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

"Oh, it seems your family has quite a story?" Niu Dazhuang asked, intrigued.

"What story? Our Qin family has always valued both farming and scholarship. Both men and women must learn the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic; this is our ancestral precept. Our Qin family ancestor said that literacy reduces the number of fools, regardless of gender! I heard your Niu family ancestor was a mountain bandit, is that true?"

"That's not accurate. It should be during the Qing Dynasty. Our ancestors were镖头 (bodyguards/escorts). Later, during the years when the Japanese were fighting, they did some risk-free business to survive."

"Oh, so I've become a bandit's wife?"

"Hehe, it's too late to regret it now."

"Dazhuang! Let's go!" The two were chatting enthusiastically when someone called from outside the gate.

"Get some rest, I'm going to Qinjiawa!" he said, and then went out the door.

As soon as Niu Dazhuang stepped out the door, someone grabbed his neck: "Dazhuang, how did it go with the matchmaking thing I asked your sister-in-law to do for us the other day?"

Niu Dazhuang took Niu Dachuan's arm off: "My wife went back home a few days ago and told me about your situation. Qin Yueru agreed to come and visit, but not to go on a blind date with you."

Niu Dachuan's face, which had been grinning smugly just moments before, instantly turned from sunny to stormy. "Ugh! Why are all women so shallow? So what if I'm thin? My soul is one in a million!"

Niu Dazhuang kicked him in the butt: "All you're good for is your mouth."

Seven or eight people returned the guns amidst laughter and chatter.

"You guys go back first, I have something to do." After sending them away, Niu Dazhuang took out the cigarettes he had been reluctant to smoke and handed one to each of the Qinjiawa brigade leader and the accountant. He also gave himself one.

Qin Youde took the cigarette, but said, "We're all family, why be so polite? What's the matter?"

"You've set a good example! Since your village is eating meat, we'd like to have some soup too."

Qin Youde raised an eyebrow: "You child, you don't speak frankly. What kind of meat do we eat in our village? But your Niujiazhuang village has meat to eat every year."

Niu Dazhuang stopped beating around the bush. "Captain, I'm not going to beat around the bush either. Our village wants to learn from you and turn that sandy beach at the west end of our village into a few acres of irrigated land."

Qin Youde glanced at Niu Dazhuang: "This is no small matter. Why didn't Niu Youcao tell me?"

"Hehe, aren't we related? Let's send someone to sound us out first."

"That old fox, Dazhuang, this is a good thing, I will definitely support it, but there are no cement quotas this year, the earliest we can get them is next autumn."

Niu Dazhuang didn't understand. "We're clearing land on the riverbank, why do we need cement?"

Seeing Niu Dazhuang's dazed look, Qin Youde explained, "Have you seen our village's flood control dam? If it weren't for this, wouldn't the crops be washed away during the summer floods?"

Niu Dazhuang scratched his head awkwardly: "We really didn't think of that; we were just worried about the soil!"

"It's not your fault. Your Niujiazhuang village isn't very good at farming. It was only after Liberation that your village started farming properly! As long as the cement can be applied for, the soil problem will be easy to solve."

After finishing the business, Qin Youde asked, "So, from now on you're the person in charge of your Niujia Village?"

"Captain, now that we're liberated, the old ways don't work anymore. But Uncle Cao is still the squad leader. I want to go to Beijing next year."

"Oh, that's right. Your uncle lives in Beijing. As you just said, it's the new China now, so you have to be more careful in your actions..." Qin Youde still had some reservations about his niece marrying into Niujiazhuang.

However, since things had come to this point, there wasn't much he, as a clan uncle, could say, only offering a kind reminder.

"Captain, I'm a law-abiding citizen!" Niu Dazhuang knew what he meant.

Qin Youde thought to himself, "Does your Niujiazhuang village have a tradition of abiding by the law?"

"That's good. Things are different now. That's fine. You can go back now!" After saying that, Qin Youde picked up the carrying pole and went to pick stones with the accountant.

After asking all the questions, Niu Dazhuang returned to Niujiazhuang at dusk. He then went to Niu Youcao's house to explain the situation again. By the time he went out again, it was completely dark.

Niu Dazhuang wasn't in a hurry to go home. Instead, he wandered around outside the village for a while, took out the wild goat meat he had prepared from his storage space, and left it outside to freeze for a bit.

Otherwise, if the mutton taken out of the space looks exactly like freshly slaughtered meat, it will easily arouse Xue Ru's suspicion.

Niu Dazhuang would never tell anyone about such an incredible thing as "anytime space," not even his own wife.

When I got home, I quickly closed the front door and carried the whole sheep carcass into the house.

"Oh dear, why did you carry this all back like this? Did no one see it on the way?" Qin Xueru quickly closed the door and hurriedly spread a burlap sack on the ground.

Niu Dazhuang placed the sheep carcass on the burlap sack: "Go get the knife, I've cut up the carcass. We'll have stewed mutton tonight!"

"Oh," Qin Xueru said awkwardly, taking over the three knives. "Which one do you want to use?"

"How could my wife not know how to cut meat? Come on, let me teach you. This knife is for skinning, this knife is for chopping bones, and this knife is for shaving meat." As Niu Dazhuang spoke, he skillfully cut the sheep carcass.

Qin Xueru asked timidly, "Do all the women in the village know how to shave their own flesh?"

"Pretty much! He can not only butcher but also slaughter sheep and pigs! He's just a bit unreliable when it comes to farm work!" Niu Dazhuang added the second half of his sentence, recalling Qin Youde's words from earlier that day.

"Yes, I can tell. Although I don't go out much, I can tell from what they're talking about that their atmosphere is different from our village's."

"Really? What are you women talking about? Get the pots and pans out, I'm cooking tonight!"

"No, let me do it. If you don't want to put in more vegetables, I'll put in less."

"Hmm, put in plenty of meat, and just one white radish will do. Yesterday we talked about selling meat at the market, but after thinking about it, I felt it wasn't a good idea. What if someone from our village runs into it? That wouldn't be appropriate. I think I'll go to the county town instead. People there have money, so it'll be easier to sell!"

"That's true. I plan to bring Yue Ru over tomorrow so I can see her and stop worrying about her. You should go and come back soon."

As the two talked, the sheep's ribs were separated. Niu Dazhuang then washed a white radish, cut it into pieces, and chopped it up.

Then I sat down in front of the stove to light the fire.

Once the pot is hot, add the mutton fat first: "This mutton is quite fatty, there's so much fat!"

Qin Xueru said happily

"Of course! A herd of wild goats, I'd only hunt the fattest ones! Tomorrow when you go back to your parents' house, see if anyone has a cat, we can get one too. Otherwise, all this fresh meat in the house will just get eaten by the rats!"

"Hmm, how did you usually do it?"

"In the past, I was the only one eating and the whole family wasn't hungry. There wasn't much fresh meat at home, so it wasn't worth keeping a cat."

The mutton fat in the wok was smoking, so Qin Xueru first added two red chilies, then added scallions to sauté.

Next, add the chopped mutton to the pot and stir-fry until the surface of the mutton turns white. Then add water and cover the pot.

Qin Xueru took a small stool and sat down in front of the stove.