"A cooperative has just opened in the village, right next to the village committee. The cooperative wants two apprentices, who will be given a meal for lunch and no wages for the time being. I signed up for Xiaofang."
Cheng Tianfang refused at first, saying that she wanted to work in the city to make a lot of money and didn't want an unpaid job.
Cheng Tianyuan explained that the cooperative is a formal place with a clean environment and easy work. As long as the apprenticeship period is over for one or two years, the boss will make him a full-time employee, and he will receive wages and allowances during holidays.
"The village chief said that if you perform well, you can be transferred to a cooperative in the county. Apprentices may seem to suffer a little at first, but they will definitely have a bright future if they persevere."
Cheng Tianfang reluctantly agreed after hearing that there was a great future.
Then, Cheng Tianyuan went to the adobe house next door to his parents, and did not return to his new house until late at night.
Xue Ling was cleaning up her dowry. She raised her head and said, "There is half a bucket of hot water in the toilet at the back for you to use."
Cheng Tianyuan was slightly stunned, nodded lightly and walked back.
"This place is a bit far from the imperial capital. We have discussed with Uncle Xue before that we will not be able to come back for three days. Tomorrow I will take you to the village committee to make a phone call and let them know that you are safe."
"Okay." Xue Ling agreed quickly.
Cheng Tianyuan paused and said hesitantly: "I will go back to the county town to go to work tomorrow afternoon. What are your plans?"
Xue Ling pretended to be stupid and blinked her eyes, "You want me to go with you? Okay!"
Cheng Tianyuan turned his head suspiciously and asked, "Aren't you eager to get rid of me? Why do you follow me?"
For more than ten years, the family status and economic situation of the two families have been greatly different.
If Uncle Xue hadn't always remembered his father's favor of saving him, he probably wouldn't have been willing to marry his daughter to such a remote mountainous place.
Xue Ling knew that he would not change his opinion of her for a while, so he should not be anxious.
"I just graduated last month and was looking for a job. Unexpectedly, your family came to propose marriage. I guess there are no suitable jobs for me here, so I'd better go to the county with you to find one."
Anyway, she is determined to follow him for the rest of her life! Wherever he goes, she will follow him.
Cheng Tianyuan frowned and asked, "Where did you graduate? I'm quite familiar with the county town, so I can help you ask. There are dormitories over there at the supply and marketing cooperative. You can't live in them, so it's inconvenient."
Xue Ling replied: "Graduates from the College of Foreign Languages, majoring in Chinese and English secretarial work. You can also be a copy editor in a foreign trade company, a Sino-foreign joint venture, or a magazine."
When she said this, Cheng Tianyuan was secretly surprised.
When she went to the imperial capital to propose marriage, Uncle Xue said that she was spoiled and had a hot temper. The only saving grace was that she had good grades in school and loved to study.
At that time, he thought that Mrs. Wang was bragging about selling melons, but he didn't expect that she was hiding it deeply!
Cheng Tianyuan nodded and said: "Then you pack up, I will take you with me tomorrow."
"Okay!" Xue Ling responded with a smile.
Cheng Tianyuan originally wanted to ask when he would go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to apply for divorce, but seeing her smiling like a flower, he didn't know what was wrong, and he couldn't ask because he was choked in his throat.
He spoke again like a ghost: "The family really can't spare any money. Just now my dad said...sell the wasteland at the entrance of the village back to the village committee, but I haven't agreed to it yet."
Xue Ling was slightly stunned - did he want to discuss it with himself?
I felt happy, but then became anxious: "No! Land is a fixed asset and cannot be sold casually!"
Cheng Tianyuan lowered his eyes and explained: "Our family has quite a lot of land. My deceased grandfather was an expert in farming and cultivated several fields. Unfortunately, I have been away these years and my father's hands are not good, so the fields at home have been abandoned.
Dad said it was a pity that it was deserted, so it would be better to sell half of it to the village to ease the family's finances."
