Wang Xinyi also expressed her envy, saying, "If I get old, I'll come and live here. I think I'll definitely live a few more years."

"Hehe, Aunt Wang, you're thinking too far ahead."

“It’s not far. I really like it here. I mean it. I really want to retire here.”

"You have such good vision! The first thing I'll do when I have money is build a two-story house for every family in the village and build roads for them."

"Hehe, then I'll definitely come. I'll plant flowers all over the yard; it will be so beautiful."

"Okay, you can stay at my place."

The three entered the canteen courtyard, which was bustling with activity. The children were all playing quietly in a huddle, without any roughhousing. Even though there were many people in the courtyard, it was mostly just talking. Seeing everyone enjoying themselves, Zhang Hongmei felt quite happy.

Zhang Hongmei asked Wang Ying and Wang Xinyi to sit down, and then slipped away to Li Cuihua's side.

"Auntie, when is dinner served? Goodness, it smells delicious."

"I estimate it will take about half an hour. Today we'll have three dishes: stewed pork, stewed fish, and mixed wild vegetables."

"It's pretty good, there's meat and vegetables. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't need you. The meat will be ready in a minute. Go play somewhere else, it's hot here."

"Okay, I'll come over to your place tonight."

"Quiet down, everyone. We'll be starting the wheat harvest in Liujiatun tomorrow. Gather at the edge of the wheat fields at four in the morning. Breakfast will be delivered from the canteen at seven. Nobody is allowed to be late. Go home and sharpen your sickles."

Although the work starts tomorrow, everyone is happy and no one is upset. It's been three years, a full three years since we last harvested wheat. Everyone wants to eat white flour buns. Now that the harvest is finally here, how can we not be happy?

"Also, we've been eating three meals a day for the past few days, and they all include meat."

Everyone was even happier now. They weren't afraid of hard work, but they dreaded working on an empty stomach. Being able to eat their fill, and even have meat, was wonderful.

The older children, like Shi Tou and his group, were not very happy. Their families had finished harvesting wheat, but they had to go to school. They really didn't like this kind of holiday.

Shi Tou reacted the fastest, "San Ya, ask for leave for me tomorrow, I need to stay home and do chores."

Zhang Hongmei laughed when she heard this, but she didn't stop her.

Once the fish and meat were cooked, everyone lined up to get their food. When it was Zhang Hongmei's turn, a young woman was in charge of serving the meat. When she saw that it was Zhang Hongmei, she was given a large bowl full of meat.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." She's so young, calling her sister-in-law is perfectly appropriate.

After Zhang Hongmei finished speaking, Wang Hongxi's wife next to her laughed, "You're calling her by a lower generation; she should be called 'Auntie'."

"Auntie, I'm sorry."

The young wife blushed deeply. "It's alright, it's alright."

The old lady also came to eat in the cafeteria today. She was at a table full of older people. Hu Aifen even brought Zhang Hongmei a plate of ribs, which were tender parts of the meat. Zhang Hongmei was delighted. This was even better than braised pork.

Wang Ying brought back a large bowl of fish meat, three sections, all from the belly of the fish. The bones here are all large, so there's no need to worry about getting them stuck in your throat.

Wang Xinyi brought back a large bowl of mixed wild vegetables. "Hongmei, this wild vegetable salad must be delicious. It smells just right." The three of them sat down, with Shitou and Sanya sitting next to them.

"Stone, Sanya, if there's not enough meat, get some from here. The three of us can't finish it, or you can take it back."

“Sister Hongmei, I’ll take it back. My second sister will definitely be back the day after tomorrow, Saturday. I’ll save it for her.”

"Okay, you two have eaten all the meat. We'll leave the rest for Sister Er Ya. Don't worry about eating."

Wang Xinyi is health-conscious; even the most delicious meat will only be eaten in two pieces at most, and she can't even finish all the ribs she has. Wang Ying definitely can't finish this bowl, which is why Zhang Hongmei said that.

"You guys can have the ribs, Aunt Wang, you should try some. I think they're even better than braised pork."

Stone finally swallowed the meat in his mouth. "Sister Hongmei, meat is so delicious, even the ribs are all lean meat."

"Okay, you eat the fatty meat, we'll eat the lean meat. You should also eat some wild vegetables, or your stomach won't be able to handle it. And don't drink cold water when we get back, understand?"

"Really, it's not like we've never eaten meat before, how could we not know?" Stone said, then picked up another piece of meat and put it in his mouth.

After finishing the meal, there was still more than half a bowl of meat left. "Wang Ying, you eat it, don't be shy."

"I'm full. This meat really isn't as good as the ribs. And this fish, this mixed wild vegetables, it's all so delicious."

In the end, only one piece of fish and most of a bowl of meat were left, which Shi Tou San Ya took back.

The three of them went home. "How was it? Was the communal meal delicious?"

"tasty."

"Haha, you haven't been eating your usual meals. With three consecutive years of drought, the corn kernels have been ground into cornmeal."

"It's like that where I'm from too."

"It's not easy for anyone."

Back home, Wang Xinyi gave each of them a bowl of water infused with dried hawthorn, saying, "Drinking this will help with digestion."

“Hongmei, I’ve sharpened all the sickles in the warehouse. Let’s go help harvest the wheat tomorrow.”

"Hongmei, I can't do this work. I'll help with the cooking tomorrow."

"Okay, I'm just worried about rain during the wheat harvest. More people means more strength, so we can harvest the wheat as soon as possible."

"That makes sense. It's alright. Tomorrow, one person from the cafeteria can go out to harvest wheat. I can cook very quickly."

"Hehe, it's alright, we'll just do our best. I'm going to Shi's house, do you want to come?"

Both of them shook their heads. Zhang Hongmei took the yarn she had prepared that morning to Liu Maocai's house. Almost an hour had passed, and Li Cuihua should have arrived home by now.

But Zhang Hongmei was wrong this time; Li Cuihua really didn't come back.

Only Shi Tou and San Ya were doing their homework.

"Sister Hongmei, I'm going to call my mom."

"No need. My third aunt knows I'm coming, she must still be busy. I'll just take this opportunity to check on your studies."

Zhang Hongmei took Shitou's workbook, frowning. "Shitou, you really can't do this. A person's handwriting is like their face. To put it simply, if it's the college entrance exam, the examiners have to look at many papers every day. When it's your turn, they'll be the first to dislike you. Math is one thing, but what about Chinese? The teachers don't have the time to look at your essay word by word. So, it's impossible for you to get a high score."

Stone lowered his head in shame. He knew he had been arrogant and it wasn't good, but he was number one, so he became complacent.

"Sister Hongmei, I will definitely correct it. Don't worry, I will definitely write the characters well."

"Stone, I believe in you this time, and I hope you won't disappoint me. Look how beautiful Sanya's handwriting is, didn't you like her at first sight?"

You'll be starting junior high next year, you'll be a man then, you should be more sensible and understanding.

"Yes, I will definitely write carefully and write the characters well."