Ch 94: Bringing a Farming Game System to the 1970s

Yuan Yang was indeed inclined to agree, but before she gave her answer, she spoke bluntly. “I want to see your sincerity first. If you’re not capable, my current life has been hard-won. If you strike the snake but don’t kill it, the one who dies will be me.”

Yu Xiangan nodded. “Do you want to stay in Shanghai in the future, or go somewhere else to start over? Or do you want to go abroad? I can arrange it.”

A flash of surprise crossed Yuan Yang’s eyes. Go abroad? She had never thought about it. These days, many people were thinking of going overseas. Did she want to go abroad? Thinking of the language barrier and her two children, she shook her head inwardly. “I’ve heard a lot of people go to the Special Economic Zone to make a living. You’re also over there.”

Yu Xiangan said, “Yes, I used to work for the government, but later went into business. Now my business has some scale.”

“Then I want to settle in the Special Zone.”

“No problem at all,” Yu Xiangan replied. “Words alone aren’t proof. Let me show you.”

They brought Tao Yan and Yuan Yang to her eldest brother and sister-in-law’s home. They lived in a family housing compound, allocated to them back then. Although they had since been transferred elsewhere, the years of service meant the apartment had not been reclaimed—it was now theirs.

The compound had a gatekeeper. At the gate, Yu Xiangan chatted with the old doorman. “Uncle, do you remember me? I was here earlier today.”

The old man raised his eyelids. “I remember. I’ve seen you before. These two, I haven’t.” He pointed at Yuan Yang and Tao Yan.

Yu Xiangan smiled. “You have a good eye, Uncle. Yes, these two are here for the first time. Has my sister-in-law come back?”

Pleased by the compliment, the doorman nodded. “She came back just a short while ago. I saw her carrying a basket of groceries. She’s probably cooking now.”

“Aren’t you going to eat, Uncle?” Yu Xiangan asked.

“I’ll wait. My wife will bring my meal. This is my post—I can’t just leave it,” the old man replied.

Tao Yan and Yuan Yang listened silently. Yu Xiangan continued, “When was the last time my elder brother came back? This is his first trip to Shanghai in years. Back when he worked here, he wanted to visit but was always busy.”

The old man waved his hand. “Work comes first. The last time was a while ago, around your nephew’s birthday, I think. He didn’t stay the night—just had a meal and left. He’s becoming more and more like District Chief Lin. He’s in university now. In a couple of years, when he graduates, he’ll be assigned to a good post.”

Yu Xiangan said, “He’s too busy—managing a development zone.”

“Ah, the kind of busy many would envy,” the doorman said, implying he held real power.

Yu Xiangan smiled. “Fortunately, the children’s maternal family helps look after them.”

“That’s right. Your sister-in-law is also remarkable—a real strong woman,” the old man said.

From the conversation, Yuan Yang and Tao Yan gathered several points: First, Yu Xiangan’s elder brother oversaw a district—an important position. Second, the nephew was in university, and the sister-in-law also worked in the system—a respectable family. And this doorman clearly wasn’t in on any deception. If they had this much influence, they wouldn’t need to lie.

As they walked inside, people greeted them along the way, showing that Lin Guangbai and Yun Jing were well liked here. If they weren’t, distant relatives visiting wouldn’t get such a warm reception. Tao Yan and Yuan Yang didn’t know everyone, but they recognized a few faces. The identities seemed genuine, and their doubts eased.

Inside, Yun Jing came out of the kitchen upon hearing them. “Did you find the person you were looking for?”

Yu Xiangan said, “Yes, here they are.”

The small two-bedroom quickly filled with people. Lin Yuejing came out of her room and called, “Second Aunt.”

Yun Jing told her, “Go make tea. Everyone, have a seat. I can’t leave the kitchen yet—I’ll join you soon.”

Yu Xiangqing rolled up her sleeves. “Sister-in-law, I’ll help.”

Coincidentally, Tao Yan recognized Yun Jing’s face. She knew this woman had strong backing, and that she and her husband had risen smoothly through the ranks. Tao Yan had seen her before, though they’d never spoken. Now she learned that Yun Jing was Yu Xiangan’s sister-in-law—practically close family. With such backing, fair handling was not too much to hope for. She gave Yuan Yang a meaningful glance.

Soon, Yun Jing came out, sent Lin Yuejing back to her room to study, and sat down. After a few polite words of introduction, they got to the point.

