Chapter 1413: A Joyous Occasion

Li Xue looked at Shi Xian’s little face and couldn’t help but laugh. It’s really funny.

"Me too!" Ah Bao definitely didn’t want to be outdone at this moment.

"Yes. You’re an uncle too."

It seems the little girl is quieter, as we see Tingting lying on the side watching the baby.

"Sister-in-law, what’s the nephew’s name?"

"Waiting for your mom to name him?"

Jiang Feifei laughed, knowing her mom tends to fret over naming.

Since it was already late September, the baby’s full moon would fall during busy times, so after discussion, they decided not to hold a celebration.

In the evening, the three members of the Li Family arrived with two kids. Li Yunqiao didn’t avoid any impropriety and directly went inside to see his daughter.

Seeing her dad, Li Xue’s eyes reddened.

So did Li Yunqiao’s. Looking at the swaddle next to his daughter, he realized that from now on, she was an adult, responsible for herself, her family, and her child.

Zheng Lihong picked up the baby spontaneously. "Xue, this child will definitely be fair and clean in the future."

"Yes, they say when babies are born, they’re red. But they’ll get fairer."

"That’s wonderful. Our Xue is now a mom."

Li Yunqiao held his daughter’s hand, seeing her in good spirits, he felt much relieved. Although his younger brother said Xue was doing well, he wasn’t at ease without seeing it himself.

"Take good care of yourself; you’re still young and must rest well during this confinement period."

"Yes, Dad, don’t worry. With Aunt and others here, Guodong and I will definitely behave."

At this time, Hongling came over to call them back for dinner.

"Hongling, go tell your aunt that I’ve already prepared the meal," Jing Chu said with a smile.

"Sister-in-law, I’ve also made the meal at home."

"I’ve prepared it here too. Go back and let them know. You can also come here to eat."

In the end, the Li Family still had dinner at the Lv Family’s place. How could they let them go out to eat?

The accommodation for Guodong has also been arranged, and Li Yunqiao had no objections to such arrangements.

In the evening, Zheng Lihong wanted to stay with her sister-in-law, but Guodong refused.

"Eldest sister-in-law, I’ll take care of Xue. This is all I can do."

Seeing the good relationship between the young couple, the Li Family was certainly pleased.

Li Yunqiao and Lv Beiguang stayed together, chatting about the children.

One had become a grandfather, the other a maternal grandfather; how could they not be happy?

The baby was quite charming, opening his eyes the next day, looking just like his grandfather.

"Amazing, he’s going to be a lovely boy one day. Our family now has a handsome man," Zheng Lihong exclaimed joyfully.

Her words drew attention from everyone in the room.

Qu Xiaoli also found the baby fascinating, honestly believing he would grow up to be better-looking than her two grandsons.

In the evening, Guodong drove the Li Family back home. The days had come to autumn harvest.

The distillery also paused, and everyone joined in the harvesting.

Yang Xiuqin, having stayed in the distillery for months, looked much fairer. Though not pretty, her good skin made her stand out.

"Yang, you’ve been living well in the distillery," Hu Wenhui said with a smile, a bit envious of her complexion.

"Not bad, and staying out of the sun helps a lot. How’s married life treating you?"

"It’s okay, much freer than collective living."

"Is Shen treating you well?"

"Not bad, he’s a considerate person."

Seeing the smile on her friend’s face, Yang Xiuqin felt quite envious, wondering if she’d ever experience such things in her life.

The autumn harvest work was exhausting, with everyone from the village involved, leaving no idle person. Even eggs and roosters were collected directly by the supply and marketing cooperative, as there was no time for delivery.

The cooperative understood and even brought some daily supplies, saving much trouble for everyone.

Now, forty percent of the village’s crops were corn, due to large demand, making corn the primary crop.

The threshing ground was filled with heaps of golden corn. It was fascinating just to look at.

It took over twenty days to finish harvesting the corn, followed by nonstop efforts to plant wheat. This time fertilizer was used, coordinated by the township leader, and Li Yungui obtained 20 tons directly.

The rest began picking cotton. For the next half month, no one had a break, growing darker and thinner.

After Li Xue finished her confinement, she engaged in lighter tasks while the baby slept.

Initially, Guodong was unwilling, but Lv Beiguang thought it was good for the daughter-in-law — it wouldn’t be tiring, and it allowed everyone to see her contributions, so why not?

The first round of cotton picking ended by late October, and sorghum began to be harvested.

After the wheat was planted, all four tractors were sent out into the fields.

Everyone in the Li Family Village got used to this routine.

By mid-November, it was time to pay taxes in grain; cotton was used wherever possible this year, resulting in plenty of grain stored in the village.

All the corn was dried properly. Only the grain tax was reserved, and the rest was directly stored in the two livestock farms’ warehouses.

The same went for sorghum. Upon consulting, nobody wanted it, so each person received only twenty pounds, and the rest entered the distillery’s storage.

Jiang Xinyu instructed everyone to store lime bags to absorb moisture, since this much grain wouldn’t be used up quickly.

The township’s granary was satisfied, as they were not short of corn or sorghum, but cotton was scarce.

So the township was pleased with Li Family Village’s approach.

"Old Li, if your village has a surplus of cotton, you can exchange it for grain, like corn or sorghum."

"Yes, after distributing to the village, we’ll transport the rest to trade. This winter, I’ll definitely find a way to set up a cotton processing workshop, as it’s too inconvenient."

"You must be wealthy," came the jest.

Li Yungui shook his head, realizing the point. Transportation to process cotton had become restricted, which was not beneficial. He understood this was a result of the village’s development, arousing others’ envy.

It’s not that they couldn’t set one up, and why invite trouble?

The year ended satisfactorily, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Yungui managed the grain and money distribution, and everyone was eagerly waiting.

This year’s work points were set at ten cents each, without including the distributed grain.

The most one could earn over three hundred. What does this mean? Aside from distributed grain for the year, a person could receive over three hundred yuan. Those with larger families could receive several thousand.

The educated youths were equally satisfied, with dividends at year-end providing each with dozens more. Altogether, one could receive close to five hundred yuan if they worked well.

The people of Li Family Village were remarkably united, keeping good fortune a secret. They even warned their wives and children not to disclose how much they received, fearing relatives and friends borrowing money.

There were even more plans with builders to construct houses next year.