Chapter 33: The Uncrossable Household Registration Barrier

After returning home, Yang Qing did not rush to explain to Chen Hong.

Chen Hong also seemed to have forgotten.

The two again carried the quilts out to sun them, then sat in front of the door, leaning on each other while basking in the sun.

After a moment of silence, Chen Hong started making small talk.

"You said our yard is so big, leaving it empty is wasteful; otherwise, let's plant some vegetables."

Yang Qing, warmed by the sun, felt a bit drowsy, yawning as he replied.

"What vegetables to plant?"

"Planting anything else isn't reliable; broom vegetable is most suitable."

"Plant it in spring, and in half a month you can start eating it, continuing until August or September."

"In autumn we plant foreign ginger, which can be pickled for winter eating, crisp and tasty."

"These things are edible and don't attract thieves; they're most suitable for us to grow."

Chen Hong asked doubtfully.

"Why does no one covet them?"

Yang Qing leaned against her wearily, murmuring.

"Because broom vegetable grows everywhere, it's common; in a few days our backyard will be full of it."

"And foreign ginger has hairs on its stalks that prick people; kids don't like to touch it."

"Besides, it's not as tasty as sweet potato; who would bother with it?"

When talking about food, Chen Hong gets excited and drools.

"Broom vegetable, elm seed rice, noodle vegetable, motherwort, mouse-ear herb..."

"Spring has come, wild vegetables are abundant; in a few days let's go out to pick wild vegetables."

She really can't stop thinking about it, still pondering digging wild vegetables.

Yang Qing, half-asleep, shook his head.

"No, no, I won't go, even if beaten to death; we're not lacking food, why bother?"

"After eating, people turn green."

"No, no, it's not safe to go and compete with others for wild vegetables; we should instead try to catch some frogs and insects, just out of hibernation, all lean meat, very chewy."

Chen Hong shook him.

"Aren't you disgusted? How can you eat anything?"

Yang Qing was shaken awake, his mind a bit fuzzy, only then recalling his conversation with Chen Hong.

He leaned against Chen Hong again, eyes half-open, half-asleep.

"This is the limited meat we can get, and you still disdain it."

Afterwards he smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste.

"Hey, tell me about your plan."

"Plan? What plan!"

Yang Qing shook his head.

"The plan is scrapped."

"Then what will you do from now on?"

Yang Qing thought for a moment.

"Work hard eating, grow meat well, make myself look like a normal person? Then strive in substitute labor, aiming to become a capable substitute worker."

"Anything else?"

"Also? Also need to study hard, learn more knowledge; only with more understanding can one go further on the substitute worker's path."

Chen Hong rolled her eyes, this is inseparable from substitute work; it's just teasing you a bit, what's the big deal?

"What about me? You really make me paste paper boxes every day?"

Yang Qing fell silent, he had thought for a long time.

"Otherwise, you take good care of your health, then we have seven or eight kids, and you play with the children?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong shifted her shoulder, and Yang Qing was pushed away.

"Get lost, you treat me like a pig; seven or eight, why not say ten?"

Yang Qing was pushed over, then swayed back, leaning against Chen Hong again.

Besides, Chen Hong's body does have a certain odor, but mixed within it is also a faint fragrance.

It made Yang Qing unable to resist, he spoke lazily.

"Ten would be even better, we could form a soccer team."

Chen Hong swayed again.

"Let me speak seriously, talk properly."

Yang Qing said helplessly.

"I am speaking properly; we two are lonely, having a few kids would make our home less desolate."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hong felt a pang in her heart, recalling that Yang Qing was an orphan.

"Then let's have them, just afraid you won't earn enough for formula money."

"Formula?"

Yang Qing suddenly woke up; his wife has a rural household registration, this is an insurmountable barrier.

Moreover, formula; in this society he might really not be able to afford formula, maybe not even milk powder; his wife is so thin, the grain store surely isn't enough.

"This won't do; formula must be sufficient, otherwise how to raise the child."

He scratched his head, looking at Chen Hong's chest for a moment, then at the sky.

Chen Hong was left utterly puzzled by his behavior.

Around Jingcheng there are pastures, and Holstein cattle have now been introduced; according to his knowledge, they were later crossbred with yellow cattle, forming a dairy cattle system unique to China.

Should we go to the dairy factory to scout, and incidentally suggest they crossbreed with yellow cattle? Perhaps we could select an excellent variety.

Would we still lack milk powder then?

Then we certainly wouldn't be lacking.

Moreover, the feasibility of this is quite high.

Jingcheng's agricultural and livestock school now has a very high standard.

Later, for the greening of the dam's upper reaches, the Jingcheng institute gave strong support.

Talent is not lacking, venue is not lacking, and the theory is quite mature internationally.

This is basically all set; all that's missing is for me to shout a bit, prompting them to think about researching this direction.

Speaking of crossbreeding, Old Master Yuan seems to have only just begun to explore it.

Our country's research on crossbreeding has also only just begun.

This comes at a good time.

However, he later fell into decadence, because in this world he had hardly studied at all.

He simply had no way to acquire this knowledge.

If he really acted so rashly, he'd just be making a chaotic mess.

In the end, the only possibility would be that he was colluding with foreigners, which is how he obtained this information.

He must have ill intentions………

Thinking about it, Yang Qing felt a bit afraid.

He leaned against Chen Hong again.

Chen Hong looked at him as if he were mentally ill—sometimes excited, sometimes listless.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Ah, nothing—I just thought of a dairy factory in Jingcheng and wondered if I could go work a shift there."

"After thinking about it, it seems not possible."

"Ah, the hope of raising a child is gone."

Chen Hong also felt a bit lost.

"Is there really no other way?"

Yang Qing replied.

"Yes."

Chen Hong exclaimed excitedly.

"What method?"

Yang Qing asked.

"Have you ever attended school?"

Chen Hong said proudly.

"I graduated from junior high school."

In the countryside, her being able to attend junior high was indeed not easy.

Ordinary boys didn't even have the chance, yet a girl like her managed to reach junior high—truly not easy.

Yang Qing had a plan in mind.

"Then starting tomorrow, you should review your lessons well; I'll go ask Aunt Wang whether you can take the secondary vocational school entrance exam."

"If you can get into secondary vocational school, then after graduation you'll be assigned a job, and by then you'll naturally have work and also an urban hukou."

Chen Hong still thought he had some good idea, but the result was just this?

Nowadays it's not like later when the college entrance exam was restored and everyone had to take it.

Now Chen Hong is this old; schools simply won't accept her.

Awkward, right?

Chen Hong patted his head.

"You'd better just go to sleep."

Yang Qing, however, couldn't sleep.

"What's wrong? This plan is great—why do you still look unhappy?"

Hehe………

"Then thank you."

Chen Hong reached out and clamped Yang Qing's head under her armpit.

"Amusing myself with your sister—isn't that fun?"

"This is like the guillotine—Yang Qing simply gave up resisting."

"I merely mentioned a possibility—what's the problem, can't one take the middle school exam just because they're older?"

Chen Hong tapped his head.

"You still know that—I have no qualifications."

"Even if you could pass, you'd have to return to your native place, and after graduation you'd be assigned work according to orders."

"Forget it, don't wander off in thought—pasting paper boxes is also quite good."