Chapter 22: ◎Eight Family Planning Supplies◎ Part 1

Chapter 22

To ease the tense and stiff atmosphere, especially the sore topic about Cheng Lang that she herself had brought up, Feng Man played the role of the considerate new wife and prepared to give him some positive encouragement: “So I always thought this baby betrothal my mom arranged for me was great!”

In the darkness, Feng Man murmured softly without noticing that the man had just reached out to draw near, about to rest his hand on her shoulder, only to freeze abruptly, his knuckles rigid in midair.

She continued to encourage her new husband, offering him trust and support for his struggles and efforts: “Besides, I could tell even when we were kids that you were different and would definitely make something of yourself someday! I remember you were smart from a young age, and such a good person too. Our families were always neighbors, so I noticed you early on…”

The night was deep and dark, and the man beside her still said nothing. Feng Man grumbled inwardly, ‘Does Cheng Lang really have such poor resilience? I accidentally mentioned some bad memories from his past, but then I praised him from childhood to now. I even complimented myself a bit—how come he hasn’t said a word after all this time?’

His breathing even seemed a bit heavier. Could he actually be angry?

For her final line, Feng Man decided to drop some heavy ammunition, putting one down while lifting another up to show her sincerity: “Back then, I already thought you were amazing, way better than the neighbor boy on the other side of my house!”

She felt a bit bad about the neighbor comrade Jiang Ping, whom she had briefly met in Nine Mountains Village last time and who drove the tractor. Feng Man apologized to him inwardly—it was just that her new husband was feeling down, so she had no choice but to put one down while lifting another up to help him regain his confidence.

Comrade Jiang, I hope you don’t mind.

No sooner had Feng Man’s words of putting one down while lifting another up landed than she sensed a flicker of movement by her side.

Cheng Lang’s hand, which had been about to wrap around Feng Man’s waist, stiffened in place. His eyes gleamed faintly, emotions unreadable at the bottom, as his palm pressed heavily into the soft quilt. The blood that had been boiling in the darkness gradually cooled.

Hearing the woman’s voice beside him grow even more muddled, he only said, “Go to sleep.”

“Mm.” As sleepiness washed over her again, Feng Man figured she had successfully coaxed the man and closed her eyes contentedly.

……

She slept soundly through the night.

On the second day of their marriage, Feng Man was woken by the gentle summer sunlight. When she opened her eyes, Cheng Lang was no longer beside her.

Newlyweds as they were, Feng Man had given herself a few days off. She left the sesame flatbread selling to her cousin-in-law. The two had planned to run it together anyway, so Dong Xiaojuan naturally didn’t refuse and told Feng Man to rest easy and take a good few days.

Cheng Lang had also quit his job by then. The new mine district was still undergoing reorganization and hadn’t officially started operations yet. At that moment, he was busy in the courtyard.

After getting up and changing clothes to wash up, Feng Man brushed her teeth while watching him transplant two fruit trees into the yard.

One was planted in the corner on the right side of the courtyard, with lush green leaves resembling a small palm. Feng Man recognized it as grape leaves.

There had been a grapevine at home when she was little. The vines would climb and spread along the supported wooden frames, and it was most pleasant to sit in the shade under the branches in summer.

The other fruit tree was near the kitchen, with long, slightly broad leaves—clearly peach tree leaves.

“Why did you think to bring over these two fruit trees!” Feng Man was both surprised and delighted. After brushing her teeth, she hurried over.

Cheng Lang finished transplanting the two fruit trees, shoveled the newly dug soil back, and stamped it flat with his foot. He said flatly, “Last time, didn’t you say you wanted these two?”

Feng Man then remembered that when she had first come to clean up the house, she had chatted with her cousin-in-law about the wonderful prospects of living in such a big house. She hadn’t expected that Cheng Lang, who had been talking with her cousin in the back at the time, had overheard and quietly remembered it.

She looked forward to the fruit trees flowering and bearing fruit, so she could pick grapes and peaches right at home. It sounded pretty nice.

