"Why so much?" Yi Roujing looked at the numbers in the passbook; her man’s ability to earn money was truly remarkable.

"Last time the third brother came, he mentioned that the south is already a bit relaxed. You need to be bold to earn more money. We took more goods, sold more, and naturally made more money," Xu Ancheng said with a smile. "In a little over a month, it’ll be the New Year, and many people are buying New Year goods."

After the New Year, entering ’77, Yi Roujing clearly noticed that there were more people secretly selling things on the streets, while fewer people were being caught. Even if they were caught, they were just given a few words of education, handled gently, so people became bolder.

Weng Hefeng was someone with courage. Although she worked as a temporary employee at school, her monthly salary was very low. Before the New Year, Yi Weimin finally became a full-time employee at the power plant, and his salary doubled. But seeing Yi Weijun and Yi Weiliang make so much money from one transport run and buy so many things, it’s hard not to be envious.

The Yi Family hadn’t divided their family. Although they talked about it before, now all three sons had stable jobs, with Yi Weijun and Yi Weiliang earning extra money on the side. Relatively speaking, Yi Weimin’s household had less, but Liu Huilan, being soft-hearted, had to take care of them a bit.

Weng Hefeng, although not very skilled, could make simple foods. Every day, she went out before dawn to sell breakfast, earning one or two yuan a day, which warmed her heart. Her school job for a whole month only paid fourteen yuan, so by selling baozi, she could make forty to fifty yuan, matching a regular worker’s salary.

Seeing how her sister-in-law was earning so much selling baozi, Pan Kexia felt eager and directly asked Weng Hefeng if she could help.

Weng Hefeng now viewed her second sister-in-law differently. Yi Weijun, whenever he returned from his trips, would always bring home things for the family, never leaving out her two children. Pan Kexia, being the second aunt, never said anything bitter, and even spent her first temp job salary on the family, buying things for Xu Ancheng and Yi Roujing, earning a higher opinion from Weng Hefeng.

Now, whatever Pan Kexia had in mind, she would bring it up directly instead of beating around the bush, which pleased Weng Hefeng.

Already overwhelmed with work, Weng Hefeng readily agreed and even talked to Xie Chenyan about joining once she had her child.

The three daughters-in-law got along well, which made Liu Huilan very happy.

Yi Roujing selected some baozi’s outgrown clothes that were still good and clean and sent them to Ding Anmin and Feng Lishu.

On March 31st, Baozi turned one year old. Li Hongying had long prepared items for the "Zhua Zhou" ceremony: a small abacus, wooden hammer, baozi, books, pens...

The whole family gathered, spread a red cloth on the floor in the hall, and laid out the Zhua Zhou items, then placed Baozi on top.

Having just turned one, Baozi could only walk with support, not alone. Usually, he was not very active, making Yi Roujing once suspect there was a problem. After taking him for a checkup, the doctor assured her he was perfectly healthy.

Gazing at the items on the red cloth, Baozi just glanced once, then crawled a bit forward, picked up a small baozi, looked at Li Hongying, and handed it over, "Here."

Li Hongying was stunned for a moment because it was the first time Baozi had spoken so clearly.

"Is it for grandma?" Li Hongying asked, a bit emotional.

Baozi nodded, then grabbed a small wooden hammer, reaching out his hands towards Yi Roujing, "Mom, mom..."

Although not entirely articulate, he was calling someone, and Yi Roujing, overjoyed, scooped him up and hugged him tightly, "Good boy."

Xu Ancheng seemed not to be jealous, maintaining a normal demeanor.

Back in the room that evening, out of curiosity, Yi Roujing asked Xu Ancheng why. He replied, "It’s only right for a son to call for his mom first, since you went through all the hard work."

On April 8th, when Xia Xingchen returned from work, her eyes were red. Seeing this, Yi Roujing couldn’t help but ask a few more questions.

As the year turned, Xia Xingchen was twenty-two. Having inquired from Xu Ancheng about what was going on with Gu Shizhao, it seemed there was no news.

Although the passing of the Great Leader didn’t affect Huaixi County much, many in Jing City were affected, leaving Gu Shizhao extremely busy with both family and work matters.

But despite this, he never forgot to write letters, make calls, and send things to Xia Xingchen each month. Even though it was a long-distance relationship, their feelings remained stable.

Seeing Xia Xingchen sob, Yi Roujing quickly followed her inside.

"Xingchen, what’s wrong? Can you talk to your sister-in-law?" Yi Roujing asked with concern.

"I just got his call." Though Xia Xingchen’s eyes were red, her lips hinted at a smile. "He said I should go to Jing City this month. He’ll personally come to pick me up in a few days and wants me to transfer my residency there too."

Upon hearing this, Yi Roujing clearly understood, "Does this mean you’re getting a marriage license?"

Xia Xingchen’s face turned red, all the way to her ears, and she nodded.

"Are you too eager to wait or just feel bad for Gu Shizhao?" Yi Roujing teased gently.

"Not being by his side, he has to juggle work and deal with the Gu Family. He’s cut ties with them now and set up his own household, even transferring his registration from them," Xia Xingchen felt a pang of concern. "He’s given up his family for me, and I..."

"You should’ve known his determination since he followed you to the countryside. The Gu Family wasn’t a good place, otherwise, Gu Shizhao wouldn’t have done this. Now that you’re becoming a family, support him, and he’ll be very happy." Yi Roujing assured.

"But once I move to Jing City, I might not have much chance to see you all again," Xia Xingchen said wistfully.

"Don’t worry, we’ll also visit Jing City. It won’t be long before we meet again. Just don’t neglect your studies." Yi Roujing reminded.

"Don’t worry, sister-in-law, I won’t." Xia Xingchen hugged Yi Roujing; thinking she’d be parting with the Ding Family made her very reluctant.

Gu Shizhao arrived in Huaixi County on April 16. Xu Ancheng arranged for him to stay at County First Middle School because he and Yi Roujing were now living in Bright Alley, leaving the schoolhouse vacant, perfect for Gu Shizhao.

Li Hongying was delighted to see Gu Shizhao and busied herself cooking good meals for him. Learning that he was there to take Xia Xingchen to Jing City and get married made Li Hongying even more welcoming.

Having had Xia Xingchen living with the Ding Family all these years, Li Hongying had come to see her as her own daughter. Now, as her "daughter" was getting married, Li Hongying only found the prospective son-in-law more likable.

When Ding Anmin and Huang Xiaobao heard of Gu Shizhao’s arrival, they brought along their son Mantou. Mantou’s nickname, like Baozi’s, was chosen by Li Hongying; using a dough name sounded nice and chubby.

Mantou’s full name, Huang Xuanyi, was picked by Mrs. Huang, who carefully chose it from a book. In a few days, Mantou would be six months old, and with meticulous care, he was chubby just like his name suggested.