“Rumble—”
The rain poured harder, and the system thoughtfully reported that the next four hours would see continuous heavy rain.
Xu Chuan stood by the window, feeling relieved that the roof had been patched quickly; otherwise, at this rate, the room would have been flooded.
Cheng Baozhu was putting away the items she had bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, still feeling somewhat displeased. She wondered if it was possible to buy a house in the county town, and if so, she would want to get one herself.
“All right, all right, don’t be upset, I’ll make sure to build you a good house, how about a blue-brick and tile house?”
Cheng Baozhu didn’t answer but thought to herself that it shouldn’t just be bricks and tiles—there should also be cement plaster!
Xu Chuan went to the kitchen and brought out a few buns and a bowl of rice soup, saying, “Beef buns, I managed to get the last four, it’s rare to have these.”
Cheng Baozhu’s nostrils twitched as she put down her snow cream and went to the table.
“Where did you get them? I didn’t see them at the state-run restaurant.” She washed her hands and picked up a plump, white bun.
Xu Chuan raised an eyebrow: “A mountain man has his own clever ways.”
Cheng Baozhu shot him a sidelong glance: “Be careful, I heard that if you get caught, you’d be assigned to work on a farm.”
She tore open the bun, and a tempting aroma wafted out, instantly whetting her appetite.
She had been hungry for some time, and in just a few bites, she had eaten half the bun. The bun was soft, filled with juicy beef mixed with finely chopped onions and broth.
Since arriving here, this was the first food that perfectly suited her taste, even better than the meals Xu Chuan had cooked.
Xu Chuan poured her a bowl of warm rice soup and casually asked, “Do you think we could make some food to sell?”
Cheng Baozhu paused for a moment, then said, “If you can make it tasty, then sure, why not.”
The New Year was approaching, and selling food at this time could earn them some money.
Xu Chuan was delighted: “You’re willing?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Xu Chuan thought to himself that she wasn’t worried about being burdened by this; if he went up the mountain to set traps and sell wild game, any trouble would be his alone. But making food at home would involve Baozhu if something went wrong.
His mind raced with ideas, and finally he said with determination, “Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong.”
Once he finished, he would sell the food through Old Zhang. Though the earnings would be smaller, it would be much safer. People in this line of work kept their mouths shut. Old Zhang earned a living through credibility and loyalty, and many entrusted him to sell their goods. If something went wrong, he wouldn’t reveal everyone, ensuring their families could live without worry.
Xu Chuan winced; Old Zhang charged a high commission, a full thirty percent.
Cheng Baozhu felt full after the second bun, slightly confused by Xu Chuan’s words.
“What’s the matter with something going wrong or not…?”
If she remembered correctly, the movement would end next year, so being cautious meant nothing would happen.
Unaware of the current situation, that was her thought.
After lunch, the two of them returned to organizing and cleaning. The rain had soaked many areas, so there was a lot of mopping to do.
Aunt Bai Feng lived up to her reputation as a human megaphone; the roof they had repaired just half an hour ago had already become village gossip.
Xu He hurried over in the rain, looking slightly angry. He smiled at Cheng Baozhu in a flattering way, then pulled Xu Chuan aside, lowering his voice as he scolded, “What’s going on? You spent Baozhu’s money buying all this? The roof just leaked, and she’s only been married three days! Aren’t you ashamed?”
Xu Chuan was puzzled: “Brother, don’t blame me, when did I spend Baozhu’s money?”
Xu He glared: “Everyone’s saying you went to the county town and bought all this today.”
Xu Chuan nodded: “Yes.”
Xu He’s ears turned red: “Oh my goodness! Look around, you’re always so carefree and without money, aren’t you just spending Baozhu’s money?”
Xu Chuan: …
How could he keep taking the blame? He held his head helplessly: “Brother, that’s my money, I didn’t spend Baozhu’s.”
Xu He pushed him, coldly: “Don’t lie, you don’t have money to begin with.”
Xu Chuan froze, and under Xu He’s increasingly dangerous gaze, he gritted his teeth: “It was sent by my eldest sister; she told me to keep it.”
Xu He frowned, muttering: “Baozhu said to keep it… wait, sent by your eldest sister?”
“Yes.”
Outside, the rain poured down, while inside the old house Li Cuifen played with Xiao Gu.
After Xu He told Jiang Yulan what happened, she finally relaxed. But then she got angry again—her youngest son had bought so many things, and it turned out he used money sent by his eldest sister?
Even if it wasn’t using his wife’s money, it was still using his sister’s—just as embarrassing.
Li Cuifen felt somewhat upset, thinking it was unfair that her youngest son got money from the eldest while she had two other sons. She couldn’t help feeling sore about it, even into the night when lying down.
She said, “Tomorrow you should write to your eldest sister too; maybe it’s because Xu Chuan always writes to her, and she favors him.”
