Chapter 82 The Shen family has a daughter like you…
Zang Lijun was stunned for a long time.
Her daughter's hands were dry and warm, her palms covered with calluses that had grown there at some unknown time. The calluses were rough and hard, piercing her heart and making her feel a pang of sadness, as if she wanted to cry.
She noticed the changes in her daughter as soon as Shen Qingqing returned from winter vacation.
Although Zang Lijun didn't know what her daughter had been doing outside, she knew that her daughter must have put in more effort than she had imagined in order to leave this small village.
“I want to go.” She tried to meet her daughter’s calm gaze. “I want to go and see.”
She wanted to see a world she had never set foot in before.
"Okay." Shen Qingqing smiled.
A huge weight lifted from her heart. She patted Zang Lijun's hand reassuringly, stood up, and said cheerfully, "Then I'll book the train tickets later."
"Do you have any money on you? I have a little bit here, I'll transfer it to you first." Zang Lijun hurriedly searched for her phone.
"No need," Shen Qingqing stopped her. "I have one."
According to Shen Qingqing's plan before the college entrance examination, she intended to find a part-time job as soon as she entered university. She had researched the salaries of part-time jobs for university students in S City in advance. She planned to find a job in a restaurant or similar place, and also take a tutoring job. The two part-time jobs together would be enough for her daily life, and she could also save some money to plan for after graduation.
But once they entered Fangzhou, all these preparations were naturally rendered useless.
Shen Qingqing had already told her family in advance that she would be working and that they didn't need to give her living expenses. However, after enrolling in school, she discovered that her plans had changed, but it was too late to explain to her family why she didn't have time to work.
Fortunately, the poor students didn't have to spend much money on accommodation and meals. In addition, Shen Mingjiang and Zang Lijun would occasionally transfer some pocket money to her, which was enough to buy daily necessities and seasonal clothes. She gritted her teeth and got through the days.
Not long after enrolling, Shen Qingqing noticed that her classmates were so busy with training that they were too tired to move when they returned to their dormitories. So she had a bright idea and started offering to pick up packages and serve meals in the girls' dormitory.
The fees were low, with discounts for monthly subscriptions, and even lower prices for the entire dormitory if everyone subscribed together, quickly attracting a large number of customers.
Over the course of two semesters, she actually saved up quite a bit of money. She enrolled in driving school and had extra money to stock up on goods.
As the second semester began, everyone was busy buying things, and now, Shen Qingqing's little warehouse at school was almost empty.
As for the money used to rent a car and stock up on seeds for the family, that was money he asked Shen Mingjiang for.
Vegetable gardens require seeds, and since Zang Lijun doesn't drive, it's inconvenient for them to buy things. Shen Qingqing said she needed to rent a car to go to the county town and could pick up some things for her family while she was there, and Shen Mingjiang readily transferred the money to her.
Every penny of Shen Qingqing's money is precious; it's absolutely impossible for her to spend her own savings to stock up on goods for the family.
But I still have enough money to buy my mother a train ticket.
The mother and daughter sat together intimately for the first time, discussing their travel plans. Zang Lijun temporarily pulled herself out of the bad mood of her daughter's departure and began to imagine where to go in S City.
She mentioned the tourist attractions one by one, and Shen Qingqing listened with a smile, occasionally adding her own comment.
The grandparents had a habit of taking a nap, and the mother and daughter didn't want to disturb them. At the same time, they both had a strange feeling that they didn't want others to hear their conversation, so they simply sat on small stools under the eaves and chatted.
The summer afternoon was at its hottest, but the mountain village, nestled against the mountains, was relatively cool. Shen Qingqing had built many trellises, and the vines were now covered with layers of lush green leaves, undulating like waves in the wind. Mother and daughter leaned against each other, chatting, finding a rare tranquility and beauty in this vibrant scene.
Shen Mingjiang returned just then, interrupting their conversation.
He went to the county town in the morning and didn't go home for lunch. When he came back, he first drank a large vat of water, wiped the water stains from the corner of his lips and said, "I came back with Lao Zhao. He said that after we move to the resettlement housing, the government might give us some kind of meal allowance, which is equivalent to providing food and accommodation."
His loud voice woke up the two elderly people sleeping in the room. Old Man Shen slammed his hand on the bedside table: "I told you we shouldn't have done it! Now look what's happened, with all the wall repairs and floor renovations, we're about to move out. Isn't this all a waste of effort?"
