Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

"All you do is act all high and mighty, scheming against this person and that person, and you even treat a simple note like it's your lifeblood, hiding it under the covers. Turns out you lost to your country bumpkin cousin. What a waste."

Chen Hongjian, panting heavily, turned his head and glared at his wife, clutching the quilt tightly in his hand, trying to suppress his emotions.

He was terrified that his wife would go back to her parents' home in a fit of anger. He had no job security, no land to farm, and was completely dependent on his father-in-law for support.

But he couldn't let a woman point fingers at him.

"So what if I schemed? If I didn't, would your precious daughter, a high-ranking official, be with a poor boy like me?"

"..."

She was speechless for a moment, regretting that she had been too naive and had been tricked by Chen Hongjian into getting pregnant and marrying him. Only after the marriage did she realize what kind of man he was.

Her status in her parents' home plummeted, and every time she went back, she had to be mindful of her parents' moods and act accordingly. Countless times, she secretly wiped away tears in grievance.

Thinking of this, her eyes reddened again, and she choked up.

Chen Hongjian closed his eyes, squeezed them tightly, and let out a long sigh: "What's the use of Chen Hongguo's benevolence all this time? How much money can he make from 45 mu of land? He'll never be able to turn his poor life around. This matter isn't over yet."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chen Yu rushed back in a hurry.

"Dad, Uncle is here. He went to my grandpa's room."

Chen Hongjian guessed it was about selling cotton. It seemed Liang Chuncheng already knew the price of lint cotton and had come to the village specifically to discuss the next steps.

This is what he values ​​most right now; if he can make some money, he'll earn his father-in-law's respect.

My son is getting on in years, and I need to get him a place to live outside. If he comes back to the village after all this time, people will laugh their heads off. So I didn't dare to delay and headed straight outside.

Just as she reached the doorway of the main room, she suddenly stopped, then took out ten yuan and threw it to her son Chen Yu, saying, "Tidi up the house and go buy your mother some snacks."

……

In the evening, Tang Xiuyun heated up the leftover sausage, pig's head meat, scrambled eggs, canned fish, and other leftovers from the afternoon, enough to make another meal.

Although he had successfully contracted 45 acres of land and was very happy in front of others, now that only his family is left, there is no need to pretend anymore.

Chen Liang and his wife are still a bit confused. How could they have gone on such a big event as soon as they returned home after accompanying his wife to her parents' house? Not only did they empty their savings, but they also had to take out a loan of 10,000 yuan.

And how was the loan obtained?

The couple immediately thought of Chen Mian. Given their parents' temperaments, they would never do such a thing; it could only be that the unconventional Chen Mian had persuaded them.

Chen Liang had been too embarrassed to ask in front of a group of strangers that afternoon, but now he couldn't hold back any longer: "Mom and Dad, do you still have any money?"

Chen Hongguo turned his head and exchanged a glance with Tang Xiuyun; the couple couldn't help but sigh.

Tang Xiuyun didn't say anything, but turned around and moved the black and white television to the side, then took out a handkerchief from the wooden cabinet on the ground.

"We made 640 yuan from the watermelon seeds and the watermelons themselves." She unfolded her handkerchief layer by layer and took out 128 yuan from it. "This is for you two."

"Mom, we still have some money left, enough to get by." Chen Liang immediately pushed it back, "Do we have any money left? Enough to hire someone to spray medicine later?"

"Originally, I had a discount of 5000 yuan, plus 1,000 yuan in cash, and the money I collected from picking watermelons was enough," Tang Xiuyun said with a relaxed expression.

Chen Hongguo, standing next to him, seemed particularly cheerful: "Hey~ it's nothing serious, it'll only be a bit tight for a while, you don't need to worry about it."

After thinking about it, Chen Liang and his wife realized that was indeed the case, but they couldn't help but turn to look at Chen Mian, who hadn't said a word.

That's incredible! He did such a big thing without saying a word. It was a loan of ten thousand yuan, and he just took it out without hesitation.

"Er Mian, how did you manage to get this 10,000 yuan loan? Is our house and tractor enough collateral? Does everyone in the village know about this?"

"Brother, whether it's enough or not isn't up to us to decide, it's up to the government." Chen Mian smiled and stretched comfortably. "With the brigade providing the certificate, the loan officer verifying the funds, and us having dozens of acres of cotton fields, why can't we get a loan?"

"You guys are all blinded by the gossip in the village. You're afraid and ashamed whenever loans are mentioned."

"But don't you think about it? If we poor folks don't rely on loans, where will we get the money to do anything?"

"Borrow money? Who can lend us money? How much can they lend? Didn't they check the loan amount when they built your house?"

"Whether the villagers know or not, what they say is none of your business."

"The most important thing is to make the money in our hands. You can see whether they come to us or not later."

……

Early in the morning, Liu Guozhu and his wife followed Chen Dahe's mistress into the city, intending to take the earliest bus.

The two children were entrusted to the eldest brother, Liu Guoqiang, without any worries. This was something Liu Guoqiang had insisted on during dinner yesterday, saying that he would feel very uncomfortable if the children were not handed over to him.

It's only natural for an uncle to take care of his nephews and nieces, and Chen Hongguo was happy to see it happen, so he didn't say anything.

Currently, the main work in the fields is on these 45 mu (approximately 3 hectares). We need to hurry up and spray pesticides to prevent pests, but fortunately, the workload is not heavy.

Liu Xia is known for being sensible and capable; she can even manage the geography at home very well, as witnessed by the villagers.

Chen Hongguo and his wife trusted her and specially prepared buckets, pesticides, and sprayers for her.

"Girl, you know your family's land well. I'm entrusting the entire Southeast Depression area to you."

Liu Xia wasn't particularly attractive; she had a large frame and looked rather burly, but she spoke softly: "Auntie, don't worry, I can do all these jobs. I reckon it'll only take a day and a half."

Because the spraying had to be done as early as possible, she didn't waste any more time after saying that, and rode her own tricycle eastward.

"What a wonderful child! She's so eloquent and capable," Tang Xiuyun said with a sigh, watching Liu Xia's retreating figure.

Chen Mian turned to look at her mother, and inexplicably felt something was wrong: "Mom, don't try to play matchmaker, I don't care about that kind of thing."

Tang Xiuyun glared at him. This precious son was truly reassuring when he talked about serious matters, but as soon as he started rambling on about random things, he immediately reverted to his old ways.

"If you're so capable, learn from Erqing and set up your own business. It would make your mother proud in the village."

"What's the point of having a daughter compared to making money? I can't even keep earning enough money, I don't have time to waste on this."

"Besides, everyone in these surrounding villages farms, and all the young women there are incredibly dark-skinned. I'm not going to date any of them. Don't you know how picky your son is!"

"Go away..." Tang Xiuyun waved her hand, too lazy to waste words with her son. This brat was the type who would take advantage of kindness and become more and more talkative the more she agreed with him.

"You talk too much all day long. Go and tidy up the field. We'll need it to dry the cotton later."

After watching her mother leave, Chen Mian turned around and lit a cigarette for herself.

My parents knew I smoked a long time ago, but they still didn't dare to do it in front of me, otherwise they would definitely scold me. After all, none of the rest of the family smokes much, except for me, this smoking scoundrel.

He went back to his room, grabbed a shovel and a large broom, and carried them to the large field to the south.

……