Starting a new chapter in life

Jingyan finally had guinea pigs, or rather, food testers. She tried various methods, such as marinating and grilling, and dry-frying thinly sliced ​​food. During these trials, Chen Xinyue and Qi Qi were able to get by, but Gong Haibo suffered. While his wife and children were eating and drinking to their hearts' content next door, he could only eat leftovers or a bowl of noodles at home.

"Jingyan, the flavor of this barbecue has been finalized. Are you planning to start a barbecue business? But doing business these days is considered speculation. If you get caught, it's not worth it," Chen Xinyue said with some concern after eating it for half a month.

"Sister Chen, don't worry. I've been working on perfecting the proportions of various seasonings. Luckily, you have a keen palate and can help me taste them. As for business, the country doesn't allow it right now, and I won't take such a big risk. Even when I made braised meat before, I only did it once a month, and in small quantities. I only dared to do it when I was on the verge of breaking the rules."

"But it's always good to have more skills. Who knows when policies might change? I'm prepared, and when the opportunity comes, I can seize it. I won't let it slip away, right?" Jingyan knew that in another three or four years, she should be able to start a business. In her previous life, she arrived in the Great Northern Wilderness in 1980. At that time, policies had changed, and individual businesses were established.

She also plans to open a barbecue restaurant when that time comes, earn money to buy a house, and try to prepare one for her own children as well as Ronggang and Rongqiang, which can be considered as fulfilling the filial piety of her two children from her previous life.

Seeing that she had a plan, Chen Xinyue stopped talking. She had been eating well lately and had gained almost five pounds. Old Gong was starting to have a problem with her. "What you said makes sense. I won't come over for meals anymore. Old Gong has been cooking dinner by himself lately. It's okay for a short time, but if I continue to ignore him, he'll definitely get angry. Men need to be coaxed a little."

"Okay, thank you for your help these past few days." Jing Yan filled an empty wine bottle with baijiu for her to take back and appease her husband, and Chen Xinyue didn't stand on ceremony with her.

When the dried mushrooms arrived in Yangzhou, He's parents were shocked. They wondered how many mushrooms it would take to dry them to such an old age. Their youngest son had indeed become much more sensible after getting married, which comforted the two elders. After receiving the package, the two even borrowed a cart to transport it home, inevitably encountering neighbors along the way.

We're all neighbors, so after exchanging greetings, we'd ask, "Hey, Old He, who sent you such a big package?"

Cui Hongru said with great pride: "My youngest son, Zhijun, sent back some local specialties from the Great Northern Wilderness: dried hazel mushrooms and a barrel of local liquor with an alcohol content of 60 degrees."

"Oh, Nurse Cui, your son is so filial. But Zhijun should be of marriageable age, right? Is there anyone you like? If any of our neighbors know anyone suitable, please keep an eye out for them." Some of the older women's eyes sparkled as they looked at these things.

"Yes, yes, your son knows how to care about his family. He'll treat his future wife very well. There are plenty of good girls around here, but it's best to settle down early. It would be such a loss if someone else takes her place later." Some other older women chimed in.

Cui Hongru beamed with joy as she listened to everyone praising her son, but when she heard that everyone was going to help her keep an eye on her daughter-in-law, she waved her hands repeatedly: "No need, no need. My youngest son is already married. He chose his wife himself. Don't say my son is filial; it's my daughter-in-law who is filial. She dried these mushrooms herself, and she even went up the mountain to pick mushrooms."

You wouldn't believe it, before he got married, he wouldn't write home a single letter a year to let us know he was safe. But since he got married, we write home at least once every month or two, if not frequently. And if he comes across any local specialties, he'll send them back for us to try. Our whole family is very happy with this wife.”

"What does she do for a living over there? Does she have children yet? You, as her mother-in-law, live too far away. Although you can't control her normally, it's still good for the young couple to have children sooner rather than later. You should still urge them to have children." Someone felt uncomfortable being shown off and tried to sow discord.

"My youngest son told us that he plans to apply for a transfer back in two years and then stay there. If his wife wants to find a job, his father and I will help her. If she doesn't want to work, she can stay at home. My son's salary should be enough to support the family."

