HCB Chapter 30 Chatting at the Reunion Table
Chapter 30 Chatting at the Reunion Table
My grandfather was born in 1945, before the establishment of the New Great Xia Dynasty. His parents were buried before the New Great Xia Dynasty was founded; when my grandfather was three years old, they were killed in the reckless counterattack of the Cherry Kingdom, falling on the land of the Old Great Xia Dynasty. At that time, nine out of ten houses in Hunan Province were deserted.
The Xiang River was dyed bright red. After his parents passed away, he was raised by his older brother and sister-in-law. Later, when he was 10 years old, disaster struck again, and his brother and sister-in-law also perished.
At that time, Grandpa Yufei felt like the sky was falling. Unable to support himself, he even considered ending his life with his own belt.
Later, village officials rescued him, and then the government supported him, sponsored his education, and gave him the life he has now.
Therefore, Grandpa Yufei always said that they were the children of officials, and that if they had the ability, they must serve the Great Xia well. Yufei also kept Grandpa Yufei's words in her heart.
Grandma then told her story, saying that her family were landlords, and although they never enjoyed any blessings because of their landlord status, they suffered a lot.
Things got better after she met Grandpa Yufei, and life got better and better after that.
Yufei quickly said, "Grandma, don't be sad. Grandma has already endured all the hardships of this life. From now on, only sweetness will remain."
After saying that, she rubbed her little face against her grandma and acted coquettishly.
"You little rascal! Grandma's not sad, it's all over now!" Grandma said with a smile, gently rubbing Yufei's head.
They continued chatting, and the three sons-in-law also talked about their family's past, eventually leading the conversation to the present.
"Speaking of which, life is much better now. We've had some opportunities this year, and who would have thought we'd start a company?" Grandpa Yufei said with emotion.
"I heard from our leader that Hongxing Village has become very prosperous this year, and the tax revenue is amazing. He even told us to organize other villages to learn from you!"
Jiang Huai'an said, recalling the task his superior had given him before the New Year, because the superior knew he was Old Liu's son-in-law and thus entrusted the task to him.
See if they have any other new projects that they can collaborate on with other townships to achieve the goal of common prosperity for everyone.
Since the topic had come up, Jiang Huai'an took the opportunity to ask about the task assigned to him by his superior.
"Yes, we're planning to contact some village officials after the New Year to collaborate." Yufei's family had made plans before the New Year, and since her uncle was no ordinary person, Yufei's grandfather confided in him.
They then discussed many follow-up plans, and Jiang Huai'an expressed that the town leaders attached great importance to their work.
If there's anything you'd like us to help with, just let us know, and we'll do our best to cooperate.
Grandpa Yufei was very surprised. He thought he had only done something very small, but he didn't expect it to cause such a stir in the town.
Little did he know that in just six months last year, Hongxing Village's tax revenue was equivalent to the annual income of all the other villages in their town.
Moreover, they have calculated and predicted that what they are currently planting has a promising future.
His superiors subtly hinted to him that the white jade radishes, golden corn, and emerald watermelons of Hongxing Village were now attracting attention from various quarters.
I've heard that jade watermelons are now popular overseas, and even white jade radishes and golden corn are attracting attention from other countries.
Due to limited production, overseas orders for the jade watermelon could not be fulfilled. However, they somehow heard that their white jade radishes and golden corn had achieved mass production.
Therefore, they wish to engage in trade, and it is possible that the officials will bring them over to discuss this matter tomorrow, in early spring.
"Really?!" Grandpa Yufei and her father stood up excitedly. They knew what exporting their agricultural products abroad meant! Their company was about to take off!
Jiang Huai'an said proudly, "Of course it's true! My classmates who went abroad told me that your watermelons are being sold for a really high price on the black market overseas."
A wealthy man bought a watermelon and had it tested. The test results showed that the watermelon contained abundant vitamins and an unknown ingredient.
This ingredient, according to their experiments, supposedly has effects such as strengthening the body and inhibiting the spread of cancer cells, and then people abroad went completely crazy for it.
They also bought golden corn and white jade radishes from the black market, both containing the same ingredient, just in different amounts.
Jiang Huai'an, sounding quite pleased, continued, "Did you know? I heard that some countries want to extract this unknown component for more in-depth research."
However, it was discovered that this component disappeared after a period of time when it was removed from the crops themselves, such as watermelon and white radish.
They put the extracted unknown component into a test tube, and when they took it out to study it after some time, it had completely disappeared.
These were all sent to me by a college classmate from abroad.
I estimate that next year there will definitely be more people buying these agricultural products, not just for consumption, but also possibly for research.
Grandpa Yufei asked worriedly, "Should we still sell these to them?"
Jiang Huai'an reassured Yufei's grandfather, "Since the Emperor hasn't objected and has even arranged this, it means this won't affect him. We should just follow his arrangements."
Grandpa Yufei nodded; he would fully cooperate with the authorities, in any case.
The family reunion dinner lasted for more than two hours. Everyone ate and drank to their heart's content and chatted happily.
This also gave Yufei's family more confidence in their business.
Since the others all had stable jobs and no one was jealous of Yufei's family, for people in that era, a secure job was the most important thing.
While they were reminiscing about the past and discussing these things, Yufei whispered in Liu Meili's ear about wanting her aunt to work part-time as an accountant at the company.
Liu Meili thought this was feasible, and being impatient, she immediately asked her friend Xiaomei for advice.
"Meijun, our company is expanding and starting anew. We need talent in all areas. You're quick-witted and have learned to use an abacus from your grandfather. We hope you can come and help us," Yufei's mother said sincerely to Liu Meijun.
"Of course, knowing you have a full-time job doesn't necessarily mean you have to quit and come work for us. You can work part-time here and earn some extra money."
She heard these words from her daughter and then repeated them to her younger sister.
Liu Meijun, who was about to refuse, became interested and asked, "What is a part-time job? What is extra income?"
"My aunt is so silly! A part-time job means having another position in addition to your main job. Extra income is the salary of a migrant worker. Yufei knows that."
Afraid that her mother wouldn't be able to explain clearly, Yufei answered cutely before her mother could.
"Really? Yufei is so smart!" Auntie pinched Yufei's cheek and teased her.
She also understood her sister's meaning from Yufei's words. Looking at Jiang Huai'an, who was constantly giving her meaningful glances, she knew he wanted her to agree.