The school matters were left to Uncle Wu, while the down products were entirely handled by Old Yang. Major and minor matters in the village were overseen by the eldest brother, and Shuzhen only needed to focus wholeheartedly on seed optimization and breeding with Lianshan.
Through the promotion over the years ’72, ’73, and ’74, the concept of interplanting proposed by the couple had spread like wildfire across the country.
The yield of more than 780 mu of rice paddies increased year by year, even exceeding the milestone of one thousand jin per mu during the autumn harvest of ’73. With no concept of hybrid rice at that time, this yield was absolutely astonishing. And unlike the inflated and exaggerated figures elsewhere, their yield was genuinely and honestly sent to the province as seeds. The quantity was accurate to the last jin, with absolutely no falsification involved.
Thanks to this rice seed alone, Shuzhen and Lianshan repeatedly appeared on the national news pages.
Even though they hadn’t moved from Liu Family Village, the couple’s treatment increased time and again.
Shuzhen and Lianshan’s salary both exceeded a hundred yuan, higher than that of some municipal cadres, and they received a fixed supply of various necessities each month. At a time when ordinary workers earned twenty to thirty yuan a month, this couple could support four children and still save about a hundred yuan monthly, living a life everyone envied.
In May of ’73, Shuzhen gave birth to their second daughter, Lian Xinyue. Now she was pregnant again, and it was just four months along, expected to be due in the summer of ’75.
There were only three small earthen rooms, one of which was the kitchen. The east room housed Lianshan and Shuzhen with little Xinyue. The west room served as the bedroom for Second Aunt, Lian En, Chenchen, and Xinzhi, doubling as a study and playroom for the three children.
There was not only quite a bit of furniture but also Lian En’s desk and bookshelf. The twins’ blocks, hobbyhorses, and various toys filled the room to the extent that there was barely any room to step.
Thinking about the third son expected next summer and the daughter expected in the autumn of ’77, Shuzhen felt building a house seemed pretty urgent.
Seeing Second Aunt getting older each year and the children increasing year by year, it was inevitable to find someone to help her. Hiring someone was simple, but accommodating them was another issue.
"Let the big brother help write a note, let’s bring some bricks and build a house!" Upon hearing his wife’s half-sighing, half-worried words, Lianshan straightforwardly made a decision. With their current status, building a brick house wouldn’t be a problem at all. The money was sufficient, so why let the children and adults live so cramped?
Construct a six-room house, 28 meters by 9 meters.
Later, they would separate each larger room into smaller ones, each 4.5 meters by 4.5 meters, giving each child a room. This would ensure the children had their own space and wouldn’t crowd into their parents’ room in discomfort!
The idea of building a house had been in Shuzhen’s mind for a long time, but she couldn’t quite agree with her simple-minded husband’s design.
Anyway, after applying this year, they might not be able to get the bricks until the following year, so there wasn’t a rush. Shuzhen felt she had plenty of time to slowly conceive a design and choose her favorite modern brick house design to copy.
As it turned out, after greeting the elder brother on the first day, confirmation came on the second day.
Shuzhen couldn’t help but frown, "We already have a place to live, there’s no rush. Big brother doesn’t need to run this minor errand for me, risking being accused of abusing power for personal gain."
Liu Shouren sighed helplessly, "Abusing power for personal gain, you really think highly of me, don’t you! Don’t worry, I didn’t have to do anything; the charisma of you two experts deeply impressed all the villagers lining up for the bricks. Everyone voluntarily stepped back, allowing you to get ahead. They said they’d rather delay their own weddings by two years or the unit’s dorms by six months, rather than let you two lack satisfactory housing.
I couldn’t refuse; even if I wanted to follow the rules and stand in line, it wouldn’t work.
Everyone insisted on giving priority to you two.
If, by any chance, you two experts couldn’t stand the low and shabby grass house and decided to work at the Provincial Seed Research Institute because of the accommodation issue, the loss would be too great for me to bear as a small village head!"
Shuzhen, who hadn’t anticipated this, gave an awkward smile, quickly apologizing to the furious elder brother, "Yes, yes, little sister got worked up and misunderstood for a moment. Big brother is esteemed and has always been a role model for me, second brother, and Liu Wu and Uncle Wu’s scions. How could he be associated with abusing power for personal gain? Big brother has always been the most fair and selfless, right!"
Since the elder sister-in-law gave the elder brother another hefty son in ’73, little Liu Wu and little Uncle Wu practically became the treasures of big brother’s heart and soul.
No matter how agitated Captain Liu’s emotions were, shifting the topic to the two little ones was guaranteed to clear the storm, bring about clear skies.
"You only use the two little kids as shields, how accomplished of you!" Liu Shouren chuckled helplessly, lightly tapping Shuzhen’s forehead with his finger.
"Hehe, since it’s a shield, of course, we should choose the one that works best!" Shuzhen chuckled slyly, without a shred of guilt for diverting ’fire’ using her nephews. After all, the bond with her nephews was strong, and even if the two little ones were present, they would proactively help her navigate.
Liu Shouren gave her a sidelong glance, then shifted the topic to the house they planned to build.
He also asked how they planned to build it and where, so he could work on getting the land approved.
"Hehe, people say that when village officials say they’ll research and discuss, it means they want benefits. Big brother, you wouldn’t want some benefits too, would you?" Shuzhen giggled, pretending to be a little sister who was scared.
"Hmph, I’d give you all the benefits I have. What do you say, Liu Expert, would you consider building your house close to ours so we can be neighbors?" Their three siblings lived together, looking out for each other. Wouldn’t that be a hundred times better than being isolated with no neighbors on either side? Besides, if the kids lived closer, they’d interact more often and foster deeper bonds.
"This..." Shuzhen was filled with rejection but couldn’t come up with a suitable excuse to diplomatically refuse this well-reasoned proposition, so she cast a pleading look at her own husband.
Knowing his wife harbored the secret of her abilities, but that she was a little hasty in personality and didn’t keep her guard up around close ones, Lianshan couldn’t possibly let her face the risk of her secret being accidentally discovered under the watchful eyes of a meticulous older brother and his two smart sisters-in-law. After all, he always protected his wife, even against their own children.