"Okay! I get it. Making money isn't easy, so spend it sparingly. If you go back to the county tomorrow, I'll give you another three dollars.

Second Brother's family, Mingqi, Qiurui, I'll leave today's lunch to you. There are two tables of dishes. If the rice is dry, add more rice. You kids, come out and don't stay in the kitchen to disturb the cooking.

"Zhi Nan, Zhi Xi, Ming Ren, you two look after the kids." Zhou Guihua packed up the things Zhang Qiurui brought back and planned to lock them in the cabinet. She had originally wanted to fry half of the two pieces of pork, but then she thought, there are so many people at home today, half a piece of meat won't be enough. She already has two pieces of meat at home, and if she fried half of it, what would her son-in-law and nephew think?

Zhou Guihua gritted her teeth and indulged herself for once.

"Sister-in-law, I'll leave cooking to you.

Let me see what dishes to cook for lunch today." They arrived home a little after nine o'clock and had just chatted for a while in the main hall. It was now past ten o'clock and time to prepare lunch, so Zhang Qiurui began to make arrangements.

“Qiu Rui, it’s no problem to leave the cooking to me.

These are the pumpkin seedlings and sweet potato leaves that Ming Renyi picked early in the morning. He also picked some vegetables from our garden. You can stir-fry them as you like. Xie Lin brought out the dishes for today's Mid-Autumn Festival meal; it seemed the family had already made preparations.

In a large winnowing basket and wooden basin were placed mushrooms, pumpkin seedlings, sweet potato leaves, eggs, tomatoes, eggplants, cowpeas, loofahs, peppers, winter melons, and cucumbers.

"Eight dishes: pork slices with mushrooms and green peppers, fried egg with pumpkin sprouts, stir-fried sweet potato leaves, egg and tomato soup, three fresh vegetables (eggplant, cowpea and chili stir-fried together), braised winter melon, smashed cucumber, and stir-fried pork with green peppers. Eight dishes, eight dishes, all of them will be distributed this year." Zhang Qiurui glanced at the dishes her second sister-in-law brought out and quickly had an idea in her mind.

Mingqi often helps Zhang Qiurui. When Zhang Qiurui tells her the dishes, she washes the vegetables, cuts them, and peels them.

Two tables of food, eight dishes, all ready in less than an hour.

Zhang Ercheng and his team made three trips back and forth to carry the rations, and helped transport all the rations back home and locked them in the warehouse.

As one delicious dish after another was served on the table, the whole kitchen and living room were filled with an enticing aroma, which attracted the children to come in from time to time and stare eagerly, but they were coaxed out by the three leaders, Zhinan, Zhixi and Mingren.

"Mom, do you think these dishes are rich enough? This Mid-Autumn Festival we are really going to have a good harvest for good luck." Zhang Qiurui looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction and said to Zhou Guihua with a smile.

Zhou Guihua also had a smile on her face. She knew in her heart that this table of dishes was not only to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, but also to thank everyone in this big family for their hard work and to pray for the upcoming harvest season.

"Enough, enough, these dishes make people hungry just by looking at them. Little sister, did you cook all these dishes? Our little sister has really grown up and can stand on her own now." Zhang Qiuyu saw her little sister cooked two large tables of dishes, and she praised with a smile.

"It's time for dinner. Boss, go get some wine so we can have a sip." Zhang Ercheng happily instructed his eldest son.

In those days, alcohol was a rare commodity. Bulk liquor in the commune cost a few cents per pound, too expensive to afford. Also, a strong laborer only earned two or three cents a day working in the team, so they couldn't afford to buy alcohol.

Unless it is a festival, you can't drink alcohol at all. The only chance to drink alcohol is when there is a wedding in the village. Relatives and friends can drink alcohol, but the amount is limited and they can't drink freely.

Adults sit at one table, children sit at another.

The children stared at the delicious food on the table, waiting for the moment to eat.

With Zhang Ercheng's call of "Dinner is ready!", everyone started eating. Laughter and conversation echoed around the table, as everyone immersed themselves in this rare reunion and happiness.

After dinner, Zhang Qiurui, Xie Lin, and Mingqi busied themselves clearing the dishes while the men continued discussing farm work and future plans. The children, on the other hand, chased and played in the yard, enjoying their happy time.

…….

"Qiu Rui, can the mushrooms we cultivate be grown and sold for money? There is no time to back down now." After lunch, Zhang Wenmin quietly found Zhang Qiu Rui and said with a bitter face.

Zhang Wenmin also thought about it and decided that if he wanted to buy three spins and one bell for 600 coins, he could get it and might even have some money left over.

However, there is more to marriage than just the three turns and one ring. The man and woman need new clothes to wear, and the father-in-law, mother-in-law, and one's own parents need to buy two sets. This is the custom here and cannot be avoided.

To buy a few sets of clothes, whether you make them yourself or buy ready-made ones, you will have to spend more than ten dollars.

In addition, jewelry, drinks for the banquet, etc., all of which cost at least dozens of dollars.

All in all, it would be at least 700 yuan, and at most 800 yuan.

His mother would only give him 600 yuan for his wedding, and if it wasn't enough, he would always ask Yangyang to pay for it. Even if she agreed, his father-in-law and mother-in-law wouldn't agree. He couldn't afford the remaining 100 or 200 yuan, so he put all his hopes on Mushroom.

"Don't worry, Third Brother, the mushrooms have been grown, you've seen it.

"I'll cover you anyway. By the end of this year, you, my third brother, will be able to marry my third sister-in-law." Zhang Qiurui was not worried at all. Even if the mushrooms they cultivated didn't sell for much, if her novel was picked up by a newspaper, it would be around 200,000 words. Even if she took the lowest possible payment, she would still get 2 yuan per thousand words. 200,000 words would be 400 yuan.

It is worth mentioning that there was no such thing as royalties in this era. The royalty calculation was capped at 2 to 10 yuan per thousand words.

Generally, new authors are paid two or three yuan per thousand words. If they write a few more books or their novels become popular, their wages will gradually increase.

As for the royalties for poetry, it is calculated at 70 cents per line.

It is also a way to make quick money. Zhang Qiurui was thinking in his heart whether he should "copy" a few poems.

"Qiu Rui, what you said really reassured me. I was originally very worried, wondering what would happen to my marriage if this mushroom didn't work out. Now that you said that, I feel much more at ease." Zhang Wenmin's expression finally eased a little, and there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Third brother, don't worry. I have put a lot of effort into researching our mushrooms, and the quality is absolutely top-notch. Moreover, the colder the weather, the rarer the mushrooms will be. As long as we can ensure the output and quality, sales will definitely not be a problem." Zhang Qiurui patted Zhang Wenmin on the shoulder to encourage him.