I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

One round trip covered at least an acre of land. Zhou Zhonghai was panting heavily, while Yang Wenjin maintained a steady breathing, showing signs of accumulating strength before unleashing it. She followed Zhou Zhonghai half a meter behind him at a leisurely pace.

"My dear in-law, I can't take it anymore, I need to go have a smoke."

Zhou Zhonghai wiped his sweat, and Qiaoqiao's grandfather quickly put down his hoe and accompanied Zhou Zhonghai to the field to smoke.

There are no cigarettes in the countryside, only a little bit of tobacco leaves grown in the backyard of each household.

Grandpa Qiao rolled it up and handed it to Zhou Zhonghai. He lit the match and took a big gulp, which made Zhou Zhonghai's chest tighten.

Grandpa Qiao chuckled, "It's strong. You'll get used to it after a few puffs."

"Grandpa, that's too strong."

"Yes, slowly."

Grandpa Qiao pats Zhou Zhonghai on the back.

He calmed down and took another slow puff. "Hmm, much better."

"Sir, how much is wheat seed per pound?"

"piece."

"Where's the piglet?"

"Piglets are 65 yuan each, Angora rabbits are 8 yuan each. My family raises two pigs, ten Angora rabbits, and ten broiler chickens. It's almost Chinese New Year, so I'll give you one pig and keep the other for ourselves."

Grandpa Qiao was overjoyed. Having received so many benefits from his in-laws, he could finally reciprocate with a small gift.

"Raising so many? And you even have land, that must be too much work."

"It's not hard work, we're full of energy! Basically, every family has two pigs. We've finally got a good policy, so why wouldn't we work hard?"

Zhou Zhonghai thought to himself that the price was reasonable, as it was the price he had set.

"Is the price the same in other villages?"

"Yes, the price is the same in Qiaoqiao's aunt's village. Zhonghai, could the price be different?"

"No, no, I was just asking."

It seems that Fu Sanjun did not disappoint him.

"The commune secretary and the brigade secretary often come down to inspect. The commune secretary gets thin from exhaustion and rides a bicycle everywhere. They say that with a good leader, we can't waste our precious time and encourage us to work hard. The good leader they're talking about is you."

When Grandpa Qiaoqiao smiled, his deeply lined face all scrunched up together.

"It's my duty. I've dedicated my life to the revolution, and I can't let the people down." Zhou Zhonghai took a deep drag on his cigarette, and strangely, he didn't choke.

Yang Wenjin hoeed another clump of grass, then put the hoe down and said, "In-law, let's go home for dinner."

After stomping out the cigarette butts, Zhou Zhonghai picked up a hoe and said, "My dear in-law, I admire your strength. I concede defeat."

"You're joking. My in-laws are high-ranking officials, and I'm truly impressed that they're ahead of me."

"Haha, it's mainly because I've been sleeping for a year, and my physical strength isn't what it used to be."

Look, the two in-laws are even praising each other.

When a distinguished guest suddenly arrived at our house, we didn't have any food, so Grandma Qiaoqiao went to Aunt Mao's house to borrow two dishes.

Five eggs and a three-pound rooster. It was agreed that when our own chickens grew up, we would get eight more eggs and a three-and-a-half-pound rooster.

Qiaoqiao's mother killed a chicken and added mushrooms she had picked from the mountains in the spring, filling the house with a wonderful aroma.

I cut some more chives, scrambled the eggs into small pieces, mixed the dough, and made dumplings.

There was also some leftover meat from building the house. After marinating and drying it, we stir-fried it with eggplant skin, which made a delicious dish.

Zhou Zhonghai smelled the aroma in the yard and frowned, saying, "Mother-in-law, I'm killing a chicken as soon as I arrive. I won't dare come again."

Qiaoqiao's mother smiled and said, "The whole family will eat it, and everyone can have a taste."

"We have ten chickens at home. They'll be hatching chicks next year. When that happens, killing one won't be enough; we'll have to kill two," Qiaoqiao's father added.

