The timeline system has gone awry; they insist that steamed buns are a magic pill.

Shi Lanhua slipped on her worn-out cotton shoes, not even fully putting on her coat, and ran towards the educated youth settlement. Li Qingmei quickly followed, calling out as she ran, "Mom, slow down, wait for me!"

"Slow down, slow down, the meat will be overcooked."

Shi Lanhua ran wildly, slipping twice along the way, but she didn't care at all. Two yuan! If she cooked it, it would be gone.

This little rascal is so delicious! I ran all the way to the educated youth settlement.

Shi Lanhua rushed into the educated youth courtyard without even taking a break.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, startling Li Qingqiu. "Mom, what brings you here?"

"So, why did you say I got here?"

She glanced around and headed straight for the kitchen, which was emitting smoke. Li Qingqiu quickly followed, afraid that his mother would hit Yin Yi. Yin Yi was also a little confused and frightened. Shi Xiulan was covered in mud and water, her hair was messy, she was panting heavily, and her eyes were fierce as if she wanted to eat people.

"Where's the meat?"

"Ah, in the pot."

Before Li Qingqiu could finish speaking, Shi Lanhua's hand was already heading towards the scalding hot iron pot.

"Mom, no, the water's boiling."

Good heavens, Shi Lanhua went straight for the meat, which terrified Li Qingqiu. The water was boiling, how could she still do that? Did she even want her hand anymore?

"Mom, this meat has been cooking for over half an hour."

Li Qingqiu quickly pulled Shi Lanhua away. "It's almost cooked; once it's out, there's no going back."

"You, you, you're really going to drive me crazy!" Shi Lanhua's fingers were burned but she didn't feel it. She stared at the meat cooking in the pot, her voice trembling. "How can you be so delicious? What's wrong with eating one less bite? What can I say about you?"

"You're in your mid-twenties and still don't have a wife. Aren't you worried about that?"

As Shi Lanhua was talking, she tried to take the meat out again, but Li Qingqiu quickly called for her to come over. Li Qingmei pulled Shi Lanhua back. "Little sister, stop Mom! The meat is almost overcooked. If we take it out, Uncle Fuyuan won't give us a refund. Besides, we bought this meat cheaply."

"It's cheap, only two yuan. Do you know how much resale grain that's enough to buy? Early rice is only nine cents a pound, and sweet potatoes are only one and a half cents a pound. Two yuan can buy dozens of pounds of dried sweet potatoes and cornmeal. You only bought this little bit of dried meat, which you ate in a few bites. How can you be so wasteful?" Shi Lanhua got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and kept hitting Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu thought to himself, "How would I know anything about recycled grain? As for dried sweet potatoes, forget it. Even dogs wouldn't eat that stuff; it's dry, crumbly, and has a bitter taste."

"Mom, the meat's already cooking, no matter what you say, it's no use." Li Qingqiu simply gave up, "I'm going to eat this meat, not even the Jade Emperor can stop me!"

"You, how come you don't... know how to save money..." Shi Lanhua said, preparing to strike again.

"Next time, next time, I'll definitely listen to you."

Li Qingqiu was truly terrified now. Shilan flower scooping meat out of boiling water—that was too cruel! He was so frightened he shuddered. In the dead of winter, his hand was really burned. What was he going to do? He would have to be more careful when eating meat in the future. Sigh.

She winked at Yin Yi, who pouted. She was scared; the aunt had just grabbed meat from boiling water—it was terrifying.

"It's alright," Li Qingqiu winked, "Don't worry, it's none of your business."

"Mom, catch your breath first. Third brother, why did you buy so much meat?"

I'm craving it.

Li Qingqiu said in a low voice, "These days, let alone oil, we don't even have a cornbread in the morning. We can't go hungry while we're searching for treasure. Besides, I've noticed that Mom has lost weight recently. I thought I'd buy some meat to show my respect to her."

"I don't need your filial piety. I'll be grateful if you don't make me angry."

Shi Lanhua snorted. Her words were nice, but the food was still delicious. She then kicked Li Qingqiu again. "All the meat is cooked?"

"It's all cooked."

"Actually, there aren't many."

"Not much, five catties. Who buys five catties of meat at a time? Go ask around, not just in Lijia'ao, but throughout the whole commune. Who buys five catties of meat at once? Even landlords and rich people wouldn't dare to eat like that in the past."

This time, Li Qingqiu was smarter and kept a distance, so the stone orchids couldn't be touched. Li Qingqiu winked at Yin Yi, telling her to quickly add firewood so the fire wouldn't go out, otherwise the ingredients wouldn't be able to get in and the braised beef wouldn't taste good.

