Chapter 2: Regrets of the Past
Chapter 2: Regrets of the Past
The next day, just as dawn began to break, Deng Shirong woke up.
In his previous life, after turning sixty, Deng Shirong's sleep had become lighter, and he usually woke up around this time every morning. It had become a part of his routine, almost like a biological clock.
After dressing, Deng Shirong stepped out of his room and immediately saw his eldest daughter, Deng Yunzhen, tending to the fire and cooking breakfast in the kitchen. He wasn't surprised; his wife had passed away five years ago, and before she got married, Yunzhen had always been responsible for the family's meals.
Hearing the noise, Deng Yunzhen looked up and saw her father. "Dad, you're up too? Why not sleep a bit more?"
"I can't fall back asleep once I'm awake," Deng Shirong replied, taking a moment to observe his eldest daughter.
Before his rebirth, Deng Yunzhen had been in her sixties, with a life marked by hardship and an unhappy marriage. She had aged prematurely, looking more like a woman in her seventies or eighties. Now, despite wearing patched-up old clothes and having rough, sun-worn skin and calloused hands from years of farm work, she was in the prime of her youth, radiating the energy and vigor of a young woman.
Standing at 1.62 meters tall, Yunzhen's height was unremarkable in the modern world and even in the northern regions, but in the rural areas of Guangxi during this era, it was relatively uncommon. Perhaps because the average height of Guangxi residents was among the lowest in the country, height had always been a significant factor in marriage arrangements, both in this era and in the future. Being tall was a plus, while being short was a drawback.
With her 1.62-meter height and decent looks, Yunzhen should have had the opportunity to marry into a better family. Unfortunately, in his previous life, Deng Shirong had not taken his children's marriages seriously enough, or perhaps he had placed too much trust in matchmakers. As a result, none of his six children had found happiness in their marriages.
His sons and daughters-in-law often quarreled, which naturally affected Deng Shirong. Although he had never lacked money in his later years—his children and grandchildren would give him money during the holidays and a fixed monthly allowance—he had always felt the loneliness of living alone in the rural village, with his family only visiting occasionally.
Even on the day he passed away, he had been living alone, and it was impossible not to have regrets.
Now, fate had given him another chance. This time, he was determined to take control and find suitable matches for his children, ensuring they didn't follow the same path as before.
"Go brush your teeth and wash your face, Dad. The porridge will be ready soon!" Yunzhen said.
Deng Shirong nodded and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
Half an hour later, the other children also woke up.
In this era, the village had no electricity, and there were no evening entertainment activities, so people went to bed early and woke up early. Unlike the young people of the future, who would sleep until the sun was high in the sky, the villagers here started their day with the dawn.
For breakfast, they had plain porridge with dried cucumber peel.
The porridge here was quite different from what was served in other places. Even with just a few ounces of rice, a large pot of water was used, and the resulting rice broth was drunk as a substitute for water.
During the hardest times of his life, Deng Shirong would fill his bowl with a meager amount of porridge and drink the rice broth to fool his stomach, only eating the few grains of rice when he felt he had filled up enough.
The dried cucumber peel wasn't fresh and crisp but was tough to bite, yet it made a decent side dish for the porridge.
After breakfast, Deng Shirong set off for Deng YunGui's house. Although he had decided to become a matchmaker, he still planned to keep the brick kiln running for a few more years, as it could still bring in some income.
It took less than two minutes to reach Deng YunGui's house.
After exchanging greetings, Deng Shirong got straight to the point. "YunGui, I can partner with you to run the brick kiln, but I don't want to continue as the master potter. If we do this together, I plan to have my son YunTai take over as the master potter. What do you think?"
When Deng YunGui heard this, he was somewhat surprised. Out of the hundreds of people in the entire production team, he had chosen only Uncle Jiu as his partner, for the following three reasons:
First, Uncle Jiu was of a high generation in the clan. The Deng family in Naye had migrated from Guangdong during the mid-Ming Dynasty (around 1500 AD) and settled here. They started using generation names from the twelfth generation, which were: Zuzu Gongde, Wanshi YunChang, Siwen Peizhen, Lippin DuanZhuang, Dunren BingZheng, TianDao HuiGuang, ChaoTing XiMing, YuanShi ChengFang.
Uncle Jiu belonged to the Yun generation, making him the highest in the current clan hierarchy. In places where clan values were strong, Uncle Jiu, even if not a team leader, still had considerable influence.
Second, Uncle Jiu was a renowned master of making large vats, with exceptional skills. The vats he crafted were superior to those made by other masters.
Third, Uncle Jiu was more daring and less fearful of trouble compared to other members of the team.
Now, Uncle Jiu was no longer interested in being a vat master, which would significantly impact the upcoming kiln factory they planned to run.
After all, the vat master represented the highest level of craftsmanship in the factory.
"Uncle Jiu, why don't you want to be a vat master anymore?"
Deng ShiRong, naturally, wouldn't say he wanted to become a matchmaker. Instead, he found a reason: "I'm getting old, and my strength isn't what it used to be. My hands and feet are slower than those of the young. Besides, my son YunTai has already learned this skill, so he can take over."
Deng YunGui pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright, let YunTai be the vat master. However, if we really take over the kiln, one vat master won't be enough. We'll need to hire another one."
"That's easy, I can have my apprentice fill in."
"Then there's no problem."
After settling on the vat master, the two discussed the lease term for the kiln.
Deng YunGui had already inquired with the team leaders and learned that the kiln would cost 100 yuan per year to lease. For a ten-year lease, it would be 1,000 yuan, and for twenty years, it would be 2,000 yuan. It was that straightforward.
The lease price wasn't high, and Deng YunGui was inclined to lease it for twenty years. However, Deng ShiRong, knowing the trajectory of the kiln factory's development, didn't want to repeat the mistake of the past and insisted on a ten-year lease.
Deng YunGui tried to persuade him. "Uncle Jiu, I think we should think long-term. We don't have to pay the full amount upfront, so isn't a ten-year lease too short?"
Deng ShiRong smiled. "Ten years is not short at all. After all, the world is changing rapidly. Who knows what it will be like in ten years? There might be new products that replace vats and tiles. Leasing for twenty years would just be a waste of money!"
In his previous life, they had signed a twenty-year lease contract and even foolishly paid the full amount in advance during the first few years when business was good.
However, a few years later, the kiln factory began to decline. They barely managed to keep it running for ten years before declaring bankruptcy, losing 1,000 yuan in lease fees.
While 1,000 yuan wasn't much in the future, it was a substantial sum in the early 1980s.
Deng YunGui chuckled. "Uncle Jiu, you're overthinking it. We've used vats and tiles for generations. How could they be replaced in just a decade or two?"
Deng ShiRong also laughed, with a profound meaning. "YunGui, anything is possible in this world. Let's lease it for ten years first. If everything goes well, we can always renew the contract later."
Although Deng YunGui thought Uncle Jiu's concerns were unnecessary, he didn't want to argue over this issue. He nodded. "Alright, ten years it is."
(End of Chapter)
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