Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 18

“Mama, I won’t be home for lunch today.”

After leaving the Huo family, Jiang Mingting paused, touching the wooden bracelet on her wrist before suddenly stopping.

Wang Juan, frustrated by her daughter’s thoughtless visit earlier, seized the opportunity to vent her annoyance when she heard Jiang Mingting’s disappointing words.

“You’re hardly ever home. Is it so difficult to stay for one meal with us? You’re really not as filial as Miaomiao.”

When Jiang Mingting took the junior high school entrance exam, the college entrance exam hadn’t resumed yet. Technical secondary schools were more popular than high schools at the time. Jiang Mingting’s grades were average, so she applied for the teacher major at a technical secondary school with a passing score. 

After graduation, she was assigned to be a math teacher at Xinhong Primary School, a small commune school. Meanwhile, Jiang Mingmiao, who also majored in education, became a kindergarten teacher at a government-run nursery, where the children were from families of cadres, workers, and soldiers. 

Jiang Chengshi and Wang Juan thought their niece’s job was more prestigious, which led to them favoring her more.

Since it took about an hour to drive from the commune school to their home, Jiang Mingting usually stayed in the newly built teacher dormitory and only came home on Sundays.

It was summer vacation now, and like Huo Jun, who had also returned home for the holiday, Jiang Mingting had just come back for a few days.

“I made plans with my friends beforehand,” Jiang Mingting said, trying to remain patient.

“Forget it. Your dad and I will just have Miaomiao keep us company.” Wang Juan sighed as she took Jiang Mingmiao’s arm and spoke to her daughter in an irritated tone.

Over the years, she hadn’t been able to have another child. Now that she was no longer young, having another child was unlikely. Even though Jiang Mingting was her biological daughter, Wang Juan could tell she wasn’t as close to her as Jiang Mingmiao. In fact, in terms of affection, Jiang Mingmiao was probably closer to her than Jiang Mingting.

Rather than confusing things by appearing to favor her biological daughter, Wang Juan preferred to be open about showing more care for Jiang Mingmiao. After all, no matter the conflict, the blood bond with Jiang Mingting couldn’t be severed.

Wang Juan glanced at her daughter from the corner of her eye, waiting for her to back down.

But Jiang Mingting seemed oblivious to her dissatisfaction. 

After agreeing in frustration, she left the compound with a cheerful step.

“Aunt, did you praise me today and ignore Tingting? Did that upset her?”

Jiang Mingmiao knew that in order to marry into a good family, she needed the support of her uncle and aunt. In this family, Jiang Mingting was her only rival. 

While she wasn’t an immediate threat, Jiang Mingmiao still wanted to keep her in a position where her uncle and aunt wouldn’t notice her. She didn’t want them to suddenly feel guilty about neglecting their biological daughter and start diverting all the resources they had given her to Jiang Mingting.

“I really didn’t try to look more beautiful than her on purpose,” Jiang Mingmiao added. “I just thought this was a rare opportunity. If I could get close to Huo Jun, I could use the Huo family’s connections to help my uncle’s career. Alas, I think my sister misunderstood me.”

In reality, Jiang Mingting hadn’t been angry when she left, nor was she at the age where she would throw tantrums over biased parents. 

However, Jiang Mingmiao’s words painted a different picture, implying that Jiang Mingting had left in anger and positioning herself as the victim, which only served to provoke Wang Juan’s already fragile temper.

“That child is not as sensible as you.” Wang Juan frowned, her tone growing cold.

Perhaps influenced by her supervisor’s bias, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that her daughter’s eyes were filled with resentment, as though accusing her mother of being unfair.

Her daughter seemed like a lost cause—she didn’t appreciate the opportunities they had given her, constantly complaining about the world and her parents. In contrast, Jiang Mingmiao was so considerate and thoughtful, already planning ways to repay them before she even started. 

Wang Juan couldn’t help but feel that they had loved the wrong child all these years. Clearly, Jiang Mingmiao was more grateful than her own daughter.

Jiang Mingmiao knew that too much praise could backfire, but after Wang Juan’s frustration, she didn’t hold back, continuing to speak well of herself. Her words, though intended to ease the situation, only worsened the already fragile relationship between Wang Juan and her daughter.

