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

"Thirteen silver dollars."

"Two silver hairpins, a silver ingot, and a small gold ring."

"The land deed? Forget it, it's useless now."

Li Qingqiu took out the last item, a letter, and opened it by the light of the oil lamp. "As expected of an elder from the landlord's family. Aunt Liu has always gossiped about me. This compensation is acceptable." He casually threw the letter into the brazier, where it soon caught fire and eventually turned to ashes. It's better for things from the old era to disappear with the times.

"It was a small windfall."

"Knock knock knock".

"They're here."

"Second Brother, is something the matter?"

Li Qingqiu opened the door and saw that it was Li Qinghua. He stepped aside slightly to let her in.

Li Qinghua smiled as he entered the house, sat down, and took out a cloth bag, opening it. "Your sister-in-law knows you love dates, so she brought you all the dates she brought from her parents' home."

The large red dates in the tattered sack were plump and full, clearly carefully selected good dates.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Li Qingqiu didn't stand on ceremony. This bag weighed about half a pound, which was quite a lot—enough to cook ten or eight meals of red date rice porridge. "Second brother, don't worry, Xianle, I will definitely teach you diligently until you learn it completely."

"Why bring this up? We're brothers, why would I doubt you?"

Second brother Li Qinghua patted Li Qingqiu on the shoulder. "You, don't just focus on the mushrooms. Take advantage of the off-season now and think more about your marriage. Do you want me to talk to your sister-in-law and help you find someone? There are quite a few good girls in her team."

"Second brother, no, I've already made a big promise, I'm going to marry a girl from the city."

"You, why are you talking to those old women? Marry an honest and capable wife, have two big, healthy sons in three years, and then you'll have a warm bed with your wife and kids. It's so much better than having a cold bed like this now." Li Qinghua said, patting Li Qingqiu's bed.

Li Qingqiu was both amused and exasperated. What a joke! He had two big, healthy sons in three years, and he had no plans to have more. One was enough. He had even planned not to have any more before he turned thirty, because he wanted to go out and have fun. Now he had someone to hold him back.

He's a 21st-century college student who doesn't care much about having children and is even somewhat reluctant to have any; one is out of the question. "Second brother, I know what I'm doing. You and sister-in-law don't need to worry about it."

"Alright, alright, you've got a lot of ideas, kid."

Seeing that Li Qingqiu really had no intention of doing that, Li Qinghua decided not to try to persuade her any further. "I'm going back now, you should go to sleep early too." Not long after Li Qinghua left, there was another knock on the door.

"Second Brother?"

Li Qingqiu opened the door, somewhat stunned. "Big brother, is something the matter?" He was a little surprised. His older brother was usually not talkative and rarely came back to his room. Why was he here so late? He invited Li Qingchun into the room.

"It's nothing. Your sister-in-law asked me to bring some peanuts. They were sent by her family. You... have some."

Li Qingchun felt somewhat embarrassed, after all, the act of giving gifts was somewhat utilitarian.

"Fried peanuts, smells so good! Brother, could you please thank your wife for me?"

Li Qingqiu took it, peeled one open, and popped it into his mouth. It was very fragrant. Good peanut. In those days, peanuts were a good thing. They could be pressed for oil. It was not common to see peanuts being pressed into oil. Usually, the production team would send a fixed amount to the commune.

Normally, each family can only get a handful, which is considered good, and most of the time it's not enough. This bag is about half a pound, which is extremely rare. I didn't expect my sister-in-law to be so generous.

However, Li Qingchun, the eldest brother, was a bit too honest and just sat there without saying anything. For a moment, the two brothers were at a loss for words.

"Then I'll go back."

"Okay, big brother, don't worry, I will definitely teach Xian'an with all my heart, don't worry."

"I'm not worried, it's your sister-in-law..."

Li Qingchun blushed and muttered to himself.

Watching his elder brother leave, Li Qingqiu smiled. This family is really interesting.

Just as he closed the door, the knocking started again. Li Qingqiu muttered to himself, "This is what the day is like."

"Little sister, Xianjing, come inside quickly."

Upon opening the door, Li Qingqiu greeted the two people with smiles, grabbing a handful of red dates and a handful of peanuts and handing them to them. "Try these, they're top-quality red dates, and these roasted peanuts are deliciously fragrant."

"Thank you, Third Brother."

