My Husband Comes from the Future

by Usui Takumii

not mine, shangai fantasy. After chapter 94 is MTL. Also at ao3.

2. 11 to 20

Chapter 11: Cooking

The types of wild vegetables that people in Miaoqian Village usually ate were very limited, such as shepherd's purse and mallard.

Houttuynia cordata had a strong odor, so they didn't eat it at all, and they wouldn't even cut it back to feed to the sheep because even the sheep didn't like it.

And now Li Qingzhi was actually picking its leaves and eating them raw…

Was there something wrong with his brain?

"Are you hungry? Didn't you just eat?" Jin Xiaoye was a bit anxious. "We don't even know if this thing is poisonous…"

Li Qingzhi's appetite was very large now, which Jin Xiaoye had noticed long ago.

This was evident in the fact that no matter how much food she gave him, Li Qingzhi could always finish it.

But she didn't let him eat more because of this. First, because there wasn't enough food at home, and second… she felt that Li Qingzhi behaved like this because he had been starving for the past few years, so now whenever he saw food, he wanted to stuff it into his mouth.

Eating too much without digesting properly could ruin the body! Jin Xiaoye didn't dare to let him eat recklessly.

Li Qingzhi didn't seem to restrain himself at all, even eating this kind of grass with a foul smell…

"This grass isn't poisonous, it's edible. People in my hometown call it Houttuynia cordata , and they love to eat it," Li Qingzhi coughed lightly, trying to explain. "Its leaves are edible, and the roots underneath can be mixed with cold dishes, which taste very good."

"Mom, Dad is lying. This grass tastes terrible," Li Ermao immediately interjected.

For those not accustomed to it, the taste of Houttuynia cordata was indeed awful… Li Qingzhi could only look innocent as he explained to Jin Xiaoye and described what the roots of Houttuynia cordata were like. He also mentioned that it was a medicinal herb and good for the body.

Jin Xiaoye dug with the sickle and indeed found some roots similar to what Li Qingzhi described.

But she didn't believe that people from Li Qingzhi's hometown loved to eat this thing. Firstly, it smelled terrible, and secondly… they had stinky pigweed behind their house before, but she never saw Li Qingzhi go and dig it up to eat.

Jin Xiaoye thought that Li Qingzhi must have eaten this because he hadn't eaten enough during the years he was forced to mine stones.

As for why Li Qingzhi thought it tasted good… In these days, Li Qingzhi didn't find anything he ate unpalatable. Even the residue from the medicine Jin Xiaoye brewed for him, Li Qingzhi chewed on as if he were starving.

Who knows how much suffering he endured these years.

Jin Xiaoye had a bad temper. If Li Damao and Li Ermao ate recklessly, they would definitely get a scolding from her. But Li Qingzhi was a scholar after all, and he should know better than to eat recklessly?

Jin Xiaoye asked, "Can this really be eaten?"

"It can. It's written in medical books, and I've eaten it before… Xiaoye, can I dig some more?" Li Qingzhi asked.

"Go ahead." Jin Xiaoye sighed and then said to the two boys, "Damao, Ermao, help him dig."

After Jin Xiaoye finished speaking, she continued to harvest rice with the sickle.

Seeing this, the people around them also began to work.

Only Li Laogen came to Jin Xiaoye's side and said, "Xiaoye, is your man stupid? He's actually eating wild grass…"

"You're the stupid one." Jin Xiaoye wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of Li Qingzhi. "Li Laogen, what do you mean by 'your man'? He's your son!"

"Um… Xiaoye, to me, you're like my own daughter!" Li Laogen said.

Li Laogen was indeed a scoundrel, and he couldn't control himself. He always wanted to gamble.

But he wasn't stupid. He knew that although Jin Xiaoye treated him badly, she was a good person.

In the past, he lived with his brother and nephew. When his sister-in-law distributed food, she only gave him a little rice soup, and he was hungry every day.

In these years with Jin Xiaoye, although he didn't eat too well, it was much better than before.

He had long figured it out. When he got old, he would still have to rely on Jin Xiaoye.

As for Li Qingzhi, this son of his… he wasn't useful now that he was back.

"That's right, go work quickly!" Jin Xiaoye said.

"I'm going right away!" Li Laogen hurried to work.

