At the doorstep, Cheng Rushan got out of the car and praised, “Wife, your driving skills are pretty good, very steady.”

Jiang Lin proudly replied, “Of course, I’ve been driving for a long time.”

Wensheng and Da Bao and Xiao Bao ran out, insisting on riding the bicycle.

Cheng Yunzhi was worried they might fall and refused to let them ride.

But Cheng Rushan handed the bicycle to Wensheng, teaching him to straddle it before riding.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao were too short and were jumping up and down in frustration.

Cheng Yunzhi went inside to help prepare dinner, while Cheng Rushan held the bike steady as Wensheng took a lap.

Wensheng was very excited, “Hey, I can do it!”

Cheng Rushan smiled and let go, and Wensheng started wobbling, “Ahhh—”

Cheng Rushan watched as he toppled to the ground.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao ran over, “Clumsy, your legs are so long, just put them on the ground!”

Wensheng felt very wronged, “My legs were stuck, they wouldn’t listen, I couldn’t get them down.” He was so nervous he forgot.

Cheng Rushan walked over and helped him and the bike up, “Try again.”

Wensheng was a bit hurt and didn’t want to continue, pouting with a look like he was about to cry.

Cheng Rushan said, “Try again.”

Wensheng looked at Jiang Lin, who felt sorry for him, “Don’t learn anymore, let’s go home.”

Wensheng then looked at Cheng Rushan.

Cheng Rushan gently said, “Don’t be afraid, try again.”

Wensheng, still feeling aggrieved, got back on the bike.

Cheng Rushan told him, “When you feel like you’re going to fall, remember to put your feet on the ground. Learn to protect yourself.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao cheered him on, enthusiastically giving him instructions from the sidelines.

Wensheng fell three more times, but finally learned how to ride.

Excitedly, he rode the bike up and down the alley, and finally stretched out his long legs to support himself on the ground.

“You’re amazing!” Da Bao and Xiao Bao rushed over, “Take us with you.”

They both tried to climb onto the bike.

Wensheng turned back with a big smile and gave Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan a thumbs-up, “Dad, Mom, am I awesome or what?”

Cheng Rushan put his arm around Jiang Lin’s shoulders and smiled at Wensheng, “Very impressive.”

Jiang Lin said to Da Bao and Xiao Bao, “Look, your big brother is so strong. You should be like him.”

Cheng Rushan commented, “They’re still young.”

Jiang Lin rolled her eyes at him, “You need to be a strict father.”

Cheng Rushan quickly kissed her on the cheek, smiling, and they walked home together.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s wish to have two birthdays in one year finally came true.

Not only did Cheng Rushan come back early, but he also bought them a new toy, a large truck, for them all to play with.

This one-foot-long truck cost five yuan, which made Jiang Lin’s heart ache with its expense, earning Cheng Rushan several eye rolls.

The last toy, a little frog, had been broken by Xiao Bao.

This time, Jiang Lin insisted that the new toy car be placed on the windowsill in their grandmother’s room, so they could look at it more and touch it less.

Before Jiang Lin came home, Cheng Rushan had already talked to the boys, instructing them to listen to their mother and do whatever she said.

Only then would the toy car be theirs.

They agreed to display it properly when their mom was home and take it down to play with only when she wasn’t.

The boys all agreed unanimously.

Yan Runzhi made dumplings stuffed with cabbage, pork, and dried shrimp.

The boys also persuaded their dad to help make a cake.

They hadn’t known about cakes until last month’s birthday, when Jiang Lin mentioned that people eat cake on their birthdays.

They remembered this and kept asking Jiang Lin about cakes, wanting their grandmother to make one since they couldn’t buy one locally.

Jiang Lin casually explained how to make it: whisk the eggs, add sugar, then mix in flour and oil, and bake it.

Yan Runzhi had always been indulgent with the children, trying to make something delicious even when there was little to work with.

Now that the household had grain and eggs, she was even more cooperative.

Unfortunately, when she tried to separate the egg whites and yolks and whisk the egg whites alone, as Jiang Lin instructed, she couldn’t get the right consistency due to insufficient strength and speed.

She asked, “Is this okay, Wensheng’s mother?”

Wensheng, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao looked at her expectantly.

