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墨書 Inktalez
In our community, when someone has a joyous occasion, they invite close friends and neighbors to join in the festivities. If it’s a funeral, unless there are special circumstances preventing attendance, everyone shows up without needing to be called or constrained. This tradition has been passed down year after year.
Thus, the Hu Family's mill and feed processing machines came to a halt.
The next day, Hu Qihua and Second Uncle Hu Zhenhua were busy helping out at the Wu Family. Upon learning that Hu Ruoyun had returned, Second Aunt came over to chat, but instead of asking about Hu Ruoyun's time at school, she immediately expressed concern for Mao Na: “It’s getting chilly; does Mao Na have warm clothes? How is she eating? Has she gained weight or lost some?”
Hu Ruoyun felt that ever since Mao Na arrived for the first time, her presence in the family had diminished significantly. It was as if they had forgotten about their daughter once they had a daughter-in-law.
Not only did her mother act this way, but her younger sister Xiao Feng and brother Xiao Hu also followed suit. The first question they asked was, “Why didn’t Sister Mona come back with you this time?”
The mill and feed processing business was a joint investment among four families. Currently, it wasn’t making huge profits, but it was certainly more lucrative than hauling bricks for the Village Brick Factory and much less labor-intensive (though a bit dirty).
Now, not only people from Hu Family Village came to grind flour and haul corn grits; several nearby villages were also willing to come here. The prices were similar to those at the Village Flour Mill, but here there were no long lines or having to deal with the attitudes of those running the Country Flour Mill.
Initially, there were few people processing feed, but recently grain production had reached a bottleneck with prices remaining low. More families were starting to raise pigs and sheep as the weather cooled down and fresh grass disappeared. Trucks loaded with peanut stalks and corn stalks for feed processing came in continuously.
Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua had delivered bricks to the Village Brick Factory for a while now. They had seen beyond farming as a source of income and didn’t feel particularly surprised by the new business. However, both families’ children’s uncles were quite optimistic: with elders above and young ones below, working far away wasn’t practical. The income from local work was low, but they both held shares in these two businesses. Although dividends wouldn’t be distributed until the end of the year, they calculated that making money was definitely on the horizon. They quietly assessed their overall income and found it quite satisfactory.
After farming for half a lifetime, they were now running their own business—what an uplifting thought!
In rural areas, children get engaged and married early. With fewer girls around now, this business could significantly help their children find partners!
The big house belonging to Brother Qihua with its “bright three dark five” layout made them envious; currently, both families’ goals were to “catch up with Brother Qihua!”
Since she had taken leave from school, Hu Ruoyun stayed home for one night before heading back to Annan the next morning with her mother carrying a large bag of food prepared for her “daughter-in-law.” At the long-distance bus station, she bought a ticket back to Jiangcheng.
First, she went to Jiangbei Postal and Telecommunications School to deliver the food to Mao Na and enjoyed dinner together while catching up.
Mao Na was reluctant to let Hu Ruoyun leave and pulled her around the school playground again and again while gossiping about Lu Meixin’s infidelity from last year: “She has completely let loose now; she doesn’t even attend classes anymore and goes to dance halls every night… She often brags in the dorm about how one guy bought her a bag while another got her a watch… Staying out all night has become routine for her.”
One evening, Di Rong went to mail a letter at the mailbox by the school gate and happened to see Lu Meixin getting out of a car with someone who was driving her; they stood there hugging and kissing…
Ah, the world is so vast and ever-changing.
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