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

Yao Xing was woken up by the heat. Having gotten used to the cold days, the sudden presence of people in the house was really hard to get used to.

Seeing the table piled high with local specialties, I was deeply moved.

Yao Sixi busied himself tidying up the messy little courtyard.

"Dad, what are you busy with?"

Yao Xing stumbled into the courtyard, feeling dizzy. A cold winter wind blew in, and Yao Xing quickly wrapped his yellow cotton-padded coat tighter around himself.

"Look at this yard, it's all moldy. Let me fix it up for you."

Yao Sixi was wearing a cotton vest and was covered in sweat.

"Dad, when Hongbing comes home tonight, wash the cured meat; we'll eat it then."

"Hongbing? Does he come here often?"

"Yes, I come every week."

"That kid has the nerve to come here and freeload? I paid him a hundred bucks and he didn't even get the job done, and he still has the nerve to show his face?"

"Dad, the idea of ​​having someone else take the exam was yours, and the school's decision to expel him was theirs. How can you blame Hongbing?"

"Fine, fine, even if it's Dad's fault, I'll take care of his sick mother and help his father work less and get more work points. No matter what, he can't come here to freeload."

Yao Sixi felt inexplicably angry at Yao Hongbing; his son had been expelled, and he needed an outlet to vent his anger.

Ironically, he was blaming Yao Hongbing in his heart.

"Dad, if Hongbing hadn't taken the exam for me and let me into the city, would I have been able to become a factory manager? Would I have been able to buy a house in the city? Stop making trouble and hurry up and wash the cured meat."

That seems to make sense. At least, Yao Hongbing gave his son a stepping stone to enter the city.

Sullenly, Yao Sixi put down his work and went to wash the cured meat.

Yao Xing then took out dried bamboo shoots, soaked them in boiling water, chopped them into small pieces, and stir-fried them with cured meat. The aroma was absolutely irresistible.

Yao Sixi selected a piece of cured pork with a lot of fat and put it on the stove to roast. The pork skin was roasted until it was greasy, and then he scraped it with a knife, removing the thick black smoke.

Pour a basin of boiling water and scrub it vigorously with a loofah sponge. The dark, smoky cured meat reveals its golden-yellow original color.

"These few pieces of cured pork were saved by your mother for you to eat when you go back home for summer vacation. You didn't go back, so you haven't eaten the cured pork since. Look, it's been smoked for a year, and the meat is all golden and shiny. It must be delicious," Yao Sixi muttered.

In rural areas, it's considered a great privilege for an average family to have one or two pieces of cured meat. Yao Sixi, the brigade secretary, was the one who received meat from every village that slaughtered a pig, so that he could smoke more.

Of course, now that I'm no longer the brigade secretary, the benefits are naturally gone.

"Dad, are you feeling pretty bad about not being the brigade secretary anymore?" Yao Xing asked jokingly.

"What's so hard about it? Your father has to worry about all the mess in more than a dozen villages, it's all thankless work," Yao Sixi retorted stubbornly.

"Really? No one will be bringing you meat and offal anymore." Yao Xing said with a mischievous smile.

"Who cares about a little pork? If your mother raised three pigs, we'd have meat to eat every day from the beginning to the end of the year." Yao Sixi was very displeased with her son's tone.

"Dad, if you're feeling down, just say it. Don't keep it bottled up inside. When I was expelled from school, I lost about ten pounds in just two or three days. I felt resentful, fearful, and reluctant to leave. It was like a giant net was trapping me, and I couldn't see the light. What I feared most was that I would bring shame to you and make you unable to hold your head up in the village."

Yao Xing spoke calmly, though the fear was still fresh in his memory.

"Son, I'm so sorry to have troubled you. Actually, even if you were expelled, your parents would only scold you a few times and we would accept you back. You've been living a hard life in the city without telling us."

Yao Sixi felt sorry for his son. Everyone faces adversity. He was already in his forties and still found it hard to cope with the strange looks from others. His son was only a teenager. It was too much to ask of him.

Yang Qiao said that everyone has their ups and downs, and looking back, they're not that difficult. Now, looking back, it really isn't that hard.

"Yang Qiao? Who is Yang Qiao?"

"She's my benefactor. She introduced me to a job, her mother-in-law recommended that I learn to drive, and her father-in-law... her dad, her whole family is very kind."

"The security guard said you have the governor's backing. Is Yang Qiaojia the governor's family?"

"Father, don't ask anymore. There are some things I can't tell you."

"Silly boy, you should be grateful for this help. Don't eat the cured pork, save it as a gift. It's not worth much, but it's homemade."

