A Gathering of Talents: Because Manman likes it.
Zhou Xiaofeng introduced to Su Xiaoman the rules of their production team for raising silkworms. Within the team, Sister Shun led a group of silkworm raisers. Their group had been the highest-yielding and highest-quality for three consecutive years. Over the course of a year, they could raise about thirteen or fourteen batches of silkworms. Their group’s efficiency was also the best, and by the end of the year, everyone involved in raising silkworms could receive a good share of the profits.
“Many in our village want to join Sister Shun’s group. Recently, there was some trouble with Sister Gu, so we had to find someone to replace…”
As they talked, they soon arrived at a silkworm room—a pair of connected cottages, one large and one small. The large one, from the outside, probably had over thirty square rooms. Next to it was a small house of about ten square meters, all topped with black tiles.
“This was built in our village three years ago. At that time, several expansions were made.”
“The big one is the silkworm room, and the small one stores mulberry leaves. We have to be careful with the leaves and not stack them too much, as they may heat up and spoil.”
…
As Zhou Xiaofeng was speaking, a woman with a winnowing basket came out of the silkworm room. As soon as Zhou Xiaofeng saw her, she exclaimed with joy, “Sister Shun!”
Sister Shun was a woman in her thirties, with meticulously groomed hair. At this moment, her brow was furrowed, her complexion extremely poor, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Seeing Zhou Xiaofeng, there was no welcoming expression on her face. Instead, her face grew even longer.
“It’s you Zhou folks again,” Sister Shun muttered under her breath, sounding somewhat annoyed.
“Sister Shun, what’s wrong? What happened?” Zhou Xiaofeng was stunned. Their relationship had been good in the past, and she didn’t expect the cold treatment from Sister Shun today.
“It’s all because of that Zhou Xiaohong from your Zhou family. She ruined a batch of big silkworms that were doing fine. She’s skilled at slacking off and haphazardly cleaning the silkworm excrement and those mulberry leaves… They had already grown into big silkworms and developed a pus disease.”
“We’ve been raising them for so many days, all for nothing!!!” Sister Shun’s eyes were a little red as she spoke.
Most of her efforts were now spent tirelessly feeding small silkworms. Those silkworms were carefully raised by her, and they were about to spin cocoons. At this critical moment, when the silkworms fell ill, couldn’t be treated, and all her previous efforts were in vain, how could Sister Shun not feel resentful?
Zhou Xiaohong, this person, acted obediently and cleverly in front of her, but had a completely different attitude behind her back. When Sister Shun assigned her the task of raising silkworms, Zhou Xiaohong promised to be obedient and cooperative, but in reality, she was particularly perfunctory, lazy in cleaning, and failed to notice when the silkworms were sick. Silkworms with pus disease can infect each other. When Sister Shun came to inspect, a large number of them were already ill.
Sister Shun restrained her tears as she picked out the sick silkworms. She hadn’t even had a chance to question Zhou Xiaohong, who was already crying and apologizing in front of her, saying she was sorry and regretful and would change her ways in the future.
—Zhou Xiaohong, the person who was the first to admit her mistakes, but never changed.
It made Sister Shun so angry she felt like she was going to spit blood.
Sister Shun was a woman who had married into the village. Although she had heard of the name “Zhou Xiaohong,” she didn’t yet know how formidable Zhou Xiaohong was.
Previously, when there was a vacancy, the Zhou family spoke highly of Zhou Xiaohong, and it was only after hearing their praises that Sister Shun agreed to arrange for Zhou Xiaohong to come in. Now, with this kind of outcome, Sister Shun just wanted to go back half a month and kick herself awake.
At this moment, seeing people from the Zhou family inevitably made her angry.
“It’s all because of your family letting Zhou Xiaohong come over, saying they wanted her to learn. Look at my well-raised silkworms…”
Hearing the name “Zhou Xiaohong,” Zhou Xiaofeng’s face also showed some indescribable emotions.
This cousin of hers, who shared countless blood ties, was a notorious troublemaker, just like her parents—lazy and cunning. She always wore an innocent look that could deceive anyone.
You could scold and lecture her, and she would always admit her mistakes with reddened eyes, promising to do better next time, leaving you unable to criticize her harshly.
