Chapter 33: Land Division

They didn’t pursue too closely; after delivering two bags of white sugar last time, they had quieted down, probably observing from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to act.

Now that the New Year had passed, the village chief called the villagers to discuss land division.

Zhang Yuanxiu had gone out to do business, while Li Yurong took the household registration book and brought Lin Bingwei and Zhang Jianguo to the production team for the land division.

According to the village’s population and the amount of land, each person could receive just over an acre of rice paddies and one and a half acres of hilly land.

Zhang Tingyuan’s household registration followed the army, so without a registration in the village, they couldn’t receive land, meaning their family could only divide the land for four people.

In the end, the four of them received nearly five acres of rice paddies and six acres of hilly land.

Following the principle of proximity for the division, four acres of hilly land were located around the Zhang family’s house, while the other two acres were a bit farther away, on the opposite hillside, drawn by lottery.

One acre of rice paddy was in front of the house, not next to the yard, while the rest were slightly farther away.

After receiving the land certificate, Li Yurong was delighted for a long time.

“When I was young, my family had quite a bit of land, but it was all taken away. I thought I would never have my own land again in this lifetime, but I didn’t expect to get some back.”

However, these few acres of land were probably far less than what her family had back then.

Zhang Tingyuan stood at the kitchen door wrapped in a coat, “Mom, let me have a look at that certificate.”

“Here, it’s in your wife’s hands.”

Lin Bingwei took it out and handed it to him.

After reading it, Zhang Tingyuan happily said, “Mom, our family has so much land; does that mean we’re landlords now?”

“Pah pah pah, what nonsense are you talking? The land belongs to the village; we’re just leasing it.”

“Isn’t it all the same? Just a different way of saying it.”

“How can it be the same? We’re planting food…” She stopped mid-sentence.

Seeing Zhang Tingyuan waiting for her to continue, she said irritably, “Why are you asking these things? It’s not your share.”

Zhang Tingyuan pouted, returned the certificate to Lin Bingwei, and then said sourly, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s not my share. Everyone in the family has it, except me, making me feel like an outsider.”

Li Yurong said, “You can talk to me about it; go reason with the village chief.”

“Mom~”

His tone was so soft that it gave Lin Bingwei goosebumps.

Li Yurong was also amused by him and said, “If you want to farm, it’s not difficult, right? Once your injury heals, we’ll leave all the land at home for you to farm.”

Speaking of farming, Lin Bingwei became interested, “Mom, what should we plant on our land?”

“What do you think we should plant?”

In the rice paddies, they were all growing rice.

Lin Bingwei said, “Let’s not plant rice in the paddy below our yard; let’s turn it into a fish pond to raise fish.”

“Raise fish?”

“Yes, dig it into a fish pond; it’ll be convenient for washing things, and the income from selling fish in a year is not less than planting rice.”

“That makes sense; we’ll discuss it when your dad comes back.”

……

Spring plowing was about to start, and they would be busy for a while.

Lin Bingwei took advantage of this time to make clothes from the sample fabric she had bought.

Zhang Tingyuan’s health was improving, and he could walk normally without assistance, but he still couldn’t do heavy work or physical labor.

After all, he had a steel pin fixed in his sternum, and the doctor had said during his last hospital visit that it would probably take about a year before it could be removed.

The exact timing would have to be seen later.

“Are you really planning to start a clothing business?”

“Yes, what do you think?”

“They look great, even more fashionable than city clothes. You doing this makes me feel uneasy.”

Lin Bingwei paused her work, looking at him in surprise, “What’s making you uneasy? Are you worried I’ll lose money?”

“If you lose money, I’d feel more at ease.”

Lin Bingwei: “…… What’s wrong with you?”

“If I lose money, you’d feel more at ease?”

“Yes, my mom keeps saying you’re a genius and that I’m not worthy of you, just a second-rate person.”

Uh…

“What if you earn a lot of money later, see the world, and look down on me?”

Lin Bingwei was speechless, “What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t have any capital for business; it’s all your money.”

“What do you mean ‘your money’? In our family, you manage the money; it’s all yours, even I am yours.”

“Well, that settles it. If your money is mine, then when I make money, it’s still yours; even I am yours.”

He loved hearing that, bending down to hug her from behind.

“Hey, don’t move around.” Lin Bingwei was in the middle of sewing a button.

“You sew; I won’t move. After you finish, I’ll move around.”

Lin Bingwei: “……”

“Have you taken the wrong medicine?”

Zhang Tingyuan said gloomily, “Why does your mouth sound like my dad’s? Always squeezing me for what? You say you’re mine too; I cherish you.”

That voice was right behind her ear, making her blush.

“I’ve been injured for two months now; you think… can we…”

Realizing what he was hinting at, Lin Bingwei quickly spoke up to stop him, “No, we can’t. The doctor said to wait three months and take it easy.”

Yes, he had shamelessly asked the doctor this question during his last check-up.

At that time, there were doctors and nurses in the room, and she felt incredibly embarrassed.

“Alas!” Zhang Tingyuan sighed helplessly and slumped down to one side.

“I still want to have a child with you; I wonder where that child is.”

Lin Bingwei: “……”

Once she finished the button, Lin Bingwei held the clothes up against the ready-made hanger.

Since every outfit she made fit him perfectly, Zhang Tingyuan narcissistically asked, “Weiwei, did you make this just for me?”

“Yes.” Lin Bingwei readily admitted.

Zhang Tingyuan was delighted and refused to take it off after putting it on, “Then let’s consider it a gift from you.”

Lin Bingwei said, “That won’t do; this is a sample outfit. Take it off quickly.”

“I won’t take it off; I need to wear it to stroll around the village.”

“Are you kidding? This is spring wear, and the weather is still cold. Hurry up and take it off and put on your coat; if you catch a cold and start coughing, you’ll be the one suffering.”

Lin Bingwei directly went to take it off, and he let her change it, his smile never fading.

Lin Bingwei made five different outfits for men and decided to take them to the factory to get patterns and place orders.

Why men’s clothing? Because the factory her grandfather built was originally for men’s clothing, specializing in that, and later expanded to include women’s clothing.

Although the revenue from women’s clothing was higher than men’s, the brand influence was far less than that of men’s. For the company’s development, Lin Bingwei was more familiar with men’s clothing.

That day, she was going out for business, but Zhang Tingyuan insisted on coming along. In the end, he was scolded thoroughly by her father-in-law and mother-in-law before they let it go.

Lin Bingwei laughed at him on the spot and comforted him before leaving.

“Mom and Dad scold you for your own good. We’re not just going for a stroll at the village entrance; we’re heading into the city. If I ride over, I’ll probably be exhausted; you definitely won’t be able to handle it. Didn’t you say you wanted to have a child with me? Think about it—if your injury gets worse, how are we going to have a child?”

That finally appeased him.

He pulled her in and kissed her fiercely at the door, then pressed down his desire and said, “This is what you said; don’t tell me you’re just fooling around.”