Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

Many people looked at Liu Weidong with strange eyes, pointing at him and whispering among themselves, making no attempt to hide the contempt and schadenfreude on their faces.

Liu Weidong quickly figured out the reason: someone must have leaked the news that he had sold his spot at the machinery factory, which was why everyone was reacting this way.

After all, for farmers, getting a job in a state-owned factory is a tremendous honor. But Liu Weidong gave it away so easily, no wonder he was looked down upon by everyone.

Liu Weidong was too lazy to explain, and decided to let time prove how right he was.

However, when Liu Weidong returned to his doorstep, he encountered Zhao Baojun, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

Although the guy was beaten black and blue, he couldn't hide his smug expression. He pointed at Liu Weidong and shouted, "You good-for-nothing! You actually gave up your secure job to Wang Jianguo. No wonder the village chief favored you so much, haha... Now that you're out of work, let's see what you do now!"

"I don't know what will happen in the future, but I know that someone is going to get beaten up again!" Liu Weidong snorted coldly, parked his bicycle, and rushed towards Zhao Baojun.

Zhao Baojun was so frightened that he turned and ran away, but in his panic he tripped and fell flat on his face, knocking out two of his front teeth and his mouth was full of blood.

Liu Weidong had already stopped and loudly addressed several villagers nearby: "Everyone saw it, Zhao Baojun fell on his own, I didn't touch him at all!"

Yesterday, the village chief accused Zhao Baojun of stealing sweet potatoes from the village, which was exactly the time when everyone was against him. So, the villagers all came forward to testify that Zhao Baojun had indeed fallen on his own and that Liu Weidong had nothing to do with it.

Zhao Baojun had come to mock Liu Weidong, but ended up losing two teeth in the fall. He was furious and left full of resentment.

In Liu Weidong's eyes, Zhao Baojun was already a dead man, and he didn't want to waste time on him. He quickly carried the two large bags of sunflower seeds home.

As soon as Liu Weidong entered the house, he saw Wang Shujuan sitting inside wiping away tears. He quickly went over and asked, "Sister, what's wrong? Did Zhao Baojun bully you again?"

With tears streaming down her face, Wang Shujuan asked Liu Weidong, "Did you sell the opportunity to work at the machinery factory to Wang Jianguo?"

Liu Weidong finally understood why Wang Shujuan was crying, and couldn't help but laugh, "I wondered what had happened, but it turns out it's because of this. You're making a big fuss over nothing!"

Wang Shujuan stood up and shouted, "Don't you realize you're wrong? This opportunity was earned with your life! How could you sell it to someone else?! You've lost your perfectly good job just like that. How can I face my parents in heaven?!"

After listening to Liu Weidong's words, Wang Shujuan went to town and spent 2.15 yuan to buy pork and high-gluten flour. She happily went home to make dumplings for her younger brother. However, she learned a shocking piece of news: Liu Weidong had actually sold his job at the machinery factory to Wang Jianguo! No wonder he suddenly had so much money!

Wang Shujuan felt like the sky was falling, and she was extremely disappointed in Liu Weidong. She had no heart to make dumplings anymore and had been sitting there crying ever since.

Liu Weidong, however, remained indifferent, which disappointed and angered Wang Shujuan. For the first time in her life, she spoke to him so loudly.

Even Liu Weidong was startled by Wang Shujuan's fierce appearance, realizing that this gentle and kind girl also had a temper! However, Wang Shujuan was so beautiful that her angry appearance was not scary at all, but rather quite cute.

Seeing that Wang Shujuan was genuinely anxious, Liu Weidong also put away his smile and said seriously, "Sister, I know you mean well, but I have my own plans. Working in a factory seems good right now, but it's not so good in the long run. Aren't the newspapers and radio stations all talking about reform and opening up? This is a great opportunity. I plan to take advantage of my youth and not waste half my life in a factory, only to end up with nothing!"

This was the first time Wang Shujuan had seen Liu Weidong so serious. He exuded a strong sense of confidence, completely different from his usual carefree demeanor.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Shujuan whispered, "Although I don't quite understand what you're saying, since you've already made up your mind, just do it. I'm just worried that you might regret it."

