After dinner, Zhang Guoqing washed the dishes, said goodbye to Zhou Jiao, and walked towards his eldest sister's house.

Zhang Meili and her family were having dinner. Seeing him coming, Zhang Chunming quickly pulled him to sit down and have a drink.

Zhang Guoqing shook his head repeatedly, "Brother-in-law, I just ate. I came here to ask my eldest sister to help check on Ping An. I have something to do in the evening, so we'll be out around seven and back by half past eight."

"I'll go with you now." Zhang Meili hurriedly finished the remaining few bites.

Zhang Guoqing already knew that his brother-in-law worked the night shift, so he quickly pulled her aside and said, "Don't worry, it's still early. You can still go after you've packed up."

Zhang Ziwen's face flushed with anxiety, and he hesitated to pick up his chopsticks. He had been looking forward to going to his uncle's house, and seeing that if he didn't speak up now, he would miss the chance, so he nudged his younger brother Ziwu and secretly pointed at Zhang Guoqing.

Zhang Ziwu nodded, quickly scooped up the food in his bowl, stood next to Zhang Guoqing, and tugged at the corner of his clothes.

Zhang Guoqing touched his head and said, "Is there any problem with you three brothers protecting your mother and Yaya to your uncle's house later?" After saying that, the children cheered loudly.

Seeing Zhang Meili's objection, Zhang Chunming quickly persuaded her that he was on duty tonight and was worried about leaving the children at home, so he asked her to take them all over.

Zhang Meili had no choice but to make the children obey her. She kept saying that they couldn't ask for things casually and couldn't make a bunch of conditions.

Zhang Guoqing hurriedly dragged the three children out. If they kept listening, the children wouldn't have to go. Seeing that she had said so much, she didn't worry about embarrassing her brother-in-law.

When she went out, she happened to meet Zhang Meihao who was visiting her eldest sister with her child. When Zhang Meihao heard that she had to go take care of the child, she quickly asked Ziwen to go to her house to tell her.

The group slowly returned to the courtyard, and it was already late.

Zhou Jiao prepared safe milk powder and snacks for the children, and was pulled away by Zhang Guoqing.

It wasn't time yet, so the couple wasn't in a rush. They walked slowly down the street. Zhang Guoqing glanced around, then stepped forward, picked up Zhou Jiao, and placed her in the stroller. Pushing the stroller with both hands, he whispered to her about his weekend trip to the fishing village with Zhao Dashan's family. He planned to have Zhang's mother come over to look after the child for a day so he could take her out for some fun.

Zhang Guoqing looked at Zhou Jiao's twinkling eyes and the dimples on her cheeks, and laughed heartily. He guessed that this girl must be thinking about going to the beach. He was now looking forward to what Cheng Hongli and her would do that day. He hoped the winter wind wouldn't dampen their passion.

Near the eastern suburbs woods, the kerosene lamp hanging on the cart illuminated the other person. The other person probably didn't expect there was a little girl on the cart. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled a cart out of the woods.

Zhang Guoqing opened them one by one, examining them, nodding with satisfaction. After the two men loaded the grain onto Zhang Guoqing's cart, they paid the remaining balance and watched him scurry away. Zhang Guoqing then returned with a full cart of grain. All along the way, only two bags remained on the cart—those two bags to conceal their presence.

Just as they reached the door of their house, Wang Dasheng from next door opened the gate and shouted with a smile: "You finally decided to come back? I saw the lights in your yard were on, so I guessed you were back." After that, he walked towards them quickly, saw the bags on the cart, and pointed with his finger.

Zhang Guoqing smiled and whispered, "It's food. I just bought it from a farmer. Uncle, are you still not resting? Where's Auntie? Do you want to come in and sit with me?"

Wang Dasheng waved his hand and whispered, "Your aunt is cleaning the pig's offal in there. She asked me to ask if you want any bones. They're not good, but they're all sold at an internal price. Your uncle Chen bought 20 kilograms from me at noon. I didn't know you were coming back today, otherwise I would have told you earlier."

Zhang Guoqing nodded quickly, "Uncle, I'll listen to you. I'll take as much as I can. It's perfect to stew on the stove in the middle of winter."

Wang Dasheng quickly shouted, "Mother, I'm taking Xiaowu to the factory."

"Hurry up and go. It will be gone if you are late. Come back early." The voice coming from the left courtyard was unusually loud at night.

Wang Dasheng responded to her loudly, pointing to the food on the cart towards the yard towards Zhang Guoqing.

Zhang Guoqing picked up the two bags and put them in the yard, then said to Zhou Jiao, "I'll go to the factory with my uncle first." After that, he hurried to catch up with Wang Dasheng who was pushing the cart anxiously.

In the right yard, Old Chen was putting on his coat as he ran and yelled, "Hey, wait for me. Old Wang, why didn't you call me? I only came to my senses when I heard your wife's loud voice."

Wang Dasheng said aggrievedly: "Hey man, didn't you just go there at noon? I thought you had enough."

"Several relatives at home asked for some, so there's only a little left. I just told my wife I'll come find you tomorrow. When she heard you said you were taking Xiaowu to the factory, she jumped up and almost couldn't catch up with you. Xiaowu, buy more this time. Save it and eat it slowly."

…

Zhou Jiao watched them leave, then thought about why she didn't go into the inner room. After saying something to Zhang Meili, who had come out to watch the fun, she headed towards the Wang family's courtyard, the gate wide open. She had to go over and say a few words, and she couldn't be too polite.