Yin Yi trembled slightly. She was genuinely scared. She was just a girl who claimed to be eighteen years old and had just graduated from high school two years ago. In reality, she was not very brave. She was afraid of people and the dark. She seemed calm when something happened, but she was just pretending.

The little girl was really frightened by Shi Lanhua's words and waved her hand, not daring to add firewood. In the end, Li Qingqiu had no choice but to get up.

Where are you going?

"Ah, we're out of firewood. I'll add some more."

Li Qingqiu said in a low voice, "The meat is already cooking, we can't just give up halfway and waste firewood."

"Add, add, all you ever think about is adding firewood..."

Forget it, Li Qingqiu pretended not to hear. It wouldn't hurt to say a few words. He'd just have to bear with it for the sake of having some meat.

"Five pounds of meat, all cooked at once..."

Shi Lanhua grew angrier and angrier, reaching out to slap Li Qingqiu twice more, but luckily Li Qingqiu dodged. "Mom, what are you doing? I have to go into the mountains tomorrow. If I give you internal injuries, I won't earn fifteen work points."

"you……."

"Third Brother, say less."

"Alright, alright, I'll add firewood, okay?"

The pot was bubbling and boiling, and the aroma of braised beef was getting stronger and stronger. Li Qingqiu, Li Qingmei, and Yin Yi secretly swallowed their saliva. Shi Lanhua stayed behind, waiting for the meat to be cooked.

"It smells so good."

Li Qingmei wiped her drool.

When will Yin Yi be better?

Li Qingqiu didn't know anything about braised beef, so he asked Yin Yi, who had always been the one cooking it. Yin Yi waved her hand; she was a little afraid of the stone orchid. "Why are you waving your hand? Hurry up and tell me. Don't overcook it. It'll waste firewood and the meat will be tough."

"Auntie, can I say no?"

Yin Yi cautiously looked at Shi Lanhua, her butt sticking out high, ready to run away at any moment. Li Qingqiu was speechless at her cowardly appearance. So this is the real you.

Shi Lanhua originally wanted to say something, or even curse, but seeing Yin Yi's cowardly appearance, almost in tears, she said, "The meat is already cooked, what's the point of what I say? Do as you please."

"Let me take a look."

Yin Yi breathed a sigh of relief. She had never seen her mother so capable. She glanced at the beef in the pot. "Almost done, add another handful of firewood."

"Go ahead and join in, what are you staring at me for?"

"Auntie, can I add some?"

Yin Yi glanced at Shi Lanhua again; she dared not carry the firewood pot.

"add."

The beef smelled even better, and Shi Lanhua couldn't help but take a look. No wonder the third brother chose this girl; she really knows how to cook. This is not good; I'll have to keep an eye on things. With the third brother's love for good food, he'll probably be coming to this place often from now on.

Yin Yi was thin and frail, clearly not cut out for manual labor, and she was also very pretty, hardly the image of a country girl. Lao San, with his unreliable manner, couldn't possibly tame this kind of city girl.

"alright."

Seeing Yin Yi's timid expression, Li Qingqiu was completely speechless. "My mom is a bit fierce, what does that have to do with you? What are you afraid of?" Yin Yi pouted and said, "I'm afraid of getting beaten up."

"have to."

Li Qingqiu never expected Yin Yi to be so brave. She really didn't know how she lived alone. Actually, she was quite scared at night, and she was trembling with fear a few days ago. She was a little better these days, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't go home. She had no relatives or friends here. If she didn't stay at the educated youth settlement, she might be homeless.

It was her first time leaving home, and she learned everything little by little: carrying water, chopping wood, tidying up the room. Apart from cooking, she learned everything from scratch. She learned not to be afraid of being alone, learned to shiver in bed and silently wipe away her tears, learned to endure loneliness, learned to calculate her spending, learned to do chores, and learned to pretend to be diligent even though she didn't do much chores at home. She had to learn everything.

"Auntie, the meat is ready."

Yin Yi carefully scooped the meat out, put it in a bowl, and handed it to Shi Lanhua.

"I'll bring you the bowl later." Shi Lanhua took the bowl, glanced at Li Qingqiu as she spoke, and was about to leave. "What are you still standing there for? Go home."

"Mom, they used up so many seasonings and firewood. It's not right for us to just take all the meat away."

"Yes, yes, Auntie, you can take it away, it's okay."

Li Qingqiu was dumbfounded. Yin Yi, you're such a coward. "It's fine, keep this piece of meat." Li Qingqiu picked out a piece that wasn't too big or too small. Actually, it was five pounds of meat, but he cooked a little over three pounds, less than four pounds, and cut it into five or six pieces.

"No, really, no, Auntie, I don't want it."

