"You little girl don't know how difficult it is to support your family. When you come to our house, your uncle will back you up."

Zhang Hongmei really didn't want to talk to this person anymore. Looking at Zhang Hongqi, she said, "Uncle Zhang, I can manage on my own. Thank you for coming to see me. Please take the cornmeal back. I know you mean well, and I appreciate it. Besides, no one in the village bullies me, and I don't need anyone to back me up."

"Okay, I was wrong. You're all grown up now. You can find a son-in-law to live with you and you'll still be able to make a living."

“Hongmei, my second brother is three years older than you. What do you think about having him come and be your son-in-law?”

Zhang Hongmei glared angrily, "I called you 'Auntie' because you're old. Don't be rude. Don't ever come to my house again. I'm still young. Don't say those nonsense things that will offend my ears."

"You ungrateful girl, I gave you my perfectly good son and you're acting all high and mighty."

"Get out of here, or I'll call for help."

Zhang Hongqi blushed with embarrassment. He picked up the half-sack of cornmeal, grabbed Wang Hongying who was still talking, and pulled her out without saying goodbye to Zhang Hongmei.

Wang Hongying persisted, "Let go! Wasn't this your idea? I have to have a word with this girl. I haven't even looked down on her, she's an orphan who brought misfortune to her parents, and now she wants me to get out? She has no manners at all."

Zhang Hongmei sat on the bench watching the two of them arguing without saying a word. She used to think Zhang Hongqi was a decent person, but she never expected him to be this kind of person. Seeing that she was all alone, he was still trying to fool her by claiming to be Zhang Aiguo's friend.

From the moment they walked in, the couple had one good face and the other bad face, as if they were fools. Several times I saw Zhang Hongqi angry, and I thought he would scold his wife, but he didn't. It seems they had planned it together at home.

Zhang Hongqi was really embarrassed. "Hongmei, your uncle just thinks that if you find someone you know well, you won't be bullied in the future."

"No need, you can leave. Don't come back again. I'll take care of myself, whether I live or die. I won't beg for food from your house."

Zhang Hongmei's words were so harsh that Zhang Hongqi was truly embarrassed. He hadn't intended to seize anything; even if he were, it wouldn't be his place as an outsider. However, he had many children, and if his second son came to live with Zhang Hongmei, it would save on their food supply and give Zhang Hongmei a companion. But he hadn't expected this girl to be so ungrateful.

"Then let's go back."

This time he was really angry, and no matter how much Wang Hongying struggled, she couldn't break free.

Zhang Hongmei felt disgusted. What kind of people are these? You can only know a person's face, not their heart. They want to take advantage of her? Why don't they look in the mirror? They're really not pretty, but they think too highly of themselves.

The air feels so fresh after the plague has been gone. But there's a problem to solve: I live too far from people, so I have to get a dog.

But people can't even afford to eat right now, so who would keep a dog? And if there's a real disaster, people might eat the dog. It's a difficult situation no matter what.

Learning martial arts? Forget it, I'm determined to be a lady. Besides, as the old saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands. Looks like I can't open the door for strangers anymore. Anyone looking for me should go find Liu Maocai first. That's unreliable too; who has the time to serve you every day? But this is the only option I have.

Once Auntie San comes over, tell her what happened today, so that Liu Maocai will know what kind of person Zhang Hongqi is.

After putting away the remaining eleven steamed buns and washing the dishes, I took out the borrowed junior high school textbook to read.

Junior high school covers many more subjects: geography, history, politics, math, and Chinese. Much of it involves memorization. But you have plenty of time; just review it several times. As the saying goes, "Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear."

She started by looking at history, and before she knew it, the whole afternoon had passed. The course of history changed during the Qing Dynasty, but the War of Resistance against Japan still occurred. Now Zhang Hongmei's mind was in turmoil; she kept mixing up the historical facts from the two eras.

That's enough for today, my head is a complete mess.

It was almost dark, so we quickly started a fire; we still had to dig up corn stalks that night. Why didn't we think of preparing a machine? All this work requires our bare hands; it's been tough.

Zhang Hongmei spent the whole night finally digging up all the corn stalks. She'll prepare the land tomorrow, and try planting rice the day after. Cough, isn't rice grown without water called dryland rice?

I've never planted this before. It seems like you have to raise seedlings first and then transplant them, but how can you transplant seedlings without water? You can just bury the seeds directly in the ground. Do whatever is easiest.

The next morning, I did the same routine as before, but for breakfast I made hand-pulled noodles. I didn't dare to add an egg, at least out of respect for the deceased. The fresh bok choy, seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, was delicious and not greasy at all; I ate a whole big bowl of it.

I spent the morning reading. Studying is relatively simple. I did all the exercises in the book. They weren't difficult. Compared to math in my previous life, there were far fewer types and numbers of questions.

For lunch, I ate yesterday's leftovers. The steamed buns weren't stored in my spatial storage, so they were hard. I took out two and put them in the pot, then took an eggplant from my spatial storage and steamed them together. I also added some minced garlic. The eggplant with minced garlic was refreshing.

I was really tired of staying at home, so I decided to go up the mountain in the afternoon. After lunch, I put on a cotton hat and a cotton coat, carried a willow basket on my back, grabbed a sickle, locked the door, and went out.

The mountains stretch endlessly, and I had the impression that there were large animals in the deep mountains. The old people in the village warned everyone not to go into the deep mountains, saying that there were wolves, and they had actually seen them.

Zhang Hongmei wasn't planning on going deep into the mountains; she was just getting tired of staying there and wanted to get some exercise by climbing.

The mountains were covered in snow, a vast expanse of white, with the green of the pine and cypress trees adding a touch of color, making it truly beautiful.

After walking to the foot of the mountain and looking around, Zhang Hongmei realized there was no way to go up. She became scared and decided to go back. She didn't want to do anything, and there was no need to take risks.

I'm back again, wandering around aimlessly. This era without internet and cell phones is a rip-off.

Dejected, I returned home and picked up a book again to continue reading; it was now my only form of entertainment.

Once I immersed myself in the book, I stopped having any random thoughts. Even though it was just a history textbook, I could still find enjoyment in it if I calmed down.

In the evening, I went to work in the space again, but I was worried about the mountain of corn cobs and the pile of corn stalks. They were taking up too much space. The corn cobs had dried in the past few days, and I carried them into the warehouse basket by basket. I decided to start shredding the corn kernels from tomorrow. This is a completely manual job, without any adulteration. These thousands of kilograms of corn cobs will keep me busy.