Meanwhile, Li Damao and Li Ermao helped Li Qingzhi dig out all the Houttuynia cordata, roots and all, while looking at Li Qingzhi eating the stinky pigweed with a puzzled expression.

Today was the first time they learned about stinky pigweed. How could their father love to eat this stuff?

Unable to resist, Li Ermao tasted the roots of the Houttuynia cordata again, feeling more convinced that his father's brain might truly be damaged.

As the sun began to set, the villagers started to carry the harvested rice back home. Since nobody in the village owned cows, there were no carts to transport the rice, so they had to carry it home one load at a time. Fortunately, their fields were generally not far from their homes.

While Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen were carrying rice back home, Li Damao and Li Ermao walked around the freshly harvested fields to see if they had missed any rice grains.

After checking their own fields, they returned home with Li Qingzhi.

When they reached the river, Li Qingzhi saw many men soaking in the water, washing themselves after work. A group of men bathing together meant unmarried girls and newlywed brides wouldn't dare to look. They hurried past with their heads down. However, older women didn't need to be so cautious and could comment on the men bathing in the river, discussing who was strong and who was too skinny.

Everything was vibrant and lively.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi felt particularly good.

The villagers couldn't understand why Li Qingzhi, who was so thin and weak, could still smile so happily!

"I heard Li Qingzhi ate stinky pigweed raw today."

"I always felt a bit distant from him before… but now he seems so enthusiastic?"

"Jin Xiaoye is really pitiful. She finally waited for him to come back, but not only is his health bad, he doesn't seem quite normal."

…

As they talked, the villagers felt even more sympathy for Jin Xiaoye.

Heavy work like harvesting rice was generally not done by women in the village. They mainly took care of children, cooked, and fed livestock at home. Even if they went to the fields, it was usually to help tie up bundles of rice.

But what about Jin Xiaoye? She had to work in the fields!

This was not easy at all!

When Li Qingzhi returned home, he saw their house filled with freshly harvested rice, and Jin Xiaoye hadn't returned yet. She must have gone to take a bath.

In the winter, people in the village hardly bathed, just wiping themselves with warm water or washing their buttocks and feet. In the summer, they went to the river to bathe. However, young women bathed together in a pond, and in the evening, no men from the village would go near. If anyone did, the other men would gang up and beat him. After all, the women bathing there were their daughters, sisters, or daughters-in-law.

As for older women, they usually didn't go to the pond to bathe. They would wash clothes or children by the river and bathe themselves in the process. After all, most people in the village bathed in the river while wearing pants or even clothes, scrubbing themselves in the water.

Since Jin Xiaoye wasn't there… Li Qingzhi quietly finished eating all the Houttuynia cordata he had dug up.

When Jin Xiaoye returned, Li Damao and Li Ermao rushed up to her. "Mom, Dad ate all that stinky pigweed!"

Jin Xiaoye: "…"

Li Qingzhi could only say, "It's really edible…" He would be more careful about sneaking extra meals in the future and avoid people's notice…

Since Li Qingzhi had already eaten it and seemed fine, Jin Xiaoye didn't pursue the matter further.

Jin Xiaoye quickly fell asleep. The next morning, just as the day was breaking, she got up from the ground again, ready to go out and continue harvesting rice.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi said, "Xiaoye, give me the grains for the morning. I'll cook today."

He could have just started cooking, but seeing how Jin Xiaoye usually cooked with a plan, he knew he couldn't just take grains randomly to cook.

Men in the village generally didn't cook, but Jin Xiaoye thought about her future prospects and guessed that Li Qingzhi would have to cook at home if she went out to work. She remembered that before she and Li Qingzhi got married, Li Qingzhi used to cook by himself, so he should know how to cook. "Okay, I'll give you the grains!" Jin Xiaoye gave Li Qingzhi a good amount of grains and six eggs. "We'll have dry rice today to keep our strength up. And these six eggs, steam them. We'll have two each, you and I, and two for Dad."

She and Li Laogen didn't usually eat eggs, but during busy farming seasons, they had to eat some.

Jin Xiaoye was also planning to cut a piece of meat and steam it for later.

On days like this, there would usually be someone coming by boat to sell meat and tofu, which they could buy with money or exchange for grain.

