Zhang's mother hadn't checked for a moment, and a huge mess had occurred. She couldn't explain how she felt. That was a truly large wild boar, and it was her eldest son who had killed it.

Was it a pity? That must have been painful. Did she regret it? Seeing the old women in the village looking at her with guilt, she quickly felt relieved.

——Forget it, just consider it as the eldest son doing good deeds to accumulate virtue.

Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes at this. To please her mother-in-law, she had to produce a large wild boar. Otherwise, the old lady would get sick.

The old captain smiled and promised to give Zhang's father an extra portion of meat at the end of the year, which made Zhang Guoqing laugh with joy. He hadn't expected anything in return when he gave the pig, and now having a share for his parents was enough.

After dinner, Zhou Jiao arrived home before the old couple and took out a wild boar. She patted the pig's body with regret, it was full of meat.

Late at night, in the stillness of the night, Zhang's mother finally saw her son slaughtering the family's pork. He happily watched and directed the process, leaving Zhang's father speechless and looking up at the sky. Fortunately, there was still one pig, otherwise his wife would have been worried until the end of the year.

"Xiaowu, keep the pig's head for your father to offer to the ancestors. Our family is where we are today thanks to our ancestors, and we also need your grandfather and others to bless you in heaven."

Zhang Guoqing smiled and gave his mother a thumbs-up. This made Zhang's mother even happier. She thought for a moment and then said, "And you have to bring more meat back to honor your father-in-law."

Zhou Jiao couldn't help but laugh. How could her mother-in-law be so adorable? She must think her father's contributions were no less than those of the Zhang family's ancestors, right?

"Mom, I won't take any back this time. Cut some for my godfather and the others, and the rest is yours. Whoever you like will get a piece of meat as a reward."

After hearing this, Zhang's mother patted Zhou Jiao and said, "Silly child, your mother and father can only eat this much. Look for other families that want to send New Year gifts and arrange for them to go."

Father Zhang smiled and said, "Don't you two want to go to your uncle's house? Just send some meat over tomorrow and tell them you won't be visiting them for New Year's greetings. You can also send some meat to Zuolin, Dashan and two or three other families. It's like repaying a favor."

Zhang Guoqing had no problem with his father's arrangement. He cut off a third of the profits to pay favors, and gave the rest to Zhang's mother and the others to arrange directly. His mother liked to make some bacon and store it in the warehouse every year to feel at ease, and this was just what she wanted.

The next day, the couple went to their uncles' homes, carrying 20 kilograms of meat and two military coats as New Year gifts. They chose to go early in the morning and even stopped by the other uncles' cafeteria to take a look.

Compared to Zhangjia Village, this place was truly starving. Fortunately, Zhang's mother occasionally gave money to her family. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how the twenty or so people in her two uncles' families would survive.

The two uncles were delighted by the arrival of their nephew and his wife. Seeing the things they were carrying, they repeatedly refused to accept them, saying that their eldest sister, Zhang's mother, had already been so helpful and they really couldn't accept any more. Even the cousins ​​who had gathered together, with a look of guilt on their faces, asked them to take them back.

The two aunts went back to their rooms, rummaged through boxes and cupboards, and found a few boxes of cakes, which they insisted on giving to the young couple. The grandchildren standing nearby stared at the cakes with shining eyes, sucked their fingers, and dared not say a word.

Even the usually sociable Zhang Guoqing was at a loss for words when faced with his honest and sincere in-laws. Finally, Zhou Jiao peeled off the wax paper, took out the cakes inside, shared them with the children, and took a piece herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the two aunts' delighted smiles, and a sour feeling welled up inside her. She knew the others in front of her were hesitant to let go, so even though the pastry had been sitting there for ages, she still managed to swallow it. No matter how bad it tasted, she had to swallow it; it was a token of her love.

Before leaving, Zhou Jiao pondered for a moment, but ultimately decided not to take out the food coupons. She planned to secretly leave some extra money and food coupons for her mother-in-law, allowing her to provide whatever subsidies she wanted, rather than being hesitant to consider her father-in-law and two daughters-in-law.

Thinking of this, she gave herself a thumbs up, she is really the nation's good daughter-in-law!

On the way home, Zhang Guoqing learned of her thoughts and couldn't help laughing as he listened to her boasting. His wife had a quirk in both her past lives.

She wouldn't give anything to anyone who asked for it; on the contrary, she would find ways to force things on relatives who were not good at speaking and kept refusing. Who said his wife was cold-blooded and aloof? Zhou Jiao valued affection more than anyone else!

When they returned to the county town, Zhang's mother had already dealt with the pork she had. Except for a small portion, the remaining 200 kilograms of meat were all pickled and frozen.

Zhou Jiao looked at the two pounds of meat each of her two older siblings and was speechless. Ping An's stinginess was inherited.

Old people have their own ideas. Zhou Jiao smiled at all this. As long as her mother-in-law was happy, that was all that mattered! However, she had decided to reduce the meat allowance for several households in Zhao Dashan by half. As her mother-in-law had said, a pound of pork belly can't even be bought for three yuan on the black market these days. Five pounds per family would be too much.

Similarly, her godfather Zhao Chuangguang and his family also drastically reduced their share. Each family took 20 kilograms, and the five families split it all, totaling 100 kilograms. Finally, Zhang Guoqing packed up the entire portion, even the bones, and finally squeezed out the Huang family and Mr. Zhao's share.

While enjoying the care and love of their parents at home, the couple was also very busy. As schools across the country were on vacation, some old classmates returned to their hometowns for winter vacation and naturally held class reunions.

There was a shortage of supplies, only a large pot of hot tea, a large bag of melon seeds, and a large plate of frozen pears. Although we hadn't seen each other for half a year, we were still in a good mood and talked about interesting things around us.

Li Qinglin was stationed at a prestigious university in Hai City, attending school events and failing to return in time. He was the only one of their group left in the far south, and they were eager to hear about what life was like out in the other parts of the country. Unexpectedly, he still couldn't catch up with his old classmates, which was a shame.

Everyone agreed to meet again next summer. It was a beautiful thought, but Zhou Jiao knew it was impossible. Putting aside the others, Zhang Guoqing had no time to come to Northeast China after this winter break.

As a student union cadre, with his prestige and ability, he is likely to take over as soon as the next student union president steps down during the internship next year. That, combined with practical activities, will make him even more overwhelmed.

Zhao Yuanyuan and her classmates will have to return to school early after the first month of the lunar year to participate in voluntary activities, and perhaps they will go to the grassroots level to participate in practical activities during the next summer vacation.

She imagined that college life, apart from professional courses, would be either ideological education classes or farming and harvesting, leaving little time and space for students to have fun.

Zhao Yuanyuan even privately complained to Zhou Jiao that she shouldn't have gone to college. If she had started working earlier, she could have received her salary earlier. Even if she wanted to drop out now, it would be extremely difficult. Not only did she have to consider her parents' opinions, but she also had to prevent others from judging her. If she didn't handle it well, dropping out would become a stain on her resume.

Zhou Jiao patted her with relief - this child has matured a lot after leaving her parents' arms.