taking it, the sister-in-law simply put it on the table.

Then he shouted to Jiang Li.

"Xiao Li and your husband, don't be so polite with me and your older brother. I know your family has everything, but it wouldn't look good if the youngest child brought too few gifts on our first visit."

“Take it with you, so your dad can try some of the local lamb from Lan City.”

In an instant, Second Sister-in-law, who had heard the commotion, also came in, carrying two jars of dried persimmons in her arms.

Because the rabbit meat canneries are selling well in their local area, and because the living conditions of the villagers in the surrounding communities have gradually improved, making it easier for them to buy the meat, many households have now collected a lot of these glass bottles.

"Xiao Li, I made all of this myself. It's nothing special, but you and A-Chen shouldn't mind it. Take it back for your in-laws to try."

As he spoke, he placed two glass jars containing dried persimmons on the table.

The older sister-in-law was quite surprised when she saw the persimmons in the glass jar with white frost-like flowers that looked like blood coral.

"Second brother's wife, you actually have this skill! The frost on your persimmon cake looks so beautiful!"

"Besides, it's a waste to eat these; they're good just to look at."

Upon hearing this, the second sister-in-law immediately smiled and said modestly.

“Sister-in-law, there are many persimmon trees in our hometown brigade. We can’t eat them all when it’s harvest time, so we have to make them into dried persimmons.”

"So in our brigade, almost every household learned how to make persimmon cakes. However, making these things is quite laborious. Before, we always had to work and didn't have the time or energy to make them."

"Sister-in-law, if you have time and want to learn, I can teach you. It's very simple."

Upon hearing this, the woman standing next to her immediately nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll trouble you with the second son's family. My family also has several persimmon trees! The production team makes persimmon cakes every year, but none of them are as pretty as yours."

"Your shiny outer layer looks like frost, it would look much better as a gift."

"Especially when placed in this kind of glass bottle, it's perfect for visiting relatives during the Lunar New Year. It's just that I'm a little reluctant to part with the bottle!"

Upon hearing this, the second sister-in-law immediately smiled.

"Right! I also think this white frost looks pretty, especially in a glass bottle."

"If it weren't for the cannery we have here, these canning jars would be really hard to buy!"

“Come on, sister-in-law, I’ll teach you when we get back.”

He then spoke to Su Wenchen.

"Ah Chen, we won't disturb you two packing your things any longer, we'll head back now."

The two then walked outside.

Su Wenchen immediately grabbed his things and chased after them, trying to stop them. The two cans of dried persimmons were actually fine, but the lamb leg was really a bit expensive.

As soon as they walked out...

Then they saw Su's father also carrying things over, and then Su Wenchen chased after them with his things.

Su's father simply waved his hand.

"Youngest son, you can take it!"

"It was also your elder brother's good intention; otherwise, your sister-in-law would always feel that she owed you a debt of gratitude for that job she held back then."

"After all, if it weren't for you, she wouldn't have been able to get into your farm."

“If you don’t take it, he’ll always feel uneasy. Even though a leg of lamb isn’t much, it will make him feel better.”

As for his eldest son, Mr. Su understood very well that he simply didn't want to owe too many favors.

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen was both amused and exasperated.

To be honest, since the farm had just been established, most people at the time thought the future of their farm was uncertain.

So, while a job quota at that time wasn't cheap, it was certainly not as valuable as those in other factories in the county.

Of course, things are definitely different now.

Because the quota for their farm's formal employees is now much higher than that of other work units in the county.

The main reason is that their company has good benefits. As we gradually enter the 1970s, many factories have seen an increase in employees, but their income has not increased significantly.

Large factories are alright, but many small factories have rendered the employee housing benefits meaningless.

They said they'd give points, but the factory didn't have the money to build new houses, so there was nothing they could do!
At that time, land prices were not high, but the cost of cement and steel bars alone was an expense that many small factories could not afford.

After all, although they are all state-owned, it doesn't mean that orders between factories are free. If they didn't pay, the cement factory workers would starve.