"Is the land at the entrance of the village? Is it near the provincial highway?" Xue Ling asked.
"Yeah." Cheng Tianyuan replied: "About twenty acres of land."
Xue Ling asked: "How much can it be sold for?"
Cheng Tianyuan replied: "At most four to five hundred yuan, it can't be sold for a big price."
Xue Ling rolled his eyes and said: "I saw a newspaper on the train a few days ago. There was a report in it that the land price in the remote rural areas on the outskirts of the big cities in the north was very cheap. With the development of factories and buildings in recent years,
Commercial housing and land prices have doubled in a year, and the highest prices have doubled a hundred times."
Chengjia Village is not far from the county seat and has convenient transportation. Maybe the land will be valuable in the future.
Cheng Tianyuan shook his head and explained: "This place is remote and the land is barren. It can't compare with the suburbs of a big city."
However, she grew up in a big city and is well-informed, so what she says makes some sense.
Xue Ling tried to persuade him again, but Cheng Tianyuan was too poor considering his family's situation.
"My family has a lot of land. I sold 20 acres, and the other 20 acres in front. The 20 acres at the entrance of the village are far away from home, and my parents can't take care of them. Let's just sell it."
Seeing that he didn't let go, Xue Ling rushed to the back, rummaged through the suitcase, and quickly ran over with five brand-new one-hundred-dollar bills.
"I bought those twenty acres of land!"
Cheng Tianyuan was stunned!
…
Early the next morning, Cheng Tianyuan took Xue Ling to the village committee to make a phone call.
The Xue family had installed a telephone last year and the call was quickly connected.
It was Xue's father who answered the phone, telling his daughter to live a good life with Cheng Tianyuan and respect her parents-in-law.
Xue Ling simply agreed, asking them to take care of their health, and promised to go to the Imperial Capital to see them when she and Tianyuan were stable.
Cheng Tianyuan stood aside and chatted with the village chief. After she finished fighting, he took her to the wasteland at the entrance of the village.
"Turn out from the entrance of the village and you will see the newly built XX Provincial Road. This area is very barren and nothing can be grown. Are you sure you really want to buy it?"
Xue Ling nodded firmly.
Cheng Tianyuan frowned and asked: "You are a foreigner, why did you buy such a large piece of land? You can't plant or cultivate it!"
Xue Ling stared at him with a half-smile but not a smile, and said, "I married you and got the certificate with you, why am I still a foreigner?"
Cheng Tianyuan remained sullen, but his eyes suddenly blinked several times.
"I...just asked the village chief. Land in the village has always been freely bought and sold. If you want to sell it to a foreigner, you can go to the village committee to get a certificate."
"No need." Xue Ling squinted at the overgrown wasteland and said, "I believe you."
Cheng Tianyuan didn't expect that she would still insist on buying it after seeing the wasteland, and he was secretly angry.
Xue Ling smiled instead and raised his brows.
"You can sell the land to others, why can't you sell it to your wife? Well - the money is given to you! By the way, don't tell your parents and your sister about this, it's our secret."
Cheng Tianyuan stared at her for a long time and finally nodded.
…
After lunch that day, Cheng Tianyuan and Xue Ling set off.
Cheng Muhai and Liu Ying saw them off at the entrance of the village. The old couple were reluctant to leave and felt very distressed.
"Ling Ling, you just got married, how can you be allowed to go work?"
Xue Ling quickly shook his head and said carelessly: "Dad, Mom, we are a family. The situation at home is still relatively bad at the moment. I should help Brother Yuan make money to support the family."
Cheng's father and Cheng's mother both burst into tears and were so moved that they told their son to take good care of their daughter-in-law.
Cheng Tianyuan responded calmly, took the suitcase in Xue Ling's hand, and took a long step forward.
Xue Ling smiled and waved to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, then followed behind and left.
Chengjia Village is not big, so the news spread within half a day.
Everyone was extremely envious, saying that the A-Yuan family had married a good daughter-in-law who was rich and hard-working, and everyone was full of praise.