Since it was just the two of them eating, Jiang Xiaoman didn't cook much. She picked some chives from the vegetable garden behind the school, chopped a cabbage, sliced the cured pork, and stir-fried it with chili peppers. She washed and chopped the chives, added four eggs, and made a chive and egg pancake. She also cooked some sweet potato rice and steamed a plate of cured pork and potato slices on top. She layered cured pork on the potato slices, sprinkled some minced garlic and dried chili peppers on top, and drizzled a spoonful of soybean oil on top. It was especially good with rice.
As he was picking vegetables, Qu Jingjiang suddenly appeared out of nowhere and squatted down to help him pick chives. Seeing his hesitant expression, Qu Jingjiang couldn't help but glare at him with shame and indignation: "I am selfish! I have no conscience! You can scold me if you want!"
Jiang Xiaoman is completely innocent!
Who's going to insult you?
It's true that he felt uncomfortable, but the villagers had never heard anyone badmouth Qu Jingjiang behind his back. In fact, many of the older generation with more traditional ideas felt it was a pity for him and Jiang Baichuan, since they had worked so hard to get into university and were just going to spend their whole lives teaching in the village. So, the villagers actually understood Qu Jingjiang's decision to resign and return to the city better than he did.
The one who truly couldn't let go was himself.
After all, he started out full of enthusiasm, wanting to dedicate his life to rural education. But in the end, reality defeated his ideals. Qu Jingjiang is an only child, and I heard that his family is not particularly well-off. His parents rely on him to earn money for their old age, and it's impossible for them to stay in the village forever, earning a shockingly low salary as a substitute teacher.
In that case, let alone supporting his parents in their old age, he wouldn't even be able to support himself, okay?
However, Jiang Xiaoman didn't know how to comfort him in this situation, so she could only offer dry words of comfort, saying that the villagers didn't blame him.
Qu Jingjiang glanced up at him, sneered, and buried himself in picking chives, ignoring him.
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."
Why is this guy acting all arrogant?
He really couldn't understand Qu Jingjiang's dilemma. What was there to be conflicted about?
If you have the ability to stay in the village, then follow your heart and strive for your ideals. If the conditions don't allow it for the time being, then take care of your own family first, and help others when you have the extra capacity. There's no reason to let your parents starve to death just to help others, right?
It can only be said that he is too vulgar. His father always says that he will bring great wealth to the village sooner or later. Come on! He doesn't even know where he works.
After preparing a meal for Jiang Baichuan and feeding the chickens and ducks in the backyard, Jiang Xiaoman hurried home. On the way, she ran into her father digging potatoes, so she put down her basket and helped him dig for a while.
Hearing that Jiang Baichuan had been discharged from the hospital, Jiang Youliang said he would catch a chicken for him to eat and told his son not to forget to bring the chicken with him when he went down the mountain tomorrow.
“Many families in the village have sent chickens and eggs over, but I think we should stop sending chickens. I’ll go down the mountain early the day after tomorrow to go to the market and buy a big pork hock for Uncle Baichuan to stew.”
“Alright! I see their school’s potatoes are almost ready for harvest. Tell him not to move, and I’ll help him harvest them after I finish my work at home in the next couple of days.” Jiang Youliang knew Jiang Baichuan well. To save money for the school, he would grow his own potatoes whenever possible instead of buying them. For example, he had cultivated more than an acre of land behind the school, and the potatoes he grew were enough to feed the whole school for half a year.
After the father and son dug up the potatoes, Jiang Youliang carried two bags on a shoulder pole, while Jiang Xiaoman put the rest in his own basket. When they got home, the two pigs they kept were so hungry that they were banging their heads against the pigpen door.
Jiang Youliang quickly put down his carrying pole, brought over the pig feed he had cooked that morning to feed the pigs, and Jiang Xiaoman took a few potatoes that had been dug out, washed them, and took them to the kitchen to start preparing dinner for the father and son.
I got home a little late today and didn't have time to cook rice, so Jiang Xiaoman simply chopped some cured pork, sautéed it first, then poured in half a pot of water, brought it to a boil, added a bag of noodles, cracked in four eggs, seasoned with salt and chicken bouillon before serving, and sprinkled some chopped green onions. A simple and delicious pot of cured pork noodle soup was ready.
Wash the fresh potatoes thoroughly without peeling them, then slice and wash them again. Take out the old jar from home, which contains pork that was cooked after slaughtering a pig for the New Year. The cooked pork, along with the lard, is kept in the jar with some peppercorns. It won't spoil for a year. When you want to eat it, scoop out a couple of spoonfuls and stir-fry it with potato slices. It's especially delicious!
