"Near the university town, if they don’t stay in the dorms, they can live at home. We have a house there—just needs a bit of tidying up."
As soon as Yang Yufen heard this, she immediately remembered their family property.
Professor Wen was momentarily taken aback; she had completely forgotten about it.
"If that’s the case, Zhenghao can transfer to a school there too, and the kids won’t have to be separated."
Though the dorm arrangements were spacious, nothing could compare to the comfort of home. She had helped purchase those houses and knew exactly where they were. The commute wouldn’t be troublesome, and the children could just go to school with her.
"This way, the computer can also be brought along, so it won’t hinder the child’s self-study."
Professor Wen thought it would be a shame to leave the computer unused at home. This arrangement solved everything at once.
As for Little Baby Zhengran, Zhou Ang, his mother, had other plans. Besides, the age gap between the two brothers was too wide for them to attend the same school, so Professor Wen didn’t need to worry about that.
When Aunt Wang returned in the evening and saw Yang Yufen back, she was delighted.
"My, so much seafood!"
"It was incredibly cheap there, so I bought extra. How’s the orchard coming along?"
"The greenhouses are nearly all set up. We’re testing some cold-resistant vegetable seeds this year. We’ll plow the land and sow the seedlings in the next couple of days."
"I won’t be able to help at the orchard for a few more days. I’m sorry to leave you with all the work."
Yang Yufen felt quite guilty.
"The orchard is a joint effort—no need to apologize. But you just got back and haven’t even rested much. What else are you busy with?"
Aunt Wang was curious.
"The kids are changing schools. I need to prepare their new living space."
"Li Wen is transferring? Didn’t he just compete in that exam and do quite well?"
"Exactly because he did well—just like Li Wu. But this way, he won’t have to travel so far. It’s near the university town. We thought he might not adjust well to dorm life, and luckily, we have a house there that’s not too far."
The only catch was that the orchard was quite a distance from the university town, while the family home was right in the middle.
The small courtyard Fan Juan had previously rented had been vacated due to their busy schedules, and no new tenant had moved in yet. The previous tenant had left it spotless, but after three months of disuse, it had gathered a thick layer of dust.
With the children pitching in, they cleaned it up in a day. Yang Yufen made several trips hauling things on her tricycle, while Professor Wen handled the paperwork for the kids. Yang Yufen even managed to prepare meals in between.
"You really don’t have to rush. The kids can stay in the dorms for now."
Professor Wen, seeing how exhausted Yang Yufen was from running around, tried to persuade her.
"I’ve been away from the orchard for days now, and I’m anxious to get back. Better to finish this sooner. Let’s see if anything’s missing—it’s still early enough to sort it out today."
"Nothing’s missing. We’ve practically moved the whole house over already."
Professor Wen quickly stopped Yang Yufen, worried she’d wear herself out.
"Grandma, don’t worry. When school’s out, I’ll come back with Grandma Wen to visit. Please don’t overwork yourself."
Li Wen’s reassurance melted away Yang Yufen’s fatigue instantly.
"Good, good. I’ll come pick you up then. Study hard with Grandma Wen."
When Yang Yufen left, she didn’t dare look back. The older she got, the softer her heart had become.
The next day, Yang Yufen rose early as usual, without a day’s rest. She locked the house, took Aunt Wang with her, and headed straight for the orchard.
"The greenhouses are big. We’ve picked eight types of vegetables to plant. The cabbage and radishes in the open fields are already growing and should be ready before winter. We’ll see if these can thrive like the ones outside."
Yang Yufen inspected the selection: besides cabbage and radishes, there was spinach, cilantro, scallions, rapeseed, crown daisy, and chives.
The chives had been transplanted as roots and were already planted. It was quite a variety.
"Once these are sown, we’ll sell a batch of white-feathered chickens by year-end, then pause for two months to disinfect the coop. We’ll also settle this year’s accounts for the chicken sales."
"Sounds good. Let’s keep some for New Year’s bonuses—one chicken per person, how’s that?"
Yang Yufen discussed it with Aunt Wang.
"Fine. The hens don’t lay much in the cold anyway, so we’ll just meet the supply demand."
"Then we’ll skip the eggs. If we have extra fish by year-end, we’ll sell some. If not, we’ll use them ourselves."
"Speaking of fish, there’s something I wanted to discuss. Director Zhou brought someone over the other day. They’re researching fish farming and want to rent our pond. Ours is big enough for their needs."
"How would the rental work?"
Yang Yufen hadn’t expected someone to sublease from them when they were tenants themselves.
"The pond’s large, so we’ll divide it into four sections. We’ll keep one for irrigation in case of drought. The rest will be leased at 300 yuan per year for three years. They’re studying fast-growing, low-bone, high-meat fish. If it works out, we might raise some ourselves later."
"That’s not bad."
Yang Yufen nodded in agreement.
"Once we drain the pond and harvest the lotus roots this year, they’ll start using it."
Truthfully, the surrounding land belonged to the Agricultural Institute, but since they already had a ready-made pond, Director Zhou had seized the opportunity to ask.
Once Yang Yufen agreed, Director Zhou moved swiftly. A three-year contract was signed—fish farming required time, after all.
It rained for three straight days, forcing everyone to bundle up in thick winter coats.
Li Wu called home and, upon hearing they were already wearing heavy jackets, felt quite content training where he was—still in short sleeves and diving into water daily. It was fun.
Yang Yufen was relieved to hear her eldest grandson was doing well.
"Don’t just train—study properly too."
Li Wen suddenly chimed in.
"How can you say that? We’re so far apart, haven’t seen each other in ages, and instead of missing me, you’re nagging me about studying?!"
Li Wu couldn’t believe his own brother would say such a thing.
"I’m in the university’s gifted program now. If you don’t study hard, you’ll just be a brute. You say you want to be a great general, but no great general is illiterate."
Li Wen pressed on, while Li Wu glared at the phone, wishing he could reach through the line to throttle his brother.
"I’ll mail you some study materials."
Li Wen ignored Li Wu’s protests. His brother couldn’t be allowed to stay a fool.
Yang Yufen stayed out of it, letting the boys hash it out themselves until the call ended.
"Grandma, I’ve prepared some practice exercises for my brother—just right for his level."
Li Wen wasn’t joking. He’d asked Grandma Wen, and the learning resources there were definitely inferior to those in the capital.
Yang Yufen had no objections. Since joining the gifted program, the boy had matured rapidly. That the brothers cared so much for each other was a good thing.
As the year drew to a close, heavy snow fell all night.
