Such a luxurious piece, Jiang Lin couldn’t bring herself to wear it.

Yan Runzhi said it was fine and suggested making it into a nightgown, which would be very comfortable to wear.

After lunch, Cheng Rushan arranged for a truck to take the entire family to the Jiang family home, planning to have someone pick them up in the evening.

The Jiang family was now doing well.

Elder Brother Jiang had been working hard and had become an engineer with a high salary.

Second Brother Jiang would take over Xu Aimei’s position next year, and Xu Aimei planned to help them manage the distribution point.

Song Lijuan was about to give birth after the New Year; her belly was huge and frightening.

Xu Aimei had already advised her to rest at home.

They were all pleased to see Jiang Lin and her family.

Previously, conversations were about returning to the countryside or factory benefits, but now they included small businesses and family planning.

Song Lijuan looked shaken and said, “There was a woman in our factory who was forced to have an abortion. Oh my, it scared me a lot. She had two children already, so it wasn’t a big deal to lose one at two months, but she refused to do it. Those people were really unreasonable.”

Jiang Lin frowned and asked, “Sister-in-law, when did this happen?”

Song Lijuan replied, “It was a while ago, but it’s over now. Recently, a new notice was issued that forbids forced abortions and retroactive investigations.” She smiled and said, “This city government is considerate of us ordinary people. They are good officials, unlike before, when people were taken away and criticized for anything.”

She wasn’t highly educated, but as an ordinary citizen, people had a direct sense of the policies.

Jiang Lin was pleased because their suggested changes were taken seriously by the Family Planning Office, which discussed and made a final decision.

The new regulations set clear boundaries for family planning and stopped the retroactive investigations of previous pregnancies.

The emphasis was on strict regulations for those who weren’t pregnant rather than harsh measures for those who already were.

This policy reassured many pregnant women that they wouldn’t be forcibly aborted or threatened with job loss.

Xu Aimei said, “Previously, everyone said the family planning officials were unreasonable and harsh, so we were worried. But now, they seem quite nice, speaking politely and not forcing anyone to do anything.”

She sighed again, “Your second brother is unlucky, though. With the family planning policy, we might only be allowed to have one child.”

Song Lijuan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Mom. The government has been promoting the family planning policy and promising that they will take care of us in old age. As long as we keep working, we’ll receive a pension and government support when we’re old, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Since the policy directly affected women of childbearing age, Jiang Lin and her sister-in-law talked about it more.

While cooking, Cheng Rushan, worried that Jiang Lin might feel uncomfortable, suggested taking her out for a walk.

Jiang Xinglei said, “Let’s go see a movie. It’s on me.”

He had received a share of the year-end bonus from the sales points and, as Xu Aimei put it, he was the type who spent two dollars if he had one.

If he had two dollars and didn’t spend them, it would be painful!

Jiang Lin replied, “What movie? It’s almost time for dinner.”

Besides, the noise wasn’t good for the baby, so she didn’t want to go.

They decided to take a stroll outside to enjoy the fresh air and head home for dinner later.

---

The next day after leaving the Jiang family, Cheng Rushan took his family back to Shuihuai Village for the New Year.

Shuihuai Village had changed a lot. Looking from the south end of the village, most of the houses were now brick and tile structures, with very few mud and straw huts remaining.

The village had also improved in greenery, with young trees planted along the roads. Poplar trees grew quickly, becoming as thick as a child’s arm in just two years.

There were also willow, locust, and phoenix trees.

The entire village was surrounded by green trees, though it was winter, and all the leaves had fallen, leaving everything bare.

However, the sky was clear and the air was very fresh.

Jiang Lin and her family were warmly welcomed back by the village, with everyone saying that during the Lunar New Year, they would have stilt walkers and a theater stage, making sure the celebrations were lively and festive.

Cheng Fujun and Cheng Fulian were extremely happy.

Their achievements were among the top in the entire county.

In some brigades, people still struggled to get enough food and became poverty-stricken villages, unable to pay their grain taxes and relying on government aid.

But in their village, not only were the grain taxes paid early and well, but the villagers also enjoyed abundance.

As long as they didn’t slack off and worked hard, every household had enough to eat and wear.

The educated youth who hadn’t returned to the city were working as accountants, technicians, designers, etc., in their factory.

By the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, each received a bonus of over a hundred yuan and went home for the New Year.

Their village had several thriving side businesses.

The brick and tile kiln, after expansion, had high efficiency and good quality.

It could employ all the strong laborers in the village and also provide some job opportunities for nearby brigades.

The embroidery workshop collaborated with the brigade’s hand-weaving factory.

The workshop had 30 skilled women and 50 helpers, focusing on embroidery, handmade cloth shoes, cotton underwear, women’s wallets, embroidered items, etc.

These products were sold not only to the commune and county supply and marketing cooperatives but also supplied to Jiang Lin’s distribution point in the provincial capital, generating excellent profits.

In addition to the tractor, the brigade acquired a hand-held cultivator to assist with plowing and planting.

Now, fieldwork didn’t require strong laborers; experienced old farmers managed it efficiently and well.

Young men and women all worked in the brigade’s factory.

They were able to get enough grain and earn good money, leading to widespread satisfaction.

Despite some discordant voices, they were collectively suppressed by the community.

Although Jiang Lin had set up the factory, it was shared by everyone.

Anyone who tried to monopolize or create a similar business to squeeze others out would find it impossible.

Cheng Fujun and Cheng Fulian, though not exceptionally capable, were good at reading the situation and now listened to Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin.