Yuan Yang said, “I’ve long wanted them to be punished by the law. I can testify—I do have some evidence. But if this becomes public, we can’t stay here. I want to go to the Special Zone. Also, I have a son in Yuqian Village. I’ve had four children; I won’t concern myself with the last two, but my eldest son is innocent. He’s been held there. He’s young, and they’ve spoken against me to him so often that… he hates me. When I tried to take him away, he refused. But it’s not safe for him there.”

If she made too much noise, her son could be harmed.

Yu Xiangan said, “Heaven sees all, and the law is just. You have your grievance, and we have ours. Use the law to defend your rights, and we’ll support you. You’re in difficulty now—by coincidence, I have an empty old apartment in the Special Zone, two bedrooms and a living room. It’s sitting unused. There are many jobs there; even without skills, you can work in logistics or cleaning—over thirty a month at minimum. What’s your son’s name? My brother lives nearby—he should be able to bring him over. Once this is over, I can introduce you to work. Your daughter’s still young; she can learn more and earn better wages later.”

Yu Xiangan didn’t want to miss this chance. The events involving Yu Xianghe had happened too long ago, with no evidence—it would be hard to imprison anyone. But Yuan Yang’s case was different. She was alive. Many people knew her, and she had two children. If enough victims were involved, it could attract a special investigation from above. Then no one from top to bottom could escape.

Yuan Yang said, “It all sounds good, but until it’s done, I can’t trust you.”

Yu Xiangan replied, “About your son, I’ll have someone bring him. As for the apartment, do you have time? I can take you there to transfer ownership, and we can also arrange your daughter’s schooling. Once she’s in school, we can work on our business. The Special Zone has many people and much turnover—if you don’t speak of your past, few will know it.”

To reassure her, Yu Xiangan took her to the Special Zone, transferred the apartment to her, enrolled her daughter in a bookkeeping course and paid the tuition, placed her son in a factory as an apprentice with food and lodging, and gave her a sum of money.

Yuan Yang didn’t run. She knew a lot. Before she escaped, she was aware of 28 female educated youths who had suffered abuse—nine were dead, and the rest kept silent.

When Yu Xianghai’s group forcibly brought back a young man who refused to leave, she wrote out a full list of names, tidied herself up, and, with her prepared list and evidence, walked into the provincial disciplinary commission.

From here on, the road was no longer something Yu Xiang’an and the others could control.

Lin Houpu made a few phone calls and reassured them—since the other party had indeed committed these acts, they should forget about walking away unscathed.

The case was being processed, and no specific details would be leaked. Everyone made a trip back to the village, burned incense before Yu Xianghe’s grave, and told her about the matter.

Life then returned to normal, though Yu Qingshan often went to Yuan Yang’s home to help look after her daughter and son.

The daughter still didn’t like to talk, but she stayed busy learning new things and carried a bit more liveliness about her.

Yuan Yang’s son, having grown up listening to malicious gossip about his mother, was deeply hostile toward her.

He believed she was a bad woman.

Yet toward his little sister, he wasn’t cold—he worried she might be bullied and would drop by to check on her during his breaks.

Yu Qingshan never told him how many things his mother had been forced to endure for their sake, how much she had silently borne. He just quietly watched them.

Yu Xiang’an suspected he was probably thinking of Yu Xianghe when he looked at them.

Such pain could only be eased once the enemies’ final downfall was seen. Now, they simply had to wait.

Lin Yihong and Lin Yining knew their grandfather had been in low spirits lately, so as soon as vacation started, they came over to keep him company—sometimes even bringing classmates along.

For example, Chen Yi and Wang Lipan, who were close with Lin Yining, and Zhuo Mingwei, who was close with Lin Yihong.

With children running around at home, it was hard to dwell on dark thoughts.

From time to time, they’d pipe up with things like:
“Grandpa, I want to eat roasted sweet potatoes.”
“Grandpa, my teacher said my violin has improved. Can you listen and see if it’s true?”
“Look at my drawing—does it look like us? I drew our family.”

Except when they were asleep, the house was never quiet.

Zhuo Mingwei’s family situation was similar—his family also did business. He kept a low profile, but when his father picked him up from school in a small car one day, the twins happened to see. Even though Zhuo Mingwei had walked a stretch before getting in, it was pure coincidence they caught sight of it.

As for why he walked partway—it was clear he didn’t want to attract attention.

Because Lin Yihong and Zhuo Mingwei sat one in front of the other, and their family circumstances were similar, they ended up playing together often. When Lin Yihong invited him over, Zhuo agreed right away.

Wang Lipan had never said what his family did, but everyone could pretty much guess—he gave off a strong military family air.