Since the year before last, the leaders of several production teams in Xiashangou had united to implement a large-scale contract responsibility system, dividing land among households and making them responsible for their own profits and losses. This was modeled after the experience of state-owned factory management reforms.

In recent years, factory efficiency had been declining. Many people with connections but no real skills had taken up positions in the factories, leading to low productivity and inconsistent product quality. The annual income of many factories couldn’t even cover wage expenses. With no local financial support, many factories found themselves in the difficult position of being unable to pay wages.

Under these circumstances, some leaders, desperate for change, began experimenting with individual contracting for production and sales. The initial trials received positive feedback.

The earlier restrictions were being relaxed, and many people with sharp political instincts sensed this shift.

A few years ago, the commune transferred a bold female secretary who was eager to try new ideas. She saw potential for improving farmers’ lives through changes to the state-owned factory model. Encouraged by this, she persuaded several production team leaders and secretly implemented the contract responsibility system.

In the past, regardless of the land’s yield, part of it was designated for public use, with the remainder distributed based on the number of people and work points. The difference in allocation was small. As a result, everyone had little motivation to work hard, always feeling that working too much would lead to unfair treatment, so they found ways to be lazy.

Once the contract responsibility system was in place, all the remaining grain after paying taxes was theirs to keep. Suddenly, everyone wanted to work the fields tirelessly, constantly brainstorming ways to grow their crops bigger and better.

In just the first year of the experiment, the average yield of rice and wheat per mu increased by nearly 80 kilograms, and the maturation time for crops like sweet potatoes was shortened by half a month.

The more they worked, the more they earned. Except for a few lazy families or those lacking strong labor, almost no one opposed the new policy.

Xu Panhao also wanted to contract more land, but her family was small. Baobao had joined the army, leaving only her and Baoli at home. They worked hard, but their harvest was barely on par with what they had before.

So, Xu Panhao had a new plan. She and her mother-in-law pooled their savings from the past few years to buy a small bungalow in the town. The bungalow was located on the same street as the supply and marketing cooperative, a busy area with constant foot traffic. They renovated the bungalow and hung up a sign, starting a business repairing and custom-making wooden furniture.

Since the country began its reforms and opening up last year, many businesses had moved into the open. In the past, private transactions had to be conducted in the black market, risking arrest. Now, markets were being set up in villages, towns, and counties, where farmers could sell agricultural products on fixed days, using barter or cash.

Baoli wasn’t the first local to open a shop, but he was the youngest. 

Niu Laomu, his step-grandfather and master, had overseen the shop’s opening months before, fearing Baoli wouldn’t be able to manage it alone. Only when Baoli’s reputation grew did Niu Laomu stop visiting so frequently.

Coincidentally, the former Xinhong Primary School had recently rebuilt a new two-story teaching building, since the old school was dilapidated. The school was just two blocks away from Baoli’s woodcarving shop.

Jiang Mingting happened to discover the small shop and recognized Zhen Baoli, a classmate from her school days.

“You’re here.” Baoli seemed to sense her presence and looked up at Jiang Mingting.

When Jiang Mingting arrived, Baoli was carving a Guanyin statue. A crowd of children surrounded him, watching intently as his hands moved.

“Yeah.”

“Sister Tingting!”

“Teacher Jiang!”

The children greeted her excitedly, showing how familiar they were with her.

She moved a small chair from the back of the shop, as if she had done it many times before. Then, she opened the lunch box she’d brought, which contained several hot steamed buns.

“Here.” She pulled a handful of fruit candies from her pocket and distributed them to the children nearby, while she ate the steamed buns slowly.

Listening to the children cheer and the soft breaths of the girl beside her, Baoli’s mouth unconsciously curved into a smile. His hands moved even faster as he worked.

Huo Jun returned from his vacation and had to meet up with his friends in the compound.

The city’s first night stall had just opened, specializing in stir-fried dishes and home-brewed beer and sorghum wine. The boss had great skill, and this trendy concept was well-loved by the locals, creating a lively and welcoming dining atmosphere.

