Soon, a wave of people starting side businesses swept through the brigade.

Jiang Ning was pleased to see this happen; if the villagers raised more chickens and made more money, they might be able to make an extra piece of clothing.

Wang Xiufen's small room was filled with all kinds of fabrics for making clothes. The finished clothes were all hung on the clothes rack next to the door.

Jiang Ning was always greeted by a constant stream of visitors.

She also maintained close contact with Song Jia regarding business in the county town, and could usually get one or two orders a day.

To make it easier for customers in the county to choose, she went to a photo studio to take pictures of various clothing styles, developed them, and put them in an album. This allowed customers to have a more intuitive feel for the clothes and increased the sales rate.

"Your mother-in-law hasn't come to the county town again?" the curator asked her.

Jiang Ning packed her things, preparing to go home, and said with a smile, "My mother-in-law is busy making clothes and doesn't have time to come out and play. Please tell Song Jia that I'm going back first, and I'll leave things here to you."

After leaving the photo studio, she didn't rush home, but went to the post office to buy several bags for packing parcels.

When she returned to the village, she placed the mailbag full of parcels on the back of her bicycle, creating the illusion that something had been sent from home.

Jiang Ning returned home with a large package. Yu Xiaofeng saw this through the window and was so angry that her liver ached.

They were both sent-down youth, so why didn't Ma Huijuan have such a powerful family background?

She even boasted that she would go back to the city and become a cadre. With her looks, it would be a miracle if she even made it out of the brick factory alive.

She has completely disgraced herself.

Originally, they had planned to order some clothes, but when the sister-in-law heard that Ma Huijuan had been punished to go to the brick factory for renovation, she immediately had Yu Yuanguang drag the sewing machine back.

It's just a pity for her grandson, who has to suffer at such a young age.

For the sake of her grandson, Yu Xiaofeng asked Lin Tao to bring some clothes for Ma Huijuan when he went to the township to deliver the grain tax. Winter was approaching, and if she caught a cold or fever, she could easily miscarry.

The sun shone brightly that day, but it couldn't dispel the slight chill in the air.

Lin Chen helped the brigade headquarters by using oxcarts to transport grain to the township to deliver the grain to the government.

The team's grain will be distributed to the commune members after the public grain quota is paid.

Each person should be able to receive more than 200 jin (100 kg), plus a year's worth of work points. One work point is worth six points, so a commune member with a full work point counts to receive about 150 yuan.

This year is good; it's a bumper year, and every family will have a prosperous year.

The grain depot was packed with people handing over their grain. Lin Chen and Luo Guangming waited in line for the staff to assess the grade of their grain.

At that moment, a large crowd surged towards the grain and oil shop, and many people could be heard shouting:

"Hurry up, or they'll be gone."

Luo Guangming craned his neck to look: "What's in such high demand?"

Hearing the rustling sound, Lin Chen guessed it was the sound of dried wood ear mushrooms shaking, and casually said:

"They're probably scrambling for autumn black fungus."

Winter is just around the corner, and wood ear mushrooms will soon be hard to find in the mountains. Locals love to eat cold wood ear mushroom salad, so the last batch of wood ear mushrooms will become a hot commodity.

Luo Guangming exclaimed, "I've eaten wood ear mushrooms many times, but the ones we picked last time in the mountains were the best I've ever had."

Lin Chen nodded in agreement: "Let's go for a walk in the mountains again when we have time."

Soon, Chayuan Village finished paying its grain tax and received a receipt.

With this certificate, you can report to the commune.

The commune would send people to assist each brigade in distributing grain.

Grain was distributed based on both headcount and work points, with a 3:7 ratio, so even the elderly and children who were not working could receive a certain amount of grain.

However, fewer workers affected the amount of grain and money received.

This time, Lin Chen's family of four received a total of over 600 jin of grain, while Lin Tao's family only received over 400 jin of grain.

Lin Chen worked alone, and together with the work points Wang Xiufen earned in the first half of the year, they received a total of more than two hundred yuan.

Lin Tao's family all went to work, and after the final calculation, they found that they didn't have many work points, just enough to get two hundred yuan.

Yu Xiaofeng beamed with joy at receiving just two hundred yuan.

She finally saw the money; she hadn't eaten meat for over a month.

When the grain was being distributed, Yi Yong, as a leader of the commune, came to supervise and inspect. After seeing Lin Chen, he patted him on the shoulder and asked him if he had any thoughts about joining the construction team.

“Secretary Yi, I originally wanted to join the militia after I was discharged from the army, but I sold my job because I didn’t want to leave home,” Lin Chen said politely.

Yi Yong slapped his forehead, indicating that he remembered; Gao Baoliang had explained this to him.

"I didn't expect you to love your wife so much." Yi Yong smiled meaningfully.

It's been about ten years since my wife passed away, and I still feel a pang of pain when I think about it now!

A man should cherish his wife; otherwise, what's the point of marrying her?

After the grain was distributed, every household carried their baskets home with smiles on their faces. Yi Yong was also about to go back when Lin Chen suddenly called him back.

"Secretary Yi, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible?"

"Just tell me your thoughts." Yi Yong simply took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, knocked one out, put it in his mouth, and then handed it to Lin Chen.

Seeing that Lin Chen refused, he put away the cigarette, lit it himself, and smoked it by himself.

Then Lin Chen said, "I see that the market for autumn black fungus is good right now, so I want to buy some and sell them at the purchasing station."

“Sure, once you’ve received it, you can ask me for a certificate.” Yi Yong treated it as something important.

Previously, the policy did not allow it, but now it has been gradually relaxed. Lin Chen is willing to be the first person in the team to try it, and he has no objection.

After receiving permission, Lin Chen went to find Luo Guangming.

The two quickly started advertising that the purchase price of wet wood ear mushrooms was five cents per pound. They would collect them and dry them. Depending on the moisture content, it would take about twenty pounds of wet wood ear mushrooms to dry into one pound of dried wood ear mushrooms.

The purchase price of dried black fungus is 1.2 yuan.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!