Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

Back then, Chen Hongjian married a non-agricultural woman and got a job at the township's agricultural repair factory. He was incredibly successful, and the whole village praised him for his ability and envied him immensely.

But after the marriage, no one could see that something was wrong; this non-agricultural heiress was not easy to socialize with.

She rarely shows her face throughout the year, and when she does come back, she's always wearing makeup. She never wears tattered or dirty clothes, and she rarely responds when you talk to her.

Anyone who wanted to go to their house had to tidy themselves up and wear shoe covers before entering. I've never seen such particular people. Gradually, not many people wanted to associate with their family anymore.

Asking Chen Hongjian for money is harder than climbing to heaven, not to mention that he also wants to lease land.

"Given my uncle's personality, do you think he'll be able to lend me the money?"

The three of them thought for a moment and shook their heads firmly. Chen Hongqiang was notoriously stingy. He would go out naked and come home with dirt on his hands and knees.

If you're hoping to borrow money from him, you're really delusional.

"My second and third uncles don't contract land, but they can still lend money, but they have to sign a written agreement and pay interest."

"If you wanted it, would you lend it to me?"

The three were stunned. What kind of people were they? Why did they have to draw up a written agreement and ask for interest when lending money to family members?

"You really want interest?"

Chen Mian chuckled: "Look how ignorant you all are! Go ask around and you'll find out."

The three blinked and looked at each other, their curiosity piqued. They hadn't expected this to happen.

"Isn't your family related to Zhuang Changhe? Ten thousand yuan is nothing to that big boss, is it?"

"You guys are all so clueless." Chen Mian raised her right hand and tapped her head with her index finger, then stood up. "Why do you have to ask for favors and borrow money when you can solve things yourself?"

After saying that, he turned and left.

……

As soon as you enter the vegetable garden, everything you see is lush and green, and taking a deep breath of the air makes you feel refreshed.

The cabbages haven't even rolled up their hearts yet; it'll probably be another month or so before they're fully ripe.

Next to the cabbage were long beans, growing on a wooden frame, drooping down in rows, each one several tens of centimeters long.

This plant is extremely popular among the villagers; almost every household grows it. As long as the temperature is right and the vines are strong, it can continue to grow after being harvested.

Chen Mian used her fingernail to prick the base of the green bean, then broke it off, and casually put it into the prepared plastic bag.

I remember that later we couldn't even finish eating them all. Even my mom, who was so frugal, had had enough, so she simply stopped growing them.

"Hey! Stealing our vegetables again."

"You should call the police."

Chen Mian knew from the direction of the footsteps that Cheng Haichao was coming; her own vegetable garden was right next to theirs, it was too close.

They also have a garden, but it's too far away near their new house. Sometimes when they come back from the fields, they're too lazy to do anything, so they just turn the corner and pick some here.

"Have you finished working in the fields?"

"There's only a little bit left in Dongwa and Nanwa. We should be done by dusk," Cheng Haichao said, carefully stepping over.

"East Depression, South Depression..." Chen Mian murmured, then her eyes lit up. "Are there many jobs in the South Depression?"

"Actually, there's not much, even less in Nanwa. I estimate it will be finished in about half an hour."

Chen Mian nodded knowingly: "Then why don't you go to Nanwa to spray pesticides at four o'clock this afternoon? Our two families have plots of land next to each other. I'll go too this afternoon, and after we're done, we'll catch rabbits."

"Okay, I'll go back and talk to my dad." Cheng Haichao flicked his middle parting, getting interested.

"It's a deal then, see you this afternoon."

"Let's stay a little longer."

"I'd like to stay, but my mom's probably sharpening a knife at home."

……

When Chen Mian arrived home, her mother and Liu Xia were busy working together in perfect harmony.

Liu Xia gripped a scrubber tightly with both hands. It had a wooden frame on the outside and a long piece of sheet metal in the middle, with densely packed small round holes on it.

My mother took a small piece of cornbread from the earthenware basin, then pushed it back and forth on a grater. The dough passed through the small hole and turned into thin strips that fell into the sticky pot.

Hearing the continuous "plop" sounds, Chen Mian's appetite was whetted: "Mom, should we eat these green beans together with the harvested beans?"

"No need. After they're cooked, I'll stir-fry some Sichuan peppercorn oil and a little sesame oil, then mix them together. Go and pick the green beans."

A short while later, Chen Mian trimmed the ends of the green beans, broke them into sections, placed the plastic bag on the windowsill, and pretended to go wash her hands in preparation for dinner.

"Don't wash your hands yet, the buckets are full." Tang Xiuyun pointed to the two metal slop buckets outside. "Go empty them quickly, then you can wash your hands and eat when you come back."

Chen Mian: "..."

Tang Xiuyun looked at her son, who was sitting motionless by the washbasin with his hands clasped together like a telephone pole, and couldn't help but laugh: "See? I told you sooner or later, but you were never happy about it."

He walked up to her and patted Chen Mian's head affectionately: "Be good, it only takes ten minutes to go back and forth, then we can eat."

Chen Mian had nothing to say.

Then he grabbed a carrying pole from the wall, hooked the hooks at both ends onto the handle of the slop bucket, muttered to himself, and carried it out.

Lunch consisted of soup, vegetables, and staple food, and the four of us ate heartily.

After the meal, Chen Mian reminded Liu Xia as she was about to leave, "Liu Xia, why don't you go directly to Nanwa this afternoon? There's only one plot of land left."

Liu Xia was a little reserved during the meal, but she immediately relaxed when she heard about the matters in the fields. Without much thought, she immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll go to Nanwa first."

"Where are you going?" Chen Hongguo asked curiously.

"I'm going fishing." Chen Mian puffed out her chest, stretched her shoulders, and spoke with confidence. "When I was dropping my younger brother off, I ran into my uncle again."

The couple, upon hearing that it was a serious matter, didn't say much more. They were currently short of money, and it was a good thing that Chen Mian could earn money to supplement their household income.

Watching Liu Xia leave, Chen Mian said again, "Mom and Dad, word has gotten out about the loan to lease the land. Don't take it to heart when you hear outsiders talking about it."

"Do you think your parents are three-year-olds?" Tang Xiuyun laughed.

Chen Hongguo chimed in, "This matter is irreversible now. Let outsiders say what they want. Whether things turn out well or badly, we'll just live our own lives."

Seeing how open-minded and carefree her parents were, Chen Mian realized that she had been overthinking things and had subconsciously never treated them as adults. She needed to reflect on this.

"Mom, I'm planning to go visit my uncle."

"Where are you going? The factory is so busy. Your uncle and aunt are living at the factory now. They don't have time to take care of you." Tang Xiuyun was a little puzzled and secretly guessed that her son was planning to borrow money from his uncle.

Chen Mian calmly brought out the fishing rod, net, and bucket, then explained, "We need manpower to manage our 90 mu of cotton fields."

"There are quite a few workers from Henan in the board factory. They all came in groups from the same village. My uncle said it was the village secretary from Henan who led the way. I'll go ask if he can help us get some skilled cotton pickers."