Su Yu lost patience to continue knitting, and Qin Xiaoxiao's suggestion was exactly what she wanted.

Su Yu happily pulled out the knitting needles, unraveled the piece of yarn she had finished knitting, tossed the ball of yarn aside, and watched Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Yun continue knitting with delight.

While munching on an apple, Su Yu chatted with the two men, and as they talked, she mentioned the Qin brothers.

"None of your three older brothers have partners?"

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded, "That's right, my grandma and my aunt are really worried. My third brother is still in the army, so he's not in a hurry, but my eldest and second brothers are getting old."

Su Yu nodded. "It's time to get anxious. Comrade Qin Ye is not young anymore, it's time for him to get married. But he didn't have a girlfriend before? Don't people in the countryside usually get married quite young? I heard some were even engaged when they were children?"

“I haven’t heard of my brother having a girlfriend before. As for engagement, people in the countryside get engaged early, but my brother didn’t. My family doesn’t do that. He can decide who he marries. The family doesn’t interfere much, as long as he’s a good person.”

As Su Yun said this, she paused for a moment, glanced at Qin Xiaoxiao subtly, and blushed slightly.

Qin Xiaoxiao was multitasking, talking to Su Yu while also knitting, and didn't notice that Su Yun's face was a little red. But Su Yu was sitting right across from the two of them and could see her sister's expression clearly.

Although Su Yu is usually carefree, she can be quite thoughtful at times. Seeing this, her eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled and started talking about other things with Qin Xiaoxiao.

At 7:30 p.m., Qin Xiaoxiao stopped knitting because she was worried that the room was too dark and she would hurt her eyes if she continued. She told her two sisters and took the yarn back to her room.

Back in the room, he closed the door and sighed as he looked at the large bundle on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Changqing mailed her a lot of things, the most precious of which was a military overcoat. These days, military overcoats are not sold outside; they are only issued by the military. The Qin family had several military overcoats.

In addition, five jin of cotton is also not easy to buy; sometimes even with a ration coupon, it is difficult to buy, especially in the Northeast region.

At the bottom was a leather dog-patterned mattress. The mattress was not large, only about one meter wide and about one and a half meters long. It was laid under the cotton mattress, so even if the fire on the kang (heated brick bed) went out at night, you wouldn't get cold.

Qin Xiaoxiao felt that this mattress was more practical than a military overcoat. It would be even more useful when spring came and the house no longer needed to be heated by the kang (a traditional heated bed).

The remaining items included a can of malted milk powder, a bag of milk powder, two bars of soap, a bar of regular soap, two towels printed with the name of the coal mine, and a large covered tea mug printed with "Labor is glorious" and "Coal mine reward," which were probably issued by Li Changqing's coal mine.

Qin Xiaoxiao also found a letter in the teacup.

Qin Xiaoxiao opened the letter, read it word by word, put it down, stood by the window, opened it, and a gust of cold air rushed into the room. However, Qin Xiaoxiao did not feel cold; instead, she felt warm inside.

The letter said that her father and mother had died in the line of duty and were awarded the title of Heroic Miner of the year by the mine. The reward included a towel, a teacup, a bar of soap, five kilograms of cotton, and a bonus of one hundred yuan. The letter said that the award would be mailed to her along with the certificate once the approval was granted.

From now until the future, Qin Xiaoxiao had never heard of the title "Heroic Miner." Obviously, this was something Li Changqing had specially applied for for her parents, and it was only given to them.

Her parents had been dead for half a year, and as the saying goes, "when people are gone, the tea grows cold," but Li Changqing still hadn't forgotten his good brother and even applied for such an awesome title for him after his death. How could her heart not be warmed?

Qin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, closed the window, drew the curtains, and entered the space without turning on the lights.

After searching through her online space for over an hour, Qin Xiaoxiao finally managed to compile a list of things she wanted to mail to Li Changqing.

Five catties of red mushrooms, a specialty of Northeast China; ten catties of steamed bean buns; five catties each of hazelnuts, chestnuts, and pine nuts; ten catties each of roasted melon seeds and peanuts; two pieces of cured pork weighing a full five catties; four dried pheasants and four wild rabbits; ten catties of cornmeal; ten catties of rice; ten catties of wheat flour; and finally, five catties of millet were added together.

These things weigh almost 100 pounds in total, which Qin Xiaoxiao can't carry by herself. Qin Ye will have to help her deliver them to the county post office tomorrow.

After leaving the space, Qin Xiaoxiao lit a candle and leaned on the kang table to write a letter back to Li Changqing.

First, she expressed her gratitude, then she expressed her pride in having such heroic parents. She also wrote about the Qin family and her recent situation, as well as some of her plans for next year. Finally, Qin Xiaoxiao said that she would live a good life, follow in the footsteps of her heroic parents, and make contributions to the country and the people.

The two sheets of paper were filled with writing. Qin Xiaoxiao read them over again, found no mistakes, and put them away with satisfaction.

Afterwards, Qin Xiaoxiao sorted out and packed the towels, soap, teacups, and cotton, preparing to send them to the Qin family's old house the next day.

The next morning, after washing up, Qin Xiaoxiao went to the Qin family home and gave Li Changqing's letter to Qin Aiguo.

"Grandpa, Uncle Li applied for the title of Heroic Miner for my parents. These are the rewards from the mine. There is also a certificate and a hundred yuan. I will give them to you together when they arrive."

There were two towels as well. I kept one as a souvenir. You and Grandma can keep the rest. Use what you need, and save what you can for future generations. I'm not responsible for anything else.

After Qin Xiao finished speaking, she pushed the packaged items towards Qin Aiguo.

Qin Aiguo stared intently at the package with red eyes, and after a long while he closed his eyes, a single, cloudy tear rolled down his cheek.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn't try to persuade her, but instead sat quietly beside Old Madam Qin, paying close attention to her emotions. Seeing that Old Madam Qin had only shed tears and wasn't too upset, Qin Xiaoxiao finally felt relieved.

Looking at Qin Aiguo, he was no longer crying, but his eyes were red, and a new wrinkle appeared on his tightly furrowed forehead. His hair seemed to have turned a little grayer.

Qin Aiguo took a deep drag on his cigarette, choking back tears as he said, "Keep the stuff yourself. I don't want the money. Your grandma and I have our own money; we don't need you."

I'll have your grandma pack some things, and you and your brother can go to the county town to mail them to your Uncle Li.

They have the intention, we can't pretend we don't know; we should reciprocate with a gift.

Qin Xiaoxiao quickly replied, "No need, Grandpa, I've already packed it up. I'll go to the county town with my brother in a little while and mail it to my Uncle Li."

These things aren't all for me; they belong to the Qin family's honor and should be kept by you.

Grandma Qin was displeased and wiped her face. "What honor? I don't need such an honor. I just want my son to come back to life."

Qin Aiguo suddenly looked up at Old Madam Qin and said sternly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Qin Min did what he was supposed to do. He got what he deserved because he was not good enough. He has no one to blame but himself."

Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned, staring blankly at Qin Aiguo.