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

"Is the Snow Demon coming again?"

Li Qingqiu checked the forecast and started to panic. The forecast for the next three days was light snow turning into moderate snow, the fourth and fifth days were moderate snow turning into heavy snow, and the sixth and seventh days were heavy snow turning into blizzard. The temperature would drop by about ten degrees. This time, the Snow Demon was coming with the Ice Demon.

The temperature had risen a bit in the past few days, the snow had melted slightly to a foot thick, and the soil was relatively loose and hadn't frozen. But in the next seven days, the temperature plummeted to minus sixteen or seventeen degrees Celsius, and there was a heavy snowstorm.

The snow is probably more than two feet deep, making it almost impossible to go into the mountains. If you accidentally fall into a snowdrift, you might lose your life. In addition, the temperature is dropping rapidly, and the soil will definitely be frozen solid.

Most importantly, the tattered coats worn by Li Qingqiu and his companions were simply not enough to withstand such low temperatures in the mountains. If they accidentally got lost, they could very well freeze to death. Forget about digging for bamboo shoots, hunting would definitely be out of the question.

It'll be difficult to even go out now. The Ice Demon and the Snow Demon are attacking together, it's going to be a disaster! Li Qingqiu originally thought he could easily dig for winter bamboo shoots for ten days or half a month, but now he's hopeless. "No, I have to dig up all the winter bamboo shoots around here as soon as possible."

The first three days were light snow turning into moderate snow, and the temperature hadn't dropped much yet. This was a window of opportunity. On the fourth and fifth days, it snowed heavily, so we went to sell winter bamboo shoots. Although it was tiring, we could still go out. The blizzard and the temperature drop basically eliminated the possibility of going far away.

Make some money, buy some thicker fabric, preferably some cotton, and buy a ceramic pot to use as a brazier, otherwise you'll freeze to death if you sleep alone without a warm bed. "It would also be best to sign in at the commune's steamed bun shop twice to get some agar and nutmeg."

Things are a bit urgent. The treasure hunting team isn't enough with just this many people. We need to try to dig up more winter bamboo shoots tomorrow to complete the 100 yuan task. The same goes for home. I'll go back and talk to my mom and ask her to draw up more distribution maps so we can dig up more.

"Li Qingqiu?"

Are you alright?

Yin Yi was a little worried because Li Qingqiu looked unwell; perhaps he had thought of something upsetting.

"It's alright, let's go to Uncle Fuyuan's house and have a big meal."

Not to mention that my body is currently craving meat, especially oily meat; just thinking about stir-fried cured pork makes my mouth water. Not to mention that I haven't eaten eggs for days, and I haven't had rice at all yet.

"Sanzi's here, come in and sit down."

Li Qingjing actually came out to greet them. You should know that he was the captain of the third production team, a brigade cadre, and also Li Fuyuan's eldest son. Who knows, the brigade might be his in the future. "Come in and warm up."

Upon entering the main room, Li Qingqiu and the others sat down. It was indeed very warm, with three braziers placed there; no wonder it was so comfortable.

"Have some tea to warm up first, the food will be ready soon."

Li Fuyuan invited the group to sit down. On the octagonal table were glass cups filled with steaming hot tea. It was the first time they had tasted tea made with tea leaves after being there for so many days, and it was quite delicious.

"You've all worked hard today."

"Uncle Fuyuan, this is what our treasure hunting team should do, but we're short-handed. I'm afraid we won't be able to finish digging tomorrow. There are fewer nests here today, who knew there would be so many?" Li Qingqiu took a sip of tea and looked around.

As expected, the brigade leader's house was different. The house was half stone and half brick with some tiles on the roof. Although the outside was plastered with mud, the walls were still made of brick.

Unlike the muddy floors of his house, the floor inside was filled with broken bricks and was spotless.

The furniture was also quite nice: a long table, an eight-immortal table with a chair, and a porcelain basin on the washstand that was all in good condition. There were also towels without any holes. Putting all that aside, the radio on the long table was something that other ordinary commune members could only dream of.

