Transmigrated as the Female Educated Youth in 1970s
Transmigrated as the Female Educated Youth in 1970s Chapter 39.2

Earlier, Jiang Lin had already told Cheng Rushan about diverting attention from her own revealing of Cheng Fugui’s past.

He responded, “Thank you, Secretary. I’ll handle this matter.”

After discussing this, Jiang Lin then brought up the matter of the brick and tile factory with Cheng Fujun.

Helping to repair roofs and lay tiles for each other was considered mutual assistance, without much financial involvement.

However, establishing a brick and tile factory was not something one person could manage alone.

Therefore, Jiang Lin wanted to discuss with Cheng Fu Jun whether it was possible to operate the secondary business under the brigade’s name.

She was willing to invest money and participate in the management.

Many secondary businesses in villages operated without legal procedures; people started them as they wished, and generally, no one intervened.

If authorities did investigate, they usually closed the business.

Influenced by modern business practices, Jiang Lin prioritized legality before pursuing development.

However, Cheng Fujun wasn’t particularly interested.

Managing a secondary business under the brigade’s name wasn’t straightforward.

He had previously learned that many village secondary businesses folded within two years.

There were various reasons, the biggest being brigade officials wanting to interfere and appoint their own family members as factory managers, seeking personal gain without doing the work.

Products were often distributed before being sold, used for personal favors.

In the end, few people did actual work; most were there to profit unfairly.

Cheng Fu Jun understood this well. Managing a brigade-owned factory was more troublesome than managing collective farming activities.

He wasn’t interested in thankless tasks that required significant effort.

“If you want to establish a brick and tile factory, the brigade will support it,” Cheng Fu Jun said. “Operate it under the brigade’s name, and you can make decisions yourselves. Sell to our village at a discounted price, which will benefit our brigade.”

Setting up a factory to produce bricks and tiles required at least fifty thousand yuan.

Cheng Fujun estimated that Jiang Lin might set up a small-scale operation for cement tiles and bricks, with a modest output, employing four or five assistants at most.

This was akin to making bricks for building houses at home, not a full-scale factory.

With the brigade’s name backing them, there would be no oversight from higher authorities, ensuring a secure venture.

He assured them, “Rest assured, with the brigade’s support, there will be no issues.”

As they left the brigade office, dusk was setting in, and the commune members were returning from their work.

Cheng Rushan took Jiang Lin for a walk along the riverbank, reassuring her not to worry about Wen Sheng or fear Cheng Fujun. “I’ll head to the county in a couple of days to formally bring up the past events. Cheng Fujun’s luck kept him from punishment back then, but times have changed. He might not be so fortunate now.”

He never relied on luck; if he wanted something done, he would see it through.

Jiang Lin replied, “It’s necessary to bring it up again, so he doesn’t keep portraying himself as a steadfast proletarian revolutionary.”

With him back, her tense nerves relaxed as they strolled along the riverbank, chatting and laughing.

The moon hadn’t yet risen, and a few bright stars scattered gently in the western sky.

Cheng Rushan stopped and held her hand.

“In a few days, I’ll be traveling again. Would you like me to accompany you back home? Bring Da Bao and Xiao Bao to visit their grandparents.”

Implicitly, he was also suggesting meeting his in-laws; he didn’t want to go abruptly, so naturally, he needed Jiang Lin’s consent.

Jiang Lin hesitated.

She had written to them before, but received no reply.

What did it mean? If they had any objections to her, wouldn’t returning home make her uncomfortable?

So, it might be better to write another letter to inquire about the situation.

She didn’t want Cheng Rushan and the children to face unjust treatment.

Her hesitation dimmed Cheng Rushan’s eyes.

It seemed she wasn’t keen on taking him and the children back to meet her parents.

“Well, we can wait a while then. Anyway, I’ll have to go to the provincial capital,” he said softly, without a trace of the sternness he might show to others.

After a moment of indecision, Jiang Lin said, “I think it’s best if we bring Wen Sheng with us. We can find a major hospital to have him checked out. I want to write a letter to my parents beforehand, and we can make arrangements once we receive their reply. It wouldn’t hurt to wait another half or a full month.”

