Chapter 19

The two people parted ways at the village entrance, without making plans to meet in the afternoon or the next day. School was on holiday, and there were many things to do at home, especially during this harvest season, as they were now considered half-laborers. Wang Changning's family's chestnuts were a late-ripening variety, and they were currently harvesting them. These days, he was even busier at home than at school.

Grandpa was at home with Rui Rui, and had already prepared the meal. Uncle and Aunt were also on the mountain harvesting chestnuts, and the few trees at Grandpa's place had already been harvested by Uncle and Uncle's brother a few days ago, and were now piled in the backyard.

Without eating, Grandpa took out the two money orders from under his pillow and handed them to him, along with the package containing the sample issues, which he had not yet opened.

Feng Yiping was naturally very pleased. Although he had been very confident when he sent the articles, in reality, much of that confidence was self-encouragement.

The family was in dire need of money, and he was also in great need of it. This was currently the only suitable way for him to earn money. Sending out the two articles was a real all-or-nothing bet. If it didn't work, he wouldn't be able to ask Grandpa for money to submit to other magazines. He never expected that one of the submissions would be accepted!

The story in "Story Session" was simple. He quickly flipped through it and found that the selected piece was a short joke, which was also something he had experienced.

When his son was not yet in kindergarten, the three of them went to the market to buy vegetables. On the way back, they saw some fishing nets being dried. His son, not knowing what they were, asked Zhang Yan, who replied, "These are for catching fish." His son thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because the fish are not well-behaved?" The two aunts who were mending the nets burst out laughing.

It was just a few dozen words, but it earned him five yuan, which was quite a lot. He pointed out the story to Grandpa and then went to open the other package.

He tore open the thick envelope with his hands. Inside were three brand new issues of "Harvest" from October, along with a letter from the editor. He flipped to the page with his article, quickly read through it, and found that the changes were minimal. Then he read the editor's letter.

The editor's letter was not long but was handwritten. It said that his work was close to life, the main character was vividly portrayed, and the theme was very in line with the current mainstream of society—what we now call politically correct. The Hope Project was currently in full swing. However, there was still a lot of room for improvement in his writing and sentence structure. The editor hoped that he would continue to improve in his future work and life, to feel and observe more carefully, and to create more and better works that reflect the lives of ordinary people. Finally, the editor suggested that he could submit directly to the editor in the future.

Grandpa, wearing his reading glasses, looked at his work in print, while Rui Rui was babbling and reaching out with his little fat hands to tear the colorful cover. Feng Yiping went over and picked up Rui Rui, and Grandpa said, "Put it aside for now, we'll read it later. Let's eat first."

"Okay, Grandpa, I'll leave this book for you."

Grandpa couldn't help but praise him, "Yiping, earning money is a small matter, but I'm happy that you have this talent! The postman told me that in all these years, only a few people in the town have received royalties, and they were all published in the county newspaper, with the most being only seven yuan, which can't compare to yours."

Feng Yiping chuckled.

Grandpa then educated him, "Yiping, no matter how capable you are, remember, never be proud, and don't let writing interfere with your studies. If you don't do well in your studies and can't get into the county high school, you won't be able to go to university, and that would be a loss. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Grandpa." There was no way around it; he was still a teenager, and he would have to listen to similar advice for several more years.

For lunch, there were three dishes, which Grandpa, who usually ate alone, hadn't prepared in a long time. There was meat, tofu, and cucumber. Since Rui Rui was there, the tofu was cooked, and Rui Rui didn't need to eat rice; he just needed a bowl of tofu and soup in his small plastic bowl.

The cucumber was sliced and stir-fried with chili, and garlic was added just before it was done, making it very fragrant.

The meat was very special, and Feng Yiping had only eaten it at Grandpa's. It was field mouse meat, caught in the fields behind the house. After removing the fur and cleaning the internal organs, it was washed multiple times, then salted and dried in the sun, and finally smoked over a fire pit. It tasted no different from cured meat.

Grandpa kept giving him pieces of meat, and as Feng Yiping ate, he felt a bit sad.

Grandpa was now old and couldn't earn much money. He had even stopped smoking. He had raised four sons with great hardship, but none of them could rely on him now. He couldn't afford to buy meat and didn't want to spend the money, so he had to catch field mice himself. Although the taste of field mouse meat was actually quite good, it was not a happy thing.

"Grandpa, tomorrow I want to go to town to collect this money. The teacher asked for tuition today, which is forty-five yuan. I also want to buy two sets of sportswear and a pair of rubber shoes, which will cost about seventy yuan. You should also buy a pair of shoes. The weather is getting cooler, and you should get a set of thicker clothes, or have a tailor make them. What do you think?"

