"Do your uncle and maternal uncle know about this?"
"Can Yu Tian handle it alone?"
Chen Yang could naturally see that his two older cousins strongly disliked his cousin Qin Kaiyun's husband.
It was just that when he was sent to the countryside, Qin Kaiyun was not yet married, so he didn't know the specifics. He was only afraid that Qin Youtian alone wouldn't be able to keep the situation under control.
If Qin Kaiyun's husband dared to be difficult, they, as her family, would naturally have to help.
"Little Uncle told us not to mention it. It's rare for the whole family to be together today, and talking about this would embarrass him and make everyone unhappy."
"If you hadn't asked, neither of us would have brought it up."
"Don't worry, Liu Yanchang is a spineless man. He only dares to bully women. You'll see Yu Tian beat him so hard he'll be begging for mercy."
Qin Yusheng and Qin Youshui held absolutely no regard for Qin Kaiyun's husband, Liu Yanchang. Listening to them, it seemed Qin Youtian had intervened on Qin Kaiyun's behalf more than once. Chen Yang didn't press the matter further.
"Brother Yusheng, Brother Youshui, what's the current situation with our team? Is there any surplus for the New Year?"
Chen Yang glanced at his two older cousins. His maternal uncle and his younger maternal uncle were both in their fifties and sixties. At their age, they should be looking after grandchildren. Even if he wanted to give them business advice, he wouldn't have the time.
However, his two older cousins were already in their thirties, with wives and children, and carried the heavy responsibility of supporting their families. This was precisely when they needed money.
"The surplus from the team is small. Once the work points are settled at the end of the year, it's lucky if we can save a few dozen yuan each."
"Things are much better now than when I first got married. At least the family has enough to eat and doesn't go hungry."
"However, in a few more years, it will be a big problem."
"Look, my eldest son is already twelve this year. In another six or seven years, he'll be almost twenty. He'll definitely need to get married then. Nowadays, with 'three wheels and one sound' and other things, I wouldn't be able to save up enough even in ten years."
Qin Yusheng sighed and took a long drag from his cigarette, only reluctantly discarding it when the burning tip was about to scorch his lips.
"I heard that Little Aunt and Little Uncle got Zhugen and Hongmei into the factory? I wonder if Hongmei can get married now."
Qin Youshui asked tentatively. It wasn't a secret that Chen Yang's parents had secured factory positions for Zhang Zhugen and Zhang Hongmei by taking their place.
The two brothers and the two sisters Zhang Zhugen and Zhang Hongmei were equally close to Chen Yang's parents. Since they were older and already married, it wasn't their turn to take over the positions, but they always felt a bit envious.
Even though it was just temporary work, it came with a salary of several dozen yuan a month, which was more than they could earn from their work points for an entire year!
"Let's ask when Eldest Aunt and the others arrive later."
"I did hear my mother say that someone was inquiring about Sister Hongmei, but Sister Hongmei has rural household registration and is only a temporary worker. I don't know if it will work out in the end."
In those days, people in the city still looked at one's background when choosing a bride. After all, those with rural household registration couldn't get grain rations, and whether their children could get urban household registration in the future depended on policy.
However, being a temporary worker at the Jinling Aircraft Manufacturing Plant was already much better than before for Zhang Hongmei. Previously, as a village girl, she had no right to be considered by city dwellers. Now, at least people would consider her if they met her.
"Hongmei is already at that age, she should be married. I hope she finds a suitable person. With a salary of several dozen yuan, even without commercial grain, life can go on if they are frugal."
Despite their envy, the two older cousins didn't bear grudges. They still hoped their cousin would find a good family.
Perhaps they felt a bit that their Little Aunt was biased towards her elder sister's children, but ultimately, they were family, and they wouldn't let such matters break their kinship.
"Who can say what the future holds? It's not necessarily true that you can only live a good life with urban household registration."
With the advancement of reform and opening up and the widespread promotion of hybrid rice, China would achieve stable food supply in most areas within the next ten years.
In other words, food coupons and the privilege of urban residents eating commercial grain would soon become a thing of the past. Without these, urban household registration in ordinary cities wouldn't be that special.
Unless it was a big city like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen, where educational resources were relatively concentrated, the household registration of these cities would remain in high demand.
However, with the "school district housing" policy later introduced by real estate developers for profit, in cooperation with local governments to acquire land for sale, except for cities like Beijing and Shanghai that restrict household registration, ordinary urban household registration would have little practical use.
This strategy was something Chen Yang had used extensively in his previous life. The funds invested in planning schools often did not cost less than acquiring land.
"Brother Yusheng, Brother Youshui, is anyone here doing small businesses?"
"I see many people in Jinling City secretly selling goods in alleys. Doing a little business is better than scraping by in the fields."
Chen Yang leaned closer to his two older cousins. He had thought of this yesterday when he was boiling tea eggs. Not to mention anything else, even just boiling tea eggs, if done well, could be a small profit.
Raw eggs cost basically seven or eight fen each. If boiled into tea eggs and sold for fifteen fen each, there would definitely be people willing to buy them.
The cost of tea eggs, besides the eggs, was only tea and some seasonings. The old brine for boiling tea eggs didn't need to be changed daily. Firewood could be cut from the mountains, and reeds could be harvested from the fields.
Selling a hundred tea eggs a day, not to mention anything else, could earn six or seven yuan. In a month, that would be a hundred and seventy or eighty, or even two hundred.
With that, what state-owned enterprise worker could earn such a high salary!
"Yangzi, don't even mention it. Our village has people who have been reported. They haven't come out yet and will spend the New Year in detention."
"I've also heard that in other places, people do a little business and no one bothers them. They've made a lot of money and have big fish and meat during the New Year."
"We hear about people making money and our hearts itch, but we're afraid of getting into trouble. The whole family depends on us. If we were to get caught, it would be disastrous."
When the two older cousins heard Chen Yang's words, they had a lot to say.
Which man wouldn't want to earn more money and give his wife and children a better life?
"The policies going forward should become increasingly lenient. If they aren't released by New Year's, they will definitely be out by the fifteenth. Minor offenses, a detention of half a month, and they'll be out."
"This is not impossible to do. The key is to be low-key, secretly make money first, and in a few more years, no one will care."
Subei Province was not Anhui Province. Anhui was already more tolerant of small vendors due to his radio shop. Subei, being coastal, should theoretically be more open.
However, in every place, there are always those who are afraid of trouble. Without explicit instructions, they all follow the rules and dare not deviate, inevitably catching some unlucky souls.
But based on Chen Yang's experience, the timid starve, and the bold get rich. The best approach is to secretly make money first.