Hearing her words, Cheng Rushan felt the slight heaviness in his heart dissipate with the breeze.

His hand moved up her wrist, gripping her shoulder, and with the other hand, he lifted her chin, leaning down to kiss her.

Jiang Lin didn’t refuse him; she was just kissed until her legs felt weak, instinctively lifting her hand to hook around his neck.

Her gesture was an invitation, making him more involved, his big hand holding the back of her head, kissing her deeply.

The night wind swept over the water, brushing their clothes.

The ambiguous atmosphere quieted down.

As the moon climbed up, the water surface shimmered brightly, and grasshoppers began chirping.

After a while, he released her, straightened her clothes for her, and in a low, slightly hoarse voice with a smile, he said, “Let’s go home for dinner.”

Jiang Lin blushed again. “Let’s go quickly.” As she took a step, she stumbled.

Cheng Rushan quickly held her, lifted her up, and laughed as he helped her, “The lighting here isn’t good.”

He carried her back to the village. Although the moon was up, it was too dark to see faces three steps away.

He didn’t put her down and continued carrying her home.

Jiang Lin buried her face in his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling amazed.

A kiss could make one’s legs weak and mind confused. She had never felt like this before.

Was it because of his skillfulness or some inexplicable reason?

When she heard the door click, she immediately snapped out of it.

He actually still wanted to carry her home! She quickly signaled Cheng Rushan to put her down.

Cheng Rushan chuckled, “Why worry about going home?”

“Put me down quickly. Don’t let them see us,” Jiang Lin urged desperately.

In the end, Cheng Rushan didn’t insist.

He set her down by the shadow wall, and voices from the courtyard came from Wensheng and Dabao and Xiaobao.

“Why haven’t Dad and Mom come back yet? Go check at the door,” Wensheng said, holding a lantern, followed closely by Dabao and Xiaobao, clattering out.

“Here they come!” Jiang Lin hurriedly called out, quickly walking into the light.

Dabao: “Big brother was scared that Mom was taken away by bad people and had to come out to see.”

Xiaobao: “Big brother, we said we wouldn’t be afraid as long as we have Dad.”

Wensheng scratched his head.

Who was it that said they should come out to find Mom and Dad?

Cheng Rushan stepped forward, embracing Wensheng’s shoulders and rubbing his neck. “What happened in the past will never happen again. Don’t be afraid.”

Wensheng looked back at him and smiled. “Dad, what are you talking about?”

Cheng Rushan replied, “It’s okay if you don’t understand. Just remember, no one will dare to take your mom away again.”

Wensheng laughed happily. “Dad, you’re so amazing!”

Cheng Rushan patted his back. “Let’s go eat.”

In the evening, Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi discussed making steamed rice, as there was no local rice production, and they hadn’t made it before.

They washed the rice and added water in an enamel basin, stewing it like stew sauce.

They also made fried eggplant balls stuffed with pork and chives, and stewed a pot of preserved meat, dried bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage, and vermicelli.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival at the commune, a pig was slaughtered.

Cheng Yunzhi went to get half a kilogram of meat, with another two kilograms remaining for the month.

They planned to get another kilogram for Dabao and Xiaobao’s birthday to make dumplings.

Yan Runzhi served a large bowl of rice for Jiang Lin first.

Cheng Yunzhi refused, “I don’t think this will fill me up.”

Having eaten on the farm, he always thought that steamed bread was more satisfying.

Yan Runzhi smiled and said, “If you’re not full, you can eat steamed bread. No one will stop you.” She divided half of it into bowls.

Dabao: “Wow, it’s so sweet.”

Xiaobao: “Is it sweet? I’ll try.”

Wensheng looked at it and then used his hand to grab a few pieces of bread.

Jiang Lin saw that Cheng Rushan really wasn’t eating, so she scooped some into her own bowl.

She also made a few rice balls, stuffed them with meat, and rolled them in sesame seeds, feeding them one by one.

