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

Niu Dazhuang was also testing the waters to see if his wife was the type to be obsessed with her brother. He was extremely pleased to hear Qin Xueru say that.

It's not wrong to help your parents' family, but you must do so within your means. Don't try to transfer everything you have to your parents' family.

"Then we'll steam some cornbread and bring it over tomorrow night!"

"Alright! Dazhuang, we won't give away the cornbread for nothing. When we come back, I'll beg my mom to bring back some sticky rice so we can make some New Year's cake."

"My wife isn't stupid; she knows to rummage through our own house!"

"Hmph! You think you're so clever! Hurry up and go do the statistics, don't come back too late, I'm scared to be alone!"

"Why don't you come with me?"

"Never mind, you go by yourself. My legs are so sore from walking!"

"No rush, it's actually easy to count. Our production group only has 26 households. Most of the older people go to the team leader's house after dinner, while the younger people usually go to Brother Dashan's house. A few families living at the east end of the village are a bit more troublesome."

Tell me about your family members, I don't know them all, so I don't want to make a fool of myself.

"Don't make a fool of yourself. Just shout whatever I tell you to shout!"

"You're going to follow me around all day, huh?"

"That's true. As for my family, you probably don't recognize my cousins!"

"Yes, I knew you seven cousins ​​were all incredibly beautiful, and you're all famous in our commune."

Qin Xueru pouted, "Don't listen to the rumors outside. The youngest, Jingru, will only be eleven after the New Year. What can she possibly know!"

Upon hearing the name Jingru, Niu Dazhuang was certain that he had transmigrated into a courtyard house. It was understandable for one person to have the same name, but for two sisters to have the same name was no coincidence.

I was wondering why Xue Ru looked so familiar; it turns out she looks like Qin Huairu and her sister.

The more Niu Dazhuang looked at Qin Xueru's eyes, the more they resembled Qin Huairu's, and her figure was also comparable to Qin Huairu's.

Qin Xueru noticed that her husband was staring at her intently, and she felt a surge of happiness. She tapped Dazhuang's forehead with her index finger and said, "Haven't you seen enough yet?"

"Hehe, I could look at it for a lifetime and still not get enough!" he said, reaching out his hand.

Qin Xueru twisted her body, dodging the clutches: "Go quickly, come back sooner rather than later."

Niu Dazhuang failed again, then suddenly sat up and touched Xue Ru's thigh.

"I'm leaving now. I'll reseal the coal fire when I get back!"

"Yes, carrying a lantern!"

"No need, the moon is so bright, why would we need a lantern!" With that, Niu Dazhuang went out the door.

Just like Niu Dazhuang said, seven or eight older men and uncles were gathered around the coal fire at the team leader's house, each with a pipe and a pot, chatting.

"Fifth Uncle, Brother Dashan..." Niu Dazhuang called out to them one by one, then turned around and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Uncle Cao, where are your tobacco leaves? I'll roll a bag too!"

"Dazhuang, didn't you say you didn't smoke? Why are you worried now that you've married a beautiful wife?" Niu Youcao said, handing him his tobacco pouch.

There were definitely no cigarette papers. "Uncle, could you find me some newspapers?"

"Young people are so troublesome. Why do you think your uncle is sloppy? Just use my cigarette!"

Sitting at the foot of the kang (a heated brick bed), Aunt Niu couldn't stand it anymore: "How can you be like this? This is called being hygienic. I know more about the policies from above than you do. Didn't you say in the meeting that the newspapers were advocating for everyone to be hygienic? How come you forgot?"

As she spoke, Aunt Niu took out a newspaper from the bedside table and handed it to Niu Dazhuang.

In those days, newspapers were a rare commodity for ordinary people; they were generally unavailable, except perhaps in the homes of team leaders.

Niu Dazhuang glanced at the date on the newspaper; it was from last year. He then tore off a long strip and rolled it up.

"Cough cough...that's quite a strong one. Auntie, have you decided what to buy for the New Year?"

"Yes, I've discussed it with your uncle. Make a note of it: one pound of brown sugar..."

After Niu Dazhuang left, the group of men started discussing things.

"Yes, we must continue running the literacy class in our village. Not for any other reason than we can't let all the young people in our village be blind!"

Look at Dazhuang, he's literate, he's not afraid to go to the capital. And look at the other young men, they don't even dare to go to the outhouse when they go out..."

"Brother Cai, what does being literate have to do with going to the toilet?"

"How can it not matter? You can't read, so you don't know which is the men's toilet and which is the women's toilet."

"That's because you're stupid. Why don't you wait and see how others use the toilet?"

Bored people, how can you argue all night about going to the toilet?

Compared to the squad leader's house, Niu Dashan's house was much more lively. When Niu Dazhuang arrived, a dozen young people were practicing martial arts in the yard.

As a hunter's village, how could one survive without good skills? Before the original owner got married, he was a regular here and the leader of a dozen or so people. This leadership was based on skill, not age.

Niu Dazhuang was itching to try it too. He rolled up his sleeves, stood in the courtyard, and called out, "Come on, let's clear the level today! Who wants to go first?"

Before an incense stick could burn, all of them had been brought down.

Even in the dead of winter, everyone was sweating.

"Come inside, everyone, so you don't get bitten by the wind," Niu Dashan called to everyone.

Big Ant Niu Dachuan tugged at Dazhuang: "Want to come with me?"

"I'm married now, I'm an adult, you can call Erhe."

"Tch! Showing off like that. I'll bring it back later, so don't eat it!"

"Why should I! Just go already!"

The big ant called out to Niu Erhe as he went out.

In those days, the houses where ordinary people lived were narrow, and they could accommodate more than a dozen people, with some in the inner room and others in the outer room, making them very crowded.

Looking at these young people, Niu Dashan was genuinely happy: "Good! Where there are people, there is hope. Back when the Japanese invaders crossed the border, they almost wiped out our village..."

Whenever the Japanese devils were mentioned, these young people would get very angry.

Just as Niu Dashan was getting into his story, Da Malang and Niu Erhe returned, carrying something in the corner of their clothes.

"Bake your own food, Sanwazi, don't burn it."

"Oh, I'll go get some firewood." The youngest of the three children went outside.

They were all young people, and after playing around for a while in the evening, they were already hungry. So each of them had a sweet potato and a potato.

This is a benefit provided by the village to the young men: every night they come out to exercise in the winter, each receives a sweet potato and a potato.

This decision was passed at a village-wide meeting. Everyone in the village understands that young men are the main force of labor, and only when they are strong and healthy can they bring more benefits to everyone.

"The farm work is almost finished these past two days. Have you all packed up your own muskets, and we'll head up the mountain in a couple of days!"

In Niu Dazhuang's deepest memory, going hunting in the mountains was never a good thing. If you were unlucky, you could really die.

Especially on one occasion, the hunters had no suitable tools; with just an old-fashioned rifle, they could only run away when they encountered a wild boar.

Even if a dozen or so people are lucky enough to hunt a wild boar, the meat still doesn't taste good. Domestic pigs aren't castrated, and their meat is gamey, let alone wild boar.