A number of villagers stood outside the courtyard to watch the spectacle, marveling at the division of labor between men and women inside.
"What do you know? The women's team can hold up half the sky now. Look at the women of the Lin family, how are they any less capable than the men?"
"Exactly! Only men with outdated and rigid thinking like you can never make a fortune in your entire lives. You deserve to suffer your whole lives, eating tree bark your whole lives!"
The woman spoke with an air of disdain, but the older man next to her, who had been rebuked, instantly became angry, his face turning red and his neck bulging with rage.
"How can you talk like that, woman? I didn't say anything about you women, and you reacted so strongly. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were having an affair with one of the men in the Lin family, so protective of the Lin family."
The man said in a sinister and ungrateful way, and the woman immediately became furious and mocked: "I would like to have some relationship with the old Lin family, but it's a pity. I know what kind of person I am and I'm not worthy of my neighbor. I'm not like some people who hang out with other girls every day, and I'll be honest if they beat me one day."
The old man looked somewhat uneasy. He had been trying to get close to Liang Fu and Su Hang lately, but how could these two young girls possibly be interested in a thirty or forty-year-old man with no ability?
"But putting everything else aside, look at these old neighbors, they are all quite capable. Not only do the men have their own sense of propriety, but the women are also not idle at home. Even though Liang Mei is heavily pregnant, she can still help take care of the house inside and out, keeping it clean and tidy every day."
“Liang Fu goes to the county town every day with his aunt Zhao Shufen to set up a food stall. They work from dawn till dusk, and she never complains about being tired. She deserves to make money.”
"Yes, if a man is capable and hardworking, and a woman is also hardworking, then money will come, right? In the end, we live a prosperous life because we're lazy."
Lin Chaosheng and the others had no idea that all they had done was tidy up the yard and divide the tasks among themselves, and that this had led to such a discussion.
Everyone ate dinner promptly at 5:30.
Zhao Shufang put the noodles into the pot, while Liang Fu next to her was stir-frying minced pork into a meat sauce and making a sauerkraut sauce.
Everyone held a small iron bowl and ate the braised noodles; it tasted delicious.
"Come on, anyone want some garlic?"
"Give me one, give me one to support braised noodles. How can there be no garlic? But Shufang, your family really has everything! These days, garlic isn't even a thing; every household has it."
As Grandma Sun chewed on a clove of garlic, she felt that even eating a clove of garlic during a famine was a source of great happiness.
"This garlic isn't hard to grow. I'll plant more later, and you can come to my house to pick it up."
Zhao Shufang said with a smile, "That's all thanks to your skillful hands. In the current situation, even bringing garlic back to life is not an easy task."
"Moreover, water is a scarce commodity for every household now. Your family, which has a well and has such an abundant water supply, is truly a rare breed."
Zhao Shufang slurped up a mouthful of noodles and said, "Sigh, it's all luck. Who would have thought that the well in my yard would have so much water?"
Lin Chaosheng, standing to the side, also strongly agreed with this statement. After all, the well in his yard really had nothing to do with him; it was just a well he stumbled upon by accident. They never expected that the well would have so much water.
"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone, finish your noodles and head home early. Starting tomorrow, be at work promptly at 8 a.m."
After finishing the meal, Lin Chaosheng took the initiative to speak.
"No rush, we'll help you wash this big pot, the bowls and chopsticks and everything before you go back, otherwise there's nothing to do at home."
"Exactly, you're making us come to work at 8 a.m. tomorrow, which is quite late. We'll be leaving early tonight."
"We're even provided with food and drink. We feel bad that you make us come to work so late and leave so early."
Several older women chimed in, and Zhao Shufang, upon hearing this, smiled and said to Lin Chaosheng, "Just let them do it. If you don't let them do it, they'll feel like they owe you something. Letting them do some work will make them feel better."
So by the time I finished cleaning up and got home, it was already dark.
Captain Wei wanted Lin Chaosheng's small farm to have a small ribbon-cutting ceremony, like cutting a red ribbon or something, but Lin Chaosheng politely declined.
The next day, the elderly women arrived in the yard on time. Lin Chaosheng didn't stand on ceremony and put all the ingredients in the yard. He said to them, "My mother and the others go to the county town early in the morning, so they don't have time to cook for us. From now on, I will bring the ingredients to us every day. Then you can cook whatever you want to eat. It will just be hard for you to do the work yourselves, as we really don't have enough manpower at home."
"I understand, I understand. Besides, look how fresh and delicious these ingredients are! There are even meat in these vegetables!"
Grandma Sun couldn't stop smiling when she saw the food piled on the ground.
With these vegetables on the ground, she would be happy to cook for the entire Lin family, let alone cook for herself.
Lin Chaosheng gave them a few instructions and then left. Not long after, Su Hang arrived.
Since it was their first day at work, they were worried about having only a few older women there, so they asked Su Hang to keep an eye on them and see if they made any mistakes in their operations, and to help them follow the rules.
Once they've all mastered the skills, Su Hang won't need to come over every day to keep an eye on them.
The elderly women understood this approach and were very happy. No one harbored any resentment or complaints.
Lin Chaosheng packed a basket of rabbit fur, intending to go to the city to discuss business.
"Father, Mother, and Little Sister, I might not be able to come back for the next couple of days. I need to go to the city to visit some factories and see if we can sell our rabbit fur."
"Okay, then be careful on the road. If anything happens, remember not to try to handle it yourself. Remember to call the brigade, and we will definitely pick you up as soon as possible."
Liang Mei looked at her husband with concern, but she also knew that this was something he had to do.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm sure I'll succeed in negotiating this time. You can just stay home and rest during your pregnancy."
Liang Mei nodded happily.
After riding his bicycle to the county, Lin Chaosheng left it at Li Daniu's gambling den and then took the train to the city.
The train took a short while to reach the city; this was Lin Chaosheng's first time in a big city since his rebirth.
The big cities of today are far from being as prosperous as they will be in a few decades, but they are already taking shape. No wonder so many people are scrambling to come to the big cities to develop their careers.
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