I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

We were busy until noon, and all the vegetables were put into jars. Water was added to the rim of the jars, and they would be ready to eat in three days.

At mealtime, all the people who worked at the Gao family's house returned, and Qiaoqiao and Gu Tong'an were also hungry.

Qiaoqiao didn't want to trouble the Gao family and wanted to go back for dinner, but Xiaoqi wouldn't agree no matter what.

"I'll eat noodles for lunch, and then head back; it's still over ten miles away."

Qiaoqiao was stunned for a moment. Where would she get noodles at home?

Soon, Xiaoqi's mother returned with a large handful of noodles, and the children quickly followed her to the kitchen.

Later, Qiaoqiao learned that the noodles were borrowed from a neighbor by Xiaoqi's mother.

The Gao family ate cornbread and stir-fried a bowl of leftover cabbage from making kimchi.

Qiaoqiao and Gu Tongan ate noodles, each with a large bowl.

Holding the bowl of noodles, the five children stared blankly, and Qiaoqiao couldn't eat a thing.

After mixing in some of the remaining soy sauce, Qiaoqiao gave each of the five children a chopstickful. In the end, there was only a small half bowl left, which she ate hastily before hurrying home with Gu Tong'an.

"Yang Qiao, Gu Tong'an, I'm sorry, we don't have much to offer you at home." Xiao Qi escorted Qiao Qiao to the roadside.

"Xiaoqi, thank you so much. You gave us all the best noodles in your house."

"I believe our family won't stay this poor forever. Once the land is distributed to individual households, I'll invite you all over for white flour steamed buns."

"Okay, I'll definitely come."

After waving goodbye, Qiaoqiao and Gu Tongan remained silent on the way back.

Xiaoqi's family's financial situation had a great impact on Qiaoqiao and Gu Tongan. Fortunately, Xiaoqi went to pick vegetables every day, otherwise how would that family survive?

"Yang Qiao, is what you said true?" Gu Tong'an couldn't help but ask.

"It's true. My family is similar to Xiaoqi's family, also three mud houses, only my family has fewer people than hers. I married Zhou Wenhui, it was a marriage of convenience, but I was lucky to have met a good in-law family." Qiaoqiao smiled frankly.

"Yang Qiao, Teacher Zhou is very good, and actually, you are very good too. Perhaps you haven't discovered your own charm; it's you who are changing the people around you."

"Really? I don't think so."

"Hmm, dating you doesn't feel like being the daughter-in-law of a high-ranking official, it's more like being the little sister next door."

"High-ranking official? Gu Tong'an, what you see is only the surface. Others think that high-ranking officials are aloof and unapproachable, but only I know that my father-in-law has tried every means to make the people live a better life."

"Have you ever seen an Agriculture Minister drowning in debt? Have you ever seen a high-ranking official personally digging potatoes in the fields? He's happier than anyone when the people have a good harvest. The only people I can help are Yao Xing and Xiao Qi. My father-in-law cares about all the people in the province," Qiaoqiao said meaningfully.

"Yes, a country needs a good leader, and so does a province or a county. It's a blessing for us ordinary people in Huailin to have such an honest and upright official as your father-in-law."

"That's true. I hope every leader can be like my father-in-law."

Qiaoqiao smiled; she was proud of her father-in-law.

It took me two hours to walk more than ten miles to get home.

The parents-in-law were busy with their careers, so Zhou Wenhui was teaching Xiaowei to read, while Hu Xiaomei was making little clothes for Xiaowei.

Qiaoqiao parked her bicycle, came in, and shouted, "Sister Hu, is there any food left? I'm starving!"

Hu Xiaomei quickly put down what she was doing and said, "There's still a bowl of leftover rice. I'll heat it up for you."

"Don't get hot, it's the middle of summer, you can eat cold rice."

Qiaoqiao hurriedly went into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl of leftover rice and a small bowl of shredded potatoes, and wolfed them down.

"You went to help your classmate make kimchi, you didn't even eat a meal, did you?" Zhou Wenhui asked suspiciously.

