Song Wei and the others had prior experience cultivating tea saplings, so teaching others came easily to them.
However, there weren’t many tea plants available for cuttings, so they had to use them sparingly.
Song Wei estimated that it would take several years to fully plant the over three hundred acres of land they had contracted.
But that was alright—she could afford to wait and take it slow.
After bringing back the tea plant branches, the production team leader gathered everyone in the village that day.
The village had installed loudspeakers, so a single announcement could be heard by everyone in the production team.
Nearly every man, woman, and child in the village showed up upon hearing that Song Wei and the others would be teaching them how to cultivate tea saplings. Only those who were truly unable to move stayed behind.
Once most people had arrived, Song Wei began by explaining the collaboration model for the tea saplings.
“We’ll teach everyone how to propagate tea plants from cuttings. The saplings will take about three to six months to grow. If we start the cuttings now, they’ll be ready by next spring—exactly five months from now. After five months, bring the surviving saplings to me, and I’ll buy them at five fen per sapling.”
This approach was designed to ensure the villagers remained diligent.
If they were paid a daily wage, some might slack off or not put enough care into propagating the cuttings, which would result in dead saplings and losses for her.
By purchasing the saplings instead, she could minimize such risks.
After all, their earnings would directly depend on the number of saplings they successfully grew. Wouldn’t they care for them as attentively as they would their own children?
The villagers’ eyes widened in surprise. Five fen per sapling—that meant twenty surviving saplings would earn them one yuan!
“Song Wei, is this true? You’ll really buy the tea saplings at five fen each?” many asked eagerly.
The idea that saplings could be sold for money was something they had never considered.
After receiving confirmation, many began asking about how to grow the tea saplings.
The production team leader (Brigade Leader) interjected, “Quiet, everyone, quiet! They’re about to teach us, so no more shouting. The people in the back won’t be able to hear.”
With such a large crowd, Song Wei and Uncle Dayou split up, and the gathered villagers dispersed into smaller groups for instruction. This way, more people could see how to propagate tea cuttings.
“First, we need to use scissors to cut finger-length branches. Each branch must have at least one bud…”
Prior to this, Song Wei had written detailed instructions on tea cutting propagation. Not only had she memorized them herself, but she had also made sure Uncle Dayou and the others knew them by heart.
She explained everything in detail: the type of soil needed for the tea saplings, how much water and fertilizer to use, how to make the cuttings, and more.
Those who hadn’t heard clearly could ask again, and she repeated the instructions.
By the end of the day, her throat was dry and hoarse from all the talking.
As they wrapped up, those interested in propagating tea cuttings took thirty tea branches home with them. How many they could successfully grow would depend on their own efforts.
The distributed tea branches were all cut from new tea plants.
Song Wei hadn’t been willing to part with cuttings from the older tea plants—she planned to cultivate those herself.
In the days that followed, the more cautious villagers continued to seek out Song Wei or visit Uncle Dayou’s house to ask questions about propagating tea cuttings.
Propagating tea cuttings was simple enough that even the elderly and children could do it.
Every day, the first thing everyone did after waking up was to check whether their small patch of tea cuttings had taken root.
During the waiting period for the tea saplings to grow, another incident occurred.
It happened again at Old Lady Lin’s house.
Lin Dahai had run away.
He had abandoned even his own son, stolen money from Old Man Lin’s house, and fled overnight.
Now that introductory letters were no longer required to travel, educated youths who had been stranded in the countryside, like Old Ji, could return to the city even without taking the college entrance exam.
Lin Dahai was a man full of himself. Somehow, he had heard about Lin Zhen and the others opening shops to sell goods. Already unhappy with his life in the Lin family, he began to hatch a scheme.
One day, he went to the city, found Lin Zhen and Jiang Wenwu’s shop, and witnessed the bustling commercial scene there. After returning, he started planning, then stole the burial money Old Man Lin had hidden away, as well as the money from Old Fourth Lin’s household, and ran off.
Lin Zhen happened to return home and, upon hearing about Lin Dahai’s antics, shared the news with Song Wei.
“I saw Lin Dahai in the city the other day. I never thought he had it in him to do something like this.”
Song Wei exclaimed in disbelief, “He even abandoned his own son?”
Lin Zhen sneered, “Lin Dahai is a selfish bastard. He never cared much about his son before. Why would he take Lin Youfu, that burden, with him now that he’s run away?”
That was certainly true.
Song Wei felt a perfunctory pang of sympathy for Lin Youfu.
“The Lin family is in for a show.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure that out.
Old Fourth Lin and Old Man Lin, who had lost their money, must have been seething with hatred for Lin Dahai.
With Lin Dahai gone, Lin Youfu, left behind at home, was surely in for a rough time.
But what surprised Song Wei was that Old Lady Lin, who had been bedridden and paralyzed for so long without passing away, ended up dying of rage upon hearing the news.
The burial money Old Man Lin had hidden included savings that belonged to Old Lady Lin as well.
This threw Old Man Lin’s household into even greater chaos.
After Old Lady Lin’s death, Great Uncle advised them to pay their respects.
No matter how much resentment or hatred there had been during her lifetime, she was, after all, Lin Zhen’s grandmother. If they didn’t go, the villagers would gossip about them later.
Even if it was just for show, burning a stick of incense would suffice.
Lin Zhen and Song Wei heeded the advice and attended Old Lady Lin’s funeral.
They truly went only to burn incense—they didn’t even stay for the meal.
The funeral hall was quite a scene. The only ones sincerely mourning were Lin Laoer and his wife.
Old Fourth Lin’s family was still upset about the incident with Lin Dahai. They even beat Lin Youfu in front of everyone.
When Song Wei saw Lin Youfu, she was shocked. Was that skeletal figure, cowering on the ground and looking worse than a beggar, really Lin Youfu?
Tsk… Who would have thought? The once doting grandson, cherished by Old Lady Lin, had ended up in such a state.
When Old Fourth Lin’s family saw Lin Zhen and the others, they tried to suck up to them and curry favor.
But neither Lin Zhen, Song Wei, nor Lin Ping’an paid them any attention.
Lin Laoer and his wife merely nodded at them as a greeting.
Like Song Wei, Lin Zhen treated Lin Laoer’s family as strangers.
As they were about to leave, someone called out to them.
It was Old Man Lin.
He gazed wistfully at Lin Zhen and the twins.
“Won’t you… won’t you stay for a meal?”
Lin Zhen’s expression remained cold. “No.”
With that, he left with his wife, children, and brother, not once sparing Old Man Lin a glance.
Old Man Lin watched them go and broke into tears, looking even more aged and frail.
He had been wrong. A man should marry a virtuous wife, but his family had been ruined.
And he himself—how could he have stood by and watched that old woman bully his own son and grandchildren?
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
Some of the older villagers looked at Old Man Lin with a mix of pity and frustration.
“When we were young, I told you not to marry her, but you wouldn’t listen. You even treated that bastard son as your own, favoring him over your biological children. You stood by while your own son was bullied. What are you crying about now? You brought this upon yourself!”
Leave a Reply