Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

The topic of the rain reignited, and everyone talked about the current situation and their preparations. Losses were inevitable; the important thing was how to minimize them.

Chen Hongguo was the most qualified to speak on this matter, and he seemed particularly pleased when asked, his little bit of vanity being greatly satisfied.

"The whole family has been working overtime and is almost done. There are still a lot of watermelons left in the side room, so we'll take advantage of the rain and the reduced workload to dig them up."

Just then, someone suddenly asked Chen Mian, "Hongguo, your second son has changed so much. The other day he was working in the field all by himself. If he hadn't called me, I would have thought it was Chen Liang in the field."

Another person slapped his thigh and said, "That's so right! Today I was working in the fields when Chen Mian passed by and said, 'Uncle, let me help you with your work.' I was stunned. He was so kind."

"If Chen Mian hadn't helped me finish that little bit of work, Yu Lun would have been caught in the crossfire."

Seeing the villagers praising his son so much, Chen Hongguo felt warm all over. He couldn't help but shift his position, then put his arm on the counter and unbuttoned his polyester shirt.

"His mother nags him every day at home, saying he's not young anymore and should be more sensible, otherwise he won't even be able to find a wife in the future..."

"Actually, he was the one who brought up the matter of clearing the ditch, asking me to talk to the Party Secretary about it..."

Chen Hongguo's criticisms sounded like a source of pride to onlookers.

When the villagers heard that Chen Mian was the one who suggested clearing the ditch, they couldn't help but marvel at how quickly the boy had become so eloquent and capable.

I couldn't help but envy Chen Hongguo; he was truly a blessed man.

Chen Hongguo's family conditions were average, but when people in the village talked about Chen Jiahua and Chen Liang, they couldn't help but give them a thumbs up, saying they were sensible, capable, and good at managing their lives.

The youngest son, Chen Shu, is known for his excellent academic performance. He doesn't need his parents to worry about him at all, and even his teachers appreciate him.

The second son, Chen Mian, was the only one with a fiery temper. He was often beaten by his mother, but he was the most beloved by the old folks. Now he has come to his senses and is exceptionally shrewd in his speech and actions.

Seeing their fifth brother, Chen Hongguo, being so popular and talking so enthusiastically, Chen Hongzhen and his brother felt increasingly awkward.

They originally came to the store hoping to find some comfort, but it turned out that most people there didn't grow melons, and those who did followed Chen Hongguo's example and dug up the melons to extract the seeds, so their losses weren't significant.

After Chen Hongguo arrived, the atmosphere in the room changed even further.

This person, who used to flock to his side during holidays and whom he could hardly be bothered to talk to, has suddenly become a celebrity outside, and he and his brother are now the ones supporting him. It's really not a good feeling.

The two brothers forced smiles and refused to continue the conversation about the fields. Even though they had suffered the greatest losses among everyone, they would never tell anyone so that people could have something to talk about.

If I calculate it roughly, harvesting watermelons would only cost a few hundred yuan at most, which I can afford to lose.

They exchanged a glance, then stood up, gave a quiet greeting, and headed out.

Chen Hongguo asked in surprise, "Second Brother, Third Brother, are you going back?"

The two forced a smile: "Yes."

Everyone in the room noticed that the Chen brothers hadn't been smiling much since they entered, and their expressions became even more tense after Chen Hongguo arrived, and they seemed a little restless.

Everyone can guess why, but since we see each other all the time, it's not appropriate to say it in front of his brother.

After a while, Chen Aiguo, considering that he had to get up early the next day, said goodbye.

After the rain at night, the corners of walls, puddles, and drains were filled with the sounds of insects and frogs.

Accompanied by the music of nature, Chen Hongguo felt increasingly joyful and couldn't help but hum his favorite tune as he walked home contentedly.

"Sweet Honey..."

……

Chen Mian woke up before five in the morning, but her parents and older brother got up even earlier than her.