Wensheng exclaimed, “Ah!”

as Jiang Lin fed him one.

Dabao Xiaobao immediately chimed in with “Ah!” asking to be fed too.

Jiang Lin fed her son and then handed one to Cheng Rushan.

The meal was like playing, everyone enjoying themselves without a care.

Cheng Yunzhi said, “Every grain in the bowl is hard-earned. Look, now it really is every grain.”

Whenever he recited Tang poems or classical Chinese phrases to Dabao Xiaobao, the two children, especially Xiaobao, always debated with him.

When talking about the poem “Pity the Farmer,” which says every grain in the bowl is hard-earned, Xiaobao would argue, “But our steamed bread isn’t grain by grain.”

Cheng Yunzhi explained that “grain by grain” referred to the grains of wheat, sorghum, and beans harvested in the fields.

Xiaobao liked to playfully twist things.

Now Cheng Yunzhi used this opportunity to teach them with the white rice.

Xiaobao laughed out loud.

After dinner, Dabao Xiaobao asked their parents to play a multiplayer game with them, like “Eagle Catching Chicks.”

They used to envy others playing without them.

Now with Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, and Big Brother, they had enough people to play.

At first, they made Jiang Lin the mother hen and Cheng Rushan the eagle.

But he quickly caught both chicks, even snatching the mother hen into his nest.

Wensheng, Dabao and Xiaobao jumped up and down happily. “Dad’s the mother hen, and Mom’s the eagle!”

Cheng Yunzhi and Yan Runzhi watched them whirl around for a bit, but their legs couldn’t handle it, so they sat down and enjoyed the scene.

Yan Runzhi leaned against his shoulder, sighing, “This is so nice.”

Cheng Yunzhi gently rubbed her calloused and roughened hands and said with tenderness, “I’ll work hard to spend more time with you for the next two years.”

Yan Runzhi playfully slapped him. “Stop talking nonsense. With such a son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, you’ll easily live to be a hundred.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Lin as the eagle struggled to catch any chicks.

She thought she could easily catch Dabao and Xiaobao, but these two were cunning.

One clung to Cheng Rushan’s thigh, and the other was carried away by Wensheng like a gust of wind.

Jiang Lin, exhausted and sweating, bent over and panting heavily, “Oh, I’m so tired! Can’t catch a single chick! I’m going to starve.”

Xiaobao heard this and let go of Cheng Rushan’s thigh, trotting over to Jiang Lin.

He tilted his head, stared with his big, bright eyes, and grinned, “Then you eat me.”

Jiang Lin chuckled and lifted him up. “You better not regret it. I might just eat you in two bites.” She spun around with Xiaobao in her arms, under the bright moonlight that shone brilliantly, their laughter echoing through the courtyard like silver bells.

“I can’t take it anymore, I’m dizzy,” she quickly stopped and stood still.

Cheng Rushan opened his arms and took Xiaobao down.

Jiang Lin said, “Why am I feeling hungry now? I need to rest a bit. I don’t want to digest too quickly.” A hungry stomach without enough oil and water doesn’t handle hunger well.

Everyone burst into laughter at her antics.

Yan Runzhi said, “There are a few eggplant balls left. Would Baoniang like to eat some?”

Jiang Lin waved her hand. “No, I’ll just move around a bit less.”

Cheng Rushan brought the two boys closer to her and whispered, “I think you should eat.”

Jiang Lin asked, “Why?”

He had already turned away, spinning around a dozen times.

The two boys were so dizzy they couldn’t stand straight.

Cheng Rushan set them down, and they staggered around.

Wensheng came over with a Journey to the West comic book and showed it to Cheng Rushan. “Dad, look at this!”

Cheng Rushan went with him to the doorway of the main room, lit by the lamp, and saw Sun Wukong doing a handstand.

Wensheng was very excited, trying to mimic it, but couldn’t stand up. “Dad, can you do it?”

Dabao and Xiaobao also stumbled over, looking dizzy. “Dad, do one!”

Cheng Rushan chuckled. “Are you all playing monkeys?”

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