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Tang Zhinian furrowed his brow, deeply uncertain.

“Zhijun, plastic sheeting isn’t cheap, the money we’ve earned over the years may all go into that. What do we do about having no money for the New Year?” He reached out and patted his daughter’s little head.

“No one can guarantee the winter vegetables. If it snows and collapses the greenhouse, we’ll lose everything—not just our investment in the plastic sheeting, but the seedlings and our labor costs. Not to mention, we’re afraid we’ll lose all our capital.”

“Bro, we can’t just not plant anything, right?” Tang Zhijun laid down his bowl. “Leaving the land empty isn’t an option either. We should save some money. We still have a pile of debt at home. As Yuxin grows older, she needs to attend school, which requires money for books, notebooks, and pens.”

“Also…” He touched his little niece’s small face again, “I want to send Xinxin to a good high school in the future. Good high schools are in the city, so we’ll need to pay tuition, which is not a small amount.”

Thinking about these things, Tang Zhinian’s heart ached.

Yes, they still owed money to others. It was all the money Sang Zhilan had asked for during her visits home. They had no money at that time, so he had to borrow for her. Adding up, they’d borrowed over three hundred yuan. To pay it off, the two brothers would have to work for an extended time.

“Brother, why don’t we grow coriander?” Tang Yujun’s eyes suddenly lit up. Coriander yielded a high crop, was frost-hardy and could survive even in very cold weather.

“I also thought about growing coriander,” Tang Zhinian said. In his heart, he too had this idea. “Let’s plant a smaller amount, about one-fifth of the land. We’ll leave the rest fallow for now. We only have enough plastic sheeting for this plot.”

“Should we borrow some money?”

Tang Zhijun thought about their financial situation. They hadn’t made much money this year. After feeding themselves, there wasn’t much left. If they had to pay off some of the debt, they would truly have to tighten their belts.

If they didn’t grow some vegetables to earn some money, they might not even be able to afford new clothes for Tang Yuxin during the New Year.

“Who do we borrow from?”

Tang Zhinian let out a sigh.

“Our lives aren’t easy, but neither are others’. Besides, we’ve already borrowed so much and haven’t paid it back yet. How can we have the nerve to borrow again?”

There’s a saying, ‘lend to the needy, not to the poor’. If they borrowed again, the Tang brothers’ integrity might be at risk.

Moreover, the situation in each family wasn’t great, and they could barely make ends meet. With so many mouths to feed, no one could spare any money to lend. So, the idea of buying plastic sheets was shelved for now, and Tang Zhinian decided to use some leftover plastic sheets to plant a bit of coriander. As for the winter, they could only grow crops that withstand the cold.

Tang Yuxin quietly ate her food, but her mind was racing. She seemed preoccupied.

Even when she was at Chen Zhong’s to practice writing, she was clearly distracted and kept getting sidetracked.

With a “pop”, her small hand was slapped.

It felt like the ruler used for punishment in ancient times. Getting hit on the palm really hurt.

She quickly pulled back her hand and hid it behind her, probably now appearing red from the strike.

She looked up, giving Chen Zhong an innocent gaze.