There was a lot of firewood piled up in front of the Wang family's door. Every time Zhou Jiao came to the Wang family, she was most afraid that rats and insects would run out.

The Wang family's yard is about the same size as Zhou Jiao's, but the layout is different. There are five rooms and a kitchen in the middle. Now, except for the lights in the outer room and the west room, the yard is dark.

Zhou Jiao remembered a dog from the Wang family who lived better than the Wang family. He gnawed on bones and sticks every day, never greeting anyone who came, often glancing at them and turning his head away with a haughty expression. The dog, a husband and wife working at the meat processing plant, lived better than the average person. It was a happy dog, but also a proud one.

Even more pampered than the dogs are the Wang family's hens. They can spit and defecate anywhere without worrying about their territory being taken over. They can also wander around the east and west rooms. I wonder if these Wang family chickens can still roam so freely in the summer.

Zhou Jiao carefully stepped over the fried dough sticks and finally reached the outer room. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by the rich aroma of meat. A large pot on the earthen stove was bubbling.

"Auntie, I'm Jiaojiao. I'm coming in."

Aunt Wang was squatting on the floor, washing pig intestines and some offal. There were voices in the room, suggesting her child was rather spoiled.

Aunt Wang looked up and saw Zhou Jiao, smiled and said, "Come in quickly, I have work to do and can't leave." After that, she pointed to the stool and asked her to sit down.

Zhou Jiao noticed several stools covered in grease and grime, and her eyes twitched as she quickly walked over to Aunt Wang. She'd rather smell the stench of sewage than sit down. She wondered if Aunt Wang and her husband worked at the meat processing plant, but their house was stained with grease. She'd never seen them wear a single clean piece of clothing. The only daughter of the Wang family had a clean face, but her clothes looked filthy.

Zhou Jiao secretly walked to the side, feeling that the smell was better, and said, "Auntie, thank you. If you hadn't told me otherwise, we wouldn't have had the chance to buy it. Nowadays, food is very scarce, let alone these."

"What are you thanking me for? I knew you were back the moment I saw the lights on in your yard. This time, your uncle Wang's factory got a batch of pigs from somewhere. The higher-ups saw that there were enough, so they gave some bones and offal for employees to buy at an internal price. They were very cheap, and the bones were covered in meat. When the factory workers heard that it was an internal supply, they all tried to save the meat.

Look at the meat on the table; I cut it all off. Isn't it worth it? You're too skinny. You need to eat more. Boil the bone broth for a while longer and drink it as water. You'll definitely gain weight.

When I was a girl, I only weighed 70 or 80 kilograms. Now it's almost doubled, all from drinking soup." Aunt Wang kept urging Zhou Jiao to drink the soup, and she also looked up at Zhou Jiao from time to time.

Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded, humming in response. She talked about the annual benefits at the meat processing plant, who was the most calculating, and who bought the most.

After talking about the meat processing plant, he went on to talk about the families in the yard in front, which one was difficult to deal with, which one was easier to get along with, which one pretended to be rich, and which one was so poor that they had to pawn their pants.

Then he asked if Zhou Jiao's family had received their monthly rations. He told her what the rations would be at the end of the month, what time was the best time to go for certain items, how to sneak in and out of the queue, and how to buy good cabbage.

Let’s talk about cabbage, sauerkraut, how to stew sauerkraut with pork, the price of pork, and how to make delicious bacon.

Zhou Jiao's legs were tired from standing, so she secretly changed her position. She watched the other person gossiping non-stop. He was such a warm-hearted person, but he just talked too much. Could she please leave first?

Aunt Wang was talking when she suddenly shouted, "Oh, you see, I've forgotten the time while I was talking. Go back quickly! It's not that I don't want you to stay, but the child can't leave you at night. You can come any time during the day. Your mother came here specifically for me to take care of you. Don't be polite, remember to call me if you need anything."

Zhou Jiao felt like a heavenly sound; Aunt Wang's loud voice was a kind of beautiful music. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she took the bowl of meat Aunt Wang had given her and walked quickly out of the Wang family's yard.

Entering her own yard, Zhou Jiao looked at the bowl of fat meat in her hand. She let out a long breath, looked at the yard on the left, and covered her mouth with her hands, laughing foolishly.

I went back to the kitchen, washed my hands, and stared at the bowl of meat in a daze.

After Zhang Guoqing and Wang Dasheng separated, he pushed the cart back home. When the children heard the sound of the door opening, they all ran out and saw him, shouting happily that there was meat to eat.

In the kitchen, Zhang Guoqing picked up the bag and poured it into a wooden tray. Seeing Zhang Meili and the others cleaning up, he said with a smile, "We're really lucky tonight. Old Chen next door asked for all the pig's offal, which I don't like to eat. I don't think his family can sleep tonight. Many people don't want the pig's trotters and tails because they don't have enough meat. I found someone to ask for them all."

Zhou Jiao nodded. She was indeed lucky. With so many bones, her weight might have doubled.

Chen Xiaobin's shouting came from outside the door.

Zhang Ziwen went over, opened the door, and pulled him into the kitchen, chattering about how his uncle had brought back a lot of meat and bones.

Zhang Guoqing joked when he saw him, "Are you worried about my second sister? Come and sit down."

"I'm worried about you. If nothing happens, let's go back first. We'll get together again in a few days when parents come up."

Zhang Guoqing smiled and nodded. Seeing that it was getting late, he didn't try to keep them. He picked up some things, put them in a bamboo basket, and sent them home.