Starting a new chapter in life

Jingyan wasn't too upset that she couldn't invite Sister Liu. She went to the 13th Company as usual. This time, someone was home at He Chunni's house. She saw her figure appear at the gate and came out of the house before she could even knock. She laughed loudly and said, "I knew you would come today as soon as it rained yesterday. See, I guessed right. Come in and have some water. Wait for me a moment, I'll get ready and we'll go up the mountain."

Jing Yan didn't stand on ceremony with her as soon as she entered the room: "No need to rush, I left early today, there's still plenty of time, no rush."

Following her into the courtyard, he then announced the good news: "The two half-grown chicks you gave me laid eggs a few days ago, and then after another four or five days, they laid one egg a day, which is quite stable. Oh my, these chickens are really good. I reckon the rest of them will be laying eggs in a month at most."

He Chunni went to the warehouse to get the tools she needed to go up the mountain. Hearing her say this, I was quite happy: "These laying hens are about ready after two years. The egg production will drop in the third year. Then you can just replace them with a new batch of chicks. Old hens are also great for making chicken soup."

"Yes, this way, we can supply enough eggs for the family with just these few chickens, saving a lot of money." Jing Yan did the math to herself.

"Hey, speaking of which, your family goes through eggs pretty quickly. It's only been a short time since you bought a hundred eggs from me, less than three months, and they're all gone?" He Chunni was quite impressed by how fast Jing Yan's family consumed eggs.

Jingyan replied somewhat strangely, "My family only ate twenty eggs. The rest were made into braised eggs and sold. There are only two people in my family. My husband only comes back once every two weeks. If we eat a hundred eggs in three months, I would have to eat them every day and at every meal to burn them off. It's not that extravagant."

He Chunni tossed the tools and bags into her basket, slung it over her shoulder, and left the house with Jingyan. "You used to sell braised eggs? At the market?"

Jing Yan nodded: "Yes, I've sold them three times. Now that it's hot, the braised food won't keep, so I've stopped for now. I'll make braised meat and braised eggs to sell when it gets colder. That will at least bring in some income."

"You can make braised meat? Where do you get so much meat? Hmm, if it's hard to say, just pretend I didn't ask. I just happened to be talking about it and asked casually." He Chunni asked about the source of the meat and immediately realized that it was not a good question. After all, these days, you can easily be accused if you're not careful. Her mouth was faster than her brain.

Jing Yan smiled and explained, "I'm a military dependent, right? The meat processing plant has a partnership with the military logistics department, which provides some convenience for military dependents. After the military and the supply and marketing cooperative supply meat, there are surplus meats that military dependents can buy from there without needing coupons. It's just that the price is a bit higher. I only buy meat once a month, which isn't very frequent, and the amount isn't large either. That's how I get some extra income. It's not a secret in the military. As long as it's not publicized, it's not something that can't be said."

He Chunni nodded repeatedly: "That's true. As long as the policy allows it, it's really not a big deal." After saying that, He Chunni asked hesitantly: "If the company still has pork to sell this year, then you won't need it, right? After all, the meat processing plant has a more stable source of meat."

Jing Yan laughed: "That's different. At the meat processing plant, I can only buy bones at most. There's very little pork belly. Nowadays, everyone's lacking in oil and fat, so they all like to buy pork belly because it's fatty. Bone is actually not popular, so it's easier for me to buy it."

But the pigs you slaughter for the New Year are different; you sell them to me half a carcass at a time, so the meat is quite fatty. If you still have them this year, I might buy even more than last year. After all, I can still sell braised meat at the market this year, and it won't spoil in winter. Plus, with the New Year approaching, I expect business will be much better.”

He Chunni breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat embarrassed: "Our company raised two more pigs this year than last year, so we should be able to keep four pigs to slaughter at the end of the year. Anyway, I'll come and ask you about the exact number when it's decided."

Jingyan nodded repeatedly: "Then thank you for your concern, Sister He." The two had reached the foot of the mountain. This time, with He Chunni leading the way, Jingyan didn't just dare to search near the path like last time. Instead, she followed He Chunni into the woods where there were no paths. And it must be said, although it had rained quite a bit yesterday, the woods were covered with fallen leaves from previous years, so walking in them didn't leave her feet covered in mud.

The two quickly filled most of their baskets with mushrooms. Jing Yancai was delighted, and He Chunni was also very satisfied with her harvest: "It seems like there are more mushrooms this year than in previous years. It looks like this year's harvest should be very good. If we can have a bumper harvest, our lives will be even better."

