Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"Sister-in-law, pack us some more! The pickled vegetables and salted duck eggs you made, and the piece of cured meat my cousin left behind... please take them all with you. I won't get in your way here; I'm going to stay at the military dependents' home with Brother Qin and the others."

"W-what?!" Uncle Ding was stunned. "Tingting, this is no laughing matter! You're a young lady who hasn't even left home yet, what right do you have to go with her?"

Zhou's mother was enjoying her fried meatballs—she was the only one in the family who never got tired of them, and could finish more than a dozen in one meal. As she ate, she said, "Brother, what's the big deal? It's not a bad thing for young people to want to experience more places. You don't necessarily need a formal position to go to a military dependents' home."

Uncle Ding felt something was amiss: Qin Xiao was a good young man, but he had clearly rejected her, yet Tingting was still chasing after him like this…

Zhou Yanshen frowned.

Su Wanqing's chopsticks never stopped. She had to admit, the fried rice made in this space was truly delicious; she could eat it endlessly. The newly made braised eggplant was also tasty—she had processed five hundred catties of eggplant, leaving only two hundred catties, a significant reduction, probably due to the conservation of energy. Anyway, she had received ten times the return, enough to eat for a long time.

Upon hearing that Lin Tingting was going along, Su Wanqing thought to herself: This girl has probably set her sights on Qin Xiao and is going to wage a "long-term war." They say it's easy for a woman to pursue a man, but I wonder if Qin Xiao can withstand this kind of persistent pursuit.

She shook her head and said to Lin Tingting, "Whether you go to the military region or not, what I'm bringing for you and for Brother Qin is the same: meatballs and steamed buns—these keep well. As for the salted duck eggs, those were pickled by Xiuer's mother, and there aren't many left; the cured meat was specially saved by your cousin for your uncle to nourish his body, how could you possibly accept it?"

Lin Tingting was surprised that Su Wanqing was being so rude even though she was about to leave. She paused for a few seconds, then said aggrievedly, "Sister-in-law, the conditions at the military dependents' home are tough, what's wrong with taking some things with me? Aren't we family? I'm not even fighting you for my cousin anymore, why are you treating me like an enemy? When my cousin left, you gave her lots of things; now that it's my turn, you're not giving me anything?"

Su Wanqing said matter-of-factly, "My cousin has been working diligently and without complaint these past few days. And you? Asking you to do a little work is like asking you to die. Lately, you haven't even fed the chickens and sheep, leaving them all to your uncle. You don't do any work, but when you leave, you want to eat and take everything—don't you have any shame at all?"

Lin Tingting's eyes reddened as she looked at Zhou Yanshen: "Cousin... I've already decided to leave, can you bear to let me suffer over there?"

Zhou Yanshen pondered for a moment before speaking, "Tingting, you're an adult now and have your own judgment. As relatives, we advise you not to rush off—especially since the other party has clearly expressed their stance. But if you insist on going, you'll have to bear all the possible consequences, good or bad, yourself. The most we can do is support you if you encounter difficulties. You chose this path, and everyone must be responsible for their decisions."

He always respects other people's choices, even if it's his cousin. He offers advice when necessary, but never interferes.

Lin Tingting straightened her chest and said, "I've made up my mind, I'm definitely going! Actually, I made arrangements a few days ago—even if Brother Qin doesn't agree, I can find another way to get into the military dependents' home."

Qin Xiao: "..."

He truly hadn't expected Zhou Yanshen's cousin to be so stubborn. The worst part was that even Zhou Yanshen couldn't persuade her; she was such a troublesome girl.

Qin Xue pouted: "So what if you can move in? You're not living with my brother. Let me make this clear—we'll only do our best to keep you out of trouble for Brother Zhou's sake. But if you have any other ideas, I'll be the first to object! Also, don't even think about mooching off our food! My brother and I have transferred our food rations here, and we only have a fixed amount each month. There's no extra for you."

Lin Tingting raised her chin: "I have money, I'll go to the cafeteria for food!"

She's got this attitude; not even nine oxen could pull her back.

After the meal, Zhou Yanshen saw Qin Xiao and his sister off to the station. Lin Tingting also packed a lot of bags and packages—clothes she had bought in the past few months, as well as snacks she would occasionally sneak off to the county town's supply and marketing cooperative to buy.

As for anything else? There was only the bag of meatballs and steamed buns that Su Wanqing had prepared, to fill their stomachs on the way.

With the three gone, the house felt much emptier and quieter. Zhou's mother felt relieved to finally have some peace and quiet, and no one would bother her anymore to sneak away and read her comic books.

To be honest, she was used to sleeping alone. Lin Tingting had been crowding around her for months, but now she had a big room all to herself, and she felt really comfortable. The key thing was that Tian Dahua was pregnant and there was no more noise at night; her own daughter-in-law was also pregnant, and she figured things would be quiet from now on—pregnancy was good, finally she could get a good night's sleep.

After seeing his guests off, Zhou Yanshen went straight to the company and used his specially approved cotton coupons to buy over fifty jin of cotton in one go. Without this special commendation, an ordinary family could never get so much cotton at once.

He always remembered his wife's advice to "stock up on supplies"—the winters here are unusually cold, and he'd heard that when the snow piles up, it can be as high as the eaves. He was from the south and had never seen anything like it. Although he was curious, his wife was pregnant, and he had to be prepared. No matter how beautiful the snowscape, the bitter cold was a real threat.

He was also thinking of adding another layer of insulation to the house. He heard from the villagers that hanging a thick cotton curtain could also block out a lot of the cold wind.

"Wanqing, what do you think we should do with all this cotton?" Zhou Yanshen piled the cotton on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and planned, "I'm thinking of making four new cotton quilts and a thick door curtain. The main thing is to make you a new cotton-padded outfit. Mom, my uncle, and I can use the old ones. The rest... we can prepare some small cotton mattresses and swaddle blankets for the children."

He paused, his voice softening slightly, "I heard it's extremely cold here in winter. I'll seal all the gaps in the doors and windows tightly, and keep the kang (heated brick bed) warm so you won't get cold. I've also inquired about the coal. There are trucks from nearby mines delivering coal to the regiment. I can apply to buy a batch first and store it in the shed in the backyard, so we won't be caught off guard when winter comes."

Although the child wasn't born in winter, he still felt he should prepare early—so the baby could be used when the child grew up.

Su Wanqing had no objections. Anyway, once the quilt was made, she could use her spatial abilities to "process" it and return it tenfold. So she nodded: "Okay, you've thought it through. We'll do it your way."

Zhou Yanshen agreed: "Then I'll take it to the cotton carding workshop tomorrow. There's a workshop in the troupe that specializes in cotton carding. The processing fee is about 3 cents per pound, and it can be picked up in a few days."