"This is great news! I'll make sure to cultivate our fields well and take care of all the household's grain by myself."
Although the old man had been well-off in his youth, ever since returning to Shenjiaba, he had become a true farmer. He was skilled in all aspects of farming. If he were truly allowed to cultivate his own land, he was confident he could support his entire family with the assigned plots.
"How old are you, still claiming to feed the whole family by yourself? Take care of yourself first. You still need to look after our precious grandchildren."
"This is the era of young people. Our greatest task is to take good care of this family, our children, and our daughter. That's better than anything."
Listening to her husband's grand pronouncements, the mother-in-law shot him an annoyed glance. At this moment, Chen Hao also woke up. The little fellow, groggy and looking at his own courtyard, felt like he was dreaming. He thought he had been at his grandparents' house yesterday. How did he get back? How did he see his maternal grandparents?
The baby, however, was hopping around here and there. She hadn't been home for over a month and was exploring everywhere, checking if it was still familiar.
Hearing Liu Chunmei's words, Shen Futang was inclined to say that if they truly followed his son-in-law's advice and practiced more work, more reward, he could definitely support the family. But then again, he realized that no matter how hard he toiled on his land, compared to his son-in-law, his entire lifetime of farming wouldn't match one year of his son-in-law's business. Times had changed, and he had to admit he was getting old.
"I'm going out for a bit to see them release the fish fry. Don't wait for me for dinner. Eat first, just leave me a bite."
Chen Yang heard that Zhou Jingqiu was releasing fish fry today and wanted to go see. This was also a joyous occasion for all the villagers in the entire Bay Commune.
"You go ahead and see. You played a part in this. After plowing the fields and transplanting rice seedlings, we'll be releasing small fish into the fields soon."
"This year, our commune villagers will surely have a good year. With rice paddy fish and rice grain, the harvest shouldn't be bad."
The old man knew that his son-in-law cared about the villagers. Now, wherever he went, people praised him for having such a good son-in-law. Chen Yang just smiled and didn't reply. If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't make a decision about building the factory when he asked Zou Chenguang last time, he would have wanted to open the sake-marinated fish factory by now.
When the water level rises in April and May, the fishing season on the Liu River will start again. Although they caught a lot of fish last year, the water is alive. The Liu River is connected to the Yangtze River, and there are always fish every year. Even if there are fewer than last year, they can still be caught.
By then, after the busy farming season, the men at home can go to the river to catch or fish, and the women can come to the factory to clean and dry fish, and make sake-marinated fish cans. Don't think foreigners only eat herring cans. If the sake-marinated fish is prepared well, it might conquer the taste buds of foreigners like Laoganma did.
Even if it can't be exported, he can still market it to supply and marketing cooperatives or state-run department stores everywhere. Nowadays, even a can of fruit is a rarity. While people in later generations don't value canned fruit, in this era, with inconvenient transportation, people across the country have difficulty eating fresh fruit from other regions. Therefore, canned fruit is a rare delicacy for people of this era. A can costs several yuan, and many city dwellers only buy one every few months or even once a year for a treat.
Not to mention canned fruit, even the glass jars used for fruit had to be washed clean after eating and used for drinking water or storing things. These sake-marinated fish cans, which can be eaten with rice or as a snack with wine, won't be worse than canned fruit. There will be no shortage of buyers.
When he ambled over to a wild pond in the fields, he saw Shen Ermeng, the eldest son of Shen Laifu's family, holding a piece of paper and grinning like an idiot.
"Dad, Chunyan, I got it! I drew it!"
"This pond, we'll have it."
Shen Ermeng was only nineteen after the New Year. In the eyes of many parents in later generations, he was still a child. Although he was married, he was still a bit boisterous, naturally not as steady as his father, Shen Laifu.
"So you drew it, what's all the shouting about?" Shen Laifu frowned and lectured his son. This silly boy, others were disheartened because they didn't get chosen, and you're showing off so much. What are they thinking? Isn't this intentionally upsetting them!
Being kind in everything makes it difficult for others to willingly help you, but if you're not careful, it's easy to make people jealous and have them subtly cause trouble for you. This is human nature. Shen Laifu had lived for so many years and supported so many elders and children in his family by relying on his own caution and kindness.
"Dad, he's just a silly boy. Everyone, please don't mind him. Our family has so many mouths to feed, and Ermeng is always thinking about how to earn enough grain for our family."
Fortunately, Zhao Chunyan, with her pregnant belly, explained to everyone. Everyone understood Shen Ermeng's situation. She was raising three children for someone else and was about to become a mother herself. Considering his situation, no one was jealous of this silly boy.
Frankly speaking, there were quite a few men who thought Zhao Chunyan, this young widow, was beautiful and wanted to take advantage of her. However, no one really had the courage to marry her. Shen Ermeng dared to. Just for this reason, he was a true man. Of course, in everyone's eyes, he was truly silly. Who would argue with a fool? This was Zhao Chunyan's cleverness, skillfully resolving the hostility others felt towards Shen Ermeng. Others thought Ermeng was foolish, but she knew her husband was not foolish at all. It was just that at his age, he wasn't as mature as others. But he was genuinely good to her and possessed all the responsibility and dedication of a man. Since they got married, he had been working hard from dawn till dusk, all for the sake of supporting this family. The few children were also promising. Now, even the youngest was helping to earn work points by collecting pig feed for the family. She knew her husband was trying to prove himself. He couldn't let those who were waiting to see him make a fool of himself look down on him. He wouldn't ask his parents for money. He would prove to everyone with his actions that he, Shen Ermeng, was not a fool. He could support this family on his own. He would not only support Zhao Chunyan's children but also his own. He had said that if his father could support eight siblings, he, Shen Ermeng, could too.
"Chen Yang!"
"It's Chen Yang! Chen Yang is back! Our village's big educated youth is back!"
Someone suddenly called out Chen Yang's name, and everyone's attention instantly shifted from Shen Ermeng to Chen Yang. Originally, the spring plowing, releasing rice paddy fish, and contracting fish ponds were all ideas proposed by Chen Yang. With him around, everyone felt more at ease. Who would have thought that Chen Yang would go back to his hometown and not return for over a month? Perhaps many people didn't realize it themselves, but unconsciously, everyone had come to regard this young man as the backbone of the brigade.