However, she would repeat the same mistakes next time.
She would agree to do any work, but once you left, she wouldn’t do it.
Even the village chief couldn’t do anything about her.
This was a habit she developed since childhood. Her parents were sly and cunning, which left the family impoverished. Zhou Xiaohong’s personality also grew crooked. Passing by other people’s fields as a child, she would casually take things, even if caught, she would cry and apologize, saying she wouldn’t do it again.
However, Zhou Xiaohong, this girl, was beautiful from a young age. With her tears and apologies, the villagers couldn’t bear to make things difficult for her.
As a result, Zhou Xiaohong could always evade blame using the same method, and it became a habit.
Even though she was beautiful, the men in the village didn’t dare to marry her. Of course, many men were tempted by her appearance, but once a young man developed such thoughts, his mother would take a broom and chase him out of the village.
“If you dare to marry Zhou Xiaohong, you are no longer my son, and we will sever our mother-son relationship.”
…
So, Zhou Xiaohong was twenty-two years old and still couldn’t get married. She finally had an opportunity when the government sent “educated youths” to their village. Zhou Xiaohong thought it was a chance and tried to get close to the young educated youth, almost getting married to one who didn’t know her past. Unfortunately, Zhou Xiaohong couldn’t keep up the facade, and the young educated youth who learned about her history ended up joining the army as if he had gone mad.
Zhou Xiaohong still didn’t get married and stayed in the village, giving the village chief a headache. Some time ago, Zhou Xiaohong cried and said she wanted to change, wanted to get a job, so the village chief arranged for her to raise silkworms.
Who knew the result would be… a return to her old ways.
“Sister Shun, I’m sorry.” Zhou Xiaofeng apologized to Sister Shun, whose complexion still didn’t look good. “Why did you bring someone here now?”
Sister Shun’s eyes fell on Su Xiaoman, and when she saw the face even more beautiful than Zhou Xiaohong’s, a feeling of disgust rose in her heart. She had developed a repulsion towards these young, beautiful, and delicate women.
“Sister Xiaoman wants to come and learn silkworm raising. Sister Shun, could you show her around?”
Sister Shun snorted coldly. “You take her away. I’m too busy to entertain anyone right now.”
“Both of you, leave and don’t disturb me.”
Zhou Xiaofeng felt a bit at a loss, but Su Xiaoman spoke up, “Sister Shun, let us help.”
“Help? You? Weren’t you here to learn how to raise silkworms? What do you know?”
Su Xiaoman replied, “Sister Shun, now that there are sick silkworms, it’s even more important to do a good job of cleaning and disinfecting in time. When I came here, I read some books about silkworm raising. I’m not completely ignorant.”
Zhou Xiaofeng hurriedly added, “Yes, Sister Shun, we’re here. Let’s help you clean the silkworm room.”
Sister Shun pursed her lips. Although she disliked Zhou Xiaohong, she trusted Zhou Xiaofeng in front of her. But this person beside her…
Sister Shun’s gaze still lingered on Su Xiaoman, who remained calm and composed under her scrutiny.
“Xiaofeng, go to the mulberry leaf room. You, come with me to clean the silkworm waste.”
Zhou Xiaofeng nodded and went to do her task, while Su Xiaoman followed Sister Shun to the silkworm room. Inside, there were countless round winnowing baskets, and countless silkworms were gnawing on the green mulberry leaves. After the silkworms ate the leaves, they would excrete black silkworm waste, similar to faeces.
Like human faeces, if the silkworm waste wasn’t cleaned in time, the silkworms’ living environment would be contaminated, making them prone to sickness and death.
Young silkworms were fragile and needed careful care to avoid startling them.
When cleaning the silkworm waste, a fine mesh cloth was used, with fresh mulberry leaves placed on top. The mesh cloth was placed on top of the winnowing basket where the silkworms were, and the silkworms would crawl up the mesh and feast on the fresh leaves, allowing the waste underneath to be cleaned.
After working together for about ten minutes, Sister Shun watched Su Xiaoman’s movements and felt that she was quite agile. She couldn’t help but relax slightly.
She truly feared having another beautiful “Zhou Xiaohong.”
