Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 381 - 358: Visitors

As soon as Minmin arrived, the family now had three children, and the old man and Su Yan were somewhat overwhelmed. Li Xianglu discussed with Sister Su and decided to have her sister-in-law come over for a while to help look after the kids.

Sister Su’s sister-in-law had completed high school but didn’t get into university. She had already planned to work at Leng Qing’s factory, but it was postponed because her younger brother injured his leg.

Li Xianglu hired her for her high school diploma, thinking she could take care of the children for a while before starting work at the factory, and her benefits and salary would be a bit higher than those of the factory.

The girl, named Xing Hua, was only nineteen this year, skinny and tall, somewhat shy but skilled in childcare. It turned out that she had raised her younger brother at home.

Children from poor families mature early. Li Xianglu sighed and found three sets of clothes she didn’t wear to give away to her.

The girl was overjoyed and kept thanking her non-stop. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

With someone to look after the children, the home became much quieter. Xing Hua didn’t have to do anything all day except play with the kids at home or study together. She would eat meals with everyone at the scheduled times, and everything else was taken care of, as Li Xianglu had repeatedly instructed.

People from the provincial government also visited their residence to inventory the two heavy boxes of items, and then took them away.

Qin Xi informed them that the matter was now settled, and with September came the harvest season for chili peppers, tomatoes, peanuts, and melon seeds.

Leng Qing’s factory had sold off its first batch of products. She and Hu Zi had visited markets, marketing their goods everywhere, and surprisingly secured orders totaling two million, all with advance payments.

At this time, Leng Qing and Hu Zi began to harvest crops on a large scale. They settled payments in cash: each household would have their crops checked, weighed, sign for the money, and leave. This efficient process amazed the farmers.

The money each farmer received had the bank principal and interest deducted, but even so, the profits were still surprisingly high. They wondered where the factory got these varieties of plants, as the chili peppers and tomatoes were growing exceptionally well, not only big in size but also delicious in taste.

After deducting the bank loans, almost every household ended up with roughly ten thousand yuan in hand.

Fortunately, with the factory located in the town, the bank also collected loan payments there.

However, not all the cultivators had taken loans; some breeders did too, but their payback would have to wait until the next year.

Still, Chairman Xu was so happy he couldn’t contain himself, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum every day, which made Li Xianglu twitch at the corners of her mouth.

With the overall revenue increased, the next steps involved road construction, school building, and hospital expansion.

By this time, Qin Xi in the county had already earned great respect. Even those who were unsatisfied only muttered in private and dared not oppose openly, as the results spoke for themselves and garnered praise from everyone.

So, Qin Xi didn’t stop there. He brought in the National Construction Company, designed broad roads, and planned a comprehensive layout for the town.

Leng Qing’s factory continued to recruit workers, hiring as many as three hundred workers, bustling with activity. Li Jianqing came back three or four times in between, returning home whenever he had time each month. Although their relationship had changed quite a bit after the divorce incident, such frequent separation was not ideal, and Li Xianglu was still worried.

After returning, Chen Zhong, on behalf of the village committee, secured a loan from the county’s bank, with a three-year repayment period.

He also began to get busy as the sorghum was harvested, and he rushed to get the distillery built. Li Xianglu helped him by purchasing a set of imported brewing equipment in Hong Kong, and there would be professionals sent to install and adjust the equipment.

Time flies, and before you know it, it’s November. Li Xianglu looks at the vast expanse of snow outside and sighs, "The snow has come early this year!"

Next to her, combing Minmin’s hair, Su Yan also says, "Indeed, the snow is quite early this year. I wonder if Anna has given birth yet?"

Just as Li Xianglu was about to say something, the telephone rang. She hurried to answer it.

But what she didn’t expect was that the twins were quicker. The two little rascals zoomed over; Ba Yi, faster than his brother, picked up the phone and asked in his childish voice, "Is it Uncle?"

Li Xianglu tapped her son on the head helplessly and then took the phone, saying "Hello?"

Then a look of surprise spread across Li Xianglu’s face: "She’s given birth? Mother and child are safe?"

Whatever was said on the other end of the line, Li Xianglu’s face shows a hint of disappointment, but she says, "As long as they’re safe, that’s good. Yeah, Minmin is doing well too, very well-behaved. I told Grandpa and the rest to go back early this year. Qin Xi and I will stay behind and go together later."

When Li Xianglu turns around, everyone in the house looks at her. She makes a shrugging gesture and says, "Anna had a girl!"

Su Yan is taken aback; the Lu Family’s mother had been hoping her daughter would give birth to another son, but who knew that it would still be a daughter. One can only imagine how disappointed she must feel in her heart.

Seeing Minmin looking at her expectantly, Li Xianglu says, "Mom gave Minmin a little sister!"

Upon hearing this, Minmin frowns and asks, "Why isn’t it a little brother?"

Li Xianglu doesn’t know how to explain and looks up to see Su Yan smiling and shaking her head.

The twins, curious, climb onto Li Xianglu’s lap, mumbling questions.

Li Xianglu has no choice but to point at Minmin and explain, "Auntie gave birth to a little sister, a little sister who’s as pretty as Minmin!"

Ba’er seems to understand and nods, saying, "Doll sister!"

Li Xianglu smiles and nods, "Yes, doll sister!"

But Minmin frowns and protests, "The doll is mine; I won’t give it to my sister!"

Li Xianglu is taken aback and looks to Su Yan, who soothes Minmin, saying, "Alright, the doll belongs to Minmin. If your sister likes it, Mom will buy her another one."

Minmin nods, relieved, at these words.

The next day, Qin Zhen calls again, saying that Lu Anna needs to finish her confinement before returning, so they’ll have to take care of Minmin for a while longer. Li Xianglu says it’s no problem, Minmin is fine here except for missing her mom a little.

After learning that his brother has had another daughter, Qin Xi begins to hesitate about having a second child. What if he ended up with another naughty son? Three reckless kids making trouble together—the very thought gives him a headache. But what worries him more is Li Xianglu; she’s allergic to anesthetics, which means she’d have to endure the pain of a C-section.

However, Qin Xi can’t afford to dwell on these worries anymore because he has successfully improved the economy of a county by several tens of times, so the provincial authorities have started to promote him as a role model. This successful case will be spread further, and he’s about to be very busy.