Nianzi Mountain Village. The Li Family!
In front of the thatched cottage at the old family home, Long Zhanjun was chopping hay with Li Yi’s father, Li Shankui.
Beside the massive hay cutter, Li Shankui placed bundles of dry grass in the right spot, while Long Zhanjun pressed down on the blade stroke by stroke.
With each cut, the buckwheat and wheat straw stalks were sliced into one-inch-long pieces, making them easier to feed to the mules and horses!
Normally, this was a task handled solely by Li Shankui and his wife, but since their eldest daughter was about to give birth, Zhang Yuehong had been taken to the county seat a few days earlier by her son-in-law to care for her.
As a result, for the past few days, the big red mule and the big black horse had been eating only unchopped dry hay.
Not only is it hard for them to chew, but it’s also a huge waste.
So today, after the old man got up, he asked his third daughter to help him chop the hay; otherwise, the small amount of hay the village had allocated to their family would simply not be enough to last until next summer.
Seeing this, Long Zhanjun naturally stepped in without hesitation, taking Li Na’s place so he and Li Shankui could get to work.
Chopping hay is grueling, backbreaking work—just like chopping vegetables at home. You have to cut the hay into small pieces, and there’s an entire hayloft to go through.
As a result, the two men worked straight through from morning until around three or four in the afternoon. Aside from a brief rest during lunch, they worked nonstop the entire time.
While the two men were cutting hay, Li Na was busy cooking in the kitchen, and Tang Xue sat on a stool nearby watching her!
“Oh, Sister Na, you’re done for!” Tang Xue said, for no apparent reason.
Li Na, while vigorously scooping cured pork out of the lard jar with a spoon, replied, “Why would I be done for?”
“They say a daughter who’s married off is like water that’s been poured out—she’ll always favor her husband’s family. You’re not even married yet and you’re already thinking about feeding him well; once you’re married, won’t you spoil him rotten?” Tang Xue teased.
“Don’t talk nonsense—it’s not even close yet!” Li Na said, looking a bit embarrassed.
“I can see it now—Brother Long is definitely going to be the third son-in-law of the Li family. He’s not only won you over, but he’s won Dad over too!”
Tang Xue recalled how, during lunch, her usually taciturn father-in-law had been full of praise for Long Zhanjun. She knew right then that her father-in-law was very pleased with him.
Plus, her father-in-law had always been a bit worried about Sister Na’s marriage prospects. If Long Zhanjun was willing to marry Sister Na, her father-in-law would certainly give his full approval.
Li Na’s face flushed, but she said nothing.
To be honest, she was indeed very pleased with Long Zhanjun.
She’d already felt a connection with him yesterday, but she hadn’t expected that early this morning, Long Zhanjun would come over from the new house, then head off carrying a shoulder pole and a bucket.
She had no idea how he’d found the well, but before long, he returned carrying a load of water.
After filling the water jar, he picked up an axe and went to the woodshed, chopping a large pile of rotten wood.
This display instantly boosted his image to a perfect score. The more Li Na watched him, the more she felt he was a down-to-earth, hardworking man—someone who knew how to make a life.
“Sis Na, when do you plan to make your move?” Tang Xue asked.
“Um… let’s wait a little longer. Isn’t it a bit too soon to talk about it now?”
Tang Xue sighed and said, “It is a bit early, but if you don’t act now, I’m afraid you won’t have another chance later!”
“How could that be?”
Tang Xue replied immediately, “I reckon Brother Long won’t be staying at our place for much longer!”
“What do you mean? Are you saying he’s about to leave?”
“Yeah. After all, my older sister is about to give birth, and I have my prenatal checkup coming up soon. Li Yi should be back any day now. When he returns, Brother Long will definitely be sent to Beijing by him. You don’t have much time left!”
“Alright, I’ll think about how to approach this and act as soon as possible!”
“Okay!”
……
Beijing. The Jiang Family Mansion!
As a family that survived the catastrophe, the Jiang family holds immense influence in the capital, and their residence is no exception.
This place was originally the residence of a minister during the Qing Dynasty. Though not overly opulent, it has been preserved remarkably well.
However, since some of the Jiang family’s younger generation had taken up posts in other regions, while others had moved out due to the distance from their workplaces or because their employers had provided housing, most had moved away.
Now, aside from the patriarch of the Jiang family, only the third branch of the family remains here.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the main hall was extremely tense!
The core members of two generations of the Jiang family were gathered together, and everyone’s gaze—including that of the patriarch—was fixed on a medicine bottle on the table.
Yet no one spoke, and the atmosphere in the room was stifling.
“Shiying, this decision rests with you. Tell me, should we give Yun’er this medicine or not?” Old Master Jiang said in a deep voice.
Hearing his father’s words, the gray-haired Jiang Shiying hesitated.
It had been a few days since his nephew, Longcheng, had told him there was a way to treat his wife’s illness and had provided him with the name of the medication and the company that developed it.
Although Jiang Shiying didn’t hold out much hope for this—after all, he’d encountered countless such situations over the past twenty years, each time brimming with confidence, only to have his hopes shattered and end in disappointment—
But now he had no other options. He could only adopt a “nothing to lose” attitude—whether it worked or not, he had to give it a try.
What if a miracle happened?
He immediately tapped into his network, and within just two days, he managed to obtain the medication from a company in the U.S. called Eli Lilly.
However, the person who helped him obtain the medication also brought some news: although the drug had been developed, it hadn’t yet passed clinical trials.
In other words, it was unclear whether the drug would be effective or if it might cause side effects.
So the source advised them to avoid taking it if possible, or to wait a few months before taking it, because by then the pharmaceutical company’s clinical trials would likely have yielded results, making the risks relatively lower!
Precisely for this reason, although the medicine had been obtained, the entire Jiang family hesitated to make a decision about whether or not to give it to his wife.
“Third Brother, if it doesn’t work, so be it. We’ll find another way,” said Jiang Shirong, the eldest son of the Jiang family, with a sigh.
Jiang Shiying took a deep breath and said, “Eldest Brother, we don’t have time to waste. The doctor said that given Yunyu’s current condition, she has at most three months left!”
“Do you want to try it?”
Jiang Shiying said nothing, but suddenly stood up and addressed his father: “Father, I’m going out for a bit. We’ll make a decision when I return!”
“Are you going to find that young man?” Old Master Jiang asked in a deep voice.
“Yes!”
“Go ahead, but be careful!”
“Okay!”
With that, Jiang Shiying grabbed the coat beside him and headed straight for the door.
Before long, the sound of a car engine could be heard outside.
At that moment, in the conference room of the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill, Jiang Longcheng was holding a meeting with the factory’s mid-to-senior-level managers to discuss how to navigate the crisis the factory was facing.
Just as he was getting into his stride, there was a sudden thud—the conference room door had been kicked open.
“Damn it…”
Jiang Longcheng was about to lose his temper, but when he saw the person walking in, he froze like a goose with its throat clamped shut, and the words he was about to say died in his throat.
“Come out here. You’re coming with me!”
“Alright!”
With that, Jiang Longcheng didn’t dare utter a single word of protest. He grabbed his hat from the table and followed the man out, leaving the assembled officials in the conference room staring at each other in disbelief!
PS: Brothers and sisters, this book updates with two chapters daily, totaling about 5,000 words. Updates are posted between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM; I recommend reading them the next day! It’s not that Lao Cang doesn’t want to update—it’s just that juggling two projects is too much to handle. Please forgive me!