"I ate a big bowl of noodles, but Xiaoqi's five nephews and nieces just stared at the noodles. I couldn't eat it, so I gave it to them. I only ate two bites."

"Is her family really that poor?"

"Wenhui, along this journey, my respect for my father has reached its peak. In Tonggang County, every family can afford to eat white flour steamed buns, but in other counties, people are still very, very poor. Xiaoqi's family has a large number of people, and even their basins leak. Those rotten vegetables from the vegetable base really helped Xiaoqi's family a lot."

While eating heartily, Qiaoqiao sighed, "They're even poorer than my family. My niece Xiaoqi told me that the noodles she ate were borrowed from a neighbor; her family hasn't eaten noodles all year. My family is poor too. My grandma often makes cornmeal pancakes for my brother and me with some sesame oil."

Qiaoqiao's family was poor, but their love for the two children was absolute.

When the river floods in the summer, Grandpa would go to the ditch early in the morning to catch small fish and make a pot of soup. It was so delicious that Qiaoqiao would never forget it.

"If her family can make kimchi, it should improve their lives."

"No wonder other people's kimchi doesn't taste as good as mine. They only have salt, and they don't dare to put in too much. I told Xiaoqi that if you want to make money, you have to be different. You have to add sugar and vinegar to make it sweet and sour. By the way, Sister Hu, do we still have any sugar coupons? I want to give Xiaoqi a pound of sugar."

"We only have five catties of sugar coupons a year. You spent two catties when you went back to Dashui Village, so there are still three catties left. How can that be enough to eat? I'll go to the vegetable shop tomorrow and talk to Xiao Liu about exchanging some coupons for some more," Hu Xiaomei said truthfully.

"Thank you, Sister Hu. I'd also like vinegar and soy sauce, and it would be best if you could also add two ounces of sesame oil."

"Okay, I'll go talk to Xiao Liu. Qiaoqiao, you haven't seen Xiao Liu in a long time, have you? Her son took the college entrance exam this year and got into university."

"Really? Then I'll go congratulate her."

Qiaoqiao has been busy with school every day, and she hasn't been to the market yet since she came back for summer vacation.

"Xiao Liu asks you every day, and I tell her you're too busy studying to come and buy groceries. She's just grateful to you, saying that if you can get your child into university, how could her son, who only studies every day, not get in? Xiao Liu really cares about her child's studies, and sure enough, he did get in, but he didn't do very well and went to the north, where it's freezing cold."

"The North is fine too. It would be great if I could even get in. If Wenhui hadn't pulled some strings for me, I might have ended up going to the North."

Qiaoqiao glanced at Zhou Wenhui, her eyes filled with love.

Sister Liu was Qiaoqiao's first good friend after she came to the city. Her son got into college, so what kind of gift should she give him?

There are no more meat coupons. My father-in-law is eating at home, and there's not enough food for the whole family.

Moreover, a pound or two of meat coupons seems too stingy; a more expensive gift should have been given instead.

Qiaoqiao's family was just a little better off than others; they didn't really own anything too valuable.

Let's put aside Sister Liu's gift for now; the most important thing right now is to find a glass bottle for Xiao Qi.

Qiaoqiao's affairs are the affairs of the whole family.

The glass jars and bottles are all saved from canned food; there are only about ten of them at home.

Luo Meiyun's three students collected a total of fifteen, while Zhong Yao's family brought the most, ten of them.

Luo Meiyun gave them a jar of kimchi as a token of her gratitude. After pouring out the kimchi, she took the jar back.

Zhou Zhonghai collected thirty, all of which were arranged by Fu Sanjun. For a municipal party secretary to ask a subordinate for glass bottles and jars—this is probably the first time in history that such a person has done so.

Zhou Wenhui was more casual and made about ten.

In this way, Xiaoqi has fifty bottles. She goes home twice a week and brings fifty bottles back to school each time. She earns 15 cents per bottle, making 7.5 yuan each time, which is 15 yuan a week.