Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 1025: Returning to My Mother’s Home 4

Chapter 1025: Chapter 1025: Returning to My Mother’s Home 4

Xibao’s birthday was simply an excuse for everyone to gather and share a meal, so the main task was to eat, drink, and laugh without a care for those ancient rules about not speaking during meals or while in bed.

Looking at the table full of food and drink, the elders were all deeply moved.

Though they did not have their younger years’ appetite for delicacies, for them now, the food was no less than a feast of the rarest delicacies.

"You’ve all gone to so much trouble," He Qingyin said, her frugal nature making her feel pained at the expense.

Today’s meal alone must have cost the equivalent of what two people would eat in a month.

Feng Qingxue chuckled softly, "Ajiang and I have some connections and ways of getting things, and our salaries aren’t low either. Sister, don’t say such polite things, seize the opportunity to eat while it’s hot, for we have to go back to work early in the morning! Look at the year’s prospects; the Wanglou Brigade is bound for another bumper harvest. Sister and the elder ladies shouldn’t worry about food. Here, there will always be enough to eat."

Speaking of the year’s prospects, Wang Zhengguo was saying to everyone, "This year’s summer grain is definitely a bumper harvest. You all have seen our wheat—the ears are large, and the grains are plump. As long as the weather cooperates, our granaries will be full."

"Were the last few years not so good?" Lu Jiang asked.

"Yes, ever since Xiaoxue and Xibao left, our brigade’s harvests have been quite poor. If not for the stockpiles, we’d hardly be able to fill our stomachs," Wang Zhengguo said, frowning. "I remember that before Xiaoxue married into the family, for a few years there were disasters, and our brigade lived off stockpiled grain, barely getting half-full. After she married in, the harvests got better each year, even with rush jobs going seemingly smoothly, especially the year Xibao was born. I’ve recently looked over the account books and found that the harvest of that year was the highest, a full twenty percent more than normal bumper harvests."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiang couldn’t help but laugh, "Are you saying Xibao is a lucky star? This spring, when Qingxue and I brought him back home, the brigade’s harvest improved?"

Wang Zhengguo earnestly replied, "Don’t you doubt it! I’ve visited other brigades, and some of them have wheat ears without a single grain in them, just shriveled husks. In some places, the wheat is either half-dead or grown so poorly it’s sparse. Before you guys came back, our brigade’s crops were doing really poorly; if you don’t believe me, ask your father. The lack of rain in early winter meant the wheat was planted without a single shower, and we could only rely on manual irrigation. There wasn’t enough water in the river, and it was only due to the previous year’s snow that we didn’t have a drought. After the New Year, though, it did rain a few times, and the wheat’s condition improved slightly, but then the weather turned abruptly cold and warm, colder than any year before, and we couldn’t shed our cotton-padded jackets until a month later than usual. The wheat was late in sprouting, and we all thought this year would be yet another failure, but guess what? After you all returned, everything that was supposed to shoot up did so, and everything that should’ve grown wildly did exactly that."

Old Master Xu nodded and said, "Ajiang, your uncle isn’t wrong. Earlier this year, every household was frantically digging up wild vegetables and drying them for storage, fearing this year’s harvest wouldn’t suffice, and our stockpiles wouldn’t be enough to feed everyone. The crops all started improving only after you arrived. Seeing the wheat fields gradually turn yellow, the villagers were overjoyed, but I didn’t think to attribute it to your arrival."

Lu Jiang looked on in amazement, his eyes wide, "Could it really be something so miraculous? Just don’t spread any feudal superstitious beliefs, alright?"

"What feudal superstitious beliefs? Nonsense, what if outsiders hear of it, will that bring us any good?" Wang Zhengguo glared at him, but then lowered his voice and continued, "Our hopeless crops suddenly flourishing, the oldest members of our brigade found it strange. A few days ago, they sneaked off to consult Blind Shan, and they called me to join them. Guess what Blind Shan had to say?"