Su Xiaoman fed the young silkworms just like Sister Shun did, and Sister Shun’s complexion improved slightly. She even began talking to Su Xiaoman, telling her how to raise silkworms and sharing some of the production team’s experiences.
“Raising silkworms at home is the best way. Each family raises their own, and if there’s a problem, they’re responsible for it themselves.”
“If the raising isn’t done well, it’s their own business.”
“Like when I was young, each family raised their own silkworms. In our village over there, almost every household raised silkworms.”
Sister Shun sighed, “Nowadays, raising silkworms together in the team has its benefits. Each person only needs to be responsible for their own part, saving effort. With division of labour, when someone else gathers mulberry leaves, it’s less work for others.”
“But it’s also easy for problems to arise, especially when it comes to people. So, it’s essential to choose responsible individuals for raising silkworms.”
“By doing what she did, Zhou Xiaohong, a few tears and apologies, got away with it. Her family might have borne the consequences, but it affected everyone’s hard work.”
Su Xiaoman nodded, “Raising silkworms on our own may be more labour-intensive, but with our own efforts, there are fewer mistakes, and we bear the consequences of the yield.”
“Raising silkworms together, if someone slips up, it’s easy for mistakes to occur.”
Sister Shun nodded, “I also raise some at home, and there haven’t been major issues. But when everyone works together, if there are no problems, the overall yield is higher.”
“These past few years, the yield has been good, and everyone’s year-end bonuses have been substantial. Our cooperative group’s bonuses are always the highest.”
Su Xiaoman said, “That’s because of your good management, Sister Shun.”
Sister Shun smiled, “As long as there are fewer people like Zhou Xiaohong in the team, everyone’s efforts won’t be wasted.”
Sister Shun reminded, “If your commune wants to raise silkworms, you must select the right people, those who are responsible and capable. Otherwise, if the silkworms aren’t raised properly, they’ll die before they yield any silk. Where’s the yield then?”
“There are always some slackers who cause trouble. It’s one thing to harm the land, but we can’t let them harm these little guys.”
“If Zhou Xiaohong wants to freeload here and get work points for nothing, I’ll give her a piece of my mind.”
Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng worked with Sister Shun all day, feeding both the mature and immature silkworms, disinfecting one silkworm room, and cleaning the silkworm-raising tools, which were then sun-dried at noon.
Sister Shun’s opinion of Su Xiaoman changed significantly. With the remaining part of this batch of silkworms, some of which had contracted purulent disease and weren’t in good shape, Sister Shun sighed repeatedly, believing that even if they could successfully spin cocoons, the quality of this batch wouldn’t be very good.
So, Sister Shun entrusted Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng with the care of this batch of mature silkworms, allowing Su Xiaoman to gain experience.
“As you two feed them, you’ll also learn how to set up the racks for the cocoons later on.”
Su Xiaoman was naturally grateful, “Thank you, Sister Shun.”
Leaving the silkworm room, it was almost sunset. Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng walked on the village’s main road. The village had a stone-paved road, slightly better than a mud road, but still not easy to walk on.
“Our village is getting cement roads in that section,” Zhou Xiaofeng said. “Dad says it’ll be much easier to walk on with cement roads.”
Su Xiaoman nodded, thinking, “To get rich, you need to build roads first. It’s definitely necessary to build roads.”
The two walked side by side on the road, but they heard a car coming from behind, honking twice. At first, Su Xiaoman didn’t pay much attention, pulling Zhou Xiaofeng to the side to make way. But the next moment, they heard a familiar voice calling “Manman.”
It seemed to be Xie Mingtu’s voice.
Su Xiaoman turned around and saw a blue transport truck, a rare sight in the village with four wheels and a canopy at the back. She looked at the driver’s seat.
The person in the driver’s seat looked somewhat familiar, resembling someone surnamed Xie.
“Manman.”
Su Xiaoman was shocked. “???!!”
Xie Mingtu had only learned how to drive a tractor yesterday and upgraded to a truck today, just the second day. —— Xie Gouzi, aren’t you driving without a license?
The truck stopped beside them, and the driver invited them to get in. Su Xiaoman’s mood at this moment was very complicated, and she didn’t really want to get into this unlicensed driver’s car.
Su Xiaoman: “…”
I wonder if you need a driver’s license in this era?