Jingyan suddenly thought of something and said, "Sister He, if you want your chicks to lay more eggs, do you need to supplement their nutrition? The best way is to feed them insects."

He Chunni thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, the eggs from chickens that grow up eating insects taste better, why?"

"I can't find any worms to feed the chickens. I was thinking if any kids in the company could dig up earthworms, we could exchange them for candy. What do you think?" Jingyan asked tentatively.

"How would you like to change it?" He Chunni asked quickly, her spirits lifted.

"Thirty earthworms will be one share. Three cents for live ones and two cents for dead ones. Is that alright?" Jingyan wasn't very confident, but she didn't show any hesitation.

He Chunni laughed: "Why not? You don't know, it's easy to find earthworms in the mountains. You can dig up a bunch just by digging. I'll take your order. How many do you want? There can't be no limit. You only have a few chickens. When they get bigger, you can't have more than five. They won't eat that many earthworms."

"Let's take a hundred portions. If we can raise them, we'll raise them. If we can't, we'll dry them with tiles and mix them into the chicken feed to supplement their nutrition." Jingyan calculated the quantity.

He Chunni didn't mind that the business was small and readily accepted the job.

"Also, Sister He, could you help me collect the hazel mushrooms we picked this year in the company? Preferably diced hazel mushrooms, the meat is tender," Jing Yan added.

He Chunni paused in her mushroom-picking motion upon hearing this: "You only have this much, isn't that enough for your family to eat?"

“It’s not just for myself. I want to get more hazel mushrooms, clean them, dry them, and mail them to my in-laws in Yangzhou to add some dishes to their meals. Zhijun and I got married in my hometown, and my in-laws and sister-in-law came to attend the wedding in person. After that, I came here with Zhijun. I’ve never been to my in-laws’ place, but as a daughter-in-law, I should show them the respect I’m supposed to give. They don’t lack anything else, so getting some local specialties is just a token of my appreciation.” Jingyan chatted about family matters while picking mushrooms.

He Chunni thought about it and agreed: "Your in-laws seem to treat you well. If they didn't have a good impression of you, you wouldn't be so attached to everything. The ginseng you bought from me before was also a gift for your in-laws, right?"

Jingyan nodded: "Yes, it was the wedding gift money given by my parents-in-law."

He Chunni laughed heartily: "You, how can you be so cute? Once the money is in your hands, it's yours. Even if you don't buy anything, they can't say anything. In the end, you are the one with filial piety. You talk like you're so mercenary."

"Can you help me receive it?"

"Of course, but how much are you willing to pay?"

"Hazel mushrooms, eight cents a pound. If they're all diced hazel mushrooms, ten cents a pound, how about that? But they have to be clean, no dirt roots. Of course, this is the price I'm offering; I don't care about the price you pay them." Jing Yan quoted the price.

“No problem, I’ll help you collect them in the company. How many do you want? If our company doesn’t have enough, I can go to the surrounding companies to find some.” He Chunni said with a smile.

"About two or three hundred pounds," Jing Yan said.

"You want this much?"

“A pound of mushrooms dried is only so much. Even if we can harvest 300 pounds, we can only dry about 30 pounds at most. It’s really not much. My mother-in-law works at a hospital, and she’ll inevitably spend a lot on gifts for social occasions. If we’re going to give gifts, we should give enough. It would be bad if we were stingy.” Jingyan was optimistic. The key was that she had extra money, which gave her confidence.

He Chunni only gave a reminder, and since Jingyan already knew what she was doing, she didn't say anything more. It wouldn't be right to come to the mountains and not pick enough. It wasn't until after noon, when it was the hottest time, that He Chunni and Jingyan went down the mountain and returned to He Chunni's home.

The two of them didn't look very good at the moment. Jingyan was carrying a basket on her back, with two bags tied together and slung over her left shoulder. She also had a military water bottle on her right shoulder. From a distance, they looked like a mobile shelf.

He Chunni had a bigger haul than Jing Yan, carrying two more bags. She was completely empty except for her head. The two of them entered the courtyard, both covered in sweat. Jing Yan unloaded her bags at the doorway and collapsed onto the ground, waving her hand and saying, "I don't want to get up. I'm too tired to sit for a while."

He Chunni, having done farm work regularly, was much stronger than her. With a hoarse voice, she said, "Then you stay here for a while. I'll go in and have a drink of water and rest for a bit. I'll push the cart and take you back." Then she dragged her leaden legs and laboriously moved into the house.

