Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Zhou Rui jogged over to the elderly man who had stood up and took Zhou Yong'an's skinny, bony hands in his.

"Grandpa, I have some errands to run in town, and I'm feeling a bit hungry, so I'll go in first."

Zhou Rui pointed inside the room.

Zhou Yong'an nodded. "Go ahead, your mother and the others are inside."

Grandma sat beside him and pulled Zhou Yong'an aside, saying:

"The child is grown up, let him be."

Zhou Rui chuckled, greeted his grandmother, and went back inside.

In the backyard, Zeng Jiamei was doing handicrafts, as was Yang Laidi, but it was obvious that Zeng Jiamei was a little faster.

"Mom, I'm home."

Zhou Rui didn't rush to eat; instead, he went to the backyard to greet his mother.

Zeng Jiamei looked up, saw her son, and asked with concern:

"How did it go?"

Because of Zhou Rui's absent-mindedness in the morning, Zeng Jiamei was quite puzzled. In addition, Zhou Rui's actions when leaving the house made her think that Zhou Rui had gone to the clinic.

Zhou Rui jogged to the stove, found a boiled potato, and started eating it.

"It's nothing, Mom. I just didn't sleep well last night. Don't worry about me."

He replied while munching on a potato, then found a small stool inside the house and went to the backyard to sit and watch his mother, Zeng Jiamei, do handicrafts.

"It's good that you're alright. Why are you only eating potatoes? There were also eggs. Grandpa specially asked me to cook them for you."

Zeng Jiamei looked at Zhou Rui, who was holding a bowl in one hand and a potato in the other, but there was no sign of an egg, and asked him in confusion.

Zhou Rui dipped a potato in the chili powder in the bowl in his left hand with his right hand, and took a bite.

After taking a quick bite, Zhou Ruicai said:

"Mom, Grandpa has been giving me eggs to eat every day for the past few days, and I'm almost tired of them."

The Zhou family is far from being able to eat meat at every meal; potatoes and vegetables are still the main dishes on their table.

Moreover, the rice at home is almost gone, and Zhou Rui plans to go to town to buy some more tomorrow.

Therefore, eggs have become the most precious nutritious food in the family, and the elderly always like to leave the best for their children and grandchildren.

Grandma gave the gifts to Zeng Jiamei and Yang Laidi respectively, but she was slightly biased towards Zeng Jiamei, as Grandma doted on Zeng Jiamei more.

However, each time, Zeng Jiamei secretly gave it to her younger sister-in-law Yang Laidi, because she knew about her sister's background.

The elderly, having lived through that era, didn't feel it as strongly, as did many others in the village, who all believed that able-bodied laborers were precious.

Secondly, a housewife who is good at taking care of her family and is intelligent is more likable.

Therefore, the old man loved Zeng Jiamei more than Yang Laidi, his two daughters-in-law.

Influenced by her husband Zhou Shiwei, Zeng Jiamei was quite open-minded and always thought of her younger sister, taking her along in everything.

Grandpa doted on Zhou Rui the most, followed by Zhou Ming, while none of Zhou Shijie's three children made the old man very happy.

The eldest son is rarely home, and his youngest daughter and son are somewhat dull-witted due to their father's influence.

However, the old man still loved the two younger ones very much, and personally went to discuss with Zhou Shiping about helping the two children go to school.

Zeng Jiamei smiled and didn't continue to persuade her son; she knew he was sensible.

The two chatted casually, with the second aunt speaking from time to time, which was only because Zeng Jiamei took the initiative to start the conversation.

Otherwise, given my second aunt's temperament, she wouldn't have taken the initiative to say anything; she would have just quietly done her work.

The blazing sun gradually faded, and a touch of sunset red spread across the horizon.

Looking out from the Zhou family's backyard, one sees a field planted with their own grain, which gleams in the setting sun.

Further on, there is the back mountain, with its endless hills full of unique charm, home to all sorts of rare mountain products and wild species.

The saying "those who live near the mountains live off the mountains" means exactly this.

Zeng Jiamei and her husband had already gone inside and started preparing dinner. It takes some effort to cook three meals a day for a family of eight.

Zhou Rui stood in the backyard, gazing at the stunning rice paddies and the distant mountains.

He was somewhat worried because he had run out of money. If he went to buy some rice tomorrow, he estimated that there wouldn't be much left.

Zhou Rui had the idea of ​​going into the mountains again, but without any intelligence, he dared not act rashly.

It wasn't that I was afraid of getting nothing, but rather that the back mountain was truly dangerous.

On both occasions, with the help of intelligence, coupled with caution and a bit of luck, he was able to escape unscathed. Now, he dares not gamble, nor will he take any rash actions.

At the very least, we'll have to wait until we have guns, or until the intelligence is updated to be favorable.

Zhou Rui let out a deep breath. Right now, the Zhou family needs time and a much-needed boost; otherwise, they'll be forced to give away even a few eggs...

However, it is precisely at times like these that we must not act rashly. If not handled properly, the situation that has just stabilized could very well collapse again.

Fortunately, there was still that pile of Gastrodia elata.

Zhou Rui looked at the wild gastrodia elata that had been washed and placed in a bamboo basket not far away.

The past few days have been rainy, so the gastrodia elata didn't have a chance to be dried. It's only today that we've taken it out to dry.

The rest of the time they are air-dried, and since it's not time yet, these wild gastrodia elata are still plump, only slightly shriveled.

This is my family's hope for a turnaround...

Zhou Rui thought to himself that in this day and age, two hundred yuan was enough to buy a "real thing".

The difficulty lies in finding the right channels, but fortunately, my father has them.

As Zhou Rui thought about it, he turned the gastrodia elata in the winnowing basket over, then carried it into the inner room.

"Mom, I'll go buy rice tomorrow."

After tidying up, Zhou Rui helped wash the vegetables by the stove and chatted with his mother.

"Go ahead, wait for your dad to come back, I'll ask him to give you the money."

Zeng Jiamei had just placed the steamer into the steaming iron pot when she thought Zhou Rui was out of money.

Zhou Rui added two pieces of firewood to the stove and then said:

"Mom, I have money, it's okay."

Zeng Jiamei slowed her movements, then picked up the lid and tightly closed the rice steamer before turning to the side and pinching Zhou Rui.

"What, you think your parents can't afford to support you?"

Zhou Rui's face was gently pinched; it didn't hurt. Zeng Jiamei's movements were very gentle.

Zhou Rui scratched his head. "That's not what I meant."

Zeng Jiamei laughed and said, "Son, it's okay. Your dad and I can still move around. We won't let you shoulder all the pressure."

As Zeng Jiamei spoke, she gestured for Zhou Rui to look toward the large grain vat in the kitchen.

Zhou Rui followed the gaze and focused on a corner of the kitchen, where there was a large bag of potatoes and some vegetables.

Zhou Rui was stunned. This was something he hadn't expected. He usually helped with cooking, but this was the first time he had ever seen a bag of potatoes like this.

Note that Mom also bought grains today, but she didn't go to town to buy rice.

Zeng Jiamei's voice came at this moment, and she casually said:

"Today, someone from a neighboring village came in an oxcart to sell potatoes. I saw that the price was cheap, so I bought a bag."

"Hmm... It was your dad who brought it up last night. He said that we're out of rice, and the kid will definitely have to go buy some, so he asked me to go today."