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

"Finally back."

"I'm exhausted."

Li Qingqiu patted his wet cotton pants. Walking on the mountain road in the dark was really going to kill him. Luckily, he used the winter bamboo shoot distribution map to find his way, otherwise he would have been in even worse shape if he had gotten lost in the mountains.

Li Qingbing and the others carrying bamboo shoots exchanged glances and sighed. Oh well, this guy's mouth is just so foul. I really want to beat him up. He only has a machete. What's so tiring about that? They have baskets, shovels, and hoes on their backs.

They didn't complain about being tired, and this guy was shameless. But considering that Li Qingqiu had led the way, they didn't say anything and put down their baskets to rest for a while.

They were resting when a series of footsteps approached. They looked up and were surprised to see so many people coming to greet them.

For a moment, even Li Qingqiu was a little touched. However, she felt embarrassed that so many people had worried about her since she was a little late. "Mom, little sister, what brings you here? We're just a little late, it's nothing."

"Come back a little later? It's been dark for quite a while now. How can it be a little later? I think someone is afraid to come back earlier." Aunt Liu said sarcastically.

This left Li Qingqiu somewhat bewildered. What was going on? Weren't they here to welcome them?

"Looking for trouble?"

Li Qingbing and the others exchanged glances and muttered to themselves, "What's going on? What's Aunt Liu doing, acting like a loudmouth? Is she crazy for causing trouble for us?"

"Are you too scared to come back?"

Li Qingqiu looked around and laughed. "Qingzhu, did you hear that? I'm too scared to come back!"

"Without a medicine basket to carry you, you probably won't find anything. Stop being stubborn, everyone knows your limitations."

"Of course, Li Laosan, everyone in the brigade knows who you are." Big Foot Sister-in-law joined in the fun, and the other commune members also discussed it. Who could blame them when Li Qingqiu left such a deep impression of being unreliable? Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Sixth Aunt to get things going with just a few words.

"So you came here specifically for me?"

Li Qingqiu was amused. Well, he had originally planned to go straight back to the brigade headquarters. It was late at night and freezing cold, so he wouldn't have time to show off. But the loudspeaker really was a loudspeaker; he couldn't help but show off now.

"Stop pretending," Li Qingqiu waved his hand. "Without Uncle Yaolouzi around, we were a bit slower digging, and it took us a bit longer to go back and forth, but we still managed to dig up some winter bamboo shoots. Celebrate, Qinglei, quickly pour out the winter bamboo shoots you dug up for Aunt Liu and Sister-in-law Dajiao to see. Be careful not to break them."

"Okay, Third Brother."

Compared to Li Qingbing and Li Qinglian, the two younger ones are now practically Li Qingqiu's devoted fans, doing whatever he tells them to do.

Before Sixth Aunt and Big-Foot Sister-in-Law, and the other commune members could react, the two had already picked up the baskets at their feet and dumped them out in a flurry. A basket of thirty to fifty winter bamboo shoots rolled on the ground like little chubby children, forming small piles and two small piles.

"Hey, I told you to slow down. Look at how it's rolling everywhere. Young people are always so impulsive."

"Brother Qingbing, Qinglian, don't spill it! This thing will be hard to pick up later."

The crowd, already stunned by the winter bamboo shoots that Li Qingzhu and Li Qinglei had poured out, were now completely bewildered when Li Qingqiu mentioned that Li Qingbing and Li Qinglian still had some in their baskets. Their minds went blank for a moment.

"How many winter bamboo shoots did you dig up?"

"There must be at least forty or fifty pounds on the ground, right?"

"Goodness, this Li Laosan is really capable."

"Yes, Uncle Medicine Basket didn't go this time, hahaha, Aunt Liu is probably going to lose face big time this time."

"Hahaha, that's right. They said he wasn't capable, and that he was too embarrassed to come back because he didn't find any winter bamboo shoots, so he tried to cover it up with lies. Well, they made it sound so convincing, but when he came back, he didn't say anything and just dumped the winter bamboo shoots. Hahaha, he really lost face this time."

