"If you have any brown sugar, you could give me a piece. I'm really driven crazy by it. I don't know why, but drinking ginger water is such a hassle."

Lin Dongfang just happened to buy some meat and two pig's trotters in the county town yesterday. I remember you like pig's trotters, so I'll bring you one later. He's already braising it, so you can eat it then.

"But Zhouzhou also likes to gnaw on pig's trotters. If I save them for him, would I really fight with the child for that food?"

Speaking of this, Mingzhu felt even more helpless.

"My one-and-a-half-year-old child only stares at the meat when eating, and I'm scared."

It's fine for children to eat meat, but in this day and age, being able to eat meat like this isn't a good thing. What family has been poor for eight generations and can afford to eat meat like this?

"You've got guts! Go tell this to the village, and believe me, a bunch of people will come to your door to help you eat."

"Zhouzhou's starting to talk now. You need to make sure you tell him this carefully, especially about eating meat. Who knows if anyone in the village is jealous, right?"

Mingzhu wasn't naive, but after becoming a mother, her heart softened, and she didn't want to think too badly of people.

"Would the villagers really go that far?"

"Right now, they still remember the good things about the educated youth and are probably still embarrassed."

"But they eat whole grains, and you eat meat. It might not matter for a day or two, but over time, who knows what will happen?"

Mingzhu also sighed.

"Now that you mention it, I remember that too. When we were cooking lunch, someone actually came up to our door and asked if we had cooked meat. You know, we were covering it up so tightly, how come their noses are so sensitive?"

"You're only finding out now?"

"No, how could you have the nerve to block someone's door and ask them?"

It's practically like saying, "Your family eats meat, and I'm craving it too. I'm waiting for you to feed me!"

Simple fun,

"What's this? The people in Liujiatun are alright; they're not shameless. If you ran into someone like that, they'd just drop their child off at your doorstep and start wailing. Imagine how furious you'd be!"

Mingzhu felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of that scene, and a wave of unease washed over her. She shook her head repeatedly.

"Forget it, forget it. A scholar can't reason with a soldier. If there really was such a situation, I guess I would have to use a big stick to blast them away. It's better to do it this way."

I've come to understand it now. We can all be poor together; you can live a little better than others. But if you're significantly better off than others, then some people will definitely complain.

"Yes, yes, that's just how people are."

Mingzhu hurried back with the brown sugar, and soon returned with a bowl of pig's trotters. Jian Dan's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're really giving it to me? Didn't I say I didn't need it? Save it for Zhouzhou to eat, okay?"

Mingzhu didn't stand on ceremony and sent it straight to the kitchen.

"He's been eating less of your food, and you're still thinking about him?"

That's true. The couple knows quite a bit, not to mention the things they haven't seen. They secretly prepare special meals for their son. The couple may not know what it is, but they have a good idea. Their silly son always covers his mouth tightly after sneaking a bite, a classic case of protesting too much.

Privately, the two had remarked more than once that Jian Dan's hand was big enough to benefit them. Although their sons reaped all the benefits, the relationship between the two families became closer, so they stopped being formal and didn't stand on ceremony. In addition, with Cheng Chao's connection, Jian Dan was no different from their own sister. Everyone in the village knew that Lin Zhiqing and Jian Dan's brother had a good relationship, so no one really spread any gossip about Jian Dan and Lin Dongfang's interactions.

"Don't worry, the kid will be happy to tell you,"

Simple joy is so obvious you can't even see the eyes.

"My eldest nephew wasn't spoiled for nothing."

He went out and mailed some mountain products to Zhu Yan and Chen Hongjun in Beijing, and also mailed a big package to Cheng Jin. He took the opportunity to invite Cheng An and Cheng Rui to come and visit again. Only then did Jian Dan suddenly realize that her little girl hadn't been back for a long time.

Even Jian Wenxiu hasn't been seen for a long time.

In the countryside, there are no major events. After the autumn harvest and before winter, the biggest things to do are distributing grain and slaughtering pigs.

Grain distribution was nothing unusual; you earned a certain number of work points and received the same amount of grain. Simply put, it was a fair, just, and transparent system of distributing grain according to one's work.

The scene was similar to previous years. While queuing, I ran into Wei Shujuan and Su Hong. The group huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Jian Dan, while tugging at her cotton-padded coat, glanced around.

"Huh?"

Why are there only the two of you? Where are the others? Aren't you even enthusiastic about dividing the meat anymore?

"With so many work points this year, you don't even want meat anymore?"

Wei Shujuan pouted.

"You overestimate them. A few are already in line, but the others are probably still embroiled in lawsuits."

These days have been really boring, but when I heard about this, with its gossip, Jian Dan immediately became interested.

"What happened? Who joined the fight again?"

"They didn't actually fight, but they've been making a lot of noise, and things are in chaos now."

Simple's eyes sparkled; she was just waiting to hear it.

Wei Shujuan, ...

Su Hong, ...

"Why have I never noticed before that you care so much about this place? What's up today?"

He urged them briefly.

Tell me quickly, tell me, let me have a laugh!

Wei Shujuan and Su Hong exchanged a glance, and sure enough, they knew she wasn't that kind-hearted.

"These two wounded soldiers are really troublesome, especially Chu Rou. Not only does she order Wei Qiang around doing this and that, but she also finds fault with him in every way. She complains that Wei Qiang's cooking is not good, that he doesn't wash things properly, that the kang (heated brick bed) is not heated enough, that he is slow to bring water, and she can find any excuse to scold him."

But that Wei Qiang, he's like, like an obedient puppet, happily agreeing to whatever people say without the slightest hint of displeasure, you know?

Su Hong took over the conversation.

"Originally, this was a matter between the two of them, and it had nothing to do with us. It was a matter of one being willing to hit and the other being willing to be hit."

As a result, Chu Rou also set her sights on Lin Dali and Li Sanshan, but the two of them didn't fall for it at all. They wished they had no connection with them at all.

Wei Qiang, who didn't understand what they were saying, kept trying to persuade them, which angered Lin Dali and the others. They moved their luggage to the next room and separated from Wei Qiang.

Liu Erhong, who lived with Chu Rou, was also unlucky.

She lost one hand. Originally, the village chief was supposed to take care of her life as punishment for Wei Qiang, but Chu Rou took over. She didn't say anything. With only one hand, she could gradually do some things again, and taking care of herself didn't delay her too much.

As a result, when it came time to distribute the grain today, Liu Erhong wanted to buy some grain to ask Wei Qiang for compensation. That's how the group started arguing.

It's so simple, it's all so confusing.

"The village chief asked Wei Qiang to take care of Liu Erhong, but he ended up taking care of Chu Rou instead, and he didn't even give any compensation?"

"Yes, and you know what? He actually argued that Chu Rou's injuries were more serious than Liu Erhong's, so the compensation shouldn't go to her; Chu Rou needed it more."

Simple,? ? ?