Another thing is that there are some photos hanging on the wall, which were taken when Li Fuyuan went out to study or train. Li Qingqiu has never seen a single photo in his house.

"Call two more people tomorrow." Li Fuyuan didn't think twice before sending more people.

Li Qingqiu snapped out of his reverie and nodded. "Alright, but I'm worried about the weather. I just came over and it looks like it's snowing again, and quite heavily. If it snows even harder in a few days, it might be difficult to go into the mountains to dig for winter bamboo shoots."

"It just snowed heavily; will it snow again anytime soon?"

Li Fuluo came in to take the lead, wiping the firewood, lighting a pipe, taking a couple of puffs, and then sitting down.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I'll take a look tomorrow."

"That's it."

Li Qingqiu briefly mentioned the Snow Demon as a prelude, and just then, Li Qingjing's wife brought over the dishes: stir-fried cured pork with bamboo shoots, stir-fried eggs with wood ear mushrooms, a plate of salted duck eggs, and stewed cabbage with vermicelli—four dishes in total, quite a feast.

"Come on, have some wine to warm your body."

The warm wine was steaming. Li Qingqiu smelled the jujube wine and thought, "This brigade leader is something else. He can make jujube wine. He must be a wealthy household these days."

"This wine is delicious." Li Qingzhu took a sip and smacked his lips.

"Don't drink too much, it'll have a strong aftereffect. Don't let it interfere with tomorrow's trip into the mountains," Li Fuluo said with a laugh. "I was just calling for you, Da, why aren't you here?"

"I've already eaten."

Li Qingzhu raised his glass as he spoke. "Third Brother, I'd like to toast you."

"Drink less."

Li Qingqiu downed the jujube wine in one gulp. He had to admit, the warm jujube wine tasted quite good. He picked up a piece of cured meat—delicious, fragrant, and the winter bamboo shoots were crisp. The cooking was impressive. "Yin Yi, you shouldn't drink anymore. Eat more meat."

"Um."

Yin Yi remained silent for a long time, carefully leaning against Li Qingqiu and listening to Li Qingqiu, Li Fuyuan, Li Fuluo and others talking.

The little girl thought Li Qingqiu was quite capable; following the team leader, the accountant spoke without any stage fright.

He would occasionally make small requests, which made the two men both laugh and cry. After a few drinks, Li Qingqiu loosened up a bit. "Uncle Fuyuan, call a few more over tomorrow. Let me tell you, I'm not bragging, but this bunch of winter bamboo shoots will weigh at least 200 catties, if not 300."

"Okay, with you saying that, I'll call a few more over then."

"Don't even mention 300 jin, 200 jin would cost over 100 yuan."

"No problem."

Li Qingqiu seemed to have drunk too much. Actually, he could hold his liquor quite well, after all, he had eaten and drunk a lot. Besides, his physical condition had improved by two points, surpassing that of ordinary heavy laborers and reaching the peak physical condition standard of the production brigade.

One hundred yuan, Li Qingqiu thought to himself, he had a task to complete: to earn twenty points for one hundred yuan, and then he would be close to the third lottery draw.

The meal lasted for about an hour. Li Qingqiu drank five or six glasses of wine, but not much. He boasted a bit under the influence of the alcohol before the meal ended.

"I'll take you home first, then I'll go home myself."

"No need, no need, I can manage on my own."

Yin Yi waved her hand. "You've drunk so much, go back and get some sleep."

"It's alright, it's good to get some exercise and cool off from the alcohol."

Li Qingqiu knew she was alright; it wasn't a big deal. Yin Yi was actually quite timid and was afraid to walk alone at night. She was genuinely happy that Li Qingqiu was willing to take her. "Li Qingqiu, you're such a good person."

"No, I've been getting too many friend cards, I feel like I'm becoming a simp."

Li Qingqiu muttered something, but Yin Yi didn't quite understand. She wondered what "friend zone" and "simp" meant. She looked at Li Qingqiu, who just smiled and said nothing. He escorted Yin Yi back to the educated youth settlement, helped light the brazier, gave her some instructions, and noticed that the water in the water tank was almost gone.

