Ch 86: Bringing a Farming Game System to the 1970s

Kids that badly behaved have to be taught a lesson — and the reason such kids exist is because they’re spoiled by their equally irresponsible parents. If they’d been disciplined before, would they dare to act like this now?

Of course not. It’s only because the parents didn’t care that the children became more and more unruly.

And when something serious happens, they just try to play the rogue — as if throwing a tantrum could erase their responsibility?

What if no one had passed by in time?

What would have happened to the elderly lady then? Just the thought was frightening.

Once Yu Xiang’an knew what Qin Fengmao planned to do, she felt at ease.

They had to be punished properly — make the compensation they owed, apologize as they should, and bear the responsibility that was theirs.

If a casual “sorry” could settle everything, then what use would the police be?

When Yu Qingshan heard about it, he was furious too, and thought the same way.

“At that age, we were already working just to fill our stomachs. Now that life’s better, parents don’t teach their kids — they just let them turn rotten.”

Yu Xiang’an went to see Lin Yunling, who worked here.

She asked in detail about Yao Cuifen’s condition.

Lin Yunling said, “Grandma’s bones are still in decent shape, but at her age, she needs to rest well. I’ve given your uncle a recipe for soup — follow the proportions, it’ll be good for her recovery.”

Yu Xiang’an said, “Thanks, Sis! With you here, I can rest easy.”

Having someone on the inside always made things easier.

Lin Yunling waved her hand. “What are you thanking me for? We’re family.”

Then she changed the subject to her child. “Yuan Yuan’s taking the college entrance exam next year, right? Have you thought about what university or major?”

Fu Yuan’s grades were decent thanks to the strict discipline at home, but a top-tier university was out of reach.

When it came to this, Lin Yunling was torn. “His grandparents want him to go to a normal university and become a teacher, but I think we could consider other majors — medicine, for example.”

“What about the kid himself? Does he have any ideas?” Yu Xiang’an asked.

Lin Yunling shook her head. “He hasn’t decided. I suggested the capital or Shanghai — his uncles are there — but his grandparents think it’s too far. They want him nearby, ideally in the city. But what good universities do we have here? Staying would be such a waste.”

Yu Xiang’an suggested, “He could try for Yangcheng. It’s close enough to get home easily, and there are plenty of schools to choose from.”

Lin Yunling nodded. “His dad said the same thing.”

Yu Xiang’an didn’t know all the universities in Yangcheng, but said, “My younger brother and nephew are studying there. I can ask them to put together a booklet of information for him to use as reference.”

“That would be perfect,” Lin Yunling said with some delight.

Yu Xiang’an added, “Grandma still needs to stay in the hospital here, so I’ll have to trouble you to keep an eye on her. I can’t stay long.”

“No problem!” Lin Yunling promised, patting her chest.

…

Back in the Special Zone, Yu Xiang’an kept a closer eye on Yu Qingshan — making sure he drank spring water regularly, warning him to be careful when traveling farther afield.

Yu Qingshan was half-amused, half-exasperated. He wasn’t at that age yet, and he was still in good health.

These days his life was very regular. He’d get up in the morning, wash up, have breakfast with his daughter in the canteen, then start work. Yu Xiang’an had her factory director’s office; his was right next door, but he rarely stayed there. Most of the time, he wandered around.

Sometimes he’d check the warehouse inventory, sometimes observe production on the line, and sometimes visit the finance office.

There was no set routine, and he never announced his visits in advance. If he caught someone slacking, the first and second times might pass, but the third time, it went in his little notebook — and money got docked.

With an “unpredictable bomb” like that around, few dared to be blatantly lazy. But no matter how sharp your ears, you couldn’t always see him coming.

It was like a tension cord Yu Xiang’an had strung across the place — too loose and people relaxed; but if they saw Yu Qingshan, they’d straighten up.

Sometimes Yu Xiang’an herself would do a walk-around, checking if there were any problems.

…

Chen Xiaoyang was the youngest daughter in her family. Her older siblings had all been married off as soon as they reached the age, but things were different for her.

Since this place became a Special Zone, many outside bosses had come in, and there were more options than just farming.

She’d been lucky enough to be hired by a boss, earning 33 yuan a month — over 40 with overtime.

Her mother, who had once been eager to marry her off, now wanted her to stay home a few more years, earn more money, and help fund her nephews’ schooling.

At sixteen, not yet seventeen, she was happy with this arrangement — she didn’t want to marry so soon.

She was willing to contribute to the household, but she also hid a little bonus money for herself. The rest she handed to her mother — she couldn’t have no money at all.

After working here for a while, she no longer wanted to go home. At home she had to share a bed with her mother, eat watery coarse-grain porridge that left her hungry, with the solid food going to her nephews. And once home, she never rested — she had to share housework, watch the kids, and tend the garden, poultry, and pigs. Compared to that, even overtime at the factory was easier — and it paid.

