Chapter 126 is uploaded by netizens and reprinted on this site solely for the purpose of promoting this book to more readers.

  Cen Youjun freed one of his hands, which was holding a crutch, and gave Lin Zhenhua a military salute. Then he shook hands with Lin Zhenhua again and said: "Little Lin, how did you come? Come on, sit down inside and talk."

  Two people came to the main room and sat down separately. Xun Youjun called over Mao Chou, handed him a small piece of pork in his hand, and said: "Mao Chou, take it to the kitchen."

  "Dad, I want to eat meat." The puppy took over the meat and asked in a low voice.

  "I'll leave some for you, go." said Cen Youjun.

  Lin Zhenhua looked at the piece of meat in Mao's hand and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. The meat was really too small, with no fat or lean, weighing less than half a catty. Since Lin knew that he had come from Jiangnan Province, he naturally wanted to treat him as best as possible, but judging by the size of the meat, Lin's economic conditions were indeed at an all-time low.

  Cen Youjun saw the look in Lin Zhenhua's eyes, and smiled awkwardly, saying: "Alas, Little Lin, to be honest with you, I heard that you were coming, so I rushed to borrow money from people to buy meat at the market. As a result, I borrowed from the whole factory, but only managed to get 50 cents. Look, you came all this way..."

  "Paichang, your economic conditions are so poor, why didn't you say it earlier?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  "Now everyone is having a hard time, and for young people like you who are getting married, the economic pressure is also great. If it weren't for your sister-in-law's illness requiring surgery, I wouldn't have dared to ask you for money either. But... Ah, Xiao Lin, how did you end up in Yuefeng? Was it a coincidence that you were on a business trip?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Paichang, I came specifically to see you."

  "Come all the way here?" Zuo Youjun was somewhat surprised, and then said with a hint of heartache: "It's really not necessary, you see, just running this trip, the fare alone will cost over ten yuan, what's the point of spending that money."

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Paichang, I'm here specifically to deliver money to you."

  Cen Youjun was even more surprised: "What, you ran all the way to deliver money? Xiao Lin, how much money did you bring?" It's no wonder he would be shocked, as when he asked Lin Zhenhua for a loan, it was only for 20 yuan, and now Lin Zhenhua had made a special trip, obviously not just to deliver 20 yuan.

  Lin Zhenhua pulled Cen Youjun into the room, took out a thick envelope from his bag and handed it to him, saying: "Squad leader, I brought 500 yuan for you. Is it enough? If not, I have some more here."

  Cen Youjun held the money as if his hand had been scalded and stared with wide eyes, asking: "Xiao Lin, where did you get so much money?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "I'll tell you about this later, Pa Liang, you first put the money away. Look at this money, is it enough for your sister's surgery?"

  "That's enough, that's enough." Cen Youjun said: "Xiao Lin, I don't need so much. If you have money, lending me 200 yuan is enough. Don't be in a hurry, I really want to ask you, this money, is it all legitimate?"

  Lin Zhenhua replied: "Don't worry, these are all clean money."

  Cen Youjun counted out 20 bills from the stack and stuffed the rest back into Lin Zhenhua's hand, saying: "I don't need so much money. Little Lin, if you really have money, it's better to help some other comrades-in-arms. I know several comrades are having a very hard time now, and several martyrs' families are also in great difficulty."

  Lin Zhenhua took the money and put it on the table beside him, then said: "Old classmate, don't decline. I can tell you, now I'm considered a wealthy person, this 500 yuan is me repaying you. On the battlefield, you used one leg to save my life, this leg is worth at least 500 yuan, right? You're living so hard now, how could I just watch and do nothing? And as for other comrades, rest assured, after I go back, I'll definitely find a way to contact them and provide some necessary help.

  "A household with tens of thousands of yuan?" Zhen Youjun was shocked today, "Xiao Lin, you're not joking, are you?"

  Lin Zhenhua said: "Paichang, I can deceive anyone but not you, right? I contracted the labor service company in the factory and now the economic benefits are good. This is the contract fee I got."

  "It turns out to be like this." Cen Youjun somewhat believed it, in fact many local enterprises have already secretly implemented the contract system, and he had also heard of factory directors becoming rich through contracting. He thought for a moment and said: "Xiao Lin, if your economic conditions really permit it, then I'll accept this money, but this can only be considered as borrowing from you. Our factory's current liquidity is extremely tight, so if you lend me this money, after your sister-in-law's surgery is done, there should still be some left over, which I can use as working capital."

