The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 160 - 159: I Want to Go

"You’re running a stall selling clothes in Beijing City, and you want Little Chen to go help you?"

As Mrs. He spoke, she turned to look at Gao Cuiyun, who was watching them quietly. Gao Cuiyun’s eyes flickered, and her fingers curled slightly.

He Lang nodded. "That’s right. I’ve been selling on my own for half a month, and the profits are decent. I can’t handle it all by myself, so I thought of Little Chen."

He looked at Little Chen. "This is just an idea. It’s up to you whether you go or not. I have to go to Yangcheng tomorrow morning. If you want to come, you’ll have to leave with me tomorrow."

Little Chen was thrilled. His eyes shone as he nodded vigorously. "Third Uncle, I want to go."

"Little Chen—" Gao Cuiyun couldn’t help but cry out.

Little Chen turned to meet Gao Cuiyun’s eyes. He wanted to say something, but felt it wasn’t the right time, so he remained silent.

"Third Brother—are you home?" Shitou’s shout came from the courtyard.

"I’ll go take a look."

He Lang stepped out of the house and saw Shitou at the main gate. He was wearing a coarse cloth outer shirt with several holes in it, a broad smile on his face as he looked at He Lang.

"I just got off work and heard people say you were back, Third Brother, so I came to see you. Got a minute? Can we talk?"

He Lang nodded and followed Shitou out the gate. The two of them talked as they walked.

Shitou glanced at He Lang. "Third Brother, how are things in Beijing City? You’ve been gone for half a year with no word. The last time you came back, I heard about it right after you’d already left again."

"My letter of introduction was about to expire, so I came back to get it re-stamped. It was a rushed trip both ways, so I didn’t have time to look for you."

Shitou nodded. "Third Brother, you went to Beijing City... you’re not still selling stuff on the black market, are you?"

He Lang chuckled. "I’m running a stall selling clothes in Beijing City."

Shitou was surprised. "They’re allowing private businesses in Beijing City now?"

"There’s been no official announcement, but no one’s cracking down on it. I was idle in Beijing City for half a year, and I used the time to get a feel for the current situation. I reckon things will open up completely soon. When that happens, more people will start doing business. We should make this money now, while people haven’t caught on yet."

Shitou hesitated for a few seconds. "Third Brother, you know I’m no good at farm work. I used to follow you around back in the day. These past few years while you’ve been away at your job, I haven’t made any money. I still want to follow you. You eat the meat, just let your little brother have some of the soup."

He Lang smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "I was actually planning to visit your place on this trip back. I can’t handle it alone, so I thought of you. But what about your mother? Will she be okay at home by herself?"

Hearing this, Shitou was so happy he almost jumped for joy. "I knew it! I knew if you had a chance to make money, you wouldn’t forget about your brother! Hehehe. Don’t worry about my mom, she’ll be fine. My mom gets me. She knows I hate digging in the fields. She’ll definitely agree to let me go with you. Her hands and feet are still nimble. Once I’m settled in Beijing City, I’ll bring her over."

He Lang smiled and said, "Alright. Go back and talk to your mother. If she agrees, you’ll leave with me tomorrow morning."

Shitou nodded. "Okay." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

When He Lang returned, the people from the second branch of the family were no longer in the main house.

"You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go make you some food," Mrs. He said to him.

"Okay. I’m starving, actually."

After Mrs. He left, Mr. He, who was sitting on the edge of the kang, asked He Lang, "Is that business of yours reliable?"

He Lang raised an eyebrow. "Dad, when have I ever done anything unreliable? It’s just selling clothes, a proper business. I buy the goods cheap from another place, then take them to Beijing City to sell. The profit margin is more than double. People in Beijing City have more money than people here, so business is pretty good."

"As long as it’s reliable. I know you want to give the second family a hand. Little Chen is a good worker, I’m just afraid your second sister-in-law won’t feel at ease with him going so far away."

He Nan, sitting in the corner of the kang, said, "This is a good thing. Our sister-in-law should agree."

He Lang didn’t press the issue. "It’s fine. Even if Little Chen can’t go, Shitou just said he wants to come with me, and I’ve already agreed."

Mr. He shot him a look. "If Little Chen goes too, that’s two people. You’d better think this through. If you can’t make money, you’ll have to support two grown men in Beijing City."

He Lang smiled. "I know. Don’t worry, Dad. I can afford to support them."

Seeing how certain he was, Mr. He didn’t ask any more questions.

In the second family’s room, the atmosphere was tense. Little Chen was standing, while Gao Cuiyun sat on the edge of the kang, wiping away her tears.

Xiao Yang and He Ziming looked from their mother to their brother and back again, not knowing who to comfort.

Gao Cuiyun choked out between sobs, "Beijing City is so far away. If you go, who knows what will happen to you? You’re the one me and your brothers rely on now. If anything happens to you, how will we survive?"

Little Chen gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Mom, it’s precisely because I’m the one you and my brothers rely on that I have to go out and earn money. Don’t you trust my Third Uncle’s abilities? Look around—is there any family in our village that lives as well as Third Uncle’s family? He wants to take me to Beijing City for my own good. What are you afraid of? It’s not like it was a few years ago. Even the universities have reopened. Can’t you feel it? Which young person in the village now doesn’t want to go to the big cities to make money? If I stay home, all I earn are those few work points every day. It’s barely enough to get by. There’s no way to get rich. That’s why I want to go out with Third Uncle and try my luck. Maybe this is our family’s big chance, you know?"

"Mom, just let Big Brother go. Aren’t Ziming and I still here to keep you company? I can do the work Big Brother does," Xiao Yang said. He also understood that his brother wouldn’t be at a disadvantage following Third Uncle, so he supported his decision to go. If he weren’t underage, he would have wanted to go too.

Gao Cuiyun’s mouth opened and closed, and fresh tears welled up.

Little Chen sighed, sat down beside Gao Cuiyun, and comforted her, "Mom, if I make money in Beijing City, I’ll come back and build a big house for you and my brothers, one just like Third Uncle’s. We’ll each have our own room. Then you won’t have to go out to work anymore. I’ll support you and let you live a comfortable life at home."

Gao Cuiyun’s lips twitched, but in the end, she didn’t voice her refusal.

After eating at the old family house, He Lang took his keys and went back to his own home.

Mrs. He often came over to clean their house, so it looked very tidy. Standing in the courtyard, He Lang suddenly missed Xue Yue and the children. He wondered what they were doing right now.

He stood there for a moment, then gave a silly grin and went inside to sleep.

「Back at the old family house」

He Ze had arrived with his child. He had also heard that He Lang was back and had come to ask him a favor: to help look for Gu Yuwei in Beijing City. He Ze hadn’t given up hope yet; he figured the most likely place for Gu Yuwei to be was back in Beijing City.

Mrs. He looked at He Ze with disgust. "If you want to ask, you can ask your third brother yourself. We can’t bring ourselves to say it. I don’t know what’s gotten into you. Look at the mess you’ve made of your life! I heard you only earn five work points a day now. Even Xiao Yang does better than you! You’re a man in your thirties. I’m not saying you have to earn full points, but you should at least be able to keep yourself and your child from starving, right? But now? Your job is gone, and you’re no good at farm work. I’d like to see what you’ll do when it’s time for grain distribution this year. And you still have the nerve to worry about other people."