Chapter 5

When leaving Qin Qingman’s house, Qin Caiyun hesitated for a moment before saying, “Sister Qingman, my mother said these things need to be deducted from the debt.”

After saying this, she perhaps felt it sounded a bit detached and quickly added an explanation, “My family is big, and it’s really not easy for us to spare these things for you. We’ve been drinking corn porridge for a while.”

Qin Qingman had never expected that Zhu Hongxia and the others would give her the supplies for free.

She nodded understandingly and said, “The grain is distributed in fixed amounts, and every household has little surplus. I definitely won’t take advantage of your aunties, so don’t worry. I’ll convert these supplies into debt and give you a receipt right away.”

“Okay.”

Qin Caiyun, who had come to deliver the goods with a task in mind, felt relieved deep down when she saw that Qin Qingman understood the situation. She had originally thought she might have to argue a lot.

“Sister, here.” Hearing the conversation, Chuchu, very quick-witted, went inside to find some paper and pen, running over to hand them to Qin Qingman. The child’s face was tightly scrunched, looking both cautious and nervous.

Only Qin Qingman knew that the child was holding back laughter.

The food at home was running low, so having some income at this point made the child worry less.

Qin Qingman was quick at calculating and writing the receipt. A few minutes later, she handed the receipt to Qin Caiyun.

Qin Caiyun had attended elementary school and could read. Seeing the words clearly on the paper, and having watched Qin Qingman convert the supplies into money, she confirmed that her family hadn’t suffered any loss. She quickly left with the receipt.

As for her plans to calculate Qin Qingman’s potential match, she still needed to think it over carefully.

At the very least, she needed to wait until she could find out more about Comrade Liu Hechang at the farm. If he really was a farm leader and had significant wealth, she would definitely go for it.

As for whether this might offend Qin Qingman, she didn’t care at all.

She could disregard her family, so why would she care about a cousin who had no parents to rely on? At worst, once she became the leader’s wife, she could help her cousin by arranging a job for her at the farm’s canteen as compensation.

With such thoughts, Qin Caiyun walked away with light steps.

She didn’t return home right away but instead went to the neighborhood security chief Qian Xiangyang’s house to find her old classmate, Qian Aimin.

After seeing off Qin Caiyun, Qin Qingman and Chuchu closed the door and exchanged a smile.

“Sister, how could the aunties possibly return our things?”

Chuchu, excited, was holding a rooster that was clucking loudly.

After being well-fed and well-rested for over two months, the child had become much stronger. He was now able to lift and hold a seven or eight-pound rooster in his arms.

“Don’t hold it, the chicken’s body isn’t clean, it’s full of bacteria.” Qin Qingman quickly stopped him. In the middle of winter, washing clothes was already a chore, and she didn’t want to torture herself. Besides, the family had no spare cotton clothes to change into.

“Oh.” Chuchu replied regretfully, letting go of the rooster.

As soon as he released it, the rooster pecked him without hesitation. Fortunately, Chuchu was wearing thick cotton clothes and gloves, otherwise, the peck could have drawn blood.

Seeing that Chuchu listened, Qin Qingman quickly moved other things to the storage room, then grabbed the two large roosters tied by their legs and walked toward the backyard.

She wasn’t going to keep the chickens; she’d kill them for dinner soon.

In the heavy snow, even if they couldn’t finish eating right away, the chickens could be frozen and stored for later.

“Sister, be careful, there might be a weasel.” Chuchu warned, thinking Qin Qingman intended to keep the chickens. He quickly reminded her, though he wasn’t the head of the household, he understood the value of food after having experienced hunger.

“We’ll kill them for meat soon.”

Qin Qingman also understood the importance of supplies in these times.

With the mountains covered in snow, not only did people rely on food to survive, but the animals in the mountains did as well. If an animal didn’t have enough food stored to survive the winter, it might risk coming into the village in search of food.

In the village, people usually kept their chickens and ducks in specially designated rooms during heavy snow, ensuring the birds wouldn’t freeze to death. At night, the doors and windows had to be locked to prevent animals like weasels from getting in.

Their house didn’t have extra rooms to keep chickens, so they were going to kill them and eat the meat.

Hearing that the chickens were to be slaughtered for meat, Chuchu’s face immediately brightened into a wider smile. Without outsiders around, he didn’t hide his true nature in front of Qin Qingman—he laughed when it was time to laugh and played around when it was time to be silly.

“Sister, I’ll go get the knife to help you.”

The child was eager to assist.

“Go ahead, but be careful not to cut yourself.” Qin Qingman said as she and Chuchu reached the backyard. The backyard was a garden, and the cabbage and radishes planted there had been harvested before the heavy snow arrived, leaving only a thick layer of snow.

The snow glistened brightly under the sunlight.