Jiang Lin laughed, “If you do it this way, you’ll get an egg pancake. Let their father whisk it.”

Cheng Rushan was lying on a bench outside the west wing, legs crossed, basking in the sun after drinking.

Hearing this, he squinted and shielded his eyes with his hand to look at them, “Bring it here.”

Wensheng carefully carried the bowl over to him.

Cheng Rushan looked at the copper bowl full of egg whites, clear and watery, and wondered how he was supposed to turn them into fluffy white foam with just two chopsticks.

He tried a couple of experimental strokes.

Jiang Lin teased, “Hurry up, don’t act like you haven’t eaten.” She smirked, “Since you like to indulge them, put in some extra effort.”

Cheng Rushan immediately sat up, placed the copper bowl on his knee, and gave her a sideways glance, whispering, “Hurry up~~”

Jiang Lin pretended not to understand his insinuation, wrinkling her nose at him, “Yes, hurry up. Can you do it or not?”

Cheng Rushan smirked at her, then started whisking clockwise, his hand moving faster and faster.

Jiang Lin exclaimed, “Wow~~” Impressive speed for someone used to being single!

As the egg whites slowly turned into a fluffy mixture, the whole family gathered around, watching in amazement, “How magical!”

Jiang Lin quickly added a pinch of fine salt, which made the mixture fluffier.

She patted Cheng Rushan’s head in encouragement, “Comrade Cheng Rushan, keep going.”

Cheng Rushan gritted his teeth and winked at her, silently promising payback.

Jiang Lin watched in amazement as Cheng Rushan whipped the egg whites into a fluffy consistency, giving him a thumbs-up, “Impressive! Master of hand speed!”

Wensheng, Da Bao, and Xiao Bao echoed, “Impressive!”

Jiang Lin then explained the next steps to Yan Runzhi, letting her experiment on her own. In her past life, Jiang Lin had never successfully made a cake despite following video tutorials.

Now, it was up to the kitchen expert Yan Runzhi to show her skills.

Following Jiang Lin’s instructions, Yan Runzhi mixed the flour with the whipped egg whites, poured the batter into individual tea bowls for steaming, and left some in a small copper pot to bake over a low flame.

Jiang Lin thought it would surely burn, but when Yan Runzhi poked it with chopsticks and declared it done, Cheng Rushan helped remove the copper pot and turned the cake out onto a board.

A sweet, fragrant aroma filled the room.

The children clapped their hands in excitement, “So sweet, so fragrant!”

Jiang Lin noticed the cake had a golden, crispy crust.

Pressing it revealed a soft, fluffy interior.

When torn open, it exposed a sweet, aromatic center.

Yan Runzhi broke the cake into pieces, and while the adults found it to be just eggs and flour, similar to steamed buns, the children were thrilled, finding it both fun and delicious.

It became a memorable treat.

While the children waited for the steamed cakes, Cheng Rushan took Jiang Lin to the brick kiln.

The operations had begun in earnest with proper techniques in place.

Cheng Rushan wasn’t an expert in brick making but provided safety advice while the masters ensured quality.

He tried making brick molds, which was tough work. Only strong laborers could handle it.

The saying “Making bricks is like seeing the king of hell” meant it required immense strength. But a skilled brick maker could produce a thousand bricks a day, earning four cents per brick, totaling about four yuan a day—an impressive income.

Of course, at this early stage, no one can achieve that level of proficiency yet.

The kiln firing speed is also limited; currently, they earn about one piece of money per day.

Comparing it to working ten shifts for four mao, earning one to two pieces extra has made many people envious, and they all want to work at the brick and tile factory.

Especially now that the wheat has been planted, there isn’t much farm work left in the fields, and in another month, they’ll be completely into the slack farming period.

Nowadays, it’s not like before, where winter was spent digging ditches or repairing water channels, so many people want to work at the brick and tile factory.

As for the hiring matters, Jiang Lin doesn’t handle them herself.

She avoids dealing with those tough men and instead leaves it to Cheng Yulian.

Cheng Yulian was once quite tough when she was young in Shuihuai Village, and even now, in her old age, she manages the women’s affairs adeptly, with her own ways of dealing with the men and women.

After inspecting the brick firing, they went to check on the tile-making side.

