Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3003 A Small Person's Big Dream

Night falls.

Liu Yufen sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her hands resting on her bulging belly, dreaming of the family living in town after the child was born.

If the husband becomes a worker, he will be able to support more children.

They can build a warm family, where their children can go to daycare, go to school, and even find jobs in town and become proud workers.

These were things I never dared to even dream of before.

But now it's not a distant dream.

Wang Liang and Wang Ran were not at home; instead, they went out to look for the Wang family.

This is something that must be told to the family, and since it just so happens to be tonight, Wang Liang decided to take out the canned beef and have a meal with everyone.

Liu Yufen strongly agreed with this.

A family should be united, whether in the countryside or elsewhere.

Moreover, even if you become a worker in the future, you must maintain good relationships with your family. This is based on my experience of living in the countryside for many years.

However, looking at the other can on the table, it was a can of mutton.

Wang Liang said that he had to go to the construction site to work tomorrow and couldn't go to his father-in-law's house.

Let her and Wang Ran take the canned mutton back to her parents' home tomorrow and tell them the good news.

Thinking of her older brother and sister-in-law, as well as her younger brother and sister, Liu Yufen could imagine their expressions when she told them the news.

Thinking this, Liu Yufen's smile never faded.

crunch
The courtyard gate opened, and a figure walked in, followed by a second, and a third.
Liu Yufen quickly got up to greet them. The eldest sister-in-law was the first to enter, followed by the second sister-in-law.
None of the sisters-in-law came empty-handed. The eldest and second sisters-in-law were carrying cabbages, the third sister-in-law was carrying a few potatoes, and the fourth sister-in-law was carrying two radishes.

"sister in law."

Liu Yufen stepped forward to greet them, and her sister-in-law quickly put down the cabbage and came forward to help her, saying, "Yufen, you have to be careful, you're carrying a heavy load."

Seeing her usually straightforward sister-in-law being so gentle now, Liu Yufen couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Sister-in-law, it's alright. We still have to work in the fields. This is nothing."

Liu Yufen wasn't lying; these days, even pregnant women have to work.

It's just not heavy physical labor.

"Quickly, let's go inside. From now on, our house will be something special."

The second sister-in-law urged them on; she and Liu Yufen usually got along the best.

Several women entered the house and immediately saw the canned beef placed on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Everyone believed it even more.

"Let's start a fire quickly, and stew this beef tonight."

Liu Yufen stood aside, picked up a can of beef (it was quite heavy), and handed it to her sister-in-law.

The eldest sister-in-law took the can of food and looked at it quickly, and the others around her also looked over.

"This is canned beef?"

Because of the rushed processing, the products from the Northwest Cannery were not packaged. From the outside, they were just tin boxes. However, they were not completely unpackaged; a five-pointed star was printed on the tin box, and the words "Nine Departments" were printed below it.

However, that wasn't the point of interest for everyone; the real focus was on what was inside.

"I think this definitely weighs more than a pound."

The older sister-in-law weighed the meat in her hand, and thinking that it was a pound of meat, and beef at that, she felt a pang of envy.

The thought that the fifth brother's family would live a completely different life from theirs made her feel even more heartbroken.

"Quick, open it and take a look."

The third sister-in-law urged her on, and the eldest sister-in-law nodded, then placed the can on the table, ready to open it.

After looking at it for a while, I still didn't know how to open it, and I could only feel anxious.

Liu Yufen didn't know how to play either, so she could only wait for Wang Liang to come back.

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long before the door opened again and a group of people walked in.

In the lead were two elderly people, followed by Wang Liang supporting his mother, and then his two older brothers and a group of children.
The eldest sister-in-law and the others rushed out to greet them, and in an instant, there wasn't even a place to stand in the entire house.

However, once there were more people, the room actually became warm.

They helped the two elderly people onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and the eldest and second eldest children sat down in order.

Wang Ran helped serve tea and water, while Wang Liang chatted and laughed with his family on the side.

"Liangzi, how do I open this can?"

The eldest sister-in-law happily brought the can of food over. The women had been busy for a long time but still didn't know how to open it, so they had to ask Wang Liang to do it.

At this moment, everyone looked at the canned food with curiosity.

The eldest son is not young anymore; his children are only one year younger than Wang Liang, but older than Wang Ran.

Looking at the canned beef, she said to her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, "Look at them, so ignorant."

"I give you good stuff, but you don't know how to eat it."

The older sister-in-law didn't stand on ceremony, saying, "You know, just open it."

The eldest brother didn't speak, but looked at the canned food and asked, "Fifth brother, this can of food must weigh more than a pound, right?"