He didn't participate in the labor at all, but now he's the first to complain.
Grandma Chen sat up, incredulous, and asked, "Really? You're giving us a place to live and food to eat?"
Originally, she was the one least willing to move, but after hearing this, she was tempted.
She's getting old and in poor health. If she could eat without having to farm, who would want to work in the fields under the scorching sun every day?
Did she really not want to move to the new house before?
—It's all to save money!
"Well, they say it's because there are many elderly people in our village, and many people are unwilling to move because they heard that they can't grow vegetables in the resettlement houses." Shen Mingjiang was starving. He scooped a bowl of leftover rice from the pot and started eating without bothering to heat it up, while sharing the information he had gathered. "If we don't move, the policy can't be implemented, and the government will definitely have to find a way."
Zang Lijun listened, half happy and half worried, secretly glancing at her daughter, afraid that she would be discouraged.
Unexpectedly, Shen Qingqing remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic at having her plans disrupted.
She waited until Shen Mingjiang put down his bowl before asking, "Dad, where did Uncle Zhao hear that? I checked the Housing and Construction Bureau's website before, but I couldn't find this policy. Should I call them again to ask?"
"The official statement can't be wrong, right? Maybe Uncle Zhao is mistaken."
The "Old Zhao" that Shen Mingjiang mentioned is Zhao Hailin's father.
Shen Qingqing knew in her heart that these words were most likely spread by Zhao Hailin. That Uncle Zhao, just like her father, only knew how to bury himself in his work and was completely clueless about policies. He probably didn't even know which way the door of the local housing and construction bureau faced.
These kinds of words are mostly passed from one person to another, and as they are passed on, many people start to believe them.
When Shen Qingqing asked, Shen Mingjiang indeed said, "It was Hailin who said it, so it shouldn't be wrong. He has many friends, so maybe he heard some news from someone that hasn't been officially announced yet. So don't spread rumors, it won't be good for Hailin if it gets out."
Grandpa Shen nodded repeatedly and exclaimed, "Hailin has a wide network of connections. He can even find out this kind of information. The Zhao family is truly blessed to have such a grandson."
After saying that, he stared at Shen Qingqing with a look of disappointment, thinking that his granddaughter was like a silent gourd.
Having been home for so long, I haven't even bothered to visit my neighbors. What kind of future do I have?
Shen Qingqing let out a cold laugh in her heart.
Zhao Hailin did odd jobs in the county town. When he wasn't working, he would go out drinking and playing cards. The people he knew were either fellow workers or unreliable card-playing and drinking buddies—this kind of information source was simply unreliable!
And to say it has a bad influence... Zhao Hailin is just too good at patting himself on the back.
But the news had clearly already spread throughout the village.
She said that when she came back from winter vacation, many people, like her grandmother, were unwilling to move. How come the village changed its attitude in just half a year? Suddenly, a large number of people stopped farming this year and were eager to move. The reason was this.
The villagers were in a state of unrest, and it was estimated that the rumors had been circulating for some time before reaching the Shen family.
Shen Qingqing had thoroughly investigated the relevant policies and found that many local governments do indeed provide meal subsidies to elderly people who have lost their land and are experiencing financial difficulties. Each meal costs a few yuan, and meals become free after a certain age.
However, as far as she knows, no relevant policies have been introduced locally yet. Moreover, things have changed since then, and many things have quietly changed.
Ordinary people are unaware of these changes, but Shen Qingqing knows them better than anyone.
She immediately said, "I'll go check it out. Don't jump to conclusions."
Grandpa Shen snorted: "Investigate what? I already said it's an undisclosed policy. If it weren't for Hailin, you would have no way of knowing about these things."
Finally, something happened that dampened his granddaughter's arrogance, and he was clearly very pleased.
Shen Qingqing pretended not to hear, washed the dishes, went back to her room, closed the door, and opened her phone to enter keywords to start searching.
Half an hour later, Shen Qingqing's gaze fell on a local news article.
*
Shen Qingqing had been locked in her room for quite some time. Zang Lijun wiped the table, glancing worriedly at the closed door from time to time.
Just as she finally couldn't resist knocking on the door to ask what was going on, the door suddenly opened.
Shen Qingqing came out in a whirlwind, her eyes sparkling, showing no sign of dejection whatsoever.