Her family preferred her not to come home too — she could bring back more money that way.

She worked in quality control. Their products were for export, so it would be shameful if foreign customers bit into a defective item.

Most people worked carefully, but there were occasional issues, and that’s where her team came in. She envied the machine operators the most — they were so skilled. Sadly, she hadn’t dared to try when she joined, since she could barely write her own name.

Now she could recognize more characters, because every morning the foreman had them recite the posted rules until they memorized them. She’d also learned to count better — before, she could only go from one to thirty, and anything over a hundred confused her. Now she could handle addition and subtraction within a hundred without mistakes.

Life here was good — wages, uniforms, full meals, dormitory housing, and the chance to learn to read.

Putting a checked product back, she looked up and saw the boss on an inspection round. She was excited, but seeing how quietly the boss came, clearly not wanting to disturb the work, she only blushed, nodded respectfully, and threw herself back into the job.

She wanted to show her best side — to be seen.

Remembering yesterday’s posted menu — half a fried egg per person for lunch today — she worked even harder. Since her nephews were born, she’d never had that again; eggs were either sold or given to them for nourishment.

Where did such good days come from?

From the boss, who gave them this job and these benefits.

Yu Xiang’an noticed the girl — thin and small, but with especially bright eyes, working with a joyful expression.

Yu Xiang’an smiled. She remembered her — she’d personally interviewed every hire. Back then, the girl had been scrawny, with dry, yellowed hair. Now she’d grown taller and had some flesh on her face.

Behind Chen Xiaoyang stood Sun Pandì, who noticed the boss only because of Chen’s nod.

She smiled briefly, then bent her head and went back to work.

Just a few days earlier, she had received her very first paycheck — 41.82 yuan. Before that, all the money she had in the world was 3.24 yuan — not just her personal savings, but her entire household’s savings.

Her husband had died from illness, leaving her to raise two children alone. Having even that 3 yuan proved how capable she was.

It wasn’t easy for a widow to survive the gossip and hardships at her door. Now she had entered the factory, and her daughter had joined too, working in the production line’s packaging team. With overtime, the girl could earn eighty or ninety yuan a month.

Her son was farming back home. Sun Pandì figured that in a few months, when she had three or four hundred yuan saved, she could repair the family house and start arranging her son’s marriage. Once he was married, she would spend another two years saving for her daughter’s dowry — and her biggest worries would be solved.

With her daughter holding such a job, there would be no trouble finding her a good husband. The girl was still young, so working two more years wouldn’t delay anything.

Before this job, Sun Pandì had fretted daily about her children’s marriages. Her son was getting older, and his peers were already wed, but their family was so poor it was hard just to survive, let alone afford a wife. These days, brides’ families expected much more than before, and she couldn’t scrape the money together no matter how many relatives she begged.

She used to wake each day with a headache over it. Now, the future looked full of hope.

Their story wasn’t unique. Many in the factory felt deep gratitude toward the boss — the job had transformed their lives.

The only regret was that this wasn’t a state-owned enterprise, so they couldn’t count on working here forever. Still, they could earn as much as possible while they could. Judging by the endless stream of orders and the growing staff, there was no sign of the factory closing.

Some outsiders were starting to feel envy. When Yu Xiang’an had first bought the land, the location had been fairly remote. But now, both neighboring plots had been sold — one to a cannery making meat and fruit products, the other to a pastry factory making seasonal treats like mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival and gift boxes for New Year, plus biscuits and candies year-round.

Both neighbors sold domestically, whereas Yu Xiang’an exported, earning foreign exchange — something the country sorely needed to buy goods from abroad.

They, too, wanted to try exporting and get in on that channel. But in Yu Xiang’an’s eyes, their products didn’t taste great. Business was still possible only because supplies were scarce and nothing went to waste. Without improvement, they’d be eliminated within a decade or two.

They all faced the same crossroads.

During a holiday period, when Yu Xiang’an saw their high shipment volumes, she thought she could also branch out into gift products — especially mooncakes, which were hugely profitable. With fancy packaging, cheap mooncakes could skyrocket in price. Add a few more pastry types, pack them into a gift set, and the profit margin would be impressive. Once the brand was established, it would be even better.

This was a business worth doing.

Meanwhile, the Special Zone was in a construction boom. The building Yu Xiang’an and Yu Mansheng developed together wasn’t unique.

The layout was simple, with no more than eight floors — there was no concept of elevators yet. Four units per floor, with shops on the first floor and apartments above.

They weren’t selling bare shells, but units with basic decoration, so a buyer could move in after furnishing.

Yu Mansheng kept one unit for his parents, as his current home wasn’t suitable. Yu Xiang’an kept one as “bait” — she still needed talent, and most skilled workers were on state payrolls or about to graduate as state-assigned workers. Few wanted to join a private factory — unless the pay and perks were tempting enough.

