I Got Rich in Period Fiction

Chapter 16

The driver who drove for the base was a young lad named Chen, with a smart and handsome look about him. He knew that the most beautiful girl in the group was the new wife of Chief Engineer He of the base, so he was exceedingly polite to the bunch that seemed to hail from the rural north.

He handed out a cigarette to everyone, chatting with a cheerful grin.

Qiao Qingyu glanced at him and thought he was quite a talent.

The following period was another busy one. This time, upon arriving in Xichuan, although Qiao Zhiyuan was irritated inside, he did not come empty-handed. Aside from the sunflower seeds and dried potatoes that Grandma had given Qiao Qingyu, he also packed a sack full of dried goods for her: strings of green beans, dried radishes, daylilies, dried mushrooms, a bag of scallions, and two jars of chili sauce.

Another cloth bag contained more than twenty pounds of soybeans.

And a piece of oil paper wrapped a chunk of cured meat.

Qiao Qingyu reckoned that was almost all the stock at home brought for her.

She guessed the aunt-in-law and little aunt must be cursing her behind her back by now.

Oh right, there's also the eldest sister-in-law, who disliked her the most.

In fact, she was not only the ultimate original match in the era's literature but also the ultimate shrewish younger sister-in-law.

Qiao Qingyu sighed.

Among these, the daylilies were picked and dried by her eldest brother, who seldom had the heart to eat them.

Truth be told, everyone was struggling to get by; it was just that they weren't starving.

With this thought, Qiao Qingyu hurriedly went to the room and gave the bag of milk candies that Director Zhao had given her to her eldest cousin. "Elder brother, this is what Director Zhao gave me, I haven't had the heart to eat them, when you go back, divide them among the little ones."

Qiao Tianbao was delighted and cherished the candies; he was a straightforward man and accepted the gift happily without any refusal.

Qiao Zhiyuan wanted to say something but then thought better of it and swallowed his words back.

Qingyu knew what she was doing; it was time for everyone to acknowledge that.

After all, this time, bringing together the stocks and money from several families had infuriated the old ladies so much they nearly caused divorces.

Latterly, the five bags of black soil packed in sacks were also directly lifted onto the base's truck.

Qiao Family Team was nestled beside mountains and waters, with a large mountain to the north of the village. Qiao Qingyu had the uncle bring some wooden boxes along, and this time Qiao Zhiyuan had brought ten of them, all placed in the truck.

At this point, nearly all the items Qiao Qingyu needed were in place.

She was quite satisfied and had her eldest cousin take out two hundred pounds of millet cakes, a sack of flawed fabric, and a sack of scrap cloth.

She pulled her uncle aside and whispered, "Uncle, you must take good care of these five hundred mu of corn. I have a lot more seeds for crops here, all of good quality, but it's inconvenient to take them out right now. Also..."

She paused, looking serious, "Uncle, if anyone asks you about the seeds, no matter what variety, just say you're not clear on the specifics, do you hear me?"

Qiao Zhiyuan nodded solemnly, "Qingyu, don't worry, your uncle knows what's important."

He thought to himself, the Qiao Family Team was able to reap such benefits firstly because Qiao Qingyu strived for it here, and secondly, it was surely due to He Xiuyu's influence.

So he could not blabber carelessly; if he caused trouble for He Xiuyu and affected the couple's relationship, what then?

Now that they were married, they had to live well. Although everyone was angry about Qiao Qingyu marrying He Xiuyu, deep down, they all hoped she would prosper.

Qiao Qingyu was very pleased with her uncle's attitude, and she continued with her instructions, "Keep the matter about the seeds confidential, but you can tell the leader of the Family Team that you can get a lot of new seeds."

Qiao Zhiyuan understood in a second.

"Qingyu, your uncle knows what to do."

He was a master at playing the long game.

"Uncle, I have a kind of dandelion seed here. It has a short growth period and high medicinal value. Would you like to plant some on your homestead land?"

"Dandelion? Isn't that just dandelion? Our place is full of it everywhere."

"How much can there be? They're just scattered in the fields and besides, my strain is of high quality, the plants grow large and can be sold for money."

Qiao Zhiyuan was tempted. He had heard that the provincial pharmaceutical factory bought medicinal herbs, which were easy to dry, transport, and store. The trouble was how to sell them?

"But what if no one buys them?"

"Uncle, as long as you can grow them, I can help you sell whatever quantity you produce."

Qiao Zhiyuan had come with a skeptical mind, thinking that if he followed his niece's crazy ideas, the worst-case scenario would just be him taking responsibility. But now, he found himself unexpectedly convinced by Qiao Qingyu.

He nodded without hesitation, "Okay, I'll plant it!"

"Uncle, it's settled then. I'll go get them for you."

Qiao Qingyu entered the house, took out two bottles of dandelion seeds and one bottle of rose seeds, "Uncle, one bottle of dandelions is for my older brother, and the other is rose seeds. My brother likes to plant flowers, so let him have some fun with these…"

As for how to plant them, she didn't need to tell them—they had more experience than she did.

Dandelions were easy to grow and reproduced quickly. Plant one acre this year, and the next year, it would turn into ten. All they needed was a place to spread.

And since her older brother liked planting flowers, letting him try out the roses was paving the way for the other flowers she had. She had many varieties of flowers available, and if things went well, she planned to build a flower base at the Qiao Family Team.

Her older brother was the perfect person to manage it.

Qiao Zhiyuan put the bottles into his canvas bag. These were his personal items and couldn't be mixed with the collective's.

Qiao Qingyu felt relieved. Her uncle was smart, the kind of person who was cunning yet had his principles. Given the chance and support, he could really achieve something.

She continued to instruct, "The rice cakes and fabrics you take back should be shared with the family, and don't forget to give some to Accountant Zhang and the scorekeeper too."

How to divide it specifically, her uncle had the most experience, so she wasn't worried.

After loading the things for the Qiao Family Team onto the truck, Qiao Qingyu instructed them to secure the vehicle's cargo hold well to prevent the glass jars from breaking on the bumpy road. Meanwhile, she went to a nearby privately-owned bun shop and used wax paper to wrap up thirty large meat buns.

These people were preparing to drive back overnight.

She was also preparing to check out and ride back home on the base's truck.

The big meat buns were even larger than an adult's fist and full of filling, meant to be provisions for their journey. Accountant Zhang looked at Qiao Qingyu with a fondness in his eyes.

He didn't have much on him, just the public funds and three dollars. He would have to wait for Qiao Qingyu to return home before he could properly invite her to a meal.

The remaining five bags of fabrics were also packed into the base's truck by several people.

Qiao Qingyu had her cousin put her bicycle in there as well.

Seeing the base's truck driver treat Qiao Qingyu and them so kindly, Qiao Tianbao truly believed that his only sister must be doing well here.

Both trucks were loaded up nicely, with everything in order.

By now, it was already past six o'clock in the evening. Qiao Qingyu took them to a noodle restaurant run by a young couple.

Each had a large sea bowl of hot oil-splashed noodles, accompanied by a large plate of pickles and deep-fried chili peppers, filling them up good. Xiao Chen wasn't there; he couldn't eat with these people—one, because it was against the base's rules, and two, because it was inconvenient.

He made an excuse of having something to do and avoided them.

Qiao Qingyu didn't insist. She bought him three big buns and took them to the driver's cab.