Ch 88: Bringing a Farming Game System to the 1970s

Yu Qingshan felt that Ye Qijia’s idea was feasible,
but if she resigned to become self-employed, it wouldn’t be the same as those who only started after retirement.

Once retired, there would be a pension as a fallback, and they’d already be at retirement age with fewer working years ahead.
But in her case, there were still twenty to thirty years before retirement.

What if the country later introduced new restrictions?
Could she go back to work at the supply and marketing cooperative then?

Reform and opening-up had only been going on for a few years — no one could say for sure what the future would bring.

This was exactly where Ye Qijia’s hesitation lay.

If she used her savings to buy some small goods from the South and took them back to sell,
she was confident she could make the business work.
But what if things changed later?

What if private trade was banned again?

She’d be left high and dry.

Yu Mingjie: “Mom, I can help you. You don’t have to resign.
When you need to restock, just tell me what goods you want.
I can either bring them back myself or ship them by train.
Aren’t you pretty free these days?
When you’re not busy, you can watch the shop yourself.
The rest of the time, Grandpa and Grandma can help.
It won’t be tiring, and this way you won’t have to quit.”

That was indeed a solution —
just run both ends for now, see how things went, and decide later.

Ye Qijia hesitated: “Will you have time for that? Won’t it affect your studies?”

Yu Mingjie: “I can do it on weekends.”

Ye Qijia nodded: “Right now, I think clothes sell the best.”
This wasn’t a sudden thought — before coming here, she had observed carefully.
“There are quite a few street stalls selling clothes back home, and business is great.
Like you said before, a piece of clothing costs six to ten yuan here,
but back home they sell for twenty-something, even thirty-something.
That’s double the profit.”
If she could sell just a few pieces, that would be a month’s wages.

Yu Xiang’an: “If you plan to sell clothes, I know a factory owner.
She produces clothing, and maybe you could open an agency store for her in your area.
Whenever there’s a new style, she can send it in bulk to you.
Once you get it, just put it on the shelves and sell.”

Yu Xiang’an had part of her own investment in this clothing factory,
and adding another agent was just a word from her.

“This factory’s positioning is affordable — quality’s neither too good nor too bad,
mid-range.
They have both cheap, durable pieces and slightly better ones,
and the styles are decent.
The clothes I gave you before were made there.”

Ye Qijia was delighted: “That would be great!”

Then she worried: “But being an agent sounds serious… how much capital would I need?”

She had some startup funds, but only enough for small ventures.

Yu Xiang’an waved it off: “No worries — you can take the goods first,
record their costs, sell them,
and send the payment afterward.
If something doesn’t sell, just send it back.”

That meant zero risk —
earn as much as you sold.

Was there really such a good deal?!

Ye Qijia knew this was thanks to her:
“This is definitely me benefiting from your connections. Thank you, Xiao An.
Since this is my first time getting stock, I won’t take much — just a small batch to try.”

Yu Xiang’an: “No need to be polite. Have you decided on your store location?”

Ye Qijia: “No need for a shop at first — I’ll just set up a street stall.
If I put a big investment into a store and can’t earn it back, that’d be a waste.”

Yu Xiang’an didn’t see anything wrong with street stalls —
plenty of people were getting rich that way now,
and profits could be huge.

Yu Mingjie had sometimes noticed people selling clothes at stalls,
and had even bought from them.
He offered advice:
“Mom, when the time comes, dress in one of the pieces you’re selling as a sample.
Better yet, get a rack to hang clothes on so customers can see the shape.
Make sure they’re not wrinkled —
if they are, spray some water and steam them with a hot water bottle so they look crisp.”

He actually knew quite a bit.

Yu Xianghai hadn’t spoken the whole time —
some of this had been discussed before,
and now it seemed like everything was settled.

Yu Qingshan also kept quiet,
content to listen while the others tossed out ideas.

His younger daughter was living well now.
Although she still owed a large debt,
he’d gotten used to it —
and believed she’d eventually pay it back.