"Mom, I'm going out for a bit." She hurriedly said goodbye to Zang Lijun.
Zang Lijun: "It's so hot, where are you going?"
Shen Qingqing said, "Go and 'go for a chat' with the neighbors, and be back before dinner."
The Shen family members: "?"
Grandma Chen glanced at the blazing sun outside and couldn't help but raise her eyebrows: "She's been back for over a month, and she never moves around when it's cool, always choosing to come out during the hottest time... Could she have suffered heatstroke and damaged her brain?"
Or was it Grandpa Shen's praise of Zhao Hailin that provoked this little granddaughter?
Even Grandpa Shen himself was surprised, never expecting his words to have such a great effect.
Still worried about her daughter, Zang Lijun turned around and took some mung beans and rock sugar, preparing to cook some mung bean soup for Shen Qingqing to drink when she returned.
...
As Shen Qingqing approached a house, she slowed her pace.
That's Aunt Li's house up ahead.
She knew that some of the older women in the village would gather together to chat while they worked when they had nothing to do.
Aunt Li's house was very cool because she grew melons and fruits; the vines twined around the high wooden trellis, blocking most of the sunlight, making it very popular in the summer. As Shen Qingqing approached, she indeed heard voices chatting and laughing coming from the courtyard.
She deliberately walked slowly past the open courtyard gate, and sure enough, she was seen by the people inside. Aunt Li greeted her warmly, "Hey, Qingqing."
Shen Qingqing stopped and greeted them.
The other aunties laughed and said, "We heard you were back a while ago, but we haven't seen you. What have you been busy with at home?"
"Do you have homework to do?"
"No, I heard that there are no assignments in college."
They chattered amongst themselves, and Aunt Li came into the house and brought Shen Qingqing a small stool: "Qingqing, sit down. I just cut a watermelon. You can have a couple of slices. It's icy cold and very sweet."
Aunt Li was one of the people chased by wild boars last time. Shen Qingqing lured the wild boars away, saving her in a way. After that, Aunt Li's opinion of the girl changed.
She deliberately placed a larger slice of watermelon in front of Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing pretended that she couldn't refuse, said thank you and sat down, then answered their questions: "I haven't been busy with anything, I just started a small vegetable garden in the yard at home, and I've been taking care of it recently."
Upon hearing this, an older woman asked in surprise, "You just acquired a new piece of land? You're moving soon, why bother with all that trouble? Haven't you heard that resettlement housing includes room and board?"
Shen Qingqing looked as if she was hearing this for the first time, and shook her head decisively, saying, "Food and lodging included? How could that be possible!"
Her tone was unusually firm. The others exchanged glances, and Aunt Li asked, "Why is it impossible? Have you heard something?"
Zhao Hailin is a young man with "wide circle of friends" and "connections," so his words carry considerable weight in the village.
But Shen Qingqing is no less impressive. As a college student studying in a first-tier city, she has been praised by people from the Forestry Bureau, and her words carry the same credibility in the eyes of the villagers.
Who knows what news she might have overheard outside?
Shen Qingqing said, "The economic situation is very bad lately. Haven't you seen the news? Companies are laying off employees, many people are unemployed, and some people are even causing trouble. Society is very unstable, and the government is using all its money to pay unemployment benefits!"
"Let alone meal subsidies, which are something that can be given or not given in the first place, it's still a problem whether there are enough funds to continue building resettlement housing!"
Shen Qingqing frowned, looking worried, as if she had been troubled by this matter for a long time.
As he spoke, he took out his phone, found the previous news article, and showed it to everyone.
“Look, a county in the next province is in the same situation. The government is tightening its finances and has allocated the money elsewhere. The funding chain has broken down, and the construction of resettlement housing has been suspended indefinitely. We don’t know what will happen next.” She showed them the news headline and then put it away, sighing, “You don’t know, many people are now unemployed and bankrupt. If you don’t have money, something bad will happen. Quite a few people have died in S City this year.”
"Compared to that, resettlement housing is a minor issue. In their eyes, it doesn't matter whether we move in early or late. But if unemployment benefits are not paid in time, that's a matter of life and death."
Shen Qingqing was generally right. Given the current level of social unrest, the government is busy dealing with various issues, so resettlement housing will definitely be a lower priority.
However, she couldn't find news that matched the local situation in a short time. What she had just shown was actually "old news" from several years ago, and it was not the same as the current financial situation.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the headline and they didn't notice the date the news was published.