"Alright," Li Qingzhi agreed.

After Jin Xiaoye left, he went into the kitchen and observed the situation there.

Iron pots were not cheap in this era; their family only had one pot, which was why Jin Xiaoye rarely cooked, and when she did, she only made steamed dishes.

Of course, the other families in the village were the same. The poorest families didn't even have a pot and had to cook in clay pots.

This pot was bought by the previous owner, but some other things in the kitchen should have been purchased by Jin Xiaoye.

Back when the previous owner had no money, there were very few things bought for the household. Even now, they didn't have a table to eat on.

There was no way around it; the previous owner's father was a county official, but their family didn't actually have much money.

It was only when the previous owner realized something was wrong and persuaded his mother to leave that she gave him a few pieces of gold jewelry. With these, he was able to buy land in Miaoqian Village. These jewels were part of his mother's dowry.

Thinking of the previous owner's relatives, Li Qingzhi sighed silently.

The previous owner's father was wronged, and the stone quarry that caused the death of the previous owner was full of sins.

If there was a chance in the future, he would avenge the previous owner and his relatives.

Cooking in the countryside was troublesome. Li Qingzhi took water from the tank and soaked the rough rice at home, then went to the field to pick some cowpeas and eggplants.

They didn't have any oil at home, so he didn't bother with steaming or frying the vegetables. After washing them clean, he put them in a bowl, intending to steam them with a little salt.

Li Qingzhi stuffed a cowpea into his mouth, eating while slowly building a fire and preparing the meal.

Li Damao couldn't resist asking, "Dad, can you eat cowpeas raw?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "You can, but they don't taste good."

If they don't taste good, why eat them? And looking at his dad, it seemed like he was enjoying something delicious… Li Damao looked conflicted, and as for Li Ermao, who had wanted to try them, he immediately lost interest.

When it was almost eight o'clock, Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen returned with some straw, and by then, Li Qingzhi had finished cooking.

Li Laogen couldn't even move his feet. "Xiaoye, let's eat first before we go back to work."

Jin Xiaoye was also hungry and didn't object. "Then let's eat first!"

Today, they cooked dry rice. When Li Laogen lifted the lid of the pot, he smiled happily, unafraid of being scalded as he took two eggs, one of which he put in his pocket, and the other of which he began to peel.

After peeling the eggs, he ate the whites first, then split the yolks in half and gave one to Li Damao and one to Li Ermao. "Damao, Ermao, try these… Grandpa treats you well, right? You should be good to Grandpa in the future too!"

Li Laogen didn't really consider Li Qingzhi his son since they hadn't spent much time together, but he genuinely treated Li Damao and Li Ermao like grandsons and was generally kind to them.

After giving away the yolks, Li Laogen quickly cracked open another egg and ate it before dishing out the rice.

He filled a bowl with rice, topped it with some cowpeas and eggplants, then squatted down to eat, smacking his lips as he did.

Li Qingzhi, on the other hand, ate in a more refined manner, but… he ate faster than Li Laogen did.

The rice noodles at home were all gone, so Li Qingzhi had to start eating rice these days. Jin Xiaoye couldn't help but worry every time she saw him wolf down his food.

Eating like this… isn't he afraid of getting a stomachache?

Right at this moment, Li Ermao chimed in, "Mom, Dad eats raw cowpeas! Are you going to spank him?" He used to get spanked for eating random things!

Jin Xiaoye: "…"

Li Qingzhi: "…"

Chapter 12: Pork

After breakfast, Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen went back to cutting rice stalks. It wasn't until almost noon, when the sun was scorching hot, that they returned home.

Both of them were dripping with sweat and exhausted. When Li Laogen sat down at the doorstep, he said to Jin Xiaoye, "You promised, today we're buying meat!"

"I keep my word," Jin Xiaoye replied.

Li Laogen suddenly smiled, wrinkles appearing on his face. "Since Qingming Festival, I haven't had meat…"

There were plenty of rivers and streams in the village, and occasionally he would catch some fish or shrimp to eat. Sometimes they would also have eggs from the chickens at home. But pork… they only bought it for special occasions or during busy farming seasons.

Hearing this, Li Qingzhi spoke softly, "I haven't had meat in several years…"

Li Laogen fell silent. Li Qingzhi had it even worse than him!

Jin Xiaoye glanced at Li Qingzhi and gave him ten coins, telling him to go to the riverbank and watch out for two coins' worth of tofu and eight coins' worth of pork.

She specifically instructed him to choose fatty meat since they were lacking in fat!

Without Jin Xiaoye saying it, Li Qingzhi also knew he needed to buy fatty meat; he was also lacking in fat.

Before the apocalypse, he used to avoid fatty meat, but now? If given the chance, he'd want to drink pig fat!

After Jin Xiaoye gave her instructions, she lay down to rest.

She had been up since five in the morning, working for five hours straight!

Li Laogen went back to the room to sleep, and the two children also needed their afternoon nap… only Li Qingzhi didn't feel like sleeping. Instead, he put the ten coins in his pocket, grabbed a basket, and leaned on a cane as he went outside to bask in the sun.

He was very thin now, so he didn't mind the heat much. As he basked in the sunlight, feeling the scorching sun on his body, he surprisingly found it quite comfortable.

Li Qingzhi was in a very good mood. He walked slowly towards the riverbank, smiling at anyone he encountered along the way.

Jin Moli, who was wearing a straw hat and delivering water and snacks to the hired workers in the fields, looked at him with a complex expression.

Some people in the village said Li Qingzhi had gone crazy, and looking at him… they might be right.

Jin Xiaoye not only had to take care of the children and Li Laogen, but now he had another burden!

Their family was fortunate; her father-in-law was wealthy, and they hired people to harvest the crops in their fields. She only needed to provide food and water for the workers.

Li Qingzhi recognized Jin Molan, knowing she was Jin Xiaoye's cousin. Although she looked at him strangely, there didn't seem to be any ill intent, so he just smiled at her.

When Jin Molan met Li Qingzhi's smile, she lowered her head and hurried away.

Firstly, Li Qingzhi was too thin now, looking somewhat frightening. Secondly… upon learning that Li Qingzhi had been forced to work in the stone quarry for several years and realizing that they could have saved him if they had paid a doctor, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

If she had reminded someone, would Li Qingzhi have avoided being taken away?

Li Qingzhi: "…"

Was he really that frightening?

For rural people, a good harvest was the happiest thing. At this time, everyone was willing to spend money on food.

With demand comes a market, so the people selling pork and tofu would go from village to village in their boats, calling out their wares.

Li Qingzhi went to the riverbank and sat down in the shade of a large tree.

This tree was a jujube tree with jujube fruits growing on it, but unfortunately, they weren't ripe yet.

The jujube tree had grown quite tall. When a jujube tree grew too tall, it would produce fewer fruits and would be difficult to harvest.

Li Qingzhi swallowed and lowered his head.

There were some grasses under the tree, most of which were non-toxic and edible even in the post-apocalyptic world… Li Qingzhi sat down and picked some dandelions to put in his pocket, planning to eat them secretly later when no one was around.

The river water was clear, and there were minnows swimming around. These fish were small, often swimming together in groups.

If he could catch one… he could eat it all, bones and all!

Li Qingzhi, if he were from before the apocalypse, would surely find everything here unsatisfactory—difficult to eat and live. But he came from the apocalypse.

Right now, all he wanted was to quickly regain his health so he could go fishing.

It was difficult to catch fish with bare hands, but having experienced the apocalypse, his skills were excellent!

He had managed to escape from a group of zombies; catching a fish would be a piece of cake!

Li Qingzhi drooled over the fish in the river for a while, then saw a small boat slowly approaching.

Several kids around ten or so years old immediately climbed ashore from the river and ran to their respective homes, shouting as they ran, "The boat's here! The boat's here!"

Soon, villagers began streaming out of their houses towards the riverbank.

But Li Qingzhi was one step ahead and had already stood on the steps.

Most of the boats around Chongcheng County were small, making it easier to navigate the river.

At the moment, there was a boatman and a butcher selling pork on the boat.

The butcher saw Li Qingzhi and lifted the wet white cloth covering the meat, asking, "How much meat do you want?"

In the summer heat, butchers slaughtered the pigs early in the morning to keep the meat fresh. But by now, the color of the meat wasn't quite right.

But it was meat!

