Chapter 49: We Are Ten-Thousand-Yuan Rich

The phrase “We are ten-thousand-yuan rich” echoed repeatedly in Gu Yuelin’s mind.

A smile unconsciously lifted the corners of his mouth.

The fine rain moistens silently, and the future is long.

“Let’s wait until the weather gets warmer before we go,” Feng Mian said.

Gu Yuelin heard the word “we” again.

“You want to go with me?”

Feng Mian smiled and said, “Yes, I’ve never been to such a big city before. I want to see it too.”

“Great, then we’ll go together.” He felt even happier inside.

“By the way, the militia training date is coming soon, right? Have you signed up?”

Gu Yuelin was a little surprised, “Do you want me to go?”

Feng Mian said, “If you get chosen, you’ll get a gun, right? Now that we have money, having one more security measure would be better.”

So that’s what she was thinking.

He felt a sense of being needed.

“Even if there’s no gun, no one would dare come to rob our home, don’t worry.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“What about your stepmother?”

Gu Yuelin: “…” Bringing up the sore spot.

“She had some leverage over you before, that’s why you let her have her way in everything.”

“Oh?”

“Tomorrow I’ll go ask Fourth Uncle about the militia.”

Feng Mian smiled faintly and said nothing.

…

Last night, maybe because their relationship had progressed further, Gu Yuelin even had a strange dream.

In the early morning, Feng Mian noticed Gu Yuelin’s expression was a little odd.

But she respected others’ privacy. If he wanted to say something, he would; if not, she wouldn’t ask.

They ate breakfast together and then got busy with their own tasks.

Gu Yuelin went to work. Feng Mian washed the dishes, cleaned the room, and then started scrolling on her phone.

The small plot of land they had already been turned over. The weather was gradually warming up these days, so she needed to consider what to plant.

Besides the usual chili peppers, garlic sprouts, green onions, and chives and coriander, she also planned to plant some ordinary vegetables.

After browsing around on her phone, she settled on a few types.

Eggplants — she loved eating those.

She could plant a few tomato plants.

She also liked green beans, cowpeas, and water spinach.

Too bad she only had one small plot of land.

Her little piece of land was carved out from a big collective field.

But Feng Mian remembered the rule at the time: each laborer was entitled to one small plot of personal land.

Now there were two people in her family, with Gu Yuelin added, the team should give her another plot of land.

She had to apply for it herself; if she didn’t say anything, no one would assign it to her proactively.

Thinking this, Feng Mian tidied up, took her documents, and went out the door.

She went to see the team leader.

At this moment, Gu Yuelin was discussing the militia issue with the team leader, Uncle Feng Siye.

Uncle Feng stroked his beard and looked at Gu Yuelin’s discharge certificate for a while.

“Normally, since you’re not a Feng family member, I can’t let you join our Feng family village militia. But you have this certificate, which means you are capable. Sigh! It’s really difficult for me.”

Gu Yuelin lit his pipe for him and said, “Uncle Feng, I’m also considered a Feng family member. You can’t just recognize daughters-in-law as family members and treat sons-in-law as outsiders. That’s not fair — we live in a society of gender equality now.”

Uncle Feng immediately gave him a metaphorical “hat” (put him in his place).

“Alright, alright. But you still have to be tested. You have to pass the test before I can give you a gun.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

“Hmm, go now, get to work.”

“Then I’ll leave first.”

He had just left when Feng Mian came over.

Uncle Feng Siye was getting ready to pack up and go out when he saw Feng Mian approaching.

“Why are you here again?”

“Again?”

“You see, your Yuelin just left. I already promised him, but he still needs to be tested first. What business do you have?”

Hmm?

She guessed Gu Yuelin was probably talking to Uncle Feng Siye about the militia camp.

Feng Mian said, “Uncle Feng, here’s the thing — my family now has two laborers. Shouldn’t I get an extra piece of personal land?”

She placed the relevant certificate on the table, along with a small bottle of liquor. “This is for you, as a token of respect. The label has been torn off so no one else can see it.”

She gave him a look that said you know what this means.

Uncle Feng’s eyes brightened.

He knew what it meant to have the label torn off — this must be special liquor meant just for gifting.

“You’re quite resourceful, handling things like this.”

Feng Mian smiled, “You’re joking, Uncle Feng. In front of you, this isn’t resourceful at all.”

In every era, there are some special things that exist — generally harmless and usually overlooked.

“Hahaha…” Uncle Feng stroked his beard and laughed a few times. He took the little bottle, glanced at it, then slipped it into the drawer under the table.

“You’re clever. That piece of land was just dug up the day before yesterday. You just focus on planting.”

Feng Mian smiled faintly.

“In a bit, I’ll have your eldest uncle come over and mark out another piece of land next to your existing plot.”

“Thank you, Uncle Feng.”

Uncle Feng added another plot of personal land to hers and stamped it with the team leader’s official seal.

After settling the personal land issue, around ten o’clock Feng Mian, as usual, went to the fields to deliver morning tea.

Today, the field they were tilling was a paddy field. At this time, soaking in water, it was still very cold, but there was no choice — farmers have to follow the seasons.

To sow the rice seeds, the fields had to be prepared by turning over the soil, and whether the seeds sprout well depends a lot on how well the soil is prepared.

After digging up the field, they had to do rotary tilling, harrowing, tamping… and then let it rest for ten days or half a month.

Only after all that could the rice seeds be sown next month.

“Gu Yuelin!”

She squatted on the ridge and called out loudly. Gu Yuelin looked over.

The people nearby teased him enviously, “Your wife came to bring you some warmth again.”

Suppressing his joy, Gu Yuelin dropped his harrow and walked toward Feng Mian.

Huh, this time it’s not a teapot?

Feng Mian said, “You’ve been soaked in water for a long time, it must be cold, right? Today I made Eight-Treasure Congee for you to try. It’s nice and warm.”

Everyone around looked at him enviously, mouths watering.

Before the porridge even touched his lips, Gu Yuelin already felt warm inside.

Under the envious gazes of the crowd, he quickly took a sip.

“Why are there so many things inside?”

“It’s Eight-Treasure Congee, of course it has lots of ingredients.”

“Is it troublesome to make?”

“No, I bought it ready-made with all the ingredients measured out. We’ll have this for lunch too, and I steamed some buns.”

At this moment, someone else came over — Feng Mian’s second cousin, Feng Chang.

Today he had come with Gu Yuelin.

“Feng Mian, is there any left? I’m hungry too.”

“No, just one bowl.”

If it were the eldest cousin, she would give him some. The second cousin was two years older than her and had grown up with the eldest cousin Feng Xiaomei. He had bullied Yuan Yu quite a lot as a child.

Gu Yuelin didn’t know the complicated relationship between them and awkwardly stood there holding the remaining half bowl of porridge.

Feng Mian urged him, “Drink up quickly, I’ll take the bowl back to wash when you’re done.”

Feng Chang looked displeased and sarcastically said, “You can, huh? Have you forgotten how you used to eat and drink at my house all those years ago?”