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

Niu Dazhuang first went to Niu Youcao's house. He is now the most senior member of the village, so he must visit him when he returns.

Of course, he didn't leave empty-handed either; he took out two pounds of brown sugar from his spatial storage and carried them with him.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they could hear voices talking inside the house. Niu Dazhuang deliberately coughed lightly, as if to signal to the people inside.

This is a detail from visiting someone's house for dinner. You made a noise, and only then did the homeowner realize someone had come to the yard.

Niu Dazhuang lifted the cotton curtain and pushed open the door.

"Oh! Dazhuang's back today?" Aunt Cao greeted him first, "Come sit by the coal fire."

Da Shan is here too, along with Old Zhang.

Niu Dazhuang didn't stand on ceremony: "Auntie, where's your sweet potato starch? Take some out. I brought some brown sugar and want to make some starch with the brown sugar from my hometown."

"Okay, sit down, I'll make you some right away!"

Aunt Cao first took out an iron ladle, filled it with cold water, and put it into the coal fire. Then she took out four flared porcelain bowls.

"Auntie, don't be stingy, just make some for us!"

"Then I'll have a bowl too."

Niu Dazhuang took out his cigarettes, handed one to each person, and then placed them on the kang table without putting them away.

Niu Dashan sat close to the stove, bent down, picked up a small wooden stick, lit it over the coal fire, and then lit cigarettes for everyone.

Nowadays, people are so frugal that they can save money by using up a match when lighting a cigarette.

Sometimes they would smoke in the fields and often build fires, not because they didn't have matches, but to save money.

A pack of Botou matches cost 2 mao (0.2 yuan), and each pack contained ten boxes of matches, with about 100 matches in each box. People in the 21st century certainly haven't counted them.

This is a number that both adults and children know.

Aunt Cao grabbed a small handful of sweet potato starch and divided it as evenly as possible into five bowls, then pinched a small amount of brown sugar with four fingers...

Once the water in the simmering pot boils, wrap the simmering pot handle with a tattered towel and pour the boiling water into five bowls. The five bowls of steaming hot brown sugar glutinous rice powder are now ready.

"Dashan was just telling me about your family. What are your plans?"

"Let's lay low in our village for a while and talk about it again in two or three years. In the meantime, I'll go to Hong Kong Island."

"Oh, why are you going so far? We can tell you're from out of town just by the way we talk. It's not easy to do business in a place like this." Niu Youcao was a seasoned veteran.

"This is what legitimate business should be like."

"Yes, your family will stay on our estate, don't worry."

"With Uncle Cao around, I feel at ease with the people in our village. That's why I let them all come back to stay. I understand the rules too."

"It's too ostentatious to distribute money to everyone. When you come back, just give each household a bag of flour." Da Shan took charge of the whole village.

This was the rule of the old camp before liberation.

"Is it a bit too little?"

"Things are different now than before. Farming and hunting can provide enough food to eat. We don't have to risk our lives anymore. There's not much risk, so we can just do a little bit."

I think your eldest son has potential; your uncle must have put a lot of effort into training him!

"Well, I basically don't care about things at home in the city. Uncle Cao, I've taken care of everything. These past few years, I've been relying on you to lay the foundation for my children."

"I'm keeping an eye on things. Let me make this clear first: I'm going to discipline the kids, and I'll have to hit them. Tell your women when you get home."

"All children in the village who are seven years old or older, come on over. I'll provide all the necessary supplies."

"Have you thought this through? To build up the children's bodies, you need to increase their physical development. With so many children, it's going to cost a lot of money each year."

Da Shan added, "There are more than a dozen young people who are about your age, and they are all married now. Each family has four or five children, so that makes more than forty. Add your family's nine children, and that makes about fifty."

"I know that as long as they can come, no matter how old they are, I will take care of them all equally. And Brother Dashan, you'll have to make a few more trips to find a teacher. As I told you before, female teachers are welcome, but male teachers are not."

"I'll try my best. Logically speaking, with so many children in our village, we should send a teacher."

The three discussed some details, and before leaving, Niu Dazhuang left Uncle Youcao 10,000 yuan, which was to cover the food expenses for the fifty children over two years.

It looks like a lot, but you can't help but do the math. This is based on half the meat supply. Every household is a hunter, and vegetables haven't even been charged yet. So, for fifty children, it would cost 11 yuan a day. Rice, noodles, and other grains also need to be bought.

That's about 4500 a year, leaving you with 10,000 definitely isn't much. You can't expect Uncle Cao and his wife to have worked for nothing all year.

The news spread throughout the entire village the next day, and people didn't even rest during the New Year holiday; they started looking for and leveling a site.

Parents in China have always valued education, whether it's academics or martial arts...

Before he knew it, it was the third day of the Lunar New Year, the day to pay New Year's visits to his father-in-law. Niu Dazhuang struggled with his thoughts for a long time but still didn't have the courage to go to Qinjiawa.

Of the six sisters, only Qin Jingru was childless yet. The other five sisters, all with children and carrying baskets, set off in a grand procession.

On the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Niu Dazhuang came out of Chen Xia's house and cursed at the wall separating the two houses: "Damn it, I'll tear you down sooner or later."

He grumbled as he walked around the front door and turned to Sister Ye.

Ye Chunlan was already prepared. Seeing Niu Dazhuang come in, she quickly pulled back her blankets and said, "Come in and warm up. What were you cursing about in the yard just now?"

"This is troublesome; I just put on my clothes and now I have to take them off again."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chunlan understood: "It doesn't matter to us, it's just that Chen Xia is a little shy. Don't worry, I'll definitely persuade her when you come back next time."

"Yes, you've taught you this, so you know what's going on. You still make me run errands tonight. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"I've made some arrangements, but in case of any unforeseen circumstances, Chunlan, you must wait for me to return, and please don't do anything foolish." In this day and age, there are quite a few people who do foolish things.

Putting everything else aside, Lao She himself jumped into the lake.

"I haven't had enough of the good life yet, I can't bear to die."

Like a child, Niu Dazhuang pressed his face against her chest: "Remember what you said today. No matter what happens, you must be strong and survive. You must wait for me to come back. I will take care of everything."

You can say Da Zhuang is promiscuous, but you can't say he's heartless. He treats every woman he's been with with genuine sincerity.

Ye Chunlan gently stroked his head: "Yes! I know you are a man of honor and loyalty. I promise you, no matter what happens in the future, I will wait for you to come back."

Their heartfelt conversations added a touch of passion to tonight's grand feast...

Early the next morning, Niu Dazhuang returned to the old house and checked on the children who were still fast asleep.

After giving the Qin sisters a reluctant kiss, he strode away from the old house.

"Eighth Sister, why does Brother Da Niu look like he's only been away for a year or two?"