Aunt Liu's face flushed red and then turned purple, burning not from the cold wind, but from shame and anger. How could this be? Her mind was filled with disbelief. How could Li Laosan be so capable of digging up so many winter bamboo shoots?

That's absolutely impossible. How could Li Laosan, a good-for-nothing, lazy bum who can't even endure the slightest hardship, have such abilities?

God, you're blind! How could you let someone like this have such great abilities? It's so unfair to us hardworking people.

Big-Foot Sister-in-law covered her face and ran away. What was there to stay in? It was too embarrassing. Wang Yulan ran even faster, and just as Sixth Aunt was about to react and run away, Shilan grabbed her. "Why are you running? Take a good look!"

"Any bamboo shoots? Did you dig them up? Didn't you say my third son was useless? You're so capable, take a good look. What's wrong? Are you blind? What are you looking at? Why are you blushing? Weren't you just talking so enthusiastically, making it sound so convincing?"

"Why did you stop talking? Didn't you love to gossip? Go ahead and say something! Why are you quiet now? Your megaphone isn't working anymore!" Shi Lanhua grabbed Han Caihua, refusing to let her leave. Han Caihua's face turned red, and she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. What could she say?

"Sixth Aunt, look, there are still quite a few baskets left. Well, you said you didn't dig up much, but they dug up more than a hundred pounds. That's more than thirty yuan at a rate of three mao per pound."

"Thirty-odd yuan?"

"Wow, that's a huge satellite!"

"You've got guts."

"What? I heard that the snow came early and fell heavily this year, making it difficult to dig up winter bamboo shoots. The price might be as high as 50 cents a pound."

"What?! Fifty cents a pound? That means it'll sell for over fifty dollars!"

Everyone was in an uproar. Aunt Liu's eyes widened like saucers. More than fifty yuan? Digging for more than fifty yuan a day? How could that be? Aunt Liu trembled all over. She could only earn two or three cents a day at most from bamboo weaving.

The amount of work points she earned in three to five months was less than what Li Laosan earned in a day digging bamboo shoots. This almost drove her to despair. She could only grumble at most about anyone else, but Li Laosan, that unreliable son of Shi Lanhua, was no match for her.

"Wow."

Aunt Liu burst into tears, leaving Li Qingqiu somewhat bewildered. "Mom, did you hit her?"

"Did you pinch her?"

"Who touched her, Han Caihua? Don't throw a tantrum, or I won't be polite." Shi Lanhua thought that Aunt Liu was just being difficult, but to everyone's surprise, Aunt Liu cried even louder.

"Did you really cry?"

Li Qingqiu muttered to himself, "How old is she? In her fifties or sixties, how come she's in such good spirits? Why does she always make sarcastic remarks about me? What's wrong? I just showed her what I had accomplished today, and she cried like that?"

"Alright, alright, Mom, please let Aunt Liu go. She's crying so hard, it's making my nose sting." Li Qingqiu said, kicking Li Qingzhu. "Hurry up and pick up the bamboo shoots. Aunt Liu can't stand seeing bamboo shoots, seeing them makes her heart ache. Pick them up quickly."

"Okay, I'll pick it up now."

Good heavens, seeing Dongsun's heartbreaking state, Aunt Liu felt even more heartbroken upon hearing it. Fortunately, Shilan Hua stopped holding her and ran away as fast as she could. She couldn't stay any longer. That's the good thing about Aunt Liu; she knows when to yield and runs away when she can't win. She'll deal with it next time.

As long as I don't admit defeat, I can turn the tables next time; my main strategy is to be stubborn.

"Hahaha."

Aunt Liu ran off, and Li Qingqiu couldn't help but laugh. Just as she bent down to pick up some winter bamboo shoots, Li Fuyuan and Li Fuluo came running up. "Sanzi, I heard you dug up several baskets of winter bamboo shoots! Where are they?"