His eldest son’s family was also starting to think about change.
That could bring good or bad results,
but with the siblings helping each other,
even if one household struggled later,
it wouldn’t be hard for them to get back on their feet.

That was enough for him.
He was truly satisfied.

Yu Qingshan thought of the farmland back home.

He’d freed himself from endless farmwork,
started eating state-supplied grain,
and settled in the city.
Now, his children —
some on state grain, some in government jobs, some doing business —
none had returned to farming.
He’d made it out,
and brought his children out too.
They were all living good lives.

He squinted,
the corners of his mouth curling upward.

Suddenly, he thought of the Zhou father and son he’d seen at the train station,
and the curve of his smile deepened.

Served them right —
the ones who had broken off the marriage with his daughter to side with Ding Minxiu.
Now look at them.

Their precious only son had once planned to test into a vocational school,
but failed.
From what Yu Qingshan knew, he spent his time playing outside —
could he really pass now?

Vocational school took fewer years than university
and came with a guaranteed job after graduation,
so it was the top choice for many families.
But with poor grades?
No chance.

That boy was going to cause his parents plenty of headaches in the future.

Back then, the Zhou family had accepted the match so readily all for his sake.
He wondered if they regretted it now.

But even if they did,
they wouldn’t admit it —
that would be admitting they were wrong before.

Let them wait and watch —
the Yu family, and especially his daughter,
would only live better and better.
If they compared in secret,
they’d only grow more and more regretful.
But no matter how much they regretted it,
there’d be no turning back.

Yu Xiang’an thought of Yao Cuifen and asked Yu Xianghai:
“How’s Grandma doing?”

Yao Cuifen had recovered from her previous injury,
but seemed weaker than before.

Thankfully, nothing serious —
just needed to be watched carefully.

Yu Xianghai had visited her recently and nodded:
“She’s fine.
She still loves watching TV.
When I went, she was too absorbed to even talk to me.”
He chuckled as he spoke.

Yu Qingshan: “If she likes it, let her watch.
Having a hobby makes things less lonely.”

The conversation turned to the children’s studies.

“Yihong, Yining, are you keeping up in your new school?”

Lin Yihong nodded: “Yes. The teacher even asked us specially.”

Ye Qijia: “Good, keep your grades up.
I remember you said you’d signed up for extracurricular classes.
Still going?”

Lin Yining grinned and pulled out her erhu:
“Auntie, let me perform something for you.”

A child with a natural flair for performance didn’t need to be asked.

Lin Chuanbai and Yu Xiang’an just watched with smiles.

In other households, kids often looked like they’d rather die when parents said,
“Come on, show us something.”

Here, she was eager:
“Let me perform something.”

Yu Qingshan laughed: “Alright, let’s hear it.”

Clap clap clap! Ye Qijia applauded enthusiastically:
“Have you ever performed on stage before?”

Lin Yining pressed her lips into a smile.
“Yes — during the holiday gala before, I played a song and got second prize.”

Ye Qijia gave a thumbs-up.
“Well now, that’s something! You might just end up a real musician in the future.”

After the child’s performance, the focus shifted to Yu Mingjie.
Ye Qijia looked at him.
“Got your eye on any girl? If you do, tell me — I’ll give you extra money. Can’t be too stingy when dating.”

Yu Mingjie flushed in embarrassment.
“Mom! What are you talking about? I don’t.”

Ye Qijia laughed.
“Shy, are we? We were all your age once. Just think — how old were your dad and I when we had you? You think you’re still a kid? Men should marry when they’re grown, women when they’re of age.”

Yu Xianghai patted his son’s shoulder.
“If you really do meet someone, don’t hide it. Your mom and I are very open-minded. We don’t have high demands — just a clean background, good character, and most importantly, that you like her.”