Among the three visiting classmates, the least well-off was Chen Yi, but even his family had turned a corner. His mother’s surgery had been successful, and with no more illness, the family could save money. Life wasn’t luxurious, but it was decent.

With these children around, who made one want to smile just by looking at them, Yu Qingshan’s mood greatly improved.

Seeing how hard they worked, he didn’t want them to worry about him.

Besides, they were in sixth grade now—middle school was next year. Yu Qingshan still couldn’t quite understand why the education system had changed from 5-2-2 to 6-3-3. Before, it was only nine years until high school graduation; now it was twelve, meaning three fewer years of earning money. But he had to admit, the students really were learning more now.

If they wanted to get into a good middle school, their grades couldn’t slip.

If they kept worrying about him, they’d have less focus for studying.

Housing prices in Hong Kong had risen—over ten percent in a short time. Because of this good news, Yu Yegui invited them to visit Hong Kong.

Thanks to Yu Xiang’an’s earlier advice, he had bought two apartments there, and their value had risen nicely, with no sign of slowing.

It was a good thing. Yu Xiang’an couldn’t go due to other matters, so Yu Qingshan took Lin Yihong and Lin Yining instead. The twins were no longer little, and with good nutrition, they’d shot up in height. There wasn’t much to worry about.

They made the trip there and back in one day, so there weren’t big safety concerns.

On the way back, the twins chattered excitedly—they had gone to a concert, a play, and even the circus, all first-time experiences for them.

Yu Qingshan sighed, “No wonder so many people once risked their lives to get over there. Hong Kong’s development really is ahead of ours.”

Looking at the skyscrapers, the cars, and the blond-haired, blue-eyed people who were nothing unusual there—this was an international city.

Yu Xiang’an said firmly, “We’ll catch up and surpass them.”

Yu Qingshan wasn’t so optimistic. “Hopefully. If that day really comes, that would be great.”

Yu Xiang’an and Lin Chuanbai exchanged a glance: it would come—and it wouldn’t be far off.

*

During this time, Yu Xiang’an added a new product to their offerings: instant noodles. Later, instant noodles would come in many varieties, but for now, choices were few.

Yu Xiang’an launched three flavors—braised beef, scallion pork rib, and spicy chicken chunks.

The business was booming.

How booming? So booming that Yu Xiang’an had to quickly pull in Yu Mansheng to help speed up factory expansion, because the existing facilities couldn’t keep up.

She hadn’t actually planned to get into this business—it was hard to get equipment at this time, and you couldn’t always get what you wanted. But a client happened to have instant noodle-making equipment for sale. Yu Xiang’an wasn’t about to miss the opportunity, so she went for it.

The results exceeded expectations.

Besides children drawn in by the irresistible smell, some customers bought them by the box—truck drivers, for example.

On the road, drivers often couldn’t find places to eat, relying on dry rations that weren’t very good. Only when they came across someone’s home could they get a hot meal. But with instant noodles, it was different.

Bring matches, a pot, and water—boil it, and the noodles are ready. Or use a thermos with good insulation and they’d soften just fine. The aroma was so strong and enticing that even if they weren’t gourmet-level, most people couldn’t resist.

Even the twins, who’d had plenty of good food, couldn’t hold out—they spent all their pocket money on instant noodles. Their classmates were just as obsessed.

And they were especially keen on collecting the cards inside the packets.

Each card was one of the twelve zodiac animals, with ten color variations each. Anyone who completed a full set could win a bicycle.

With that carrot dangling, no one wanted to throw the cards away—they stored them carefully.

The twins had already collected over forty different ones, Wang Lipan over thirty, and Zhuo Mingwei the most, with more than eighty.

If a household bought a whole box, it would soon be picked clean—no matter where it was hidden, the children would rummage through everything to find the cards, even at the risk of a scolding.

Chen Xiaoyang also knew the instant noodles were selling like crazy. She herself had never tasted them, nor any other brand’s.

Luckily, her work team had been named “Active Model Group” last month, and each member was given a box.

This award went to the group that outperformed others in several categories, the main one being production volume, followed by defect rate, cleanliness, and waste. Scores were weighted to produce a final total, and the top-scoring group earned the “Active Model” title.

It didn’t come with a raise or bonus, but there was always a prize—different every time.

The last time, the prize had been a pair of cups; the time before that, it was a new bedsheet. This time, the prize was a small box of instant noodles.

Compared to other foods, instant noodles were relatively expensive. Chen Xiaoyang, who had always been frugal, had never bought any—she couldn’t bring herself to spend the money.