With the support of the smart young people like Shang Zonghui, those who wanted to play tricks had no place to do so.

Everyone welcomed Cheng Yunzhi and the others back home.

Cheng Fujun shouted, “Alright, we can start slaughtering pigs and distributing the meat. We’ll do it for three days straight.”

With the improved conditions in the village, more food, and the allowance for each household to raise pigs, the village had over a hundred pigs, fifty more than before.

When the team decided to slaughter pigs, Shuihuai Village’s production teams brought out fifty pigs for the New Year.

The men took care of the pig slaughtering, while Shang Zonghui and others helped settle Jiang Lin’s family.

Although they had stayed in touch through letters and telegrams for urgent matters, and Cheng Rushan regularly visited to bring goods and radio sets from the city, Shang Zonghui and a few other educated youths had maintained the house well, taking care of the flowers and plants, and even repainted it.

As soon as Cheng Yunzhi and Yan Runzhi walked in, they felt the place was completely refreshed and in great shape, which lifted their spirits.

“We’re really grateful to you all,” Yan Runzhi quickly handed out candies and snacks brought from the city.

Cheng Ruhai also took good care of his wife and children, saying, “Dad, Mom, I’ve taken good care of the idle land and vegetable garden. There’s spinach and leeks in the garden covered with wheat bran and corn stalks. We’ll have them for New Year.”

Yan Runzhi praised them and gave some candies to the children.

While the women tidied up the house, Cheng Rushan accompanied Cheng Yunzhi and took Wen Sheng, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, and others to fill in the ancestral grave and clear weeds, planning to perform the official rites on New Year’s Eve.

After a two-day rest, Jiang Lin went to ask Cheng Yulian and Cheng Fujun about the family planning policy in Yanghong Brigade.

Cheng Yulian laughed and said, “Don’t worry, college student. The women in our brigade are all busy making money and don’t really want to have many children.”

Nowadays, the countryside was covered in slogans painted with lime, such as

“One person sterilized, the whole family is honored,”

“One extra birth, the whole village suffers,”

“Better to lose a thousand than to have one extra birth,”

“Promote one child, control two children, eliminate three,”

and

“No sterilization, no work points”…

Jiang Lin and her group found these slogans absurd and disheartening.

Such simplistic and harsh slogans—who are they trying to scare?

Most villagers are illiterate; even if you paint a thousand slogans, what difference does it make?

As long as the economy improves and people have jobs and income, who will worry about this?

Of course, those who are inherently biased towards having sons and must have a son—there’s nothing to be done about that.

Jiang Lin, having experienced various policy changes in her past life, felt that even with current family planning measures, there was no need to strictly enforce prohibitions on having children.

Those who want to have children will do so regardless of planning policies.

For those who don’t want children, forcing them will only increase the cost and discourage them from having more.

Shuihuai Village was somewhat better, with less exaggerated slogans.

After all, it had just started and hadn’t become as harsh and direct as in the 1980s.

Jiang Lin communicated with Cheng Yulian, suggesting that their approach should be more relaxed and not to create enmity over family planning issues.

Cheng Yulian replied, “Honestly, who wants to manage other people’s childbearing? If there were no directives from above, no pressure to enforce it, people would have as many children as they want. In the past, everyone just had children freely; most families had five or six. We didn’t interfere.”

Jiang Lin informed her about the family planning regulations in the provincial capital, so they would have a clear understanding and avoid confusion from below.

Cheng Yulian said, “Don’t worry, we’ll follow the family planning office closely. I’ll also go to the commune and offer some suggestions when I have time.”

To be honest, now that they were making money in the factory, Cheng Yulian was no longer enthusiastic about being the women’s director.

Especially with the current family planning measures, which involved constant meetings, loudspeaker announcements, and strict requirements for the women’s director to meet targets, with rewards for meeting quotas like sterilizations and abortions.

It was similar to the movements from a few years ago, and Cheng Yulian wasn’t interested in it at all.

Cheng Fujun and Cheng Falian enjoyed the benefits of their roles as deputy heads of the brigade.

Due to their good performance, the villagers kept re-electing them, and even if some people were jealous and wanted to replace them, they couldn’t.

So, they were happy to listen to Jiang Lin’s suggestions.

As a top student from the county and someone respected by the county committee, they treated her like a star.

They agreed to change the brigade’s slogans to match Shuihuai Village’s unique features: “Fewer children, more trees,” “Fewer children, more pigs,” “Fewer children, more bricks,” and so on.

During the days of slaughtering pigs and distributing meat, the brigade accountant led two propagandists to paint these new slogans.

Wensheng took Da Bao and Xiao Bao to watch the pig slaughtering and the painting of slogans.

Standing by the wall, Wensheng read aloud: “Fewer children, more pigs.”

Da Bao commented, “It sounds so awkward.”

Xiao Bao added, “Does this mean my brother Baosheng is worse than pigs? I’m really angry! I’m going to cause some trouble!”

He told Wensheng and Da Bao, “Let’s do something tonight. Are you up for it?”

Da Bao responded, “What’s there to be afraid of? But it’s childish and pointless.”

No one said Baosheng was worse than pigs, so why get so worked up?

Xiao Bao was still upset.

He decided to include this in his story, with Baosheng as the main character instead of Dongsheng and Linlin.

In his story, there was a Pig Kingdom where pigs said human children were inferior.

They captured all the children.

Baosheng was one of the captured kids.

Smart, brave, and clever, Baosheng overcame many challenges and defeated the pig kings to rescue all the children.

The story focused on how Baosheng repeatedly overcame difficulties and defeated the pig army.