“Chuchu, when you get the knife, check how much water is in the kettle. If it’s low, refill it and start heating it.” Qin Qingman squatted down to prepare for slaughtering the chickens.

“Mm.”

Chuchu excitedly ran into the kitchen through the back door.

Just as Qin Qingman had begun to pluck the feathers around the neck of the chicken to prepare for slaughter, the child returned with a shiny kitchen knife, excitedly reporting, “Sister, I added water to the kettle, it will be boiling soon.”

As he spoke, he handed the knife to Qin Qingman.

Qin Qingman worked quickly and efficiently, and within half an hour, she had finished preparing the two large roosters. Looking at the chicken meat hanging under the eaves, slowly freezing, she took the cleaned chicken innards back to the kitchen, which was connected to the main hall.

As soon as she entered the main hall, she was greeted by a wave of warmth.

The stove had been burning for a while, and because Chuchu had used a lot of firewood to boil the water, the temperature in the room was higher than usual, much warmer than normal.

It was very cozy.

Qin Qingman took off her cotton clothes, rolled up her sleeves, and began cooking.

The original owner had been quite diligent, growing many vegetables. Before the heavy snow, the cabbage had been turned into sauerkraut, and the radishes had been dried halfway and mixed with chili to become pickled radish strips.

These vegetables were essential for surviving the long winter in Northeast China.

Qin Qingman grabbed some pickled radish from the earthen jar, cut it into small pieces, and then stir-fried it with the chicken innards to make a chicken offal stir-fry. She also picked a few garlic shoots grown from a broken frame in the corner of the house and threw them into the pan. The delicious aroma instantly filled the air, drifting into both Qin Qingman’s and Chuchu’s noses.

Chuchu had been following Qin Qingman around, and now his bright eyes were fixed on the pan, unable to look away.

“Chuchu, go get a few steamed buns from the kitchen. I’ll make some bean sprout soup, and then we can have lunch.” Qin Qingman said, while using chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken liver and put it into her brother’s mouth.

With food in his mouth, Chuchu was worried that it would fall out if he opened his mouth, so he could only keep nodding at Qin Qingman.

His little face turned pink, looking soft and adorable.

Especially his eyes, which were so bright and clear, like grapes, making Qin Qingman feel tender-hearted.

She stroked the child’s cheek and gently pushed him towards the kitchen.

Then, she quickly served the chicken offal from the pot, washed the pot, and started boiling water to make the bean sprout soup.

In the middle of winter, there were no green vegetables to be found outside. At this time of year, every household had to rely on the warmth of the indoors to grow a few green shoots, like garlic, onions, or bean sprouts.

Qin Qingman had already prepared a large bowl of bean sprouts.

She rinsed some of the bean sprouts, and once the water in the pot boiled, she added some peanut oil and salt before dropping the sprouts into the pot.

Bean sprouts cooked quickly and easily.

Sitting around the warm stove, the siblings began their lunch. Between bites, Qin Qingman explained to Chuchu why Zhu Hongxia and the others had returned some of the grain and supplies. Of course, she didn’t tell him the whole truth.

Chuchu was still young, and there were some things that weren’t necessary for him to know.

Once Chuchu was reassured that the supplies were fine, he relaxed and enjoyed his meal even more.

The heavy snow had sealed off the mountains, making travel difficult. In the afternoon, Qin Qingman simmered half a chicken. Before it was even fully cooked, the rich aroma started to spread, and this made Zhu Hongxia next door seethe with anger.

That wasteful Qin Qingman, she actually went ahead and killed a rooster to eat meat!

How could she be so reckless?

But she couldn’t help feeling incredibly tempted by the smell.

As the fragrant aroma filled the air, Qin Jianming and Qin Jianjun couldn’t help but swallow repeatedly. They were swallowing so quickly that the youngest, Qin Jianjun, accidentally choked on his saliva, coughing loudly enough to shake the house.

“Look at you, what a disgrace.” Zhu Hongxia scolded, glaring at her youngest son.

Qin Jianjun felt deeply wronged. He hadn’t even asked for any meat, and he hadn’t spoken—wasn’t it okay to just cough a little? If his mother had any sense, she’d kill a chicken and let him eat some too!

“Why don’t we kill a chicken to eat?” Qin Lei, who had been warming himself by the fire, was also craving the chicken soup from next door. His mouth was practically watering, and if it weren’t for maintaining his dignity in front of the children, he would’ve swallowed his saliva without a second thought.

As it was, his throat had been working overtime as he secretly swallowed.

Qin Lei’s desire for meat only fueled Zhu Hongxia’s anger even more. She jumped up, shouting, “Eat, eat, eat! All you think about is eating! Don’t you know how many eggs one chicken can lay? You think eggs are free? You can buy salt with eggs, but do you think salt is free!”