They were building semi-underground sheds, installing tile-making machines, with Master Zhu leading the team to make tile blanks.

Jiang Lin temporarily hasn’t bought the machine for making cement tiles using cement and sand, as the cost is a bit high.

She wants to wait until there’s output here before discussing making money.

Currently, using clay-fired bricks and tiles, the cost of coal is one fen per jin, and with transportation costs, it’s not too expensive. Clay doesn’t cost much money.

If it were cement and sand, the tile-making machine, molds, and cement all cost money.

Although tile-making is simple, the initial investment is larger.

She doesn’t want to invest too much, after all, she hasn’t planned to keep the brick and tile factory running forever, just to seize an advantage before others rush in.

In a few years, when the policies are fully liberalized, there will likely be brick kiln factories everywhere, and by then, she won’t be involved anymore.

Cheng Rushan went to the tile-making area to get a feel for it.

Finally coming out, washing his feet and putting on his shoes, he looked at the sky and said to Jiang Lin, “Are you staying here?”

Jiang Lin shook her head. “No need. There’s Yulian managing the people, the tile master managing the technology, and Zonghui handling the rest. I’m just running errands.”

Cheng Rushan then took her hand and strolled towards the mountain behind.

The mountain was a soil mountain, not even three hundred meters high at its highest point, with some pine, cypress, and fir trees growing in disorderly fashion, along with more vines, shrubs, and bushes.

Cheng Rushan casually picked some easily identifiable herbs, such as southern snakevine and blood-stopping grass.

He always had to go out, inevitably encountering bumps and bruises along the way.

Besides the spare medicines bought from the hospital, he also picked some commonly used herbs.

Jiang Lin asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s Chinese dragon vine.” He explained to Jiang Lin that it was a very good herb; the vine, leaves, roots, and fruits were all medicinal.

Chinese dragon vine was a panacea, effective for dispelling wind and activating blood circulation, reducing swelling and relieving pain, treating arthritis, snake bites, bruises, and injuries.

Jiang Lin helped him pick some. “I wrote two letters to my parents, but haven’t received a reply yet. How about… when you go again, could you take a look?”

Cheng Rushan nodded. “Okay.”

He was glad she asked for his help.

He straightened up and looked at her. “Or should we go together?”

Jiang Lin thought for a moment. “Alright, that works. It’ll be a good opportunity to take Wensheng for a check-up. I’ll visit my family then. If they treat me well, I’ll bring Cheng Rushan and the kids back with me. If not, I won’t let them suffer.”

Hand in hand, they descended the mountain back home, where Wensheng was carrying Da Bao and Xiao Bao to greet them.

“Mom, Dad, look at me!” Wensheng eagerly sought praise.

Jiang Lin waved to him and said to Cheng Rushan, “Wensheng is doing quite well now. Cheng Fuwan didn’t dare to get close to him.”

Cheng Rushan nodded. “He’s scared to death.”

Jiang Lin chuckled. “Let’s go.”

Wensheng rode his bike carrying Da Bao and Xiao Bao, the three of them becoming a spectacle in Shuihuai Village, causing other children to chase after them.

Entering the village, Cheng Rushan said to Jiang Lin, “I’ll go to the educated youth point.”

Jiang Lin replied, “You go ahead. I’ll go home first.” She was covered in mud and dirt.

Cheng Rushan held her hand and wouldn’t let go, so she had no choice but to follow.

The educated youth were busy preparing firewood for the winter, helping the production team with other side jobs like grinding flour, and so on.

Even during the slack farming period, there was no shortage of odd jobs to be done.

Seeing Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin approach, they all came out, eagerly expressing that Cheng Rushan should help them bring things back next time.

Cheng Rushan said, “I want to tell you all some news.”

“What is it?” They all asked eagerly.

“There are several factories in the provincial capital openly recruiting workers. You can all try to go back.” If they passed the exams, they could return to the city; if not, they could come back again.

“Really?” Sun Qinghui and the others became excited, while some started to cry again.

Ye Jing said, “I, I don’t know how to do anything. How can I take the exam?”

Jin Lei smirked, “You guys were making fun of Yi Yi earlier, but she’s the one with foresight.”

Jiang Lin’s heart stirred. “Did she get insider information from somewhere?”

Ye Jing nodded. “It’s quite possible.”