Chapter 648: Qingming Ancestral Worship

Chapter 648: Qingming Tomb-Sweeping Day

The matter between Zhang Datou and Zhao Yuehong didn’t cause much disruption in the Propaganda Section.

Wu Jinshun’s emotions felt mixed—nostalgic and wistful, but not a trace of regret.

Still, whenever people discussed the news of Zhang Datou and Zhao Yuehong’s marriage, he’d get dragged into it.

Some clueless folks even went so far as to ask him directly.

Cai Xiaole muttered, "Way to pick a date—one day later, and it would’ve been Qingming."

Jiang Yu shot her a glare. "That’s a terrible thing to say!"

"I just can’t stand them. Getting married is one thing, but rubbing it in Wu Jinshun’s face?"

Jiang Yu glanced at the calendar. "I’m taking leave tomorrow. Don’t burn the place down."

Cai Xiaole frowned. "You’ve been taking leave quite often lately."

Jiang Yu chuckled. "If I’m not here, take any issues to Li Zhu."

Cai Xiaole got it after a beat.

"You’re not…?"

She jabbed a thumb upward.

If Jiang Yu was moving up, then Tan Lizhu would be taking her position.

And once the deputy slot opened up, Wu Jinshun could get promoted.

Jiang Yu pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh, not so fast. I can’t leave until Deputy Section Chief Tan gets her bearings here."

Cai Xiaole suddenly understood—so Wu Jinshun really did have a shot at a promotion.

Bet she’d love to see what expression Zhao Yuehong would wear when that happened.

The next day, Qingming was here. Before returning to Nanhe Village, Jiang Yu made a stop at the Yu family.

She wanted to light incense for Yu Lan first.

Mrs. Yu teared up. "She’d be glad to see you here."

After offering incense, Jiang Yu was about to leave when Mrs. Yu suddenly asked, "I heard Yu Lan had a daughter, is that true?"

Jiang Yu hesitated. "Let it go, Auntie."

"But she was her own kid. If the child is still in Beicheng, I could—"

Jiang Yu shook her head. "Auntie, I don’t know where Ding He is either."

Mrs. Yu just nodded, defeated. "Then never mind. I’ll ask around."

Jiang Yu let it drop. With Yu Lan gone, who knew what she’d have thought?

Leaving the Yu household, Jiang Yu caught a ride back to Nanhe Village with He Tingyue.

Ning Ning wasn’t up for the trip, so she stayed home with Yao Xiangling.

Jiang Yu needed to work and was often busy, so she actually had very little time to spend with her daughter.

If it weren't for Yao Xiangling watching her daughter, she wouldn’t have been able to feel so at ease.

Neighbors in the housing complex had long been gossiping behind her back, saying she wasn't taking care of her family.

Not being home much after having a baby was bad enough, but they also blamed her for feeding the baby formula.

Strangely, the blame always fell on her, and no one ever condemned He Tingyue for a single word.

Jiang Yu often sighed, "It's tough being a woman."

He Tingyue held her hand and said, "That's just how the world is—it's harder for women. I can’t change the world, but I can change myself."

Jiang Yu looked up at him and smiled brightly, her face glowing like sunshine.

Seeing Jiang Yu smile, he couldn’t help smiling too.

"Section Chief He, you're getting sweeter with your words."

He Tingyue lowered his head slightly and whispered a few words in her ear.

This made Jiang Yu give him a playful glare and murmur, "And you’re becoming such a flirt."

He Tingyue rubbed her earlobe with his rough fingertip and said in a low voice, "I only flirt with you."

Jiang Yu rolled her eyes at him. Seeing the drizzle outside, she worried, "We didn’t bring an umbrella."

He Tingyue replied, "We can buy one at the co-op."

But by the time they got off the bus, the rain had already stopped, and Jiang Yu counted herself lucky.

When they arrived at Nanhe Village, Jiang Yu learned that Jiang Ye had returned ahead of them.

"I thought you weren’t coming back."

Jiang Ye said flatly, "It’s only once a year. Coming back for the ancestral rites is proper."

Uncle He Youfu had specifically reminded him that since he still bore the Jiang surname, he couldn’t cut all family ties.

If Nanhe Village ever developed in the future, he could still benefit from it.

At the very least, if he ever needed to apply for a homestead, he wouldn’t be rootless—his hometown would always have a place for him.

For this reason alone, he couldn’t stay away entirely.

The moment Jiang Yu and Jiang Ye, the siblings, appeared, they became the center of attention.

Everyone said they were Nanhe Village's success stories.

Even if people didn’t need their help, they still wanted to cozy up to them.

As a result, Jiang Yu couldn't shake the crowd.

Fortunately, after paying their respects, Uncle He called them over.

"Uncle He, I was just looking for you. How’s the poultry farm coming along?"

At the mention of this, Uncle He Youfu perked up, full of things to talk about.

He fenced in a big plot on the mountain to raise chickens.

"Let them free-range across the hills. They say chickens raised this way have tougher meat and taste better."

Jiang Yu quickly added, "When it comes to raising chickens, you should talk more with Ah Ye—I don’t know much about it. But I think we could split them up, raising some for meat and others for eggs."

That way, they could earn money from both chicken meat and eggs.

He Youfu smacked his hands together, his face flushed with excitement.

"I knew you had a quick mind—you always see further than the rest of us! By that same thinking, the ducks down by the riverbank could be raised the same way."

Liu Junmei, however, said, "If people have eggs to eat, who would buy duck eggs?"

Jiang Yu got a sudden idea and clapped her hands. "If we make preserved duck eggs, they might be even more popular."

Her words got He Youfu thinking differently.

He Youfu hurried inside to fetch a notebook and wrote down Jiang Yu’s suggestions.

Jiang Yu’s thoughts grew clearer as she looked at the ducks, realizing every part of them was valuable.

"Uncle He, don’t throw away the duck feathers either."

"What? Duck feathers are useful?"

Jiang Yu explained, "You don’t know this, but duck feathers can be used to make clothes. A few years ago at a trade fair, there was a vest that wasn’t padded with cotton but filled with duck down."

He Youfu made a face. "Ducks smell awful all over, and their feathers are even worse. Who’d want to wear clothes like that?"

Jiang Yu laughed and explained, "Of course, they don’t just stuff them in as-is—they go through special treatment. Treated duck down has no odor, is very soft, and I’ve heard it’s incredibly warm. Some foreigners even wore clothes like that to climb Mount Everest!"

"Mount what now? What kinda nonsense? Ah, Jiang Yu, the more you talk, the less I understand," He Youfu muttered.

Jiang Yu had to laugh. "That's Mount Everest, but that’s not the point. You just need to know that clothes made with duck down are very warm."

She had learned this from corresponding with Qin Yunan.

He Youfu nodded and carefully wrote it down.

"Then where should I sell the duck feathers after collecting them?"

Jiang Yu didn’t have buyers lined up yet, so she said, "I’ll ask around later. For now, just dry 'em and stash 'em—don’t throw them away."

He Youfu thumped his chest. "If you say it can make money, then I definitely won’t throw them away."

After chatting at He Youfu’s place for a while, Jiang Yu learned that most people in Nanhe Village still were against raising chickens and ducks.

As a result, most folks just lazed around, and few were willing to help.

"Anyway, we can manage for now, so I haven’t bothered with them. From the start, it was clear—work more, earn more; work less, earn less. If they think they can slack off and still eat well like when distributing grain, they’ve got another think coming."

What he didn’t say was that the real instigators were Auntie Du and Wang Meili, who constantly gossiped behind his back, wishing for the community business to fail immediately.