"Remember to fetch plenty of water tomorrow; it might snow heavily then."

"By the way, I plan to dig for winter bamboo shoots for another two or three days and then go to the free market to sell them. You can come with me. There might be dried sweet potatoes and grains at the market. We can buy them together and bring them back easily." Li Qingqiu considered that with the blizzard approaching, it would be best for Yin Yi to stock up on food.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Alright, I'm going back now. Remember to close the doors and windows."

"Okay, I'll close it now that you're gone."

"Then I'm leaving."

Li Qingqiu waved his hand, went out the door, and glanced back. He saw someone seemingly lying by the door frame—Yin Yi, that girl. "Stop looking. It's cold outside. Quickly close the door, wash up, and go to bed early."

"Um."

"I'll make multigrain pancakes tomorrow."

"Cornmeal paste".

"Okay, remember to save me half a pancake."

"Um."

Li Qingqiu left, and Yin Yi closed the door. She went back inside and touched her face, feeling a little hot. "Li Qingqiu, you're a good person."

Achoo!

"Sigh, this tattered coat isn't warm at all. I'll change it for you sooner or later."

Li Qingqiu pulled his coat tighter, hunched his shoulders, and shuffled back to his cave dwelling, mending his clothes as he went. The cave was freezing; he only had one brazier, which he couldn't easily get himself, so he'd have to buy one sooner or later. "Oh, right..."

I slapped my forehead and drew a map of the winter bamboo shoot distribution. This time, I drew a slightly simpler one, but I drew several. If I dug them all up, I might be able to dig up over a hundred pounds.

"Knock knock knock".

"Little sister, are you asleep?"

"No, Third Brother."

Li Qingmei opened the door. The kerosene lamp was still lit inside, but the light was dimly lit in one corner, which explained why it couldn't be seen through the window.

"Third Brother, perfect timing, come over and try it on."

"So fast?" Li Qingqiu was a little surprised that the cotton shoes were on so quickly.

"I did it with Hyun-jung."

No wonder. Li Qingqiu took the new cotton shoes and put them on without saying a word. New shoes really do make a difference—they're warm and comfortable. "They fit perfectly. You guys must have put a lot of effort into them these past few days."

"It's alright."

"Third Uncle, I'm not tired."

"I don't have anything good to offer either."

Li Qingqiu patted his pockets twice; he had a few candies left. "Here, there are a few candies left."

"Third Brother, what brings you here?"

"Look, I almost forgot, this is a map I drew showing the distribution of winter bamboo shoots. These are all in places that are not far apart."

"So many?"

Li Qingmei stared blankly at the several distribution maps, wondering why there were so many this time.

"It's alright, we dug it all out, it weighs about a hundred pounds."

"How much? Over a hundred pounds."

Good heavens, Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing were both shocked. They had heard Uncle Fuyuan say that the purchase price of winter bamboo shoots at the food station was 41.5 cents. Not to mention the free market, it was probably more than 50 cents per pound.

Over a hundred pounds for more than fifty yuan! This isn't work points, since work points are mainly for buying rations. This is cash; you can get it in no time after selling it. "Third Brother, isn't this too much?"

"If the team finds out, they'll say something, won't they?" Li Qingmei was a little worried.

"It's alright, the team here has definitely dug even more, so don't worry."

"Then why don't we just say it like Mom did?"

"Mom's still awake?"

"No, I'm waiting for you to come back."

As Li Qingmei spoke, she got up to call Shi Lanhua, and also told her about the hundred-plus jin of winter bamboo shoots that Li Qingqiu had just mentioned. "What did you say? How much?"

"Third Brother said it weighs over a hundred jin."

"Go and call your third brother here."

Shi Lan Hua was shocked to hear this; it was a serious matter. "Eldest daughter, second daughter, get up quickly and come to the main room."

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xiu muttered something and quickly put on her coat and cotton shoes.

"Something big must have happened."

Li Qinghua quickly put on his shoes. "Quick, let's go over there." The couple moved extremely fast, arriving at the main room even before their eldest son, Li Qingchun, and Wang Yun.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Good news..."