Liu Weidong earnestly assured Wang Shujuan, "Don't worry, I won't regret it. I will make sure we both live a good life!"

These words warmed Wang Shujuan's heart, and she smiled sweetly at Liu Weidong, saying, "I believe you. I'll go make dumplings for you now."

Watching Wang Shujuan's busy figure, Liu Weidong couldn't help but smile. Girls these days are still so naive; a few words were enough to win her over. Decades from now, she wouldn't even be able to dream of owning a house without a few designer handbags.

After persuading Wang Shujuan, Liu Weidong also went into the kitchen to get busy, preparing to fry the first batch of melon seeds to see the results.

Liu Weidong had already bought all the necessary seasonings in the city—more than twenty kinds needed for three different flavors—for only a little over ten yuan. He couldn't help but marvel at how cheap prices were these days!

Based on his memories from his previous life, Liu Weidong quickly prepared three different seasonings. He then took out the large iron wok from his home and began roasting sunflower seeds.

Roasting sunflower seeds looks simple, but it's actually quite difficult. Not only is controlling the heat crucial, but you also need to stir them constantly to ensure even heating and prevent some seeds from being uncooked while others are burnt.

Furthermore, the timing of adding the seasonings is crucial. Adding them too early will cause the seasonings to burn, resulting in a burnt taste for the sunflower seeds. Adding them too late will result in insufficient flavor absorption, and the sunflower seeds will not taste good.

There are many things to pay attention to here. If you try to figure it out on your own, it will take you at least two or three years to roast perfect sunflower seeds.

However, this was not a problem for Liu Weidong at all, since he had worked in a roasted nut shop for several years in his previous life and knew a lot about the tricks of roasting melon seeds.

Thanks to Liu Weidong's efforts, the steaming hot sunflower seeds were quickly ready. He fried three different flavors in three batches: creamy sunflower seeds, spiced sunflower seeds, and salt and pepper sunflower seeds. He plans to fry some plain sunflower seeds later and sell them at the market tomorrow to see which flavor is the most popular.

Having run a business before, Liu Weidong understands very well that customer experience is extremely important. Products must be adjusted based on market feedback, otherwise, he could lose money even on underwear!

Speaking of this, Liu Weidong decided to hear Wang Shujuan's opinion first, so he brought three kinds of melon seeds and found her while she was making dumplings, saying, "Come on, try them and see how they taste!"

"Why did you decide to roast sunflower seeds?" Wang Shujuan muttered curiously, picked up a sunflower seed, cracked it open, and quickly exclaimed with delight, "These sunflower seeds are so delicious, they have a five-spice flavor!"

Liu Weidong smiled and said, "How was my skill level? Not bad, right?"

Wang Shujuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Delicious! These are the best sunflower seeds I've ever eaten!"

"Hehe, don't be so sure yet," Liu Weidong laughed. "Let's try both kinds of melon seeds before we say anything!"

Wang Shujuan tried the other two types of sunflower seeds with some skepticism, only to find that Liu Weidong wasn't lying; each one was truly better than the last. The cream-flavored sunflower seeds, in particular, were so delicious that she couldn't stop eating them.

Before Wang Shujuan knew it, a pile of sunflower seed shells had appeared in front of her. When she came to her senses, her pretty face flushed with embarrassment. She wasn't usually this greedy; how could she have gotten so hooked on these sunflower seeds? How shameful!

Seeing Wang Shujuan's reaction, Liu Weidong felt relieved. It seemed that his skill in roasting melon seeds was still intact, and now he was in good shape!

Thinking of this, Liu Weidong said with a smile, "Eat as much as you like. I bought a hundred catties of sunflower seeds this time, so there's plenty for you!"

Wang Shujuan was startled and said, "Why buy so many sunflower seeds? There's no way the two of us can finish them all. Isn't that a waste of money?"

"These sunflower seeds aren't just for the two of us," Liu Weidong said seriously. "I'm going to roast all 100 jin of sunflower seeds today and take them to the county town to sell tomorrow."

"What?!" Wang Shujuan exclaimed in shock, her face turning pale with fright, and her long legs trembling slightly with fear.