Lu Fangfang placed the newly bought clock on the table under the portrait of the leader.

She took a rag and wiped it thoroughly.

"Mingcheng, come over here and wind it up and set the time. I don't know how to do this thing."

Zhuang Mingcheng responded.

He lifted the glass cover of the clock, took the spring, and wound it up with a "click-clack" sound.

Seeing his wife peering at him with a curious look, he asked, "Fangfang, don't you have a grandfather clock at home?"

Forehead……

"A clock this expensive? My family can't afford it. I have seen it in other people's homes, though."

Lu Fangfang was telling the truth. In her memory, there was no such thing in her hometown. Anyway, they rang a bell every day before going to work, so there was no need to look at the time.

To be honest, industrial products in this era are really expensive.

The clock she bought cost twenty yuan in addition to the ticket, while flour only costs eighteen cents per pound.

Sewing machines are even more expensive, costing 128 yuan, which is equivalent to more than 700 jin of refined grains.

In the countryside, besides farming, people do some side jobs, like raising chickens and ducks, but they can't save much money in a year.

Buying a decent industrial product is not easy.

"This thing is pretty easy to use, just twist it. Come here and I'll show you how."

Zhuang Mingcheng took his wife's hand and had her wind up the winder.

After a while, the two of them checked the time on their watches again and adjusted the hands.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, clang~"

The pendulum swung back and forth, reaching the exact hour with a clang.

"Mingcheng, won't it be too noisy tonight?"

"We'll be fine sleeping in the inner room."

As Zhuang Mingcheng spoke, he turned his head to look west.

Lu Fangfang did the same, looking towards the double wooden bed on the west side.

There are only two little guys in the outer room; we'll have to see if we disturb them.

"Xiaohua, do you think it's noisy?"

"Meow~"

Little Flower lay lazily in the bamboo basket and let out a drowsy cry.

Lu Fangfang had lined the bamboo basket with a soft cushion, making it very comfortable.

It rolled over, its big tail draped over its forehead, and fell asleep again.

"This little guy really likes this thing."

Lu Fangfang smiled and shook her head. Xiao Hua's lazy appearance made her a little sleepy.

Turning her head, she looked at the little Tibetan fox in the yard.

"Awoo~"

"Giggle~"

"Giggle~"

The little Tibetan fox was carrying a basketball, running all over the yard, causing chaos among the chickens and dogs.

Lu Fangfang hesitated for a moment, then decided to ignore it; it was rare for the little guy to be so happy today.

She pulled out a chair, plopped down, and then took out the money from her pocket and started counting it.

Zhuang Mingcheng poured himself a glass of water and sat down next to his wife.

After a while, seeing that his wife had finished counting, he asked curiously, "How much is left?"

"Twenty-two yuan and sixty-seven cents."

Lu Fangfang sighed, took out the change in her hand, opened the glass cover of the clock, and put the change inside.

She wrapped the remaining twenty yuan in a handkerchief and carefully put it away.

The wedding banquet, the purchase of a sewing machine and a clock, plus the expenses for developing photos and film—all of these costs wiped out the money she had saved over the past six months.

Fortunately, Zhuang Mingcheng had a high salary, otherwise there would have been a famine.

"Mingcheng, we need to tighten our belts for the next two weeks and we can't afford to spend recklessly anymore."

Lu Fangfang gave her husband a few instructions.

The gold she buried cannot be used; it's meant to be kept hidden away.

Twenty yuan is enough for two people. In this day and age, if you don't buy big items, prices are still quite cheap.

"Awoo~"

The little Tibetan fox, carrying a basketball, ran into the house.

Looking at Lu Fangfang on the chair, it pushed hard, sending the basketball flying towards her, and then barked.

"This little guy is having a lot of fun."

Lu Fangfang laughed as she picked it up and threw it forcefully into the yard.

The little Tibetan fox excitedly turned around and ran out again.

Beside him, Zhuang Mingcheng picked up an enamel mug, took a sip, and smiled as he watched this scene.

That's really great.

...

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed, and it was mid-August.

For the past week, Lu Fangfang has been busy with matters at the breeding farm.

The farm now produces about 150 eggs a day, and she plans to select 2,000 fertilized eggs to incubate a large batch.

This way, you can get two thousand quails at once, which saves a lot of trouble.

However, the incubation room was still a bit small, so she, along with Sister Shufen and Sister-in-law Lanying, made a larger incubation pot using clay and adobe bricks.

That makes two incubators, which is barely enough.

That afternoon, she and Sister Shufen had just picked out a batch of fertilized eggs when they heard the sound of the courtyard gate.

Lu Fangfang pushed open the door to the incubation room and looked out. She saw her husband leading Xiao Hua and the little Tibetan fox in.

"Fangfang, are you done with your work? Let's go for a walk on the grassland outside."

Zhuang Mingcheng had a very leisurely week. His arm was still not fully healed, so he spent his days busy with his wife.

When he couldn't get involved, he would offer advice and suggestions.

When he was really bored, he would lead his stubborn little donkey and call out to Little Flower and Little Tibetan Fox to go to the grassland to catch rabbits.

Having lived for over twenty years, this was the first time he had ever felt so relaxed.

"Girl, you should go with Xiao Zhuang."

Wang Shufen held a flashlight, a warm smile on her face.

The young couple is getting more and more inseparable, making her want to have another child.

"Sister Shufen, don't worry about him. He's been idle for the past few days and he's practically a loafer on the street. He doesn't do anything productive all day."

Lu Fangfang closed the door and took the flashlight to shine on the quail eggs again.

After a while, the two examined all the quail eggs laid that day and picked out the fertilized ones.

"Sister Shufen, how many fertilized eggs are there in total?"

Wang Shufen held up the notebook, added the ones she had picked out today, counted them, and then said, "Seven hundred and twenty."

"That's enough. Let's save it up for another ten days and then start incubating, otherwise the weather will get colder next month."

After autumn arrived, the entire Qilian Mountains seemed to suddenly turn cold, and even the lush green grasslands outside turned yellow.

Lu Fangfang shook her head, still feeling a little anxious.

Before winter, the farm needs to hatch at least two batches of quails, and the sooner the better, otherwise it will get even colder after snow.

After chatting with Sister Shufen for a couple more minutes, she clapped her hands, turned around, and walked out.

In the courtyard, Zhuang Mingcheng was harnessing the donkey cart. When he saw his wife come out, he quickly waved to her.

"Are you done with your work? Let's go for a walk together. There's a family of six Pallas's rabbits over there in the pile of rocks to the north. It looks like they're about to split up. Let's go check it out."