Liu Jiqing and his son Liu Xiangrui looked at each other and then laughed.

"Alright then, Ruiwa, you take Tianxiao there and share in his joy. I hope you can give me a big, healthy grandson soon too."

"Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? I don't even have a wife, where am I going to give you a grandson?" Liu Xiangrui complained, annoyed that the focus of the conversation had shifted to him.

"Is it my fault you don't have a wife? You didn't like any of the women I found for you, and you didn't put any effort into finding one yourself. If I can't get you married, how can I face your mother in the afterlife?"

"..."

When Liu Xiangrui heard his father mention his mother, he immediately fell silent.

Their mother was the Achilles' heel of both father and son.

“Well then, auspicious omen, if it’s convenient, shall we set off now?” Wang Tianxiao interjected, interrupting the sudden argument between the two.

Liu Xiangrui breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll add some oil to the machine first."

After saying that, he went off to do his work.

After watching his son leave, Liu Jiqing said, "That kid is such a worry. You're both the same age, and you're about to have two kids, but he still doesn't have a girlfriend. Isn't that frustrating?"

Wang Tianxiao never expected that there would still be parents urging him to get married in this day and age. He laughed and said, "No rush, it's just that our time hasn't come yet. When it does, you won't be able to stop us."

"Don't say that. You're all the same age and classmates. Help me persuade this rascal to find a wife while I'm still alive. Once I'm buried, there won't be anyone to help him find one."

Wang Tianxiao didn't say anything more, just smiled and nodded.

Parents' hearts are always full of love and worry.

In any era, parents are always concerned about their children's lifelong happiness.

Forty years have passed without the slightest change.

Liu Xiangrui worked quickly and soon filled the oil in the hand tractor and pushed it out.

This kind of hand-held tractor was the top-of-the-line transportation equipment in rural areas at that time, and Liu Xiangrui's tractor was a Dongfanghong brand.

Wang Tianxiao remembers that the price was around 3,000 yuan at the time. This huge sum of money would probably take an ordinary person ten years to save up, which was really not easy.

Tractors are generally dual-purpose; they can tow a trailer to haul goods, or if the trailer is replaced with a stone roller, it can be used to crush things.

We are currently in a transitional period between the old and new policies. The villagers who have been allocated land have already started growing their own grain, and the tractors have come in handy.

In the early years, when the production team worked together, it was almost entirely done by hand. Taking wheat as an example, the harvested wheat, along with the stalks, would be spread out on the threshing floor. A group of people would hold a tool called a "winnowing tong" and repeatedly pound the wheat to separate it from the ears of wheat.

The winnowing tool is a type of agricultural implement that resembles a two-section whip. It has a long handle at the bottom and a movable wooden piece or stick at the top. When it is pounded down, it looks like a double-section whip hitting the wheat.

Now that the land is distributed to individual households, each family only has a few people, making it very difficult to thresh wheat. The weather in June is also unpredictable; if there's a thunderstorm, everything will be ruined.

So Liu Xiangrui's tractor was used to thresh wheat, which helped many people a lot; it was a timely help.

However, while this thing is useful, it's also expensive, and most people can't afford it.

In this day and age, labor is cheap; if something can be done manually, there's no need for machinery.

Unless it's impossible to do it manually.

"Wait a moment, Tianxiao, let me sweep up the traces of coal hauling from yesterday."

The tractor had just helped Wang Tianxiao haul coal yesterday. Although the coal was all packed in bags, some still leaked out and ended up inside the trailer, making it dark and unusable unless it was swept away.

"No rush, take your time. Do you need my help?"

"No need, you should rest."

While Liu Xiangrui was cleaning the tractor, Wang Tianxiao chatted with Liu Jiqing about raising sheep.

Liu Jiqing raised a dozen sheep using a mixed method of pen-raising and free-range raising. Each year, including the profit from lambs, wool, and the disposal of rams, he could earn about four or five hundred yuan.

Not many, but not few either.

Wang Tianxiao is not ready to raise sheep for the time being. In his opinion, the profit from raising sheep is too low and the labor required is too much, so it is not suitable for him to develop at the moment.

He still needs to choose things that others cannot do for the time being, or do not know about.

The goal is to continue making money in a blue ocean market, rather than joining the crowd in a red ocean market.

As for the later stages, if you have already accumulated substantial capital and firmly established yourself, you will need to enhance your sense of respect and identity. You can then communicate with the villagers to see what economic models you can lead them to develop.

Only those who have achieved great things need to help others; he can only be considered a half-wise person now, and he doesn't need to join in this kind of commotion.

"Alright, Tianxiao, is this okay?" Liu Xiangrui finished his work and called Wang Tianxiao over.

When Wang Tianxiao saw this, he noticed that Liu Xiangrui had thoughtfully laid a tarpaulin over the trailer, covering up all the unsightly parts of the undercarriage.

What a thoughtful person.

How could someone like that not have a wife?

"Okay, that's settled then. Let's go now. My house is all packed up."

"Okay."

Liu Xiangrui took out a rocker arm from the toolbox, inserted it into the hole, and swung his arm around it quickly many times. The tractor started up like a train, with a "putt-putt-putt" sound and a plume of black smoke coming out of the chimney.

The shockwave made the entire courtyard seem to jump.

"Xiangrui, I'm riding my motorcycle now. I'm going back first and I'll wait for you at home. Just park it above our pit courtyard."

"Okay, see you later."

Wang Tianxiao rode his motorcycle home, first helping Li Yali to the top of the pit courtyard, and then bringing her a stool to sit on. He then went down to slowly carry her packed luggage up as well. Because he had told Xiao Wangfang about it beforehand, she stood obediently beside her mother, rubbing her hands to warm them.

The luggage included bedding laid on the tractor, as well as some food and clothing supplies prepared in advance.

Women in this era are generally healthy because they do a lot of work and usually give birth naturally. In rural areas, the concept of cesarean section has not yet been introduced.

Recovery after a natural birth is usually quick, taking only three to five days. Wang Tianxiao estimated it would take five days, so he figured there wouldn't be any problems.

When they were taking the last batch of items, Zhang Meifeng came out of her cave dwelling and called out to Wang Tianxiao.

"Second brother, what are you doing?"

Wang Tianxiao did not tell his mother that he was going to the hospital to give birth.

“Yali is about to give birth, so I’m taking her to stay at the health center.”

"Do you really have to go to a health center to give birth? You can just give birth at home. Why go through all that trouble?"

“Mother, Yali’s health isn’t very good, so…”

"Everyone else gives birth at home, but she can't. Is she that delicate? You spoil your wife too much."

Wang Tianxiao frowned and said calmly, "Mother, let's leave it at that. I've made up my mind. Where my wife gives birth is none of anyone else's business."