Yao Sixi picked up the piece of cured meat and was about to go back into the house to carry it when Yao Xing stopped him: "Dad, don't make things worse. They won't accept gifts. I've never even been to their house."

"Silly child, what official in the world doesn't accept gifts? Listen to your father, wash this piece of cured meat clean and take it as a gift. I'll go with you."

"Dad, her family really doesn't accept gifts. Yang Qiao even brought her own food when she came to my place for dinner," Yao Xing forcefully stopped her father.

"Bring your own food? Son, are you kidding me? Are there really such kind families in the world?"

"You think everyone is like you? A nobody official, you have to accept bribes for every little thing you do. He's a high-ranking official, a truly honest official who does practical things for the people. The whole provincial-level poverty alleviation program was implemented by this governor."

"Then, so he indirectly got me removed from my position as brigade secretary?"

The distribution of land to individual households made the common people happy, but the grassroots officials were not.

Everyone should just focus on their own business; who's going to curry favor with the brigade secretary?

"Dad, putting aside your position as the brigade secretary, do you think it's better to divide the land among households or to have a large collective?"

"A large collective is good."

"In the collective farming system, people were always hungry and cold, with only a little cornmeal available year-round. But when land was distributed to individual households, everyone got big white steamed buns. How is the collective farming system better?"

"Because of your father, he can't let go of the brigade secretary."

"Father, you..."

That evening, Yao Hongbing and Gu Tong'an returned together.

Upon seeing Yao Sixi, Gu Tongan greeted him warmly, "Uncle, hello, I'm Gu Tongan, Yao Xing's classmate."

"Okay, okay, hello classmate."

Yao Hongbing called out timidly, "Secretary Yao."

"What secretary? Just call me Uncle Sixi." Yao Sixi glared at Yao Hongbing impatiently.

"Dad, Hongbing is my friend. If you scold him, go back to the village tomorrow," Yao Xing quickly defended Yao Hongbing.

"You little brat, you're asking for trouble, daring to talk to your father like that? I'll beat you to death."

"Go ahead and hit me. Your son is a factory director, no matter what. If you don't care about saving face, neither will I," Yao Xing said, puffing out his chest.

"Stop with that nonsense, grab your bowl and eat."

Gu Tong'an looked at the father and son who were at odds with each other, and felt a deep sense of envy.

Six months have passed, and his father has never visited him at school.

The fragrant aroma of stir-fried cured pork with dried bamboo shoots filled the house.

"Eat, Gu, you city folks don't eat cured meat very often, do you? I wonder if it suits your taste."

Yao Sixi greeted Gu Tong'an warmly. This young man was refined and gentle, clearly from a good family.

As for Yao Hongbing, hmph...

"Uncle, meat is already a rare treat, so what's the point of worrying about whether it suits your taste? At school, a serving of braised pork is gone in one bite, with only two or three pieces left. This pot of cured pork is making my mouth water."

"Haha, then don't be shy, let's eat, let's eat!"

Yao Xing and Gu Tong'an picked up a piece of fatty meat and eagerly stuffed it into their mouths. It was full of oil, and they felt so satisfied.

Yao Hongbing picked up a piece of dried bamboo shoot with his chopsticks and ate it in small bites.

Yao Sixi placed a piece of meat on Yao Hongbing's plate, grumbling, "Why are you eating dried bamboo shoots? It's like I'm mistreating you. Your mother is much better now. The land has been distributed to individual households, and your father is busy clearing wasteland and planting vegetables. Don't worry about things at home, just focus on your studies."

"Uncle Sixi, thank you for taking care of my family," Yao Hongbing said, bowing his head.

"No need to thank me. When you achieve something in the future, you'll have to help Yao Xing out too."

"Uncle, what are you saying? Yao Xing is the factory manager. From now on, we'll be drinking soup with him," Gu Tong'an said with a smile.

"Not at all. Yao Xing is a businessman after all. How can he be as popular as a scholar?"

"Uncle, you don't know, do you? Yao Xing bought this courtyard house, and he also bought the one next door. He's so young, and he already owns two houses."

"Ah... Yao Xing, how much did you buy it for?"

"It's all five hundred... After Mother comes, we'll move next door and fix up this house."

"Son, have you been tricked? The spacious place next door costs only 500, while this dilapidated place is about to collapse, and it's also only 500?"

This son of yours is going into business; I'm afraid he'll lose everything and won't even have pants to wear.

"Father, the reasons are complicated. I'm just temporarily managing the house next door; perhaps the owner will buy it back."

"Then, let's move next door and sell this house for five hundred."

"Dad, the neighbors next door might not even be mine."

"City people are so complicated..."