Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

The young couple's words gave Qin Huairu confidence, and she became more talkative and cheerful throughout the journey.

After walking for more than an hour, we finally arrived at Qinjiawa.

At this time, colorful flags were planted on both sides of the river in Qinjiawa, and men, women, and children were all cultivating wasteland on the riverbank.

Niu Dazhuang saw the spirit of ordinary people in this era from the bustling scene of land reclamation in Qinjiawa—fighting against nature!

Seven or eight years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, society was relatively stable, and the country encouraged childbirth. With all the children grown, arable land became scarce, so wasteland was reclaimed.

From the top to the common people, there is a spirit of never giving up.

Niu Dazhuang believes that the biggest and most successful change since the founding of the People's Republic of China has been in the mindset of the people.

People in later generations say that people of this era were not open-minded, but that's because they didn't understand.

Although some old ideas still exist in rural areas, especially among the elderly, their views on matters of men and women are no less conservative than those of later feudal times.

In this era, communication was underdeveloped, so even if there were sex scandals, they would only spread within a small circle.

Of course, the majority of the members in Qinjiawa were surnamed Qin. Ever since they came down from the mountain ridge, Qin Huairu and her sister had been busy calling him "uncle" or "grandpa" incessantly.

Qin Huairu has five siblings. She also has a younger sister who is the same age as Qin Xueru, but she is not married yet. Anyway, she is not very old, only nineteen after the New Year.

When Qin Yueru saw that her older sister had returned, she stopped trying to earn work points, picked up her load, and went home with her sister.

Qin Xueru also has a younger sister, Qin Ningru, who is only a year younger than her. Like her sister, Ningru is fair-skinned and even a little taller.

She grew up to be a graceful young woman, though her figure wasn't as voluptuous as her older sister's. This is in comparison; the two sisters are close in age and have played together since childhood, so their relationship is naturally good.

Niu Dazhuang was certain that, given time, this sister-in-law would surely become another beautiful and delicate rose.

Qin Ningru, holding her sister's arm, shyly called out "brother-in-law" to Niu Dazhuang.

Then she started to whine to Qin Xueru, "Sister, I missed you so much! I've been waiting for you to come back."

Qin Xueru chuckled and said, "I don't believe your sweet talk. Without me at home, the west room is your domain."

Qin Ningru said resentfully, "It would have been better to squeeze in with you. Although it's more spacious, I also have more chores to do... Now that you're back, I can finally rest. I'm celebrating the New Year early today thanks to you two."

Since it was the new son-in-law's first visit, the Qin family certainly couldn't be lacking in etiquette. Qin's mother didn't go to work today, but stayed home specifically to wait for the young couple.

Then he turned to Qin Huairu and said, "Big sister, you're back too? How did you two run into each other?"

Before Qin Huairu could speak, Qin Xueru spoke up first, "It's quite a coincidence, your brother-in-law's uncle lives in a tenement with my eldest sister in Beijing."

Your brother-in-law was driving his donkey cart to visit his uncle yesterday when he ran into your eldest sister. She happened to be wanting to stay at her parents' house anyway, so she came back with him.

"Oh, is that so? Sis, could you talk to Dad and ask if I could stay with you for a few days? I'm exhausted from all the endless chores at home!"

Qin Xueru playfully flicked her nose: "You little lazy cat, aren't you afraid you'll never get married if you're this lazy?"

Speaking of marriage, Qin Ningru secretly glanced at Niu Dazhuang and said, "I don't want to get married!"

The group of five walked home chatting and laughing.

Qinjiawa, as you can tell from the name of the village, is surrounded by mountains, and is essentially a miniature basin.

The villagers built their homes around the depression, nestled against the mountainside.

Qin Huairu and her sister arrived home first. Qin Xueru and the other two walked for the time it takes to smoke a pipe, then entered another ravine and walked another mile before finally arriving home.

Qin Xueru's family home was also built on the hillside. There were three stone-built rooms on the north side, two side rooms on the west side, and a thatched shed on the east side of the courtyard. Inside the shed was a large stove, along with some miscellaneous items. This large stove was probably used for cooking in the summer.

The walls were all made of stone, and thorny jujube branches were stuck on top of them to keep out wild animals.

Their village was built around a low-lying area, so the villagers lived scattered, making it difficult to protect themselves from wild animals in winter.

In this respect, Niujiazhuang was much better than Qinjiawa. In those days, it wasn't uncommon for wolves to enter villages; some even carried off children. Some lucky children, though taken by wolves, miraculously survived.

Wolf Child, Wolf Province Child became their nickname.

"Mom, my sister is back!" Qin Ningru called out before even entering the courtyard.

"You little rascal, you're so old, yet you still have no sense of steadiness." With that voice, Qin's mother came out to greet her.

"The son-in-law is here, come inside quickly, it's warm inside." He said, reaching out to take the bag from Niu Dazhuang's back.

"No need, I'll just put it in the kitchen!"

Qin's mother didn't argue. At this moment, Qin Ningru spoke up, "Brother-in-law, put it in that leg-high jar in the kitchen, so the rats don't eat it!" With that, Ningru led Niu Dazhuang to the so-called kitchen.

He poured half a bag of millet into the jar. "Brother-in-law, go inside and warm up. We'll cook later."

Once inside the main room, Ningru busied herself pouring Niu Dazhuang a bowl of brown sugar water. She had become a guest of honor.

Xue Ru and Qin's mother whispered to each other for a while in the east room before coming out as well.

"You all stay here, I'll kill the rooster and stew it in a bit!" Mother Qin said as she left the main room.

Niu Dazhuang wasn't that shameless; he still needed to observe basic etiquette. He said to his wife, "Let's not wait to eat; let's help with the chores!"

The three members of the Qin family were busy: one was killing chickens, the other was washing vegetables, while Niu Dazhuang was carrying a shoulder pole to fetch water from the bottom of the steps.

Qin Ningru watched as Niu Dazhuang carried a load of water, his steps light and quick, as if he were playing.

He whispered to Xue Ru, "Sister, Dad has great taste. Look at your man, he's stronger than all the men in our village!"

Aren't you ashamed?!

"What's there to be ashamed of? When I look for a partner in the future, I'll find someone like my brother-in-law. So what if he's a farmer? As long as he's healthy, he can still live a good life."

Look at Third Sister, even though she married into the capital, look at her husband, he's as thin as a sorghum stalk, he'd be blown away by the northwest wind!

It's not wrong to call Qin Ningru Qin Huairu; it's the ranking of their dozen or so cousins, and Qin Huairu is the third oldest.

Qin's mother sighed and said, "Someone like your brother-in-law is hard to find in our Qinjiawa brigade!"

When Qin's mother heard her youngest daughter say this, she was also worried, as her daughter was exceptionally proud.

"I'm not in a hurry. I'll study hard to learn to read, and maybe I can even find a job in the city!"

"Stop daydreaming. Every single one of the people from our village who went to work in Beijing has a legitimate relative in the city," Qin's mother quickly nipped her in the bud.

"Ningru, Mother is right. We don't have any relatives in the city. You just said that being a farmer isn't so bad!"