"Thank you, Uncle San."

The two were surprised to find so many good things at Li Qingqiu's place. The red dates were sweet, and the peanuts were fragrant; they felt embarrassed as they ate. "Third Brother, Xianjing and I made you a pair of insoles. Try them on and see if they fit."

"The insoles you made will definitely fit."

You see, his new cotton shoes were made by the two of them, so the insoles were definitely a good fit. He took them and felt them; they were quite thick. He quickly took the shoes, changed the insoles, put them on, walked around the room a couple of times, and stomped his feet. "Comfortable, they fit perfectly."

Li Qingqiu jumped up and down, which amused Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing. Their third brother was in his twenties, but he was still like a child. In fact, Li Qingqiu's mental age was not necessarily comparable to that of Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing. Although they were only seventeen years old, they had been working in the production team since graduating from elementary school and knew a lot.

In contrast to Li Qingqiu, a college student, who has never had to worry about making a living since childhood.

"Oh, by the way, I also brought you some gifts when I went to the county town this time."

Li Qingqiu took out a face cream, which was bought in the county town. Yin Yi and Guo Zhaonan both had it, and of course, Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing also had it.

"Ah, Third Brother, we haven't finished using up our Waiwai Oil yet."

"Yes, Third Uncle."

"Wawai oil is fine for rubbing your hands, but the face cream makes your skin look especially fair." Li Qingqiu grabbed Li Qingmei's hand and shoved it into hers, and of course, Li Xianjing's hand wasn't left out either. "Hurry up and put it away, this was bought with the money from selling mushrooms. Speaking of which, you guys also contributed to this batch of mushrooms."

"Oh well."

Both of them blushed a little. Although he was the third brother and the third uncle, it was still a man holding hands, and it was the first time for the two women.

"Let me know if you need anything next time, and I'll bring some back for you."

As he spoke, Li Qingqiu took out two more yuan. "One yuan each, I won't give more. Zhao Nan and Yin Yi both have some, and I also gave Xiao Hua fifty cents."

"Third Uncle, we don't need the money."

"Yes, Third Brother, you've taught us how to cultivate mushrooms. This is a skill."

"Take it quickly. You know me, I spend money lavishly. If you don't take it, I'll spend it anyway. Who knows, I might even need to borrow money from you someday." After Li Qingqiu said this, the two exchanged a glance and took the money.

One yuan! Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing were both quite excited. After all, they rarely saw cash. Even during the Lunar New Year, they would receive a few cents or two in lucky money, and it was extremely rare for them to have a yuan in their pockets.

The two returned to the house, still reminiscing. "Third Uncle, he's actually a really good person."

"Yes, Third Brother has changed a lot."

Li Qingmei couldn't help but sigh, "Third Brother has gone with us, and things are different now."

After seeing the two off, Li Qingqiu finally had some free time. He fiddled with the radio for a while, even listening to some model operas. "There are still too few programs," he said.

"It's nine o'clock, time to go to sleep."

"That's good, at least there's a timer," Li Qingqiu thought to himself as he turned off the radio. "I'll set the time on Yin Yi's alarm clock when I have time. It's much more convenient to set the time with a radio." He had probably listened to the news on the radio for a while that morning, but Li Qingqiu didn't know much about what was happening in this era.

The criticism of Confucius and his critique of other scholars caused quite a stir. Li Qingqiu turned off the radio, got up, and washed up. This time, he bought toothpaste and a toothbrush, so he could finally brush his teeth.

"Third Uncle, you've popped up!"

The two little girls, Li Xianshu and Li Xianqing, squatted down next to Li Qingqiu and watched her brush her teeth. It was the first time they had ever seen someone brush their teeth, and they were particularly surprised to see bubbles coming out of Li Qingqiu's mouth. At first, they were a little scared and ran into the yard to call for help.

After all, they had seen people who died from drinking rat poison with bubbles coming out of their mouths.

Shi Lanhua was quite startled when she heard bubbles coming from Li Qingqiu's mouth. She ran out and stared for a while before realizing what was happening. "You child, why are you trying to brush your teeth like city people?"

"Mom, I'm planning to marry a city girl, so I'm starting by learning her lifestyle habits, otherwise we won't have anything in common."