Thinking of this, Su Wenchen nodded. He knew his elder brother's character and always felt that as the eldest brother, he shouldn't take advantage of his younger brothers.

Although he had long forgotten about it, others still remembered it.

If he really doesn't accept it, his older brother might think that he looks down on these things.

So Su Wenchen responded directly.

"Alright then! I'll take this leg of lamb with me!"

"Father, what's wrong?"

Father Su lifted the oil paper package that looked like a large ham, which was tied with a thin string in his hand.

"Since we couldn't find beef, your mom made braised rabbit meat for you last night. She's already wrapped it up. This stuff can't be kept for long, but it should last a week in this weather."

"It'll be perfect as a cold cut dish during the Lunar New Year! Take it!"

Clearly, after they left last night, Su's mother was busy for a long time. After finishing the braising, she had to put it outside to cool. In addition, she got up early this morning to pack it for him. So Su's mother probably didn't get much rest last night.

Thinking of this, Su Wenchen was immediately enveloped by an emotion called care.

"Dad, why don't you save this for the New Year? After all, my eldest brother already gave us a leg of lamb."

Su's father waved his hand.

"No need, we can cook at home. Rabbit meat is easy to buy here now."

"Our family has limited resources. Since this is our first time visiting, we should still take what we need, regardless of whether others like it or not."

"The lamb leg was given to you by your older brother; this is what your mother and I prepared for you."

As he spoke, he handed the thin rope in his hand to Su Wenchen.

"Alright, I won't bother you anymore. When are you leaving? Do you need a car from the convoy to take you?"

Su Wenchen shook his head.

"No need, I'll be stopping at the factory to pick up some materials on my way. I'll just follow the factory's truck to the city."

Su's father nodded and yawned.

"Alright, I won't see you off then. I stayed up half the night tending the fire, and since it's still early, I need to go back and catch up on some sleep!"

Su Wenchen turned around, looked at Jiang Li walking over, and shook the things in his hands.

"It seems unlikely that I'll be able to carry anything light."

Seeing this, Jiang Li pursed her lips slightly. It was clear that although these gifts might not be very valuable to her, the fact that Su's mother had prepared them overnight demonstrated how much the Su family valued her.

After all, only one night has passed since Su Wenchen revealed the news last night.

Then she thought that after returning to Beijing, she would not only see her father, but also her stepmother. She really hoped to see her soon.

I wonder what the other person's expression will be when they find out she found out she'd dated an ordinary employee.

In particular, this member eventually worked his way up to the point where he was able to attend ministerial meetings.

What was the other person's expression?
Soon after packing her things, Jiang Li went to the commune to hand over the follow-up work.

Su Wenchen also went to the farm to get information about the breeding of white pigs.

Then, the two of them took a truck from the yard to the city's train station.

Beijing.

With the Spring Festival approaching, a large number of educated youth who had been sent to the countryside were trying to return home to visit their relatives, so the entire Beijing Railway Station was packed with people, comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush in later generations.

Carrying large and small bags, Su Wenchen and Jiang Li squeezed out of the train station together.

Su Wenchen was about to put down the package in his hand when he took a breath.

"Ah Li, where did your friend say he'd be waiting for us?"

Before Jiang Li could speak, a commotion came from behind.

"Stop, don't run!"

"Stop right there! If you run again, I'll shoot!"

Su Wenchen turned around and immediately saw a young man running frantically toward their location.

Seeing the other person rushing towards him in a panic, Su Wenchen immediately stepped in front of Jiang Li to block her path.

The other person immediately collided with Su Wenchen, but quickly got up and prepared to run away.

However, this delay allowed several train station staff members wearing armbands to catch up and pin him down.

"Run! Run again!"

"I told you to run!"

The young man immediately struggled.

"Why are you arresting me? I just came back to visit my family normally, and I'll go back after the New Year."

Several staff members immediately sneered. "Why are you running around checking your documents when you're just visiting relatives?"

The young man said urgently.

"Can't I be in a hurry?"

"Alright, if you're in such a hurry, now show us your family visit certificate so we can check it. If there are no problems, we'll let you go."