Life has improved, and things are going smoothly, so killing a chicken is no big deal anymore.

Zhou Zhonghai entered the house. It was a new house, spacious and large.

Yang Wenjin led her in-laws to the west room: "In-laws, this room is big, it's yours from now on."

There is a large kang (heated brick bed) in the west room, which can easily sleep eight or ten people.

"Okay, okay, you can sleep with Xiaowei now."

"Is Qiaoqiao being obedient?"

"My dear in-law, Qiaoqiao is just like my daughter. She doesn't need to be obedient; as long as she's happy, that's all that matters. I haven't been home since the Lunar New Year, but I've called her quite a few times. She's very happy at school."

Children from farming families are always humble, afraid of causing trouble in their husband's family and being disliked.

"That's good, that's good."

"Qiaoqiao is so well-behaved that it breaks your heart. Sometimes, you can't be too docile; you have to learn to rebel."

Zhou Zhonghai was incredibly domineering; he had no idea how lowly a rich peasant's daughter was in the village.

"Thank you for your understanding, in-laws," Yang Wenjin said with a relieved smile.

His "rich peasant" label was removed; Gao Bing personally helped him re-register his household registration, which now read "poor peasant."

His family even had a dumpling feast to celebrate the use of those two words.

Soon, the food and wine were served, and Gu Quan went to the county town to pick up Fu Sanjun as well.

Fu Sanjun hunched over, smiling obsequiously, his face utterly lewd.

"Can you straighten your back? You look like a traitor to me."

Zhou Zhonghai looked displeased. "You don't look like a good person."

"Yes, yes, the minister is right to reprimand me." He replied, still bowing his head.

Why be so stubborn? Minister Zhou's temper is unpredictable; if he gets angry, it'll be another scolding.

Being low-key is good; it reduces trouble. People who get things done don't care whether they stand up straight or not.

"You're lucky to have such a good day. We have free-range chicken, dried mushrooms, and dumplings today."

Fu Sanjun really wanted to say that he had already eaten, but he was very hungry, so he could only mooch this meal.

Qiaoqiao's mother warmly invited Fu Sanjun to sit on the kang (heated brick bed) and served him a large bowl of dumplings.

A bowl of dumplings for each person, plus some chicken soup—it was so comforting…

Gu Quan's gurgling was too loud, and Zhou Zhonghai glared at him, causing Gu Quan to quickly quiet down.

"Fu Sanjun, do you know why I called you here?"

Of course, I'm not here to drink chicken soup.

"I know, I've heard about what happened in Liu County."

Fu Sanjun hurriedly swallowed a dumpling.

"You're quite well-informed," Zhou Zhonghai sneered.

"Minister Zhou, as long as I am in the position of county party secretary, if I were to embezzle even a single penny, I, Fu Sanjun, would be a criminal. At the same time, I will also urge the commune secretaries below that anyone who takes even a needle or thread to be immediately dismissed without exception. I, Fu Sanjun, have no grand ambitions; I just want to do something worthwhile and meaningful before I retire. The country has already wasted ten years; we can't afford to waste any more time."

"I'm relieved to hear that. Tonggang County absolutely cannot afford any mistakes. Only if you generate revenue can I get more money next year, and only then can other counties develop better. We don't have any money; we still owe the research institute a mountain of money."

"Judging from the current situation, it should be able to increase several times over. Next year, we will have our own fiscal revenue and will not need provincial funding; I will buy the wheat seeds myself."

"Yes, the difficulties are only temporary. As long as we get through this year, things will develop in a positive direction. Thank you for your hard work. You still need to keep a close eye on things."

Zhou Zhonghai raised his wine glass and offered it to the three armies.

Fu Sanjun panicked and quickly picked up his cup, bowing deeply, looking even more sleazy.

Yang Wenjin listened quietly. Her in-laws didn't say anything, but she could feel the immense pressure they were under.

Being a farmer is not easy, being an official is not easy, and being a good official is even more difficult.