God-Tier Get Rich System – CH80

Chapter 80: First Day of Work

The way to expand the leaderboard capacity was simple: as long as Mu Lantu personally entered another work brigade, another commune, another county, or another city… new members would be unlocked.

Once he became the new top ranker, the extra reward points would increase as well. Every time the leaderboard upgraded, Mu Lantu also got one lottery draw.

In one word—work!

Mu Lantu, as if on a stimulant, used his hoe to chop down wild weeds one after another.

Xu Huazhang was a little farther away, occasionally glancing over, and shaking his head indulgently. If he wants to play, let him play.

Auntie Guihua was dumbfounded. Her eyes rolled, and she picked up the wild vegetables Mu Lantu had dug out and put them into the small basket she brought. She could use them to add a dish at home.

Mu Lantu had once been a doctor in ancient times and recognized which wild vegetables were edible or medicinal. He was just pretending not to notice, unwilling to compete with villagers over such resources.

It was his first day on the job. He had no experience and didn’t know any techniques. After working for over half an hour, his back ached, especially when he tried to straighten up—his waist hurt badly.

The scorekeeper stood on a high point, overlooking everyone’s work. Seeing Mu Lantu like this, he shook his head inwardly. The brigade leader had told them privately that this educated youth was strong and a good worker—this is what he meant?

As the sun rose higher, it got hotter and thirstier.

Mu Lantu drank a few sips of water, took a short break, and slowed down his weeding pace.

Auntie Guihua said, “Comrade Mu, if you’re this slow, they’ll deduct your work points.”

Mu Lantu’s novelty had worn off. He thought, Let them deduct.

In this short while, he had already earned over a thousand points—equivalent to about ten yuan—much more than someone earning just ten work points a day.

“Auntie Guihua, I’m a bit tired. I’ll rest a bit.”

“Suit yourself.” Auntie Guihua shook her head. She had already given her warning.

She weeded while squatting, holding a small trowel in hand. With a few scrape scrape scrape, several weeds were gone. If it was a weed, she threw it to the side for someone else to pick up. If it was a wild vegetable, it went into her basket—quick and efficient.

In a few minutes, Auntie Guihua had already left Mu Lantu far behind.

Mu Lantu was now completely zen, naturally learning how to coast through work. He lazily swung his hoe, getting rid of weeds one at a time.

When the bell signaling the end of work rang, he immediately darted off and met up with Xu Huazhang on the field ridge.

Du Xuewen walked over with a teasing expression.

“Comrade Mu, how was your first day at work?”

“Why ask when you already know?” Mu Lantu looked at his hand—after just one morning, several blisters had already formed.

Du Xuewen chuckled and slipped away.

Xu Huazhang moved his hand but then put it down. “Take the afternoon off and rest at home.”

“No need. Slacking off on the first day looks bad.”

But deep down, Mu Lantu really didn’t want to keep following this rigid schedule of going to and leaving from the fields.

As long as he worked, he could earn points on the Labor Glory Leaderboard. He didn’t have to earn them in the fields, under the hot sun, being watched like a monkey by the scorekeeper and other villagers.

There were too many people on the road, so they didn’t talk much.

Once back in the village, Xu Huazhang took off his lunchbox and handed it to Mu Lantu.

“You go home first. I’m heading to Carpenter Xue’s place.”

Mu Lantu hung the cup around his neck, squinting suspiciously—Was he trying to avoid cooking?

Xu Huazhang understood the look and helplessly patted his head. This world was clearly tougher, yet his baby seemed more lively than in the last life.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Mu Lantu waved him off. “Go, go.” Letting him play a bit was fine. Men understood men—sometimes, they needed their space.

Carpenter Xue didn’t work in the fields, but he earned work points making furniture for the Dongfanghong brigade. Since private trade wasn’t allowed, he worked collectively. At year’s end, he got food shares too.

Others like him included the teachers at the commune’s elementary school, tractor drivers, militia members, one doctor and one apprentice at the clinic, the pig keeper, and the cattle herder.

But these jobs were like “one radish, one hole”—each had only one spot, mostly taken by skilled or well-connected villagers. It wasn’t easy for others, especially educated youths, to get in.

In his past life, Xu Huazhang had only read about this era in history books. Experiencing it firsthand now, he realized it took planning to live better than the average person.

The courtyard gate was open. Carpenter Xue was working under a poplar tree. His pants and apron were covered in wood shavings.

Nothing went to waste in the countryside. Even these shavings were dried and used for kindling—very practical.

“Carpenter Xue.”

“Oh, it’s Comrade Xu. Come on in.” Carpenter Xue dusted himself off and stood up. “What do you need this time? Feel free to browse.”

Besides furniture, the Xue family also made baskets, carriers, and crates out of willow and bamboo—crafted by him and his family.

Xu Huazhang picked a small basket and carefully checked it for splinters.

“This one’s small—twenty cents is enough.”

“Can you make square ones? Flip them over, and they can be stools or small tables. Just add two handles.”

