"Coming back to have a little nephew with her? What kind of talk is that?"
Yan Xue instinctively glanced at Qi Fang, and sure enough, the man was looking down at her, his gaze deepening.
This made Yan Xue quickly lower her voice to explain, "That’s not something I said."
Qi Fang remained silent, his almond-shaped eyes giving her a lingering look. When he heard the door to the main room open, he turned to greet Yan Jigang.
The little boy was wearing a rabbit fur hat made by the Second Old Lady. His rosy cheeks were flushed from the cold. As soon as he entered, his brother-in-law lifted him up.
He immediately burst into laughter. "Sis, brother-in-law, you're really back!" His big eyes curved into crescents, full of pure joy.
Only then did the Second Old Lady stroll in from outside. "Little Qi, now that you’re back, you’re not leaving again, right?"
"Mm." Qi Fang put Yan Jigang down and patted his head. "Things are settled over there."
Yan Jigang’s eyes brightened even more at this. He dashed back to his room, fetched two test papers from the drawer, and showed them to Qi Fang.
Yan Xue smiled as soon as she saw them. "These are the final exam papers. Jigang got first place."
Yan Jigang looked a little shy but still gazed at Qi Fang with bright eyes. "I didn’t get a perfect score… I made a mistake on one Chinese character."
"Not bad." Qi Fang carefully examined the papers. "You’ll be a good example for your little nephew someday."
Sure enough, the man remembered again. Yan Xue wanted to pinch him, but since he was on her left and she wasn’t in a good position, she let it go.
Yan Jigang was even happier to hear that. After Qi Fang returned the papers, he happily put them back into the drawer.
Qi Fang’s return brought more than just an extra person into the house—it felt like a burst of warmth and liveliness. That evening, the Second Old Lady even cooked two extra dishes.
Qi Fang graciously ate everything. After the meal, he half-closed his almond eyes, listening to their conversation, clearly feeling quite full.
The Second Old Lady guessed that since he had just come back today, the couple had a lot to catch up on. She didn’t let Yan Jigang interrupt and soon sent the young couple back to their room.
Only then did Qi Fang close the door, cup Yan Xue’s face in his hands, and continue the kiss they had left unfinished earlier.
After the kiss, he was reluctant to let go. Holding her close, he asked about her shoulder, "How did you hurt it?"
"I pulled it accidentally. It’s almost healed." The brace was off now, but Yan Xue didn’t mention it to avoid worrying him.
She asked about his work at the county machinery factory. "Weren’t they trying to keep you from leaving? How come you’re back?"
"Secretary Qu wanted someone. Even if they didn’t want to let me go, they had to." Qi Fang held her against the writing desk and briefly explained the situation.
Yan Xue guessed he really wanted to leave and that Wu Xingde probably couldn’t hold him back. "So, are you going to work on bulldozers and excavators next?"
"Mm, it depends on their procurement schedule." Since he was already back, Qi Fang wasn’t in a hurry. "Besides, there’s also Director Liu in town."
Yan Xue also thought of the brake that Qu Mingli’s machine had broken. Some things were clearly done by someone, but there was no way to do anything about it.
Compared to gentlemen, scoundrels always acted more recklessly. At least if Qu Mingli were in charge, no one would dare tamper with someone else’s brakes.
But Qu Mingli wasn’t someone you could just call and get Qi Fang back like that. He wasn’t some soft target to be easily squeezed, and Director Liu had better be careful not to leave any weaknesses for him to exploit.
Thinking of this, Yan Xue remembered something and said to the man, “Miss Yan sent me a letter.”
Qi Fang frowned immediately. “Why is she writing to you?”
“She didn’t say anything bad,” Yan Xue quickly defended Miss Yan before continuing, “She just told me she’s been sent down to the countryside.”
It was truly unexpected that Miss Yan would choose to go down to the countryside in the end.
After all, she didn’t seem like someone who had ever endured hardship. The first time she saw where they lived, she even asked Qi Fang, “You live here?”
But after wandering around outside and returning to Yanjing, she had indeed broken up with Wu Xingde and, despite her family’s opposition, chosen to go down to the countryside.
“She’s been there for a few months now. She only wrote recently because the autumn harvest is over and there’s not much work left.”
Although the letter complained about how poor the conditions were and how hard the work was, she had also sent Yan Xue a small wheat ear, saying she picked it up from the field she had worked on.
