Bai Shiqing was in good health, and the Li family didn't skimp on her food or make her do heavy work. She recovered quite well after giving birth.

This morning, Bai Jiaojiao had Shen Heng kill the little hen in their yard that they hadn't slaughtered for the New Year. She stewed it, scooped out half of the soup, and brought it over to Bai Shiqing.

"How much wealth does your family have in total? You just handed it all over to your sister like this?"

Li's mother was unaware of Bai Jiaojiao's business dealings. In this day and age, even if life is good, how good can it really be? From the day Bai Shiqing gave birth, Bai Jiaojiao had been sending over pig's trotters and chickens.

She thought to herself, "Sisters are different after all. Their feelings for each other are so deep, unlike brothers, who barely speak to each other after getting married."

However, Li's mother was naturally happy that her daughter-in-law had such a good friend to help her, after all, her son and Bai Shiqing were family, and in the end, it was their family that benefited.

“My sister lost two big chunks of flesh, she needs to eat more to make up for it.”

After Bai Jiaojiao explained this principle, Li's mother smiled.

With a younger sister like this, Bai Shiqing is proud in her husband's family.

“I’m worried that I won’t have enough milk for my two children. They are still small now, but what if they eat more when they get older and I don’t have enough?”

Bai Shiqing was worried. Her sister had prepared so many good things for her to eat, and Li Shuxian had even gone to the reservoir to catch fish and make soup for her. Even so, her breast milk was only just enough for now, and she was afraid it wouldn't be enough after the baby was a month old.

The biggest problem with having two children lies here.

“These milk coupons are hard to get here, otherwise, I’ve heard that some children in the city drink milk powder.”

Li's mother was also worried.

However, these days, how many people can supplement their nutrition like Bai Shiqing? It's common for those who only have one child to have insufficient breast milk. So they just feed the child when they have milk, and when they don't have enough milk, they feed them some rice water with a spoon. No matter what, they can raise their child to adulthood.

Bai Jiaojiao patted Bai Shiqing's hand: "Sister, let's send a message to Third Brother. We'll send some money and things over and see if he can scrape together some money with his comrades."

Bai Shibao receives a stipend. Even if he doesn't have milk coupons, the veterans might have them; the military definitely supplies these things.

Bai Jiaojiao's words enlightened Bai Shiqing, whose eyes immediately lit up: "How could I not have thought of that? I still have some money here. Take it back and write to Bozi, and tell him to get as much as he can."

"OK."

When Li's mother heard her two daughters discussing this, she couldn't help but say, "Shiqing, where did you get the money? When exchanging milk coupons, you can't give too little."

"Mom, the eighty yuan dowry you gave my family for the wedding is still with me, don't worry, it's enough." Bai Shiqing had more than that, but she couldn't tell Li's mother.

These days, it's rare for women to bring their dowry back to their husband's family, especially since Bai Shiqing has a younger brother who hasn't gotten married yet.

Upon hearing this, Li's mother's image of the Bai family improved even more. She hadn't known about Bai Shiqing before, and thought to herself that she would have to be even more polite to her in-laws in the future.

"How can that be? You're in our house, how can we let you spend the money you brought? Jiaojiao, come with me to get some money later."

"Mom, we have enough money now. If it really comes down to it, let Bozi buy on credit first, and we can pay back those comrades slowly. We have a lot of family members who need money. We can take care of ourselves, so you don't need to worry about us."

After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finished their conversation and some back and forth, Bai Shiqing gave Bai Jiaojiao fifty yuan to take with her as she left.

Li's mother secretly gave Bai Jiaojiao another twenty yuan: "Don't think it's too little. Our family plans to build a house for your sister when it gets cold. We don't dare to spend money recklessly, but it's best not to make things difficult for your brother in the army. He's only been there for a short time, and it's not right for him to borrow things from his comrades."

Bai Jiaojiao said, "Auntie, how could I complain about the amount? My sister is so lucky to have found such a good husband."

With a casual remark, Li's mother was so pleased that she forgot her own surname: "Look at what you're saying, this is two good things combined with one good thing. A daughter-in-law like your sister is hard to find even with a lantern. Your brother-in-law just happened to be lucky."

Li's mother felt comfortable giving him the twenty yuan. Bai Jiaojiao added another thirty yuan to the seventy yuan to make it a round number, and also sent Bai Shibao five jin of beef sauce with a little bit of chili.

Bai Shibao was overjoyed to receive a package from home while he was in the army.

Upon opening the letter, he was told to keep one jar of beef sauce for himself, and to pool his milk coupons with his comrades for the rest.

Private exchanges are now prohibited; you can't say you're exchanging these things, you can only say you're borrowing them.

What if I borrow money and can't repay it because I don't have enough milk coupons?

Hey, when I come to collect the debt, can I give you the money to make up for it? Sure.

Or maybe we're close, and I heard your family needs milk coupons, and I have some extra, so I'll give them to you!

You remember my kindness and treated me to your homemade beef sauce.

This is the procedure; it can't be called an exchange, much less a purchase, but everyone understands what it means.

Bai Shibao had just finished his basic training and didn't know many people. The only ones he was familiar with were a few other new recruits in his platoon. When they got together, they didn't even have a single milk coupon in their pockets.

But Bai Shibao had developed a thick skin in business; he wouldn't hesitate to borrow money from people he wasn't familiar with.

But everyone knows that milk coupons are precious, and everyone wants to keep them for their families. Some people are also planning ahead, thinking that just because they don't have children now doesn't mean they won't in the future. They believe that these coupons will definitely come in handy later.

If they had a really good relationship, they might be able to lend it to Bai Shibao, but the main problem is that they really have no connection with him.

Bai Shibao was constantly running into obstacles, and his face was all scrunched up.

He'd been so worried these past few days that he couldn't eat, so he took the beef sauce Bai Jiaojiao had sent him to the cafeteria and spread a little extra on his steamed bun to make it more palatable.

"Come on, all of you eat, no one else wants any anyway." Bai Shibao smeared a large spoonful of food onto his steamed bun in a somewhat vengeful manner.

Upon hearing this, Bai Shibao's two friends didn't stand on ceremony and immediately started digging and eating.

"My goodness! You're always sneaking around eating this delicious food, and today you're finally sharing it with us!"

After one of Bai Shibao's comrades got a taste, his eyes lit up and he quickly scooped up a large spoonful. Another comrade, seeing this, also quickly scooped up a spoonful, as if afraid of being taken advantage of.

"Are you two really that serious?"

Bai Shibao said this on the surface, but he was incredibly arrogant inside.

His sister's cooking skills are definitely top-notch; people are scrambling to buy her desserts, let alone her meat dishes. This stuff tastes delicious no matter how you cook it.

Bai Shibao often accepted gifts from others, and since the three of them had a good relationship, Bai Shibao didn't mind: "Then you two can each take a bottle back to the dormitory."

"Is this okay? Didn't you say this was sent by your sister to exchange for milk coupons? What if we eat it and it's given to your nephew?"

Bai Shibao looked distressed: "Who would be willing to give it to me now? In this hot weather, even salty food won't keep for long, and it would be a waste if it spoiled."