A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Grandma Gu rolled her eyes, staring intently at Da'an in the corner. She was about to rush into the yard when Zhang Aidi grabbed her arm. Zhang Aidi lowered her voice and dragged her into the shadows against the wall.

"Mom, are you crazy? Going to grab that idiot now is like walking into the line of fire! Gu Jianguo's leg is all healed, do you think you can beat him?"

Grandma Gu stamped her feet in frustration, her eyes filled with greed and fear.

"What do we do? That's fifty dollars! The three-day deadline is approaching. Do you think the men in black will let us off the hook if we can't hand over the person?"

A glint flashed in Zhang Aidi's eyes, and she chuckled twice before leaning close to Old Lady Gu's ear.

"Mom, why are you in such a hurry? I just heard from San Dong that Gu Xiaoan got a permanent position at the forest farm today?"

Old Mrs. Gu spat, "What's the point of getting a permanent position! They won't pay us!"

"What do you know? San Dong said that kid stole his thunder and blocked other people's way. Who is San Dong? He's been in the forest farm for so many years, he's ruthless. He's already made arrangements, and in the next day or two, they'll be in deep trouble!"

Grandma Gu's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Zhang Aidi raised an eyebrow smugly, "Of course! Once Gu Xiaoan gets into trouble, Gu Jianguo and his wife will be in complete chaos. Then we can easily catch that idiot, right? That's called... what's that phrase again, taking advantage of someone's misfortune!"

Upon hearing this, Grandma Gu's face broke into a wide smile.

"Alright! Let them have their fun for a couple of days! Let's see how long they can keep this up!"

The two retreated into the alley, waiting to see the Gu family make a fool of themselves.

……

The Gu family courtyard was filled with a joyous atmosphere. Su Xiulan returned carrying a full basket of vegetables and three or four pounds of meat. The meat was thick with fat, making one's mouth water just looking at it. When Su Xiulan returned, she called for Sister-in-law Hongxia to come and lend a hand.

Sister-in-law Hongxia led her husband into the courtyard.

Sister-in-law Hongxia stared at the meat on the cutting board, speechless. "Oh my God! Xiulan, are you trying to ruin your life? This meal must have cost you half a month's work points!"

Su Xiulan tied on her apron, her face beaming. "I'm so happy today! Jianguo's leg is healed, and Xiao An has been promoted to a full-fledged employee. Let's have a good get-together! Captain, don't leave either, try my cooking!"

The captain, hands behind his back, watched Gu Jianguo walk steadily after discarding his crutches, and chuckled, "Great! This is a joyous occasion; I'll share in the good news today!"

The sounds of chopping meat and vegetables filled the kitchen, along with the sizzling of oil in the pan. The aroma of meat wafted up the chimney, making the neighbor's child's mouth water. Nuannuan circled around Su Xiulan. She stood on tiptoe, leaning over the stove, her big eyes fixed on the braised pork in the pot. Her little mouth was open, and drool clung to the corner of her lips.

The little girl sniffed hard, "Mommy, the meat smells so good! My stomach is watering!"

Su Xiulan was amused by her, picked up a piece of freshly cooked meat, blew on it, and put it into her mouth.

"Little glutton, try some salty food!"

Nuannuan, her cheeks puffed out, chewed with grease dripping from her mouth, and mumbled, "Delicious! Mom's meat is the best in the world!"

"You're so sweet-talking!"

Before long, a table full of dishes was laid out. The braised pork was a glossy red, and there was also steamed fish and chicken stew with mushrooms. The pheasant was caught by Nuannuan in the mountains before, and the mushrooms were grown by Nuannuan using spiritual spring water; they smelled so good that one would want to swallow their tongue. Everyone sat together to eat and drink, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Gu Jianguo raised his glass, his eyes welling up with tears. "Captain, Sister-in-law Hongxia, we're so grateful for your help these past few days. Without your care, my family probably wouldn't have made it through this difficult time. This glass is a toast to you!"

The captain downed his drink, put down his glass, and looked at Xiao An beside him. "Don't be so polite! A close neighbor is worse than a distant relative!"

"Xiao An, you've officially become a full-fledged employee, so you're all grown up now. From now on, work hard at the forest farm, don't be afraid of hardship or fatigue, and make your parents proud!"

Xiao An sat up straight, put down his chopsticks, and nodded. "Don't worry, Captain, I'll definitely work hard and make our family's life prosperous!"

After a few rounds of drinks, everyone was flushed and healthy. Gu Jianguo glanced at Su Xiulan, put down his chopsticks, rubbed his hands, and hesitated to speak.

"Captain, there's something I'd like to ask you about."

The captain picked his teeth. "What is it? Tell me."

Gu Jianguo looked at the mud-brick house. "This is the courtyard. You kindly let us live here first. Now that I've saved up some money, I'm thinking of buying the courtyard. I don't feel at ease renting it out any longer."

Su Xiulan watched the brigade leader nervously, her hands clenching the hem of her clothes under the table. These days, housing was a big deal. The brigade leader spat out the tea stalk in his mouth and laughed, "That's all? Easy!"