And it seemed like she had found something to do—she no longer looked as panicked as she did at first. Still, she had quite a few complaints about Qi Fang, and asked if he had been bullying Yan Xue.
“I guess Wu Xingde’s desperation might be related to his engagement with the Yan family falling apart. Without a powerful in-law backing him up, he’s lost his leverage.”
People with strong backgrounds often have more room for error than those with no roots. If Wu Xingde and Miss Yan had married, the Yan family wouldn’t just abandon him because of one failure.
Qi Fang gave a grunt but didn’t comment on Wu Xingde. Instead, he said to Miss Yan, “At least she’s finally grown a little sense.”
Miss Yan really had a lifetime of bad luck. That phrase “bring her back” probably wouldn’t be forgiven by him.
But now that the Yan family’s marriage plan had fallen through and the hydraulic system had a glitch, it would be difficult for Wu Xingde to find such a powerful in-law again.
Unless he could solve the problem with his own abilities instead of always trying to take shortcuts by relying on others.
Qi Fang didn’t want to talk much about those two. After a few words, he pulled out a thick wad of cash from his shirt pocket and handed it to Yan Xue. “This is your paycheck.”
Yan Xue immediately felt something was off just by the thickness. Counting it, she found there were more than 180 yuan.
Considering the man had only been seconded for two months, and although his salary had increased by one grade plus subsidies, it shouldn’t have been this much.
Yan Xue raised an eyebrow. “I told you to cut back on overtime. How many hours are you really working each day?”
Her reaction made the man hesitate. “Not that many.” Mainly because he realized later that no matter how much overtime he did, they didn’t want him to leave.
Yan Xue didn’t buy it. She wasn’t bad at math. Lowering her head to think it over, she said, “At least three hours every day, right?”
Qi Fang had no answer. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “I’m fine physically. If you don’t believe me, you can get me checked.”
Not knowing how to explain, he was just trying to change the subject—maybe even flirting a little?
Yan Xue wasn’t falling for his act. She took the money but sent the man back, saying, “Let me check if you’ve lost any weight first.”
As it turned out, he hadn’t slimmed down much at all; the abs that should be there were still intact. So the next day, Yan Xue naturally slept in.
Luckily, everyone knew Qi Fang had just returned yesterday, so no one came to wake them up.
But sleeping late for several days in a row was a different story. Yan Xue opened her eyes to find it was already past seven o’clock. She lifted her leg, ready to kick someone, but then felt something around her ankle.
She reached down to touch it, then sat up to take a closer look. It was a delicate anklet made of snowflakes of various sizes.
The snowflakes seemed to be crafted from some kind of metal, polished until they shone brightly. Each snowflake bore a unique pattern, and when they clinked together, they made a crisp, clear tinkling sound.
Yan Xue’s little spark of anger quickly faded. She turned to the man and asked, “When did you put this on me?”
“Last night, after you fell asleep.” He came over and gently flicked the dangling snowflakes. “Isn’t today your birthday?”
So it was a birthday gift?
Yan Xue looked down and gave the anklet a little shake, feeling her remaining irritation slip away.
In these times, there were no ready-made pieces of jewelry to buy. Crafting something like this must have taken quite a bit of effort.
And it was genuinely beautiful. Yan Xue tucked the chain inside her clothes, making it a little secret between the two of them.
Yan Xue’s birthday fell in the twelfth lunar month. Once her birthday passed, there would be less than twenty days until the New Year.
Last year, they had hurriedly gotten married and rushed through the New Year preparations. This year, things would be different.
From the start of the twelfth lunar month, the forest farm’s store began stocking New Year goods. The Second Old Lady, with money in hand, would often go over to take a look.
One day she’d bring home a pile of fish, the next a chicken, and soon there were even cans of braised pork. She quickly tucked a couple away for her little grandson.
After the shopping spree, she’d start to worry, “Did we buy too much? This must have cost a fortune.”
Yan Xue watched her and laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of assets on your granddaughter’s husband’s side.”
That immediately reminded the Second Old Lady of her own old trunk. She couldn’t help but pat Yan Xue’s shoulder.
It didn’t hurt, so Yan Xue smiled and accepted the gesture. Then she took the freshly bought red paper and cut it to fit the doors, planning to find someone to write couplets and the character for fortune.
Qi Fang saw this but remained silent for a moment. Then he looked up at her and asked, “Is there still a brush and ink at home?”
Yan Xue understood what he meant and was a bit surprised. “You want to write them yourself?”