Carpenter Xue hadn’t made square baskets, but he had made square crates.

“Sure. What size?”

Xu Huazhang pulled a cotton branch from the firewood pile, measured with his hand, broke off the excess, and handed the stick over.

“Same length for both width and height. Make two.”

“I’ll prioritize your order. You can pick them up after work this afternoon.”

“Thanks.”

Back home, Mu Lantu had already started cooking rice and was peeling eggplants.

He only planned to cook one stir-fried eggplant dish and pull two meat dishes from his system space.

When Xu Huazhang came back with the basket, Mu Lantu asked, “Why buy such a tiny basket?”

“For your water bottle.”

Mu Lantu picked it up for a look. It was quite delicate.

“Nice. I can even use it to collect wild veggies.”

This afternoon, he wouldn’t be giving way to Auntie Guihuas anymore. If he saw wild veggies, he’d grab some too.

Being nice once was kindness—keep being nice, and people would think he was a fool.

That was a truth Mu Lantu had realized after crossing over.

“Baby, we don’t have much left in the kitchen. We’ll need to make time to sort out the vegetable garden.” Mu Lantu added.

He had just taken stock. They only had three eggplants, four potatoes, six eggs, about half a catty of chili peppers, two cucumbers, two tomatoes, and half a catty of dried green beans.

Some were gifts from the brigade leader, the accountant, and the secretary. A few were from other educated youths. Once they were gone, they’d have to barter with villagers.

“We’ll sort it out after work this afternoon.” Xu Huazhang washed his hands, took the knife and eggplant, and followed Mu Lantu’s instructions to slice the eggplant thinly.

Mu Lantu still did the cooking, and Xu Huazhang kept learning.

Mu Lantu’s cooking was simple and rough. Once the oil was hot, he tossed in the peppers and eggplants together, stirred a few times until done, added salt, soy sauce, green onions, and a bit of spiritual spring water—and it was done.

Today’s meat dishes from the system were cilantro beef and garlic chicken wings—two boxes each.

They likely wouldn’t smell strong enough to attract the attention of the other educated youths, but Xu Huazhang closed the door just in case.

“Baby, what do you want to do in the future? I’ll make arrangements based on your ideas.”

Mu Lantu asked, “Anything I want to do, you can arrange?”

Xu Huazhang’s calm tone carried unwavering confidence. “Try me.”

“I want a job where I don’t have to go to the fields, can still earn work points or wages, and have lots of freedom. Preferably, no one managing me.”

It was a big ask—almost like he was deliberately making things hard. But Mu Lantu truly thought that way.

He had considered this before going to the countryside but never figured out a solution.

If writers were paid for submissions, being a freelance writer would’ve been a great option.

Xu Huazhang could definitely support him. But if Mu Lantu just stayed home doing nothing, living comfortably, staying fair-skinned and pampered—others would envy and resent him. Some might even report him for being a pleasure-seeker.

“How about being a harvester driver? You’d only be busy during harvest season. The rest of the time, you can do whatever you want. I’ll build a diesel harvester—on one condition: you drive it.”

“That’s perfect!” Mu Lantu excitedly pounced on Xu Huazhang, straddling his lap. How could I forget? In our last life, my man was all about advanced manufacturing. Building a diesel harvester should be easy for him.

In their past life, Xu Huazhang’s true identity was a mystery until he turned 80, when the national news finally revealed everything—nearly a hundred major achievements, each one world-shaking.

His Lantu Supermarket spread from Dream Home all the way to Earth. The two of them had climbed to the top of the world together.

Xu Huazhang kissed the young man’s radiant smile. “But it’ll take a little time.”

“No rush, no rush.”

Mu Lantu was so happy he rocked back and forth on Xu Huazhang’s lap—which was agony for Xu Huazhang. Any more rocking, and his body would start reacting.

He picked Mu Lantu up and set him down on the other side of the kang table, giving him a light smack on the butt. “Eat properly.”

“Okay~” Mu Lantu replied sweetly and obediently. He pulled out a beef brisket stew and a braised pig trotter from his system space.

Good news deserved a proper celebration.

Wangcai the dog happily rolled around—so many bones! It was now the happiest pup in the entire Dongfanghong brigade!

“What about you? What do you want to do? You shouldn’t be in the fields either—too hot, too tiring. Want to be a technician? You could fix tractors and harvesters for the villagers,” Mu Lantu asked, concerned for Xu Huazhang.

Xu Huazhang’s answer surprised him.

“I want to learn farming first. Then I’ll think about other things. Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”

“Farming? Why farming?”

Xu Huazhang affectionately tapped Mu Lantu’s nose, avoiding a direct answer.

“Because I want to.”

If next time he got to time-travel with Mu Lantu again, he had to be ready to become a farmer. And if he couldn’t even farm properly, wouldn’t people get suspicious?

Mu Lantu had thought about future lives—but didn’t dare hope too much. Having the fortune to be with Xu Huazhang for two lifetimes already… how could he dare dream of a third?