Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

"Uncle, you can farm my land."

Shen Weimin, holding a steamed bun in one hand and chopsticks in the other, paused for a moment upon hearing Shen Dong's words.

I was just thinking of asking my nephew what he was going to do with the field, but he just blurted it out.

What are your thoughts?

Shen Weimin knew that his nephew was opinionated and had recently shown remarkable talent, so he put down his chopsticks.

"If the plan goes smoothly, I should be in charge of everything at the dairy factory next month. Oh, by the way, the cafeteria will be reopening then, Auntie, why don't you come and help out there!"

"Me? Can I do it?" Hu Aiping was surprised and delighted that she had been chosen.

"That's definitely possible. I've been eating it since I was a child, how could I not know?"

"Mom, Dong-ge is right, your cooking is delicious." Shen Hui subtly flattered her.

"There's no rush. Your aunt will definitely come to help if she has time." Shen Weimin knew that his nephew remembered his family and even let him farm the land, so he felt a little embarrassed but couldn't think of a way to make amends.

Money? There's not much at home. The second son isn't married yet, and the third son is still in school. That's all we can give you for food.

Yup!

Shen Weimin's eyes lit up: "I'll plant that land for you first, and give it to you whenever you want it. I'll arrange the grain delivery. In the meantime, you can eat at home."

"OK!"

After dinner, Hu Aiping cleared the table, while Shen Weimin discussed the land allocation.

"Dad, are we going to need to hire workers for our family? If Mom goes to the dairy factory, then our family will be considered to be working for the government, right?" Shen Nan asked while wiping the table.

"It's still uncertain. Let's focus on doing the things at hand first, and then think about other things."

Seeing her second daughter's absent-minded look, and remembering what her son had told her before, she asked, "I heard you don't want to be a seamstress anymore?"

Shen Nan worked as a female worker in a collective textile factory in Gufeng Production Team, not far from her home. Because it was a collective enterprise, she was not considered a regular worker, and her income was very average.

Shen Hui had somehow found out about this before and mentioned it to him, saying that his second sister didn't want to do needlework anymore.

Sure enough, Shen Nan's expression changed several times after he said that.

"Yeah, there's not much of a future there. The styles are too outdated, and there's much less work to be done."

"Why didn't you say something sooner, child?"

Hu Aiping ran out of the kitchen and said anxiously.

There are five people in the family. It's okay that the eldest daughter is married. At least the second daughter has a job and can support herself. If she's not married, she can also contribute to the household expenses. But if the factory is not doing well, then the family will be under a lot of pressure.

Shen Nan stood there silently, wiping the table unconsciously, lost in thought.

"Her dad, you need to think of something!"

Shen Weimin frowned and thought for a moment, "Let's keep doing it for now. When the factory goes under, we can ask Dongzi. He has a lot of ideas and maybe he can find a solution."

"Yes, you're right. Dongzi has changed so much lately, I don't even recognize him anymore." Hu Aiping became happy when Shen Dong was mentioned, probably because she was excited about being able to work in the commune factory.

"You're saying Dongzi knows so much? Is it something Shi Xiaohai left behind? That's what everyone's saying."

"Tch!" Shen Weimin scoffed at the rumors circulating in the team. Didn't he know what Shi Xiaohai's abilities were?

When he first arrived at the team, he didn't know how to do many basic tasks. How could he possibly know how to care for cattle? Not to mention, he couldn't even cook yogurt.

But he couldn't figure out how Shen Dong knew all this.

"Those people are just jealous. They don't trust Dongzi, so they drag Shi Xiaohai into this to make Dongzi seem less capable."

"But none of that matters. He doesn't steal or rob; he relies on his own abilities, so there's no problem. As long as he acknowledges us, we won't hold him back."

Seeing Shen Weimin's serious expression, Hu Aiping said aggrievedly, "Oh dear, I just said something, why are you lecturing me?"

"Don't gossip with those old women all the time."

"They didn't say anything bad about him. Everyone in the team admires Dongzi now, really!" Seeing that Shen Weimin's expression was still serious, he had no choice but to agree: "Okay, okay, I won't talk to them anymore."

"Look at you, you're such a handful every day. You won't even go on blind dates arranged by matchmakers. You're already 20 years old, and you've spoiled us rotten!" Hu Aiping was indignant and found fault with everyone.

Shen Nan pursed her lips but didn't argue.

That night, many people in the Hongqi production team couldn't sleep, all dreaming of a better future.

------

Pi County is quite a distance from here, but fortunately there are buses from the county that go there, passing by the road next to the commune.

Shen Dong originally wanted to go to the state-run department store in the county, but he didn't have enough time, so he went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some apples, brown sugar, hard candy and the like.

The meeting point was at an intersection. Shen Dong waited for a while with his things in his arms, and then the dusty bus drove up.

It was more than 40 li to Pixian, and the bumpy ride took more than an hour. Fortunately, Shen Dong didn't get carsick, but his buttocks almost fell apart.

At this point, one has to admire the two elderly people in the family. They visit their aunt every year, and the road conditions have no effect on them at all.

At the intersection closest to Qianjin Commune, Shen Dong got out of the car alone and walked towards Shen Lan's house.

Shen Lan lived alone with her child in the commune, while her uncle Li Xiaoliang worked in the mine.

There are two children in the family. One is Li Yunfan, who is studying agricultural machinery repair at Chefu Vocational School, which is a good career path. The other is Li Yunhai, who is still in junior high school.

"Auntie?"

Shen Dong's memory of it wasn't very clear either, after all, he hadn't been to this old house for decades, and he really found it by relying on a few bits of memory.

I knocked on the door, and there were sounds of footsteps inside. Then a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Dongzi?!" Shen Lan exclaimed in surprise, "What brings you here? Have you eaten?"

Looking at the slightly weathered face before him, Shen Dong couldn't hold back his emotions, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Auntie, I miss you!"

The voice, trembling with tears, left Shen Lan at a loss, and she quickly pulled Shen Dong into the house.

"What's wrong? Did someone bully you?" Shen Lan took a towel and wiped Shen Dong's face, asking with concern.

"No, it's just that I haven't seen you in a long, long time, so I wanted to come and see you and Uncle, and to see Yunfan and Yunhai." Shen Dong calmed himself down and picked up the bag that was on the ground.

Like a child showing off, they took out one item after another.

This startled Shen Lan, as she knew the family's situation very well.

These things in front of her were at least fifty years old, and her expression immediately turned serious.

"Dongzi, did you buy this?"

Shen Dong chuckled and nodded.

"Where did the money come from? Dongzi, we can't do bad things, we can't take the wrong path!" Shen Lan pushed the things on the table aside, sat down next to Shen Dong, and said earnestly.

"Auntie, don't worry, I earned all of this myself!"

"You earned it yourself? Your grandfather only arrived last month and didn't mention any of this to me. How did you earn it?"