He slapped his thigh. "This yard has been abandoned for years; it was originally ownerless and belonged to the collective. Xiulan mentioned it to me a couple of days ago, so I went to the commune to inquire. The leader said it's a dilapidated yard and not worth much. If you want to buy it, just give us a hundred yuan! The house and the land are yours!"

"One hundred dollars?"

Su Xiulan exclaimed, this was even cheaper than she had expected!

Gu Jianguo slammed his hand on the table excitedly, "Really? That's great! Let's buy it! We'll pay for it tomorrow!"

One hundred dollars was a huge sum of money in those days, but it was more than enough for the Gu family, who had just received a little over two hundred dollars.

"Wow! We have a home now!"

Nuannuan didn't quite understand how much 100 yuan was, but seeing her parents so happy, she clapped and cheered along, her little face flushed. Suddenly remembering something, she slid off the stool and ran to the brigade leader, clinging to his knees and looking up at him.

"Uncle, what about that big mountain in the back? Nuannuan wants to buy it too!"

The captain was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, patting Nuannuan's head. "Oh, my little darling, that won't do. The mountain belongs to the state and the collective; how can we just sell it like that? Besides, that barren mountain is nothing but rocks and grass. What would we do with it? Can we eat it?"

Nuannuan became disappointed, pouting and twisting two fingers together.

"But...but Nuannuan wants to plant lots of fruit and raise lots of chickens there..."

She didn't want to give up; it was a treasure trove she had her eye on. With the spiritual spring water there, even a rocky mountain could be transformed into a mountain of gold and silver.

The little girl's eyes darted around. "Then...if we don't sell, how about renting it to Nuannuan?"

The captain was stunned. "Rent?"

These days, I've never heard of anyone renting barren mountain land.

"Yes, yes! Rent it for a hundred years, Nuan Nuan! We'll give you lots and lots of money!" Nuan Nuan nodded vigorously and held up one finger.

*Pfft*—Xiao An spat out the soup she was drinking, choking and coughing.

Sister-in-law Hongxia laughed until tears streamed down her face. "A hundred years? You silly girl, in a hundred years you'll be an old woman! We'll all be buried in the ground by now!"

“That’s not the case!”

Nuannuan panicked and ran to Su Xiulan's side, covering Hongxia's mouth with her hand, her little face extremely serious.

"Don't talk nonsense! Mommy and you won't be buried in the ground! Mommy wants to live to be a hundred years old, and Daddy wants to live to be a hundred years old too! Nuannuan rents a hundred years so that Mommy can always have fruit to eat and live to be a hundred!"

Children's words are innocent and uninhibited, yet they reveal a sincerity that warms the heart.

The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted in even louder laughter.

Su Xiulan laughed until tears streamed down her face, hugged her daughter tightly, and kissed her: "Okay, okay, Mom will listen to Nuannuan and live to be a hundred years old, a real old hag!"

Gu Jianguo felt a pang of tenderness in his heart as he watched this scene.

He turned to look at the brigade leader, his face now more serious: "Brigade leader, the child was just joking, but I don't think it could do any harm. The back hill is just lying barren anyway. If we could lease it to my family to grow fruit trees and raise chickens, we could contribute money to the brigade every year, which would increase the collective income. Could you help me inquire about it?"

The captain thought about it and realized that the mountain was indeed barren, with no grass growing on it, and no one in the team was willing to go there.

"Alright, since you're so keen on this, I'll go ask around at the commune. But there's no precedent for this, so I can't guarantee it will work."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Captain!"

After seeing the two off, the family closed the door, and Su Xiulan counted out one hundred yuan and carefully wrapped it up.

She looked at the red envelope, her eyes welling up with tears: "Jianguo, we really are going to have our own home."

Gu Jianguo put his arm around his wife's shoulder and looked at Nuannuan and Da'an rolling around on the kang (a heated brick bed), feeling full of energy.

"Yes, as long as the whole family works together with one mind, our lives will definitely get better and better!"

The Gu family had sweet dreams that night, and the next morning, just as dawn broke.

Xiao An changed into her faded work clothes and looked energetic.

"Dad, Mom, it's getting late, I'm going to work!"

Su Xiulan chased after him to the door and gave him some instructions.

"Hey, drive carefully. I packed an extra egg in your lunchbox, remember to eat it!"

"Okay, Mom, I'll eat it!"

Xiao An waved and walked towards the forest farm. Even though he was just a temporary worker, he felt energetic after being promoted to a permanent position. He needed to earn money to support his family and buy his sister a dress. Gu Jianguo took the money to the brigade headquarters to complete the procedures for buying a house. Su Xiulan was tidying up the house at home, humming a little tune.

Nuannuan sat in the yard teasing the dung beetle on the ground with foxtail grass, muttering to herself.

"Little Blackie, pushing dung balls, pushing them east and west."

Just then, the gate was kicked open with a bang, and a man in a forestry worker's uniform rushed in, panting and covered in sweat.

"Auntie! Aunt Gu, are you home?"

Su Xiulan's heart skipped a beat as she gripped the broom.

"What's wrong? Are you Gangzi? What happened?"

Gangzi swallowed hard, clutching his knees and panting, his voice trembling with tears.

"Auntie, you have to go quickly! Something's happened to Xiao An!"