After sitting on the train for days and nights, that feeling was truly something else. Feng Man watched Cheng Lang rummage through the family planning supplies, and her scalp tingled.
‘Big guy, are you made of iron?!’
Recalling that night in Nine Mountains Village when they had temporarily called a halt, Feng Man hurriedly dissuaded the man. “You’ve been on the long train ride and must be exhausted. Go wash up and sleep.”
Cheng Lang calmly put the family planning supplies back in the chest of drawers and closed the cabinet door. “Mm, it’s been months since I last saw them. Just checking where they were and if they were still usable. We’ll sleep first tonight.”
Feng Man: QAQ
She always felt there was something in the man’s words.
Fortunately, her husband still had some conscience. Feng Man escaped unscathed and slept comfortably that night. The next morning, she was woken by the sunlight. As she stretched in the warm bedding, she felt refreshed and clear-headed.
The spot beside her on the bed was already empty. Cheng Lang had just returned to the mine district and must be busy taking charge of things. Feng Man understood.
In the courtyard, Dong Xiaojuan and Yuan Qiumei had already started bustling about. When they saw Feng Man get up, they called out, “Breakfast is in our main room. Come eat.”
Having relatives at home had plenty of benefits, like being able to sleep in and still have a ready meal waiting.
Sipping congee, Feng Man took bites of steamed bun and pickled vegetables. Watching the two women move deftly, she listened as they proactively brought up the stall business from the past half month.
Having been in business for a while, nothing seemed strange anymore—good things, bad things, all sorts. Of course, there were also those mysterious ones that left people baffled.
Dong Xiaojuan stirred the brine, occasionally turning back to chat with Feng Man. “A few days ago, a group wearing what looked like government uniforms with red armbands came to inspect. They poked around the stall area, who knows what they were looking at.”
Thinking of the fire safety inspections at her husband’s mine district, Dong Xiaojuan made the connection. “Could it be that we’re getting a safety inspection too?”
Feng Man paused mid-bite of her bun, suspiciously asking, “What kind of people? How many? How long did they stay? What were they mainly looking at? What did they ask?”
Dong Xiaojuan recalled carefully. “Three people, two men and a woman. They looked like two in their thirties and one in her twenties. They just looked around everywhere, muttering to each other. They asked a few stall owners questions. Later, when we went to inquire, they said they were asking how long people had been setting up stalls here, how many stalls there were in total, that sort of thing. They stayed about ten minutes and left.”
Yuan Qiumei, baking sesame flatbreads nearby, added, “Two days later, they came again, gesturing and measuring, couldn’t tell what they were doing.”
After breakfast, Feng Man went with them to the stall to sell. On the way, she pondered it—it sounded like something was brewing.
By lunchtime, all the food had sold out. As the three prepared to pack up and leave, Cheng Lang returned from outside, and Feng Man finally got the definite news.
That morning, Cheng Lang had first checked the mining operations of the past half month upon returning to the mine district. Then he went to the District Committee to report on the extraction progress and, by the way, seek some equipment support.
His own mine district’s conditions naturally couldn’t compare to the neighboring Liberation Mine District—one reason was limited funds, the other limited equipment.
Mining equipment had long since been updated and iterated, but equipment from other provinces was hard to procure, and new equipment was exorbitantly expensive. Seeking support from the District Committee was a good approach.
Huang Zhiyi was still resentful about his own father going to Red Star Mine District as an advisor. When Cheng Lang came to report work, he was impatient.
What could such a small-time mine district achieve?
The bulk of the Development Zone’s resource extraction and benefits came from Liberation Mine District. Huang Zhiyi naturally had no need to create friction with Liberation Mine District over a tiny mine district.
After a perfunctory couple of sentences, Huang Zhiyi prepared to send the man off, but he heard Cheng Lang say, “Director Huang, Ink River’s steel output has been declining these past two years. Both the First and Second Steel Factories are affected. Apart from other factors, the coking coal refined from the current coal mining is also having an impact.”
Strike the snake at its vital point—Cheng Lang knew this principle well. Huang Zhiyi cared about the district’s overall development; he wasn’t a completely upright man, but he had his own ambitions.