Aunt Li slapped her thigh, somewhat anxiously: "How could this happen? We had agreed on room and board included!"
“That’s right, if we can’t farm, are we supposed to starve? We’re all in our fifties and sixties, are we supposed to go out and find jobs as waitresses at this age?” The other aunties were also anxious.
Some people, who were more level-headed, raised the question: "But Qingqing, this news isn't about us, is it? Maybe it won't affect us."
Shen Qingqing shook her head, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said as if she had made up her mind, "You don't understand, this is just what was reported in the media."
“When they announced the suspension of construction due to a broken funding chain, the handover date was already approaching. They only made the announcement when they couldn’t delay any longer. Before that, they were trying to find ways to fill the funding gap. But they could delay, but we couldn’t wait. We were still waiting to move into our new houses,” Shen Qingqing said. “So we had to be aware of changes in the situation in advance.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Shen Qingqing continued, "As for the current situation... let me put it this way, a big city like S City must have a better financial situation than us, right? It's in such a mess right now, how could we be any better off? We're just keeping it a secret."
She deliberately spoke vaguely, and her evasive manner actually added to her credibility.
There's nothing we can do; the villagers just buy into it.
An aunt asked in surprise, "Qingqing, what will you do after that? Lijun said you might have to stay in S City."
"That's not necessarily true now," Shen Qingqing sighed. "Otherwise, why would I be in such a hurry to start farming?"
Upon hearing her say this, everyone suddenly realized what she meant.
Everything makes sense now! No wonder Shen Qingqing was so eager to cultivate a small vegetable garden and renovate the old house; it turns out she was making plans for the future.
So what's the point of going to university? You'll still have to come back and farm.
The thought flashed through her mind, but she dismissed it: No, that's not right either. At least she went to S City, broadened her horizons, and shared such valuable information with them.
They thought Shen Qingqing was stupid for repairing walls and planting crops right before moving, but it turns out they were the ones who were foolish. Shen Qingqing must have known some inside information about the resettlement housing beforehand and was subtly hinting at it to them using news from other counties.
If you still can't understand this, then you're truly stupid.
Thinking about it, they secretly glanced at Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing remained silent, only maintaining an inscrutable expression.
This made them even more certain.
She's definitely hiding something from us!
An aunt surnamed Zhang hurriedly stood up: "No, our land is still lying fallow, it hasn't been tended to since the beginning of the year, I have to hurry and buy some seeds."
"Me too."
"Qingqing, thanks to you, otherwise we would still be in the dark, waiting for a windfall."
Some people were indignant: "What kind of rumors is Zhao Hailin spreading? Did he take money? Is he spreading false information because he's afraid we'll cause trouble?"
Shen Qingqing quickly said, "That's not necessarily true. Hailin might have been deceived as well."
"Yeah, he's never been very reliable to begin with..."
Perhaps recalling Zhao Hailin's handling of the wild boar, the aunties showed expressions of reluctance to remember, and suddenly felt that it was normal for Zhao Hailin to have been deceived.
For something that requires thinking, the opinions of college students are more reliable.
They stopped thinking about it and left one by one. Shen Qingqing finished her watermelon and also politely said goodbye.
Before leaving, Aunt Li insisted on giving her the remaining half of the watermelon, saying, "This is to thank you, please accept it!"
Looking at Shen Qingqing's increasingly mature and outstanding appearance, she suddenly exclaimed, "You're getting better and better. The Shen family is truly blessed to have a daughter like you."
Shen Qingqing's feelings suddenly became complicated after hearing what Grandpa Shen said, which was completely opposite to what he had said.
She lowered her eyes, said goodbye to Aunt Li, and slowly began to make plans in her mind.
Given how gossipy the aunties and uncles are, this news will spread throughout the village in just a few days.
When the time comes, those who are willing to believe will naturally start farming again. A month is enough time for them to stock up on seeds and take care of their now-abandoned vegetable gardens.
The Shen family will no longer be one of the very few families with vegetable gardens; at least when the apocalypse comes, they won't be caught and plundered.
Even more so, if there are enough people with vegetable gardens at home, enough to outnumber those who lie down and slack off, they can unite to protect their vegetable gardens.
With the trouble finally showing signs of being resolved, Shen Qingqing breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and her steps became lighter.
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