Li Qingqiu chuckled and continued brushing his teeth, sticking out his tongue and making a burping gesture with his mouth full of foam at the two little ones, Li Xianshu and Li Xianqing, which scared the two girls so much that they screamed.

"You don't act like an uncle at all."

Shi Lanhua slapped Li Qingqiu in annoyance. "This third brother is wasting money again. Apart from the fourth brother, who in the family wastes money on toothpaste and toothbrushes? I've never seen anyone in the whole brigade use toothpaste or toothbrushes."

Using a stick or wood ash to wipe your teeth is considered being clean.

"Just teasing them."

"snort."

"Third Uncle, hurry up and blow bubbles."

"Okay, okay, I've thrown up. Don't smear it in my mouth."

That brat Li Xianning actually put the foam that Li Qingqiu spat out into his mouth and said it was sweet. Li Qingqiu kicked him right away. What kind of habit does this little brat have? Eating other people's spit-out toothpaste foam.

Li Xianqing puffed out her cheeks, wanting to try the sweet bubbles too, but Li Xianshu knew better. "Xianqing, you can't eat bubbles, they're dirty."

"Would you like Uncle San to get you some toothpaste to try?"

"Uh-huh."

"want."

Sure enough, the two little ones nodded vigorously. Li Qingqiu chuckled and put a little toothpaste on each of them. The two little ones were reluctant to spit it out, and they kept their mouths closed when it was time to eat. The adults wondered what was wrong.

Upon learning that the toothpaste was given by her third uncle, and that it was sweet and bubbly, Shi Lanhua glared at Li Qingqiu, who was chuckling, with a hint of annoyance. Little did she know that the two younger brothers, Li Xianning and Li Xianye, would immediately understand.

Their eyes lit up, and they clung to Li Qingqiu, each hugging one of his legs. "Third Uncle, we want to eat toothpaste too!"

"Okay, okay, eat first, and I'll give you toothpaste after you finish eating."

Li Qingqiu was both amused and exasperated. This was a classic case of shooting himself in the foot; they all loved to eat toothpaste! After dinner, the two little ones chased after Li Qingqiu, so he had no choice but to smear a mouthful of toothpaste on each of them. The two children were so happy that they ran off to the brigade to show off to their friends.

Li Qingqiu smiled. In those days, a single toothpaste could make little kids happy for half a day. In later generations, even chasing after children and begging them to brush their teeth wouldn't work, and you'd have to buy all sorts of flavored children's toothpaste to coax them.

"Third Uncle."

"Let's go, come with me to the educated youth settlement."

Li Qingqiu waved to Xian'an, Xianle, and Xianye, who were a little nervous after graduating from elementary school but failed to get into junior high. "Wait a minute, your third uncle will teach you how to cultivate mycelium."

"Study hard when the time comes."

"Third Uncle, don't worry."

"We'll definitely study hard. If we don't listen, you can hit us with a stick," Li Xianle assured him, patting his chest. This kid was the smartest.

"I don't hit people, but if you don't study hard, I'll tell your older brothers. When you get home, don't blame your third uncle if you get a beating," Li Qingqiu said with a smile. These kids were all quite obedient.

Of course, Li Qingmei and Li Xianjing were older, so Li Qingqiu didn't need to say these things. When they arrived at the educated youth settlement, they would teach a few people first, but most of the time it was Li Xianjing and Li Qingmei who taught them.

"Third brother, let's go."

Before eight o'clock, Li Qinghua came looking for Li Qingqiu with a basket on his back. The two of them picked two baskets of mushrooms, weighing about 120 or 130 jin. Li Qingqiu carried less, while Li Qinghua carried more. The two planned to go to the commune to find Li Qingshi.

Li Qingshi certainly knew more about how to handle mushrooms and what the policies were. The two walked and stopped frequently. Although the snow on the road had been cleared, there were still some frozen remnants, making it quite slippery. It was easy to slip and fall if you weren't careful.

"I've completed two hours of practicing the Lazy Eater Method."

Today went by quite quickly. We'll sign in at the steamed bun shop, get something to eat, and then head to the commune. Li Qingqiu looked at the basket on his back, while Li Qinghua went to the commune compound to find Li Qingshi. Li Qingshi arrived shortly afterward.

"Third Brother."

Li Qingshi looked Li Qingqiu up and down with a look of surprise. He really couldn't believe what his second brother had just said. His third brother actually had this ability.