Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

"Hang yourself?"

Liu Jia and Zhou Caixia shouted out at the same time.

Especially Liu Jia, after asking the question, stared wide-eyed at Zhao Xiaochao.

Li Zhenhe was so angry he almost stomped his feet.

"Yes, if I hadn't discovered him in time, he would have hanged himself here. The rope that's binding him is for hanging!"

Liu Jia was both angry and anxious, and then he laughed in front of everyone.

"Zhao Xiaochao, are you really thinking of dying? Tell me how much you've been wronged that you don't want to live anymore?"

At first, Zhao Xiaochao kept a tight rein, but now that everything is out in the open, there's no point in pretending anymore.

Hearing Liu Jia ask that question, all the grievances she felt instantly erupted.

Just as I was about to speak, tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably.

While bound, Zhao Xiaochao sniffed hard before regaining his senses.

"Third Brother, I...I really don't want to live anymore! I just said a few joking things, and that woman, she just ran away!"

Before Zhao Xiaochao could continue, Liu Jia hurriedly corrected him.

"Wait a minute, you're not talking about that woman. She's quite old, she's practically an auntie. Caixia and I have to call her auntie!"

"Oh, okay, your aunt, she ran away. Actually, I didn't mean anything by it. Who knew your aunt was so fragile?"

Thinking back to that time, Zhao Xiaochao's face was full of grievances again.

Liu Jia looked at Zhao Xiaochao speechlessly.

"Aunt Chunlan is the most honest person among these people. What you said hit her right in the heart. How could she not be anxious?"

Zhao Xiaochao knew what Liu Jia was talking about.

Ever since Aunt Chunlan left, everyone in the courtyard has started criticizing Zhao Xiaochao.

Between the lines of conversation, Zhao Xiaochao also understood the situation of Aunt Chunlan's family.

They only have one son, who is honest and simple, and all he does is study all day. They don't know if he will pass the college entrance examination this time.

Many people are worried that if Zhao Panlai fails the exam, she might suffer a mental breakdown.

Everyone chimed in, one after another, and Zhao Xiaochao, listening to this person's opinion one moment and that person's the next, eventually started to worry too.

Chunlan's son is so stubborn; what if Chunlan herself has the same temperament?

What if I made Aunt Chunlan upset because of a few words I said?

But upon further reflection, Zhao Xiaochao also felt wronged.

It was just a joke at the time, who knew Aunt Chunlan would take it seriously?

In the past, Zhao Xiaochao could have simply shaken his head and not taken it seriously at all.

In their usual parlance, it's like saying, "Do whatever you want."

But it's different now.

I'm a model person!

I caught a thief a few days ago, and I even peed on the thief's head. Anyone who hears that would feel good.

Unfortunately, before he could even enjoy the title of "advanced individual," this incident occurred.

The thought that his hard-earned title of "Advanced Individual" might be taken back because of this incident filled Zhao Xiaochao with despair.

After making a fuss, Zhao Xiaochao suddenly noticed the hemp rope at the base of the wall when no one was watching him.

In a moment of impulsiveness, he grabbed a rope and tried to hang himself.

But there was no crooked tree in the house.

Before they could find a good spot, Li Zhenhe discovered them.

So Li Zhenhe tied himself up tightly.

Seeing that Liu Jia wasn't insisting on blaming him, Zhao Xiaochao calmed down.

"Third Brother, I was wrong. Let me apologize. I really didn't mean it. What I said was, 'I heard there are a lot of people taking the college entrance exam this year. Do you think your son can pass?'"

"This is it?" Liu Jia asked incredulously.

Zhao Xiaochao shook his head and then said, "Actually, there's no need to be discouraged if you don't pass the exam. If you don't pass this year, you can try again next year. If you don't pass in one year, you can try for ten years. If you don't pass in ten years, then you're done."

Zhao Xiaochao repeated what he had said.

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Is there anything more devastating than this?

People study so hard, and you're saying they can't pass the exam?

That's bad enough, but you're even expecting them to take the exam for ten years?

Even a mentally strong person would probably not be able to withstand such a blow, especially since the other party is Aunt Chunlan.

Liu Jia rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I knew you wouldn't say anything nice. Hurry up and apologize to Aunt Chunlan. She's already here, so let's deal with this quickly. We have other things to do!"

"What kind of work is it?"

"Cut the bamboo! While we still have some time, hurry up and find someone to cut the bamboo so we can haul it back in this cart. Otherwise, you'll be the ones struggling later!"

Upon hearing Liu Jia's words, Zhao Xiaochao immediately perked up and turned to leave.

It was only then that Zhao Xiaochao realized he was still tied up.

"Third brother, hurry up and untie me. We can't delay the work. Don't even mention me apologizing to Aunt Chunlan. I'd even kowtow to her if I had to."

Liu Jia untied the rope from Zhao Xiaochao, saying, "All you do is cause trouble for me all day long. In the time it takes you to talk, a whole patch of bamboo has been cut down. Hurry up!"

"I know, I know!"

Seeing that Zhao Xiaochao was acting as if nothing had happened, Zhou Caixia and Li Zhenhe breathed a sigh of relief.

About ten minutes later, the bamboo grove became lively.

Before dark, Li Zhenhe had already driven several truckloads of bamboo.

That evening, Liu Jia lay sprawled out on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Peng Shunnian is right, buying a car is just a matter of time.

What kind of car they can buy and when they will receive news are not things they can decide.

The factory business is on track, but after deducting the budget for buying cars, this money will have to be invested again.

Liu Jia tried to calm herself down, but one thing after another kept flashing through her mind, like movie clips playing in the background, and she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Frustrated, I rolled over.

Liu Jia moved his arm, as if he had bumped into something.

I touched it and was immediately stunned!

broken!

