When the horn signaling the end of work sounded in the village, the Zhang family's birthday party had already gone through three rounds of drinks. The children each had a bottle of soda and slowly finished it with small sips.

As the horn blew, Father Zhang began to look toward the door again and again. It was time for his two brothers to get off work.

Zhang Guoqing finally understood what it meant to be brothers from his father's actions. He imagined that if he were living a life of luxury, he would really miss his two brothers.

He glanced at the children who were starting to fidget because their elders hadn't finished yet, then saw them winking at him, smiled, and waved, telling them to go play first.

"Little uncle (little uncle) popsicle?"

"Later, watch your stomach."

"Let's send it to Brother Tiedan and the others."

These children's eyes were rolling around like puppies, only about to wag their tails. Their thoughts were all written on their faces, and the meaning was self-evident.

Zhang Guoqing nodded with amusement, "You guys decide for yourself."

Children have their own friendships, and he had no intention of interfering in that. Seeing Ping An run out with them, he was very happy. His son was not that stingy after all.

"Dad, I'll go call my uncle and the others over."

Mother Zhang didn't wait for her husband to speak. She said, "Don't go. You guys continue chatting. I'll go over and ask your aunt and uncle to come over."

As soon as Zhang's mother left, Zhou Jiao and the other women also stood up to clean up the mess at the other table. They carried the dishes, wiped the table, and cleared the table. In a short while, the table was clean.

This year's harvest was much better than last year's, but it was still not enough for the members to eat their fill. After the experiences of previous years, no one dared to slack off and everyone worked even harder.

So even though the horn sounded for the end of work, it took more than an hour to get home. So by the time Uncle Zhang and his friends came over with their hands behind their backs, almost an hour had passed.

Father Zhang and the others invited everyone to the table. In the kitchen, Zhang Meili hurried over with four bowls of noodle soup on a wooden tray, smiling.

"Everyone is here today, so you didn't work on the weekend?"

"It just so happens that today is the birthday of our mother, and we kids want to get together. The team is pretty busy today, right?" Father Zhang replied as he asked his son to pour them some wine.

Uncle Zhang smiled and shook his head. "There's endless work to do on the ground. Finishing here, weeding there, it's just a lot of work. And it's going to be the autumn harvest soon."

That's true. Aside from the busy farming season, the rest of the year is called the slack season, but there's really no free time. Seeing the two brothers' faces flushed from the sun, Father Zhang couldn't persuade them to work less.

In the countryside, only by working in the fields and earning work points could one get a share of the food. If they worked less, how would the people eat? The Zhang family was considered well off. Besides working in the fields, they rarely participated in tasks like building reservoirs or quarrying rocks. Unlike other families, where women were treated like men and men were treated like animals.

Uncle Zhang finished his noodle soup in a few mouthfuls, rubbed his mouth, and looked at Zhang Guofu, "How many days will you stay here?"

"I have to rush back tomorrow morning, so I asked for half a day off."

Uncle Zhang nodded. "Work hard! After you finish your studies, will you stay in the provincial capital or come back? Have you made any arrangements with your superiors?"

"I still plan to go back to the county."

Uncle Zhang smiled and nodded, "It's good to be back. Big cities don't have the comfort of small places."

Father Zhang said, "Brother and brother, have a drink..."

Uncle Zhang looked at his mysterious smiling face, his eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he picked it up, took a sip, smacked his lips, and then drank it in one gulp.

Uncle Zhang didn't bother to speak. He quickly picked up the wine, sniffed it, and said with a smile: "This ginseng wine has been steeped for a long time, right? I guess Xiaowu must have asked Uncle Wang for it."

Father Zhang smiled but said nothing.

Uncle Zhang pestered Zhang Guoqing when he heard this, "Is that old man willing to give it to you? How much did he ask for?"

"He didn't have much either. I snatched the remaining five pounds." Zhang Guoqing chuckled.