Wang Liang picked up the can and was about to open it when he laughed and said, "Brother, this is internal canned food specially prepared by the Ninth Division for the engineering project personnel."

"This one is made of beef, and the beef inside is already cooked. You can eat it right away after opening it."

"This can contains one and a half pounds of meat."

"One and a half pounds of beef?"

The crowd gasped in surprise, and the third brother, stroking his chin, said, "If this were in the supply and marketing cooperative, it would cost at least two yuan."

"Not just, you need three pieces."

"There's oil and salt in this."

As they were talking, Wang Liang had already pulled open a layer of the rolled edge along the edge of the can, and everyone watched intently.

A group of children, all his nephews and nieces, gathered around him.

crunch
As soon as the can was opened, a wonderful aroma filled the room, and everyone couldn't help but take deep breaths.

Wang Liang picked up the opened tin, which was still covered in soup and shredded meat. He looked at his fourth brother's little niece beside him, reached out and put the tin down, and said, "Lily, lick it."

My little niece is a little over three years old and doesn't know what she's doing yet, but when she saw the shredded meat on the metal plate, she immediately stuck out her tongue and licked it bit by bit, then slurped it vigorously in her mouth, saying, "Delicious, so delicious!"

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

"Sister-in-law, stew it all, let the children have some too."

"Hey, good."

As she spoke, the elder sister-in-law carefully took the item and carried it to the stove.

The women and children all went out, while the old woman sat to the side, holding Liu Yufen's hand.

Logically, women should leave in such situations.

But I'm old, and I can't talk to anyone about it.

As for Liu Yufen, she might become a city dweller in the future, but none of them would say anything about it.

"Xiao Fen, you and this child are so lucky."

The old woman's eyesight wasn't very good, and as she spoke, she would reach out and touch Liu Yufen's belly, while Liu Yufen held her mother's hand with a smile on her face.

Perhaps, the child in her belly is truly a lucky star.

Is Wang Liang home?

Just then, a shout came from the doorway, and everyone hurriedly looked through the window.

"Oh, it's Secretary Liu."

The third brother slapped his thigh and shouted, and the eldest brother, Wang Liang, and the others quickly went out to greet him.

Only then did they realize that the people who had arrived included not only the brigade secretary, but also two deputy secretaries, the brigade accountant, and the militia company commander.
Suddenly, the entire village leadership arrived, making the room even more crowded.

"Secretary, why are you here?"

The eldest brother hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands with the others. Secretary Liu, carrying two bottles of wine, walked up to Wang Liang and patted him hard on the shoulder, saying, "Good lad, you've brought honor to our village."

"Secretary Liu, no, it's nothing."

"Nothing yet?"

Looking at everyone present, Secretary Liu then announced loudly, "I also received a call from the town this afternoon. Comrade Wang Liang has officially become a full-time employee of the Ninth Industrial Machinery Department and the Ninth Machinery and Electricity Research Institute."

Bang bang bang bang
The women's director led the applause, and the villagers outside the house also joined in.

There were thirteen of you who joined the company together, right?

Wang Liang nodded, "Yes, that's when Captain Li hired me."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Liu quickly reached out and patted Wang Liang on the head, "What Captain Li? That's Factory Director Li. In terms of seniority, no one in our town is higher than him. When you go out in the future, you must follow Factory Director Li closely and show him respect, understand?"

Wang Liang was surprised to find that the usually kind Li Tiejun held such a high rank, and felt even more grateful.

With such a kind and hands-on leader, what more could one ask for than to follow such a person?

Just do it.

"Secretary Liu, don't worry, I will definitely work hard and follow Director Li's lead from now on."

“He told me to go east, but I will never go west.”

Wang Liang immediately assured him, and Secretary Liu nodded with satisfaction, then continued, "Of these thirteen people, only one is from our village out of the surrounding villages. Tell me, doesn't this bring honor to our village?"

"Yes Yes"

The militia company commander spoke happily, while Wang Liang seemed a little embarrassed.

"And another thing, Comrade Wang Liang has joined the Ninth Ministry of Machinery Industry, which is quite remarkable."

"In our town, there are only thirteen people like Wang Liang right now."

"What does this show? It shows that the revolutionary education in our village is positive and uplifting."

Secretary Liu spoke at length, but what everyone heard most was about the Ninth Department, and they looked at Wang Liang with even more envy.

Some of the village girls had regret in their eyes. If they had been with Wang Liang back then, they would be the mistress of the house now.

After Secretary Liu finished speaking, everyone went inside.

Wang Liang originally planned to leave the canned pork for his wife, but now that there were so many people, it was clear they were there to eat.