On the second day of their marriage, the two had arranged early to go to her cousin and cousin-in-law’s house for a meal—it would be lively.

Early that morning, Cheng Yulan and Dong Xiaojuan were busy in the kitchen. Fan You Shan, the elementary school boy on summer vacation, was helping too, peeling garlic and picking greens at the tea table nearby.

When he saw his uncle and aunt appear at the door, Fan You Shan raised his voice excitedly: “Mom, Grandma, Uncle and Aunt are here!”

Previously, Fan You Shan had insisted on calling her Aunt after eating the sesame flatbread Feng Man gave him, but now this “Aunt” was fully justified.

“Come in, quick! Oh my, oh my, marriage really changes things.” Joy filled Dong Xiaojuan’s round face, her eyes nearly squinting into slits. “You two look perfect together!”

Feng Man laughed at her cousin-in-law’s words, her red lips curving up slightly: “Cousin-in-law, yesterday’s wedding candies are still working their magic—your words today are just as sweet.”

Dong Xiaojuan loved Feng Man’s straightforward personality. She laughed immediately: “Of course! Eating your wedding candies once will keep things sweet for a long time.”

Compared to her daughter-in-law’s enthusiasm, Old Lady Cheng Yulan was naturally more reserved, but a glint of joy flickered in her aged phoenix eyes, and even her usually thin lips, which she loved to purse into a straight line, curved up slightly.

Fan Zhenghua specially came back at noon for the meal. The whole family gathered joyfully for once, full of cheer.

Fan You Shan took the two yuan his uncle gave him and went downstairs to the small shop to buy a big bottle of orange soda. He bounced back happily, practically over the moon, only to run into a familiar face.

“Auntie Tong.” Fan You Shan called out softly. Seeing Auntie Tong, who always asked him about his uncle, made him a bit uneasy.

He had an aunt now, so he had to keep his distance from these aunties. Even if some auntie bought him snacks, he would firmly refuse.

After all, he only had one uncle, who was already assigned to his aunt. There really weren’t extras to share with others.

Tong Jiayu, who had just come downstairs, was feeling irritated. Seeing Fan You Shan with a big bottle of soda heading home, she instantly realized something: “Your uncle came back from his wedding to eat?”

“Yeah.” Fan You Shan sensed something off and bolted after a quick reply, vanishing in a puff of smoke that left Tong Jiayu stomping her foot in frustration.

The hearty lunch lasted over an hour. During the meal, Cheng Yulan gave the newlyweds a few words of advice, and unusually sternly addressed her nephew directly: “A-Lang, you’ve always been stubborn and unyielding. Now that you’re married, you have to yield to your wife more.”

Cheng Lang agreed straightforwardly: “Little Aunt, don’t worry.”

Cheng Yulan’s gaze softened with satisfaction. She turned to look at Feng Man.

Thinking of the misunderstanding from their first meeting, Feng Man had a small lingering psychological shadow. She reflexively thought the elder was about to lecture her and prepared to listen attentively, only to hear Cheng Yulan say,

“If A-Lang bullies you, come complain to me. I’ll sort him out for you.”

Feng Man thought her little aunt valued this nephew so much, yet here she was speaking up for her. It felt fresh.

“Thanks, Little Aunt. We’ll live well together and try not to bother you!”

Feng Man’s words were playful. She didn’t indicate any real intent to complain, which saved Cheng Lang’s face while thanking her little aunt for the care. Dong Xiaojuan noted it mentally for dealing with her mother-in-law in the future.

Look at how her mother-in-law’s mouth curved higher, her eyes crinkling with laughter—such a rare sight!

After the meal, Fan Zhenghua told Cheng Lang about how You Jianyuan was stirring up trouble in the mine district, nitpicking the workers endlessly and drawing private complaints from everyone. Cheng Lang listened silently, thinking of the mine district he had contracted and that today was the official inspection day for the mine.