For him, wine was a small matter. When Old Man Wang heard that he was taking his son up the mountain, he also insisted on going with him. That was a great thing. However, he did not intend to mention these things to outsiders.

What does it mean to be strong even in old age? After seeing the white-haired and radiant Mr. Wang today, Zhang Guoqing truly gained a new understanding of health preservation. This time, going up the mountain to find a few more supplements should help Zhou Jiao improve her physique.

Uncle Zhang's eyes lit up when he ate the meat in the jar. He asked in surprise, "Xiaowu, have you gone into the mountains?"

Zhang Guoqing knew why he asked that. Pheasants could be hunted a little further up the mountainside, but other game might not be possible with the wolves around.

He smiled and shook his head.

"It's a pity you haven't been free lately, otherwise it would be great if you could lead the team to the mountains. That dense forest was pretty much wasted before, but it was worth it, as we saved a lot of people."

Zhang Guofu interjected, "Game in the provincial capital is very expensive."

"No matter how high the price is now, it's still not as high as when we went to the provincial capital. If we were lucky, one bear could be sold for two small yellow croakers, which were worth more than a club." Uncle Zhang fell into reminiscence.

Uncle Zhang smiled disapprovingly and said, "Big brother still remembers it. Forget about the three of us, even Dad only managed to catch a bear. Were those two small yellow croakers so easy to earn?"

"That's right. Now, apart from Mr. Wang and his family, no one dares to go into the mountains. I heard him say that all the wild animals in the mountains have fled deep into the mountains, so there's no hope of eating good food in the future."

"Even if we don't run deep into the mountains, there's no hope. These beasts run so fast, they're almost like spirits."

Zhang Guoqing poured wine silently.

"I'm not thinking about wild animals. The old ginseng at home is almost used up. If I weren't so old, I would like to go to the mountains. I need to prepare some life-saving things."

Zhang Guoqing glanced at his father and found that he didn't move. His eyes flickered and he lowered his eyelids thoughtfully. It seemed that his uncle was not without family background.

Aunt Zhang, standing by, glanced at her husband, worried that he had forgotten that today was his second brother's wife's birthday and the taboo. She smiled and said softly, "There's still half a can, enough for us."

Aunt Zhang took over the conversation, "You can only find a fourth-grade leaf by yourself. You can ask the people who are releasing the leaves from the mountain to make reservations. They are almost starting to go up and down the mountain now."

"It's too expensive to buy... I can only pick this stuff myself and use it without feeling bad."

Zhou Jiao, who was passing by, brightened up when she heard this. She immediately realized she had been misled. How could she ignore this treasure just because she had the wild ginseng Zhang Guoqing had dug?

Nowadays, there's no such thing as farming technology. These resources will become increasingly scarce. The cash that bothered her could be exchanged for her wild ginseng, which would preserve its value and save space. Furthermore, the ginseng harvesting teams would undoubtedly keep a stockpile at home, so neither party would have to worry about exposing their wealth.

The more Zhou Jiao thought about it, the more excited she became. Compared to gold and antiques, precious items like ginseng and ganoderma lucidum were easier to sell. If there weren't so many people around, she would have wanted Zhang Guoqing to act quickly.

Even if she didn't say it, Zhang Guoqing knew her very well.

At this time, Zhou Jiao stayed quietly beside Zhang's mother and three sisters-in-law, listening carefully to their chat, which started from the mallet and moved on to frog oil.

Seeing his wife looking calm, but with eyes shining as if she was about to ask who had stock, Zhang Guoqing smiled knowingly.

He said they were a pair of confidants. He'd just thought about this. Besides not being able to use foreign currency, all the cash in the house should be exchanged for valuables.

It is inevitable that people will suffer from illnesses throughout their lives. We must take advantage of this good opportunity and prepare more life-saving medicines, original tonics, etc.

What is money? Damn it! It's the root of all evil. Once it's all gone, I can just quietly be a handsome man.