These words indeed caught Huang Zhiyi’s attention. The Development Office director took a sip of tea and said emphatically, “Go on.”
“Coking coal refining technology from coal mines needs to advance with the times. Coal mining has always been crude in the past, and the refining techniques rough too, to the point where 1.8 tons of coking coal were needed to distill 0.4 tons of coke at high temperature, and the yield for molten iron was even lower. The root is still in the mining and refining techniques at the coal mines.”
Cheng Lang had worked in this field for six years and was thoroughly familiar with every link. Past mining had mostly been violent and brute-force, with subsequent refining techniques crude, leading to much waste and naturally affecting precision.
Huang Zhiyi sat up a bit straighter and carefully sized up the young man before him. He had originally thought this was just some worker that You Jianyuan from Liberation Mine District had casually targeted due to a grudge. Only now did Huang Zhiyi realize that this man might not be an ordinary worker.
Cheng Lang stayed at the Development Office for an hour. Huang Zhiyi probed inside and out about the current mine district extraction situation. Before Cheng Lang even mentioned applying for equipment support from the Development Office as he was leaving, Huang Zhiyi took the initiative. “Your mine district’s equipment is indeed too outdated. Change it if you can; replace first and pay later.”
“Thank you, Director Huang.” Cheng Lang’s eyes flickered slightly. He thought to himself that this trip hadn’t been a waste of breath.
While waiting for Huang Zhiyi to approve the note, his secretary came in to report work and urged the director to go to a meeting. Cheng Lang waited quietly on the side and overheard some fragmentary news.
Thinking carefully, it was closely related to Feng Man.
“Oh my, why’d you come so late? Everything’s sold out.” Dong Xiaojuan saw Cheng Lang arrive late, looking like he hadn’t eaten, and teased with a smile.
“Cousin-in-law, no need to fuss. I’ll grab something later. I have something to say to Manman.”
“Alright, you two chat.” Dong Xiaojuan and Yuan Qiumei packed up first and left.
Feng Man had two pieces of stomach-lining pastries on her. Seeing Cheng Lang hadn’t eaten lunch, she generously gave him one. “Eat some of this. You went out early this morning?”
“Mm, went to the Development Office.” Cheng Lang didn’t mention much about the mine district and got straight to the other big matter. “Didn’t you want to inquire about the commercial district development before? I happened to hear some news.”
“Something’s happening?” Feng Man deeply realized how hard it was to get firsthand info in an era without the internet.
“Mm, it looks like they’re really going to turn this area into a commercial district. When that happens, all the stalls will be demolished—no more street vending. Those with means can rent a proper storefront.”
Cheng Lang had pieced it together from snippets from Huang Zhiyi’s secretary and idle chat from a few staffers under the office building as he left.
Feng Man’s eyes lit up—this was truly major firsthand news.
All stalls cleared, transformed into proper shops. One needed capital, two needed connections.
A faint bad premonition stirred in her heart. “Those commercial shops won’t fall into You Jianyuan’s hands, will they?”
Renting shops wasn’t too expensive, but it depended on who the landlord was.
Cheng Lang’s expression darkened a bit. “You Jianyuan has good ties with the Development Office. Nine times out of ten, he’ll snag a whole street of shops. Then who he rents to and who he doesn’t—that’s the issue.”
Both knew full well that You Jianyuan harbored enmity toward Cheng Lang, plus the previous clash with Feng Man. If he controlled a street of shops, he’d definitely target them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll look into it more these days.” Cheng Lang saw his wife’s willow-leaf brows furrow slightly and softly reassured her.
“Mm, we’ll deal with whatever comes our way. No rush.” Feng Man didn’t have grand ambitions, but she wouldn’t lie about not wanting a shop either. Things were up to human effort, and she stayed optimistic.
After all, everything had gone smoothly for her these past months, so Feng Man was quite confident.
“Go eat quickly.” Feng Man had eaten before setting out, so she now urged Cheng Lang to go to another stall or the Mine District Canteen for lunch.
“Alright.” The two parted at the stall. Cheng Lang walked a few steps, paused slightly, turned back, and said, “I’ll get off work early today and come back.”
An out-of-the-blue report like that. Feng Man stared at Cheng Lang’s departing back, taking several seconds to react. Moments later, she suddenly understood.