With just this simple dish, the father and son finished half a pot of noodles, leaving not even a drop of soup.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Youliang carried the potatoes he had dug back into the house and laid them out on the ground to dry overnight, so they wouldn't spoil easily when stored in the cellar. Other crops were difficult to grow in the mountains, but potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn were easy to grow and had high yields, so his family grew these three crops year-round, which were the most important staple foods and vegetables for the whole family.
Jiang Xiaoman wasn't idle either. She bought some big bones at the market in the morning, first smashed them with an axe, washed them clean, and then put them in a big pot to stew for several hours to render out the bone fat. Although these big bones don't have much meat, they make a very delicious soup. You can cook noodles or make dumpling soup. Jiang Youliang is getting old, so eating more bone soup is very good for his health.
While the soup was simmering, he quickly edited the videos he had filmed that morning and posted them on several short video platforms he had registered with. Looking at the ones he had posted before, the number of views was still dismal. However, he had heard that building up an account was something that couldn't be rushed. He had even heard that some people paid teams to write scripts, film, and produce videos, and even then, it would take a long time for those with bad luck to gain followers.
However, after drying the potatoes, Jiang Youliang still asked his son about his plans.
“Your Uncle Baichuan has been discharged from the hospital. The children at school will be sent home by villagers. Xiaoman, if you want to stay in the city to find a job, you should hurry back to school.” Jiang Youliang sat hunched over on a small stool by the door, took out a cheap cigarette from his shirt pocket, lit it, and savored it.
He has been coughing frequently in recent years, and his son has set a rule for him that he can smoke no more than three cigarettes a day. However, he is too tired from working during the day and always feels sore all over at night, so he saves the last cigarette for before going to bed.
Smelling the familiar scent of cheap tobacco in the air, Jiang Xiaoman remained silent for a moment before jokingly teasing her father—
“Dad, didn’t you always say that the Jiang family’s shaman read my face? And that no matter how far I go in the exams, I must come back to our hometown and lead the villagers to prosperity…”
“That’s all ancient history!” Jiang Youliang sighed heavily, looking up at the dark, endless mountains. “The clan shaman passed away a few years ago, and now his youngest son is the successor. I heard he spends all his time hiding at home playing that game, and he doesn’t tell fortunes or divine for anyone. Last time, he even helped the village chief paint some anti-feudal superstition slogans on the wall…”
"Pfft~" Jiang Xiaoman spat out a mouthful of mint water.
“I was foolish back then. The clan shaman couldn’t even judge his own son properly, choosing such a spendthrift son to inherit his mantle. From now on, I don’t think there will be any clan shamans left in this Langshan area!”
"When I brought you home, I was worried you wouldn't survive. I was going to take you to the clan shaman for a divination, but he said you would have a bright future. And he wasn't wrong, you actually got into university! Hey! You really made your father proud!"
"As for what he said about bringing great wealth to Langshan, I think we should just listen to it and forget about it! We can't even grow rice in these mountains, so what great wealth and future can we expect?"
"You finally got into university, it would be great if you could stay in the city..."
"Dad, I don't want to stay in the city. I want to come back." Jiang Xiaoman had somehow moved a small stool over and sat down next to Jiang Youliang. Not only did he bring a stool, but he also brought a small brazier. He used an iron shovel to stir up the charcoal ash and buried a few fist-sized potatoes in it. After doing all this, as if he had finally mustered up the courage, he looked up at his father—
"Dad, do you know about Chestnut Gully over there on the other side of the mountain? I heard they've made a fortune growing shiitake mushrooms under the forest canopy in the last two years."
“I’ve inquired and found out that someone from our village has relatives over there. I’m planning to go to Banligou to take a look. As for forests, we have much more here than there. If they can do forest-based economy, why can’t we?”
Author's Note:
Do you all remember Old Village Chief Shanrong from the previous book? If you haven't read the previous book about raising pigs, that's okay, it won't affect your enjoyment of this one, hehe~ Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 12:01:16 on 2021-11-11 and 11:52:34!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Riding a Black Horse with a White Horse (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 2 bottles of riding a black white horse; 1 bottle of cream cake;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 9
Hearing his son talk about Banligou, Jiang Youliang couldn't help but show a hint of envy. "I've heard about Banligou too. They say a female college graduate from the village next door came back to start a business and attracted a lot of big bosses to invest there. She's made a fortune with several nearby villages. I even had a drink with Shan Rong, the old village chief. He's a lucky guy!"
"I heard that Shan Rong's family now earns over 300,000 yuan a year just from salaries for all the adults, plus the village dividends. They're really rolling in money!"
"If you want to go, you don't need to ask anyone else. After we harvest the potatoes at the school, I'll go with you to Banligou!"
