Speaking of bicycles, Ma Dasao also wanted one. She calculated her savings and had about two or three hundred yuan, but the problem was that she had the money but no ration coupon.
Ma Mingyuan was a very sensible child; he only cried a few times, knowing that there was nothing he could do since his family didn't have any tickets.
Village Chief Ma lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and said, "Qiangzi's family's bicycle and radio were all brought back from Beijing by Daqiang."
Sister-in-law Ma nodded. The whole village knew about this, and everyone envied the Yan family for having such a good son.
Ma Mingyuan puffed out his little chest and said, "Dad, Mom, I will learn from Uncle Bei Nan and be a good son. I will buy Dad a bicycle and Mom a radio."
The couple felt warm inside. They knew they had to teach this boy well and let him play with the Yan family's sons more often. Apart from the second son, all the Yan family members were excellent.
Winter has passed and spring has arrived. In the blink of an eye, it's already April. Yan Xiaonan took off her thick cotton-padded coat and put on a rabbit fur coat. Today, she's going to town with her grandma to buy chicks.
Yan Daqiang borrowed the old ox from his third uncle. Cuihua and Xuemei were going to the southeast to change their bedding and winter clothes into light cotton-padded jackets for spring and autumn.
Early in the morning, everyone in the family except Zhongnan, who had gone to the mountains, rode in an oxcart and took the boys to school as their first stop.
Then they went to Southeast's school. Southeast had lost weight, which showed how hard studying was. When Southeast saw Yan Xiaonan, he hugged her tightly, and Yan Xiaonan also gave her older brother a kiss.
Xuemei brought not only all her clothes and bedding, but also several pairs of shoes she made herself. Dongnan was touched and quietly told Xuemei, "We'll get married when I get into university."
Yan Xiaonan didn't want to listen, but she was helplessly held in Dongnan's arms. She had no choice but to listen. She glanced at Xuemei and said, "Big sister, you're only fourteen years old. Isn't it a bit too early to get married?"
Xuemei was too busy blushing to care about anything else. She tossed her braid, turned and left to help Dongnan change the bedding.
Even after the chicks were bought, Xue Mei was still blushing. Cui Hua found it amusing but was also worried that Xue Mei was too young. Grandma Yan told Cui Hua that marriage was possible, but consummation of the marriage had to wait until Xue Mei turned eighteen.
Yan Xiaonan looked at her grandmother with utmost respect. What a wonderful old woman she was, so wise and reasonable. She would definitely listen to her from now on.
Spring passed and summer came. Bei Nan was the first to finish the exams and go on vacation. He scored exactly 100 points in Chinese and Math combined.
Looking at the crumpled report card, Yan Xiaoqiang's eyes twitched. This kid must have done badly on purpose.
As expected, Bei Nan got a severe beating from his father, which made him obediently pick up his books and study hard for two days before passing the make-up exam.
Southwest will be starting junior high school after finishing his exams this year. He did well on the exams and will have no problem getting into junior high.
Holding Southwest's report card, Yan Xiaoqiang and Cuihua finally felt relieved; Southwest was quite sensible.
Next up was Dongnan's college entrance exam. Xuemei waited outside for two consecutive days, praying that Dongnan's wishes would come true and that he would get into a good university.
After the exam the next day, Dongnan told his family that he had done well and was very confident of getting into an agricultural university.
Two days later was the wheat harvest season. This time, thanks to Yan Daqiang's plastic sheeting and the well water he had prepared, half of the wheat survived.
The villagers were rushing to harvest wheat, so every able-bodied man from every household was out working.
Yan Jia's Daqiang, Cuihua, and Dongnan can earn a full centimeter. There are also half-grown boys from the North and Southwest who are picking up wheat ears in the field. Whoever picks up these wheat ears belongs to them.
Xuemei and Grandma Yan were busy cooking, washing clothes, feeding chickens and rabbits at home. Xuemei also had the arduous task of delivering food and water to the fields.
The wheat harvested from more than 100 mu of land yielded nearly 20,000 jin of wheat. After handing over the grain to the government, the village kept more than 10,000 jin of surplus.
The village chief and the brigade accountant began distributing grain according to each household's share. Some lazy people and families with few members received less, while the Yan family, being a large household, naturally received more.
Wang Gou Dan's family didn't receive much this year either. With her mother being less able to work, and after deducting the money borrowed from the village, they basically didn't get much left.
The village chief was merciful and allowed him to repay half of the money to the village first, with the other half to be repaid next year.
The river at the village entrance started flowing again, and people from the north, south, and southwest started fishing in the river and digging for wild vegetables, mushrooms, and hazelnuts on the outskirts of the mountains.
Yan Xiaonan had changed into a light jacket and wore the little straw hat made by Yan Xiaoqiang. She went up the mountain with her grandmother and the others.
What are we going up the mountain for? Of course, we're going to plant crops. If Yan Dongnan gets into university, he'll have to leave home for four years to study. His grandmother wants them to get married in August.
Weddings require money and gifts, so Grandma brought seeds, intending to exchange the grain for things, but she was always worried that the little fairy's magic power would be enough.
Finally, they reached the land halfway up the mountain. Yan Xiaoqiang looked around, afraid that someone might pass by.
Grandma Yan spread a blanket on the ground, and Yan Xiaonan sat down on it. He closed his eyes and realized that the black soil beneath the ground was churning, with layers of loose soil rising from the bottom up.
The seeds in my hand were scattered evenly, and slowly, green seedlings sprouted. Before long, a lush green rice field was visibly growing strong.
Yan Xiaoqiang's legs went weak and he sat down on the ground, staring blankly as the green rice turned into golden ears of rice, and in a short while, they were fully ripe.
Grandma Yan patted Cuihua, whose legs were trembling, went up and plucked a rice stalk, peeled off the rice inside and tasted it. It looked just like last year's rice; it was still good rice.
Yan Xiaoqiang finally managed to stand up. Looking around, he saw about five or six acres of rice paddies, all golden yellow.
Grandma Yan stood on tiptoe and looked into the distance. She thought that the rice paddies this year were at least two or three acres larger than last year. Was it because Nan Nan had grown a year older and her magical powers had increased?
Yan Xiaonan's consciousness controlled the rice field. He silently chanted "cut it down," and the rice ears fell down one by one. In a short while, all the rice in the field lay flat on the ground.
The entire rice paddy turned into a world of madness, with rice stalks constantly flying up and falling down, leaving Yan Xiaoqiang and Cuihua dazzled.
When everything finally came to a stop, the wheat straw and white rice were neatly arranged on both sides, clearly separated. Looking at such a large pile, this time there were at least five or six thousand catties of white rice.
Yan Xiaoqiang walked over, scooped up a handful of white rice with both hands, and threw it into the air. The falling rice landed on his hair and clothes.
Cuihua lay down on the white rice, and when she got up, her whole body was covered in white rice.
Worried that someone might come over, Yan Xiaonan closed her eyes and said, "Stop."
The white rice disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the land began to turn over from top to bottom again.
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