Yu Qingshan decided they couldn’t be too open-minded.
“As the saying goes — ‘When buying a pig, check the pen.’ Finding a good person is essential, but if her family is full of troublemakers, you’d better think twice. You don’t know — our shop hired a male waiter not long ago. He lived nearby, just married, came out to earn for the family. But all he did was work as a waiter, and his wife — along with her brothers — barged into the shop, accusing him of having an affair with another waitress. Said he’d committed ‘hooliganism,’ smashed the place up. Her brother broke two of his ribs, and her scratches will probably leave scars on his face. That job was ruined, and he even had to pay damages. The poor woman they accused was also an innocent victim — got slapped a few times. She’s already got two kids, but looks young. Now tell me — if you married into that kind of mess, wouldn’t life be exhausting?”

Yes, exhausting indeed.

Yu Xiangju couldn’t agree more.
Family was a huge factor in marriage.
Often, marriage was really the union of two families.

Yu Qingshan said, “Don’t pressure the boy — he knows what he’s doing.”

Yu Xianghai: “I’m not pressuring him.”

Ye Qijia also felt she wasn’t pressuring him.
“I know it’s about fate. Still, I wouldn’t mind becoming a grandma sooner rather than later.”

Yu Mingjie’s face reddened further.
“Mom, if you’re busy with a grandchild, you won’t have time to sell clothes.”

Ye Qijia switched gears instantly.
“Oh… then maybe hold off for now.”

Yu Mingjie: “…”
Why did that feel so… unpleasant?

---

After leaving the station, Zhou Changshou and Zhou Boyang asked around until they found where Ding Minxiu and Zhao Qiaoniang were living.
Right now, one of them was working on the factory production line, the other in factory logistics doing cleaning.

They’d rented a small room in a private house nearby, sharing a bed to save money.

When the men arrived, it was still early, so Ding Minxiu took Zhou Changshou to the personnel office to ask if they were hiring.

Zhou Changshou was short, quiet, and given his age, security work was out of the question.
“What we need now is someone to handle cleaning — sweep up trash from the production floor, empty waste bins, that sort of thing. Twenty yuan a month, meals included, but no housing.”

Zhou Changshou thought that was fine.
With his pension added in, it would be about the same as his pre-retirement pay.

“Come in the day after tomorrow then. Get yourself settled first — when you arrive, ask for me.”

Ding Minxiu took them back to the rented house.
“The partition next door is still empty — I’ll go talk to them later so we can rent it too.”
That way Zhou Changshou would have a place to stay.

Zhou Boyang frowned at the cramped space.
Though the two women kept it clean, the place felt oppressive.
But he knew it was all to save money.

Ding Minxiu had to get back to work — she only came back to bring them over.
If she was late, she’d get her wages docked.

When her shift ended, she and Zhao Qiaoniang took the men to eat at a nearby Wuwei Restaurant.

They were eating happily, chatting about family matters, when Zhou Changshou accidentally said,
“Saw Yu Qingshan at the station — maybe he’s here looking for work too. What a coincidence.”

The air froze instantly.

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Changshou knew he’d messed up.
This was why he usually kept quiet — he was bad at talking.
Why today of all days had he said more than he should?

Zhao Qiaoniang kept her head down, silently pushing fried rice grain by grain into her mouth.

Ding Minxiu’s face was like ice, the chill rolling off her.

Back home, she lost her temper, asking Zhou Boyang:
“Why didn’t you say anything just now? Are you regretting it?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not regretting anything.”
He denied it flatly.

Ding Minxiu gave a cold snort.
“Regretting? Why don’t you ask yourself honestly — really not regretting? Just because she’s far away now… otherwise, who knows, maybe old flames would rekindle. Oh, wait, no — they wouldn’t. Her man’s a university graduate, even higher than that — a real respectable person. With such a gem in front of her, would she still look twice at a junior high grad like you?”

Back then, Zhou Boyang had quit school after junior high to take over a job.

He shot back:
“Oh, so a woman without even a high school diploma gets to talk? At least I have the self-awareness not to go sit the college entrance exam. Not like some people, whose ambitions are higher than the sky!”

When their affair had been exposed, Ding Minxiu had missed her graduation exams and never got her high school certificate.
Later, when the exams were reinstated, she’d tried twice — both times in secret.
Of course, the Zhou family knew all about it.

