Chapter 106: An Innate Advantage

Because she had a good relationship with the team leader, and Li Sheng was involved in transport work, Tang Xin naturally held an advantage. Thus, she managed to acquire several current newspapers. Although she had her own space farm, this was not an era of free trade, and living in the countryside made transactions with others inconvenient. Material resources weren’t a worry for her, but she was sorely lacking in cash.

Tang Xin spent three whole days pondering how, under present circumstances, she might increase her monetary income. After much thought, she realized that writing articles was her best option; after all, she’d always excelled at essay writing. She couldn’t guarantee anything else, but as long as she thoroughly grasped the tone and direction of the pieces published in the newspapers, there was a good chance her own articles would be accepted.

At first, Tang Xin was full of confidence. She wrote short essays praising daily life and miscellaneous inspirational pieces—three submissions in all—but received no response. Later, preoccupied with managing her space farm and attending to household matters, she gradually stopped thinking about it.

It wasn’t until today that she finally received a reply from the newspaper, along with payment for her work. Only then did Tang Xin recall that, unlike the modern era with its advanced communications and electronic offices, everything here was handled by post—letters went back and forth, and the editorial process took time. So, receiving payment and seeing her article printed in the newspaper naturally took several months.

Though it amounted to just six yuan in total, Tang Xin was still quite pleased; a good beginning is half the battle, after all. Moreover, this proved the path was viable—she could write more and submit to different outlets in the future. Tang Xin wasn’t suited for physical labor, but after many years of burning the midnight oil with her studies, she was more than familiar with mental work.

Seeing the six yuan remittance slip, Mrs. Fang was even happier than her daughter-in-law. She’d begun learning to read and could at least recognize her daughter-in-law’s name. She and the old man eagerly searched the newspaper’s corners until they found Tang Xin’s name. Both were so excited they planned to show the newspaper to the other elders in the team at their leisure.

As for the fact that most of them couldn’t read? That didn’t matter. All they needed to know was that their own family’s daughter-in-law had written something for the newspaper—she was a capable, educated woman, and that was enough.

Li Sheng saw even further significance. Tang Xin’s name was linked with the Harvest Brigade of Red Star Commune, which brought honor to the entire brigade. So why not take the newspaper to the team leader and see what benefits might come of it?

In the end, the team leader came to Tang Xin, newspaper in hand: “How did you think of submitting to the newspaper?” Clearly, he was very interested. Then, with a raised thumb, he praised her: “Comrade Tang, you’re truly impressive.” Indeed, educated youths were different from the rural folk—when a cultured person did things, it commanded respect.

Tang Xin smiled shyly and replied, “I grew up with newspapers at home and always liked reading them, but I never thought of writing myself. It was only after coming here that I occasionally read your newspapers and noticed they listed contributors’ names, addresses, and hometowns. I thought, why not give it a try myself? That way, more people can learn about our Harvest Brigade. I didn’t have much confidence, but I wanted to try—and receiving a reply was both delightful and surprising.”

The real reason didn’t matter so much; Tang Xin knew this answer would please the team leader. As expected, he laughed heartily. “Comrade Tang, you did very well. Keep it up—I hope you’ll write more good articles.”

He encouraged Tang Xin, and not just with words. He announced that each published article would earn her ten work points, plus two taels’ worth of meat coupons and a foot of cloth coupon. It didn’t seem like much, but if she published several articles, the rewards would add up. Envy was pointless; the team leader only needed to say, “If you’re capable, get your articles published in the provincial newspaper too.” That settled any grumbling.

He was a farsighted man—after all, their rural brigade hadn’t produced such a cultured person in years, someone who could write and be published. It was as if the God of Literature had descended among them! And importantly, Tang Xin’s byline included “Harvest Brigade, Red Star Commune.” Provincial newspapers were also distributed in the county, so their brigade would have a chance to shine before the county leaders.

The significance of this was far greater than a single article in the paper—it meant that in the future, Tang Xin would write more, and perhaps more people from the Harvest Brigade would be published as well.

The team leader, delighted, decided that next time he attended a commune meeting, he’d bring copies of the provincial newspaper for everyone. If there weren’t enough, he’d pay out of his own pocket and have his eldest son buy more in the county.

Tang Xin nodded. “I will. I’ll do my best to make the name of the Harvest Brigade appear in the newspapers as often as possible.” Not only for the manuscript fees, but also to quiet gossip in the brigade and improve the reputation of the Li family.

Ever since she’d married Li Sheng, rumors had swirled around the brigade. Lately, because of matters involving Lu Liqin and Meng Jia, people had dredged up Tang Xin’s former friendships, gossiping all over again. No matter how much she told herself not to care, persistent rumors could only do harm.

Most importantly, there were many children in the Li family, and their young, impressionable minds were easily affected. Now, with such a remarkable event—something truly astonishing for country folk—everyone’s attention would be diverted.

The Li household was buzzing with excitement, each member eager to read the newspaper. Of course, they handled it with great care, washing their hands before touching it. Thankfully, their daughter-in-law and sister-in-law had taught them to read. Though not as cultured as the scholars, they could still manage some of the smaller articles.

To their surprise, Father and Mother Li were even more thrilled than Li Sheng, and unanimously agreed that making her the head of the household from the start was a stroke of genius.

Li Sheng, naturally, felt a surge of pride—after all, this was his wife.

“Wife, you’re amazing!” he exclaimed.

Mrs. Fang, holding Li Jiang in one hand and leading Li Hai with the other, said to them, “See? Studying seriously with your sister-in-law is truly worthwhile. In the future, you should learn from her, write articles, earn manuscript fees, and make something of yourselves for a better life.”