A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Su Xiulan was startled and quickly pushed open the door to go out and see what was going on.

But it turned out to be their former neighbor, Aunt Zhang, who always had a long face and a sharp tongue.

A large bundle of dry firewood lay on the ground, as if it had just been chopped.

"Aunt Zhang!"

Aunt Zhang was about to leave when she heard the noise. She paused, but didn't turn around. Her tone remained sharp as ever, "Your family is always causing trouble! I'll lend you this firewood for now, and you can pay me back double later."

She said this, then tossed down another cloth bag.

"It's infested with worms, my family doesn't like to eat it!"

After saying that, she ran away as if she were fleeing. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought someone was chasing her!

Su Xiulan picked up the cloth bag and saw that it was full of high-quality sweet potato flour. The bag weighed five or six pounds. There were no insects in it.

Looking at the bag in her hand, Su Xiulan felt a lump in her throat. The two had been neighbors for so many years, bickering every few days, and their relationship was far from good.

Unexpectedly, when her family encountered trouble, besides Sister-in-law Hongxia, the first person to lend a helping hand was her.

"You never know what people are like until you compare them to others." Su Xiulan wiped away her tears, took her things and went into the house. Sister-in-law Hongxia also left.

Gu Jianguo said in a deep voice, "Why do you remember this favor? When things get better in the future, you'll have to repay them double."

The porridge in the pot was ready, and the aroma of rice wafted out. Su Xiulan didn't add any minced meat, yet it smelled even better than the finest delicacies.

Nuannuan swallowed hard, moved closer to the pot, and while her mother was getting a bowl, she secretly flicked her little hand over the pot, and a drop of the spiritual spring dew that she had Xiaolu collect fell into the pot.

This stuff can strengthen the body and dispel cold.

"Alright! Dinner's ready!" Nuannuan clapped her hands excitedly. "After this meal, we'll all become superheroes!"

Su Xiulan smiled and served everyone a large bowl of thick porridge, added a bite of pickled vegetables, and then distributed the cornbread that Sister-in-law Hongxia had brought. "Come on, eat!"

Xiao An eagerly took a sip of porridge. A surge of warmth went straight from her throat to her stomach, instantly warming her frozen hands and feet, and even the wound on her shoulder didn't hurt as much anymore.

"Mom! This porridge is so delicious!" Xiao An exclaimed excitedly. "After drinking it, I feel warm all over and have endless energy!"

Gu Jianguo took a sip and was also surprised. How could this ordinary white rice porridge taste like ginseng soup? He looked at Nuannuan, who was slurping down her porridge.

The little girl, her mouth smeared with rice porridge, looked up at her father with a sweet smile, revealing two tiny baby teeth. "Daddy, drink more, then your legs won't hurt anymore!"

Gu Jianguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He lowered his head and gulped down his porridge, unaware that tears were falling into the bowl. This is what a good life is like.

As long as the family is together, as long as Nuannuan is there, this is the best life!

After eating and drinking your fill and feeling warm, you'll start to feel sleepy.

The kang (heated brick bed) was warm and cozy.

Su Xiulan tidied up the tattered bedding she had brought.

"Make do with this tonight, and we'll have your dad get some planks to make a bed another day. Once it gets warmer, you two can move out."

The family of five huddled together, listening to the howling wind outside, yet felt incredibly safe and secure.

Just as everyone was about to fall asleep, Nuannuan suddenly turned over and grabbed Gu Jianguo's big hand in the darkness.

"Dad, shall we sell the big box to that kind uncle tomorrow?"

Gu Jianguo mumbled a reply, still half asleep, "Which good uncle?"

"It's that uncle who gave us the money and the certificate!"

Nuannuan said in her sweet, childlike voice, "Little Green said that uncle has a purple aura on him, he's a very noble person! Selling to him is definitely a good deal!"

Gu Jianguo suddenly opened his eyes.

Zhou Weiguo?

Which military region's leader?

If we could sell the tape recorder to him, we might actually get a good price, maybe even...

Gu Jianguo's mind started to wander.

If we really get on this bandwagon, won't Da'an's repair skills finally come in handy?

This isn't selling tape recorders; it's practically paving the way to heaven for your family!

That night, the snores in the hunting lodge rose and fell, while at the Gu family's old house, chaos reigned, and no one could sleep.

The reason was simple: Old Mrs. Gu was writhing on the kang (a heated brick bed) clutching her stomach.

"Ouch! Ouch, my stomach! Who the hell stole my salt shaker?!"

"How can I cook without salt?! This pickled vegetable is so salty it's killing me!"

Not only was there no salt, but even when Gu Xiaoyong wanted to go to the outhouse, he couldn't find a single piece of toilet paper to wipe his bottom.

The entire Gu family's third branch was like it had been robbed; almost everything had mysteriously disappeared!

On the other hand, the third branch of the Gu family was in complete chaos, filled with curses and insults.

Grandma Gu sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), slapping her thighs and wailing until her voice was hoarse, "What a tragedy! The third son's family has been robbed! The salt jar is gone, the rice, flour, and meat are gone, even the cleaver and cutting board are nowhere to be found!"

Jinbao was also sulking. "Grandma, I went to the outhouse, and there wasn't even a single sheet of toilet paper!"

Gu Xiaoyong glanced at his younger brother. "So how did you wipe your butt?"

Jinbao, "Use your fingers!"

Gu Xiaoyong looked at the half-eaten dark cornbread in his hand and suddenly felt nauseous.

This was given to me by my younger brother. I even praised him for having a conscience, saying he would bring me things. But then...

Which hand? Did you wash it?

Grandma Gu, however, couldn't be bothered to listen to her grandson's conversation and was still cursing.

"And the metal shovel in the kitchen, which we just bought this summer and barely used, cost us 1.5 yuan back then, and now it's gone too!"

Zhang Aidi hunched her shoulders, originally intending to mend Gu Xiaoyong's pants, but then discovered that there wasn't even a sewing basket, which made her quite angry.

"Second brother's wife, did you hide it? Planning to steal it from your parents' house?"

Zhang Aidi was already annoyed, and hearing this made her even angrier. She threw her tattered trousers onto the kang (a heated brick bed), spitting as she shouted, "Mother, how can you talk like that? Why would I hide those junk things? Besides, my family is powerful now! They don't want our junk!"

"I serve your whole family day and night, and in the end you still wrong me, putting up with all this nonsense every day!"

Zhang Aidi, always a feisty woman, simply plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and refused to do anything. "If you keep acting like this, then I'm not going to care about anything at home anymore. Xiaoyong has to report to the factory tomorrow. Whether he gets registered or not, don't come looking for me later!"

These words immediately silenced Old Mrs. Gu. "Second son's wife, I was just saying that casually. Alright, don't be angry! Those things must have been hidden by the third son's family. Tomorrow at dawn, we'll go and search their yard thoroughly. I saw them when they left; they didn't take much. I don't believe they could hide it in a mouse hole!"

Zhang Aidi snorted, "My cousin is now in charge of the forest farm. Don't underestimate Xiao Yong just because he's a temporary worker now. With my cousin's connections, getting him a permanent position will be a piece of cake. And Jian'an, he's been a temporary worker for so long, he'll get a permanent position too!"

Upon hearing that both her son and grandson could become permanent employees at the forest farm, Grandma Gu's face immediately lit up with a smile. She reached out and grabbed Zhang Aidi's hand, her voice filled with affection, "Second son's wife, I've always known you're the most capable! You're so good at getting things done!"

Zhang Aidi proudly raised her chin. "Of course!"

Grandma Gu was still a little worried. "Can you really go tomorrow? Hopefully nothing unexpected will happen?"