Reborn in the 90s, I traded my ex-husband for eight apartments.

Feng Cui and the others left in a huff without even getting a sip of cold water.

Xu Yin spat at their retreating figures:

"Pah, those sour words in the village were spread by Feng Cui. She even has the nerve to come and borrow money. Pearl, even if you have money, don't lend it to her."

Bai Zhenzhu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Second Sister-in-law, I won't lend it."

She guessed there must be a lot of rumors going around the village about her and her family these days, so she teased Xu Yin:

"Second sister-in-law, your mouth must be tired from all this talking these past few days, right?"

Seeing that she already knew, Xu Yin didn't hide it and smiled:

"Of course, Mom and I have been busy these past few days. But don't worry, when Mom and I team up to argue, no one in the village can stand up to us."

Bai Zhenzhu was a little embarrassed:

"I'm the one who's caused you trouble."

Xu Yin rolled her eyes at her:

"What's so bad? Look at your life now, isn't it a million times better than before? As long as we live a good life, it's all worth it. What others say doesn't matter, let them be sour."

Xu Yin's words may be rough, but they make a valid point: the most important thing is to live your own life well.

Xu Yin had been hiding her child well at her parents' home when someone in the village reported her, which resulted in the child being born prematurely and also damaged Xu Yin's health.

Xu Yin had always suspected that Feng Cui was responsible. Feng Cui not only had conflicts with the Bai family, but she was also jealous that the Bai family had only male grandsons, while her eldest son only had a daughter.

After Bai Chenglei was injured, few people helped him; instead, many took advantage of his misfortune.

Feng Cui even urged Liu Fang to divorce Bai Chenglei while she was still able to have children, and marry some cousin from her family. Liu Fang slapped her so hard that her nose bled.

Even before her rebirth, Bai Zhenzhu had seen through these people completely.

So no one knew about her trip to Yuan County except her own family, not even her children.

Seeing that Xu Yin was going to the field to harvest corn, Bai Zhenzhu quickly found a basket and went with her. Xu Yin was responsible for picking the corn cobs, and Bai Zhenzhu was responsible for carrying them home. She dared not let Xu Yin do such heavy work.

The whole family ate dinner together at the old couple's house that evening. Bai Zhenzhu chopped up the braised chicken she brought back and made a cold dish of braised pork head in red oil. Li Xiufen steamed two large pots of pumpkin and cured meat buns.

Bai Zhenzhu loved her mother's steamed buns the most, and ate three big buns in one go.

After dinner, the children went to watch TV, while the adults discussed matters in the main room.

When Bai Zhenzhu mentioned that she didn't want her parents to farm, the old couple remained silent for a long time.

Old Man Bai smoked his cigarette in silence, and Li Xiufen felt very reluctant to part with him.

If a farmer doesn't farm, can he still be called a farmer?

Letting others cultivate your own land—isn't that what landlords used to do?

Bai Zhenzhu knew this would happen, and said with a smile:

“It’s not that you won’t plant anything at all. You can just plant the vegetable garden around the house, raise a few chickens and a couple of pigs for your own consumption. My brothers and I just don’t want you to work too hard, and Wenbin and the others need you to take care of them.”

Li Xiufen said, "We can't manage to farm all the land your eldest and second brothers have. We can just let others farm their land. Your father and I are still young, we can still farm."

White Pearl still disagreed:

“My eldest and second sisters-in-law aren’t home. Wenbin and the others need to eat lunch every day after school. Mom and Dad, the children are growing, and you’re getting older. You need to eat well. Mom, if you’re farming, and you’re just rushing around to eat lunch every day, the children will be malnourished, and their height and intelligence will suffer.”

"Our children are all smart. With proper upbringing, they're all college graduates. Compared to their future, what's a little land?"

When the elderly couple brought out their beloved grandson, Li Xiufen was indeed moved.

The third son and his wife are both college graduates, and they know all too well the advantages of being a college graduate.