“Manman? I’ll drive you back.”
Su Xiaoman felt Xie Gouzi was a bit overconfident, with a strange worry in her heart, but still got into the car with Zhou Xiaofeng. Once inside, she found another person in the car, Zhou Xiaofeng’s fiancé, Yang Changgui.
Yang Changgui had hidden in the car to surprise them, only revealing himself after Zhou Xiaofeng got in, startling her.
Zhou Xiaofeng: “??!! How come you’re here?”
“Going back with Brother Xie. It’s nice to see you again, Xiaofeng.”
“This must be Sister Xiaoman, so beautiful. Of course, in my eyes, Xiaofeng, you’re the most beautiful.”
The engaged couple were particularly lovey-dovey, while the “real couple” beside them remained silent. Xie Mingtu drove earnestly, while Yang Changgui sat properly in the passenger seat, continuously chatting with Zhou Xiaofeng.
Seeing Yang Changgui in the car, Su Xiaoman felt a bit more relieved.
At least Xie Gouzi wasn’t driving alone without a license; there was someone in the car who knew how to drive.
Yang Changgui and Xie Mingtu were transporting a batch of cement sand in the truck. Su Xiaoman and Zhou Xiaofeng weren’t in a hurry to get back, so they decided to accompany them to deliver the goods.
In reality, Su Xiaoman wanted to distance herself from this unlicensed driver’s vehicle. However, the young engaged couple couldn’t bear to split up, so she “sacrificed herself” to let them express their affection.
Although Xie Mingtu didn’t have a driver’s license, he drove the car properly without major issues.
After exchanging a few affectionate words with the girl he liked, Yang Changgui felt a bit embarrassed. After all, they weren’t alone in the car; there was another couple present, and some intimate conversations weren’t suitable for public.
So, this engaged couple turned their curious gaze toward the other married couple in the car.
Yang Changgui glanced at Xie Mingtu’s side profile, especially noting his slightly mature and rugged appearance, then glanced at the beautiful Su Xiaoman.
Yang Changgui: “…”
This engaged couple was curious about what a real young married couple’s interaction would look like.
The current appearance of Xie Mingtu and Su Xiaoman didn’t seem very intimate.
Similarly, Yang Changgui was very curious about how Xie Mingtu, with this appearance, managed to marry Su Xiaoman, who was so skilled and capable.
Of course, after spending the day together, Yang Changgui admired Xie Mingtu’s abilities. He learned things very quickly, could read and do calculations, and had exceptionally fast mental arithmetic skills. He was a talented man.
Seeing how fast he calculated, even the factory manager wanted to keep him as an accountant. Today, Xie Mingtu helped with transportation, clearing goods, and keeping accounts. He did the work of two people, and for this, the factory gave him extra pay.
The manager felt he was a talent and wanted to hire him through special recruitment, but unfortunately, Xie Mingtu wasn’t from the area. The manager sighed with regret, feeling that such a talented person was lost.
——Sister Xiaoman must have been attracted to Brother Xie’s talent.
“Brother Xie, how long have you been married to Sister-in-law?” Yang Changgui casually asked.
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Their marriage was a bit absurd, almost like his current unlicensed driving.
Thinking about this, Xie Mingtu involuntarily tightened his grip on the steering wheel, feeling a strong sense of nervousness within him.
“Not even three months yet,” Su Xiaoman replied casually. In front of this soon-to-be-married couple, she didn’t have much self-awareness.
Sometimes men are more inclined to gossip than women. Su Xiaoman had spent two days with Zhou Xiaofeng but hadn’t seen her inquire about her and Xie Mingtu’s relationship. Yet Yang Changgui, after just a day with Xie Mingtu, was now so curious about their married life.
“Well, that’s still a short time in marriage.”
Yang Changgui chuckled foolishly. As he was about to become the groom, he was currently happy about everything. Even seeing two sparrows on the roadside, he thought they were a couple.
He particularly wanted to chat about these things.
Especially stories about pairing between men and women.
In his eyes, the newly acquainted Brother Xie was a very talented man, just like Sister Xiaoman. They grew up in the same village, childhood friends without secrets, both with affection for each other. It was the same with him and Zhou Xiaofeng…
Sister Xiaoman was about the same age as his Zhou Xiaofeng, probably eighteen or nineteen, just reaching the legal age for girls to marry.
