When they got home, Grandma Guo rushed up to ask, "How is Meili?"

"Don't worry, Mother. The food has been given. I told them that I saved a leader and this is what I got in return."

"Okay, as long as Meili is doing well," the old lady said, bowing her head to go back inside. "Jianjun, go eat. I've saved some food for you."

"Yes, Mother," Jianjun replied.

"How did it go?" Tingting asked as they went back inside.

"It's alright, but too thin. Nowadays, every household is like that."

"When we have time, we can sneak over to see her. I'll be at ease as long as she's not bullied."

After listening, Tingting nodded.

"Jianjun, what do you think about us going to the city again before the New Year?"

"Actually, I've thought about it too, but we sold too many things last time, and they were too eye-catching. Besides, the weather is cold, so let's just wait until after the New Year to talk about it," Tingting nodded after hearing this and didn't say anything more.

The two of them are still unaware that they have escaped a calamity, and now everyone in the city is waiting for them to appear.

They didn't find the two of them, but they caught quite a few elsewhere, and for a while no one dared to come out to trade grain.

As the Lunar New Year approached, Jianjun said, "Mom, we have pork this year, let's make some dumplings." Because we have two jin of wheat flour and pork, Jianjun said, "Mom, we have pork this year, let's make some dumplings."

My family's mouths watered when they heard that; it had been years since we'd had dumplings for Chinese New Year.

Unable to resist their expectant gazes, I prepared to make dumplings. What elderly person doesn't love their child? It's just that we're too poor.

We used two pounds of wheat flour and a lot of cornmeal to make dumplings and stew a pork rib.

I fed these children until their tongues were practically falling off, but the situation at the dinner table didn't happen again, even though every single child was in pain.

It's not about favoring boys over girls; the main problem is that we're too poor now. In rural areas, boys are the main labor force, and there's a shortage of food.

It's definitely necessary to prioritize feeding those who can do the work, since there are more men in the family, and a united family won't be bullied. Every era has its unavoidable circumstances.

After everyone finished eating, they stayed up all night to welcome the New Year. This was the happiest year they had experienced in recent years, with meat and dumplings to eat—something they had never dared to dream of.

The elderly couple hoped for a bountiful harvest in the coming year, while their eldest and second children's families hoped for their children's healthy growth, that they would all have enough to eat, and that they would never have to go hungry again.

As for Tingting and Jianjun's wish, they hope to be happy in this unfamiliar era, have their own children, and walk hand in hand through life.

Inside the house, Tingting said to Jianjun, "We've finished all the eggs and duck eggs we prepared on the mountain last time. We need to go into the space again to cook some more, and also boil some brown sugar water."

"Something to quickly replenish energy, something that can be taken out without attracting attention, since our whole family is living together now, and in the future we can only go further into the mountain, making it even more inconvenient to get food."

"In a little while, I'll keep an eye on things. You can go into the space and start cooking. It'll be spring planting soon after the New Year, so let's cook some food ourselves in the space."

After all, the food we take away from restaurants is limited, so having everything ready will give us the energy to go back to work in the spring.

In her online space, Tingting made a lot of steamed buns, dumplings, and cooked rice, along with 300 eggs and 200 goose eggs.

I made some chicken stew with potatoes, braised beef, and steamed a lot of rice. These were all preparations for spring for the two of us. The work was tiring, and we weren't getting enough to eat, so our bodies couldn't take it.

After finishing their work, it was almost dawn. The two of them were exhausted and thought it was time to put exercising on their agenda. They couldn't be lazy just because it was winter.