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

Even the most heartwarming breakfast must eventually be finished. Niu Dazhuang left his yard and closed the gate.

On his way to work, Niu Dazhuang sorted through the original owner's memories. He had been busy enjoying life last night and had no mind for anything else!

This feels like a journey back to Niujiazhuang, a suburb of Beijing in Changping, in 1956, during the early days of the People's Republic of China.

One name struck Niu Dazhuang as a deep thought: Qin Huairu, the cousin of his new wife.

Clearly, the original owner had never met Qin Huairu in person, otherwise there would be no recollection of her in the merged memories.

But other people can transmigrate into a courtyard house and become characters inside it, so why did I transmigrate to the suburbs?

Is this a courtyard house?

Even after they had reached the threshing ground of the second team, Niu Dazhuang was still not sure.

"Hey! Isn't this the groom? Take a few steps, let me see if your legs are weak?" The person teasing him was Niu Dashan, one of the three relatives of the groom.

Niujiazhuang is a small village nestled in the Taihang Mountains southwest of Changping County. Because of its small size, it has only about forty households and a little over two hundred people. It formed a production brigade together with Qinjiawa, the village where Qin Xueru lives.

The Niujiazhuang production team was further divided into two production groups for easier management.

It has been five or six years since liberation, and there were very few adult laborers who survived the war-torn years.

Before liberation, people had fewer children, and the survival rate of infants was low. In Niu Dazhuang's group, which consisted of 26 households, six of them were widows.

Of these more than one hundred people, more than twenty are children under the age of six.

There were only about thirty able-bodied men over the age of eighteen, and women held up half the sky! With the addition of more than forty women, that was the entire production team of Niu Dazhuang.

Qinjiawa Brigade was originally under the jurisdiction of Changping County, but this spring, Changping County was transferred to Yanjing.

Although it came under the jurisdiction of Yanjing, it didn't have much impact on us ordinary people; we still farmed as usual.

"Brother Dashan, I don't know what stroke of luck Dazhuang had, Qin Xueru actually took a liking to him." A young man about the same age as Niu Dazhuang said indignantly.

"You're skinny as a stick, lazy and greedy. Any girl who isn't blind will never be interested in you," Niu Dashan said bluntly.

"Big ant! What, you're not convinced? Come on, let's wrestle and see if my legs go weak!" With that, Niu Dazhuang reached for his belt.

The one called Big Ant quickly dodged, immediately backing down, but still wouldn't back down verbally, "Big Wild Donkey, let's not compete in wrestling, let's compete in who can withstand hunger longer!"

There are plenty of young people who love to stir up trouble: "Niu Dachuan, what are you chickening out for? Wrestle with Dazhuang!"

"Niu Deshui, if you're so capable, why don't you go and do it yourself!" Niu Dachuan said, backing away.

"Alright, everyone stop fooling around, the team leader is here!" Niu Dashan reminded them. Niu Dashan was one of the few literate people in the village, so he was the work recorder and accountant for the group.

Because of Niu Dazhuang, after liberation, with the strong suggestion and financial support of his uncle, he attended primary school for three years and higher primary school for one year.

It wasn't until 1954, when his elderly father died in an accident while hunting in the deep mountains, that Niu Dazhuang was able to complete his studies.

As for his mother, Niu Dazhuang had no memory of her; he only remembered her when he went to sweep her grave during the Qingming Festival each year.

Niu Dazhuang had studied for four years and was literate. He also held several positions in the group, such as custodian, cashier, and carriage driver. He also knew a little about veterinary medicine.

He was also the militia squad leader of the entire Niujiazhuang village.

People live off the land and water; Niujiazhuang is a similar place, with every household owning a musket.

Under the leadership of Niu Dazhuang, the militia squad won first place in the commune's militia skills competition last year and was awarded a big red flower.

It was at this time that he caught the eye of Qin Xueru's elderly father. Logically speaking, such a strong young man should not have died young.

But life is so unreasonable; there are no distinctions of rank on the road to the underworld. He drank himself to death on his wedding night, which is why Niu Dazhuang is now living in such a good situation.

Team leader Niu Youcao stood on the stone roller and began assigning tasks: "Old Zhang, Dazhuang, Chen Xia, Ye Chunmei, you guys go chop hay for the livestock."

The rest of you, come with me to collect manure. Let's try to finish collecting all the manure before the heavy snow closes the mountain passes. Better early than late! Let's go!

The production team raised a donkey, a cow, and a flock of sheep. After winter set in, all these livestock relied on the fodder stored in the fall to survive.

This doesn't even include the two pigs they raise.

They said they were chopping fodder, but once inside the livestock shed, they had to clean it first. The livestock manure was excellent fertilizer, so of course they couldn't waste it and piled it up to the side.

There were two guillotines. Ye Chunmei and Dazhuang were in one group, and Lao Zhangtou and Chen Xia were in another. The women were responsible for feeding grass under the guillotines, and the men were responsible for chopping it.

"Hey! Dazhuang, you're really strong. Didn't you sleep together last night?" They chatted while working.

"Hehehe... Chunmei, Dazhuang is easily embarrassed. If you say that again, I'll grab you and wrestle with you!"

"Sister-in-law Chen Xia, I think you're the one who wants Dazhuang to wrestle with you, why don't you two wrestle together right now..."

Da Zhuang thought to himself, "Are all married women this outspoken? Who says people are feudal these days?"

Old Zhang chimed in, "Dazhuang's wife is a daughter of the Qin family. Why would she be interested in you?"

"Hmph! Old Zhang, you're wrong about that. The Qin family's daughter is beautiful, but..."

But Chunmei isn't bad-looking either. Look at her figure, all curvy and shapely, and her little face is so pretty it looks like you could pinch water out of it...

"Sister-in-law Chen Xia, you're talking nonsense! Be careful, or I'll stab your mouth with an awl. You're even bigger than me, with all those cleavage and bulges!"

If it were the original owner, she would definitely blush with embarrassment, but who is Da Zhuang now? He's seen everything in his previous life.

He glanced at the two young women openly, smacked his lips, and said, "Sisters, stop arguing. You're both just plain ugly!"

"Wow! This donkey foal that's been through a wedding night is something else!" No matter how the two teased him before, Dazhuang never said a word.

Today is clearly different!

"Yes, Dazhuang is a real man from now on, but he changed a little too fast! It's like he grew up overnight."

"I didn't grow up overnight, I've been grown up for a long time!" Niu Dazhuang can also drive.

"Heh heh... Whether you grew up overnight or not, we don't know, but we do know you're especially good at making things up today!"

"Oh, Chunmei, I thought you knew! Hehe..."

"Sister-in-law Chen Xia, whose side are you on?! You're so annoying!"

Old Zhang was practically bursting with frustration. What did those two young women eat for breakfast today? They were so voracious!

It takes a day's worth of fodder to chop up for two large animals. Men and women working together makes the work easier.

They finished their work here before noon and then the four of them moved on to the sheepfold.

After working on the sheepfold for a while, the squad leader returned with the main force. It was lunchtime.