Her mother-in-law heard the noise and came out to see the two exhausted people. She quickly went over and helped He Chunni take off the bags and baskets from her back, saying, "Why are you so tired today? You've been guarding the mountain all day. Why are you so tired? Come and sit down." She then moved a bench over and placed it on the ground against the wall.

He Chunni sat down, her voice hoarse: "Mom, I'm thirsty."

His mother-in-law hurriedly went in to pour water, two teacups, one cup to He Chunni, and the other to Jingyan at the gate: "Look how tired you two are. Girl, drink some water and sit over there, it's damp sitting on the ground."

Jingyan gulped down the water, too busy to speak. She had brought a thermos of water, thinking it would last her a day, but she had overestimated her thirst tolerance. After drinking most of the water, she finally felt better and handed the cup to the old lady: "Thank you, Auntie. I'll sit for a while longer before going in. My legs feel like they don't belong to me anymore."

The old lady took the teacup and sighed, "Why don't you sleep at my house tonight? You're so tired, how can you walk back to the city?"

Jingyan shook her head. She didn't want to stay out overnight unless absolutely necessary: ​​"Auntie, does our company have any oxcarts or anything that go to the city? It would be best if you could take me there."

The old lady thought for a moment and said, "Daqing's family has an oxcart. I'll go ask him if he can make a trip."

Jing Yan nodded with difficulty: "Then I'll trouble you to make the trip, Auntie."

"But there will probably be a transportation fee. How much would you be willing to pay?"

"What's the normal price?" Jing Yan asked.

"Normally, we take an oxcart to the city center, which costs one cent per person for a round trip. Today, I'll give you a private trip, which is like hiring a car. It will cost at least eighty cents. Do you agree?"

Jingyan nodded: "Then I'll trouble you to ask for me, Auntie."

The old lady put the teacup back in the house and went straight to He Daqing's house: "Daqing, are you home?"

Hearing the noise, Daqing's wife came out and greeted her with a smile, "Aunt Zhai, did you come here at this time today for something?"

The old lady smiled and asked, "Is it convenient for your oxcart to make a trip to the city?"

"Now?"

The old lady nodded: "My daughter-in-law's friend from the city came today. The two of them went up the mountain to pick mushrooms and were busy all day. They're so tired that they can barely walk back, let alone carry anything. I wanted her to stay at my house for the night, but she didn't want to and wanted to go home. So I came to see if your oxcart could make a trip."

Daqing's wife turned around and called out. Her father-in-law came out with a pipe in hand: "What's wrong?"

Daqing's wife spoke to him, and the old man looked at the old lady and said, "Old Zhai's wife, how much will you pay for this trip? We can't just make the trip for nothing."

“We’re all from the same company. Normally, the fare is only one cent. But you’re making a trip alone. Is five cents okay?” the old lady asked.

The old man looked at her, took a puff of his pipe, and said, "Alright, I'll make the trip for you as a neighbor. I usually make a few cents for each trip, but today it's just one person and a few bags of stuff, so fifty cents it is. I'm going to hitch up the cart now." With that, he took his pipe and turned to go to the backyard.

The old lady said to Daqing's wife, "Then I'll go back and tell that girl first."

"Okay, Aunt Zhai, take care. Come visit us anytime!" Daqing's wife said politely.

When the old lady returned home, Jingyan was still sitting at the door. At least she wasn't sitting directly on the ground anymore, as there was a flat stone under her. "Zhang family girl," the old lady said, "Daqing's father will come to pick you up with the oxcart soon. He'll give you a ride. We agreed on a price of five mao (0.5 yuan). Normally, he earns a dollar or eighty cents for taking someone into town, but today you're essentially hiring him. I didn't expect him to actually agree to five mao. Just pay him later, but don't give too much. Earning money isn't easy these days..."

Listening to the old lady's nagging instructions, Jingyan grinned and readily agreed: "Thank you, ma'am. Don't worry, I'll give that old man 50 cents when I get there. Thank you for helping me bargain."

The old lady was a little embarrassed: "It's nothing. You and Ni'er are friends. She's had such a smooth time in the city thanks to friends like you. I'm just glad I could lend a hand."

Not long after, the old man drove his oxcart and swayed to the road in front of He Chunni's house and stopped: "Zhai family, whoever wants to go to the city, hurry up and get on the cart."