Leng Yuan stood waiting for the grain to be distributed, his expression serious.
When he saw Gu Jiaojiao sidle up to speak to him, he instinctively squatted down to hear her better.
But when he heard what she said, he couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his face, and a hint of delight lit up his deep-set eyes.
’This little wife of mine is quite a character.’
Seeing him laugh, Gu Jiaojiao’s eyebrows shot up, and she looked ready to blow a fuse.
Leng Yuan quickly said, "Of course. She’s old and ugly, so naturally, she’s jealous of you."
Gu Jiaojiao was finally satisfied, but then she grew a little fearful. "How can she be so malicious? She can’t stand anyone being better-looking than her."
"She won’t try to do sothing to , will she?"
"She won’t," Leng Yuan replied with certainty.
’Not unless she wants to see her family line end.’
Chen JianShe stood behind them, watching Brother Leng and his wife’s sweet display. He couldn’t help but cover his mouth, as if he had a toothache from all the sugar.
’He’d never imagined their dynamic was like this—one doting, the other playfully causing trouble.’
Gu Jiaojiao’s eyes crinkled with a smile, and her mischievous words brought a touch of softness to Leng Yuan’s stern face.
Being coaxed by his little wife, Leng Yuan felt an exceptional sweetness in his heart.
Gu Jiaojiao, still unaware that her little sche had been seen through, secretly glanced up at the man before her. Seeing that his expression had softened and lost its earlier iciness, she shot a glare at Aunt Leng.
Aunt Leng was speechless.
She narrowed her triangular eyes, about to glare back.
But Gu Jiaojiao imdiately whipped her head around, showing her nothing but the back of her head.
Aunt Leng was suddenly furious!
She huffed loudly. "What’s there to be so smug about? Just look at your work points. You’ll be lucky if you’re not starving next year."
’Leng Yuan has a job and no ti for farm work. Gu Jiaojiao arrived late in the year and is lazy, so she hasn’t earned any work points either. Let’s see how they manage to get by next year.’
"Leng Zhiguo, Leng Zhigang, your family has a total of five thousand one hundred thirty-five work points. Your share is one thousand eight hundred catties of coarse grain, twenty catties of fine grain, and one hundred eighty-five yuan."
For a household with five laborers, that was a considerable amount of work points.
Aunt Zhao’s family also had five laborers: Aunt Zhao and her husband, their son Tie Zhu, and his two younger sisters.
The Leng Family’s laborers were Second Uncle Leng, Aunt Leng, Third Uncle Leng, Third Aunt Leng, and Aunt Leng’s son, Leng Qingtian.
With the sa number of laborers, the Leng Family had a full one thousand more work points than the Zhao family.
This just went to show the difference between having sons and having daughters.
It was no wonder everyone in this era wanted sons; boys truly had an advantage when it ca to manual labor.
’Still, an extra thousand points for an extra three hundred catties of grain... isn’t that a bit much?’
Gu Jiaojiao poked Leng Yuan’s arm, voicing her doubt.
Leng Yuan smiled and explained, "Although only five people in the Leng Family earn work points, their household’s grain ration is larger because they have more mouths to feed. Leng Zhigang and Leng Zhiguo both have three sons each, and they have grandsons, too. The Zhao family has fewer children, so their share is smaller."
Gu Jiaojiao understood at once.
’Even though other mbers of the Leng Family worked in the city, their household registration was still here, which ant they were entitled to a share of the grain.’
Even so, Second Uncle Leng ended up spending another dozen or so yuan to buy an additional hundred catties of coarse grain.
Gu Jiaojiao had heard about this before. The eldest and second sons of both Second Uncle Leng and Third Uncle Leng were already married.
A matchmaker was also arranging introductions for Second Uncle Leng’s youngest son, Leng Qingtian.
As for Third Uncle Leng’s third son, he was courting a girl from the city on his own.
The Leng Family was truly one of a kind in the village.
Out of the six sons, two worked in city factories as official workers, two were apprentices in shops, and another had been set up with a job at the commune by their aunt.
This was why Grandma Leng had been able to take over Leng Yuan’s house with the villagers’ tacit approval. Her sons were successful, so even though people disapproved of her actions, no one dared to offend her.
In those days, having a factory worker in the family was a matter of imnse pride.
What’s more, the Leng Family had three such workers, plus two apprentices who were learning a trade. With a family background like that, they were considered a cut above the rest.
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