The family of three had already finished loading the watermelons into the car, and now they were just waiting for lazy Chen Mian to get up.

Seeing Chen Mian lift the curtain and come out, Tang Xiuyun went to the quilt under the bed and took out two 10-yuan bills.

"Don't be so extravagant." He stuffed it into Chen Mian's pocket.

"Drive slowly, the dirt roads in our village are really hard to drive on, so be careful."

Chen Hongguo handed a pair of cotton gloves to Chen Mian, worried that he might not drive steadily.

"Don't worry, that tractor can't even run as fast as me."

Chen Mian was washing her face, her voice a little muffled, but her confidence was undeniable.

But in his heart, he was thinking that he must get a small four-wheeled vehicle after the harvest.

In rural areas, the most direct way to judge a family's economic situation is by the sight of a tractor.

Many people are used to not flaunting their wealth; even if they have money, they dress in shabby clothes and remain ordinary.

But tractors are the farmers' livelihood, and this capability cannot be hidden.

Hand-held tractors were the most common type of tractor these days; they had low horsepower and were inexpensive.

Small four-wheeled tractors have more horsepower and are faster, but they are about twice as expensive as hand tractors.

The 90s was a period of upgrading and replacement of hand-held tractors with small four-wheeled tractors.

Fengyuan County is more than 30 miles away from Anping Village. The hand-held tractor at home has no more than 12 horsepower, and the back of the tractor is less than two meters long, one and a half meters wide, and about half a meter deep. It can carry a maximum of 800 jin of melons, and it takes an hour to drive to the city.

The older brother's small four-wheeled vehicle has 15 horsepower and can carry a little over 1,000 kilograms in the cargo bed. It takes less than an hour to get there.

Chen Mian remembered that she originally wanted to buy a used four-wheeled vehicle, but her older brother happened to have a good deal, so she decided to save money a little more.

Now that my older brother is getting married, I have to handle this myself.

……

At five o'clock in the morning, the air was slightly cool and refreshing.

The tractor clanged and clattered, and the black smoke spewing from its dark exhaust pipe smelled delicious.

At this time of day, there were quite a few people on the street, but they all had solemn expressions and remained silent.

Chen He's family was one of them.

They looked like they were in a hurry to get to the fields to harvest the watermelons and extract the seeds.

Chen Liang greeted them warmly, but they ignored him completely, kicked up mud with their tires, and drove past in a flash.

"Unnecessary."

Chen Mian chuckled, guessing that Chen Hongqiang's family would lose several hundred yuan just from harvesting watermelons.

The dirt road leading directly from the village to the outside highway is five or six miles long and only wide enough to accommodate two hand tractors. The road is as rugged as the eighty-one tribulations in Journey to the West.

Chen Mian has benefited from poverty, but the hand-held tractor is slow. If he were to switch to a faster tractor, the mud clumps it kicks up could fly up and hit him on the head.

Feeling the bumps coming from under my bottom, I couldn't help but think of the famous saying: "To get rich, build roads first."

When villagers talk about how "the road is difficult to travel," they all understand the reason, but when it comes to crowdfunding for road repairs, they immediately drop the idea.

Around seven o'clock, Chen Mian drove his tractor to the vicinity of the station. The surrounding buildings were no more than three stories high and exuded an old-fashioned atmosphere.

He had already found a stall for his older brother. The small four-wheeled vehicle was fast, so it went straight to the Bureau of Veteran Cadres.

The residents there are relatively older and more educated, the surrounding environment is more tolerant of street vendors, and the security is better.

My target area is near the station, where most of the pedestrians are ordinary people. Normally, if the price is slightly higher, they won't even glance at it, and the melon isn't anything special.

So we need to think of other ways to get them to willingly spend money.

However, neither truck was fully loaded because the road was very bumpy and the weather would get hotter and hotter. Chen Mian was worried that the more she loaded, the more likely the truck would break, so she only loaded a little more than half of each truck.

The older brother's truck bed was much bigger, making it seem like there were even fewer items.