"Our Yu family has really raised an ungrateful wretch!!"
Xie Yan was so angry he laughed. "I'm supported by my wife, it has nothing to do with your Yu family!!"
Yu Shan quickly interrupted Xie Yan, trying to smooth things over, saying, "Second brother, don't take it to heart with a child, he, he..."
Yu Hai looked at Yu Shan sarcastically, "Brother, stop playing the good guy here. Fortune changes every thirty years. I'll see how long you can be so smug!"
Xie Yan smiled slightly, his eyes firm and composed, and replied without showing any weakness, "Don't worry, Second Uncle, we'll be smug for much longer than you parents."
These words were like sharp arrows, piercing straight to Yu Hai's weak spot. He was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he suddenly grabbed a broom from the side and rushed towards Xie Yan, wanting to attack.
Fortunately, at the crucial moment, Yu Shan reacted quickly, grabbing Yu Hai's arm and shouting, "Second Brother!"
Yu Hai struggled a few times, but couldn't break free from Yu Shan's grasp. He turned his head, looked at Yu Shan with a sarcastic gaze, and said, word by word, "I will remember today's humiliation!"
After Yu Hai left, Yu Shan stared at the open door for a long time without saying a word, his eyes filled with helplessness and exhaustion.
He turned his head to look at Yu Yuehui, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
Xie Yan naturally knew what he was going to say. He sighed slightly and said frankly, "Father, Beijing is really not an easy place to stay. Everything I just said is the truth. Our family simply cannot afford to support so many people."
"Don't even mention raising them yourself. You couldn't afford it anyway. Do you think your second uncle's family only has one or two children?"
After Xie Yan finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence, and then fell silent again, with only a soft sigh echoing in the air.
Qian Hong, who was secretly watching from outside, said nothing and turned to go into the kitchen.
Xie Yan's words struck Yu Shan like a hammer blow, leaving him speechless.
He slowly picked up the pipe, which had been worn smooth and shiny from being handled, pinched a pinch of tobacco from the pouch, skillfully put it into the pipe, struck a match with a "click," lit the tobacco, took a deep drag, and exhaled wisps of smoke slowly, blurring his slightly weathered face.
Seeing this, Xie Yan said nothing more, gently took Yu Yuehui's hand, the two looked at each other, and then silently turned and went home.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, casting long shadows that seemed to tell of the weariness and helplessness following this family dispute.
Yu Shan watched their retreating figures, and after a long while, he sighed deeply, "It's all because of poverty!"
The next day, just as dawn broke, the tranquil village was disturbed by some rumors.
Rumors, seemingly from nowhere, have been circulating that after Xie Yan's family became wealthy, they turned their backs on their relatives and humiliated them.
Aunt Yu went around spreading rumors, vehemently claiming that Xie Yan and his family now had a problem with their family background.
These words directly angered Qian Hong, who decisively took action. She not only clarified the rumors but also exposed all the disgusting things that Uncle Yu's family had done. It's human nature to love gossip, and sure enough, in less than a day, the good deeds done by Yu Hai's family had spread far and wide.
The reason it had such a good effect is thanks to the strong promotional efforts of the village women.
After the Xie family returned from their banquet, they prepared thoughtful gifts for most of the villagers.
As the saying goes, "He who takes a man's gift is bound to do so," and besides, Yuehua has made invaluable contributions to the village's rapid development.
The villagers were all very clear-headed; none of them were fools. How could they easily believe the one-sided story told by the Yu family and fabricate stories about the Xie family?
Sure enough, as soon as Qian Hong came out to refute the rumors, the public opinion immediately shifted to one side.
Soon, the Yu family's reputation plummeted to rock bottom.
Whenever Yu Hai went out, people would take a detour if they saw him from afar, as if he carried some terrible germs.
Having failed to smear Xie Yan's family and instead ruined his own family's reputation, Yu Hai was furious. His anger burned like a raging fire, growing ever stronger.
He cursed and swore at home every day, finding fault with everything. Yu Yuexue, who was the first to speak up, naturally became his punching bag, often being scolded until she couldn't lift her head.
Even Yu Yuehe was somewhat resentful of her uncle's family this time. It was just a family member talking, and if they didn't want to, they could have let it go. They didn't force her, but they had to make things so extreme.
However, Xie Yan's family was not disturbed by this incident at all, and they continued to work in an orderly manner.
After harvesting the wheat, Yu Shan quickly organized a team to begin preparing the experimental field. Everyone worked together, weeding, turning the soil, and leveling the land, all with great enthusiasm.
Yu Yuehui squatted by the experimental field, her eyes focused and devout, as she personally sowed handfuls of wheat seeds into the newly turned soil.
The land was still slightly damp, exuding the unique fragrance of soil, as if telling people about the hope of nurturing life.
She straightened up slightly, gazing at the land where seeds had just been sown. Her eyes gradually became unfocused, and in a daze, she seemed to already see the magnificent scene of a future harvest: the mountain was covered with golden waves of wheat, the heavy ears of wheat bending low, swaying gently in the breeze, and exuding a fragrance of wheat.
As the lead researcher on this batch of seeds, Yu Yuehui is even more familiar with them than with her own children.
She knew that even in the less-than-ideal mountainous terrain, these seeds would surely take root, sprout, and grow strong.
This is precisely what makes the wheat she cultivated so unique: in addition to its remarkable high yield, it also possesses a strong ability to withstand high temperatures and drought.
Just like the people in Xiliu Village, as long as there is even a glimmer of hope, they can take root and sprout on this barren land.
Yu Yuehui, who came from a farming family, understood better than anyone what drought meant for crops.
Although there were many factors contributing to the great famine from 1956 to 1961, for Xiliu Village, the main cause was drought. Yu Yuehui, though still young at the time, clearly remembered that her mother would go to the spring at one or two in the morning to watch over the water, seeing the spring gradually increase in volume. When the spring water accumulated to half a spoonful, it would be poured into a bucket. It would take all night until dawn to see two and a half buckets of water.
Even at that time, she was a key member of the water protection team despite being a little girl.
If the water people drink is like this, then the crops in the fields are even worse; they've been welded to death in large numbers.
In those years when the drought caused no harvest, people's faces were filled with despair and numbness; in their village alone, more than half of the people starved to death.
This event was deeply etched in her heart.
Now, these seeds in her hands are like a sword of hope she has forged for farmers, enabling them to still have the possibility of a good harvest even under harsh natural conditions.
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