Yin Yi was terrified that Shi Lan Hua would get angry and hit her. She trembled with fear. "Auntie must hate me for cooking beef for her son," Yin Yi thought, and the more she thought about it, the more she trembled.

"Keep it; it's not easy for you, a single child."

It's all her fault, Shi Lanhua is definitely at fault, but her son bears more responsibility. He's in his mid-twenties and irresponsible; it's not fair to put all the blame on a teenage girl. "I'll settle the score with you when we get back."

Li Qingqiu was speechless. "Here we go again?" He winked at Yin Yi and scurried after her. Yin Yi whispered, "The bowl... could you... could you give it back to me quickly? There's only one... sigh, never mind."

On the way home, Li Qingqiu and Li Qingmei kept exchanging glances. What was going on? How did Mom know about buying meat?

I went to the brigade headquarters to look for you, but you weren't there, so I asked Uncle Fuyuan, and that's what he told me.

"It really is you!" Li Qingqiu glared at Li Qingmei. Li Qingmei pouted and said, "Who told you to buy so many? I blurted it out in my haste."

"When we get back, you'd better keep an eye on Mom for me," Li Qingqiu said, pointing to Shilan Flower. Li Qingmei nodded. Li Qingmei was actually quite happy to get to eat meat.

As soon as the three entered the courtyard, Li Xianshu and the other children eagerly surrounded them, their eyes fixed on the bowl of braised beef that Shi Lanhua was holding.

"Third Uncle, Third Uncle..."

Li Xianqing tugged at Li Qingqiu's cotton pants, and the little girl was biting her finger, drooling.

"We'll eat meat later."

"Third Uncle is the best." A group of little kids don't understand anything, they just think whoever feeds them meat is a great person.

"Mom, where did you go?"

Second brother Li Qinghua glanced at Shi Lanhua holding the bowl of meat, his eyes lighting up. He subconsciously swallowed, thinking, "Meat? Where did all this meat come from?" "Mom, where did all this meat come from?"

"Ask him."

Shi Lanhua was furious and didn't bother with her second son. She glared at Li Qingqiu, who smiled at his older brother. "I bought it. It's freshly braised and still warm. Second brother, we'll have meat for dinner."

"Bought?"

"What did you buy, third brother?"

"Meat, braised beef."

Second sister-in-law Lin Xiu also heard the commotion. Good heavens, third brother got some meat again! He went to buy it, and it's already cooked, and quite a lot of it. Lin Xiu gave Li Qinghua a wink, but Li Qinghua shrugged, saying he didn't know either.

But having meat to eat is a good thing. These past few days, let alone meat, we haven't even had enough to eat. Our stomachs are completely dry. Now that we have meat, the adults have lost all restraint, and the children, not to mention the kids, are running around like crazy, excitedly shouting.

Shi Lanhua sighed, "Never mind, never mind. 'Eldest sister, make some cornbread for dinner. Third brother didn't bring lunch when he went into the mountains, he's probably still hungry.'"

"I know."

Wang Yun, the eldest sister-in-law, glanced at the beef that Shi Lanhua was carrying. "So much beef, where did it come from?"

"Cut the beef into chunks, and add plenty of cabbage."

Shi Lanhua picked up a piece of beef and handed it to Wang Yun, then paused and picked up a small piece. "Cut two pieces for Lao San; he's been traveling back and forth these past few days, he needs some nourishment."

"I understand."

Wang Yun roughly guessed where the meat came from; it was probably from his unreliable younger brother-in-law. Otherwise, who would be willing to buy so much meat? He wondered where his brother-in-law got the money, or maybe he had dug up some treasure. Thinking about it, Wang Yun decided to ask Li Qingchun about it later.

"That older sister-in-law."

Li Qingqiu pulled out two winter bamboo shoots. "Hey, I dug up a few winter bamboo shoots. Do you have any pickled vegetables? I'll stir-fry a bowl."

"Winter bamboo shoots, where were they dug from?"

"On this snowy day," Li Qingchun muttered to himself, "with snow a foot thick, how did this guy manage to find winter bamboo shoots?"

"Big brother, I learned a skill from someone, and I happen to know how to find winter bamboo shoots in the snow." Li Qingqiu was a little proud, holding a map of winter bamboo shoot distribution in his hand. Winter bamboo shoots, hehe, others can't find them, but it's a piece of cake for me.

"I've already arranged with the treasure hunting team that we'll go into the mountains to dig for winter bamboo shoots tomorrow."

"Third brother, why are you only thinking about the treasure hunting team and not about the family?"

Lin Xiu, the second sister-in-law, couldn't help but say, "Don't just think about everyone else, think about your own family too. Our family isn't well-off either, so don't be stingy."