Xu He didn’t understand: “We’re not struggling to live, and the parental division is handled, why trouble the eldest sister?”
Li Cuifen gave him a glance, thinking he was really dense.
Relationships are built through interactions; even full siblings have closeness and distance. Xu Chuan had many flaws, but with his eldest sister, he was fine. In the past, he would set traps and send a portion of the catch to her, which naturally made them close. But she had two sons herself.
Xiao Gu was weak and didn’t fit the army, but Hutou was strong, like a little tiger. If they could get their eldest sister to help, Hutou could join the army, and there’d be nothing to worry about for his future.
Annoyed, Li Cuifen pushed Xu He off the bed: “Go sleep with Hutou, I’ll take Xiao Gu tonight.”
Xu He: …
Why is there gunpowder at night?
Li Cuifen was frustrated, and Xu Chuan felt the same.
Under the lamp, Xu Chuan scratched his head and tried to organize his thoughts to write to his eldest sister.
Cheng Baozhu carefully applied her snow cream, and after finishing, saw Xu Chuan still hadn’t moved a word.
“Your eldest sister really knows how to cover for you, huh?” she asked curiously.
Xu Chuan nodded. Similarly, his eldest sister would send letters back, reminding him to stay on the right path and work hard for points.
Along with the letters came money. Xu Chuan didn’t want his eldest sister’s money since her family wasn’t wealthy.
Cheng Baozhu thought: “What’s the big deal? If your eldest sister sends you money, you just send her some things in return.”
Xu Chuan scoffed: “Then we’d just keep sending back and forth?”
Cheng Baozhu looked at him oddly: “If you had money, she wouldn’t need to send you money.”
Xu Chuan froze.
He sat at the table for a long while, finally finishing the letter in a few minutes, taking off his coat and leaning on the bed.
Cheng Baozhu reached out from the quilt, feeling the cold, and nudged him: “If you want to read, put your coat on, or you’ll catch a cold.”
She then prepared to sleep. In this era of just snow cream, Cheng Baozhu relied on sufficient sleep to maintain her skin.
Xu Chuan’s heart warmed instantly; he stroked her hair and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you have a good house.”
Cheng Baozhu pouted: “When you have money, you should pay off the team’s debts first.”
She had just realized that Xu Chuan still owed a debt to the commune. Although he didn’t work the fields, he still received his portion of grain.
This year, due to fewer communal points after the family division, Xu Chuan had borrowed some grain when splitting the family. These grains had to be repaid with points, or with money if points weren’t enough.
Xu Chuan choked up, sighing after a while: “The money will be paid back, and there will be a house.”
Life was hard.
Under pressure, Xu Chuan, who never was ambitious, began to plan his future.
In space, without the system’s urging, he proactively started learning.
To earn money, he chose to make desserts—egg cakes.
At first, he was very motivated.
But that motivation gradually evaporated as he struggled to beat the eggs.
System: [……Host, once you earn enough points, you can purchase an egg beater in the shop.]
Xu Chuan sat in the corner like a dead fish, his right arm dangling, feeling as if it had gone useless.
“Egg beater? What’s an egg beater?” he asked.
The system displayed a video of the egg beater, and Xu Chuan jumped up in shock!
He couldn’t believe such a thing existed!
But when he saw the 100-point price tag…
He gave up. His progress was slow, but Cheng Baozhu’s side advanced rapidly.
Today, she was again sorting medicinal herbs. Though she had forgotten much of the knowledge, relearning it wasn’t too difficult.
This batch had twice as many herbs as yesterday, yet she completed it in about the same time. Once done, she requested another batch.
System: [No points for this.]
Cheng Baozhu flipped through the half-person-sized atlas, excited: “No problem.”
She judged the medical conditions to be poor; Old Zhang in the commune didn’t seem very reliable, and the prescription Xu Chuan received for reducing heat was mediocre, so she would do it herself.
Better to put her life in her own hands.
The system was pleased, not only providing her with herbs but also giving her an extra preparation room.
When Cheng Baozhu focused on her work, it glanced at Xu Chuan next door, increasingly annoyed.
Xu Chuan was pretending to be dead again.
The system, quite bluntly, added two more dishes to his tasks and set the rule that he couldn’t leave until he made them to an excellent standard.
Xu Chuan: ?
Strange-tasting chicken, steamed cake? He dared to ask, what were these?
About ten minutes later, the smart teacher demonstrated the recipes, and Xu Chuan sprang up eagerly to watch.
Perfect! These could be sold!
Strange-tasting chicken was a cold dish, and steamed cake was a dessert. Both could be made at home and sold to Old Zhang, just like buns.
Xu Chuan revived with energy, seriously following the smart teacher.
He also requested the prenatal machine from the system.
System: …
Prenatal machine? That’s a consciousness relaxation machine!