Qi Fang didn’t deny it. Seeing there were no brushes or ink at home, he went straight to the store to buy some.
Once back, he wrote everything in one go. His calligraphy was truly impressive—completely on par with any expert.
Even the illiterate Second Old Lady thought it looked beautiful. Yan Jigang was even more amazed, practically starstruck. “Brother-in-law, you’re amazing!”
“If you’re interested, I can teach you sometime,” Qi Fang said casually, then lowered his gaze, staring thoughtfully at the characters.
When the ink dried, Yan Xue came over to collect the papers and couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Did you learn from a teacher?”
“Not really,” Qi Fang shook his head. “I learned from my grandfather when I was a kid.”
“That means your grandfather was quite skilled.” Yan Xue couldn’t help but take another look at the calligraphy.
Qi Fang saw that she was interested and gave a soft “hmm.” “My two uncles had better handwriting, but unfortunately, they both joined the revolution and sacrificed their lives.”
No wonder the last stretch of life was spent with the young boy accompanying his grandfather.
The topic grew a bit heavy, so Yan Xue let out a gentle sigh. “If only I had met you earlier, I could have admired Grandpa’s original calligraphy.”
Without hesitation, Qi Fang said, “Then I’ll go and break off the engagement with her.”
So, is Miss Yan going to use the whole ‘breaking off the engagement’ script to turn the tables on both of us?
Yan Xue couldn’t help but laugh. “We were so young back then. I was even two years younger than you.”
“Two years younger is perfect—no need to wait,” Qi Fang said as he took the brush and the ink dish to wash them.
Yan Xue thought for a moment before realizing what he meant: being two years younger meant they would both reach the legal marriage age in the same year and could go register their marriage together.
That was quite a subtle way to put it. She glanced at him again. “Since you can write, why didn’t you do it yourself last year?”
Last year and this year were different. Last year, he hadn’t even considered leaving the logging team to pick up his old craft again…
Qi Fang simply put away the cleaned brush and ink, then reminded Yan Xue, “Don’t let Liu Weiguo know, or someone might come looking for me to write for them.”
Yan Xue trusted Liu Weiguo’s promotional skills and smiled, nodding. “The logging team should be coming down from the mountain soon.”
But before the logging team even descended, something else happened at the forest farm. Yu Yongzhi, who had been detained for three months, was finally sentenced—to five years.
The township-level authorities lacked the capacity to handle criminal cases like this. Once the incident occurred, it was immediately reported to the provincial level for judgment.
Although the Yu family still held some influence in the county, at the provincial level, they had little leverage. Recently, they had been scrambling to raise money and grease palms.
In those days, once sentenced, not only would a public trial be held in the township, but the convicted would be paraded through the streets in a vehicle, wearing a large placard. After two rounds of public humiliation, they’d be put on a train and sent to a labor camp. Sometimes, even without handcuffs, their arms would be tied behind their backs with ropes.
The Yan family wasn’t exactly spotless either, but among the two or three hundred households on the forest farm, there were always people who happened to be in town that day. They witnessed the entire event and quietly shared the details with others afterward.
No one dared speak openly about it, mainly because Director Yu was still in his position, and the Yu family was sensitive about the matter. Nobody wanted to bring trouble on themselves by provoking them.
But unexpectedly, just a few days later, news came from the administration: Director Yu had retired early due to illness.
At first, people didn’t believe it. Director Yu was only fifty-four, with several years before retirement, and didn’t seem to have any health issues.
Though he had been hospitalized for a few days due to stress over Yu Yongzhi’s case, he soon got out and was busy running around on Yu Yongzhi’s behalf.
But the forest farm was small, and some knew the inside story: the higher-ups wanted to investigate Yu Yongzhi’s entry into the security department. Director Yu’s younger brother-in-law heard about it and urged him to retire quickly.
Now that he’s out of the position, some matters will just fade away. It’s better than being caught and having his reputation ruined.
Because of Yu Yongzhi causing trouble this time, even Director Yu’s brother-in-law was affected and simply didn’t have the ability to manage Director Yu anymore.
With Director Yu stepping back, he immediately felt what it meant to be abandoned and forgotten. Before, people would greet him with “Director Yu,” but now they just called him “Old Yu” outright.
Yu Yongzhi used to rely on his family background to stir up trouble, and Yu Cuiyun wasn’t known for having a good temper either. It wasn’t long before Li Shuwu’s wife ended up having a quarrel with Yu Cuiyun.