"Your Uncle Shanrong likes to drink our local wild tea. I'll pick out two catties of the good stuff for him later!"
“Okay! But we’re in a poor, remote area, so I doubt investors will be willing to pour money into it. We can work on it ourselves, and even if we earn less, it’s still better than working in the city.” At this point, Jiang Xiaoman glanced at his father apologetically, “Um, Dad, I have something to tell you, but don’t get upset.”
“Tell me! Is there anything in this world more infuriating than poverty?” Jiang Youliang looked at his son with full confidence.
Jiang Xiaoman was most afraid of seeing her father's blindly confident appearance, but this matter could not be hidden. Although Langshan was remote, it still had plenty of television and mobile phones. Those idle experts on TV were analyzing which majors had difficulty finding employment all day long. Her father was neither deaf nor blind, and he would see it sooner or later.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaoman swallowed hard and steeled her resolve—
"Dad, I studied foreign trade, but now I can't find a job at all!"
What's so scary about being poor?
It's terrible when you're poor and can't find a job or have money for food.
"What?!" Jiang Youliang's face turned pale. His last cigarette of the day had fallen into the brazier.
Whether or not he wants to return to his hometown to start a business is his own business.
But if you can't find a job in the city and have to return to your hometown to start a business, that's a different story.
That means there's no way out!
In Jiang Youliang's view, his son was at least a college student. Even if his business venture in his hometown failed, he could at least find a job to support himself when he returned to the city. He was more successful than him.
But what's going on now? He doesn't understand anything about foreign trade. All he knows is that college graduates in this major can't find jobs. Did his son waste his four years of college?
Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time. Xiaoman didn't ask her family for tuition fees after the second semester of her freshman year. She said that the country provides subsidies for impoverished students, and she can earn several thousand yuan to take home every year. That's why people say you can only learn real skills by going to university.
However, being unemployed right after graduation was a huge blow to Jiang Youliang, who had little education, and he became even more hunched over in the dim light.
Jiang Xiaoman sighed inwardly, walked over and hugged his father's thin shoulders: "Alright Dad, don't you know your son's abilities? Back when I was in college, I could still squeeze out time to make money even though I had six classes a day. After graduation, I'll have plenty of time to figure out how to make money."
“If all else fails, I’ll go back to the city and collect scrap! Don’t look down on those scrap collectors. If you do it well, you can easily earn millions a year. Even if you don’t earn millions, I can still earn a few hundred thousand a year, and my son and I can live a good life.”
Sigh, he worked so hard to get into university, and he was exhausted during finals to try and get scholarships every year. In four years of university, he didn't even get to know his classmates well, let alone date. He never thought that after four years of hard work, he would end up collecting recyclables... He should have just gone to collect recyclables after graduating from high school.
However, even if she had to start all over again, Jiang Xiaoman would still insist on going to university. Although her father didn't have much schooling, he was right about one thing: those who went to university are really different from those who didn't...
It was indeed different. Just when Jiang Xiaoman and his father were at their wits' end about finding employment, the short video he had just posted on his personal page suddenly saw a surge in views.
In recent years, various rural short videos have become rampant. Netizens have gone from being interested at the beginning to being bored now, and sometimes they even swipe past them after watching only once. Jiang Xiaoman's hope of becoming popular again like she did a few years ago by making short videos is actually not very high.
But Jiang Xiaoman spent too much time at the old lady's stall selling handmade cloth shoes. Actually, he just wanted to take more pictures of the product details so he could ask his classmates to help promote them. Although he wasn't involved in the Hanfu circle, he knew that people who could afford Hanfu were basically rich women. He didn't intend to rip off customers; he just wanted to sell some local specialties so his dad could buy a few more pounds of meat.
As a result, because we lingered at this stall for too long, we didn't get to film a lot of footage later. When editing the video, we unconsciously used a lot of footage of handmade floral cloth shoes.
It started with a few female classmates who were following him. They were overjoyed to see the handmade floral cloth shoes they had been longing for make a comeback, and tagged their fellow enthusiasts to come and see. Later, when even the enthusiasts couldn't tell what era it was from, they tagged a few big names in the Hanfu community.
Surprisingly, a knowledgeable person actually replied. This person was very straightforward and only replied with a few words: "Can't recognize it, want to buy it!"
The big shot's fans laughed heartily, enthusiastically giving his reply the top spot. Following him, a bunch of people, always eager for drama, shouted that they wanted to buy it and urged Jiang Xiaoman to hurry up and get on the yellow bike.
Where would Jiang Xiaoman get some shared bikes for them?
Jiang Xiaoman was so excited that he couldn't sleep after his video, which usually only gets a few hundred views, suddenly skyrocketed to tens of thousands. However, to his surprise, his poorly edited video did not lose popularity overnight; instead, its popularity continued to rise, and by morning, it had already surpassed 200,000 views.