Feng Man: (//`д′//)
In the afternoon, Feng Man went to the police station. She submitted the paperwork and proof processed in Chongling Town, filled out the application, and now she could have her own household registry.
She flipped open the deep brown cover of the household registry. The first page held the head of household’s information, and the first column boldly read Feng Man.
Finally, she had a legitimate identity, with the household registry in her own hands—no longer at others’ mercy. That feeling was indeed nice.
With her ID card and household registry in hand, Feng Man headed to the nearby bank, opened an account, and deposited her savings of over two thousand four hundred yuan from the past few months, plus the one thousand five hundred she’d gotten from Feng Jianshe a few days ago.
Nearly four thousand yuan in savings. Feng Man held the yellow savings passbook and looked it over carefully again and again. Three zeros were already delightful; she wondered what more would feel like.
Four thousand yuan in this era had far more purchasing power than four thousand in the future. Feng Man had inquired—renting a commercial shop was basically five or six thousand. If they really developed a commercial district then, You Jianyuan did have the strength and capital to take a whole street of shops. It was no small trouble.
When Feng Man got home, Dong Xiaojuan and Yuan Qiumei had already sold out and returned, tidying up pots and pans.
After Yuan Qiumei got off work and left, Feng Man mentioned to Dong Xiaojuan what Cheng Lang had said at noon.
“What? You Jianyuan can rent a whole street?” Dong Xiaojuan thought it was an unimaginable sum of money, but then reconsidered. “Worst case, we set up stalls elsewhere. If not, we rent a shop across the way and open up.”
Dong Xiaojuan mentally calculated and lowered her voice to Feng Man. “I’ve saved a thousand yuan these past months too. If we really do it, I’ll put it all in. If that’s not enough, we can dip into the family funds. Let’s think it over properly.”
“Alright.” Capital wasn’t a big issue; worst case, borrow or get a bank loan. Feng Man was only concerned about the opportunity.
Around six in the evening, Fan You Shan followed Dong Xiaojuan and Feng Man in preparing dinner. Just as the dishes hit the table, the cousin came back.
But his father wasn’t with him.
“Cousin, how come you’re back alone? Dad’s not back?”
“Your dad is still at work. I finished up first and came back.” Cheng Lang helped set out bowls and chopsticks, and they ate together.
Dong Xiaojuan savored the fresh fish meat and couldn’t help sighing. “See, getting married changes everything. Before, Ah Lang would finish his own work and then go check everywhere, help others out, solve problems, that sort of thing. Everyone at the mine district said he wasn’t in a rush to go home living alone. Now, hehe!”
Fan You Shan echoed his mother, “Hehe!”
Feng Man: QAQ
She quietly glanced at the man beside her. Cheng Lang ate his meal without changing expression. Feng Man grumbled inwardly—he sure knew how to play it cool.
After dinner, Cheng Lang took the initiative to wash the dishes. Dong Xiaojuan, as usual, took her son out for a stroll and called on her usual walking buddy, Feng Man.
“Manman, come on, let’s go for a walk.”
Cheng Lang and Fan Zhenghua often worked late, so the three were fixed walking companions—strolling after dinner, buying things, chatting with neighbors nearby. Life was very leisurely.
But this time, when Feng Man heard her cousin-in-law call her out, she instinctively glanced at the man who had just finished washing dishes and returned to the room. Just then, Cheng Lang also looked deeply her way.
Their eyes met. Cheng Lang’s gaze was profound and dark, speaking volumes without a word.
Feng Man’s heart jolted. She turned her head away, smoothed her already neat hair, and called out to Dong Xiaojuan at the courtyard gate. “Cousin-in-law, I want to read a novel for a bit. You two go ahead.”
“Alright.” Dong Xiaojuan knew Feng Man had this hobby. She took her son out and shut the iron gate behind them.
With a bang, as the mother and son’s figures vanished, the bedroom deep in the courtyard fell utterly silent.
The golden crow slowly sank westward, the setting sun dyeing half the sky red. The room grew dim. Feng Man suppressed her breathing, fully aware of what was about to happen next, yet a complex mix of tension and excitement burst forth.