This apartment was that temptation. It was much larger than the cramped state-allocated ones, perfect for a family. If someone urgently needed housing, offering this as part of the job package could work.

Housing was always attractive.

After decorating his unit and buying furniture, Yu Mansheng called his family. Yang Huili stormed over.

“I’m not moving in. We already have a place. You fix this up as your wedding home!” She no longer cared where he married or lived — she just wanted him married.

Did he still think he was young? If he delayed any longer, his elder brother’s son might be married before he even had children.

Yang Huili took Yu Xiang’an’s hand and sighed. “You work with him, see him often. Have you noticed him getting close to any girl? I don’t care about anything else — just two conditions: she’s female, and she can bear children. That’s it! Not too much to ask, right?”

Yu Xiang’an shook her head, half amused. “Not too much. If I see any signs, I’ll tell you.”

Yang Huili nodded, then glared at Yu Mansheng, who turned away to avoid her gaze.

She shifted targets. “Second Uncle,” she said to Yu Qingshan, “you’re here too. Help me keep an eye on him. His wings are getting stiff — he doesn’t listen anymore. Look at his peers — most already have older kids, and he’s still single. How can I be at ease?”

Yu Qingshan agreed completely. “A man should marry when he’s grown, and a woman should wed when she’s of age.” He eyed his nephew. “Tell us what kind of girl you’re looking for — your mother and I will keep watch for you.”

There were plenty of unmarried women around — older, younger, pretty, gentle, fiery — all types.

In his view, his nephew had height, decent looks, was energetic, and had no worries about livelihood. Any girl would be marrying into comfort. If he put his mind to it, pursuing any of them wouldn’t be hard.

Yu Mansheng bared his teeth in a grin, playing dumb. “Mom, don’t worry. I promise I’ll bring you a daughter-in-law this year, okay?”

Yang Huili gave him a side-eye, full of disbelief. “You said that last year. Who did you bring home?”

“That was an accident last year, really! But this year — definitely — I’ll bring you a wife!”

She snorted. “So you’ve already got someone in mind? Don’t just say ‘this year’ — that’s too vague. If you like someone now, tell me and I’ll smooth things over. You know how important the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is. If I show goodwill, the girl might just agree. So, whose daughter do you have your eye on?”

Pressed over and over, Yu Mansheng could only give an awkward laugh.

Seeing his reaction, Yang Huili understood perfectly — he didn’t have anyone at all.

Yang Huili let out a long sigh.
“Son, it’s not that your mother is forcing you, but how long do you plan to drag this out? Your eldest brother’s kids are already grown, your second brother’s children are in Shanghai with their grandmother helping out — only you are left. If you don’t let me help raise your child while I’m still young and strong, do you really think you young folks can manage on your own? Wait until I’m older, and I might not even be able to take care of myself, let alone a baby.”

Yu Mansheng didn’t want to hear this.
“Mom! What are you saying? You’re still young!”
Don’t make it sound like she didn’t have much time left.

Yang Huili glared.
“What am I saying? Which part of it isn’t true? Do you think I can be eighteen every year?!”

Yu Mansheng tried to deflect.
“Your son isn’t married yet, so of course I’m still young. Look at Little Ju from Second Uncle’s family — he’s not married either.”

Yu Qingshan was speechless.
“How old is he? He was born late, and he’s still in university. A student is still a child — how could you expect him to get married now?”

Yang Huili smacked her son’s shoulder hard — the loud slap, slap, slap made Yu Xiang’an’s own muscles ache just watching.
Even with his size and build, Yu Mansheng winced and bared his teeth.
“Mom! Ow! Stop, stop, I get it, I get it!”

It wasn’t that he’d never thought about marriage. But once a man had money, there was never a shortage of women coming to him — all good-looking, some his age, some younger. The more he saw, the less he wanted to commit; who knew what they were really after?

Yang Huili still wasn’t satisfied.
“Your second brother’s kid is already born. I wouldn’t mind if you gave me a granddaughter — she’d still be my grandchild. But you have to at least get me a daughter-in-law. Where will the grandchildren come from otherwise?”

This year, Yu Manwu’s daughter was born.
To be honest, Yang Huili felt a single daughter was too “thin” a legacy — most people still believed you needed a son to carry on the family name, or else others might bully you. But with the one-child policy in place, if you had a secure job and tried for a second child, you could lose that job.

Which was more important — a son or a job?
Opinions differed. Some would give up work to try for a boy; others stuck with just one girl.

Yu Manwu and his wife decided not to have more — just the one daughter.
Even if Yang Huili had her thoughts, she couldn’t say much more and accepted it.

