Black Market Boss: His Beloved Wife's Lazy Life

Shang Yanfang lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

I've always wished I could live alone.

In addition, I have my own space, and my own space has everything, pots and pans.

I fell asleep while thinking about it.

As dawn broke, the educated youth gradually got up.

Shang Yanfang and the other new educated youths also got up and washed up.

Early in the morning, the educated youth settlement was as noisy as a vegetable market.

"Captain, don't we educated youth at our settlement eat breakfast?"

Seeing the cold stove and empty pot, He Lingling asked in confusion.

"During the busy farming season, we need to go to work first, and whoever is in charge of cooking will come back to cook in the middle."

We cooked the breakfast and lunch together and took them to the field, where we ate our meals. We rested for a while by the field at noon.

"Let's get back to work." Captain Liu said as he led the educated youth toward the brigade headquarters.

"Captain Liu, is it at this hour every day?"

"No, it's just that using two guns is a bit more tiring." The group chatted as they walked until they reached the brigade headquarters.

The brigade headquarters was filled with a vast expanse of clouds.

First, the battalion commander gave a speech.

The team leader gave his team members a pep talk on stage.

The members all went to find their respective team leaders to get work.

"Today, you should first learn from the veteran commune members how to work properly."

As the team leader spoke, he introduced three older women to teach them.

"These three are Aunt Wang, Aunt Zhu, and Aunt Lu. You all should study hard."

After introducing the two sides, the captain went to do his own thing.

Today's main task is to harvest rice.

Rice harvesting is divided into:

1. Harvesting involves using a sickle to cut the rice grains, bundling them, and setting them aside.

2. Transportation, which involves people carrying the rice themselves or using carts to transport it to the threshing ground.

3. Threshing: using a stick to knock the grains off the ears of grain.

4. Drying: The threshed grains are laid out on the ground to dry until completely dry.

5. Paying and distributing public grain: Paying a certain amount of public grain according to a certain ratio, and distributing the surplus grain according to the public distribution.

Aunt Wang briefly recounted the entire process of harvesting the grain.

"We're now at the first step: 'harvesting'."

As he spoke, he picked up a sickle, bent down, and began harvesting the crops one bunch at a time.

"Just like this, slowly cut it like I do, you can start with a little bit at first."

"If there's too much, I'm afraid I won't be able to cut it all and I'll cut myself." Aunt Wang explained as she demonstrated.

The men slowly began to cut with their sickles.

My back started to ache and hurt after bending over for a short while.

When I stood up, my waist cracked and popped.

After swaying left and right a couple of times, he bent down again to harvest the rice.

"Aunt Lu, why does this sickle feel so heavy to me?"

Looking at the aunties who had already far surpassed them, they couldn't help but ask in confusion.

“This sharp sickle is definitely one that the old commune members didn’t have left over. The really sharp ones are definitely reserved for the old farmers.”

Everyone knows that dual-wielding requires a suitable tool so that work isn't delayed.

As Aunt Lu spoke, she kept cutting without ever stopping for a moment.

"Shang, I'm going home to cook. If you're tired, you can rest for a while before continuing."

Aunt Lu hurried home with her sickle.

The group continued working, still somewhat dazed.

"You guys didn't go to eat?"

When Aunt Wang returned after dinner, she saw the five people still cutting rice and couldn't help but ask.

"I saw Captain Liu and the others eating under the big banyan tree over there. You should go over there quickly."

Aunt Lu pointed to the big banyan tree not far away and said.

The group looked up and saw the former educated youth sitting together, eating their lunchboxes.

I feel a little uneasy.

How could they do that?

He Lingling muttered softly.

She thought she was speaking softly, but everyone else heard her.

"Cuckoo, cluck."

I wonder whose stomach was rumbling with the sound of an empty city.

"Let's go eat," Wang Dongsheng said, and walked towards the banyan tree.

The other four silently followed.

The men were expressionless, holding sickles as if they were about to go to war.

Captain Liu watched as the group of men, carrying sickles, walked menacingly towards the banyan tree.

A hint of embarrassment appeared on his face as he said, "Um, Wang Zhiqing, come and eat."

The people who heard the greeting didn't say how pleased they felt.

Liu Guoqiang handed the remaining five lunchboxes to the group.

Shang Yanfang took the lunchbox handed to her and walked to the corner.

I found a quiet spot and sat down.

After opening the lunchbox, I saw porridge that looked like plain water, and a little bit of pickled vegetables.

Thinking about the cornbread that Captain Liu had just been holding, she couldn't help but ask, "Captain Liu, do you have any more cornbread?"

Liu Guoqiang scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, Shang Zhiqing. We're out of steamed buns today."

Upon hearing Captain Liu's words, Shang Yanfang stood up and gulped down the coarse grain tea.

He put down his lunchbox and went back to the fields to work.

He Lingling also finished the coarse grain tea in her lunchbox and left.

After all, you'd be thirsty after working all morning.

Shang Yanfang glanced at her watch; there were still twenty minutes before she was supposed to start work.

Without the slightest hesitation, she strode toward the educated youth settlement.

Back at the educated youth settlement, they filled a cloth bag with a jug of water and a pound of pastries before heading back to the fields.

"Yanfang, where have you been? I've been looking for you for so long."

"I'm just going back to the educated youth settlement to get some food. You all should have some."

He then opened the cloth bag and handed it to the group.

The group picked up the pastries from the cloth bag and began to eat.

"That's too much! They didn't even invite us to eat, and they even ate our cornbread."

"These are clearly steamed buns made according to the number of people." Even the usually aloof Liu Yan sensed her dissatisfaction.

"Why don't we start another fire and cook?"

"I don't want to live with them, it's too much."

Several people were complaining.

"I plan to see the captain tonight."

"Why do you want to see the captain?"

Upon hearing that Shang Yanfang wanted to find the brigade leader, He Lingling, being the naive and innocent girl she was, asked curiously.

"I want to move out."

Where do you want to move? I want to move too.

Liu Yan also had her own ideas.

"Just build a house in the backyard. After all, we are educated youth sent to the countryside, and they won't let us go too far away."

“Okay, I’ll go with you to see the captain tonight.”

Liu Yan made the final decision.

"Yanfang, how much do you think it would cost to build a house?"

"It will probably cost around fifty yuan."

"It's not very expensive. I'll build one too. I want to have my own home."

"Can two people build it together?"

Seeing Li Zhaodi standing silently to the side, He Lingling couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing He Lingling's words, Li Zhaodi unconsciously raised her head to look at Shang Yanfang.

"Why don't we just ask the captain?"

The group decided that after work they would go to the foreman to discuss building a house.