Chapter 70: Chapter 70: A Family’s Worth—10,000 Strings of Cash

The crowd was abuzz with speculation, all guessing why Ling Chengyan was brought back by a small car. Some had caught wind of the news that Zhang Wanxiang had been specially recruited into the military and wanted to ask Ling Chengyan about how the champion was to be arranged. Was she also going to serve in the army?

If she joins the military, what about her two children?

Ling Chengyan only nodded in agreement, not saying much. Wang Futang and the village cadre had to persuade the crowd persistently before they finally managed to disperse everyone.

Wang Lianxiang did not dare to go in and question Ling Chengyan. Reluctantly, she had to leave with the crowd.

That shrew, who hadn’t even graduated elementary school, was going to the city. Heaven is not fair, heaven is not fair!

Once everyone left, only the elder uncle’s family and Zhang Wanxiang remained.

Only then did Ling Chengyan explain the situation. “It’s also the idea of special recruitment into the military, but since I have children, special arrangements were made for me, so I won’t be joining Wanxiang and the others.”

Everyone suddenly understood. The elder aunt held Ling Chengyan’s hand, sharing in her joy but also not without a layer of worry. The second family always made life difficult for them, and Ling Chengyan had even mentioned divorce before. Now that she had soared to another level, moving to the district with the children, would she divorce Liansheng, who wasn’t imprisoned?

“You’ve really fought for a good life and future for yourself…”

Seeing the concern beneath the elder aunt’s joy and the slight worry in her elder uncle and cousin’s eyes, Ling Chengyan thought for a moment and roughly surmised their concerns.

However, she remained silent. After all, some matters don’t necessarily change just because they’re voiced; it depends on how they’re handled.

After exchanging a few words, people started to leave. The elder aunt said she would send the two cousin sisters-in-law over the next day to help pack.

Little Rain had prepared the meal, and they all sat down to eat. Ling Chengyan tended to the newly awakened Shi Tou, while Little Rain cleaned up and returned, only to see Ling Chengyan setting up a table for Little Apricot to practice writing, which surprised Little Rain.

“Sis, shouldn’t we start packing?”

Ling Chengyan smiled and shook her head, “No rush, there’s not much stuff. Just two bundles and we’re done. It can wait until tomorrow.”

Thus, Little Rain was also made to practice writing and arithmetic.

After gradually learning about the world, Ling Chengyan realized that the schools here were state-run, with almost every village having its own elementary school, and a middle school in the commune. Unlike in the past, where ancient classics dominated, now the subjects were more practical—Chinese was in plain language, math covered arithmetic, and there were also history, geography, and natural science. Middle school would introduce physics and chemistry… She found out that physics was similar to what was once called the study of physical things, and chemistry reminded her of Taoist alchemy.

As she taught Little Rain and Little Apricot, she herself was learning simplified characters, mathematics, geography, and history, although she hadn’t yet touched on physics and chemistry.

Hong Ling and Hong Zhi arrived a little later, with Hong Zhi’s eyes still teary and her lips pouting. Ling Chengyan greeted her with a laugh, pulling her close and wiping her eyes as she said, “Who upset our Hong Zhi? Look, your eyes are all swollen from crying. You won’t look pretty like this!”

Hong Zhi turned and buried herself in Ling Chengyan’s arms, holding her and crying, “Auntie, can’t you guys not leave…”

Ling Chengyan was amused and a bit exasperated. She hesitated but then hugged the little girl and comforted, “This is arranged by the state. Auntie can’t not go! But it’s not far, and you can come play with your sister during the holidays.”

Hong Zhi stopped crying, somewhat skeptical, “Not far? My dad said it takes half a day by cart!”

Ling Chengyan laughed, “Your dad was talking about a mule cart. It’s much faster by car.”

Saying that she took out a few candies, peeled one, and put it in Hong Zhi’s mouth. The little girl stopped crying for real as she tasted the sweet candy.

The girls wrote for a while, and Hong Ling finished first, offering her work to Ling Chengyan for inspection.

Looking at her serene profile in the lamplight, Hong Ling hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, “Auntie, when you move to the district, will you be considered urban residents? Will you eat rationed food?”

Ling Chengyan was slightly startled, then smiled, “Probably.”

Hong Ling lowered her gaze, hiding a sense of disappointment, “That’s really nice.”

The next morning, Ling Chengyan got up early as usual, went outside the village, and unexpectedly caught two big wild rabbits in her traps.

With a small knife in hand, she went to a nearby stream, cleaned the rabbits, brought them home, and rubbed them with salt before hanging them from the beam to dry.

Little Rain had risen early and nearly finished preparing breakfast. Ling Chengyan threw the processed rabbit innards to Ah Huang before going inside to wake Little Apricot for breakfast.

Before they finished their breakfast, the elder aunt and two cousin sisters-in-law arrived. Without Ling Chengyan needing to worry, the three began tidying up.

“You, from the eldest family, put the grain out in the yard to dry. Once they move to the city, it won’t be cheap to dry grain… And these dried vegetables, fluff and dry them too… Send Hong Ling to keep an eye on them…”

Listening to the elder aunt’s arrangements, Ling Chengyan was a bit stunned. She hadn’t considered these things before, thinking that moving just required two bundles to wrap bedding and clothes…

With a quick thought, the elder aunt even assigned tasks to the two elder cousins: “You two brothers, go to the brick kiln and buy a few jars. After they move, their mother won’t have easy access to pickled vegetables and soy paste, so those will need to be prepared at home…”

After sending the two cousins off, the elder aunt turned back to Ling Chengyan, “Bring some from home when you leave to eat, and when the crops are harvested, I’ll have your brothers bring more to you. You mustn’t run out of pickled vegetables.”

What could Ling Chengyan say? She held onto the elder aunt’s slightly rough hand, feeling a deep sense of reluctance rising from her heart.

No matter the starting point of the elder uncle and aunt, after coming here, she truly received their care and support, along with that of her cousins and sisters-in-law. This feeling was like having family, where even though small conflicts might arise when together every day, when faced with separation, it felt like tearing at the bond, causing pain, reluctance, and sorrow.

The elder aunt’s eyes also reddened, but she wiped them dry and forced a smile, “Alright, alright. You’ve earned a good future and can take the kids to enjoy life in the city. It’s a happy event, a really happy event, so no crying or it’ll bring bad luck.”

Ling Chengyan nodded and smiled, “If you hadn’t come, I’d still think it was nothing. I thought just two bundles were enough, but your arrangements made me realize how simple-minded I was…”

The elder aunt chuckled, patting Ling Chengyan’s hand, “A broken home is worth a fortune yet these things seem trivial, but missing one could be a problem. Enough with being clingy to this old woman. You go sort out the adult and children’s clothes, air what needs airing, wash what needs washing, pack them properly. Tomorrow the vehicle will come to pick you up. And don’t keep them waiting too long, as everyone costs the state time.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep