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

"Who could it be so early in the morning?"

Li Qingqiu muttered that a guest had come to his house, but this guest was a bit inconsiderate, disturbing his sweet dreams so early in the morning. What an unpleasant guest!

"Third Brother." Li Qingmei greeted Li Qingqiu as he stood up.

"Who is it, so early in the morning?" Li Qingqiu yawned and muttered.

"The brigade leader of Wangjiazhuang."

"Wang Dapao?"

Li Qingqiu thought to himself, "Well, fine, he cancels the order just like that, and now he has the nerve to come knocking, disturbing my sleep so early in the morning. He's really asking for trouble." "What's he doing here?"

"They said they came to buy mushroom branches."

"When you buy mushroom branches, tell him you're not selling them, no matter the price."

Li Qingqiu shouted angrily, "I don't believe it anymore, this Wang Dapao has no shame!"

Wang Dapao was talking to Shi Lanhua. He didn't go to the brigade headquarters right away this time. Instead, he planned to go to Li Qingqiu's house first to chat and try to build rapport. Unexpectedly, Li Qingqiu shouted that he wouldn't sell it for any price as soon as he got up.

As the captain of a large company, he was somewhat losing face.

"What nonsense is this child talking about?"

Shi Lanhua was still somewhat reserved in front of Wang Dapao, after all, he was the battalion commander, even though he wasn't from her own battalion.

"What's wrong with you this morning?"

"Uncle Fuyuan, you've arrived."

Li Qingmei nodded. "He's not Captain Wang from Wangjiazhuang yet."

"He knows he's too embarrassed to come to me."

Li Fuyuan raised his voice slightly. "Wang Dapao, you just showed up like that? What, are you embarrassed to show your face?"

"Li Datou, I've come to see Master Li first."

Wang Dapao was quick to speak his mind. "What's wrong? Master Li hasn't even said anything yet, and you're already making a scene."

"You arrogant bastard, Wang Dapao! I haven't even come to you about what happened last time, and you're already showing up here acting all high and mighty. Let me tell you, you won't be able to buy a single mushroom this time." Li Fuyuan snorted.

"You can't say that."

"I'll listen to whatever Uncle Fuyuan says."

Li Qingqiu wasn't going to give Wang Dapao any face. He'd already slapped himself in the face, so of course he'd retaliate. What kind of brigade leader was he? He really dared to mess with him. "Mom, I'm not eating at home. I'm going to the educated youth settlement."

"Uncle Fuyuan, the team will have the mushroom scaffolds ready today. This is the last batch before the New Year."

Li Qingqiu glanced at Wang Dapao. "The mycelium is almost gone. After the New Year, we can only wait for the commune's agricultural technology station to provide free mycelium."

"Master Li, please wait."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dapao realized that he wasn't going to sell the mushroom branches from Wangjiazhuang. "We went a bit too far last time."

"What happened last time is in the past, Captain Wang, let's not bring it up again," Li Qingqiu replied calmly.

"Master Li is very magnanimous."

Li Qingqiu left immediately. Wang Dapao was just about to bring up the matter of buying mushroom branches again when Li Qingqiu simply left, not giving him a chance to speak. The matter was over, and there would be no next time.

"Master Li."

Li Qingqiu pretended not to hear, quickened his pace, and turned to head towards the brigade, intending to go to his grandparents' house for a meal. As for the educated youth settlement, well, that was a lie.

"Qingqiu..." Who would have thought that he would run into an unexpected woman at the corner?

Li Qingqiu was taken aback. "Sister-in-law, is something wrong?"

Jiang Mei, what's this widow doing here?

"I……."

Jiang Mei was a little unsure how to start the conversation. The incident of Yanzi eating meat last time had caused quite a stir, and she had gone a bit too far back then. As for this time with Junzhi, she had initially listened to what her sixth aunt and the others had said.

"Sister-in-law, it's alright, I'll be going now."

Jiang Mei is a widow, so it's best for her to stay away. Even though she's a martyr's family member, the team takes care of her. As a young man, it's best for him to keep his distance.

"Don't go yet, I want to... buy some mushroom branches."

"You should talk to Qingmei about this. I don't care." Li Qingqiu left quickly, not giving her a chance to speak. Jiang Mei stared blankly at Li Qingqiu, who was fleeing as if he were running away.

That morning, Li Qingqiu thought to himself, "What a bunch of nonsense. When I asked you to buy it, you wouldn't buy it. Now that there's no mycelium left, you're all coming to me one by one. There's nothing I can do. I can't possibly use the second-generation mycelium on the storage shelf for these idiots."

Upon arriving at his grandparents' house, Li Qingqiu ate breakfast and chatted with his grandmother for a while. It was almost 10:30 before he finally went to the educated youth settlement.

"Little sister, everyone's gone?"

"Captain Wang waited for quite a while before leaving."

Li Qingmei nodded. "People from Zhangjiazhai also came, but they went to the team when they saw you weren't there."

"And Mom just came by."

"mom?"

"What's up?"

"I've agreed to Jiang Mei's purchase of mushroom branches on your behalf, and I've also agreed to Uncle Landlord's share."

Li Qingmei observed Li Qingqiu's expression, fearing that her third brother would be angry.

"If you agree, then agree. It's not a big deal."

Li Qingqiu knew about Jiang Mei's family situation. His mother was soft-hearted, and considering the neighbors, it was normal for her to agree, even though she had a sharp tongue.

"Third Brother, don't be angry. Sixth Aunt has said a lot of bad things about you. Jiang Mei's matter is actually quite..."

"It's all in the past now."

Li Qingqiu waved his hand dismissively. "I know about Jiang Mei's family situation. My mother is soft-hearted, so what can I say? As for Aunt Liu's purchase, that's good. Next time I see her, I'll have a good talk with her about it."

Aunt Liu's family was in a bad situation. It was normal for them to eat tree leaves when food was scarce, since Aunt Liu was the only able-bodied person. Uncle Landlord and Qingbao and several other disabled people were also there. Aunt Liu was hateful, but also quite pitiful.

He wouldn't hold back when he saw Li Qingqiu again; he'd certainly throw in some sarcastic remarks to embarrass his sixth aunt. As for the mushroom branches, his mother had already agreed, so he wouldn't say anything more. "Later, you can send them over, five branches for the whole family."

"Understood, Third Brother."

Li Qingmei knew that although her third brother said he wouldn't buy, he was ultimately soft-hearted and couldn't bring himself to do it. "Forget about the other stores, they really don't have any mycelium left."

"Third Brother, I understand."

"I wonder if the fourth brother has bought a bicycle yet?"

Li Qingqiu muttered to himself, "The next thing is the matter of the brigade's oxen. Has Director Guo inquired about it carefully? We need to buy these oxen as soon as possible. I'm waiting for the task of being the pillar of the family to be completed, and then I'll start signing in at the commune. I'm thinking about the rewards for signing in for the first time at the supply and marketing cooperative, the food station, the meat stall, and other places."

"I'm so excited just thinking about it."

"Li Qingqiu".

Seeing that Li Qingmei and Li Qingqiu had finished talking, Yin Yi walked over. "Shall we go dig for winter bamboo shoots?"

"Winter bamboo shoots? Forget it, the snow in the mountains hasn't melted yet."

"oh."

Yin Yi was somewhat disappointed that she couldn't go into the mountains with Li Qingqiu and be alone with him.

"How about this, I'll take you to dig up some wild pears?"

Two days ago, Li Qingqiu signed in by the ditch. The map showed the distribution of wild pears in the entire Lijia'ao and surrounding areas. However, there were few wild pears, and he hadn't had time to dig them up because he had been busy these past few days. It was only when Yin Yi mentioned digging for winter bamboo shoots that Li Qingqiu remembered this distribution map.

"OK."

"I'll go get the basket."

Yin Yi was quite happy. Li Qingqiu took out his shovel, a beginner-level magic weapon that made digging in frozen soil easy and effortless. The two greeted each other and went out. Arriving at the area around the paddy field, Li Qingqiu followed the map and found a spot by the ditch in front of the field.

"here."