The couple traded barbs, parting on bad terms.
What should have been a warm reunion after a long separation ended with both turning their backs in bed, refusing to speak.

Zhou Changshou watched in dismay, slapping himself mentally — why bring up the one thing that shouldn’t be mentioned?

As the Yu family’s fortunes rose, the very name “Yu” became taboo in the Zhou household.
Anyone who mentioned it got an ugly look.

So why had he blurted it out?

He knew they’d quarreled, but what could Zhao Qiaoniang say?
Nothing.

She slept in a makeshift bed in the narrow hallway, frowning.
What to do?

That was all in the past.
Regretting now? In two years, they’d be holding grandchildren.

Did she regret it?
She refused to admit it — even to herself.

If she’d stayed in the Yu family, her life would be better now.
She wouldn’t still be working at her age.
But… she wanted to be with her daughter and grandson.

So no — no regrets.
And even if there were, it was useless.

Her daughter and son-in-law just couldn’t let things go.
Thinking so much about “what ifs” was pointless.

They didn’t even need to be asked — it was obvious what they’d been fighting about.
This wasn’t the first time.

Every fight ended in a cold war, but she figured this one wouldn’t last long.
Zhou Boyang wouldn’t be here long anyway, so after a night of sulking,
the next morning they both just… forgot about it,
and went back to being friendly.

Ding Minxiu chattered on,
“When you go back, make sure you push your son to study harder. He didn’t get into the vocational secondary school, but he can still try for university later. If his clothes get too small, buy him new ones. I bought him a pair of shoes earlier — you take them back with you…”

Zhou Boyang replied,
“Mm, alright, I will. You two take care of your health here too.”

Seeing them getting along, Zhou Changshou and Zhao Qiaoniang both felt relieved.

Zhou Changshou stayed behind to work and earn money, while Zhou Boyang took the train back to Baishi County.

Life returned to his usual routine. His son claimed he was studying hard, but his grades showed no improvement. Was he really putting in the effort?
And if he couldn’t get into university, then what?

Would he just take over his grandmother’s job?
It wasn’t impossible, but if they were talking about a bright future, of course being a university graduate would be better.

Sometimes Zhou Boyang wondered if this was retribution — because of the wrong they’d done in the past, Heaven had given Yu Xiang’an compensation, letting her life get better and better, while theirs was sliding downhill.
When would these days end…?

---

Ye Qijia and Yu Xianghai returned to Baishi County with big bags of clothes.
A few days after coming back, they found a spot to set up a street stall.

Just as Yu Mingjie had suggested, they made a simple display rack, set it upright, and hung the clothes to show customers.

Clothes with a wholesale price of 6.5 yuan sold for 18 yuan, those bought at 8 yuan sold for 25, 10-yuan pieces went for 35, and those at 12 yuan… well, those could fetch 50 or 60.

The styles were genuinely attractive. Even Ye Qijia, who knew some were clearly unsuitable for her age, couldn’t resist them. Loving beauty was second nature to women.
If she felt that way, then young unmarried girls in their prime had even less self-control.

Especially couples who were dating — once they saw such clothes, they couldn’t walk away.

She didn’t even have to quit her job — just set up after work, pack up before dark, and head home.

Most of the clothes she brought out could sell seven or eight out of ten in one go. Those who missed out on a piece they liked would even come find her afterward to buy it.

She’d taken all these clothes home without spending a penny, and in just two days, she had hundreds of yuan in hand.
Once everything sold, she estimated she could make around a thousand. Even after deducting the wholesale cost, they’d clear several hundred yuan.

When the couple counted the money, they just stared at each other.

It was Yu Xianghai’s first time holding that much cash; his hands trembled.
“No wonder Xiao An went into business — it makes so much money.”

His monthly wage was just over 40 yuan, maybe 400–500 a year.
And in two days, they’d earned what would take him more than two years of not eating or drinking to save.

Ye Qijia was stunned.
“My sister gave us so many clothes to bring back, and I was worried we wouldn’t sell them all. Looking back now, I really underestimated it.”