Li Shuwu’s wife was notorious for her sharp tongue—she never missed a chance to say something harsh, especially about prisoners, calling them “long-term labor camp inmates” without hesitation.
So what started as insults exchanged in public escalated into outright fights. Although Li Shuwu’s wife couldn’t beat Jin Baozhi, who was more capable than many men, she could hold her own and even go toe-to-toe with Yu Cuiyun.
After their scuffle, both women were disheveled, but Li Shuwu’s wife didn’t hold back her threats. “If you’ve got the guts, go find your uncle. Let’s see if I dare report him to the county for abusing his power!”
In the past, Yu Cuiyun wouldn’t have been afraid of such words, but now…
Anyway, Yu Cuiyun went home and was so upset she fell ill, staying indoors for several days.
Li Shuwu’s wife strutted around like a victorious rooster. “Her dad’s not the director anymore, and she’s still acting all high and mighty? She should know that without her dad, she’s nothing!”
Yan Xue only learned about all this later because she had been busy with a new round of mushroom cultivation.
In the newly built cultivation room, she had installed four rows of racks—two against the walls and two placed closely in the middle. Each row had a thermometer attached on top.
Test tubes containing mother culture medium were placed on the two middle racks, and now transparent mycelium had already covered half of them.
Yan Xue washed her hands as soon as she entered, then put on the white lab coat she had asked someone to buy for her, trying her best to create a sterile environment for the cultures and prevent contamination by foreign bacteria.
Guo Chang'an was already there, inspecting each test tube for contamination and taking notes.
When Yan Xue came in, he handed her the notebook. “Compared to last year, it seems like fewer cultures failed.”
“Yes, fewer—more than half fewer,” Yan Xue said as she took the notebook and flipped through it. “If we disinfected better, we could reduce failures even more.”
The current conditions were still too limited, especially for their small family-style workshop. Having a cultivation room with better temperature control was already quite good.
After reviewing the notes, Yan Xue hung the notebook back on the rack and turned to check the test tubes on another rack.
“The mycelium on this side seems to be growing slower than over there,” Guo Chang’an observed, glancing at the thermometers attached to the racks. “Both sides have the same temperature, though.”
Yan Xue had noticed the same. While she knew a bit about wood ear mushroom cultivation and had visited other farms, she wasn’t a professional, so her understanding was limited.
When it came to extracting spores for cultivation, she had prepared two types: one from their own farm-grown mushrooms and another from wild mushrooms collected in the mountains.
She wanted to see whether the wild spores or the second-generation cultivated spores would be better suited for growing.
It was clear that the wild mushroom mycelium grew much slower than the second-generation strain. Yan Xue adjusted her posture slightly and said, “Let’s plant the two strains separately on each side.”
“So, you want to see which side grows faster and yields more?” Guo Chang’an immediately caught on.
Even without prior experience or knowledge, seeing Yan Xue cultivate the two strains separately gave him some insight.
This was exactly why Yan Xue felt she hadn’t chosen the wrong person to help her. Guo Chang’an was indeed capable, and among people in this era who generally hadn’t had much schooling, he was considered quick-witted.
“When we plant crops in the fields, don’t we have to pick good seeds?” she smiled. “If you choose bad seeds, your harvest will suffer.”
Guo Chang’an understood this right away and applied the logic, “So if you keep cultivating the mushroom strains for several generations, will they also degrade like crop seeds?”
“That depends on the results of experiments over the next few years. This is my first time growing them,” Yan Xue replied.
She noted the growth differences on both sides in her record book, then took off her white coat and stepped outside. “The day after tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. You don’t need to come these next few days. Come back on the eighth day of the lunar year.”
Guo Chang’an hobbled out with his crutch and replied with a “Mm.” Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Someone’s been asking about you.”
Asking about her? What about her?
Yan Xue immediately realized, “Someone’s been asking you about how I grow the wood ear mushrooms?”
That wasn’t surprising. Even if they hadn’t seen her selling them, the sheer amount of mushrooms drying at her place was enough to make people curious.
Sure enough, Guo Chang’an nodded. “Wang Lianfu slipped me a pack of cigarettes and asked if your mushrooms were self-grown, and how you did it. Zhang Laile from the factory also casually asked me a few questions, but when I said I didn’t know, he didn’t press further.”
Wang Lianfu was the son of Old Man Wang. It was clear that even after Old Man Wang got chased away by the dogs, he hadn’t given up.