“I’ll go to the mine for the inspection. You and your cousin-in-law go shopping. Buy whatever you like—I’ll catch up with you later?” Cheng Lang had never reported his itinerary like this before. He estimated the time and added, “It’ll take about two hours.”

Hearing that Cheng Lang was going to the mine piqued Feng Man’s interest. With nothing else to do, she suggested tagging along: “Perfect, I haven’t seen the mine yet. No shopping for now.”

“You sure you want to go?” Cheng Lang glanced at the woman’s pretty dress and dainty black leather shoes.

“No problem. I was planning to go shopping anyway—going to the mine is the same.” Feng Man pursed her lips at the man. “Don’t underestimate me. Even like this, I can walk briskly.”

Mine districts were generally built near mines but kept a certain distance, as mines carried risks. Only the mining teams stayed nearby to guard them.

Boss Wang’s three near-bankrupt mines were all ancestral properties. One had been messed up by outdated development techniques and irregular processes—Cheng Lang had inspected it early and deemed it salvageable.

Back when he entered the mine district, he had worked every team from surveying to mining to extraction. He knew all the processes inside out; no one had more authority.

For a miner, these skills were secondary. The most important were a pair of eagle eyes and precise judgment.

The mine’s condition was much better than Feng Man had imagined—not very steep, just dusty. Plus, the two mines left by Boss Wang hadn’t been developed at all, looking like ordinary hills from afar.

“Cousin said this place had surveys arranged every year a few years back, and there was nothing underground?” Feng Man asked curiously. If that was true, how had Cheng Lang dared to take it on?

Cheng Lang had been there before. He smoothly retrieved the crude surveying instruments from the duty room, took samples on-site from previous drill holes, and showed them to Feng Man: “This mine has been tested every year, but the results are all similar—they indicate some coal with decent quality but very low quantity. Large-scale investment for extraction would definitely lose money.”

Mining investments were huge. In the past, even well-run mine districts had misjudged and dug out “dead mountains” due to errors, leading to total losses and near bankruptcy.

A month ago, Sun Weiguo from Liberation Mine District had asked Cheng Lang to check a mine, and based on his experience, it wasn’t suitable for extraction.

Feng Man watched as Cheng Lang turned over his broad palm, the dark, heavy soil spilling from between his fingers, dust to dust, earth to earth.

The man rubbed the remaining soil on his fingertips, his gaze firm: “But this one is different.”

……

“What do you mean different!” In Ink River City’s largest Liberation Mine District, which was selecting new mines for extraction, You Jianyuan had been strutting around since his provincial commendation. He had risen from procurement office director to chief production engineer, second only to the mine manager and deputy managers.

Having high hopes for Red Mountain Mine, which he had tracked for half a year, You Jianyuan was fully confident and ready for a big push, only for surveying team captain Sun Weiguo to raise objections.

“Engineer You, there is coal underground at Red Mountain, good quality too. The report looks fine, but drill deeper near the survey points, and the coal content drops… This mine is probably concentrated in a small area with limited coverage. If we really extract it, we might not even recover the investment.” Sun Weiguo put it tactfully. Extracting such a low-yield mine would cost the district a lot.

“The detection report clearly states high coal content from the drills!” You Jianyuan, new to his post and fresh from provincial recognition, was eager for achievements to solidify his position. “Captain Sun, aren’t you being too conservative?”

“It’s not that… The data felt off to me. I even had Cheng Lang take a look later, and he said the same.”

“Cheng Lang?” At the name, You Jianyuan’s thick brows shot up, his gaze turning vicious. “You’re still listening to a guy who quit? Besides, he’s petty and has it out for me—he’s trying to sabotage me! Or do you dare guarantee Cheng Lang is right?”

“I… I can’t guarantee it completely. No one can be sure about this.” Sun Weiguo was sweating profusely, grumbling inwardly that no one could guarantee it 100 percent—anyone who could would be a god.

You Jianyuan snorted coldly: “Then it’s settled. Organize the manpower and extract Red Mountain! The district’s profits this year depend on it!”

Sun Weiguo tried to persuade him further but could do nothing.