After Wang Xiaoshun finished cutting the chives, he sat in the yard to pick them. Zhang Hongmei first fried the eggs, otherwise she would put them into the chives while they were still hot to reduce the water content. She took out five eggs, fried a big bowl of them, and then went out to help Wang Xiaoshun pick vegetables.

I don't know when the two of them will be back. If I make the chive and egg dumplings too early, they're likely to lose their flavor and break during cooking. So I've prepared all the ingredients, but I haven't mixed the filling yet. I'll mix it when I'm ready to wrap them, so it'll be faster.

You could also make a cucumber salad or stir-fried green beans, but that's about it.

With nothing else to do, Zhang Hongmei pulled up the weeds in the yard and threw them to the sheep. She wondered if Er Ya had let go of the six sheep. It was too late to graze them now, so she decided to go tomorrow. She was still thinking about how the sweet potato field looked.

Just then, Er Lengzi came over, carrying two pickled rabbits. "Sister, we caught five rabbits in the trap. We ate three while you were away, and I pickled the remaining two for you. You can have them as an extra dish when you have guests."

"That's great! I was just wondering how to entertain our guests. Let's make dumplings tonight, Er Lengzi, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"No, let's eat another day. I'm going back now." Er Lengzi turned and left. He wouldn't be so tactless as to stay for dinner when guests had come over.

"Brother Shun, I've washed the rabbit, could you chop it into pieces for me?"

"Great! With rabbits to eat, anything is possible. I've wanted to eat them for a long time; the last time I had them was when I was in the army."

"Uncle Zhang, can you handle spicy food? I mean, really spicy food?"

"Sure, both he and his son really love spicy food."

"Then let's eat spicy rabbit meat."

"That's great! How big should the rabbit meat be chopped into?"

"The braised pork I had last time was this big."

"Okay, okay."

While Wang Xiaoshun was chopping meat, Zhang Hongmei secretly entered the space and took out half a small bag of Sichuan peppercorns and half a small bag of bird's eye chilies.

Since the rabbit was only marinated a few days ago, the meat isn't particularly dry yet, so it can be stewed for a shorter time. But let's stew it first anyway.

At five o'clock, Liu Erya came over and was quite excited to see Zhang Hongmei return.

"Second Sister is eating here today. She has chive and egg dumplings, and spicy rabbit meat."

"You have guests, so I won't go."

"You're still shy? Don't be reserved, let's make dumplings together. The rabbit meat is stewed."

"I've been smelling the aroma for ages. When are you going to wrap them?"

"I'll pack it now, I reckon they'll be back soon. Didn't you see them when you got home?"

"No, my dad isn't home either."

"Oh, they must have gone to Great-Grandma's. If they haven't come back by the time you finish making dumplings, stay home and cook some dumplings while I go call them."

As expected, Zhang Xingguo and the others still hadn't returned after the three of them finished making dumplings.

Zhang Hongmei took out a lid, picked up twenty dumplings, and carried them to Liu Changhe's house.

"Grandma, I've brought you something delicious."

"You came back and didn't even come to see me first?"

"We have guests coming over, so I have to cook for them. That's why I was thinking of coming over tomorrow morning."

The old lady looked at Zhang Shouyi and said, "You've passed. Go back now and settle down in the village. Don't worry, your father will be fine. As for building the house, it can be done tomorrow. It'll be right next to Hongmei's house, so there will be someone to look after you."

"Okay, Grandma, I'll go back tonight."

"You've won! You guys should go back and eat now."

"Grandma, I'm going back now. I bought you some nice things, I'll bring them to you tomorrow morning."

The old lady waved her hand with a smile.

Zhang Xingguo breathed a sigh of relief. This man truly lived up to his reputation as a founding general. He couldn't understand how that seemingly promiscuous woman had managed to become a general.

Upon returning home and seeing the sumptuous dinner, Zhang Xingguo immediately felt revitalized. He could handle things with one hand more skillfully than with both.

Especially the spicy rabbit meat; if someone else took a bite, they had to ignore his mournful look. So Wang Xiaoshun was terrified that he only ate two pieces and then dared not touch the meat again.

After dinner, Zhang Shouyi and the others were about to leave. Zhang Hongmei, with a heavy heart, picked all the cucumbers from the cucumber trellis and handed them to him. She really couldn't bear to part with them.

Seeing Zhang Hongmei's reluctant expression, Zhang Shouyi snatched the bag from her hand and walked away with a smile. Zhang Hongmei, heartbroken, clutched her chest and fumed for a long time.

Zhang Xingguo was extremely satisfied with the interaction between the young couple.

Zhang Hongmei arranged for Zhang Xingguo to stay in the house that Zhang Aiguo and his wife used to live in.

I didn't go into the space that night. The next morning, I cooked rice porridge and mixed some wild vegetables. I didn't bother with Zhang Xingguo's house-building project either. Those are adults' matters. Besides, Zhang Shouyi said last night that I didn't need to be provided with meals, just one yuan a day per person. That's a tycoon! I never thought I'd become friends with a tycoon?

He was herding his six sheep, and he couldn't tell if the other three were pregnant or not. He just fed and cared for them well.

He leisurely swung the willow branch in his hand, herding the sheep up the mountain, but there was very little wild grass on the ground, and the once wide river was now only a little over two meters wide, its bed cracked with large fissures. How many days had it been? How were they going to get water? He hadn't gone to fetch water today; he wondered how much the well water level had dropped.

My initially pleasant mood instantly plummeted. We continued herding the sheep deeper into the mountains, walking for over an hour before finally seeing greenery. Without stopping, we kept going.

The further you go in, the more weeds there are, probably because there are more trees and it's not as dry.

We've finally arrived! The sweet potato field is a lush, green expanse. It's incredibly abundant. I'll go back and ask if we can cut some of the sweet potato vines now. It'll probably have some impact, but it's not really useful right now. There are still wild vegetables in the field; it's not that bad yet.

After inspecting the traps, I found that they had all been deepened; it must have been done by Er Lengzi. That guy is pretty good.

The sheep graze freely, as long as they stay away from the sweet potato field and the traps.

I wonder how the sweet potatoes are doing in the village? Just thinking about it gives me a headache; how are they feeding over a hundred people in this village?

The villagers of Liujiatun had all done Zhang Hongmei some favors, and she really couldn't bear to watch them go hungry.

This is so annoying, I really can't think of a good solution.

I'd better go home and cook. After all, I'm not the only one at home now. There's a sugar daddy waiting for me to feed him.

On the way back down the mountain, I saw a bustling scene in the open space next to my house, where everyone was making clay bricks. They were mixing yellow soil and dry grass to make mud, putting it into a rectangular frame, and then standing it up when it was half-dry. Once it was completely dry, it could be used as bricks.

Even though we don't need to provide meals, let's still get some drinks.

Zhang Hongmei hurried home to boil water, adding salt and brown sugar, and then took it out to serve everyone.

"I'm sorry, I'll definitely boil water early this afternoon, let it cool down, and then pick it out for everyone."

"It's alright, having sugar water and alcohol is fine."

Zhang Hongmei smiled but didn't reply, and hurried to make lunch.

Because it was too hot, Zhang Hongmei had to make cold noodles, and she chopped the pickled vegetables into small pieces. She also smashed and minced the garlic, and stir-fried some bok choy.