Yan Xue knew Guo Chang’an wouldn’t spill any secrets. Since she made the mother culture medium herself, he couldn’t reveal that either, so she didn’t press him for more details.
But Guo Chang’an’s voice grew serious. “Also, Li Shuwu’s wife came to ask my mother.”
That was downright shameless. Guo Chang’an’s current state was largely thanks to Li Shuwu.
Aunt Guo, no matter how patient, must have been driven crazy by Li Shuwu’s wife. Even chasing her out with a broomstick would have been mild.
Of course, Guo Chang’an wasn’t telling Yan Xue this to complain. “Anyway, just be careful. The forest farm is small, and there will always be people jealous of anyone doing better than them.”
Yan Xue believed this. The smaller and poorer the place, the more they couldn’t stand to see someone like themselves suddenly doing better.
It was one thing to be curious and want to learn; it was another to want to stop others from making money if they couldn’t themselves. In her previous life, she’d seen someone take over a fish pond no one wanted to manage. They made three hundred thousand yuan the first year, and the next year someone poisoned the pond.
She sincerely thanked Guo Chang’an, asked him to send her and Aunt Guo their early New Year’s greetings, and then saw him out of the courtyard.
Back inside, she moved a doghouse to the backyard and locked the cultivation room. No matter who wanted to get in, they’d have to get the key from her or the Second Old Lady first.
Amidst the continuous crackle of firecrackers, Yan Xue welcomed her second New Year at the forest farm, together with Qi Fang, the Second Old Lady, and Yan Jigang.
The house had grown bigger, the family had more members, and the semiconductor radio on the table was still playing broadcasts, making the atmosphere several times livelier than last year.
At night, Qi Fang set off firecrackers while Yan Jigang stood in the yard watching. Yan Xue and the Second Old Lady stood inside the main room, listening.
When the dumplings were served, Qi Fang bit into a jujube first, but Yan Xue was the lucky one to find the coin in her first bite, prompting the Second Old Lady to declare that she would surely have money in the coming year.
On the morning of the first day, as soon as she got up, Liu Weibin was already waiting for Yan Jigang, pulling him from house to house to pay New Year’s greetings.
Yan Xue hurriedly finished her breakfast as well. People from the Liu family, the Guo family, even Lang Yue’e’s household, and neighbors from nearby all came to offer their greetings.
It was only after traveling to this place that she truly understood what it meant to have a New Year bustling with activity. In her previous life, it was never this lively—at most, relatives and friends would visit each other briefly.
The festive energy lingered until the eighth day of the lunar new year, when the logging team finally returned to the mountain. But those who had just resumed work clearly hadn’t yet regained their usual rhythm.
When Yan Xue entered the office, everyone was sitting on the fire wall, cracking sunflower seeds. Seeing her, they even passed her a handful.
“Do I get a share too?” Yan Xue smiled, accepting the gesture without hesitation.
Immediately, someone made room for her on the fire wall. “You deserve it the most. If it weren’t for your Qi Fang, our foreman, building this fire wall, this year wouldn’t have been so easy.”
Mentioning the fire wall brought back memories of Director Yu, who once forbade them from lying down, yet secretly did so himself on the fire wall.
Now that he was no longer the director, the group spoke freely without restraint, even dredging up a lot of old, trivial stories.
Yan Xue quietly munched on her seeds, listening without saying much. When the chatter died down, she finally brought up her reason for coming.
“I’m here to say hello. About the firewood each household is supposed to get this year—could I still have some tree stumps allocated to me?”
Though the New Year had just passed and the families hadn’t yet gone up the mountain to clear the forest, so firewood distribution was still some time away, Yan Xue liked to get things done ahead of time.
After she finished speaking, everyone looked toward a man in his thirties sitting to the side.
“Ge Erzhu is looking for you.”
Ge Erzhu was clearly taken aback and asked Yan Xue, “Your family still wants tree stumps this year?”
His reaction seemed odd, so Yan Xue nodded. “Why? Can’t they be allocated anymore this year?”
“It’s not that they can’t,” Ge Erzhu said, “but besides being used as padding for stacking logs, they’re not much good for anything else. Also, several families have already talked to the farm about this, and the tree stumps have all been assigned.”
Qi Fang: If we had known each other as kids, I’d have immediately called off the engagement and taken my wife away—then none of this Qi Fang nonsense would have happened.
