Mrs. Qin was not as easy-going with Zhang Guilan, "That wonāt do. You just had a baby, you need to replenish. If youāre healthy, the babyās milk will be good too."
"I have enough milk as it is, any more and she canāt even finish it..."
Mrs. Qin ignored her complaints and left her with a view of her back.
Zhang Guilan looked toward Lin Chuxia with a face full of grievances, "Look at this flesh on me, I didnāt lose weight after giving birth, I actually gained more."
Lin Chuxia smiled and comforted her, "You can lose weight later, right now you should listen to your mom, sheās right."
The two chatted for a while longer, and when it was about time, Lin Chuxia went to the kitchen to help Mrs. Qin make dumplings.
Qin Han came back early today, just as he walked in, the village chiefās voice came from the door.
A few people went out to greet him.
Seeing Lin Chuxia, the village chief chuckled happily, "I heard they saw your car just now, I guessed it was you who came back. There happens to be some issues in the village that I would like to discuss with you. When will you have time? We all trust your opinion. We can hold a small meeting then, and you can help us strategize."
"Oh, is Uncle Qin planning something new again?"
Qin Shusen is a go-getter, and over the last two years, Qin Family Village has transformed day by day, all thanks to the leadership of Village Chief Qin.
The village chief chuckled, "Itās not exactly a new plan, just these little things that we must do well, and we canāt be inconsistent like fishing for three days and drying nets for two. The greenhouses that were built in early spring were not easy to manage. Technician He had told us before that in autumn, we could cover the greenhouses again to extend the growing season. Iāve already spoken to the County Agricultural Bureau. Technician Hu, Technician Li, and Technician Yang will come to guide us on the autumn greenhouse vegetables. I specifically wanted to discuss it with you."
Itās now August, and by June the vegetable greenhouses were mostly uncovered.
Technician He from the Agricultural Research Institute came to guide on the spring greenhouse vegetables and had already returned.
Now, any issues with the greenhouses in Qin Family Village are coordinated through the County Agricultural Bureau.
It must be said, Technician Yang from the Agricultural Bureau was highly valued by Technician He. When leaving, he repeatedly reminded Village Chief Qin that if there were issues, they could contact Technician Yang and his team, stay in close communication, and if necessary, call him.
Even though he has left, Qin Family Villageās greenhouses still have a place under his care.
Lin Chuxia understood and nodded, "Okay, are you in a hurry for this matter? I might need to go to the county in a couple of days."
"No rush, you go ahead with your tasks, I will wait for your time."
After discussing this with Lin Chuxia, the village chief turned to look at Qin Han.
"Is your wife and child doing well?"
Speaking of his daughter, Qin Hanās smile was irrepressible, "Very well, thanks to Uncle this time. When the baby turns one month old, you must come over for a celebratory drink."
The village chief pressed his hand down, "Iāll definitely have the drink, but we still have to handle this matter as we must. Now that the child is born, this is a case of overpopulation, and the fine still needs to be paid. These days, the family planning office has been looking for me as well."
"Uncle, I understand, just tell me how much the fine is? Iāll pay it soon."
The village chief was amused by his attitude, "You lad, seems like you really have some money," he raised a finger, "Itās like this now, Uncle canāt do much. If it could be less, I wouldāve fought for you, but your case was reported, so itās considered a major overpopulation case..."
Qin Han nodded, "No problem, village chief, I know we violated the policy, and although the fine is heavy, Iām happy itās for my daughter."
"That settles it then, Iāve passed on the message, I should be heading back."
Mrs. Qin still wanted to keep the village chief for a couple of drinks, but this time the village chief did not agree and walked out with his hands behind his back.
Qin Han quickly followed to see him off.
Lin Chuxia watched as the two stood in the outer courtyard chatting for a while, after which Qin Han cheerfully saw off the guest, but as he turned back, his face immediately darkened.
Mrs. Qin looked at him with concern and asked, "Whatās wrong, is there anything else?"
"Mom, itās nothing. Donāt worry. Tomorrow Iāll go and pay the fine, and once itās paid, thereāll be no problems."
Lin Chuxia then asked, "Bro, do you have enough money?"
The village chief gestured with a finger, representing one thousand yuan.
"Enough," facing his family, Qin Han regained his smile, "Not just one thousand, even if more zeros were added, I can still manage it."
Mrs. Qin glared at him, "Stop talking nonsense, do you think money is too hot to handle? Look how reckless you are."
Qin Han chuckled, "Iām just speaking casually in front of family."
But thinking back, two years ago this one thousand yuan would have really made him anxious.
Back then, the mere few bucks or teens from farmingāwho would have thought about todayās situation?
Last year, from the Bun Shopās annual profit sharing, they got several hundred yuan.
This year, with the agricultural supply store, he calculated the debts paid back by villagers recently and made several thousand yuan just from that.
He had never seen so much money in his life.
He thought of this and looked at Lin Chuxia again.
Without his sister giving them this confidence, he and his wife wouldnāt dare to have another child.
In the future, he should tell his daughter, her coming into this world was all because her aunt craved an accomplished person.
...
At night, Qin Han entered the room and started talking to his wife about the family planning office.
"In a moment, get me one thousand yuan, tomorrow Iāll go handle the paperwork, and once itās done, I will feel relieved."
"Okay, wait a sec."
Zhang Guilan groped her way to the bed, opened the bed cabinet, took out a small cloth bag, counted a stack of banknotes, and handed them to Qin Han with some distress.
"It was hard to save up, I heard the penalty for having an extra child isnāt that much."
Qin Han took the money and snorted, "Who asked our family to offend someone and get reported?"
Talking about this, Zhang Guilan was also unhappy.
Two months of anxiety.
"Who exactly did we offend? Iāve thought it over and canāt figure it out. Was it something you did while setting up the greenhouse that caused resentment?"
This year they opened the agricultural supply store which involved a lot of interactions with villagers, itās easy to inadvertently offend someone.
Qin Hanās eyes darkened, "Sometimes itās not about whether we want to offend someone or not. Some people are just malicious and canāt stand to see others doing well. They donāt know their own worth, arrogant and narrow-minded, leading their lives in a mess and then they blame others for not being able to bear seeing others living better lives. No matter how cautious you are, it helps nothing against such people."
Zhang Guilan furrowed her brows too, "If thatās really the case, thereās nothing we can do. We canāt just live in fear of their resentment, right?"
"Of course not, the more they dislike seeing us, the better we must live."
"Youāre right," Zhang Guilan sighed, "Why are people like this? Back in the work team, whether someone worked more or less, there were those who would report to the team leader. Now, with household responsibility system, policies are more open, and the government doesnāt manage these issues. People should just strive on their own abilities, why bother resorting to such petty schemes looking at what others have."