Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

"Your uncle is like a hands-off manager, he doesn't care about anything. When he gets home, he just turns on the TV, sits down, and waits for dinner."

"Mom~ Can you please not take me with you? I've been reformed for days now." Chen Mian woke up instantly and sprang to her feet.

Hearing the noise from the west room, Tang Xiuyun turned her head and glanced at the closed door. She immediately retorted, "Look at you, you're lazier than a pig. At least a pig knows to wag its tail and root for food. What kind of good person can sleep until noon?"

Chen Mian was putting on her shoes with great enthusiasm when she was scolded and immediately lost her spirits. She could vaguely hear laughter from the outer room, which she guessed was Liu Xia.

"I just got up early to spray medicine and came back to catch up on some sleep," Chen Mian retorted.

"You're the one who gets up early? Who comes back and goes to sleep like you? Liu Xia gets up early and busys herself at home and in the fields, and then she comes to help me cook. All you do is stuff your food into your mouth."

Chen Mian came out with a pout and saw that it was Liu Xia kneading dough, with her mother giving instructions.

Meanwhile, Dad was quietly watching TV in the east room, acting as if nothing was wrong.

"It's normal that Liu Xia is more capable than me. She's been like Mu Guiying since she was a child. When I was in elementary school, she always took care of me. I had to call her Brother Xia."

Liu Xia paused, then immediately turned and glared at Chen Mian, afraid that he would reveal her affair with Cheng Haichao.

Chen Mian understood, smiled, and went to wash her face.

"After you wash your face, go to the garden and pick some green beans. We'll make a 'harvested bean' dish for lunch," Tang Xiuyun instructed.

Chen Mian's face fell, and she looked at her mother with a sullen expression: "Couldn't you have told me sooner? I just washed my hands."

Without saying a word, Tang Xiuyun simply grabbed the stick sticking out of the corner of the wall and pretended to swat it at him.

This sudden action startled Chen Mian, triggering his decades-long muscle memory, and he quickly jumped back.

"I never said I wouldn't go, so why did you start a fight over nothing, especially in front of outsiders?"

"So you do care about saving face, huh? If you care about saving face, get up at eleven o'clock and hurry up."

Tang Xiuyun stood in the center of the main room with one hand on her hip and a tree branch hanging diagonally. Sunlight streamed into the room, shining on her and making her look majestic and awe-inspiring, like a celestial warrior.

Chen Mian didn't dare to say a word. She glanced at Liu Xia, who was trying not to laugh, and couldn't help but roll her eyes at her.

He didn't even bother to wipe his face with a towel before slinking out the door, shaking his hands as he walked, letting the wind dry the water on his face, which did make him feel much cooler.

Chen Mian's family owns four plots of land: one is the old house of her grandparents, one is the house they are currently living in, and one is the house they built for Chen Liang's wedding.

The last plot of land was reserved for Chen Mian to build a house, but because he was still young, the plot was temporarily divided in two, with one half being turned into a small vegetable garden.

The other half built a simple warehouse, which would also be used to store cotton, corn, and other crops during the autumn harvest.

The direction of the vegetable garden just happened to pass by the consignment store, and from a distance you could see several women sitting on the platform outside the store, chatting away.

"Katsuko's daughter, Hana, is about to give birth to a dog."

"Yeah, I just saw Shengzi walking by with the dog. Her belly was huge; I reckon she's carrying a lot of puppies."

"I wonder if it's from their big yellow dog, that big yellow dog is so energetic."

"I'll go check on the dog later and get one to keep as a guard dog."

As the three chatted, Qiaohua suddenly winked and patted the other two, then slightly raised her finger and pointed at Chen Mian who was coming over.

"Where is Chen Mian going?"

"I'm thinking of going to the vegetable garden to pick some green beans."

Chen Mian sensed that the three people were acting strangely. Since she had nothing else to do and didn't need to go back too early, she simply squatted down and chatted for a while.

He believed he was a seasoned bachelor in his past life and had never been afraid of gossip.

"The aunties are basking in the old sun."

"I wonder when Katsuko's daughter, Hana, will have a puppy. I'm thinking of getting one too."

Qiaohua and the other two exchanged glances, quite surprised that Chen Mian had suddenly stopped chatting. It was really rare to see eighteen or nineteen-year-old young men chatting among a group of older women; in the past, Chen Mian would have avoided them.

"I estimate it will be about a week or two. I live close to Shengzi's house, so I'll let you know when the dog is born."

"That would be great, thank you so much, Aunt Huaihua." Chen Mian cupped her hands in greeting to Huaihua, who was the wife of Zhao Dahe from the consignment store. It's true that you can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people.

After chatting idly for a while, the atmosphere between them became noticeably closer, and the conversation became more and more casual.

At this moment, Qiaohua glanced around with her two little eyes, then suddenly leaned forward and said, "Chen Mian, your auntie is asking you something, don't take it to heart."

Chen Mian smiled meaningfully; sure enough, something was up.

"Don't worry, we're all family here. Why would I hold a grudge against my aunties?"

Qiaohua and the other two exchanged glances, then decided to stop arguing and asked, "Did your family take out a loan to lease the land?"

Chen Mian blurted out, "Yes."

Qiaohua and the other two were stunned. How could he have agreed to such an embarrassing thing without any hesitation? Shouldn't he at least have waited a while before making a decision?

This kid not only didn't feel ashamed, but he was even more self-righteous, tilting his head back with a big smile, as if he was proud of taking out a loan.

The three of them rolled their eyes, their curiosity growing even stronger.

Originally, the villagers were saying that Chen Hongguo had gone to his eldest daughter's husband's family to borrow money, after all, Zhuang Changhe had personally come to Anping Village.

But last night someone suddenly spread a rumor about a loan to buy land, with detailed information, even finding the name of the loan officer. The brigade headquarters did not refute the rumor.

"How much did you borrow?"

"I borrowed over ten thousand." Chen Mian deliberately exaggerated the amount.

"The interest must be quite high."

"It's alright. A few hundred yuan in interest can secure 45 acres of land. It's not expensive at all."

The three looked at Chen Mian in surprise. Why was this kid suddenly so honest, answering every question with such frankness?

"Why would you take out a loan when you have so many relatives? Why not just borrow from various places?" Qiaohua narrowed her eyes, moved her stool forward, and became even more curious about this good thing. "We can pay it back in a few months after the harvest, which will save us a few hundred yuan."

"Auntie, is anyone home?" Chen Mian frowned and gestured towards the door.

"There aren't many people around today, just your uncle is in the house by himself."

"We're all family here. I'm just having a heart-to-heart talk with you ladies, so please don't spread it around."

Seeing that the three of them nodded solemnly, Chen Mian smiled with her head down, then immediately put on a serious face.

"Of my several relatives, who do you think is the right person to borrow money from? My fourth aunt is the daughter of a local official; she lives a life of luxury and never works in the fields. Do you think she would agree to lend me money?"

When Chen Hongjian's wife was mentioned, the three women all nodded and pursed their lips. She had really opened the eyes of the villagers in Anping Village.