1979: Reopening Wenhao Road from the Village

"Is everyone here?"

Wang Jianshui walked over, with an iron whistle hanging on his chest.

"Everyone's here."

"Start taking attendance."

"He Yan".

"arrive."

"Linxi".

"arrive."

……

"Chen Weidong".

"arrive."

Chen Weidong hurriedly responded, but he didn't expect that even after being reborn, he still couldn't escape the shouts of cattle and horses.

In his previous life, he worked as a cleaner at several companies. As a cleaner, he not only had to clock in every day, but also had to deal with various meetings from time to time.

There are at least daily morning, noon, and evening meetings, and you have to clock in with a watermark camera every now and then.

He's already that age, yet he still has to fake things every day, especially with smartphones. He didn't know how to use them at first, but Chen Xiaosui bought him a new phone and taught him several times before he finally learned.

He couldn't understand it at the time. What could a cleaning person possibly have to talk about? Did they think the restrooms would be clean without needing to be cleaned after the meeting?

"Today, our team will continue tilling and sowing the fields at the east entrance of the village. The men will till the soil, and the women will sow the seeds. Do you all understand?"

"Understood."

"Let's get to work."

At Wang Jianshui's command, Chen Weidong and He Yan went to an open space and started turning over the soil with hoes. They were soon drenched in sweat.

My arms feel like they don't belong to me anymore, and my back and legs ache.

No wonder so many people want to go to the city; this kind of land is really not something that ordinary people can do, it's just too tiring.

Now, I can still support my family relatively well, but as time goes on, I will earn less and less money. In bad years, it may even be difficult to support my family.

beep - beep - beep -

Upon hearing this sound, Chen Weidong sat down on the ground, panting heavily from exhaustion.

"Weidong, here's some water. Would you like some cornbread?"

He Yan walked over from the other end and said to Chen Weidong.

Although he also lived in Yanjing, it was in a rural area on the outskirts. He had been farming with his family since he was a child, so he was much more adapted to life than Chen Weidong.

"I brought some too."

Chen Weidong took out the cornbread he had brought that morning from his pocket.

With only income and no expenditure during this period, and Chen Weidong being the only one in the family with work points, most of the previously earned royalties have been used up.

As for the food I brought from home, I've already finished it all.

If we continue to spend more than we earn, the remaining money will probably only last for two months at most.

Actually, if you're frugal, you can eat for three or four months. But it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

Having gotten used to eating steamed buns, eggs, and milk recently, Chen Xiaosui and Chen Xiaoan now refuse to even eat cornbread.

Chen Weidong couldn't bear to see his two children eat these hard, dry cornbreads with them.

We absolutely have to make money!

He originally planned to wait until "The Herdsman" was published before writing his second novel, thinking that his royalties might increase by then. But after waiting for so long, there has been no response.

However, he already had some ideas about the content of the second novel, and he had to thank Liang Xiao for giving him inspiration.

"Chen Weidong—"

"Chen Weidong—"

"It sounds like someone is calling you."

He Yan nudged Chen Weidong, who was already lying in the field.

Ok?

"Really? I didn't hear that."

He got up too early this morning and spent the whole morning turning over the soil; now he's so tired he just wants to sleep.

"It really is, it looks like a mailman."

Upon hearing this, Chen Weidong immediately sat up and turned to look. He saw a bicycle indeed riding closer from a distance along the country path.

"Comrade Ren, I'm here."

Chen Weidong stood up and waved his hand. He could see clearly now that the person who came was the postman, Ren Hongxing.

"Comrade Weidong, there is a letter for you, sent by the editorial department of 'October'."

Ren Hongxing parked his car by the roadside and went straight into the field. Normally, he only needed to deliver the letter to the brigade headquarters, and if no one came to collect it, he could just leave it there.

However, he was very curious about Chen Weidong's letter. After all, Chen Weidong was the only person in the entire county whose articles had been published in newspapers in Beijing. Ren Hongxing remembered him vividly, so he specially sent it over.

"Comrade Weidong, quickly open it and see if it has already been issued."

Ren Hongxing handed the thick envelope to Chen Weidong and said somewhat urgently.

Several people who were resting nearby also gathered around.

Chen Weidong was also a little uneasy. He originally thought that with his decades of experience in his previous life, he would be able to face it calmly, but when it came to the critical moment, he still couldn't keep his composure.

After all, this was the opportunity he had longed for in both his lives to have his story published in the newspaper.

Upon opening the envelope, there was a letter on top and a magazine underneath, with the words "October" written on it and "1979" Issue 1 written below.

The first page features "The Horseman," accompanied by a painting of a man and a woman, with the man leading a horse.

Below "The Herdsman" are the three characters "Chen Weidong" written in smaller font.

"Comrade Weidong, your article 'The Horse Herdsman' has been published!"

Ren Hongxing said loudly, looking even more excited than Chen Weidong.

"Wei Dong, congratulations!"

He Yan patted Chen Weidong on the shoulder with delight, genuinely happy for him.

During this period, Chen Weidong's publication of articles became a major topic of conversation in Yangjiatun. At first, everyone was very envious, but after a while, seeing that Chen Weidong's articles were not published for a long time, the village gradually started to have all sorts of rumors.

Some say Chen Weidong's article has been rejected by the editorial department again!

Some say that Chen Weidong's manuscript was never approved in the first place, probably because the editorial department sent it to the wrong person.

……

Although the source, Liang Xiao and Widow Li, were dealt with, such rumors could not be stopped at all. Fortunately, Liang Xiao shared the burden with him, and Chen Weidong's news was somewhat reduced during this period.

It must be said that, from this point of view, Liang Xiao is indeed a good comrade!

"What's wrong?"

"What's the mailman doing here?"

"It seems they've come looking for Chen, the educated youth."

"It seems Chen Zhiqing's article has been published!"

"You weren't eliminated!?"

"It's all a rumor. I've always said that their articles will definitely be published."

"Go and take a look quickly."

……

Before long, Chen Weidong was surrounded by layers of people. Ren Hongxing and He Yan, who were engrossed in reading the magazine, felt increasingly crowded, and some people even reached out to see what was going on.

"Stop pushing."

"Everyone, please move back a bit."

"My shoes."

……

"What are you doing?"

Wang Jianshui also noticed the situation and, thinking something had happened, his face tightened. He immediately ran over, shouting loudly as he ran.

"You all think it's not tiring, huh? Then let's get started now."

"Captain, we're reading an article."

Yes, that's right.

Those gathered behind him saw Wang Jianshui approaching and immediately offered an explanation.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You can't even read a single word with those eyes, and you're trying to read an article?"

Wang Jianshui cursed loudly as he pushed people inside. If something happened during work hours, he probably wouldn't be able to keep his job as team leader.

……