She had three sons: the eldest had four children (two boys, two girls); the second had one daughter.
Her youngest still had equal chances of having a boy or girl — if he had a son, she’d have three grandsons and three granddaughters, which was fine. If Manwu’s side was weaker, the kids could keep close ties with their cousins here — united, no one would dare bully them.

And if her youngest also had only girls? That was fine too — he wasn’t in a secure state job, so having more kids would just mean paying fines. He had nothing else, but plenty of money.
As long as he didn’t marry someone with a state job, two kids wouldn’t be a problem.

Her plan was solid — except Yu Mansheng kept refusing to find a wife. Every blind date she set up, he didn’t even bother talking to the girl, leaving her the only one enthusiastic.

No wife meant no grandchildren.

Whenever the topic came up, Yang Huili could go on endlessly. This time, Yu Mansheng escaped under the excuse of needing the toilet, leaving Yu Xiang’an to comfort her.

“Auntie, he just hasn’t met the right one yet. Once he likes someone, you won’t need to push — he’ll rush to please her himself.”

Yu Qingshan added,
“Don’t worry. He’s focused on his career now, and he’s capable. What good woman wouldn’t be attracted? It’s just that the right match hasn’t come along yet. If you stress yourself into bad health, who will take care of those future grandkids?”

Yang Huili could only nod along.

As for Yu Mansheng’s thinking, Yu Xiang’an could guess a bit.
Since she’d built her business here, how many men had approached her? Plenty.
But she’d always made her attitude clear. She and Lin Chuanbai were different — they had a sense of belonging to each other, shared experiences, came from the same place, and thought alike.
Their loyalty to each other was far above average.

Normally, long-distance marriages were risky. With money, temptation was everywhere, and everyone liked attractive people.
Was the world lacking in beautiful faces? Never.
In such times, if your will wasn’t strong, it was easy to stray.

If he wasn’t ready, it was better not to marry — otherwise it was unfair to both sides.
At his age now, staying single stood out. In twenty or thirty years, it would be the norm.

When Yang Huili went home, she carried several big bags — most bought by her youngest son, some given by her niece. As soon as she arrived, neighbors gathered.

Many just wanted to watch the fun:
“You went to your son’s place? He’s a big boss now — how is he?”
“Your son’s so impressive outside, huh?”
“My son’s working for your son — did you see him? Is he thinner? Did you give him my letter?”
“What’s all that you brought back? Looks fancy…”

It took ages to shoo them away, leaving her mouth dry.

Zhang Chahua asked,
“Well? Has he got a girlfriend?”

Yang Huili shook her head.
“No. That useless boy!”

Zhang frowned.
“What kind of woman does he even want? If he told us, we could find someone close enough.”

Yang Huili’s temper flared.
“He hasn’t said! What can I do? Forget it — if he won’t agree before New Year, I’ll drag him to meet someone. No more delays. Come on, look at these shoes he bought you. They’re so soft — I have a pair too. Each costs dozens of yuan…”

Unexpectedly, this matched something Yu Mansheng had casually said.

It started when Yu Xiang’an, through a contact from her cousin Yu Wanxin, closed a big order with a Hong Kong client named Lu Anran.
Yu Wanxin, a teacher, knew Lu through her husband’s old friend. Lu had wide connections and wanted to invest in home goods in this region.

Lu Anran was about Yu Xiang’an’s age and they got along well. Unlike Yu Xiang’an’s neat, understated style, Lu dressed fashionably — crimson lips, permed waves, a tailored women’s suit — like a movie star. She turned heads wherever she went.
Up close, she carried a subtle perfume — barely noticeable until you caught it, and then you couldn’t forget it.

She was refined, stylish, and on the cutting edge of fashion.

Since she wanted to build a factory here, Yu Xiang’an introduced her to Yu Mansheng.
His company’s construction quality was solid — no corner-cutting. It wasn’t his first time taking such referrals, and after the introduction, they could negotiate on their own. If it worked, they could cooperate happily; if not, they could try again another time.

After that, Yu Xiang’an didn’t pay any more attention to it — until a few months later, when the two of them appeared in front of her hand in hand and told her they were together.

Yu Xiang’an: “……”

She really hadn’t seen that coming.

Blinking, she offered just two words: “Congratulations.”

The two were about the same age and both single. In terms of wealth, the woman was clearly ahead, but the man had one advantage — he had never been married before. The woman was a widow, but though she had been married, she had no children.

And standing together, they looked harmonious. It was mutual affection, so as an outsider, she had nothing to criticize.

When Yu Qingshan heard about it: “……”
…Well, fine. If this dragged on any longer, who knew when he’d finally be willing to settle down?

His sister-in-law had said before that she only had two requirements for her youngest daughter-in-law — one, she must be female; two, she must be able to have children. Both boxes were ticked, so she probably wouldn’t object.

Far away in the village, Yang Huili suddenly sneezed hard.

Who?
Who was talking about her behind her back?!

🌱🌿 🫧🍃