The next day, before dawn had even broken, Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen were already up.
As they had discussed the night before, Shen Xiuzhen went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, while Song Shulin headed to the fields to pick vegetables.
With so many mouths to feed at home, it wouldn’t do to just lie around doing nothing.
Fortunately, they had plenty of vegetables growing in their fields. The couple had decided to take them, along with the roasted melon seeds from the previous day, to the county town to see if they could sell them for a little extra money to help with household expenses.
The night before, husband and wife had opened their hearts and talked late into the night.
They spoke of the grievances and grudges from their past life, the debts the family owed, the future of their children, and then about that young man from the neighboring village in their past life who became the first ten-thousand-yuan household in the entire village by trading vegetables.
By the end of their conversation, the couple felt immensely grateful that the time they had been reborn into was 1983.
At this moment, China was in the early stages of reform and opening up.
Whether in terms of historical opportunities, policy dividends, or market gaps, this was an era where gold could be found everywhere.
As long as one could seize the opportunity, even ordinary people could make a fortune.
Song Shulin and Shen Xiuzhen didn’t have grand ambitions. They simply wanted to take advantage of the opportunity while rural folks still held prejudices against going to the city to do business, and become the first in their village to dare to try something new.
Hearing his parents getting up, Song Dajiang also hurriedly rose from bed.
Entering the kitchen and seeing Shen Xiuzhen cooking, he sat down to help tend the fire.
“Mom, why are you starting breakfast so early today?”
“Your dad and I have something to do later, we need to go out.”
As for where they were going or what they were doing, Shen Xiuzhen didn’t elaborate, and Song Dajiang didn’t ask further.
“Mom, I really can’t stand being idle at home. How about I go to the county town today and look around, see if I can find any temporary work to do for now?”
Shen Xiuzhen poured the rinsed millet into the pot before speaking unhurriedly.
“If you can’t stand being idle, go borrow a book from Wuhu and read it. In a few days, when our family has some money, I’ll enroll you, Erhe, and Sihai in a night school. In the society of the future, having no education just won’t do.”
Song Dajiang, Song Erhe, and Song Sihai had all only studied up to the fifth grade of primary school.
It wasn’t that Shen Xiuzhen and Song Shulin were unwilling to support their education; rather, the boys themselves refused to continue.
Song Dajiang had a blockhead when it came to studying; reading was like listening to a foreign language to him. He couldn’t learn and didn’t want to.
Song Erhe was a bit better than him, but to save his parents some money, he had voluntarily dropped out.
As for Song Sihai, it was purely out of laziness.
“Mom, forget it. I get sleepy as soon as I look at a book.” Song Dajiang scratched his head. The hardship of studying was something he couldn’t endure at all.
Shen Xiuzhen shot him a glance. “No ambition. Do you really want to be like your dad and me, farmers for life, tilling the land forever?”
“Being a farmer isn’t so bad. But actually, I’d rather be a worker, a coal miner. You can earn over a hundred a month, more than Big Brother and Weimin.”
The ‘Big Brother’ Song Dajiang referred to was the eldest son of the First Branch—Song Zhenhua.
He worked at the county’s food factory, earning a salary of forty yuan a month.
Song Weimin’s wages were about the same.
Shen Xiuzhen was both angry and helpless. “Shortsighted fool. They may earn less, but their jobs are easier and more respected.
Mining coal pays more, but that’s trading your life for money.”
“You have no wife or children now, you’re free and unburdened. If something really happened to you, your father and I would be sad for a while at most. After all, we have many children—one more or one less doesn’t make much difference.”
These words were a bit heart-wrenching, making Song Dajiang feel uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something, but then heard his mother chattering on:
“When you marry a wife and have children in the future, if something really happens to you, what will happen to your wife and kids?
You probably heard what your father and Sihai said last night. We’re still young now. If you were really gone, we could still help raise your wife and children.
But when we get old, can’t work anymore, or if something happens to us and we’re gone, who will raise your wife and children then? Rely on Erhe and Sihai?”
Shen Xiuzhen smiled and continued, “They have their own wives and children to support. As for your two younger sisters, they’ll marry out eventually.
Even if they care about their sister-in-law and nephews and are willing to support them, would their in-laws agree?”
“Mom, I understand,” Song Dajiang took these words to heart, completely abandoning any thought of going to work in the coal mines.
After all, his mother was right—no matter how much money you earn, it’s not as important as your life.
Shen Xiuzhen nodded with relief. “Good that you understand. When you have nothing to do, read more and think carefully about your future.”
As they spoke, the meal was ready, and Song Shulin returned from the fields.
The couple ate, gave Song Dajiang a few instructions, and hurried out.
From Luohe Village to Xingmingxian county town was about ten kilometers.
Walking would take nearly two hours, while riding a bicycle would take about forty minutes.
In the early morning light, Song Shulin pedaled the Erbalagang bicycle toward the county town.
Shen Xiuzhen sat sideways on the front crossbar, chatting with him intermittently.
On both sides of the rear rack hung two heavy bamboo baskets, filled to the brim with fresh vegetables.
As they neared the county town, Song Dajiang asked Shen Xiuzhen, “Wife, where should we go to sell the vegetables?”
By this time, the county town already had an open-air vegetable market, where most sellers were farmers from surrounding communes.
Song Dajiang had considered trying his luck there, but out of habit, he asked for Shen Xiuzhen’s opinion.
Shen Xiuzhen thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go to the textile factory residential compound.”
The textile factory residential compound was the closest one to them.
Shen Xiuzhen felt sorry that Song Dajiang had pedaled such a long way and didn’t want to drag him elsewhere, so she set their destination there.
If they couldn’t sell everything, just a bit further ahead was the food factory residential compound.
“Good!” Song Dajiang’s eyes lit up as he praised, “Wife, you’re so clever. There are many people in the residential compounds, and surely plenty who need to buy vegetables.”
Shen Xiuzhen nodded. “Exactly. It’s been hot these past few days, and the residential compounds are a bit far from the vegetable market. By delivering the vegetables to their doorsteps, we save them a trip to the market in the heat.”
In their previous life, they often came to the county town for work and were relatively familiar with the nearby living areas.
Soon, the couple arrived at the entrance of the textile factory residential compound.
Shen Xiuzhen saw an aunt carrying a vegetable basket coming out and quickly walked up to her with a smile.
“Big sister, are you heading to the vegetable market to buy groceries?”
The aunt was very friendly. “Yes, taking advantage of the early morning when the vegetables are fresh. I’ll buy them early and store them, so they don’t get wilted by the heat later.”
Shen Xiuzhen quickly pointed to the vegetables in the bamboo baskets and said with a smile:
“Big sister, I picked some fresh vegetables from the field this morning. Please see if there’s anything you need.”
They say you don’t hit someone who comes with a smile. The aunt, seeing Shen Xiuzhen had a pleasant face, nodded and looked into the bamboo basket. The vegetables inside indeed looked fresh, so she asked:
“What are the prices?”