Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

Quiet.

The entire east room fell silent, save for a series of sighs.

Liang Chuncheng lowered his head and rubbed his face vigorously with both hands.

Chen Tietian leaned on the kang (a heated brick bed) with both hands, and felt a little dizzy for a moment, so he quickly closed his eyes.

Why are his two sons causing trouble one after another? He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Not only did they not invite Chen Hongguo to their scheme to make money, but they also got caught red-handed. If word got out, people would gossip about them.

The other three brothers suddenly remembered that their eldest brother had asked about this before, but they hadn't taken it to heart. They never expected that he himself had let the matter slip.

He has no sense of being a big brother at all. He's cowardly, loves to take advantage of others, and lets Chen Hongguo bully him. It's really beyond words.

Chen Hongjian was speechless and had to admit defeat. Because of this precious older brother, all the humiliation he had suffered today was for nothing.

The group all turned to look at Liang Chuncheng, who was covering his face and rubbing his brows, seemingly deep in thought.

Liang Chuncheng was the one who found the brick-hauling job, he also arranged the cotton-hauling, and it was his idea to come here for reconciliation. Now, everything is done with him in charge.

Now that things have come to this, whether he stays or leaves depends entirely on his word.

"The Red Country... about this..."

"Cousin, please stop talking."

Chen Hongguo stood up, looked at his relatives, and shook his head slightly in disappointment. "I understand what you're thinking. I definitely won't get involved in this cotton-selling business."

"Don't worry, everyone knows that the two 'Chen' characters are not the same. I'm just talking about my two uncles, they won't go around spreading rumors about you, and neither will Chen Mian."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tiejun and Chen Tietian finally felt relieved. They repeatedly praised Chen Hongguo for his benevolence and righteousness, and even mentioned their deceased third brother, hoping to ease the tension.

But Chen Hongguo, who used to be easygoing and talkative, seemed like a completely different person and didn't respond at all.

He crossed his arms, his tone suddenly turning cold: "Back then at the brigade headquarters, my eldest brother stood with my fourth brother, while my second and third brothers watched the show from the sidelines. Not one of them said a word to me. I can't get over that."

"Let's just live our own lives from now on. We'll keep things private and not let outsiders laugh at us."

Chen Hongguo's blunt statement silenced the room once again. The four men, their anger rising, exchanged glances, suppressed their anger, and got up to leave.

The four brothers all looked down on their fifth brother, Chen Hongguo, and wouldn't even bother to talk to him during holidays. But today, he made some harsh words and showed his disrespect. If they didn't have to deliver cotton, they definitely wouldn't have swallowed their anger.

After the sons left, the two old men got off the kang (a heated brick bed) with gloomy faces, and put on their patriarchal demeanor again.

There are some things that Chen Hongqiang and his three brothers can't say, but the two older brothers don't need to worry about them.

In rural areas, the elders' words are always considered law, whether right or wrong, and younger generations are not allowed to talk back.

"Hongguo, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but why are you making such a fuss over such a trivial matter? Don't you have any magnanimity?"

"Living in this village, how can you manage without anyone, power, or connections? You've really lost your way after contracting dozens of acres of land, and now you've even gone astray."

The two old men sized up the family of three, pausing especially at Chen Mian. Seeing him with a smirk, they felt inexplicably annoyed. They walked out with their hands behind their backs, grumbling.

Liang Chuncheng looked around, feeling incredibly embarrassed. He valued his reputation the most when he was out and about, but today he had been humiliated. He was so upset that he didn't even bother to find them a job hauling bricks.

He was too ashamed to say anything more. Getting Chen Hongguo's promise this time was already the best outcome. He left without saying anything, wanting only to get out of the village as soon as possible; he was too annoyed.

Chen Mian didn't care what her relatives thought; she just kept staring at her tough dad. Her dad's performance today was truly unexpected; he did what she had always wanted to do but hadn't had the chance to.

Tang Xiuyun remained silent, adhering to the traditional female virtue of not interfering in other people's business, but she was overjoyed to see her husband so resolute.

She didn't care at all about what the two old people said. What difference did it make whether she broke off her vow or not? They made it sound like she needed their help. In the past, it was always her family who made the sacrifices.

She took out 20 yuan and threw it to Chen Mian: "Er Mian, go and get three catties of pig's head meat, and use the rest of the money to buy salted duck eggs."

"Okay."

……

Chen Tiejun's home.

Chen Hongjian and the others were furious, cursing and swearing as if they had suffered a great humiliation.

"He thinks he can just fly high by leasing a few dozen acres of land? Does Chen Hongguo even know his own name?"

"Look at the smugness of that father and son. They think they're the richest family in the county just because they rented a piece of land for a little over ten thousand yuan. They've forgotten how they were dirt poor when they came to borrow money."

"It's changed a long time ago. It used to greet us two brothers smugly at the dealership."

"He just relied on Zhuang Changhe and thought he was all that was going to do."

……

Seeing that his elders kept mentioning land leases, Chen Yu's eyes suddenly lit up: "Dad, Chen Mian's family probably leased the land with a loan."

"loan?!"

Everyone was taken aback. Their angry expressions visibly turned into joy, and they rushed to ask Chen Yu what had happened.

Knowing that losing the tape recorder had angered his father, Chen Yu was eager to make amends: "Yao Yuan's older brother from the village is a loan officer at the county bank..."

Chen Hongjian exhaled a puff of smoke and slammed the cigarette butt hard on the table: "I knew you didn't have that much money. So you took out a loan to buy the land?"

"Borrowing money to farm and make a living, you have to put on a brave face even if you're swollen up."

"This matter needs to be confirmed again; it's not a safe bet."

"The loan matter must be handled by the team. I'll go and ask about it when it gets dark."

The room, which had been extremely oppressive just moments before, was filled with laughter and chatter as the family chatted amongst themselves. The loan for the land became an outlet for everyone's emotions.

……

The next morning.

Chen Mian rubbed her eyes in a daze. She had just woken up when she heard her mother scolding her in the outer room, and someone else chiming in, who sounded like Liu Xia.

There was no clock in the west room, but it was probably close to noon. It was likely that Mom had invited Liu Xia over for lunch.

When laziness strikes, I really don't want to move. So I might as well listen to something, lie down and clear my head, and take a nap.

"Since your sister Hua got married, this is the first time someone has helped me with anything. I'm exhausted from taking care of the big and small kids all day."

"Auntie, I think Chen Mian has changed a lot. Chen Shu is doing so well in his studies. You're going to have a lot of good fortune in the future."

"Enjoy life?! I'll be grateful if you don't cause me any trouble."

Of these four children, only your Hua Jie is the one who gives me peace of mind, but she's not around anymore.

"Of the remaining three brothers, the eldest is so tough you can't even fart with a stick, he's honest and hardworking."

"The second son is cunning, greedy, lazy, and sly; he only lasted a few days before he started to revert to his old ways. The third son, on the other hand, is arrogant and still needs to be coaxed. Now, his eldest sister has spoiled them rotten."