Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Little Li Weihao is now three years and three months old, and his younger brother Li Weibo is almost two.
Early last year, the spring breeze of reform and opening up swept across the motherland, and the rural household land contract responsibility system officially began.
Each household in Kushan Mountain contracted the land they had originally managed.
Under this contract, the unified annual public grain levy was three hundred catties of wheat, rice, or corn and dried sweet potatoes per mu.
Although the yield of wheat per mu was only between two hundred and three hundred catties, this was for one season. Adding another season of corn or sweet potatoes, it was similar to the previous one-third share.
The previous one-third yield required the commune to send people to weigh or estimate the harvest, which had too much room for manipulation and fraud, and was not conducive to mutual trust between the commune and the farmers.
Moreover, these figures were calculated by the government based on the output from various locations, fair and impartial, and the same throughout the province.
Those who could not pay the public grain could pay fifty yuan as a substitute.
Li Zhengguo took this opportunity to contract a large hilly area of sixty mu, with a contract fee of fifty yuan per mu.
The hills were located to the west of the village, several miles away, and were entirely planted with apple trees, as only apple trees were suitable for the soil in Kushan Mountain.
The apple saplings were purchased with the help of Xiaohu.
Ouyang Lei was not around, so anything needed had to be requested from Xiaohu with precise quantities to avoid suspicion. Of course, with the saplings passing through Tian Jing's hands, the survival rate was one hundred percent.
The spacing between the apple trees was wide, and watermelons were also planted.
Last year, the income from watermelons alone for the Li family was over six thousand yuan, not only earning back the contract fee for the year but also an additional half.
The commune members were envious. Were watermelons that profitable? They heard that outside, they were sold for fifteen to twenty cents, but the Li family sold them to Xiaohu for ten cents.
With no worries about selling or transporting, a few months of hard work earned three thousand yuan?
Although life in Kushan Mountain had been improving for the past three years, with full stomachs from harvests and money from cotton grown on their private plots and wasteland, no one ever complained about having too much money.
Those with courage wanted to contract hills, while those who were timid planned to try their luck on the wasteland.
When the team leader heard that everyone wanted to plant watermelons, he immediately criticized the commune members.
"Planting watermelons? You're not going to eat? Not selling cotton? I promised the commune to send another batch of cotton this year. Where do your good days come from? How did we get the title of the First Production Team?"
"If you want to plant, you can either contract a hill or use the three fen of land in front of your house. For the private plots and wasteland south of the road, you will still plant cotton and corn. After two good years, you're almost forgetting your own surname."
"Besides, Tian Jing has the ability to cultivate seedlings, do you? Seeing them make money, you're envious, but you need the skill too."
The commune members quickly smiled and said, "We'll buy them, we'll buy seedlings from the Li family, and we'll plant less. Could you please ask the team leader to talk to Comrade Xiaohu about collecting them together? We'll work hard for two more years, have some money in our pockets, and our children can get married and set up their own households. Won't that make the team leader happy too?"
Captain Ou was amused. They always used his old face to their advantage. He raised his hand and pointed at these old rascals.
"You always use my old face to sell. What if one day Tian Jing and Zhengguo don't recognize my old face? What will you do then?"
"No, no, the team leader always puts the production team first, and Tian Jing is just tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Zhengguo also cares about his hometown. We will work together to create wealth for Kushan Mountain."
"Nonsense!" Captain Ou scolded them with a laugh. "Your income is not handed over to the team."
"Isn't our contract fee? You go and ask first. If Tian Jing agrees to let us plant watermelons together, we will all contract that patch of low hills to the west."
This argument did indeed move Captain Ou. If the soil hills to the west could be utilized reasonably, it would not only be income for the team but also an achievement for the team cadres and the commune cadres.
He heard that the production brigade and production team were to be changed to villages. He didn't want to climb higher, but he had to support the secretary who valued him.
"Alright, I'll go and ask. Don't get your hopes too high."
The commune members cheered. With the team leader stepping in, there was bound to be some gain.
...
Tian Jing was cooking at home with her two sons and two nephews. It was the busy farming season.
Spring plowing had just ended, and they were busy planting watermelon seedlings on the hills.
Not only did her sixty mu of land need over ten thousand watermelon seedlings planted, but her elder cousin's family had also contracted a considerable hill, with over forty mu to be planted.
In the past three years, Ouyang Meihua, while not good at farming, was capable of planting various seedlings.
Therefore, the two-and-a-half-year-old Li Weiyan and the two-year-old Chen Fu were also sent to her. She jokingly called herself a kindergarten principal, as her two nephews insisted on coming to play, regardless of whether it was the busy farming season.
This was not only because there was plenty of good food here, but also because of her two powerful sons.
After she gave birth to her second son, her superpower had dropped two levels, reaching the advanced stage of level two. She had to work hard to supplement it with ginseng essence to reach the initial stage of level three.
Whether it was the intermediate stage of level three she recovered after giving birth to her elder son, or the initial stage of level three she recovered after giving birth to her second son, no matter how hard she tried, she could not upgrade further, as if restricted.
It wasn't until she noticed her elder son's great strength and then discovered her second son's great strength that she was sure that her two sons had inherited the superpower, which was the relatively less useful strength superpower from the apocalypse.
Her sons' superpower was not only the reason for her superpower's decline but also the reason her superpower was limited by this world.
After discovering the difference in her two sons, Li Zhengguo set training goals for them and strictly forbade them from using their full strength.
The reason her nephews were willing to play with their older brothers was that their older brothers took them to practice martial arts.
Children who could barely stand were practicing moves with "hey-ha" sounds every day, making people's hearts ache and soften.
Ouyang Meihua and Li Min were both happy to see this.
Ouyang Meihua's martial arts had not improved because some of her meridians were blocked. Tian Jing used her inner strength (superpower) to unblock them, and she immediately entered another realm.
Of course, family matters occupied her, and pursuing the ultimate in martial arts was no longer her goal. She was naturally happy that her son was willing to practice martial arts, and she let her son go to the Li family's house every day.
Li Min naturally hoped her son would become a powerful figure like his elder brother or sister-in-law. Moreover, she returned to her maiden home every day. If her son was willing to practice martial arts, she was more than willing. Sometimes, she would leave her son at her parents' home overnight.
...
Tian Jing was not surprised by Captain Ou's arrival; he was surely here to try and get something good from her.
"Captain, you're quite the rare visitor. Everyone is so busy they can't even touch the ground, yet you have the leisure to visit?"
"It's only a few families who are busy; those people and I have finished spring plowing."
"If you have something to say, Captain, just say it."
"Everyone wants to plant watermelons."
Tian Jing took the washed vegetables into the kitchen and asked Xiaomai to chop them for stir-frying, and asked Hao Hao to help with the fire.
Hao Hao squatted by the stove with his three younger brothers. "Mom, you go ahead and be busy."
Captain Ou truly doted on the four children of the Li family, who were sensible and well-behaved.
"Tian Jing, why don't you let Hao Hao also look after my little grandson?"
"Please don't. My home is really not a kindergarten. Hao Hao and Xiao Bo have heavy hands. Yan Yan and Xiao Fu are nephews, so Meihua and Min Min won't say anything and dare not say anything."
Captain Ou understood Tian Jing's implication.
"What are your thoughts on the commune members wanting to plant watermelons?"