Now that she’d been given some as a prize, she couldn’t help but open a pack to try it out, curious to see what those so highly praised instant noodles actually tasted like.

One bite, and she was hooked.

At first, she only meant to open one pack and save the rest to take home, but before she realized it, day by day, she had eaten through nearly half the box. Feeling a bit guilty and conflicted, she sighed—well, since they were already eaten, she could only take the remaining half home.

She was frugal, but her family was even more so.

Although the family could now eat their fill thanks to farming, there were many children, and they were saving up to build a house, so life was far from comfortable. She had tried to persuade them to find jobs outside, but they always refused, saying they didn’t know how to do anything else, farming was steady, and with too few hands in the fields, the harvest would suffer. No matter how she argued, it always came back to the same reason, and she had no way to change their minds.

In this situation, instant noodles were a luxury for the family.

Most of the time, treats for the children were candies—cheap ones, the kind that cost only a single fen each.

Instant noodles, on the other hand, cost several mao per pack, and the portions were so small that for an adult, one pack was barely a mouthful, and even a child wouldn’t be full.

When she brought the half-box home, her mother immediately put them away, but it was already too late—one of her nephews had seen them and shouted at the top of his lungs, “It’s instant noodles! Grandma, I want to eat instant noodles!”

The moment he said it, all the nephews came swarming over—one clinging to an arm, one around a waist, one around a leg. Her mother froze on the spot, unable to move, and shouted angrily, “You greedy little brats, get off me right now! If you don’t, I’ll lock them all up and not let you have a single pack!”

But this only made them cheer. “We’ll be good! Let’s eat them today, Grandma—you’re the best!”

Her mother could only mutter helplessly, “Eat, eat, all you know how to do is eat. The things aren’t even warm in my hands yet and you’re tearing into them. Useless at everything but eating—must be paying off a debt from my past life.”

She put the rest back in the cupboard and took out one pack. Seeing so many children in the house, she hesitated, then took out another.

When she brought them out, Chen Xiaoyang reminded her, “Mom, add some greens, and an egg, and sprinkle some chopped scallions.”

“An egg too?” her mother grumbled, but still took two eggs, beat them, and made an egg drop. Cooking instant noodles was quick and simple: once the water boiled, she added the vegetables, noodles, and seasonings, waited a bit, and it was ready. Chen Xiaoyang timed it, then lifted the lid, fished out a strand with her chopsticks to taste, and said, “Alright, it’s done.”

The aroma was so overpowering that even her mother couldn’t resist. “Let me taste it too,” she said, picking up a bite, chewing, and nodding in satisfaction. “Not bad at all—just right, not too salty, not too bland.”

A chorus of gulps sounded around them.

Chen Xiaoyang served each nephew a single chopstickful of noodles—no more than that—and a little soup.

Only this way could everyone have a taste. When the noodles were gone but the broth remained, her mother, unwilling to waste it, grabbed a handful of wheat noodles and tossed them in. “This broth is good stuff. Cook some regular noodles in it and it’s almost the same.”

Before long, her brothers and sisters-in-law returned from the fields. Each of them was served a small bowl of noodles, the smell making their mouths water.

The instant noodles tempted not only the children but the adults as well.

“What kind of noodles are these? Smells amazing.”

“Of course it smells good,” Chen Xiaoyang said with a grin. “This is cooked in instant noodle broth. The noodles themselves were for the kids, and Mom used the leftover soup for these.”

“Where did you get instant noodles?”

“They were a reward for good performance,” she explained.

“Your factory has such good benefits? Will there be more next month?”

“It’s not regular,” she said. “This time our team did especially well, so we got them.”

Her nephews, realizing there was little hope of getting more, now longed even more for the ones locked away in the cupboard.

Thinking of the few packs she still had in her dormitory, Chen Xiaoyang swallowed discreetly—at least she could still satisfy her own craving a bit.

Content after sharing the fragrant instant noodles with her family, she returned to work with renewed energy. While working, she noticed the factory director come by to ask about output. After hearing something, he hurried off. Later, at mealtime, she overheard others saying the boss and her father had both left in a rush—perhaps for another big business deal.

Chen Xiaoyang instinctively felt it wasn’t that.

The look on the boss’s face had been one of excitement, but restrained—complicated.

It seemed personal.

And indeed, it was.

After a period of secret investigation, the final results were in—they had gone to see certain people off on their last journey.

Heaven has eyes; retribution never fails.

Justice had been delayed for so long—now, at last, it had arrived.

🌱🌿 🫧🍃