Rebirth in the 60s: A Path to Counterattack-Chapter 81 - 0. Heartfelt Return Gift (Collection 2600+)

Regarding his wife’s wholehearted dedication to living life, Lianshan naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

After confirming that all the corn in the front and back gardens had indeed matured and could be harvested, he put on a basket and went into the garden.

He started plucking the corn, and in no time, he had dealt with half an acre of corn in the front and back gardens. Then he picked up the sickle and began harvesting the corn stalks.

He worked from around five in the afternoon until after eight at night when it got dark, and the corn stalks in the front and back gardens were completely down.

He did it all by himself without letting Shuzhen help at all.

If it weren’t for Shuzhen feeling sorry for the sweat on his forehead, she wouldn’t have let him work through the night under the moon. It wouldn’t take even a couple of hours, the garden would be plowed thoroughly, and the rows would be prepared.

Early tomorrow morning, they could work on tidying up that... worm bed thing.

Even so, by the time Shuzhen woke up the next morning, Lianshan had already finished cooking and plowing the garden. He was in the back garden discussing the worm bed that Shuzhen mentioned while chatting with his sister, Lian Yue.

Already making her new husband cook right after the wedding, and getting up late to run into her sister-in-law made Shuzhen blush with embarrassment.

Seeing this, Lian Yue secretly found it amusing and softened her tone to join the conversation warmly. To prevent her sister-in-law from feeling more awkward, she kindly changed the subject: "My brother said sister-in-law is planning to plant cabbage and radishes in the garden?"

"Yes, I was thinking of planting some cabbage and radishes, as well as some Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, autumn coriander, and autumn spinach. If we can get some chive roots, we’ll plant a patch of those too. Wouldn’t it be great to prepare some for pickling for sour and salted vegetables in the future?" Shuzhen, feeling relieved by her sister-in-law’s understanding, answered with a bright smile.

"Well...

It’s certainly a good idea, but... freeweɓnovel~cѳm

Radishes in the first heat, vegetables in the second heat, it’s already past the beginning of autumn and almost at the end of summer, are we even on time?" Lian Yue asked hesitantly.

With a month or two before the first frost, she worried that planting those vegetables with great effort might end in disappointment if the frost struck before harvest. Losing a few seeds or wasting effort was minor, but she worried the idle gossipers in the village would start talking.

With her secret talent, Shuzhen had no such concerns.

But since she hadn’t told even her husband about this hidden card, there was no way she’d reveal it to Lian Yue.

Shuzhen just smiled, "There’s still some time before the deep autumn, right? If we take good care of them, keep them watered and fertilized, it should turn out not too bad. Besides, your brother’s front and back gardens were just cleared this year; the soil is fertile! The corn harvested yesterday was exceptionally large and full-grained. Even the second ears were full, with no empty cobs.

The front and back gardens may only be half an acre, but we filled four gunny sacks, a harvest that surpasses even the production team’s yield!

Your brother said he just provided regular care and didn’t even add fertilizer, and it grew so well, so isn’t that proof of the fertility of the land?

With such fertile soil, if I carefully choose the sprouts, water them right after planting, and take good care of them, even if the vegetables grow a little less than others planted earlier, they should be fine.

At worst, the cabbages might not be fully formed, or the radishes and mustard greens might be smaller, but that’s better than nothing, right?"

Unable to reveal her abilities, Shuzhen had to attribute the potential success to the land. With fertile fields yielding good seedlings, along with careful cultivation, it would be reasonable for the vegetables to grow better and more vibrant than others’, right?

You reap what you sow!

Seeing her sister-in-law speak so confidently and her brother nodding frequently while the garden was already plowed and the rows were neatly arranged, what more could Lian Yue say?

She could only shift the topic and bring up the topic of the return gift for their newly wedded siblings!

According to their local customs, three days after marriage, the newlyweds must return to the bride’s home with a gift prepared by the groom’s family. The richness of the gift directly reflects the groom’s family’s satisfaction and regard for the bride.

The three siblings’ parents passed away early, so such matters were always handled by their eldest brother.

Now that their brother was married, Lian Yue and Lian Hai decided to help prepare the return gifts.

Every item such as cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea required ration tickets, were extremely expensive, and hard to get. After much effort, the siblings managed to obtain a pound of sugar tickets, bought a pound of sugar, and divided it into two portions to symbolize a pair. They bought two bottles of high-priced liquor without tickets, and two cans of malted milk, which were frightfully expensive at five yuan per can. Hearing that a pig was being slaughtered in the next village for a celebration, they hurried to buy two and a half pounds of pork belly.

A respectable set of four gifts altogether, costing them exactly sixteen yuan and eight cents.

They were worried their brother might go and buy more if they came late, or that if Lian Hai showed up, their brother wouldn’t accept it. Lian Yue rushed over early in the morning, not even having breakfast, with the gifts in hand.

No matter what, she was determined to make their brother and sister-in-law accept the siblings’ thoughtful gesture.

She didn’t expect that her sister-in-law would understand the siblings’ eagerness to do something for their brother, and cheerfully thanked them for their efforts. The gift was chosen with such care that she and their brother would have never been willing to spend so much on such good, expensive items.

Then she simply accepted the gifts and the siblings’ intention to express satisfaction and appreciation on behalf of their parents.

Not only that, she said she would have Big Brother go to the mountains to help their family and Hai Zi, and the Liu family brothers figure out how to get some logs for growing tree fungus. They should also learn from their family how to set up a worm bed and raise chickens with worms. Not only that, it would be great to raise a few extra chickens to lay eggs for some pocket money, and more tree fungi for the dining table!

At first, when she heard this, Lian Yue was resistant.

Having been used to living off farming according to the seasons and showing up to work on time, she had no inclination for innovation and progress.

She reluctantly agreed, mainly out of respect for her sister-in-law and brother. After all, it was just a matter of some effort, and who knows? Anyway, she didn’t want to let down her brother and sister-in-law’s good intentions.

As it turned out, once they tried it, their income steadily increased and their lives became more and more comfortable.

This made her repeatedly thankful for her sister-in-law’s kind heart, willing to bring them along on this journey of prosperity. Gradually, they developed the habit of discussing all major and minor family matters with Shuzhen and seeking her advice.

Having memories of her past life and a general understanding of future developments, Shuzhen often provided good advice.

With benefits coming more and more frequently, the couple grew more and more aware of their good fortune and clung tightly to Shuzhen’s support!

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