Chapter Twenty: A New Path to Prosperity

After watching everyone leave, Yang Chunsheng immediately grabbed his hoe and headed out the door. Seeing his elder brother in such a state, Yang Donglai quickly picked up a wooden stick and followed him.

Yang Kaishan noticed the situation and hurriedly tried to stop them.

“Eldest brother, second brother, stop! Don’t act on impulse!”

“Bah! I can’t swallow this grievance!”

“Even if you can’t swallow it, you must! We are in the right now. If you go, we’ll be at a disadvantage. Xingwu’s college entrance exam is coming up soon. If he can’t get into university because of this, and you don’t care, then go!”

Hearing his father’s words, Yang Chunsheng felt a surge of frustration but thought of his son and halted his steps.

Seeing this, Yang Kaishan signaled to the second brother. Yang Donglai, catching his father’s gaze, hurriedly took the hoe from his elder brother’s hands and placed it under the shed nearby.

Witnessing this, Yang Kaishan led the second brother to pull the eldest brother into the main room to discuss matters.

After this incident, Yang Xingwu truly realized the complexity of human nature.

He had suffered an undeserved calamity without even meeting the villagers, yet they still came to curse at his doorstep. If what these people said were true, his reputation would be irreparably stained.

If the village chief merely glossed over this matter, Yang Jianguo would never expect any future benefit from him.

The saying “a lesson learned is wisdom gained” was fitting—today’s events had truly served as a wake-up call.

Turning to his family, Yang Xingwu saw his youngest sister speaking with their grandmother and a few others.

“Grandma, Mom, Second Aunt, you were amazing just now!”

Yang Xiaolan’s admiring gaze filled the three women with great pride.

“Of course! When your grandma was young, she could curse Old Erniu’s mother so fiercely that she wouldn’t dare leave the house; not a single curse was ever repeated! And her daughter-in-law was no match…”

Listening to his grandmother’s tales of glory, Yang Xingwu couldn’t help but smile.

Earlier, his grandmother had led his mother and second aunt in a fierce verbal battle against seven or eight other women, holding her ground without losing an inch.

Recalling the speed of her tirades, it was like a Gatling gun spewing blue flames—each curse followed by a step forward. More than a dozen faces leaned in close, spitting flying everywhere. Anyone careless might have gotten an unexpected ‘kiss.’

With gestures as swift as her words, the legendary “Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!” matron from the internet would have been trapped in that circle after just one round.

The curses passed down from Liu Cuihua to Yang Xiaolan were treasured family heirlooms—passed from women to women, never to men.

As Liu Cuihua imparted the art of cursing to her granddaughter, Wang Zhaodi rose and fetched an enamel basin, scooping two ladles of water from the kitchen and bringing it to the yard to wash her face.

Though their cursing was fierce, the seven or eight women opposite them gained little advantage; their faces were splattered with spit. Only after the others left did they start washing up.

After washing, Wang Zhaodi beckoned her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to wash their faces as well.

Once this was done, Wang Zhaodi invited everyone to dinner later that evening. Yang Xiaolan went to boil the pot, while Wang Zhaodi and her sister-in-law prepared the meal.

Yang Xingwen and the younger siblings pulled a few scallions and garlic from the vegetable garden and began peeling the garlic together.

...

Yang Jianguo had the militia hold Zhang Erni and Yang Zhigao at the village committee.

“Speak! Why did you cause trouble at Yang Chunsheng’s house? Who started it? If you’re hiding anything, you’ll be sent to the commune jail in town!”

“Brother Jianguo, it’s just that our wheat ears aren’t selling, and we remembered that Yang Chunsheng’s family sold theirs first. Our minds were clouded by greed, so we went to confront them!”

“Exactly! That’s how the village chief is!”

“Silence! Yang Xingwu hasn’t even met you—why seek him out?”

“We thought they made more money and wanted them to compensate us a little, that’s all…”

Zhang Erni said reluctantly.

Hearing this, Yang Zhigao lowered his head.

“They make more because they’re capable! Haven’t they taken you along? Many villagers sold two or more truckloads, some sold one; I know your family has two truckloads too, so you made quite a bit. Why stir trouble?”

“Brother Jianguo, you’re wrong. We make money because we work from dawn to dusk, and a trip to the city takes half a day. We haven’t had a proper rest for days!”

“Yang Chunsheng’s family works just the same! If you ask me, you’re just jealous! You have money but still want more!”

“Village chief, no, the market price for wheat ears has dropped sharply. This morning they were two ears per cent, almost break-even with farming, but by afternoon, it dropped to three ears per cent. We’re losing money. You can’t just ignore us!”

“Yes! Village chief, you must not ignore us!”

Yang Jianguo’s head ached at this scene. If he didn’t give the Yang Chunsheng family an explanation, the educated family would lose favor with the villagers. But if he harshly punished them, their wheat ears wouldn’t sell, and losing a strong laborer would cause more financial loss.

Thinking this over made his head throb.

“Damn it, you can’t catch a wolf without risking the child, especially for two rotten apples. For Yangjiacun, it’s worth it!”

With that thought, Yang Jianguo made up his mind and issued a verdict.

“Five days in confinement. After that, you must apologize to the Yang Chunsheng family. If you don’t apologize properly, add three more days!”

After saying this, Yang Jianguo ordered the militia to take them to a small nearby room.

Upon hearing this, the two turned pale as death, screaming to the heavens—such sorrow that it could bring tears to anyone’s eyes.

...

At the Yang Chunsheng household, the entire family ate and talked, comforting Yang Xingwu not to take it to heart.

“Don’t worry! Grandpa, grandma, mom, second uncle, second aunt, this won’t affect our family. The more jealous they are, the better we have to live.

By the way, we have quite a bit of money now. Don’t let it be stolen. You should open a bankbook in the city and withdraw when needed!”

“That’s true. It’s better to be safe than sorry. You never know who might be jealous…”

Liu Cuihua nodded in agreement.

“Eldest brother, second brother, go to the city in a few days and deposit the money!”

Yang Kaishan made a decisive declaration.

Yang Chunsheng and his brother nodded in agreement at their father’s instructions.

“The wheat straw is all pulled, and the field has been turned over. What should we plant this year?”

“Let’s stick with red sweet potatoes and corn! Both have high yields!”

Listening to his family’s discussion, Yang Xingwu thought of a way to make money and said at once:

“Then let’s plant all corn! We’ll plant now, and when the ears are ready to eat, we can make a profit.

One mu of land can plant four thousand corn stalks. Usually, one ear sells for five cents. Our family’s corn will be ready half a month earlier, so even if we sell for eight or ten cents, we’ll make a good profit!

We can also intercrop some soybeans in the cornfield and sell them as edamame. That way, on twelve mu of land, we’ll make even more!”