  "Whatever... suit yourself." Lin Zhenhua felt helpless, but since he was giving the money as a token of goodwill, and Cen Youjun was willing to take it to start his own business, which was also his interest, why should Lin Zhenhua interfere?

  At this time, Tian Xiu Lan, who had gone to the field to pick vegetables, returned. Cen You Jun called her into the house, took out a large bundle of money and handed it to her, saying: "Xiu Lan, Xiao Lin lent us some money. Take this money to the market and buy some more meat...buy two catties."

  Before Tian Xiaolan took the money, Lin Zhenhua stretched out his hand and blocked the money in Cen Youjun's hand, then pulled out 20 yuan from his own pocket and handed it to Tian Xiaolan, saying: "Sister-in-law, I'll treat you to dinner today. Trouble you to help buy some good dishes. Buy a fish, five catties of meat, some eggs, and oh, also wine, buy two bottles of good wine back."

  Tian Xiaolan hesitated and looked at her husband, Cen Youjun nodded: "Okay, let's do as Xiao Lin said, invite the whole family of You Xin Ge to have lunch together, and cook more dishes."

  Tian Xiaolan took the money and carefully tucked it away, then picked up her basket and headed to the market.

  Lin Zhenhua took out the things he had brought with him one by one and handed them over to Cen Youjun. There were food for the elderly and children, fabric for making clothes, and some commonly used medicines for treating colds and headaches. At that time, rural areas were implementing cooperative medical care, and the barefoot doctors in the production team actually had no medicine. Many city people who went to the countryside to visit their relatives would take a bunch of medicine from their units, which could be very useful in rural areas.

  Cen Youjun called over Mao Chao, telling him to take a bag of candies to give to the children in Cen Youxin's new home, who were also Mao Chao's elder brother and sister. Before long, Cen Youxin's new wife, Wang Shi, came over with four eggs, smiling and exchanging pleasantries. This was a common courtesy in rural areas.

  Tian Xiaolan arrived at the market and really gritted her teeth to buy five kilograms of meat, a large fish, several kilograms of chicken eggs and duck eggs, as well as two bottles of locally produced high-yield wine. Even so, the 20 yuan given by Lin Zhenhua was not spent. After returning, Tian Xiaolan insisted on returning the remaining money to Lin Zhenhua, but Lin Zhenhua did not accept it, saying: "Sister-in-law, keep the remaining money for now, I still have two days to stay here, and consider it as the meal fee I paid."

  That noon, in the main hall of the Shen family's home, a long-forgotten aroma of meat and wine wafted through the air. Tian Xilan and Wang Shi combined the two families' eight immortals tables to create one large table, which was filled with all sorts of delicious dishes. The Shen Youxin family had four members, big and small, while the Shen Youjun side had his parents, Shen Youjun's couple, Mao Chou, and Lin Zhenhua, making a total of 10 people seated at the table. Poor little baby Mao didn't have the qualifications to sit at the table, so he could only lie in his cradle, sleeping soundly.

  At the dinner table, no one was happier than Mao Chao and the two big kids from Qian Youxin's family. The economic conditions of Qian Youxin's family were a bit better than those of Qian Youjun, but eating meat was still a very luxurious thing in their daily lives. This time, Tian Xiaolan cooked half of the meat she bought, and the fatty braised pork was cooked in a big bowl, and the children ate with big smiles on their faces.

  "Sister-in-law, won't Mao Chou get indigestion from eating so much meat at one time?" Lin Zhenhua asked worriedly.

  Tian Xiaolan said carelessly: "He won't digest it? He'll go out and run wildly in a while, and he'll definitely be hungry again by tonight."

  Lin Zhenhua had no choice but to turn his head and persuade Maoer: "Maoer, don't eat so much meat at once, it's better to take your time. From now on, let Mom buy meat for you to eat every day."

  The puppy looked at its mother and asked: "Mom, will we eat meat every day from now on?"

  Tian Xiaolan smiled and said: "Eating meat every day, it's not going to make you poor."

  Cen Youjun also said: "Little Lin, you are a city person and don't know the hardships of our rural areas. Normally, which family can afford to buy so much meat at once? Today we're all benefiting from your kindness, having such a big feast. Alas, if I recall correctly, the last time we had such a big drink and ate so much meat was when I retired from the army."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Paichang, I think that now the country's policies have been relaxed, you should think of a way to make some money. Otherwise, just relying on Uncle and Auntie and Sister-in-law to farm and make money is really too difficult."

