That day, Bai Xiaoyue finally finished her first draft and saw Yan Ci return.
She jumped up and hugged Yan Ci, excitedly saying to him:
"Aci, my manuscript is finished. Can you take a look at it for me? If the language doesn't fit the times, I'll revise it."
Yan Ci picked up his wife, spun her around, and praised her with a smile:
"My wife is amazing."
After saying that, he kissed Bai Xiaoyue's forehead, put her down, and picked up the manuscript to read it carefully.
The article is not ornate; it uses simple and unadorned language to describe a group of village cadres who wholeheartedly serve the people. Of course, the article focuses most on Uncle Bai.
Yan Ci was deeply moved. Bai Xiaoyue's writing skills were very solid, and she realistically portrayed the lives of ordinary people a few years ago.
After reading it, Yan Ci gave Bai Xiaoyue a thumbs up:
"Honey, as expected of a Chinese literature major, you don't need to revise it. I think it's very well written."
Bai Xiaoyue said smugly:
"That's right, I've been working in the magazine industry for seven years."
Look at Bai Xiaoyue's tail, it's so cute! Yan Ci hugged his wife and showered her with kisses.
As they kissed, the atmosphere changed; Yan Ci's head remained lowered, and his hand covered his wife's chest.
Bai Xiaoyue quickly stopped him: "Aci, what do you want to do in broad daylight?"
Yan Ci whispered a few words in his wife's ear, and Bai Xiaoyue blushed deeply: "A-Ci, you're being a pervert..."
"I'm hugging my own wife, what kind of hooliganism is that?" Yan Ci said, a smug smile spreading across his face.
Bai Xiaoyue felt dizzy and mumbled, "Aci, you're seducing me." Her voice grew increasingly indistinct, then turned into soft moans.
Forced to sleep with someone for an afternoon, Bai Xiaoyue's back ached, and Yan Ci was giving her a massage.
Bai Xiaoyue scolded Yan Ci: "It's all your fault, it's all your fault."
Yan Ci's voice sounded innocent: "Wife, I've only come twice. It's because you're not in good physical condition. Why don't you exercise with me?"
"Still exercising? The busy farming season is about to start, and I'm going to suffer again."
"Isn't it because I'm here that you don't have to go to work in the fields? You can just stay home, take care of Chang Le, and cook for me."
"I'm just trying to avoid gossip. It's not like I'm working in the fields because I don't have money for food."
"Then you should ask your older brother to find you some easy work."
"That's what I think too, just getting by!"
"Honey, where are you planning to submit your manuscript?"
"I'm planning to submit it to the provincial daily newspaper, but I don't know if it will work."
"Give it a try, I think you wrote it quite well."
"Well, it's okay if it doesn't work out. I'll just treat it as practice. There aren't many recreational activities here, so this is just me entertaining myself."
"Wife, you're focusing on writing about your husband's elder brother. What are your thoughts?"
"I don't have any particular ideas. I just want to make the money transparent so I don't have to spend it secretly in the future."
"Now, even spending a little money makes my mother nag me sick. It would be best if it could bring some benefit to the village and my uncle."
"Honey, I'll mail it to the newspaper tomorrow."
"Um."
After the manuscript was mailed out, Bai Xiaoyue also asked Yan Ci to bring back a few eight-cent stamps.
She plans to stock up on some every year to save as gifts for her children in the future.
Bai Xiaoyue suddenly had some free time.
Now that she's married, Grandma Bai has no reason to nag her anymore, and Auntie Bai treats her like a mouse before a cat.
Bai Xiaoyue would often go to chat with her eldest cousin's wife, hoping to annoy her aunt, which made her very happy.
And here comes the sequel to the gossip.
Seeing that no one was around, the eldest sister-in-law whispered to Bai Xiaoyue:
"Xiaoyue, your father-in-law has agreed to Xiaomei's marriage."
Bai Xiaoyue listened intently to her eldest cousin's sister-in-law's words, then asked in surprise, "Uncle really agrees?"
The eldest sister-in-law's voice was even softer: "Xiaomei is pregnant, and her father-in-law had no choice but to agree."
Bai Xiaoyue: "Xiaomei is good-looking and comes from a good family, why would she demean herself like this!"
The eldest sister-in-law said, "I heard that Lin Hua's mother doesn't approve of their marriage because she thinks Xiao Mei is from the countryside."
Xiaomei couldn't bear to part with Lin Hua, so she found a way to get pregnant and forced Lin's mother to agree.
It's been over two months now, and we're getting married in a few days.
Bai Xiaoyue felt that even in this era without the internet, it wasn't boring at all; it was just like a TV series!
She's really looking forward to what happens next!
Bai Xiaoyue didn't plan to attend Bai Xiaomei's wedding, mainly because it was a joyous occasion and she didn't want to upset her aunt.
As a result, my aunt even had my eldest cousin come and invite her over, and it was really hard to refuse!
Bai Xiaoyue had no choice but to take her family to see her aunt's son-in-law, paying 5 yuan for the tickets.
Most families would only give one dollar, but relatives would definitely give more.
The groom, dressed in a brand-new Zhongshan suit, was accompanied by three young men, each riding a bicycle, to pick up his bride.
There wasn't a single bicycle in the entire production brigade, so when Lin Hua and his group arrived on four, the onlookers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
The son-in-law is a worker, and the in-laws are leaders. The son-in-law uses four bicycles to pick up his daughter.
It really made my uncle's family very proud, and everyone's envious and jealous eyes made my aunt look like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
To be honest, Lin Hua was quite handsome, but too delicate; in modern terms, he was a bit effeminate.
This doesn't fit the aesthetic standards of this era. I don't know why Bai Xiaomei fell for such a man.
Bai Xiaoyue didn't want to eat saliva-infused dishes; she only ate one bite of each dish. Even if she wanted to eat more, she could only dream about it.
Because she ate so slowly, the other women could only eat as quickly as they could.
In the end, Bai Xiaoyue and the other two only ate a small bowl of sweet potato rice before preparing to go home.
The eldest sister-in-law pulled her aside and whispered, "Xiaoyue, did you see your father-in-law's expression?"
Bai Xiaoyue asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"It's all because Xiaomei got pregnant. Lin's mother was unhappy and didn't give the bride price. Her father-in-law was furious."
"No wonder Uncle never smiles. With Old Madam Lin's actions, Xiaomei's life after marriage won't be easy!"
"Sigh... Grandma, even my mother-in-law supports Xiaomei, and it's no use even if my father-in-law and Wenli object."
"Sister-in-law, you're heavily pregnant, so don't worry too much. Everyone has to walk their own path."
Every choice she made in her life shaped her destiny, and no one could help her with that.
Even if it involves hardship and suffering, as long as it's done willingly, it's not true suffering.
...
A few days later, big news came to the village.
Before the spring planting in 1962, each household was allocated a private plot of land.
Five to seven percent of the cultivated land area was allocated by the production brigade to commune members as private plots for carrying out family sideline production.
The private plots were entirely at the members' disposal, and they did not have to pay grain taxes. This provided an extra layer of security for the commune members, preventing them from going hungry again.
When everyone heard the news, their joy and elation were beyond words.
Everyone got busy, verifying family members, measuring land, assigning numbers, and then the whole village gathered to draw lots.
Bai Xiaoyue asked Yan Ci to go and catch it. The family of three has a private plot of six fen (a unit of land measurement) where they can grow vegetables, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.
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