As for the child, his father and I repeatedly emphasized this when we attended the wedding: It's okay to have a child for a couple of years. The young couple doesn't have any relatives to help them over there. If they have a child and no one is there to lend a hand, wouldn't that make my grandchildren suffer?

My family isn't exactly well-off, but we love our children dearly. We'll wait until they come back to have another child. I can help with childcare then. If my daughter-in-law doesn't mind, I can even help her during her postpartum period. Her mother passed away early, so she'll treat me like her own mother from now on. Of course, I'll think of her needs. Don't you agree?

"We're all educated people, we can't be too old-fashioned, we can't be those wicked mothers-in-law who torment their daughters-in-law, right?" Cui Hongru's tongue wasn't just for show, she was capable of saying these veiled things herself. Since these people dared to pour cold water on her when she was in a good mood, she had to give them a taste of their own medicine.

……

The older women were at a loss for words, and could only manage a forced smile and a few more words of praise before the crowd dispersed.

Watching everyone's departing figures, Cui Hongru pouted: "They're all people with jobs, why are they so short-sighted? They can't stand seeing other people doing well and living in harmony."

He Jiaoxu remained silent throughout, only offering a forced smile. Only then did he helplessly say, "You're not one to suffer a loss either."

Cui Hongru proudly raised her head: "That's right, suffering a loss is not a blessing, it's infuriating. Let's go home!"

Upon arriving home and unpacking the package, He Jiaoxu held the liquor barrel and smiled broadly: "This liquor looks good. This barrel can also be used to buy liquor at the supply and marketing cooperative in the future. It's a good deal."

Cui Hongru ignored him, opened the bag of flour, and started to repackage it. She sent some to his uncle's family, some to his eldest son's family, and kept the rest for later use. After thinking for a moment, she made two small bags and handed them to He Jiaoxu: "Here, send some to your boss as a token of my appreciation."

He Jiaoxu took it and nodded: "Okay~, should we also send some things or money to Zhijun and his wife?"

Cui Hongru shook her head: "No need, the couple shouldn't lack money. Let's prepare a house first, it's not convenient for them to live with us when they come back."

“Didn’t we prepare something for them before? They’re renting it out now, so what’s the point of preparing anything else?” He Jiaoxu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Cui Hongru sighed: "It's a bit difficult to talk about our tenants. Their family consists of the elderly, women, and children, and the man is serving in the military. They must be struggling financially. What will happen if we want to take the house back later and they can't find a place to stay? Can you really bear to kick them out? If you can't bear to do that to others, then your own son deserves to give up the house?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" He Jiaoxu was also at his wits' end when he heard this. His old comrade-in-arms had asked him to help find a cheap house. At that time, the situation was very tense, and he didn't dare to leave the house empty and attract unwanted attention. So he rented it to this military family at a low price, thinking that he could occupy the house first and not attract attention. He could also use the fact that they were military family members and poor farmers to get some peace of mind. But now the family was having financial difficulties. If Zhijun's family came back in two years and wanted to kick them out, it would be difficult to explain from both a moral and legal standpoint. So he was stuck in this predicament.

“The policies have loosened up a bit in the last two years, and there are houses with yards for sale. Let’s buy two. We’ll see which area Zhijun works in, and let him choose one. We can keep the other one for our retirement.” Cui Hongru had a good idea.

“It wouldn’t be right if the eldest brother didn’t give it, and the two brothers wouldn’t be treating each other equally.” He Jiaoxu didn’t like dealing with these kinds of family matters. Every time Cui Hongru spoke, he really wanted to say, “You decide,” but he didn’t dare. At least he had to agree with her, otherwise he would be the one who suffered if his wife got angry.

“We also prepared a new house for them when they got married. Although it was our own property that was transferred to them, it was still property. My eldest son and his wife are not petty, they won’t care about this little thing.” Cui Hongru knows her eldest daughter-in-law and has no worries.

"That's good, you can make the decision." He Jiaoxu finally completed another task of playing the straight man and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, don't tell Zhijun about this yet. Just let them know when they get back," Cui Hongru instructed.

"Hey, why didn't you think about them living with us? It's not like we can't fit them all." He Jiaoxu finally asked the question that had been bothering him. "You didn't let your eldest son's family live with us back then, and you didn't plan to let your second son's family live with us either. I see that other mothers-in-law all hope to have a house full of children and grandchildren, so that it's lively and fun."