Li Qingzhi said, "Master, your meat looks great! I'll buy eight coins' worth. Can you give me some fatty meat?"

Li Qingzhi looked at the meat, his mouth watering.

"Which family are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?" The butcher didn't rush to cut the meat, waiting for the boat to stabilize first.

"My wife is Jin Xiaoye," Li Qingzhi's gaze remained on the meat, "Master, I haven't eaten meat in many years. Please give me some fatty meat."

The butcher was from a nearby village. He didn't know everyone from Miaoqian Village, but he knew Jin Xiaoye. After all, Jin Xiaoye had been running around looking for work these past two years.

Plus, news of Jin Xiaoye's man returning had already spread to their village… he knew who Li Qingzhi was.

"So, you're the Li family's kid! Don't worry, I'll definitely give you a fatty piece!" he said, and with a swift motion, he chopped off a piece of pork with more fat than meat. After weighing it, he cut off a little more for Li Qingzhi.

When many villagers bought meat, they would often criticize the quality brought by the butcher, saying it wasn't fresh. They did this to try to lower the price.

But the butcher didn't like hearing such things. Li Qingzhi's praise of the meat actually made him happy, and considering Li Qingzhi had been forced to work in the stone quarry for several years, he felt sorry for him and gave him a little extra.

Satisfied, Li Qingzhi took the meat, and seeing this, another villager who had just arrived immediately said, "Give me a piece like his."

The butcher said, "Sure, thirteen coins per pound."

"Your meat doesn't look fresh…" and thus, bargaining began.

At this moment, Li Qingzhi also bought two pieces of tofu from the boatman.

The price of pork ranged from ten to fifteen coins, depending on the part of the meat. Even though the butcher gave Li Qingzhi a little extra, the meat in Li Qingzhi's hands didn't even weigh a pound.

As for tofu, it was sold by the piece, one coin per piece.

After buying, Li Qingzhi carried the basket and slowly walked home.

Whether it was meat or tofu, they had to be dealt with immediately, or they would spoil easily.

With this weather, the tofu would definitely go sour by evening.

When Li Qingzhi returned home, Jin Xiaoye was already up.

She didn't let Li Qingzhi handle the meat but instead asked him to start a fire and then put the sliced fat into the iron pot to render lard.

There wasn't much meat, so there wouldn't be much lard either. She carefully scooped the oil into a small bowl with a spoon and then disposed of the residue.

"Xiaoye, let me taste a bit!" Li Laogen smelled the aroma of the oil and had already come out of the house.

Jin Xiaoye gave him two pieces of oil residue and then gave the rest to Li Qingzhi. "You take this and share it with Damao and Ermao."

After saying that, she added water to the pot with oil residue, then poured in the remaining lean meat and tofu.

She made a large pot of pork stew with tofu and then started cooking rice, making dry rice again.

After finishing breakfast and working for another two hours, Jin Xiaoye was very hungry. They ate dinner relatively early that day, around two o'clock.

Whether it was the oil residue or the pork stew with tofu, it brought tears to Li Qingzhi's eyes as he ate.

He felt like he could eat everything himself!

Unfortunately, he couldn't indulge himself. In the end, he only ate the portion that Jin Xiaoye gave him.

Li Laogen was someone who didn't know how to be modest. After Jin Xiaoye discovered this about him, she would often divide the food in advance to prevent him from taking everything.

Li Laogen had no objections to this. If he dared to object, Jin Xiaoye would lock the door on him!

After eating, Jin Xiaoye took Li Laogen back to the fields.

They were busy all day until evening, harvesting all the rice from their two-acre plot. For a time, both inside and outside the house were filled with rice.

The yield of grains varied depending on the era and region. In recent years, with good weather and being situated in a fertile area, everyone took great care of their crops…

If there were no natural disasters, the yield per acre (approximately 0.16 acres) would probably range from 250 kilograms to 300 kilograms of rice, with some households achieving even more. Planting twice a year, the annual harvest per acre would be at least 500 kilograms.

Their family's two-acre plot could yield around 1,000 kilograms of rice per year.

However, they had to pay taxes, and after the rice was dried and husked, there wouldn't be as much left. There were also other expenses at home… If their family relied solely on these two acres of land, life would be very difficult.