  Cen Youjun sighed, "It's not that easy. Our agricultural machinery factory has products that are not in demand, and usually we just do some maintenance work for farm machines. Now the fields have been divided up, and collective farms don't use these machines much anymore, so it's hard to make money this way. If things go on like this for a few more months, I'm afraid we'll have to close down."

  Lin Zhenhua asked: "Paichang, this agricultural machinery factory, whose enterprise is it?"

  "It's a public company."

  "Can individuals bid?"

  Cen Youjun said: "There are also private contracting things, other communes have such things. How about it, Xiao Lin, you won't think of running to me to contract a factory?"

  Lin Zhenhua smiled and said: "I don't have time to run back and forth like this. What I mean is, Boss, you can take over the factory."

  "What a joke! The factory is losing money so badly now, and you want me to take it over without even compensating for the ancestral house?"

  Lin Zhenhua said, "It's not that scary, just queue up. If you can take over the agricultural machinery factory, I'll find a way to get you a few products. Whether or not you can make a lot of money is hard to say, but at least let Ma Chao eat meat every day, it should be no problem."

  As soon as this was said, everyone at the table became interested. Cen Youxin interjected: "Xiao Lin, do you really have such skills? Then help Youjun."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Helping the team leader is no problem. However, it's best if the team leader takes over the factory, then I'll be happy to help. Otherwise, the money earned will go to the commune, not into the team leader's pocket, why should I bother?"

  Cen Youjun said: "Little Lin, whether or not to close the factory can be discussed later. You say you can make our factory profitable, what's your plan? Tell me."

  Lin Zhenhua nodded: "No problem, I was just about to report to the team leader anyway."

  He then briefly told Xun Youjun about what he had done at the Hanhua factory. Although he deliberately concealed many things, it was enough to make Xun Youjun and his cousin Xun Youxin listen with relish.

  "So you finally defeated the little devils?" Zuo Youjun couldn't help but interrupt and ask.

  "That's right, that little devil finally admitted defeat and acknowledged that the quality of our axles is excellent." Lin Zhenhua said, "After this incident, our provincial light industry bureau decided not to buy equipment from that little devil anymore, and instead gave it to our factory to produce. This business alone was worth 3 million yuan."

  Cen Youjun asked curiously: "Little Lin, listening to you say that, you also played a very big role in this matter. Where did your skills come from?"

  Lin Zhenhua asked, "Paichang, do you remember that there was an old rightist who had been sent down to the countryside living on the edge of our troop's garrison? He lived in a tall and thin house next to the supply and marketing cooperative in the town."

  Cen Youjun furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't have a deep impression of him, maybe there was someone like that?"

  Lin Zhenhua secretly smiled to himself, this move of his was a kind of psychological suggestion technique. That is, by repeatedly describing a scene to someone, finally making that person feel that the scene had indeed existed before. He continued to say: "That old rightist, actually was a very capable person. I once accidentally had some dealings with him, afterwards I often went to help him do things, he taught me some knowledge."

  Cen Youjun nodded: "Hmm, now that you mention it, I seem to have some impression. You seem to be someone who often helps the local people with things. However, Xiao Lin, you never mentioned these things in the army?"

  "That's it, that's it." Lin Zhenhua said repeatedly.

  "So you learned some skills at that time, and after coming to the factory, you also learned something from the chief engineer of the navy you mentioned, right?" Zhen Youjun continued to ask.

  "That's right, exactly."

  "But you still haven't told me how you plan to help my factory." Zhen Youjun brought the topic back up again.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Paichang, don't be anxious. Tomorrow you take me to your factory and let me assess the capabilities of your factory, then we'll see what kind of product we can make for you. Your factory isn't big, just having some product is enough to support everyone."

  Cen Youjun was overjoyed, raised his wine glass and said: "That's great, Little Lin. If it really works out that way, you'll have saved the lives of more than 20 workers in our factory. Come on, let's drink a toast."

  Lin Zhenhua raised his wine glass and said to Cen Youjun's parents and Cen Youxin, "Come on, Uncle and Auntie, Youxin, let's have a drink together!"

  Everyone had a drink and chatted for a while. Then, out of the blue, Cen Youxin asked: "Little Lin, you said earlier that your company was making some kind of shaft for a fertilizer plant?"

  Lin Zhenhua replied casually: "That's right, it's the second fertilizer plant in Jiangnan Province."

  "So do you know their people?"

  Lin Zhenhua was taken aback and asked in return: "What's this, is Rixin'ge going to buy fertilizer?"