Good heavens, he started shouting at the top of his lungs from hundreds of meters away. "Uncle Fuyuan, you're not steady at all! These are only a hundred or so pounds of winter bamboo shoots, and look at them!" Aunt Liu cried, and Uncle Fuyuan yelled and shouted.

Li Jia'ao, what a bunch of country bumpkins! This is nothing compared to what they've seen before. Oh well, oh well, I'll forgive Uncle Li Fuyuan. "Uncle Fuyuan, look! These are all over the ground, and in this basket too."

"You have no idea how tired I am from searching for, digging, and carrying bamboo shoots all day. My back aches and my waist hurts. The worst part is that I haven't had dinner yet. Uncle Fuyuan, you have to treat us to dinner!"

Li Qingzhu, Li Qinglei, and Li Qingbing, who were picking bamboo shoots, all paused for a moment. It's true that you're looking for bamboo shoots, but digging them up and carrying them back doesn't seem to be much of your business.

"You haven't eaten, Qingbing. You need to go home and tell your mom to wash the rice and cook some rice. Also, stir-fry the cured meat your wife brought back last time, and fry some eggs too." Li Fuyuan looked at the bamboo shoots with stars in his eyes. That's all money!

Promoting Li Qingqiu to deputy captain was a wise and successful move. "Good, good, good. These winter bamboo shoots are really good, quite large. Pack them up quickly and carry them back. They can't freeze; this is all money."

"I went to the commune today and asked around. It turns out that winter bamboo shoots are hard to find in many places. The food station has raised its purchase price by five cents, to forty-one and a half cents. They're even harder to find at the free market. You probably won't even be able to hold onto them for fifty cents." Li Fuyuan got more and more excited as he spoke.

"Hehe, our brigade's human-shaped kudzu root is famous again. Now, thanks to the name of kudzu root, winter bamboo shoots can sell for five or even six cents."

Li Fuyuan got more and more excited as he talked. These past few days, the oxen that were crushed to death had caused quite a stir. Many people were saying behind his back that he hadn't done a good job as the brigade leader, how could he let the cowshed crush the oxen to death? The commune was also somewhat unhappy about this.

Although the human-shaped kudzu root could offset some of the deficit, the oxen were still a different beast. The leaders, including Director Guo of the Revolutionary Committee, were still worried about the deficit. There were already quite a few families in Lijia'ao who were living in poverty, and now that the deficit was so large, they were afraid that more than half of the families in the entire brigade would be living in poverty next year.

But Li Qingqiu's baskets of winter bamboo shoots gave Li Fuyuan hope. He could earn fifty yuan a day by digging them. If he dug for a month or two, not to mention earning an extra thousand yuan, he was confident that he could go to the commune to ask for some money to make up for the deficit.

Our brigade raised over a thousand yuan through our own efforts. If your commune doesn't praise us or give us a little something, we can get a few hundred yuan in subsidies. That will basically cover the shortfall in oxen. Thinking of this, Li Fuyuan wished he could treat Li Qingqiu like his own son.

No, his biological son, Li Qingbing, has already been sent home to cook.

"Don't delay, I'll carry it."

Seeing that Li Qingbing had already sent him home to cook, and that there was an extra basket on his back, Li Qingqiu couldn't very well let Yin Yi, who had been acting like a quail ever since meeting Shi Lanhua, carry it herself. His public image was very important.

"Mom, little sister, I'm going to Uncle Fuyuan's house for dinner. I'll be back later."

"Okay, slow down, the road is slippery."

"Don't worry, Mom."

Shi Lanhua swallowed hard as she went to the brigade leader's house for dinner. She had never been invited before, and she never expected that her most beloved third brother would be invited.

"Third Brother is really amazing."

"Yes, Uncle San is amazing. He managed to find so many winter bamboo shoots."

