Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

My uncle's name is Tang Zhongyuan. He is 44 years old this year, two years younger than my mother.

He was quite a celebrity in the factory, mainly because he had worked there for a long time and witnessed the factory grow from small to large, which made him highly valued by the boss, He Weiqiang.

My uncle can earn more than 200 yuan a month without having to work on the front lines, and he gets extra during holidays.

In addition, the old woman earns over a hundred yuan a month, so the couple can save some money throughout the year. The only downside is that they can't take care of the child and have to leave him in the village for his maternal grandmother to help take care of him.

Chen Mian had overheard her mother talking about how her maternal grandparents hadn't really approved of the marriage proposal.

On the one hand, it's too far; in rural areas, anything more than ten miles away is considered marrying far away.

On the other hand, the mere mention of farming evokes images of poverty and hardship.

It was only with the strong support of his two uncles that the marriage was finally made possible.

When he got into trouble and went to jail, his two uncles contributed a lot of money and effort, truly proving the saying: "Mother's love is greater than that of his uncles."

The plywood factory wasn't too busy in August and September. Chen Mian easily found her way to a messy little courtyard and called out to the two brightly lit bungalows, "Uncle!"

A few seconds later, my uncle came running out, wearing a jacket and with his chest and belly exposed, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

My aunt followed behind, with her neat short hair and still wearing her arm sleeves, probably because she had just returned.

"Heh~" Uncle laughed and gave Chen Mian a light tap on the head. "Why did you suddenly decide to come see your old man, you glutton?"

The old aunt chimed in, "Your uncle and I were just wondering what to eat, and now that you're here, let's go out to a restaurant together."

"No need~" Chen Mian immediately waved her hand, turned around and quickly went to get the large bag of meat. "Don't bother, I brought you a roast chicken."

As she spoke, she pulled out the bag containing the roast chicken. "Auntie, I have some business to attend to today, so I won't stay long."

My uncle took the bag containing the roast chicken and saw the ribs and pig's trotters in the pocket. He immediately realized that they were for his maternal grandmother.

Upon hearing that something was amiss, he immediately became serious: "Come on, let's go inside and talk."

The two bungalows weren't large, but they had everything you'd expect: a TV, a sofa, a writing desk, and a red motorcycle parked there.

Chen Mian explained the situation regarding hiring cotton pickers, and when her uncle heard about leasing the land, a deep frown appeared on his forehead: "How much did it cost to lease the land?"

"Sixteen thousand."

"Your older brother has only been married for a year, where did your family get so much money?" The more the uncle thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

"I took out a loan of 10,000 yuan," Chen Mian said frankly.

My uncle suddenly stood up, his face tense, his brows furrowed, and he sighed while puffing on his cigarette.

Liushui Town is a relatively prosperous and developed commercial area, and the acceptance of bank loans is much higher than that of Lianhua Township. Tang Zhongyuan, as a witness, naturally knows this well.

But when I heard that my sister's family had taken out a loan to lease land, I couldn't accept it for a while.

"It's not a large sum of money, why didn't you say anything? Your dad, that blockhead, has really grown bold. They're all mute, why didn't you come and say something?"

Chen Mian lowered her head, not daring to say that it was her idea, otherwise she would definitely get a beating from her uncle.

"I only took out a loan for six months, with 450 yuan in interest. It will cover the cost once the cotton bonds are sold and the interest is paid. It's fine."

"It's nothing." My uncle scoffed, threw his cigarette butt on the ground, and ground it into a ball. "Is a few hundred dollars in interest a big deal?"

"What's the use of getting angry now that the loan is all done? Finding workers for our sister is the real priority," the old aunt quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

The old man pursed his lips and let out a heavy sigh of relief: "Let's go."

As Chen Mian passed by the motorcycle, she called out to her uncle and then took down the canvas bucket.

"Uncle, this mandarin fish must weigh almost three pounds. You can decide what to do with it."

Tang Zhongyuan was somewhat surprised. He knew his nephew could catch fish and had even given him fish before, but this was the first time he had ever seen Chen Mian catch such a rare creature as a mandarin fish.

This would cost at least fourteen or fifteen yuan per pound in the town's restaurants, and the supply couldn't keep up with the demand. Even the old father of the board factory owner liked it.

"Alright, you've really gotten to it. Let's put it inside for now and decide what to do when we get back."

……

Off-get off work time.

Chen Mian followed her uncle to the workers' dormitory. After opening the wooden door, a stench of dry tobacco mixed with urine and sweaty feet hit her, making her feel dizzy for a moment.

Inside the room was a long kang (heated brick bed), where eight shirtless workers lived. Some were leaning against the headboard or footboard smoking, some were playing cards on the kang, and others were writing and drawing in a small notebook.

As soon as Tang Zhongyuan entered, everyone stopped what they were doing and greeted him warmly.

"Brother Tang."

"Brother Tang is here."

……

Tang Zhongyuan responded twice, then called out to one of the tall, thin men, "Hey Da Nian'er, what's your hometown landline number again?"

"Brother Tang, what's up?"

"I was thinking of asking your Party Secretary to help find some cotton pickers."

Upon hearing that they were looking for cotton pickers, everyone became interested, since they were all from the countryside and their families had grown cotton before.

Although it is the busy farming season now, there are many people in their area, and many of their relatives are idle. If it is suitable, they will take over this job.

Everyone rushed off the kang (heated brick bed), put on their shoes, and hurried to the door, repeatedly asking, "How much does it cost per pound to pick cotton?"

"How long will it take?"

"Does it include food and lodging? If not, can you reimburse me for the lodging fee?"

……

Seeing that everyone was talking non-stop, Tang Zhongyuan immediately spoke up to settle things.

He pointed to Chen Mian beside him: "This is my nephew, their family's employee. Let him talk to you."

The workers were taken aback, then all looked at the young man beside them. So he was the one looking for workers.

However, considering that Tang Zhongyuan is the original author, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Two cents a pound, food and lodging included, it takes a little over a month to work, and you need five or six skilled workers."

After Chen Mian finished speaking, the scene fell silent. Everyone was thinking and pouting in disappointment.

At this moment, a worker named Da Nian said to Tang Zhongyuan, "Brother Tang, this job is hard to find people for. It's only for a month, which is too short, and the wages aren't much. At most, we can find a female worker to do it."

Another person chimed in, "It's busy farming season now, so the Party Secretary probably won't want to lead people back and forth."

Seeing the other workers nodding slightly, and combining this with her previous thoughts, Chen Mian formed a judgment in her mind, and then asked, "Brother, how much did it cost for your round trip?"

One of the workers chimed in, "We all came in the factory's vehicle, so we didn't pay any money."

Chen Mian nodded meaningfully. Since the key to the problem lay with the village party secretary, there was no need to waste time here.

"Brother, could you give me a landline number for your village? I'll call and ask later."

Da Nian happened to be holding a notebook, and the phone number was already etched in his mind. He wrote it down casually, tore off the paper, and handed it to Chen Mian.

He even offered a helpful suggestion: "Why don't you try talking to the boss? The Party Secretary listens to the boss."

"Okay, you guys take a break."

"Thank you for your help, gentlemen."