That day, Li Laogen and Jin Xiaoye went to bed early. The next day, they brought back a rice barrel from outside and started pounding the rice.

In the households of Miaoqian Village, there were basically rice barrels made of wood, narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, with dimensions of about one meter by five meters.

They placed a ladder-shaped bamboo device in the rice barrel, and vigorously struck the rice stalks on the ladder. The grains from the rice heads would fall down one after another, dropping into the rice barrel. This process was known as "threshing rice" and was necessary after harvesting rice.

In fact, most people would thresh the rice directly in the fields after harvesting the rice yesterday. Afterwards, they would also sun-dry the bundled straw in the fields and retrieve it after a couple of days.

However, since their family didn't have a rice barrel, Jin Xiaoye was worried that the rice would be stolen or eaten by rats if left in the fields. So, she carried it back and threshed it today.

This task was also very labor-intensive. Therefore, in the afternoon, she had Li Qingzhi go buy two pieces of tofu again and made a pot of egg and tofu soup.

They didn't buy meat this time; their family was really poor right now.

After Jin Xiaoye had threshed all the rice from the rice heads, the remaining task was to dry it!

Li Qingzhi thought that the harvest, which had lasted for three or four days, was already complete. But Jin Xiaoye told him, "Today, we need to go back to the fields and retrieve the rice roots."

Li Qingzhi was a bit puzzled, "What for?"

Jin Xiaoye explained, "We're short on firewood at home."

The households with mulberry trees could use the branches trimmed each year as firewood, but their family didn't have any mulberry trees.

Their family never had enough firewood to burn each year. If it weren't for her younger brother sneaking some to her, she might have had to spend money to buy firewood.

Of course, their family wasn't the only one short on firewood. After harvesting the rice, many households would retrieve the rice roots, dry them, and use them as fuel for burning.

Chapter 13: Silver Carp

Li Qingzhi's current body couldn't handle much work, so digging rice roots was done by Jin Xiaoye taking Li Laogen along.

As for him, he stayed at home helping with cooking and taking care of the children, occasionally turning over the sun-dried rice.

The people of Miaoqian Village didn't have much work on normal days, but recently, with the busy farming season, everyone was rushing around.

After all, once the rice was harvested, it was time to start planting the next crop!

People in Miaoqian Village would first prepare a small plot of land for seedling cultivation. When the rice grew to a certain extent, they would pull it out, bundle it neatly, and replant it all over again, which is commonly known as transplanting seedlings.

But before that, the rice fields needed to be fertilized. If the fertility wasn't enough, the rice wouldn't grow well, and what was once good farmland would turn into inferior land.

In this era, there were no chemical fertilizers, so fertilizing the fields mainly relied on human and animal manure, river silt, and ash from grass and trees, making this work dirty and tiring.

What shocked Li Qingzhi the most was that they had to spend money to buy manure.

There was a businessman named Zhang in Chongcheng County who specialized in selling manure. He had people collect manure from all over the county and then sell it to nearby farmers.

The so-called "manure" was a polite term for feces used locally.

It was said that in previous years, the people in the county town would sell their manure to different buyers, who would then sell it to farmers. But later, this Zhang monopolized the market.

After monopolizing the market without competition, he stopped paying the people from the county town for their manure and raised the price, but fortunately, the farmers could still afford it.

And he made a lot of money by monopolizing this business.

Li Laogen squatted at the door, chattering about the deeds of that Zhang business and how despicable he was. "Ten years ago, those who sold manure used to compete with each other, and the price of manure wasn't as expensive as it is now!"

Li Qingzhi was greatly shocked to hear this. In this day and age, monopolizing business actually meant monopolizing a whole city… well, manure.

Thinking like this, Li Qingzhi looked at Li Laogen with admiration. "Dad, you know so much!"

Li Laogen laughed, revealing the few yellowish teeth he had left. "Of course, I know a lot of things!"

Li Qingzhi then asked about other things that interested him.

In the apocalypse, there was no one to talk to, so he had become lonely enough to talk to zombies. Now, everyone around him was alive… and when he had the strength, he was especially eager to talk to them.

This also allowed him to understand this era better.

Actually, he liked talking to Jin Xiaoye the most, but Jin Xiaoye was very busy, so he could only settle for talking to Li Laogen.