“Mom, roosters don’t lay eggs.” Qin Jianming quietly retorted.

“Don’t you have to spend money to find a job? Don’t you think it costs money for you two to get wives? Do you know how much hardship I’ve endured for you? And you can’t even be considerate to me? Instead, you’re learning from Qin Qingman, that wasteful woman, just because of a craving!” Zhu Hongxia was about to explode from the frustration of dealing with the men in her house.

Her face turned bright red with anger.

She had been pinching pennies for who’s sake, if not for this family?

Seeing Zhu Hongxia throw a tantrum, Qin Lei and the two children didn’t bring up the topic of killing the chicken again.

Watching it all unfold, Qin Caiyun felt even more determined to leave this house.

She couldn’t stand the constant nitpicking over something as simple as eating a chicken they had raised. She longed for a life where she could eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

Thinking this, her thoughts turned even more to Liu Hechang.

She had to make sure to grab hold of him before Qin Qingman did. Once she had him, she was confident she could bend him to her will.

With a sense of determination, Qin Caiyun placed high hopes on Qian Aimin.

She was eager to learn the news he would uncover for her.

However, Qian Aimin hadn’t gone to the farm to gather information about Liu Hechang. In this heavy snow, what on earth had possessed him to go and help Qin Caiyun with her work? He knew that just because he liked her didn’t mean she could manipulate him.

He wasn’t a fool, so why would he believe that Qin Caiyun’s investigation into Liu Hechang was truly for Qin Qingman’s benefit?

It was clear that Qin Caiyun had become interested in Liu Hechang and was trying to cut Qin Qingman off!

After taking a sip of liquor, Qian Aimin felt the warmth spread through his veins. After thinking it over, realizing it was still early, he put on his thick cotton coat, a hat with ear flaps, and stepped out the door.

Meanwhile, as Qin Qingman was teaching Chuchu to recognize words, the siblings heard the sound of small stones hitting the back window.

They exchanged a glance, each grabbing a stick and pushing the window open.

There was no one to be seen, but on the ground lay a fairly large paper wad.

Seeing the paper, Qin Qingman raised an eyebrow. She stepped outside to pick it up, unwrapped it, and found it contained detailed information about Liu Hechang, including the fact that his ex-wife had died due to domestic violence. It was all clearly written, and Chuchu saw it too.

Someone was helping her!

Though Qin Qingman didn’t know who was behind it, she was grateful for the help.

The next morning, Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang came to fetch Qin Qingman to go to the town.

Heishan Town had become a town largely due to the presence of the Qianjin Farm, which was massive and had drawn many people from the surrounding areas. As the population grew, the economy developed, leading to the formation of the town’s administrative unit.

Kaoshan Village was five miles from Heishan Town, and it took about half an hour to reach by sled.

After settling Chuchu, Qin Qingman joined Zhu Hongxia and the others on the sled heading for the town. To deal with Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang, she made sure to dress up carefully, wearing her new cotton coat.

The bright red coat and green cotton pants were very eye-catching.

Qin Qingman dared to dress like this because she trusted that Zhu Hongxia and the others wouldn’t really allow her to meet Liu Hechang up close.

The tall horse pulled the sled swiftly across the thick ice of the river.

This was the first time Qin Qingman had seen the scenery outside of Kaoshan Village after crossing the river. On both sides of the river were tall, continuous mountains, covered with numerous birch trees.

The leaves of the birch trees had long since fallen, but the heavy snow had decorated them once again, resembling Christmas trees from the future.

Unfortunately, one was green, and the other was blanketed in pure white snow.

Zhu Hongxia and the others brought Qin Qingman to the State-Owned Restaurant in the town.

The State-Owned Restaurant was located on the busiest street in town, Red Flag Street.

“Qingman, you sit here for a while, we’ll go check if Comrade Liu has arrived.” Zhu Hongxia instructed Qin Qingman before leaving with Qin Xiang.

Qin Qingman knew they were going to discuss how not to meet Liu Hechang up close.

Knowing the situation, she didn’t wait for them.

After they left, she immediately ordered a bowl of noodles and began eating.

She had woken up early and hadn’t had breakfast, so she was hungry.

While she was enjoying her meal, the conversation of a man and a woman from the next table reached her ears.

The State-Owned Restaurant was the most prestigious place in town, and many people would choose it for their matchmaking meetings.

The woman beside the man was asking him many questions about marriage.

Curious, Qin Qingman turned her head to look.

Her gaze collided with a pair of pitch-black eyes—cold, so cold that she instinctively shivered.

The owner of these eyes was a tall man in military uniform. Not only was his face hard and expressionless, but he also had an imposing, authoritative presence, like a general from ancient times.

And it made him intimidating.