In a few days, they’d sold out. Counting the money brought joy — followed quickly by worry.

Keeping so much cash at home didn’t feel safe. What if a thief broke in and stole it?

Ye Qijia bought two big locks, but those could be pried open too.
She ended up hiding small portions of the money in all the nooks and crannies of the house. Only then did she feel somewhat secure — even if a thief came, they wouldn’t find it all.

Her ambition blazed up.
“This way, I’ve already earned back all the wages I’d make for the rest of my working years, and my retirement pay too. I could just quit, put this money in the bank, and live off the interest.”

It made sense. Yu Xianghai was also fired up.
“I’ll work hard with you.”

They had three kids, and once the children got married, housing would need to be sorted out.

With their current savings, they could secure a place for their eldest son. The second son’s had been on hold, but now with this income stream, they could do both at once — and even get themselves a bigger home.
Who didn’t want a large house, like his younger sister’s?

So the couple diligently sold clothes in Baishi County.
It didn’t look like much, but the profits were impressive.

Yu Xiang’an could tell how well they were doing just from the amount of stock they ordered — she could roughly calculate how many pieces they’d sold and how much money they’d made.
She felt a quiet satisfaction.

Among all her siblings, her eldest brother’s family had been living the tightest.

Even though both worked and had salaries, they had three kids, cramped housing because they’d never been assigned a bigger place, and elderly parents on both sides to visit — visits that couldn’t be made empty-handed, meaning more expenses.

Next down the line, Yu Xiangyan and his wife were both university graduates, with much higher pay. Though they also had three kids, his side investments meant they were financially comfortable.

Then came Yu Xiangqing, teaching at a middle school in her husband’s hometown while also writing for a newspaper — two incomes, one child, and limited expenses.

As for Yu Xiang’an herself, her position spoke for itself. And the youngest, Yu Xiangju, was still in university; once she started working, her salary wouldn’t be low either.

By comparison, the eldest brother’s family had been the most frugal.
But now things were looking up.

---

After so many years with no word, everyone assumed there was no hope of hearing from the “little grandaunt” again — even Zhang Chahua and Yu Changcun had stopped expecting news.

But then came a surprise: they had returned to Baishi County.

Back then, they’d sent the little grandaunt as a child bride to a nearby family in the next town over, because they were doing relatively well — what people used to call a “landlord family.”

But the landlord’s son had problems — a broken leg that never healed, leaving him limping, and facial scars that marred his looks. Still, that family could feed her. Being able to fill her stomach meant survival, and only with survival could one talk about anything else.

So the parents of Yu Changyou and his brothers sent their youngest daughter there.

This “landlord” wasn’t anything grand — just a slightly bigger landowner, with a few dozen mu of land instead of a few mu like ordinary folk.
A small-scale landlord, the lowest rung.

Later, during wartime, without powerful connections and with a bit of wealth that drew enemies, they couldn’t survive in their hometown. They fled suddenly, fearing trouble, and were gone for decades.

Only now had they returned, bringing back the ashes of the little grandaunt’s parents-in-law.

Yu Changxi also wanted to see if she had any surviving relatives.
She’d left in such a hurry she hadn’t been able to say goodbye, and she longed to see her brothers again.
She didn’t even know if they were still alive — she herself was nearly seventy.

Yu Qingshan and Yu Xiang’an heard the news directly from Zhang Chahua over the phone.

On the other end, Zhang Chahua’s voice was high with excitement:
“Second son! Come back quick — your little aunt and her husband have come back, brought the whole family, children and grandchildren, thriving and prosperous. Hurry and come see your kin!”

She was so happy.
If she could tell her late husband in the afterlife, she’d surely tease him — if he’d stayed a little longer, he could have seen his little sister himself.

Now she could only deliver the news through her own mouth.
She imagined that if he knew, he’d be pounding his chest in regret.

Serves him right — leaving so early.
Bet he’s regretting it now.

🌱🌿 🫧🍃