Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Hong Weimin was also somewhat surprised, "So many? You didn't miscalculate?"

Huang Yuezhen shook her head.

Hong Weimin laughed, “It was Wenjun who gave it to me. I reserve goods for him and prepare all the good stuff for him in advance. He gives me some money every month, sometimes fifty or sixty, sometimes seventy or eighty, and a few times he gave me a hundred, which is more than my salary. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have so much money.”

He works in Nangang and occasionally has to spend money, especially on social obligations and living expenses. The fact that he still has 1,200 left shows that Chen Wenjun really gave him a lot.

Hong Weimin smiled with obvious satisfaction.

Huang Yuezhen knew where the money came from and didn't say anything more, but she told Hong Weimin about the money she and her son had earned from their stall that month.

Hong Weimin was shocked and his smile vanished. "Setting up a stall is so profitable? Maybe I should come back and set up a stall too!"

Huang Yuezhen rolled her eyes at him and told him exactly what Lin Qin had said.

"What I mean is to let the eldest son handle the stall business and let him do whatever he wants. Our mother can help out, and when he makes money, he and Mom can split it 50/50. The second and third sons can also go and help out during their holidays and earn some pocket money."

Let's work hard for a year. If we earn well, the year after next we'll start planning to buy land, build a house, and get the eldest son married. The second one is still young, no rush. We'll go back to work, and maybe we can even bring the kids to the city someday!

Having witnessed the prosperity of the city, Huang Yuezhen naturally didn't want to stay in the countryside forever, even if not for her own sake, she had to consider the future generations.

Hong Weimin didn't think too much about it. Seeing that Huang Yuezhen had great ambitions, he immediately patted his chest to express his support.

After the couple finished counting their money, they carefully hid it away. Hong Weimin went out to prepare two seafood dishes for Lin E as an extra meal, while Huang Yuezhen went to take a shower and change her clothes.

This year, thanks to the money her family earned and the nice things that Hong Weimin and his wife brought back, Lin E indulged in a rare luxury.

The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared to be exceptionally lavish.

In previous years, their family's New Year's Eve dinner consisted of a bowl of braised pork, a bowl of pickled vegetables, a basin of river fish in soy sauce, a basin of sweet potato rice, and the slaughtering of an old hen that no longer lays eggs or a female duck that they had raised for many years. But this was not the case every year.

This year's Lunar New Year's Eve dinner featured braised pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, served on a plate, with twice the amount of previous years. The soy sauce-braised river fish was no longer available, replaced by a plate of soy sauce-braised yellow croaker and a plate of stir-fried squid with scallions. Both of these dishes were made by Hong Weimin, and Lin E and her three children had never tasted them before.

As soon as the two seafood dishes were served, the three children's mouths watered at the aroma.

In addition to these three dishes, there is also a plate of stir-fried mustard greens and a plate of braised dishes containing pig intestines, pig lungs, and duck eggs.

This plate of braised dishes was prepared by Lin E through gritted teeth, just to reward her son and daughter-in-law for their hard work throughout the year. Her three grandchildren were simply benefiting from it.

The soup is made with old hen broth, and also contains white radish, water chestnuts, and some shiitake mushrooms. The broth is rich and has a hint of sweetness, making it very delicious.

The rice was regular white rice, without any sweet potatoes mixed in.

This was the most sumptuous meal the three children and Lin E had ever eaten in their lives.

As the whole family sat down, Lin E smiled and said, "Thank you all for your hard work this year. I hope our family will be healthy, safe, and successful in the new year."

Hong Weimin added, "And make a fortune!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lin E smiled from ear to ear.

Huang Yuezhen looked at the two younger children and said seriously, "Your eldest brother works hard to earn money, and you two study hard. Second brother, Mom doesn't expect you to be exceptionally talented, but your second cousin is pregnant and still in school, saying she wants to take the college entrance exam. You are at the right age to study, so you should learn from your second cousin and be positive and motivated. The same goes for your younger sister. Your father, mother, and grandmother are hoping that our family can produce a top student. Even if you don't pass the college entrance exam, you have to try your best, understand?"

Hong Shaorou nodded obediently, "Mom, I will try my best."

Huang Yuezhen smiled with satisfaction.

Hong Shaohua hung his head and said weakly, "I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee I'll pass the exam. Please don't blame me then, Dad, Mom, and Grandma."

Lin E scolded, "You haven't even tried yet and you're already saying things like that! If you ask me, if you could put half the effort you usually put into studying, you definitely wouldn't be where you are now."

"Did you hear me?" Huang Yuezhen said sternly, looking at Hong Shaohua with a fierce expression.

Seeing that his wife had been talking for so long and his second son was still the same, Hong Weimin immediately slammed a ten-yuan note on the table, looked at the two little ones and chuckled, "Dad will get straight to the point. Starting this year, you two will carefully collect all your test papers. If you get a perfect score, I'll give you a note. If you get 90 or above, it's five yuan. If you get 80 or above, it's three yuan. If you get less than 80, you get nothing."

If you fail, when we get back, I'll give you a lash for every single one you fail. Let's see how many lashes you can take!

Hong Shaohua and Hong Shaorou immediately straightened their chests and raised their heads, their eyes wide with fright as they nodded frantically.

Now all three adults were satisfied.

Lin E picked up her chopsticks and said loudly, "Let's eat!"

The Hong family was celebrating the New Year with great joy, and so was the Nanyu family.

This year, Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin not only made a fortune, but also transformed Nanyu. To celebrate their year's success, Chen Wenjun specially bought a bunch of fireworks and firecrackers.

After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, Lin Yi held his child and pressed his face against the glass window to watch Ping An and Ya Ya set off small fireworks.

Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun were still sitting at the table eating and chatting casually.

Chen Wenjun had drunk some wine, and his eyes were a little glazed. Looking at the child in Lin Yi's arms, he pondered and said, "You said before that our family couldn't raise this child. Do you still think so now?"

Lin Qin nodded, her eyes filled with reluctance, and slowly lowered her eyelids. "I've been asking around about families who want to adopt the child, but to be honest, none of them have been particularly satisfactory. Just a few days ago, my brother-in-law came over to deliver New Year's gifts and mentioned it to me, meaning that he wanted to adopt this child."

Chen Wenjun blinked in surprise, half sobering up. "What was he thinking?"

Lin Qin twitched the corners of her mouth, somewhat helplessly, "What else could he be thinking? He's just lusting after girls! He and my sister only had two sons. Back then, the family was poor, and the whole family lived together. The Xu family's third branch all had daughters, so he didn't have any other thoughts."

This division of the family property strained relations with the third branch of the Xu family again. Even if he liked those nieces, he wouldn't approach them anymore. Besides, my brother-in-law took care of this child for a few days after she was born, so they had developed some affection for each other. Now that he's made money and the family's financial situation has improved, he's capable of having such thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wenjun found it amusing and called out to Ya Ya, who was setting off fireworks outside, "Ya Ya, come here!"

"Here I am!" Ya Ya skipped and hopped over to Chen Wenjun's side.

Her hair was styled into a pretty bun with a few delicate little ornaments clipped to it, and her smile was especially endearing.

Chen Wenjun scooped her up and held her in his arms, showing off, "Is he jealous because we have such a thoughtful and outstanding daughter?"

Every time Xu Dahai came over, he would lavish praise on Ping An and Ya Ya; he had even heard some of it from Lin Yi a few days ago. (End of Chapter)