Li Xianjing looked at Li Qingqiu with a hint of admiration. "Third Uncle, you're so capable! You got first place in the quote competition, so you must be the best in the whole team, no, the whole commune, in finding winter bamboo shoots."

"Go back to class first. Your third brother was called to dinner by your Uncle Fuyuan, so he'll be late."

Shi Lanhua's voice was just as loud as a loudspeaker's; she wanted the whole brigade to know that Li Qingqiu had been invited to dinner by the brigade leader. This was a huge honor; in those days, inviting someone to dinner was no small matter.

Ordinary families wouldn't host a meal unless it was a wedding, funeral, or a distant relative visiting. Everyone has limited food supplies, and a meal should at least have two dishes. If there's no meat, you should at least have an egg, and you should add plenty of oil when cooking.

These two items alone would be too much for most families to bear, let alone the fact that Li Fuyuan had just given them cured meat and eggs. Even if a commune cadre came, they would probably only give this much. Shi Lanhua couldn't help but feel smug.

"Um."

The whole family craned their necks almost to a 180-degree angle, completely ignoring everyone else.

Achoo!

Li Qingqiu muttered to himself, "Why did he sneeze again?" He quickly followed after him. "Let's go to the brigade headquarters first, unload the bamboo shoots, and then we'll go to Uncle Fuyuan's house for dinner."

"Understood, Third Brother."

Upon arriving at the brigade and unloading the winter bamboo shoots, Li Qingqiu intended to head straight there, but just as he lifted his foot, he remembered that he hadn't signed in yet.

[Host: Li Qingqiu (Lazy Eater Destiny)]

Immortal Cultivation Sect: Temporary Elder of the Li Clan (Receives +2 points daily)

Cultivation Techniques: Basic Immortal Cultivation Method (Beginner), Lazy Eater Method (Beginner).

Cultivation Techniques: Spirit Plant Cultivation Technique (Beginner), Beast-Catching Spirit Rope Weaving Technique (Unskilled), Spirit Cage Weaving Technique (Unskilled), Sneaky Technique (Beginner), Spirit Herb Identification Skill (Beginner).

Magical items: Beast-catching rope (beginner level), Spirit-enhancing talisman (basic level), Clan Contribution Points Book (low-tier), Pig Beast Taming Skill Card (basic level), Mountain-splitting shovel (beginner level)

Elixir: One bottle of Blood-Replenishing Pill (62/100), one Jade Shell Nourishing Essence Pill

Items: Gold Spirit Coupon 0.26 yuan, Silver Spirit Plant Coupon 7 jin, Spirit Meat Coupon 2 jin

Physical condition: 6+1+1

Agility: 7+

Strength: 6+1

Spirit: 8

Points: 9

Sign-in requirements: 120/120 (One sign-in opportunity is granted for practicing the Lazy Eater Method for one hour each day)

Points-based lottery: Eligible participants can enter beginner, intermediate, and advanced lottery draws.

Quest: Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River, Don't Underestimate a Young Man's Poorness. Quest Completion: 40/1000. Dual Cultivation Partner Quest Completion: 7/100. Snow Demon Attack Event Triggered. Side Quest: Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River, Don't Underestimate a Young Man's Poorness - Family Pride, Contributed Over 100 Gold Spirit Tokens to the Family: 0/20.

[Sign-in successful. Sign-in location: Hall of Affairs. Received a limited-time trial of the Heaven-Piercing Earth-Measuring Divine Power Spell (one-time use magic item), +2 points]

"Wow, I got gold!" Li Qingqiu exclaimed with delight. "Heaven-Piercing Earth-Measuring Divine Power"—just hearing the name tells you it's awesome! What a treasure!

【11:59:56】

"No, it's limited to twelve hours?" What the heck? The time is way too tight.

"It can measure the heavens and the earth, but unfortunately it cannot be preserved. Use it." Li Qingqiu said helplessly.

The weather forecast for the next week is as follows...

"Damn it, you split-legged dog system, what kind of bullshit heaven-reaching and earth-measuring divine power is this...?"