Upon hearing this, the young man's eyes lit up, and he looked around.

I saw Su Wenchen, who had just stood up and was brushing the dust off his clothes.

He first touched himself, then pointed at Su Wenchen and said.

"My things are gone, including my letter of introduction and my money!"

“I just bumped into him, and he might have stolen it. Go catch him! I don’t even have the ten or so yuan I had on me.”

Su Wenchen, who had just gotten up and dusted himself off, was speechless.

To be honest, he hadn't even said anything after being hit by someone, yet he was accused of stealing.

He immediately became displeased.

"You're the one who bumped into us, we didn't go looking for you!"

"Don't start making baseless accusations!"

The other party, however, argued vehemently.

"Nonsense! It was clearly you who took a step forward that caused me to bump into you!"

Su Wenchen rolled his eyes.

"Nonsense, if I hadn't stood in front of you, you would have run right into my boyfriend."

Hearing Su Wenchen's words, the other party still stubbornly insisted.

"You were the one who bumped into me on purpose."

He then spoke to the two staff members who were holding him down.

“Go search him, he definitely has my things on him.”

Hearing the young man's confident words, one of the staff members looked at Su Wenchen with suspicion.

To be honest, he was a little skeptical. Who would bring their obviously pregnant wife out to steal things? Besides, the woman's clothes didn't look like what a thief would normally wear.

However, looking at the young man on the ground, he was full of confidence.

He stood up and said to his colleague next to him.

"Keep an eye on him, I'll go over and ask him."

As he spoke, he walked towards Su Wenchen.

"Comrade, what are you doing here? Could you please show me your letter of introduction?"

Su Wenchen pulled out his work ID from his pocket, along with the meeting notice that the Ministry of Agriculture later sent to their headquarters.

"I'm here to attend a meeting, and also to visit relatives!"

The young man on the ground saw that only one person had passed by, while another person was watching him from the side.

"Why don't you go and investigate that woman too!"

"Maybe she got the thing!"

The staff member glanced at the young man but ignored him.

Seeing this, the other party knew that if they didn't run away now, they would have no chance.

He could only shove the other person away and try to escape again, but it seemed that the staff member was prepared.

He grabbed the other person's arm with his other hand and pinned them to the ground again.

At the same time, bend your knees and press down on the other person's back.

"I was on guard against you all along. Your darting eyes don't tell me you're an honest man."

“I’ve seen plenty of people like you who can’t stand the hardships of going to the countryside and run back home. This time, you don’t have to go to the countryside.”

Upon hearing this, the young man was immediately overjoyed.

I never expected this to happen. Getting arrested means he doesn't have to go to the countryside anymore? If I had known, he wouldn't have run away like that.

However, what the staff said next sent him straight into hell.

"Someone like you should have been sent to a farm from the start!"

"We'll have to do the hardest and most tiring work to reform you."

He glanced at Su Wenchen's documents and then noticed the young man's subsequent actions.

He immediately handed the certificate back with both hands.

"Sir, I'm sorry about earlier."

Su Wenchen waved his hand.

"It's alright, this person probably ran back from the countryside!"

"As for whether he has a letter of introduction or not, you can just call the local commune to ask."

Upon hearing this, the other person nodded.

"Yes, thank you for reminding me, boss. But this kind of thing doesn't usually happen, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to escape again just now. They would have been telling us to call and ask."

Then, watching the young man being led into the station by the two men, Su Wenchen shook his head.

To be honest, the fact that this person couldn't even get a letter of introduction for visiting relatives shows that he didn't have a good relationship with the local brigade.

Otherwise, during the Spring Festival, with just a letter of introduction, as long as you haven't offended anyone, it would be easy to get the brigade to issue a family visit certificate for those two eggs.

Because no matter what, the Spring Festival is an important holiday for Chinese people, and as long as they don't intentionally offend anyone, most people won't prevent people from visiting relatives at this time.

Just as Su Wenchen finished putting away his documents, Jiang Li's surprised voice immediately came from behind him.

"Hey, Tangtang, when did you get here?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman dressed in a cadre uniform, looking at the two of them from the roadside, pushing a women's bicycle.