The fabric I bought from the Construction Supply and Marketing Cooperative last time is still sitting on the kang (heated brick bed)!

How could I forget about that!

I was thinking of making clothes for my family back then, but I got so busy that I forgot about it.

"Tomorrow, I'll have to make them cut this garment down," Liu Jia muttered to himself.

When Guo Xiaoyan was at home, she was the one who cut all the clothes for the family.

After all, no one adds many clothes throughout the year, and it's not a difficult task.

But now that Guo Xiaoyan has left, who can we turn to?

Liu Jia frowned, racking his brains but unable to think of a suitable candidate.

Finally, he thought he might as well just hand the fabric over to his sister-in-law, Qin Chunyan, and let her handle it.

Liu Jia didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Early the next morning.

Hearing the roosters crowing in the yard, Liu Jia opened his eyes.

I drove all day yesterday and was busy unloading goods. I slept all night to recover, but my whole body feels like it's falling apart.

Reluctantly getting out of bed, Liu Jia grabbed the cloth and went out the door without even washing her face.

"Mom, are my older brother and sister-in-law coming over for dinner today?"

As soon as he finished asking the question, Liu Jia yawned, clearly still half asleep.

Zhang Guilan, who was sweeping the yard, was stunned for a moment.

Why is Liu Jia asking about the eldest brother and his wife so early in the morning?

"I told your brother yesterday that they shouldn't cook this morning, but instead come over to eat. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"It's alright. When they come over in a bit, give them this fabric and let my sister-in-law cut out a few clothes for you."

Liu Jia approached Zhang Guilan and handed her the fabric.

Zhang Guilan's eyes widened in disbelief!

Having lived most of my life, I have never seen so much material before.

As soon as I received it, I felt a sudden weight; the fabric almost fell to the ground.

"Sanzi, what's going on? Why is there so much fabric?"

"Not many, just one set for each person. This one with some floral patterns is for your sister-in-law and you."

"Didn't Yan'er just make me some clothes a while ago? I have clothes, so don't bother with this."

Zhang Guilan then realized that the fabric might have been bought by Liu Jia, and her tone revealed her heartache.

Farmers don't care about so much. What's wrong with having a few patches on your clothes? As long as there are no holes, it's fine.

These days, if someone goes out wearing new clothes, they're guaranteed to be pointed at and talked about.

If a family wears new clothes, people from several nearby villages will start talking about it.

We can't afford to cause that trouble.

So before Liu Jia could speak, Zhang Guilan instructed again, "Put this away. Nobody in the family needs clothes. We'll see if it comes in handy later."

Liu Jia knew what her mother was thinking, and before she could enter the house, she said, "We've already bought the fabric. If you keep it hidden away, it'll definitely get eaten by bugs. Don't be sad if it gets holes."

"You child, you always say things I don't want to hear. This fabric is so good, how could it get bitten by insects?"

"What if?"

Liu Jia deliberately raised his eyebrows, looking like he was watching a good show.

Zhang Guilan gasped in pain, frozen in place.

I wasn't sure if insects would bite the fabric in my hand, but it was the dog days of summer, and everything was damp.

If I really put the fabric at the bottom of the box, what if it gets moldy?

Such a large piece of fine fabric, how much did it cost?

If it gets ruined, I'll be so heartbroken I won't be able to sleep for several nights.

"You kid, you're always making things difficult for me. I don't care anymore. You said you wanted it for your sister-in-law, so I'll just give the ticket to her. Don't blame me later when everyone's talking behind your backs."

Zhang Guilan gave Liu Jia a reproachful look, but still went into the north room.

Such fine fabric shouldn't be left out like this; what if it gets ruined?

As she opened the curtain, Zhang Guilan muttered something under her breath.

"They really don't know how to live a good life. They can't even keep a low profile. They haven't even had a few days of good life before they've caused trouble again."

The people in the village all have long tongues and long ears.

Especially those gossipy old women, they can't stand seeing others do well.

Liu Jia started a factory and spent his days walking back and forth on the main road in the village. Many people were envious of him, but they didn't say anything.

If the whole family goes out in new clothes, won't they be drowned in their spittle?

Thinking about it this way, Zhang Guilan sighed again.

Liu Jia didn't care about anything else. After the food was cooked, he ate a few bites and hurriedly left.

Now, the production team isn't so strict about managing things anymore.

There are policies from above that advocate reform and opening up, and this wind has blown down to some extent.

Although not as obvious as in big cities, the approval process for leave requests has become much more lenient.

In the past, if you didn't want to work and needed to ask for leave, you had to explain the reason several times in detail. Now, as long as it's a legitimate reason, it can be approved.

Liu Jia mentioned it when he passed by Zhou Fengshou's house, and Zhou Fengshou agreed on the spot.

I'm staying home today to handle things at the factory.

During this period, Liu Jianye was not at the factory much, so Liu Jiachao was visiting more frequently.

Similar to Liu Jia's busy schedule, Guo Xiaoyan has also been leaving home early these past few days.

To have someone to talk to on the road, Guo Xiaoyan always walked with Guo Xiaolan.

After crossing the main street, they arrived at the library and then went about their own business.

Guo Xiaoyan did not work in advance; normally, she would just assist Guo Zhiyuan.

For example, Guo Xiaoyan was the one who ran errands for delivering manuscripts and documents.

Actually, I'm only busy for about two days a month.

Today, Guo Xiaoyan is handling Guo Zhiyuan's private matters.

He handed the manuscript to one of his father's old friends.

Guo Xiaoyan got the job done in just half an hour.

Afterwards, Guo Xiaoyan went to the Hongxing Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

"The toothbrush and towel need to be replaced, and we also need to buy soap."

Guo Xiaoyan walked along, talking to herself.