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

"Brother, brother! Where are you going?" Shen Min stopped Shen Dong as he was about to leave and asked.

Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the package in Shen Dong's hand, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Brother, who are you going to see? Haven't we already visited all our relatives?"

Seeing that Shen Dong remained silent, she darted around a couple of times, deliberately drawing out her words, "Oh, are we going to see our sister-in-law?"

Shen Dong shook his head with a chuckle, then nodded affirmatively at Shen Min.

"I want to go too! I want to go too!" she said, grabbing Shen Dong's arm tightly and shaking it repeatedly, while calling out "brother" in a spoiled manner.

Shen Dong rubbed her head helplessly. "Alright! But you can't be silly. You can't call her 'sister-in-law' when you get there. It's not good for her."

"Yes, ma'am!" Shen Min immediately beamed, releasing Shen Dong's arm and urging, "Hurry up, I can't wait!"

The brother and sister each have a bicycle. Shen Min's bicycle is a small women's bicycle that she just bought some time ago. Shen Min has practiced a lot recently and can ride it very well now.

Following closely beside Shen Dong, she chattered incessantly, asking what her brother had brought and saying that she also needed to prepare some things.

The two first went around to the commune's supply and marketing cooperative. Shen Min shook off Shen Dong and went to buy things by herself, while Shen Dong looked around and chose a pink scarf.

Soon Shen Min also bought a hair clip. The gift was light, but she had carefully selected it herself.

"Oh dear, you bought a scarf for your sister-in-law, but not for me!"

Shen Dong glared at her, "Say it again and I didn't buy it for you!" But he still grabbed a red scarf and handed it to her, "You naughty girl."

Shen Min happily took the scarf, wrapped it around her neck, and skipped and hopped after Shen Dong out of the supply and marketing cooperative.

Qiu Xiaoqin's house is surrounded by mud-brick houses, and two strings of dried red peppers hang on the wooden door frame.

As soon as the brother and sister reached the alley entrance, they were spotted by several middle-aged women sitting in the doorway, sunbathing and gossiping.

These middle-aged women were Qiu Xiaoqin's neighbors. They loved to get together and gossip about everyone, and they were loud and talkative. When they saw Shen Dong wearing a clean cotton coat, pushing a bicycle with a lot of things tied to the back seat, and a pretty little girl following behind, they immediately became interested.

The group huddled together and whispered among themselves. As they talked, their voices gradually grew louder when Shen Dong approached.

"Hey, look at that young man, he's so handsome, isn't he on his way to that silly old woman's house?"

"It looks like it. Judging by the setup, what's in the back probably isn't New Year's goods, is it?"

"You look unfamiliar. Are you not from around here?"

One of the older women slapped her thigh, "Of course not! You've all forgotten Li Zelin's son, what's his name again..."

"Li Tong, huh!"

"Yes, that young man has come several times, bringing so many gifts, and even saying he wouldn't marry anyone else. Everyone thought it was going to work out, so why is another one popping up now?!"

"I think this young man is quite good. Look at that brother and sister, each with their own bicycle. I saw that girl's scarf at the supply and marketing cooperative; it cost quite a bit. That means they're well-off!"

"Even if they're good, can they be better than the head of the agricultural machinery station? Give me a break! I bet these two are just trying to curry favor; they couldn't find the agricultural machinery station, so they came looking for Qiu's kid..."

They talked back and forth, their voices growing louder and louder, without any attempt to hide anything from Shen Dong and Shen Min. Their tone was full of speculation and fabrication, and even a hint of sarcasm.

Shen Min, who had been hopping around, immediately exploded upon hearing this. She abruptly stopped her bicycle, put her hands on her hips, and started shouting at the group of middle-aged women.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Who's trying to claim any connection?"

Shen Min was truly angry at this moment and disregarded everything else. When she shouted, the several middle-aged women were taken aback for a moment, then laughed, their tone becoming even more casual: "Oh dear, this young lady has quite a temper! We'll say what we want, but you won't listen!"

Hearing their words, Shen Min stiffened her neck and glared at them, "We came here to wish Sister Qiu a Happy New Year. All you do is make up stories behind her back and talk nonsense. You'd be better off doing some work in the fields."

"Hey, I'm telling you, what right do you have to boss me around?!" A plump middle-aged woman glared angrily, stood up abruptly, and was about to walk over aggressively.

Shen Min was startled by her imposing manner and quickly shrank back.

Shen Dong immediately shielded her behind him and said sternly, "What are you doing?"

Several middle-aged women gathered around. They were all seasoned gossips and had very sharp tongues. The brother and sister were no match for them, and soon they ran out of things to say.

Shen Min's eyes reddened with anger, but she refused to back down, muttering, "You...you're bullying me!"

Shen Dong didn't want to argue with these older women. They were all neighbors and fellow villagers, and they might come over often in the future. It wouldn't be good to make things too ugly. But these women's words became more and more offensive. They not only made fun of him, but also started to slander Qiu Xiaoqin and bully Shen Min.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard footsteps coming from the courtyard, and then Qiu Xiaojun rushed out, his face stern!

"Aunties, we're all neighbors. It's one thing to talk about each other behind their backs, but to say it to their faces like this is unacceptable. I'm going to go ask the neighborhood chief what kind of behavior this is!"

He had heard the commotion outside long ago. After listening behind the door and learning what had happened, he quickly came out and shouted at the group of middle-aged women.

Perhaps Qiu Xiaojun's words had an effect, because the middle-aged woman's tone softened slightly, and an embarrassed expression appeared on her face. "Xiaojun, we were just joking around, we were just curious. By the way, who are these two kids...?" the plump woman shamelessly asked.

"This is Factory Director Shen Dong!" Qiu Xiaojun said in a loud voice, enunciating each word with great respect.

"Factory manager? Come on, this kid is the factory manager? Do you think we've never seen a factory manager before!" The plump woman laughed exaggeratedly, and several other women beside her teased, "Xiaojun, you're trying to fool your aunties with that kind of talk."

Qiu Xiaojun sneered and said disdainfully, "This is the director of our commune's dairy factory, the capable guy you were talking about the other day!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, the women froze, their smiles vanishing. They exchanged glances and asked uncertainly, "Are you telling the truth? Is he really that young man who contracted the dairy factory when he was just a teenager?"

After Qiu Xiaojun confirmed it, the aunties' eyes lit up with excitement.

The dairy factory had been appearing more and more frequently in the conversations of the commune residents over the past month. They hadn't expected this young man to be the capable person they'd been praising. But being an older woman, she immediately changed her expression, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, and stepped forward to greet him, "Oh, it's Factory Director Shen!"