After staying at the Lin family’s home for half a month, Lin Guozheng finally couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t even care about his daughter’s situation in her in-laws’ household anymore and resolutely kicked the old woman out.
If the old woman had brought Lin Xue’s two children with her, Lin Guozheng wouldn’t have been so furious. But she came with her own daughter and another son’s child—and they ate like there was no tomorrow!
Jiang Hua’s Mother shrieked, “Lin Guozheng, are you bullying me because I don’t have a man? If you dare to throw me out today, I’ll make sure my son divorces Lin Xue as soon as I get back! There are plenty of young maidens lining up to marry my son!”
Lin Guozheng couldn’t be bothered to waste words on her. He simply grabbed the small bundle she had brought and tossed it outside the door.
Fan Shuting was away at school, so Zhou Wei had to step in and curse at the old hag. “You wouldn’t dare! Don’t forget how much of the Lin family’s grain your Jiang family has eaten over the past year. If you dare make them divorce, we’ll go straight to the county town and make such a scene that Jiang Hua loses his job. Let’s see what you’ll have to brag about then!”
Jiang Hua’s job was inherited from his father, so the old woman’s livelihood depended on him—the whole family relied on that job. Jiang Hua’s Mother couldn’t risk her son’s position.
Outmatched by the Lin family, she had no choice but to slink away in defeat.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that once she returned to the county town, she would take out all her grievances on Lin Xue.
When Nan Sheng came home from work and heard about the incident, a faintly mocking smile flickered in her eyes. She thought to herself, Good. This is how it should be. Relying on others is never as reliable as relying on yourself—a lesson she had learned early in life.
With the old woman driven back to the county town, it wasn’t long before Lin Xue returned home with her children. Now, with Lin Xue’s two kids and Third Brother Lin’s daughter all eating at the old couple’s place, Zhou Wei was fuming but bit her tongue, not wanting to make a scene in front of her newlywed daughter-in-law.
As for Nan Sheng, she pretended not to notice. After all, it wasn’t her family’s food being eaten.
A few days later, good news arrived from Xiaoling Village—the grafted plums on the mountain had ripened, and Secretary Ma and the town’s officials were invited to join in the harvest!
Secretary Ma certainly wouldn’t miss such an occasion. He agreed immediately, leaving only two clerks on duty at the town government office.
The village chief explained, “These plums are from wild plum trees that were grafted. They’re three or four times larger than before and much sweeter, though the yield isn’t high—just a few hundred pounds in total.”
Even if they couldn’t sell for much, the villagers were thrilled to see results in the first year. Besides, the pear trees would soon bear fruit, and their yield would be much greater.
The apple trees on the mountain were newly planted saplings and wouldn’t bear fruit for a few more years, so there’d be no apples to taste this year.
Up on the mountain, the villagers gathered, waiting for Secretary Ma to assign tasks. He first praised the villagers for their hard work.
“You’ve all worked hard this year. After harvesting the fruit, set aside fifty pounds for the village to enjoy the taste of your labor. The rest will be sold at the supply and marketing cooperative!”
The villagers cheered in agreement. To save the fruit for sale, they had resisted tasting any—only the village chief had sampled two to check the flavor.
At Secretary Ma’s signal, the villagers grabbed baskets and climbed the trees to pick the plums. Even the town officials joined in the fun.
Everyone’s faces were lit with smiles, filled with hope for a brighter future.
There was no worry about selling Xiaoling Village’s fruit—county supply and marketing cooperatives were eager to take them. Once production increased, they could even expand to the city and collaborate with canning factories.
Secretary Ma took some of the harvested plums, planning to send them to the county government so County Magistrate Yu could arrange for them to be delivered to the city.
This way, higher-ups and experts would know that the people of Huaishan Town remembered their gratitude.
On her way home from work, Nan Sheng pocketed a dozen plums to share with her two children.
When she saw Lin Guozheng and his wife waiting in the house, she knew trouble had come knocking again.
Sizhe, sensing the tension, sent his younger sister to the west room to do homework while he stayed to hear what his grandparents had to say.
Lin Guozheng was too embarrassed to speak, so Fan Shuting took the lead.
“Lin Han’s wife, you know Third Brother Lin and Lin Xue are all eating at our place now. Our grain won’t last much longer. Could you lend us some money? Don’t worry—we’ll pay you back after the autumn harvest!”
Nan Sheng had anticipated this. At least the old couple had some shame left—they hadn’t asked to borrow grain.
Sizhe glanced between his grandparents and his mother. Nan Sheng raised an eyebrow at him, and the boy immediately lowered his head. He would always side with his mother.
After a tense silence, Nan Sheng suddenly laughed. “Is that all? If it’s just money you need, I have some.”
She motioned for her in-laws to sit. “Actually, there’s no need to borrow. Lin Han already gives you five yuan a month for your living expenses. It’s almost September, so there are four months left this year. If that’s not enough, I can even advance next year’s payments—saves us the trouble of sending it month by month.”
Who knew when borrowed money would be repaid? The thought of still having to deliver monthly payments afterward made her cringe.
Lin Guozheng and his wife exchanged glances and agreed to her suggestion.
But they understood—their daughter-in-law was doing this to avoid financial entanglements with the rest of the Lin family.
The advance totaled eighty yuan. Nan Sheng exchanged it directly for cornmeal, priced at the same rate as the black market—she wasn’t about to take a loss.
With the grain from their own stores and what they got from Nan Sheng, the old couple would have enough to last until the autumn harvest.
Nan Sheng figured Lin Han would return by November at the latest. She’d have Mingli handle selling off their remaining grain—no point taking it with them when they moved to the military base.
Not long after selling the grain, Nan Sheng received a notice: she, Peng Clerk, and Secretary Ma were to attend a commendation meeting in the county town!