Seeing the rows of new fans in the comments section asking for the book to be published, Jiang Xiaoman felt that she should find time to visit Jiangwan Village.
Because she had something on her mind, Jiang Xiaoman made a quick breakfast. She boiled the pork bone soup she had made last night, then made a big pot of noodles. She also took a handful of pickled taro stems from the jar, chopped them up, stir-fried them, ate a little, and hurriedly went down the mountain.
The school's funds are limited, and he himself is not wealthy, so he can't afford to treat the children to meat every day. Therefore, today's lunch consisted of only a large bowl of stir-fried potato slices with chili peppers, a bowl of stir-fried cabbage, and a beefsteak and egg drop soup. Seeing the disappointed looks in the little ones' eyes, Jiang Xiaoman felt quite sad, but there was nothing he could do. The chickens raised at the school were kept to lay eggs, and he couldn't just kill a few whenever the students were craving them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to eat eggs, let alone meat, in the future.
However, when Jiang Xiaoman was rendering lard yesterday, she left half a basin of pork cracklings. She added two spoonfuls of the cracklings to the stir-fried potato slices and cabbage. The originally bland vegetables immediately became oily and delicious. The children ate without looking up and even scooped up the vegetable soup to mix with their rice.
If this kind of food were in a city school, the parents' committee would call the police, suspecting the school of embezzling students' meal fees. But at Langshan Township Primary School, this is already the best meal they can provide for the children on a daily basis.
At noon, Jiang Xiaoman specially cooked extra dishes for Jiang Baichuan and the others to save for dinner. She also told him that she was going to Jiangwan Village in the afternoon to find someone. When Jiang Baichuan heard that she was going to see the old lady who made floral cloth shoes, he laughed.
“Jiang Pan, who is in the second grade, is from Jiangwan Village. If you want to find someone in their village, just look for his mother, Sister Chen. She is a very kind-hearted person.”
What a coincidence! Jiang Xiaoman quickly took out her phone and opened the WeChat account of Aunt Chen that she had added last time. Jiang Baichuan saw that the two of them had even added each other on WeChat and immediately laughed: "Go ahead and do your thing. If you have something to do tomorrow, don't come to the school to help. I'll go to the village and ask someone to help cook a meal."
This is one of the advantages of having a school in the village. There's a strong sense of community in the countryside, and if anything happens at the school, everyone will lend a hand.
In fact, Langshan Village, where their Langshan Township Primary School is located, was the administrative core of Langshan Township in the early days of the People's Republic of China. Later, because there was simply no place left to expand, and the cost of building roads was too high, the county, based on the opinions from higher authorities, relocated the entire Langshan Township to Mengshan Town, where the township government is now located, and turned this place into Langshan Village. However, because the location is too remote, the school was left behind and still uses the name Langshan Township Primary School.
So here's the awkward situation: the real primary school in Langshan Township is actually the current Mengshan Central Primary School, while Langshan Township Primary School is actually a village school that should have been closed and eliminated long ago.
The reason it wasn't merged or closed is because deep in these mountains, too many families simply can't afford to send their children to boarding school in town, plus the cost of round-trip transportation...
Although the village school has limited teaching staff, Jiang Baichuan has done his best to provide the best for the children within his capabilities. The villagers are the same; if the school needs anything, they will usually come to lend a hand.
"I'll come help again tomorrow. In a few days, I might go to Banligou with my dad to visit relatives. Oh, by the way, my dad told me to tell you not to touch the potatoes at school. He'll come and help you harvest them after we finish ours." Jiang Xiaoman suddenly remembered this and hurriedly reminded him.
"Just two acres of potatoes, do you really need your dad to come down and help? Don't worry, the school has labor classes too, I've arranged everything for them." Jiang Baichuan smiled like a nouveau riche with a hundred farmhands. "For the two days of labor classes on Thursday and Friday, I'll have them harvest all the potatoes, plow the land, spread some manure, and then plant two acres of ginger. We'll sell them and use the money to buy meat for the kids!"
Jiang Xiaoman looked at her uncle with a dark expression: "They're not going to be responsible for pulling weeds on the playground when school starts, are they?"
Jiang Xiaoman still remembers that when he was in school at Langshan Township Primary School, the first thing he did every summer vacation when he returned to school was to go to the playground to pull weeds and then go back to the classroom to clean. The first lesson of the new semester was an eternal lesson in labor!
"What do you know? This is what you call all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics and labor!" Jiang Baichuan proudly showed off his students' comprehensive qualities, saying that they could go to school or work as laborers, and would definitely not starve if thrown into society.
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."