Old Man Bai took a deep drag of his cigarette, then exhaled heavily:

“Okay, let’s do as Pearl says. After the corn is harvested, you can all go to the county town. Don’t worry about leaving the family to us old folks. We’ll definitely take good care of the children.”

Anyway, the three families have quite a lot of private land in front of and behind their houses. They grow vegetables, raise pigs, chickens and ducks, and also keep a few tobacco fields.

Old Man Bai is still a carpenter, and he goes out to do odd jobs whenever he has free time. So, the old couple can earn quite a bit of money at home.

The elderly couple agreed verbally, but they never really intended to do nothing and just enjoy life at home. Having toiled their whole lives, they couldn't possibly be idle, nor could they bear to see their children working hard to earn money while they simply enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

Liu Fang and Xu Yin were overjoyed. The Bai family elders were incredibly devoted to their grandson, and they felt even more at ease leaving him with them than if they had taken care of him themselves.

The rice will be harvested next month, but Bai Zhenzhu can't wait until then; she has other plans in mind.

The next morning, everyone went out to harvest corn without having breakfast. Bai Zhenzhu helped Xu Yin harvest, but when it got hot around nine o'clock, they went home and stopped.

When he returned home with a basket full of corn on his back, he found Zhang Minmin there, cooking breakfast over a fire. There was also a frying pan she had bought from town on the table.

"Pearl, my mom has taken care of the shop. Could you go check on it for me after dinner?"

"Okay."

Bai Zhenzhu first went to the back to shower and wash her hair. After eating, she rode her bicycle to town with Zhang Minmin.

The shop I liked was located in a slightly out-of-the-way spot, not on the main street. There were several tailor shops in that area, but their business was terrible.

Zhang Minmin's mother is named Dong Juan. She is under fifty years old and looks very young.

Dong Juan was incredibly enthusiastic when she saw Bai Zhenzhu:

"Pearl, come and give us your advice, what do you think of this shop?"

She had clearly been pondering this for several days, her face full of regret:

"The shops on the main street are so busy, they're all selling things. They're doing so well that they can't even rent any, let alone sell. Looking around, this one seems alright."

Xiaxi Town is small, consisting of only two streets, one in front and one behind, with a crossroads in the middle. Heading north is Xiaxi Town Junior High School. This place is remote and poor, and it is not qualified to run a high school.

Facing east are the town government and the town's central primary school.

The front street mainly sells daily necessities, while the back street is a market for agricultural products such as vegetables and pigs.

The shop that Dong Juan had her eye on was west of the crossroads. This street used to be full of fabric and clothing shops, and beyond that was the grain station, the place where grain was handed over to the state.

Bai Zhenzhu looked at the shop; it wasn't small, probably around thirty square meters, enough to sell clothes.

This shop used to sell fabric for making clothes, but now fewer and fewer people are making clothes themselves. People usually buy fabric and make their own clothes at home, and every household has a sewing machine.

The homeowner was also there, Bai Zhenzhu lowered her voice:

“Auntie, I think this location is great. This area is a clothing manufacturing area, so customers who need clothing will come here.”

Hearing her say that, Dong Juan felt at ease:

"If Pearl says it's good, it must be good. Let's go with this shop then."

Zhang Minmin laughed at her, "You couldn't find anything better than this."

Dong Juan then turned to the homeowner:

"Xiao Chen, name a reasonable selling price, and I'll buy it if it's right."

Xiao Chen wasn't young anymore, probably in his forties, and he looked troubled.

"Sister Dong, Teacher Zhang, 10,000 yuan is really a sincere offer. If it weren't for the need to move to the city, I wouldn't be willing to sell this shop."

Dong Juan ignored his nonsense: "One price, eight thousand. You can take everything from your shop."

Xiao Chen: "Sister Dong, could you add a little more?"

Dong Juan: "I won't add any more. There's a shop down the street that only costs seven thousand. If that doesn't work, I'll go buy that one."

The town is only so big. The owner of the shop down the street knows it too. It's about the same size, just in a better location. But that building was recently renovated, while his shop has been around for many years.

"Okay, okay, eight thousand it is. I want cash, I'll pay it all at once."