Jiang Mingmiao was also a popular girl in the compound. She was beautiful and kind to everyone. Many young men admired her. She simply approached one of them with a longing expression, and before long, she naturally found herself at the evening gathering.

Since several friends brought their partners that day, Huo Jun didn’t pay much attention to Jiang Mingmiao’s presence.

When they parted ways later that night, many people, including the young man who had brought Jiang Mingmiao, were already drunk.

In fact, this was intentional on Jiang Mingmiao’s part. She had purposely gotten the young man drunk without leaving a trace. After seeing him home, Jiang Mingmiao, who didn’t live in the unit dormitory but still resided in the compound, was entrusted to Huo Jun.

Recently, a local hooligan case had occurred. The criminal was shot, but it left the local women feeling unsafe, hesitant to walk home alone late at night.

Huo Jun, with his strong self-control, had barely drunk any wine, so the task of seeing Jiang Mingmiao home fell to him.

In reality, Huo Jun didn’t need to send her all the way downstairs. Once she entered the compound, she would be safe.

“Brother Jun, there seems to be something on your face. Let me wipe it off for you.”

As they neared the intersection between their two homes, Jiang Mingmiao suddenly started to make a move.

She knew Huo Jun wouldn’t actually send her all the way to her door. This intersection was likely where they would part ways, and she saw it as an opportunity to strengthen their relationship.

Small physical gestures could spark deeper connections between men and women, and Jiang Mingmiao was skilled at navigating that boundary.

Standing under the streetlamp, she tiptoed, tilting her head slightly, and gazed at him intently, hoping to help him wipe the “stains” from his face.

Jiang Mingmiao was well aware that, at this angle, her profile would look especially beautiful under the yellowish light, and such a focused expression would impress most men.

Huo Jun frowned. He didn’t like being so close to someone he’d only just met, especially when that person was a woman.

Before she could touch him, he took two steps back.

Jiang Mingmiao’s eyes flickered, and she quickly adapted. She gasped and pretended to lose her balance, throwing herself forward as if about to fall into Huo Jun’s arms.

However, she had forgotten that Huo Jun was trained from a young age. He could easily tell whether the fall was real or staged. 

Without hesitation, he turned sideways and watched her coldly, unfazed by her performance.

He assumed Jiang Mingmiao was the girlfriend of the friend who had brought her to the party, and he was already harboring doubts about her character.

“Baobao?” As Huo Jun turned, his gaze happened to fall elsewhere.

It turned out that Baobao had just finished a night training session. Weary and sluggish, he was slowly making his way toward his dormitory with his head hanging low.

The two of them ran into each other at that moment.

At that point, Jiang Mingmiao had regained her balance and hadn’t actually fallen. 

Seeing Baobao, who appeared tired and disheveled, she mistakenly assumed that he had misunderstood her relationship with Huo Jun.

Baobao had been close friends with Huo Jun since childhood, and from what Jiang Mingmiao had noticed, Huo Jun’s parents seemed very fond of her. If Baobao thought she was trying to get involved with Huo Jun, she feared he might be intimidated by her. Any suspicion about a girl near Huo Jun could stir up jealousy.

Jiang Mingmiao knew that the worst thing in a relationship was doubt and insecurity. She wanted to exploit the fragile nature of their relationship to plant seeds of discord between them.

“Don’t misunderstand. There’s nothing going on between me and Jun,” Jiang Mingmiao said loudly, then turned to Huo Jun, nervously lowering her voice. “Brother Jun, do you want me to explain it for you?” Her expression was a little awkward, and she felt a flicker of guilt.

Question me, question me! Jiang Mingmiao silently urged, hoping for Baobao’s questioning.

“Uh–” Baobao felt utterly miserable. 

She had been trained relentlessly by Yu Mama all day, and  now she had to endure Huo Jun’s emotional drama in the evening. Couldn’t she get a break?

With a deep, sad breath, Baobao lamented the hardships of life.

It seemed that the girl in front of her had misunderstood the situation, believing her to be some kind of rival. If she really was Huo Jun’s girlfriend, she might start to question things based on Jiang Mingmiao’s performance.

Very well, now she was involved. Though she wasn’t actually Huo Jun’s girlfriend, she could feel the anger bubbling inside her.