Madam Qian(Qian’s Mother) pushed the wheelbarrow while Qian Chunhua guided it, delivering all four hundred jin of grain into the Qian family’s courtyard.

Madam Qian didn’t think anything of it.

She simply assumed that since Chunhua’s kitchen hadn’t been built yet, she was temporarily storing the grain at their place.

It wasn’t until Chunhua started hauling the grain sacks toward the cellar that Madam Qian began to sense something was off.

“Chunhua, wait… wait a minute.”

She reached out and grabbed the sack on Chunhua’s shoulder.

Just as Chunhua was silently complaining about how heavy it was, that sudden tug nearly made her knees buckle.

The sack fell heavily to the ground.

Chunhua looked at her mother in confusion. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Madam Qian said, “No need to trouble yourself. If you put it in the cellar, you’ll just have to move it all over again later. Once your kitchen is finished, I’ll have Xingshan wheel it over for you.”

Only then did Chunhua understand.

She hadn’t explained things clearly.

“Mom, this grain is staying here with you. I don’t have a cellar at my place.”

She didn’t say outright that the grain was meant as a gift—she knew her mother wouldn’t accept it if she did.

Better to just quietly move it into the cellar and be done with it.

Madam Qian let go. “Alright. And your vegetables—when you harvest them, you can keep them here in our cellar too. It’s inconvenient without one. When the weather warms up, you should dig one yourself.”

Chunhua nodded in agreement, though she was just humoring her.

No matter how convenient a cellar was, it couldn’t beat her storage space.

After moving all four sacks into the cellar, Chunhua pulled out a flashlight from her space and took a look around.

The cellar held over ten baskets each of potatoes, white radishes, and napa cabbage.

Aside from that, there were four sacks of dark flour, three of cornmeal, and one of sorghum flour.

There was no white rice or millet.

Chunhua now had a good idea of their food supply.

It might barely feed two people for a year—enough to keep them from starving, but definitely not enough to feel full.

Finished checking, Chunhua climbed out of the cellar.

Madam Qian was chopping cabbage in the kitchen.

“Mom, where are Qingsong and the others?”

She’d looked around the house and yard but couldn’t find them.

Without looking up, Madam Qian answered, “Qingsong took them up Lion Mountain to chop firewood. Your eldest is a good boy.”

Her tone was full of pride.

Having a mature, responsible child was a blessing—Chunhua had worked hard these past few years, but one day, it would all pay off.

Chunhua didn’t worry at all about the kids.

They were used to going into the mountains daily—Qingfeng had led his younger siblings to gather pigweed for years.

They knew the area well.

“Mom, let me cook lunch today.” As she spoke, Chunhua took out some prepared pork ribs from her basket.

Madam Qian glanced up and frowned when she saw the ribs. “You’re spending money recklessly again.”

She set down her knife and stepped aside.

But Chunhua’s cooking skills were undeniable.

Even a simple stir-fried cabbage dish tasted amazing in her hands.

Rolling up her sleeves, Chunhua gently nudged her mother out of the kitchen. “Mom, you go rest. I’ll take care of the cooking.”

She couldn’t “cheat” in the kitchen unless her mother left.

Chuckling, Madam Qian carried her sewing basket outside—might as well finish the work she didn’t complete yesterday.

Back in the kitchen, the sorghum rice was already done. Madam Qian had cooked a big pot of mixed grains—sorghum, rice, and cracked corn.

All Chunhua had to do now was prepare the side dishes.

She chopped the ribs into small pieces.

Although they looked like a lot, she knew everyone in the family was nutrient-deficient.

She secretly pulled out two more jin of ribs from her space stash.

After blanching the ribs, she planned to use half for braised ribs with potatoes, and the other half for sweet-and-sour ribs. The cabbage her mother had chopped would be stir-fried with chili and vinegar.

With three growing children—and Xingshan, practically a fourth—she figured the sweet-and-sour ribs would be a crowd favorite.

After all her hard work, three big bowls of fragrant dishes were ready and placed on the table.

Madam Qian was dumbfounded. “Chunhua, do we really have that much pork ribs?”

Chunhua, of course, wouldn’t tell the truth.

She smiled and waved it off, “Mom, it just looks like a lot. Most of it’s potatoes.”

Madam Qian half-believed her and said nothing more.

She helped carry the bowls and the rice pot into the main room.

When Xingshan and the kids got home, they sat down to eat.

Just as Chunhua predicted, the sweet-and-sour ribs were the most popular.

Even Madam Qian couldn’t stop exclaiming in amazement—she’d never tasted ribs prepared this way.

The entire bowl was gone in a flash.

Even the sauce was scooped out and mixed into the rice by Xingshan and the kids until not a drop was left.

Chunhua smiled and didn’t stop them.

Everyone’s body was lacking oil and nutrition—no need to worry about high blood pressure or diabetes here.

“Sister, this is so good. Can you make it again next time?” Xingshan asked with a beaming smile.

These past three days had been like a dream—he wasn’t just full, he was eating better than he’d ever imagined.

Qingfeng held his round belly and nodded, “Mom, make it again. I really love it!”

Chunhua grinned, “Of course. Ribs are cheap—we’ll make sweet-and-sour ribs more often.”

Madam Qian wanted to object, but the flavor still lingered in her mouth.

She had only eaten three pieces before setting her chopsticks down—she wanted the children to have more.

After that, she just ate potatoes and cabbage.

If they could eat sweet-and-sour ribs again in the future, even just thinking about it made her mouth water.

Everyone ate to their heart’s content.

Except for Madam Qian, who felt a little distressed over the cost, the rest were already looking forward to the next sweet-and-sour rib feast.

After lunch, Xingshan excitedly told Chunhua, “Jie, the kitchen and latrine are almost done—just need the roof. It’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Chunhua was thrilled.

A few jin of brown sugar had really paid off—Uncle Ding was working his hardest.

Xingshan continued, “Sister, Uncle Ding said we should build a woodshed next to the kitchen. The village chief said this morning every household needs to stock up on firewood.”

Chunhua nodded quickly. “Perfect! I nearly forgot about the woodshed—thank goodness for Uncle Ding.”

With everyone gathered, Chunhua pulled out three sets of beginner textbooks from her basket, purchased earlier in the county.

When she placed the books on the table, everyone except Qingsong looked completely confused.

Without a word, she handed the first set to Qingsong, the second to Xiaoling, and the third to Qian Xingshan.

Everyone’s reactions were different.

Xingshan blinked at the books in his arms. “Why do I get one too?”

Zhao Xiaoling asked, “Mom, is this for me to hold for Elder Brother?”

Qingfeng looked a little upset. “Why didn’t I get one?”

Madam Qian had a suspicion, but it seemed too unbelievable to be true.

Everyone turned to Chunhua, waiting for her to explain.

She didn’t keep them in suspense.

Smiling brightly, she said, “You’re all going to the village school.”