Upon hearing Jiang Li's words, the other person immediately revealed a resentful expression.

"I arrived a long time ago, but some people were so worried about someone else that they couldn't spare any attention to pay attention to anyone else!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately smiled and walked over.

"Here's a hug, so you won't be sad anymore!"

"Hmph, I'm not that easy to please. You'll have to treat me to a meal at Fengzeyuan at the very least."

Jiang Li patted her chest.

"No problem, even going to Old Mo is fine."

The other party waved their hand.

"Old Mo, forget it. It's too expensive there. Besides, now that I'm working, it wouldn't look good to go to places like that."

He then parked his bicycle and walked towards Su Wenchen, first sizing him up.

"Hmm, you're Little Pear's man? You're alright looking, but you're not quite what I expected."

Then he reached out his hand.

"Hello, my name is Song Wantang! I'm Jiang Li's friend."

Upon hearing this, Su Wenchen immediately laughed.

"Comrade Song, hello, my name is Su Wenchen! Thank you very much for helping us organize the foreign trade information earlier. It saved us a lot of effort and prevented us from taking many detours."

At that time, they were completely clueless about foreign trade, so Su Wenchen really felt that the other party had helped him a lot.

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the other party immediately felt a little embarrassed.

"No, no, those are all publicly available documents. I just organized them and sent them to you. They're really not confidential information."

"And don't call me 'comrade' anymore, just call me Wan Tang or Tang Tang like Pear does."

"You've brought so much stuff, why don't you put it in the car and push it around?"

After saying that, he walked directly to Jiang Li's side and whispered.

"How could you possibly find such a handsome and capable man in the wild? Does he even have a younger brother?"

"If they were this good-looking and talented, we can't let the good stuff go to outsiders!"

"Then we'll be best sisters and sisters-in-law, a double blessing."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li couldn't help but chuckle.

"Tangtang, what are you saying! Achen is the youngest in the family, and he has two older brothers who already have children."

Upon hearing this, Song Wantang immediately deflated.

"I told you, good men are hard to find! They're all snatched away by someone else when they're still developing."

"Sigh~ Looks like I'll never get married in this lifetime!"

"By the way, I can't really write it in a letter, but was it comfortable? Was it really that comfortable?"

Is your man big or small?

Jiang Li paused for a moment, a look of confusion in her eyes.

"what?"

Song Wantang immediately became somewhat anxious.

"That's the one! The one where they give birth!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li blushed slightly and immediately looked around.

Seeing Su Wenchen's gossipy eyes and perked-up ears, she immediately glared at him reproachfully.

Then he spoke softly.

"Why are you still like this? How can you ask such a thing in the street!"

"What are you afraid of? We're speaking quietly! No one can hear us."

Su Wenchen immediately touched his nose, feeling embarrassed.

He didn't eavesdrop on purpose; it was just an accident, and he wasn't just anyone.

What I didn't expect was that the two of them would talk about this kind of question as soon as they met, especially asking him if he was big or not. Whether he is big or not is not something you can know.

Then Su Wenchen got moving and slowly began to carry the package he had brought onto the back of his bicycle.

After they finished moving, the two of them were still whispering to each other in the corner.

Su Wenchen said directly.

"Ladies, why don't we go back and get intimate some more?"

"No matter how much you want to say, there's no need to stand in the cold wind on the street!"

Upon hearing Su Wenchen's words, the two stopped whispering.

Song Wantang glanced at Su Wenchen.

"Alright! Where are you staying? Are you going straight back to the compound?"

Jiang Li shook her head.

"Work is more important, Ah Chen, let's go back after your meeting!"

Su Wenchen asked with some concern.

"Why don't you go back and stay for a few days? I'll come over to keep you company after my meeting here."

Jiang Li refused outright.

"No need, let's go back together after you're done! I don't want to go back alone."

Seeing that Jiang Li was determined to do so, Su Wenchen didn't say anything more.

"Alright then, let's go to the Dongcheng District Guesthouse first, and I'll accompany you there after the meeting."

(End of this chapter)