The ditch was dry, only covered with thick snow. Li Qingqiu and Yin Yi skillfully cleared away the snow.

Yes, it really exists.

"Step aside, I'll dig."

"Um."

The vines of the ground pear tree are quite easy to identify, but there are very few in this area. Those little kids didn't pay much attention, otherwise the ground pear tree wouldn't have survived until now, since there are hardly any decent fruits these days.

"Wow, we found it!"

"Don't get excited, we've only just begun."

We dug up a patch and found about ten wild pears; the harvest was pretty good. "Let's go to the next place."

This time they were more discreet and dug up more, more than ten. They dug and dug, and by noon, Yin Yi had filled her basket with about half of the contents, probably two or three pounds.

"The harvest was pretty good."

The other distribution points are quite far away. The entire distribution map shows about ten kilograms of ground pears, which is quite a lot. However, they are too far apart, unlike winter bamboo shoots, which are plentiful. In some areas where they are widely distributed, hundreds or even thousands of kilograms can be dug up.

"I'm going back."

"Wait a minute, I'll make you water chestnuts with white sugar."

Yin Yi had decided that she would peel the fruit when she got back and burn it with white sugar; it would taste even better. "Actually, it's already quite sweet without adding any sugar."

"what?"

There were so many people at home because the fourth brother had bought a bicycle. Sure enough, when he got home, he saw a brand new bicycle parked in the yard. The whole family gathered around to look at it, along with some neighbors who came to see what was going on.

"To be honest, it's Qingqiu who's really capable."

"That's right, he came in first in the whole county and received a bicycle ticket as a reward from the commune director."

Everyone was so envious. A bicycle—aside from the brigade leader's family, it was the first bicycle for an ordinary member of Lijia'ao. "What a promising young man!" Many people were even more determined to have their children memorize the quotations. Li Qingqiu, a first-grader who had spent eleven years in elementary school and was considered slow, could still get first place in the county. They figured their own children were definitely smarter than Li Qingqiu, and getting first place in the region wouldn't be difficult at all.

"Third Brother."

"I bought it."

"Yes, I bought it."

"Good."

Li Qingqiu patted the bicycle seat; it was quite soft. He also curiously examined the stamp and bicycle registration document. "Why are you back now? Aren't you supposed to be at work this afternoon?"

"Go, we'll be leaving soon."

Li Qingshi said with a smile, "I have some good news to tell everyone."

"Good news?"

"Yes, the county cultural center is coming to our brigade to show a movie."

"Is the county cultural center coming to our brigade to show a movie?"

Li Qingqiu felt that this matter might be related to Han Guodong. Could it be that his old classmate was being so kind? Was he a green-haired turtle enthusiast?

Li Qingqiu shuddered, a chill running down his spine. This guy was a bit scary.

"What's wrong with Third Brother?"

"It's okay, it's fine, it's a good thing."

"It's freezing cold, but the county cultural station really knows how to bring warmth," Li Qingqiu muttered to himself. "Never mind, if Han Guodong comes over, I'll just pretend I don't know him."

"It would be too boring if he got slapped in the face by his own quote competition and came to his door to brag about his good job."

Besides, what's the point of showing off in front of me? Han Caiju can see it, unless Han Caiju comes too, but that's impossible, Han Caiju is brain-dead.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Li Qingqiu shook her head, still concerned about Lao Si and her boyfriend. Originally, the family was short of money, and they planned to postpone their marriage. But now, there was still time at the end of the year to visit the family first, and the rest could be done after the New Year.

As for building houses in the commune, there's no rush. Maybe you can get some good skills by signing in at the commune and make a lot of money. Then building houses won't be a big deal.

When Li Qingqiu finished lunch, he heard some astonishing news.

"Mom, what did you say? You're setting me up with a boyfriend?"

"Yes, I had your second brother go find Matchmaker Wang. Our brigade is showing a movie in a couple of days, so you can meet up then. You've been quite careless, so don't take it to heart. Remember to take good care of yourself then, and don't leave any wooden stakes in your room. What will people think if they see them?"

"Mom, why didn't you tell me about this?"

What a joke! He could never marry a country girl. The system wouldn't allow it, and neither would he.