Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 393 Mother Song Lanhua: Gentle on the outside, strong on the inside

The elderly couple first went to check on their allocated irrigated land. They had contracted this three-mu (approximately 0.2 acres) irrigated land to the Sun family. The couple lived in the county town and didn't come back often; their legs were too old to farm anymore.

Song Lanhua initially asked the old man's family if she wanted to lease this irrigated land, but the old woman refused. The old woman implied that the price Song Lanhua offered wasn't even as high as the Sun family's.

Song Lanhua pleaded, "Our family is having some difficulties right now. But once the harvest comes out tomorrow, we can use it to pay off the rent, and then we'll have money again."

The old woman sneered and said, "Use next year's harvest to pay for it? That just means your third branch of the family has no money right now and no land to rely on."

The old woman glared at Song Lanhua, then turned and went to discuss the price with Sun's mother with a smile. The Sun family was large and had a lot of land. They had a large cornfield, so these three extra acres were no problem. During harvest season, they could borrow a harvester, and an electric harvester could quickly harvest these dozen or so acres.

Sun Mudui showed little interest in this field, as the Sun family had neither land nor money. The men of the Sun family all went into the mountains to hunt, and usually supplemented their income by selling the meat and hides of their prey.

The old woman pleaded with Sun's mother, and after much persuasion, the family finally agreed to take over the watering of the fields.

At that time, her mother, Song Lanhua, sighed and glanced at the irrigated land that the eldest and second wives shared, which was a full six acres. The location was good, and the water source was good. Whatever was planted would yield a harvest. Unlike the dry land that her third wife's family was allocated, which required water to irrigate even vegetables, wasting a lot of water.

Song Lanhua returned home dejectedly. Later, after discussing it with Li Ju'an, Li Ju'an converted the dry land into a bee farm and an orchard. He invited Old Wang, the former queen bee of the production brigade, to quickly build queen cells, thus making use of the dry land.

Li Ju'an comforted his mother, saying, "Don't worry, Mom. Even though this land is in a bad location now and nobody wants it, once the mountain road is built here, our house will be right on the main road. At that time, whether it's demolition or going up and down the mountain, our house will be in a great location. We'll get a lot of compensation for the demolition."

Song Lanhua took it as her son comforting her, and simply nodded without saying anything more.

When the elderly folks came to irrigate their fields, they were surprised to find that the vast cornfields were incredibly beautiful during the autumn harvest.

They and the second wife's irrigated land were all planted with corn, and the harvest season was approaching. Taking advantage of the good weather, the women of the Sun family borrowed large machinery and worked with the men to speed up the harvest. The cornfields were a scene of bustling activity and abundant harvest.

The cornfields are terraced, with water storage for planting. The terraced fields, layer upon layer, are so beautiful, like mirrors reflecting the sky and white clouds. The elderly couple couldn't take their eyes off them.

The old woman said with a smile, "See, old man? I had a good idea back then. Look how good our land is now. Every year, the Sun family gives us money and helps us cultivate it. Oh my, what kind of machinery is this? I've never seen anything like it before. We old folks don't understand these things anymore. It's really good."

The old man pulled her aside and said, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and go ask the third family. The eldest son's matter is more important."

The old woman's eyes were still fixed on the cornfield, unable to look away. In the distance, she saw her granddaughter's mother wearing a straw hat, directing her nephew to operate the harvester. She called out to her granddaughter's mother, chatted with her for a while, and then happily followed her grandfather into the ditch.

Along the way, the dirt road in Changchonggou was difficult and rugged.

The old woman couldn't hide her disdain as she said, "I don't know what kind of state the third son has become these past few years. If you ask me, if it weren't for the fact that the third son can hunt, we wouldn't bother with our poor relatives. He might not even have enough money to live on and would have to borrow money from us. We wouldn't bother going to his door looking for nothing."

The old man, impatient, scolded her: "What are you saying? Li Ju'an is still a child of our Li family. The third son is gone, and he's having a hard time on his own."

The old woman shouted sharply, "Oh dear, so now you know your third brother is gone and that he and his mother are having a hard time. Back then, who was in such a hurry to separate the family and run away to the city? They were only able to make a living in the city by relying on my 200 yuan dowry."

The old man, feeling humiliated, could only say impatiently, "Why talk about this? It's all in the past. Let's hurry on our way."

The elderly couple had traveled for a long time, and it was almost evening when they finally reached the door of the Li family's self-built house.

Song Lanhua and Lin Mei were extracting honey, the last batch before winter. Following the advice of Old Wang, the queen bee, they left two halves of honey in the hive for the queen bee to survive the winter, and extracted the rest to make honey in jars, waiting for Pang Duo to come and collect it.

The two sealed the cans and affixed food safety labels. This factory also had its operating license obtained by Li Ju'an this year; only with a license could they sell goods. Food inspections in the South have always been very strict.

"Sisters-in-law?"

When the old woman saw Song Lanhua wrapped in a headscarf, completely covered from head to toe, looking every bit the hardworking and simple village woman from the mountains, she felt a surge of superiority. She approached Song Lanhua with a smile, offering words of comfort, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

"Xiao Song, you've been through so much these past six months, it must have been so tough for you."

Song Lanhua was also surprised to see the eldest son's family arrive. She put down what she was doing and called Lin Mei and Li Xiao to come in and entertain the two.

The elderly couple looked at the five or six acres of dry land. In the distance, the fruit trees had not yet fully grown, and the land was covered with shrubs and trees that were not very noticeable, as well as a number of beehives. The land looked very barren.

The old man felt a pang of guilt and handed over the can of syrup, saying, "Little Song, you've worked so hard these past few days. Share this with the children. I'm glad they like it."

Song Lanhua took off her headscarf, her hair soaked with sweat. Lin Mei, like Li Xiao, was also covered in sweat from her head wrapped in a headscarf. Extracting honey requires skill, technique, and strength; it's hard work.

Seeing how concerned the old man was about Song Lanhua, the old woman felt even angrier. Suppressing her temper, she smiled at Song Lanhua and said, "Sister-in-law, how have you been these days? Is everyone at home alright?"

"It's all pretty good."

"Where have I seen Ju'an?"

"Ju'an is still in the mountains, probably still hunting somewhere. I wonder if Changqing is alright."

The old woman's smile vanished, and she fell silent. She cut to the chase, saying, "Sister-in-law, do you see if Ju'an has any money on hand lately? Last time, Changqing contacted Ju'an, but Ju'an wasn't doing well himself. Now I'd like to ask Ju'an if he can lend me some money."

The mother, Song Lanhua, had long seen through the old woman's thoughts. She was on her son's side.

She had long seen through the true nature of the first and second wives. When her son was struggling financially, her husband's two uncles had taken away two prime plots of land, leaving the widow and her children with a barren wasteland that no one wanted. She knew that such matters would trouble her son and cause him distress.

Song Lanhua said gently, "It's not that Ju An doesn't want to help, it's just that his family is really having difficulties."

The old man said, "Is Ju'an short of money?"

Song Lanhua pulled Lin Mei to sit down. Lin Mei was already showing, and her belly was noticeably larger. The old woman's words of congratulations, "Oh dear," were still in her throat.