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

For this village-wide hunt, the guns and bullets were borrowed in the name of the squads, so any game caught openly belonged to the squads. Of course, the work points for hunting in the mountains were doubled.

After collecting all the hunted game, the squad leader would distribute the meat among the households. Those who wanted the pelts could exchange them for coins or money.

This was also the original intention of the state in encouraging everyone to participate in production teams, which was a form of protection for families without adult laborers.

After so many years of war, how many able-bodied men have died? And how many families are left with only orphans and widows?

In those days, agricultural labor was mostly done by hand, and grain yields per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres) were not high. Wheat yielded about 130 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 65 kg) per mu, corn about 194 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 62 catties), and rice yielded slightly higher, around 430 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 265 kg) per mu. Sweet potatoes had the highest yield per mu, around 1500 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 750 kg) per mu, which translates to about 350 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 175 catties) of dried sweet potatoes. (These figures are all verifiable.)

The sun was almost setting when Niu Dazhuang finally arrived at the village entrance with his basket on his back.

Qin Xueru quickly stepped out from among the group of women and complained, "I was so worried about you! They all came back and went back into the mountains, and you're only just getting back now."

He was about to take the basket from her back.

Niu Dazhuang felt sorry for his wife, "No need to switch hands, I'm not tired. Didn't I tell you beforehand? I'm going to walk away."

"Dazhuang, is this a wild goat?" The women could tell from the sheepskin in Niu Dazhuang's basket.

"Auntie, you have excellent eyesight!"

"Oh, Uncle Dazhuang hunted a wild goat! We'll have goat soup!" The little ones who had come along cheered. They followed Niu Dazhuang to the village office.

"I knew you went to the tiger's den, good job, good job." Niu Youcao happily took the basket.

The child following behind asked expectantly, "Third Grandpa, when can we eat meat?"

"Wait two more days, and I'll let you eat a pig's tail!"

Niu Dazhuang took out his pipe and smoked one as well.

"Uncle Cao, I'll head back now."

"Yes, go back and get some rest. They should all be back tomorrow."

When Niu Dazhuang arrived home, hot water was already prepared. After washing up, he was just about to sit on the kang (heated brick bed)

"Dazhuang, change all your clothes. I'll hang them out to dry tomorrow!"

Niu Dazhuang started taking off his clothes: "I'll sleep for a while and eat when I wake up." He hadn't had a good night's sleep in four nights or five days.

I took off my clothes and crawled into bed. I slept so soundly that I didn't wake up until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Qin Xueru sitting beside him, doing needlework.

"Xueru, I'm hungry."

Qin Xueru quickly put down what she was doing and got off the kang (heated brick bed): "You're awake! I'll heat up your food right away. Change out of your shorts too!"

Niu Dazhuang changed into his shorts but wasn't in a hurry to get up. He lay down in bed and pulled out a bag of cigarettes: "Xueru, I have something to discuss with you."

"You can make the decisions, I'll listen to you," Qin Xueru said, busy outside.

"I'm stuck in the dirt for a living, that's all I can do. I want to change my way of life."

"What, you think you can come up with some other fancy job? I'm not expecting you to make a fortune for me, just enough to keep me from starving."

"Xue Ru, how did you know what I wanted to do?"

"I'm not stupid; I can tell from your tone. Don't you want to quit farming?"

"The land. It will definitely be discontinued sooner or later. After my uncle retires, I will definitely take over. When that time comes, I will take you to Beijing to experience city life."

Qin Xueru brought two bowls of heated rice and a large bowl of stewed cabbage to the kang table: "Hurry up and put on your clothes, don't catch a cold. Although I've never met your uncle, he shouldn't be over fifty years old."

It will be more than ten years before he retires!

"Hey, did your uncle fail to find a wife, or did he lose his wife and children?"

"My family was poor at the time, so my eldest uncle joined the army. At first, he followed Fu Yi. Later, he surrendered to the city. Without my eldest uncle joining the army, my father wouldn't have been able to get a wife, and he wouldn't have needed me either."

After liberation, he mentioned it a few times, but he felt that raising other people's children was less suitable than raising his own nephew. Therefore, he never married.

"Then when he gets old, we must take good care of him."

"Definitely! If we have a son in the future, we'll adopt one!"

"Yes, that's understandable. You only said half of what you wanted to say. If you don't want to live like this, what do you want to do?"

"When my father passed away a few years ago, my uncle planned for me to move to Beijing. At the time, I was a little hesitant about going to Beijing, and I was also reluctant to leave my hometown. Now that I'm married, I want to give you a better life, so..."

This is the plausible explanation that Niu Dazhuang has come up with in the mountains over the past few days.

"What will I do if you go to Beijing?"

"Of course you'll come to the city with me, but I'll take you in after I've settled down."

"Have you talked to your uncle about this? It would be great if he could find you a job. Otherwise, what will you eat and drink in the city? Your uncle can't keep supporting you! How will you survive without a job?"

"I have my own way of doing things. I'll go after the New Year. Work can't be solved in a short time."

Qin Xueru suddenly realized something, and her expression changed drastically: "You...you're not thinking of doing something risk-free, are you? If you get caught, you'll be shot."

Niu Dazhuang had finished eating. He walked around the kang table, put his arm around Qin Xueru, and comforted her, "I haven't lived enough yet after marrying such a beautiful wife like you. Don't worry, I definitely won't do anything illegal."

Qin Xueru nestled her head in her man's arms and said gently, "You've thought it all through, so... I can only support you."

"Is the gate closed properly?" Niu Dazhuang asked in a sly manner.

Qin Xueru knew what he meant, and replied shyly in a low voice, "Mmm."

Niu Dazhuang lowered his head and kissed him...

After holding it in for so many days, Qin Xueru was starting to crave it too; it's human nature!

After all the hardships, Qin Xueru finally felt the same feeling her sister-in-law had described—like floating on clouds, her heart racing ahead while her body chased after it…

After a long pause, Qin Xueru said weakly, "I'm sorry, I can't stay with you again. I used to think I was quite healthy, how come..."

Niu Dazhuang sighed and said, "Alas! It's not always a good thing for a man to be too capable."

"Dazhuang, it's all my fault. If only this were before Liberation. Once you made money, our family could buy a few maids to share a room with, and then I could relax."

Niu Dazhuang asked mischievously, "Aren't you jealous?"

"If you say you're not jealous, that would be a lie, but... my sister-in-law says that in this respect, men are like children who haven't grown up; if they don't get what they want, they'll throw tantrums."

If a man can't find satisfaction at home, he'll try to cheat on his wife. It's easier to keep him under your nose than to do that.

"Hehe, what kind of household management skills did your sister-in-law teach you?"

"Before the wedding, my sister-in-law told me a lot of things, how would I know what you're asking?"