"Tuition should be paid if you have the money. It's time to change seasons, and you should buy two sets of clothes. I have spare clothes to change into, and I'm so old, with no relatives to visit, so there's no need to buy new clothes."

"Grandpa, you haven't had new clothes for years. Besides, having a tailor make them won't cost much, and a pair of leather shoes will cost at most one hundred yuan. In the coming months, I'll be eating here on weekends, so it can be considered my living expenses. Besides, if it weren't for your money, I wouldn't even have the postage to send the letters, and I wouldn't have this royalty."

"Yiping, although this money is earned by you, you know your mother's temper. If you spend it all, how will you explain it to them when they come back for the New Year?"

"I'll explain it as it is," Feng Yiping said nonchalantly, taking a bite of rice.

This money wasn't given by an elder as a New Year's gift; it was earned by him, so he had some control over it. Given the current situation, the family's financial situation would improve significantly this year, and the debt would be almost paid off by the end of the year. The business opportunities he had pointed out to his parents were also his, so he shouldn't be too hard on himself.

"I'm not spending it recklessly. As you know, my parents haven't bought me new clothes for three years, and it's getting colder. I don't even have a decent coat. I'll buy two sets of loose sportswear, similar to the school uniforms at the town's middle school, which can be worn as outerwear in spring and autumn. If I take good care of them, they should last for two years. As for shoes, I've always worn cloth shoes made by my mother. On rainy days, even if I'm careful, they still get wet. A pair of Double Star shoes for about twenty yuan can't be considered reckless spending, can it?"

Hearing this, Mei Jianzhong felt a bit sad. Among his five children, his eldest daughter's family was the most difficult. Every year during the Spring Festival, among the children who came to the village to pay New Year's greetings, his grandson was the most poorly dressed, but he was sensible and had never complained.

His wife had spent all their savings on her illness before she passed away, and he was powerless to help. Besides, with nearly ten grandchildren, helping only his grandson would cause trouble at home. Now that the child had earned money and grown up, he knew how to take care of himself and wanted to buy new clothes, which was reasonable.

In the past few decades, Mei Jianzhong's life had been quite good, at least in the middle-upper class in the village. His view on clothing was that it didn't have to be better than others, but it shouldn't be much worse. So he agreed, but was afraid that his daughter and son-in-law would scold his grandson when they returned.

He gave Feng Yiping another piece of meat, "That's fine. This year you've earned money, and your parents have also earned money. The family's life is getting better, so you should buy what you need. When they come back, tell them I made you buy it. If they have any objections, let them come to me."

With Grandpa backing him, it was better than facing his parents directly, and he naturally didn't object.

"What about the rest of the money, nearly two thousand yuan? What do you plan to do with it?" Grandpa asked.

"The rest of the money, I think the biggest part should be used to buy more chestnuts. My parents are now buying about ten pounds a day, which is about three to four hundred pounds a month. There are still three months until the end of the year, so we need about a thousand pounds. That leaves a gap of three to four hundred pounds. My parents are already familiar with the business, and it can be done year-round. Buying another five hundred pounds wouldn't be too much. We can buy them for about three yuan a pound, while in the provincial capital, four yuan a pound would be a good deal, so buying now saves money."

"Right, the chestnuts in the upper part of the mountain ripen earlier and are almost all sold. The lower part is currently being harvested, and we can buy them with cash, so let's buy five hundred pounds?"

Feng Yiping calculated, "Let's buy six hundred pounds. That will cost about 1,800 yuan. After I pay the tuition and buy clothes, there will be about 200 yuan left. You can keep it, and every weekend, buy some meat and invite Uncle and Uncle's brother's children over for a meal. It will be lively here."

Mei Jianzhong didn't object. As a solitary old man, he naturally liked his grandson, but these little ones wouldn't stay if there was nothing to offer. Besides, his eldest grandson was in the growing stage, and eating pickled vegetables for five or six days a week was not good for his nutrition. Eating something better on Sundays was reasonable.

The next day, Grandpa and Feng Yiping went to town together and withdrew all the money. Feng Yiping bought two sets of sportswear and a pair of Double Star shoes, which cost eighty yuan in total. Mei Jianzhong bought fabric to make a Zhongshan suit, and Feng Yiping insisted on buying a pair of fifty-yuan leather shoes for him, making the total ninety-five yuan, which was a bit more than expected.

They deliberately returned home after lunch when everyone was busy on the mountain. As expected, Uncle's family was not there. Mei Jianzhong fried a bowl of soybeans and mixed them with the pickled vegetables. Feng Yiping smiled and said, "Grandpa, the quality of the dishes has improved this time."

Not only did the quality of the dishes improve, but he also received five yuan as pocket money for the first time, which was unprecedented. Mei Jianzhong believed he wouldn't spend it recklessly.

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