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

Qinjiawa is different from Niujiazhuang; the residents are scattered. There are two major intersections along the Dongsha River to the north and south, and each small gully is an entrance.

In this situation, joint guarantee becomes very important. There are about ten households in a small mountain valley, and these ten households form a group, equipped with a long gun...

Niu Dazhuang led his team back to Niujiazhuang.

Qin Xueru first cleaned the dust off her man, boiled water, and took care of his personal hygiene.

"Dazhuang, it went smoothly. I thought it would take at least four or five days."

"Yeah, I bet your parents' house will be bustling with activity these next few nights."

"Oh, who wants to get married?"

"No, if we kill three wolves, the pack will definitely retaliate. But don't worry, your village is prepared."

Qin Xueru didn't continue the conversation on that topic, but instead said, "My sister stayed at our house for a few days. I'm used to the lively atmosphere, and with her keeping me company, I don't feel scared when you're not home at night. Now, suddenly being home alone, I feel..."

Niu Dazhuang, unlike women, didn't think as much. He was secretly pleased, saying, "You know our family situation. If you want your sister to stay a few more days, I have no objection."

"Ningru has been wanting to come and stay for a while, but my mother has been stopping her, worried that it will disrupt our lives. Why don't we bring Ningru over to stay for a few days?" Qin Xueru asked tentatively.

The older sister-in-law has stayed here twice already, so why can't the younger sister-in-law stay here?

"As long as she's willing and your mother agrees, I have no objection."

"Then I'll bring Ningru over tomorrow to stay for a while."

"Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit." Having not slept well last night, Niu Dazhuang washed up and lay down on the heated kang.

Having not exercised for two nights, I'm definitely going to have to do something a little tonight. Why do I say "a little"? Because Qin Xueru's fighting power is limited.

The next day, Qin Xueru had Niu Dazhuang push her to Qinjiawa in a small cart. In those days, it was perfectly normal for someone to push their wife, or even their entire family, out in a stroller. No one knew why it was Qin Xueru's doing.

Seeing her daughter being wheeled in, Qin's mother beamed and said, "So you're pregnant! Why aren't you at home taking care of the baby? What are you doing here?"

Qin Xueru was at a loss for words when asked: "Mother, no, it's just that there's a wolf attack! I thought Ningru wouldn't be able to help much at home, so I thought I'd bring her to stay with me for a while. After all, Niujiazhuang is safer than our area."

Qin Xueru got off the stroller and swayed as she walked into the house.

Qin's mother, being an experienced woman, immediately understood what was going on. She glared at Niu Dazhuang, annoyed, and said, "Can't you take it easy? You've been married for over a month, and you still don't know what's important."

Niu Dazhuang awkwardly scratched his head. Not knowing what to say, he could only grin sheepishly.

"Mother, this isn't his fault. Where's Ningru?"

"She went to your uncle's house to play with Huairu. I'll go call her back; you should go warm up on the kang (heated brick bed) first!"

This time, Qin's mother didn't say anything about disturbing the young couple's life. She called Qin Ningru back, didn't leave her lunch, and had Niu Dazhuang push the two sisters away.

It wasn't that Qin's mother didn't want to keep them for dinner, but she was afraid that it would be too late and they might encounter wolves on the way. The path back to Niujiazhuang wasn't open yet; they had to follow the Dongsha River.

It was past noon when she got home, and Qin Xueru, who had rested for half a day, had almost recovered.

"Sister, why don't you go and rest on the kang? Tell me what you need to do, and I'll do it." Qin Ningru was quite efficient at her work.

"Whatever you want to eat, we'll make it."

"Hehe, the pheasant meat they sent us last time was delicious, I haven't had enough yet."

"Alright, go get it from the hanging basket in the west wing, and soak some mushrooms too. The rice and flour are in the jars in the outer room."

"Oh, sis, aren't you going to eat rice with two grains of rice?"

"Your brother-in-law doesn't like it!"

"That's so luxurious. If I had known your family ate this well, I would have come over a long time ago."

Niu Dazhuang wasn't idle either; he was chopping firewood in the yard. To keep warm, they kept a charcoal brazier inside during the day, so the amount of firewood he was chopping was extraordinary.

Luckily, I had some stock in my storage space.

After lunch, Niu Dazhuang went out. When he returned in the afternoon, there were three more wild rabbits and two wild pheasants in his basket.

"Brother-in-law, you're amazing! How long was it this time?!"

"Hehe, these are the traps and cages I set before. I don't always have a harvest every day. It's your arrival that brought me good luck."

"Hehe, brother-in-law, you're so good at talking. We had pheasant for lunch, but I want to try something different tonight."

"Okay, feel free to eat whatever you want from the house. Xue Ru, the New Year is coming soon, let's prepare something for the New Year too."

"Yes, Ningru is here, let's make more tofu and steam more rice cakes..."

Qin Ningru was secretly delighted: "Sister, I'm still spending the New Year at your house?"

"What's wrong with spending the New Year at my house? Why are you going back? Don't go back and cause trouble."

"I have no objection, but I'm afraid our mother won't agree."

"It's alright. If you don't go back, she's not going to come and arrest you, is she? Stay here without worry."

after dinner

"It's my turn to be on night duty tonight. Make sure the main gate is closed. See the gong hanging behind the gate? If you hear any noise in the yard, don't look through the door. Open a window a crack and ring the gong."

"Brother-in-law, what you said made me so nervous."

"It doesn't hurt to be more prepared." After saying that, Niu Dazhuang put on his wolfskin coat, took his pipe, and went out.

"Sis, this wasn't like this before. Why are the wolves coming down from the mountain so suddenly this year?"

"The snow hasn't been this heavy in previous winters. The wolves in the mountains can't find anything to eat, so they come down and prey on the livestock!"

"Oh, I see!"

"Ningru, you'll be nineteen by the New Year!"

"Sis, you're already sleepy before you're even asleep! Don't you know how old I am? I'm two years younger than you, and a few months older than Xiuru. She's never called me 'sister' since we were little!"

"It's the same. Yue Ru is a few months older than me, but I've never called her 'sister.' Ning Ru, what kind of man are you looking for?"

"You're acting really strange today. Haven't I told you before? Why do we keep asking?"

"Did I ask that all the time?"

"Of course, you asked about it when you went back last time, and it's only been a few days, and you're asking again."

"Oh, I don't remember. Do you know about the Ye family?"

"Your question is completely nonsensical. The Ye family has too many things to deal with! How would I know what you're asking?"

Since it was her first time doing something like this, Qin Xueru didn't know where to begin.

"It's Ye Tieniu's family's house."

"What happened to their family?"

"Tie Niu's father died out there back then, and his uncle didn't..."

"This is so old, and people still live like this now. Why did you suddenly bring this up, sis?" Qin Ningru had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

"It's nothing, just chatting. You know about our great-aunt's situation, right?"

"Great-aunt? Our father's aunt?"

"Um!"

"Hehe, I also heard Mom secretly tell me that Dad's third and seventh aunts both married a big landowner in Changping County. What do you mean, sister?" At this point, Qin Ningru understood, but she was a little skeptical that her own sister would have such a thought.