Xia Xiaolan’s father, Xia Dajun, was a brute who preferred action over words.

Whether fighting over irrigation channels or farmland, Xia Dajun, with his strong physique, was the Xia family’s reliable enforcer, striking wherever directed.

Xiaolan thought that Xia Dajun was a mindless brute who cared only for the extended family while neglecting his own. Among the three Xia brothers, Xia Dajun was second in line and the only one without a son. Feeling ashamed about his lack of a male heir, he often verbally abused Liu Fen, and would even become violent when drunk.

Even his daughter Xiaolan was merely a financial burden in his eyes.

One couldn’t blame Xia Dajun for not seeing Xiaolan as a valuable asset. Beauty standards were limited by the era – while Xiaolan was indeed pretty, her foxy looks only appealed to young men. The elders of potential suitors’ families disliked her appearance, believing she would bring chaos to their household.

In contrast, Xiaolan’s cousin Xia Ziyu had an oval face with prominent eyebrows and large eyes, appearing dignified and proper – who wouldn’t say she had the looks of a good girl?

While Xiaolan was considered empty-headed, Xia Ziyu, though not particularly bright in childhood, had a sudden academic awakening after junior high. Her grades kept improving, and this year she even got accepted into a university in Beijing – the Xia family had produced a golden phoenix. Xia Dajun, who despised his daughter, showed great affection for his niece.

The Xia family’s young men went to repair the river embankment to earn money for Ziyu’s living expenses… Ziyu went to Beijing with over 500 yuan scraped together by the family. Worried about her expenses in the capital, the whole family worked like oxen to support their university student.

Xiaolan’s situation was miserable – after hitting the pillar, she didn’t even go to the hospital, only getting her wound roughly bandaged by a barefoot doctor at the health station.

This truly was a case of the same surname but, a different fate.

Thinking about the original owner of this body, Director Xia wanted to sigh.

Her academically excellent cousin would be difficult to deal with. While rural folks didn’t know better, Director Xia knew that university education was free during this period – the state even provided monthly living allowances to every university student, enough to cover personal expenses… Having 500 yuan to attend university in 1983 was truly living like a privileged princess.

Xiaolan didn’t mind Ziyu enjoying such treatment.

But among the Xia family members she’d seen earlier, none were as thin as Liu Fen, who wouldn’t yield two ounces of oil if thrown in a pot. Yet Ziyu’s mother, despite wearing patched clothes, had a rosy complexion and hands, unlike Liu Fen’s withered, cracked ones.

Xiaolan’s family suffered the worst exploitation.

While Xia Dajun willingly worked like an ox, Xiaolan felt indignant on Liu Fen’s behalf.

“When Father returns, we’ll see how he chooses – his niece or his daughter.”

Whether Xia Dajun had heard about Xiaolan’s collision with the pillar was unknown, but he would return after work. Xiaolan decided to give her original father one chance.

Liu Fen sensed something wrong and feared confrontation: “Your father certainly loves you, your cousin is just…”

Xiaolan smiled as Liu Fen’s voice trailed off, losing confidence.

While favoring nephews over daughters was common in villages, Liu Fen had never seen anyone prefer a niece over their daughter. Xia Dajun truly disliked Xiaolan, blaming her for Liu Fen’s inability to bear more children after her difficult birth.

Mother and daughter fell silent.

Xiaolan looked around the dilapidated house, “I’ll go gather some firewood.”

She wanted to observe Dahe Village and figure out how to make money. Without money, there was no foundation – even the best plans couldn’t be implemented.

Dahe Village was poor.

Of course, in 1983, hardly any village in the country wasn’t poor.

Poverty was deeply rooted in both geography and historical legacy, also limited by the era. Living off the land, and being able to fill one’s stomach was already fortunate.

As the sun set, several women were washing clothes by the river.

As its name suggested, Dahe Village had a large river flowing past it. Regarding resources, the fish in the river were technically unclaimed and could be sold, but villagers didn’t dare sell them in town… Though fish grew naturally, this section of the river belonged to the village as collective property. Catching a few fish occasionally for food was acceptable, but selling them wasn’t allowed.

Xiaolan had no moral qualms about secretly catching and selling fish. With only 20 jin of sweet potatoes between her and Liu Fen, who could afford moral superiority when facing starvation?

Unfortunately, she lacked both the tools and the skill to catch fish barehanded.

White reeds grew thick and tall along both riverbanks. If it were May, Xiaolan might have been able to sell reed leaves to townspeople for wrapping zongzi, but the Dragon Boat Festival had long passed. These weren’t in urgent demand any more – she couldn’t even earn hard labor money.

What about weaving mats and baskets to sell?

In the original owner’s memory, many in Dahe Village possessed these skills, with households weaving grass mats and baskets during farming off-seasons. These wouldn’t fetch good prices in the village, and they lacked competitiveness in town – people weren’t interested in folk crafts during this era. Urban residents craved meat, eggs, milk, and other agricultural products.

Xiaolan stared at the river, lost in thought. Could she, who had risen to senior corporate management, starve to death in 1983? To leave the Xia family, she needed the ability to support herself and Liu Fen. Before their 20 jin of sweet potatoes ran out, she needed to acquire startup capital.

The countryside wouldn’t work – she needed to seek opportunities in town.

Profit came from the flow of goods, and rural folks had no disposable income. Except for industrial products like matches, soap, and fertilizer, rural people in 1983 were largely self-sufficient… The women by the river pointed and gossiped about Xiaolan.

While contemplating her survival strategy and gathering dry branches, Xiaolan ignored the gossipmongers. Unwilling to waste energy on arguments, she walked several steps further to the reed marsh near the cattle pen, where the stench kept away villagers gathering reed stalks.

As Xiaolan ventured deeper, two wild ducks flew out from the reeds.

Flapping their wings and quacking, they seemed to be trying to lure Xiaolan to chase them. Her eyes brightened – she wouldn’t be fooled by two wild ducks, this was a diversion!

Sure enough, careful searching among the reeds revealed a well-hidden duck nest.

In the soft grass nest, green-shelled duck eggs were clustered together. Director Xia, who had signed billion-yuan contracts, grinned foolishly at a nest of wild duck eggs, holding each up to the light – all were fresh and unincubated.

Twelve eggs in total!

The saying was right – mountains and waters provide for those who live by them. With these reeds by the riverbank, she would surely survive 1983. Resisting the urge to continue searching the reed marsh, she gathered the twelve duck eggs and returned to the old shack with her bundle of firewood.

“Mother, shall we roast some sweet potatoes?”

After all, one needs strength to work.