There was no other way but to open the pot and prepare to stew another pot of pork and potatoes.

At the dinner table, Secretary Liu sat next to Old Master Wang. There were wine glasses on the table, a bowl of beef stew with cabbage for each person, and a pot of dried sweet potatoes.

Even so, a group of children were still gathered outside the window, their eyes fixed on the beef in the bowl.

Besides the eldest son, the only other person at this table is Wang Liang.

Everyone else went to Wang Ran's room, where each person had a bowl of vegetables and meat.

After they finish eating, the children will have some of the leftovers.

Regardless, try to let the children have a taste.

"Wang Liang, come on, let's have a drink."

Secretary Liu took the initiative to raise his glass, and Wang Liang quickly picked up his glass as well. The two clinked glasses and took a sip.

Secretary Liu

"Don't be shy, just call me Uncle Liu. Our two families used to work on the same landlord's land."

Old Master Wang chuckled, "Yes, I was herding cattle back then, while your older brother farmed for the landlord."

When the past was recounted, everyone sighed with emotion.

However, Wang Liang's address of "Uncle Liu" still surprised everyone inside and outside the house.

At the same time, everyone understood that Wang Liang's status would no longer be the same as before.

It was past midnight when we finished the meal.

After everyone left, Wang Liang saw them off and then returned to the house.

The bowls and chopsticks had all been washed clean, but actually they didn't need to be; everyone's bowls were so clean they could practically shine.

"Fifth brother."

Wang Ran's face was excited, but his hands were clenched tightly around his pants, and he didn't know what to say.

Wang Liang, who had been drinking, saw Wang Ran like this and slapped him on the head, saying, "What are you doing, you brat? Go back to your room and get some sleep."

"Oh!"

Wang Ran took two steps, then turned back and asked, "Fifth Brother, do I really want to follow you?"

Wang Liang turned around. "What's wrong? You don't want to?"

"No, no, no, I'm willing, I'm willing."

Wang Ran's face showed an even greater excitement, which came from what Wang Liang said during dinner: that Wang Ran would be with him from now on, and he would be responsible for raising him to adulthood.

In response, everyone felt that Wang Ran was lucky to have such good timing, and that Wang Liang was a kind-hearted person.

If Wang Liang leaves now, no one can say anything about it.

In this way, brothers in rural areas divide their households and live separately, and each year they only need to give the elderly some 'work points'.

In rural areas, this is called "raising the account," which basically guarantees the elderly a thousand work points a year, plus the grain provided by the production team, ensuring their retirement.

Perhaps this is what the elderly mean by 'raising children to provide for old age'.

Seeing his younger brother run back into the house, Wang Liang knew that the guy probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

However, he could fall asleep while singing along.

After tidying up, Wang Liang lay down in bed.

His wife, Liu Yuhua, was not asleep, so she turned over and nestled in Wang Liang's arms.

"Honey, am I dreaming?"

"Silly girl, no, it's all true."

"That's wonderful."

As the two whispered to each other, Wang Liang pulled his wife into his arms and suddenly asked, "Honey, what do you think we should name our baby when it's born?"

"I don't know, I'll listen to you."

Wang Liang reached out and carefully touched his wife's belly.

"If it's a boy, we'll call him Jiuwa (Nine-Child), and his formal name, according to the generational naming convention, will be Wang Chuantao (Wang Chuantao)!"

"it is good!"

Liu Yufen readily agreed.

As for the reason, she could more or less guess it: she wanted to be like that important person and achieve great things.

Who doesn't want their child to be successful?

The two fell into a deep sleep, embracing each other. As for what would happen if they had a daughter, neither of them said anything.

Because what they were certain of in their hearts was their son.

Before dawn the next day, Wang Liang got up, dressed, and prepared to go out, while his wife Liu Yufen helped him pack.

Wang Ran, the younger brother, stared at his panda eyes while yawning, but he was incredibly excited.

"Fifth Brother, don't worry, I'll definitely keep a close eye on Sister-in-law!"

Wang Ran clenched her little fists like an adult.

Wang Liang smiled, ate a couple of bites of dried sweet potato, and then went to his wife. Looking at the baby in her belly, he felt a little reluctant, but for the sake of their future life, what reason did he have not to go?
Moreover, Secretary Liu said last night that this is a contribution to the country and the revolution.

After saying goodbye, Wang Liang left the village.

The mountain is still a mountain, and the water is still water.

The wind blowing in my face was still cold.

But his heart was burning with passion. He ran up the hillside, looking at the even higher mountains in the distance.

At that moment, Wang Liang had only one thought in his mind.

Let more people have access to electricity!