Chapter 106: Chapter 103: A Beautiful Life

Wu Shufen said reproachfully, “If Old Chen gave it to you, then you should keep it. We have enough to eat and wear; we don’t need these things.”

“You and Dad can use the khaki cloth to have some clothes made. Your sisters-in-law like Dacron, so you can have them made into shirts. The thin cotton is for Little Douzi; he doesn’t have any summer clothes.”

As she spoke, Lin Lan took out the milk powder. “This is milk powder. It’s more nutritious than malted milk. You and Dad should remember to mix a bowl and drink it before bed. It will help you sleep better.”

“Alright, alright! We’ll be sure to drink it.” Wu Shufen’s eyes grew red as she looked at her daughter. ’My little girl has finally matured,’ she thought. ’Now let’s see which of those gossips from the production team dares to wag their tongues about her again!’

A short while later, the three brothers—Lin Guoqiang and the others—returned with Little Douzi. Wu Shufen was overjoyed as she held her grandson.

Little Douzi chattered away, making Wu Shufen’s face crinkle into a wide, wrinkled smile.

When the three brothers learned that Lin Lan’s Golden Deer bicycle had only cost fifty yuan, they told her to be sure to thank Yao Xiuyun properly.

Lin Guoliang smiled. “Your timing is perfect. You can take some rapeseed oil and beans back with you while you’re at it.”

“Okay!” Lin Lan followed him to a spare room in the east wing, where she saw two barrels of rapeseed oil and more than ten bags of beans.

It turned out that the nearby production teams had heard the Lin family was buying beans and rapeseed oil, so they had all brought their supplies to the Lin family’s home to sell.

Lin Guoliang and his brothers had also made a trip into the mountains, collecting a good amount of large white beans. They told the locals that they were buying beans and other mountain goods on a long-term basis.

When her two sisters-in-law returned and saw the bicycle, they showered Lin Lan with praise before cheerfully heading off to help with dinner.

When Lin Changyou returned from the brigade office, Lin Lan settled up the money she owed for the beans. Then, she took out the money from Yang Liying, added some of her own, and placed it all on the table.

“Dad, this hundred yuan is from Liying for you to buy beans on her behalf. The other two hundred is for the family, to help me continue buying beans and rapeseed oil.”

Lin Changyou glanced at the money on the table and said with a chuckle, “The family just sold about ten fat pigs. Your big brother and second brother took their share of the profits, and your third brother’s money and ours are all here at home. If you’re in a tight spot, you should hold on to it for now.”

Lin Guoliang added, “Little Lan, the family has money. You can just give it to us next time you visit.”

“I have money. If I need more later, I’ll ask to borrow it from you then!”

Lin Lan thought for a moment, then looked at them and lowered her voice. “Dad, brothers… I overheard some things during the dinner celebrating the bean deal. They said that starting as early as next year, or the year after at the latest, they’re going to implement the ’household responsibility system.’ They’ll also allow people to trade and sell freely.

You all should stock up on more dried mushrooms. Or you can bring Lexing to the city, and I’ll help you sell them. We need to save up more money. Once I find and buy a suitable storefront in the city, we can either use it to sell things or rent it out for income.”

The three brothers looked at her in shock, then turned to Lin Changyou. “Dad, Third Brother never mentioned anything like this in his letters!”

The information Lin Lan had just shared was a lot to take in. Lin Changyou had her repeat it, processing her words for a moment before he spoke. “I wrote to your third brother about you running a small business. He said he went out for a look and saw people setting up stalls to sell things in the city where he’s stationed, so he told me not to worry. But what exactly is this ’household responsibility system’? And who told you about it?”

Lin Lan thought for a moment. “The ’household responsibility system’ means all the farmland and mountain lands belonging to the production teams will be divided up among the households based on population. It’s the implementation of the ’Household Contract Responsibility System.’ The members will be responsible for their own profits and losses. The more you work, the more you’ll earn.”

Lin Changyou mentally calculated the amount of land in the Shilian Brigade and looked at his children with growing excitement. “If that’s really true, not even counting the mountain areas, every person in the Shilian Brigade could get more than two mu of land.” But then he reconsidered, finding it hard to believe. ’The state is going to give us all this land, and the grain we grow will be all ours? How could there be such a good deal?’

Lin Lan smiled and shook her head. “It’s not quite that good. I heard you’ll have to submit a grain quota to the state, plus pay agricultural taxes and other levies, all based on population. The money you get for the grain quota will be just enough to cover all those taxes and fees, with nothing left over.

What it means is you can finally eat all the white rice you want. The best part is that we’ll be able to run side businesses and trade freely. Anyone who is smart, bold, and diligent can seize the opportunity and build a prosperous life.”

After listening, Lin Changyou said in a solemn voice, “No matter how much we have to hand over, as long as we can eat our fill and work for ourselves, it’s a hundred times better than hundreds of households all stirring the same pot.”

Lin Guoqiang nodded. “That’s right. Those lazy, scheming bastards on the team are always slacking off on the job. Let’s see them try that when everyone is working for themselves!”

Lin Changyou chuckled. “When that day comes, they won’t be able to slack off.”

’He felt the production team was just like a large family where the parents keep all the children together. The diligent ones work themselves to death while the sly ones find every possible way to slack off. Over time, conflicts multiply. But once the family divides and everyone fends for themselves, the sly ones can’t hide from work anymore and naturally become diligent.’

After a moment of thought, Lin Guozhu asked, “Little Lan, what do you mean by ’side businesses’?”

“Yeah!” The father and his sons all turned to look at her.

“The family’s pig farm is your side business! But we can’t just focus on the pig farm. We have to use our family’s capital to buy goods from the mountains and sell them in the city—things like mushrooms, chestnuts, walnuts, Sichuan peppercorns, wild ginger, katsumadai seeds, and black cardamom.

The best thing would be to lease a few hillsides to plant fruit trees, paper mulberries, ramie, wild ginger, black cardamom, and gardenias. We could also raise chickens, ducks, geese, and sheep in the forest!”

’When everyone else starts using all sorts of additives and growth hormones to raise livestock for a quick buck, that will be our time to build a brand of all-natural, organic farm products.’

Lin Guoliang and his two brothers felt their hearts swell with excitement. As they imagined the future Lin Lan was painting for them, it felt like a beautiful life was within reach.

Unable to hide his excitement, Lin Changyou nodded again and again. “Good! We’ll lease Mantou Mountain behind the house, and the two adjacent hills along with it!”

They felt that raising pigs, feeding chickens, and growing crops were their strong suits. If they were actually asked to open a shop and haggle with customers, they would be too nervous to even speak properly.

Lin Guozhu looked at his father. “Dad, you and Mom just wait. The four of us will make a fortune, take great care of you, and make sure you live a good life!”

Lin Changyou grinned, revealing large front teeth stained yellow from his tobacco pipe, his eyes narrowing into a smile. “As long as you boys can live a good life, your mother and I will be happy with anything.”

Zhang Xiuqing and Zhao Xiaohui, who had been standing at the entrance to the main hall, overheard the conversation. They too felt a surge of motivation, wishing the new policies would start tomorrow so they could achieve that kind of life sooner.

At noon, the children returned home, and everyone gathered together again in a lively scene. After a cheerful lunch, the family sat and talked for a while before Lin Lan got ready to leave.

The three brothers went to borrow a wheelbarrow and returned to start loading her things onto it.

Zhang Xiuqing had made two pairs of cloth shoes for her and also gave her a bag of gardenia yellow dye, explaining she had gotten it during a visit to her parents’ home. Zhao Xiaohui gave her several pairs of embroidered shoe insoles.

Lin Guoliang had woven several carrying baskets and two back baskets. He had even thoughtfully fitted the back baskets with removable dividers, which made them extremely convenient for packing.

Lin Guozhu had also found a piece of ginkgo wood and made her a cutting board.

Wu Shufen brought over a bag of dried mushrooms, placed it on the wheelbarrow, and reminded Lin Lan to thank Yao Xiuyun.

Little Douzi started whimpering as he clung to Lin Lan, not wanting his mother to go.

His crying made Lin Lan’s heart ache. Looking down at him, she said, “How about you just come back with Mommy?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep