Qiu Yuling has no say in this matter. If she could, she wouldn't want to have a sister-in-law so soon.

These days people are encouraged to have more children. Just look at how Qiu's mother gave birth to her at such an old age. Even though there are only four siblings in the family now, there is actually still room for improvement.

Previously, she had always thought that she had only lost one sister. However, these two days, she heard the women chatting in the cotton field and found out that her third brother had a fourth brother who died young. So if Mother Qiu could have one more sister, she would have seven Calabash Brothers in total.

Let's get back to the point. According to the current market situation, her eldest brother will marry his sister-in-law and have two children in three years. Then it will be the second brother's turn. If the second brother has two children in three years, her studies will most likely be interrupted. Although her small body cannot earn work points, it does not prevent her from taking care of the children.

With her exposed big toe she could imagine that she was about to become Dehua!

So it's not that she is selfish. If she can delay it for a year or two, then she should do so. This way, she can finish elementary school and maybe even go to junior high school.

It wasn't that she loved studying. But if she didn't study, how could she change her fate with knowledge? Was she going to have to toil in the fields for the rest of her life?

The others who came here were all educated youth sent to the countryside. They were away from their familiar environment and had no acquaintances to watch over them, so any changes were understandable. But she started out in a farmer's family and was still a little kid, so she was restricted in everything she did.

Who understands how difficult it is for her?

The three brothers of the Qiu family left work early today, not because they were lazy. It was the day when the brigade would release water, and they had to use a cart with iron buckets to draw water. Water was released four times a month, and the water they drew from each draw was enough for a week's consumption.

The entire production brigade had two wells, one bitter water well for watering crops, and one sweet water well for drinking water.

When it is time to water the crops, the bitter water well will run non-stop for several days, especially in the summer. Adults and children can both wade in the water, but the water is not drinkable. There is a layer of white alkali at the bottom of the ditch where you wade through it.

Big Brother Qiu was pulling a cart, and Second Brother Qiu and Third Brother Qiu were not idle either. They took a long pole, three wooden barrels, and an iron barrel.

Qiu Yuling also followed. She had to push the cart from behind. If she couldn't climb the slope that led to her house, her second and third brothers would have to put down the buckets, push the cart, and then go back. It was just a hassle.

The cart belongs to the team, so they have to use it quickly because others are still waiting in line, and they can't afford to waste time.

For the sake of energy, Qiu Yuling clenched her teeth. What else can she do? Just do it!

It took two trips back and forth to fill the water tank at home. Except for four small buckets that belonged to their family, the brigade's cart and the large iron bucket on it were intercepted by Li Si's family.

The eldest brother Qiu went back to the fields to help Old Man Qiu, while the second and third brothers Qiu went to fill the buckets with water. Qiu Yuling then realized that they were holding two buckets with a stick in the middle, and then using their free hands to lift each bucket to maintain balance. What a capable person!

When the water was delivered to their home, the two brothers also went back to the ground. Because it was the day to collect water, everyone went home to collect water at different times. After finishing their work, they had to go back before the end of the work.

Qiu Yuling didn't have to go back. When she came, her mother asked her to stay home and cook dinner.

These days, children from poor families have to grow up early, and her family is the best among the poor!

Qiu Yuling carried a wooden stool and stepped on it to boil water and cook. She used the dried fish her eldest brother had brought down for her before he left. These were the fish the three brothers had caught when they were watering the river in the spring. Qiu's mother couldn't bear to eat them all in one go, so she left some for herself.

This year's drought has resulted in a poor harvest, making brown rice and flour expensive. Even potatoes are so small they can be circled with two fingers. You can't even peel them; if you do, there's nothing left. Qiu Yuling only learned her lesson after being slapped with a spatula.

After all, after a day's work, except for herself, the remaining five people were all exhausted. Qiu Yuling took out two more eggs from the space, but she didn't dare to make a big fuss, because her parents and brother were not fools.

The Four Olds had not yet been destroyed, and Qiu Yuling didn't dare to take the risk. She didn't want to be caught and forced to drink talisman water and be sliced ​​into pieces.

Steam the small potatoes with the skin on, mash them, mix them with some bran and wheat bran, and keep them for making pancakes later.

I fried the dried fish in oil, added water, and put in autumn sweet potatoes, autumn radishes, and lettuce. I put potato bran and wheat cakes around the pot and brewed a pot of fennel tea.

There's no way, a good cook can't cook without rice, this is already rich enough.

If it was made by Qiu's mother, it would definitely be a pot of lettuce noodle soup, and the dish would also be boiled lettuce.

In fact, this lettuce only grows in the land where Qiu Yuling lives. Its growing environment is quite special and it only grows on saline-alkali soil. Fortunately, we have this.

There were times when Qiu Yuling refused without knowing the good thing, but her mother told her a piece of ancient unofficial history.

The prince discovered this wild vegetable while on the run and survived on it. Later, after he became emperor, he rediscovered this wild vegetable, but its taste had become bitter.

Then he changed the subject and said that she was ungrateful and that she was being treated the same as the emperor, yet she still dared to be picky.

People's tastes are always changing, and Qiu Yuling has now accepted it well.

It was already completely dark when the other five members of the Qiu family returned. The sparks in the stove had not yet completely gone out. Hearing the noise, Qiu Yuling added a handful of dried red willow branches, took out the vegetables and pancakes while they were still hot, added two scoops of water, and beat the eggs into it to make a weird egg drop soup.

If you don't eat enough, each person will have a bowl of soup to eat.

"Hey, what did Lingling make again? It smells so good that it makes my head jump." Father Qiu's cheerful voice arrived before anyone else.

The whole family poured a basin of water and took turns washing their hands. As a result, the sharp-eyed mother Qiu saw the unburned egg shells in the stove. Qiu Yuling skillfully covered her ears and hid behind father Qiu.

Mother Qiu was clearly angry, but she was afraid that someone passing by after work might hear and gossip about it. So she lowered her voice, glared at Qiu Yuling fiercely, and cursed, "There are only a few eggs, and you keep remembering them every day. You're like a beggar who can't keep food from the previous night!"

It's no wonder that Qiu's mother was angry. Previously, both crops and livestock were raised collectively by the team. Due to the severe drought from last year to this year, more and more families outside could not bear it. The commune conveyed the order from the higher authorities that farmers could raise their own chickens, but each family could not raise more than five chickens, regardless of gender.

For the first time, the phenomenon of "cutting off the capitalist tail" was clearly defined. It refers to strictly investigating people without proper jobs or others who act as middlemen, buying from farmers at low prices and then reselling them at high prices.

If a farmer raises one pig, he must sell it to the state; if a farmer raises two pigs, he can slaughter the other after selling one to the state. The interests of the state, the collective, and the individual must all be taken into account.

I don’t know how long Mrs. Qiu has been saving the eggs.

But Qiu Yuling was just a "child" and had not had time to know such confidential information. She immediately tried to atone for her sins and promised that she would take charge of raising chickens at home in the future.

It is guaranteed that a chicken lays two eggs a day. If a chicken is missing, she has to make up for it even if she finds a way to lay more eggs.

Father Qiu was first amused by her "childish talk", and the atmosphere relaxed for a while. Mother Qiu also knew that the child was worried about them. Didn't she see that the child was busy all day long and didn't eat a single bite?

He softened his attitude and said, "Ten eggs a day is just a dream. If it can lay five eggs, each of you can eat one."

"One per person every day?" Qiu Yuling spoke faster than her brain.