Chapter 35: Opportunity

An Songyu didn’t react at first. It took a short while before a vague memory surfaced. It seemed that before she had returned to this time, she had indeed heard her cousin mention something similar:

"Are you saying you want to apply to Nanshi University?"

"Anyone from Nan Province would want to, wouldn't they?" An Songyue looked at her elder cousin with a resentful expression. As the best university in the entire Nan Province, surely any normal high school senior would want to get in. An Songyu gave an awkward smile and decided not to pursue the topic further.

An Songyue, however, volunteered the information herself: "I’ve applied to Nanshi Normal University."

"Wow, that means you can become a teacher after you graduate. That’s great!" An Songyu cheered, almost clapping in her enthusiasm. Halfway through the gesture, she suddenly froze. It seemed that in her previous life, her little cousin hadn’t attended that university at all. And, as far as she could recall, the girl had never worked as a teacher.

"Is it, though?" An Songyue answered, sounding uncertain. Both the school and the major had been chosen by her parents. According to them, studying to be a teacher meant a stable income and plenty of vacation time—the best possible path for a young woman. But she wasn't so sure. After all, the schools and majors she had discussed with her family before submitting her applications were completely different from the ones she ended up with. She didn't understand why her parents had changed their minds, but she hadn't been particularly fond of her original choices either, so the change wasn't entirely unacceptable.

When the two sisters returned to the small building, they saw a few scattered guests chatting on the open ground outside. Although An Songyu’s family had built their house on their plot of land, in rural areas, land parcels were often either part of one’s own fields or specifically set aside, meaning they were rarely just the perfect size. Any extra space was usually treated as a private plot by the homeowners. Since An Songyu’s family didn't plant anything there, they had simply leveled the ground and planted a ring of trees along the perimeter. The remaining space was compacted, and a few large fruit trees were planted here and there, along with some tables and chairs, making it a perfect resting spot for tourists. Some visitors even brought their own mosquito coils to ensure a more comfortable experience.

An Songyu wasn't very familiar with these guests, but her twenty years of experience in the hotel industry had honed her social skills. If she wanted to, she could leave a good impression on anyone she met. Greeting them as she walked by, she managed to become a familiar face among the tourists.

Exhausted after a long day, the sisters lacked the energy for leisure. After tidying up and climbing into bed, they fell asleep while planning for the next day.

At dawn the next morning, the sound of roosters crowing filled the air. An Songyu didn't want to get up, but she had to. An Jianmin had mentioned the night before that the fruit destined for the fruit shop had to be picked early that morning. The fruit the guests had picked the previous evening wouldn't even hold up until the next day, and the quantity was far from enough to meet a fruit shop's daily demand.

After dragging themselves out of bed, the sisters freshened up and headed to An Jianmin’s house for breakfast. By the time they finished, the sky was already turning light. They each took a tricycle and headed to the orchard, though they had different tasks.

It was noon before the sisters met up again. They hadn't actually accomplished much that morning. After all, one had grown up in the city and the other was still a student; their capabilities were limited. Yet, just from bustling about and helping out, they were so tired they didn't even want to speak. It took several days of this constant activity for them to adapt to the work intensity.

Only then did An Songyu finally find a moment to visit the silkworm room. It was a busy time there, too. An Songyu’s arrival didn't earn her a warm welcome from her grandparents; instead, they scolded her for not resting when she finally had a spare moment. Looking at her in this weather, they noted how much darker she had become in just a few days.

On the way back, An Songyu felt a flicker of doubt. Was this truly the life she had come back to Jiang Village for? But the relentless peak of the summer vacation left her no time to ponder.

Soon, the summer holidays were coming to an end. The An family’s second batch of silkworm cocoons had been shipped, and the third round of sericulture was about to begin. An Songyu visited the silkworm room occasionally, looking at those tiny sesame-seed-like larvae, struggling countless times to find a reason to stop everyone. But then she let it go—when the demolition eventually came, these little creatures would be factored into the compensation anyway. The only concern was where they would be moved to by then.

Beyond that, An Songyu had other things to worry about. By September, most of the fruit in the An orchard had passed its peak season. The starfruit, which had only been ripening in small amounts, had become the most abundant fruit left. Aside from that, the dragon fruit, with its long ripening cycle, was still yielding. The mangoes were at the very end of their season. As for the papayas growing in the corners, they ripened almost year-round. The quantity wasn't huge—if one searched carefully every day, they might find a basket or two—but An Songyu’s family didn't have the manpower to spare. So, after a few days of gathering, they would usually end up with three or four baskets.

Additionally, the bananas, which also grew in the corners, had entered their harvest season. Unlike the papayas, they occupied the slightly larger patches of land, forming small, inconspicuous banana groves against the backdrop of the other fruit trees. Each harvest yielded long, heavy bunches. Once hung up at home, they could provide for many people for several days.

By this time, the daily output from the An family’s orchard wasn't enough to supply the fruit shops much anymore. Although the peak of the summer holidays had passed and the number of tourists at the Jiang Village agritourism site had dropped by eighty or ninety percent, the village had left a good impression on regular guests after a whole summer of operation. Some of the elderly, who had spent a long time in the village accompanying their grandchildren, had grown to love life here. They no longer needed An Songyu’s special attention, which gave her more time to fret over other matters.

Emerging from the village committee office, An Songyu thought deeply about what the village chief had said. He had remarked, "Although the agritourism in Jiang Village went well this year, it exposed many problems. For example, the unmanaged orchards, mulberry ponds, and flower fields in the village. During the summer peak, there were always overly curious tourists running off to explore."

Therefore, he intended to take advantage of this lull to gather the villagers and discuss whether to encourage everyone to continue contracting the land, or to divide the remaining orchards, mulberry ponds, and other areas among the households, just as they had divided the fields years ago, letting each family manage their own share. He wanted to hear everyone’s opinions on the matter.