Later, Nian Honggang earned a position as a worker through his own skills. However, his eldest brother’s family began to covet his job.
But the job required real technical skills, and no matter how much his brother desired it, he couldn’t take it.
Since they couldn’t take the job, they set their sights on his wages. In the beginning, most of his wages were taken by his brother’s family under various excuses.
Things only improved after he married Lin Fei.
Nian Honggang was a pushover, but he was obedient.
He listened to his wife.
After getting married, he handed over all his wages for Lin Fei to manage.
When his family made demands, he would listen but never act on them.
Lin Fei, on the other hand, was fiery and strong-willed. Having been doted on in her family growing up, she wasn’t one to tolerate being mistreated.
In their first year of marriage, the Nian family came demanding money. Lin Fei made a huge scene, completely humiliating them.
The Nian family was furious and questioned Nian Honggang about why he didn’t control his wife.
Nian Honggang simply grinned foolishly. “I can’t beat my wife. She’s in charge of everything at home.”
The Nian family was even angrier when they heard this.
They told him to divorce Lin Fei and berated him for being useless and unmanly. But Nian Honggang merely said he was afraid of his wife and that divorce was out of the question.
As for their criticisms of him being unmanly and useless, he let them go in one ear and out the other. Sometimes, he would even space out while they were scolding him, thinking only about his work.
In the end, his soft-hearted personality meant that he absorbed all their scolding, but it didn’t affect him at all.
As for matters of their own little family, he left everything to Lin Fei and focused only on earning money.
Despite their starkly different personalities, the couple lived a happy life together.
On the road, Song Wei listened as Lin Zhen talked about Lin Fei’s household.
Back then, Lin Zhen had a good relationship with his granduncle’s family, which naturally extended to Lin Fei. He had visited her several times and had personally witnessed her clashes with the Nian family.
Hearing this, Song Wei couldn’t help but laugh.
“Your uncle’s personality is quite amusing.”
Lin Zhen chuckled. “Yes, back then I thought my uncle lacked backbone, and I worried that Auntie would suffer because of him. But now, I think his temperament is actually a good thing. At the very least, he never compromised in a way that would make Auntie feel wronged. Though he’s soft-hearted, he stands firmly by her side.”
After growing up and seeing so many men who prioritized saving face, muddled through family disputes, or sided with their own families at their wives’ expense, Lin Zhen realized how admirable his uncle was by comparison.
Talking about others’ stories, they returned to the Ping’an Brigade under the moonlight.
Tonight’s moon was incredibly bright and beautiful, casting a soft glow that made the white clouds visible in detail and the ground bright enough to walk without a flashlight.
This wasn’t even the brightest night—during the autumn harvest, the moon would be so bright that children could play in the fields under its light.
Lin Zhen first dropped Song Wei off at the educated youth dormitory before heading back.
In the yard, Su Fang was busy collecting herbs that had been left to dry.
Su Fang was incredibly hardworking. Every day, she toiled tirelessly. After finishing her farmwork, when others rested, she would eat a simple meal of coarse cornbread and water and then head into the mountains to gather herbs.
When she returned, she processed the herbs and read books about traditional Chinese medicine by the light of a kerosene lamp.
The next morning, she would wake up earlier than everyone else to lay the herbs out to dry.
If it looked like it might rain, she had learned to observe the weather and would rush home to save the herbs, even if it meant taking leave from the brigade temporarily.
Watching her, Song Wei felt exhausted on her behalf.
But Su Fang didn’t seem to mind.
She even found joy in it. She once told Song Wei that when she lived with the Luo family, she had to do a lot of work she didn’t want to do, work that left her exhausted while others reaped the benefits.
Now, though the work was tiring, the work points she earned were hers, the food was hers, the money from selling herbs was hers, and the knowledge she gained was hers.
When Su Fang spoke of this, her eyes shone with determination.
After hearing this, Song Wei stopped trying to dissuade her and only reminded her to take care of her health.
Seeing Song Wei, Su Fang greeted her cheerfully.
“Song Zhiqing, my herbs will be ready to sell tomorrow.”
Song Wei nodded. “I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
She had also collected some rare herbs in the mountains: lingzhi mushrooms, fleeceflower root, and a ginseng plant estimated to be about fifty years old. These valuable herbs couldn’t be used in the brigade; they were too precious and needed to be sold outside.
The next day, Song Wei went to request leave from the brigade leader again.
The brigade leader looked at her with a blank expression.
Song Wei rubbed her nose awkwardly.
“It’s just for the morning. I’ll be back to work in the afternoon.”
It was the busy farming season, and taking leave was frowned upon. If not for her good relationships, she would have been scolded.
Lin Zhen interjected, “Uncle Lei, I’ll cover her work.”
The brigade leader glared at him in frustration. “You just spoil her!”
This kind of remark was usually directed at parents spoiling their children, and the brigade leader never imagined he would one day use it on Lin Zhen, with his fiancée being the one spoiled.
Still, he reluctantly agreed.
When Lin Zhen went to work in the fields, some people noticed Song Wei’s absence and asked where she was.
Song Wei was still a topic of interest for many.
Hearing that she had taken leave again, some people began to complain.
“Brigade leader, what’s going on? Didn’t she just take leave yesterday? Why is she allowed to take leave again today? Gao Zhiqing and Zhao Zhiqing haven’t taken any leave.”
The exhausted Gao Le and Zhao Su, who were working hard: “…”
Really? Couldn’t they complain without dragging others into it?
Some of the village girls were jealous of Song Wei, envious that she had such a capable fiancé like Lin Zhen, who even bought her a bicycle.
“Exactly! Song Wei takes leave far too often.”
“She’s always the first to leave work early. While we’re all busy, she just runs off.”
Lin Zhen shot a cold glance at them, his expression intimidating.
“I’m doing her work. Is there a problem?”
The onlookers shrank back, but some still muttered, “She has it too easy, doing nothing while everyone else works.”
The brigade leader stepped in. “Song Zhiqing will be back this afternoon. She finishes her work early and earns full labor points. If any of you can do the same, you’re welcome to take breaks too.”
Could they do that?
No.
Though Song Wei made it look easy, even a strong man would have to push himself to his limit to finish a full day’s labor points in the same time.
Moreover, both Song Wei and Lin Zhen had exceptional strength, stamina, and skills, knowing how to work efficiently without injuring themselves.
So while others could only grumble in envy, they couldn’t actually compete.
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