Actually, their village didn’t care much about this. Some girls got married early. Zhou Xiaofeng’s family cherished their daughter and wanted to keep her at home for a few more years, so they were just now discussing marriage.
As for the Xie family couple…
Yang Changgui still focused on Xie Mingtu’s face. The man’s hair was neatly groomed, and his hairstyle was particularly attractive, especially to young people. Today, when they went to transport goods, a few young guys secretly asked Yang Changgui where his companion got his hair cut because they wanted to cut their hair too.
Yang Changgui asked Xie Mingtu, who answered casually, saying it was cut by a master at the village entrance.
Hearing that it was cut by a master from their hometown village entrance, even if these transport guys wanted to find a place to shave their heads, they couldn’t find anyone, so they could only sigh with regret like the factory manager.
The Xie family from their village was really talented.
Aside from Xie Mingtu’s hairstyle that attracted the attention of young people, in Yang Changgui’s eyes, the man’s eyebrows, eyes, and nose were all very distinctive, perfectly symmetrical and beautiful. In this regard, they were a very suitable couple.
It’s just that the somewhat scattered stubble on his chin added a touch of worldly experience, blurring the lower half of his face. His lips were also covered, looking a bit like Uncle Zhou Wusan from their village.
Yang Changgui guessed that Xie Mingtu was probably around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Perhaps he was delayed by his family, or maybe he waited for Sister Xiaoman to grow up before reaching this age. Of course, it could also be due to other reasons that he got married at this age.
Compared to him and Zhou Xiaofeng, the age difference between these two was quite significant.
Yang Changgui had just turned twenty, while Zhou Xiaofeng was eighteen. The elders jokingly said that they were the perfect age match.
“A two-year age difference is the best. Otherwise, why does the country allow men to marry at twenty and women at eighteen?”
Yang Changgui was very proud of this, so he asked again, “Brother Xie, how old are you this year?”
He actually wanted to ask why the other person got married at this age.
Xie Mingtu, holding the steering wheel, didn’t want to stay with Yang Changgui any longer. He replied hastily, “Almost twenty.”
He added a few years to himself.
—Just wait another year and a half, and it will be almost twenty.
If it weren’t for Su Xiaoman still sitting in the back, he would have added a few more years.
*Cough, cough, cough…* Yang Changgui choked on his own saliva, staring suspiciously at Xie Mingtu.
He, Yang Changgui, was already twenty, and Brother Xie, in his words, said he was “almost twenty”?
In other words, he wasn’t even twenty.
“Brother Xie, what year were you born?”
Xie Mingtu’s face turned black. He really didn’t want to answer that question.
“He was born in the Year of the Goat, almost nineteen,” Su Xiaoman helped him answer from the back.
Su Xiaoman didn’t think age was such a big secret that couldn’t be shared with others. Moreover, they were all around eighteen or nineteen, in the prime of their youth, so there was nothing wrong with it.
“Then I’m older than you!!” Yang Changgui corrected himself finally, “So, Xie Bro and Sis, huh?”
He had been calling him “bro” all day today.
Yang Changgui didn’t really care much about this “calling brother” thing. He reached out and patted Xie Mingtu’s shoulder, then glanced at his face. However, calling him “little brother” didn’t seem quite appropriate.
The stubble on the other’s face looked too mature.
“Xie little brother, why don’t you shave your face clean? It looks too mature,” Yang Changgui rubbed his own bare chin.
Sitting behind, Su Xiaoman thought Yang Changgui asked the right question. She couldn’t understand why Xie Mingtu didn’t shave his beard.
Xie Mingtu shook his head, flatly refusing: “I won’t shave.”
“Why?” Yang Changgui raised his voice, feeling that leaving a beard was uncomfortable. Leaving a little beard at the age of fifty or sixty would be fine.
“Because Manman likes it.”
Yang Changgui was stunned, suddenly realizing, “Oh, that’s why…”
Zhou Xiaofeng looked at Su Xiaoman somewhat dazedly, thinking that Su Xiaoman actually liked this…
Su Xiaoman: “???!!!”
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