Cui Hongru glared at him: "What's so good about living together? Did your mother ask us to live together in the first place?"

He Jiaoxu shook his head: "But the old lady used to be a capitalist heiress. She has a somewhat independent personality and is very particular. It's understandable that she doesn't like living with others. But you are a staunch supporter of communism. You have a good personality and are easy to get along with, so that's why I'm curious."

"Mom once told me that she didn't live with us not because she was picky, but because no matter how easy it is to get along with someone, there will always be things that don't go well if you live together for a long time. Just like teeth and tongue eventually need to be separated, let alone people. So, as long as conditions allow, she hopes everyone can live their own lives, get together during holidays, and that not only will the relationship be better, but everyone will also be more comfortable."

I think Mom is very wise. Although many people don't agree with her ideas, I think they make a lot of sense. Look, our relationship with our eldest son's family hasn't weakened just because we don't live together. On the contrary, it's precisely because we don't live together and they occasionally come over that our happiness is even more pronounced.

Cui Hongru greatly admired her mother-in-law. She gave up her family's property without hesitation, which allowed her to live a peaceful life during the Cultural Revolution. She maintained a distant relationship with her children, but her children and daughters-in-law respected her greatly. Even though she passed away a couple of years ago, they still miss her dearly. Cui Hongru thought that she had reached the pinnacle of mother-in-lawhood.

She wasn't confident she could reach the same level as her mother-in-law, but at least she could give her own children enough freedom.

Beidahuang Jiangshi

In November, Jingyan started selling braised pork ribs. As usual, she sold 60 jin (30 kg) of raw meat each time, returning home as soon as it was sold out. Many families needed to eat well to replenish their energy after the autumn harvest, and many people in the company were also willing to buy braised pork, so sales were brisk. Those who didn't get any hoped she could increase the quantity, but Jingyan refused.

She's using her status as a military dependent to do these things, which isn't too far off from policy, but she should know when to stop. If she keeps trying to make money and does too much, not only will the meat processing plant face risks, but if she catches the eye of the Revolutionary Committee, then it will be a losing proposition.

All the vegetables in the yard need to be harvested, and the seedlings also need to be pulled up. Tender green beans, eggplant twists, and cucumber twists are all made into pickles and put into jars. The peppers are washed, pickled with salt, dried in the sun, and stored away. When you want to eat them in winter, soak them in water, stir-fry them in oil until dry, and they are delicious with porridge.

After the vegetable seedlings were dried, the tender leaves were thrown into the chicken coop as a snack, and the dried stalks were used as kindling—the main goal was to avoid waste. Afterwards, there was a busy period of stockpiling coal, firewood, and winter vegetables, so time was quite tight.

However, with the experience from the previous year, they were quite adept at it. Most of the winter vegetables this year were purchased from Sister He. Their production team has some land for growing vegetables, and the price is the same as regular winter vegetables, but they are delivered directly to the door, emphasizing convenience. With the help of Jingyan and Sister Gao in contacting buyers in the neighborhood, Sister He's production team has a pretty good income this year, which has also given Sister He more face in her husband's family and more say in the business.

This year, He Zhijun prepared half as much mutton as last year because Battalion Commander Gao's family was reunited and wouldn't be coming here for the New Year. It was just the two of them, so they really couldn't eat much. However, they bought a lot of pork from Sister He, and most of the pig was taken home.

He braised pig's head and sheep's head himself, and also braised a lot of ribs. When he visited relatives and friends on the second day of the Lunar New Year, he gave them as New Year's gifts to the families of Battalion Commander Gao, Chen Xinyue, Gao Mei, and Zhou Xuyang. And I must say, they were quite presentable. He also bought six firecrackers with 500 shots each, and He Zhijun set them off by himself, which was quite a treat for him.

As the old year gave way to the new, 1977 arrived. Jingyan had been back for three years. The past of her previous life was slowly fading from her memory. The incompatibility of Jingyan with this era was gradually dissipating. Now, she and her husband were harmonious, and the hardships she had faced in the past had vanished. Occasionally, when she looked in the mirror, her eyes shone with light and her face wore a smile, clearly showing that she was living a happy life. Looking at herself like this, she couldn't help but sigh: This version of myself is so good.