Li Laogen also enjoyed talking to Li Qingzhi. Before, when Li Laogen had nothing to do at home, he always wanted to go out and find someone to hang out with. But now, Li Qingzhi has warmly pulled him into conversations and occasionally praised him…

Li Laogen suddenly felt a bit like a father, finding the skinny, somewhat endearing boy in front of him quite likable.

Li Damao also enjoyed listening to Li Laogen talk, but Li Ermao was different. He hoped the adults could take him out to play… Seeing Li Qingzhi and Li Laogen chatting endlessly, he reached out to cover Li Qingzhi's mouth.

Li Qingzhi grabbed that hand and kissed it several times. "My Ermao's hands are so soft and lovely to kiss. Dad really likes Er Mao."

Li Ermao looked foolishly at his own hand.

Feeling it wouldn't be fair otherwise, Li Qingzhi grabbed Li Damao's hand and kissed it several times. "Damao's hand is lovely too! Dad also likes Damao!"

Li Damao was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi lifted the child's face and kissed it again.

Li Damao: "!"

As for Li Ermao… he couldn't wait to come over. "Dad, me too!"

Li Qingzhi happily kissed Li Ermao's little cheek.

Having two children to kiss, he felt truly blessed!

Before, Li Qingzhi was afraid the two children wouldn't adapt, so at most, he just hugged them. But today, since he had kissed them… he could continue to do so in the future!

While his sons were still young, he must kiss their little cheeks and hands more!

Jin Xiaoye undoubtedly loved the children, but she was usually too busy, rarely showing affection towards them. This might not necessarily be due to being busy, but simply a cultural norm.

Parents in this era often appeared authoritative in front of their children, controlling them, but seldom expressed affection verbally or physically. If they did, it was often material rather than verbal or physical expressions of love.

The lower-class farmers were busy with their livelihoods, and their children were completely left to fend for themselves.

Being both kissed and told "liked," Li Damao and Li Ermao felt delighted. Li Ermao even pouted and kissed Li Qingzhi's face as he sat on the doorstep.

The child's lips were soft, and Li Qingzhi felt like his heart was melting from the kiss!

How could there be such adorable children in this world!

Thinking it wouldn't be fair otherwise, Li Qingzhi brought his other half of the face closer to Li Damao's face, inviting him to kiss. "Damao, come and kiss dad too!"

Li Damao felt a bit shy but still kissed Li Qingzhi firmly.

Li Qingzhi felt satisfied.

At that moment, Jin Xiaoye returned.

Jin Xiaoye came back from work, a bit dirty, so she didn't approach them. Instead, she called out to Li Laogen, "Dad, come with me to the fields."

Li Laogen glanced enviously at Li Qingzhi, who didn't have to work, then followed Jin Xiaoye reluctantly, muttering, "No need to spend so much time in the fields. Others don't do it like this…"

"But others have more land!" Jin Xiaoye retorted.

Li Laogen sighed and said nothing.

Jin Xiaoye took Li Laogen to fetch fertilizer. The neighboring Yao family brought buckets of fertilizer by boat, and everyone in the village was busy adding fertility to their fields.

With nothing to do for the moment, Li Qingzhi said to the two children, "Come, let dad take you for a walk."

Li Damao and Li Ermao nodded happily. Li Damao even thoughtfully brought along a bamboo basket.

Whenever their dad went out, he would definitely go to pick wild grass.

People in the village said their dad was starving crazy, his mind unclear, and he needed to eat some pig brains to clear it up. But they still quite liked this dad of theirs.

Li Qingzhi took the two children for a walk, occasionally letting them pick some grass.

There were more children in the village carrying baskets to cut grass, but while others did it to feed sheep, they did it to feed their dad.

As they were picking grass, Li Qingzhi saw his little brother-in-law, Jin Xiaoshu, coming from a distance, carrying a grass carp.

When Jin Xiaoshu saw Li Qingzhi, his expression was somewhat conflicted. "Brother-in-law, I heard you eat grass all day?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "Not all day…"

"I bought a fish from the people on the boat. Take it home and steam it instead of eating grass." Jin Xiaoshu handed the fish to Li Qingzhi.

The fish was already dead, with several stalks of straw stuffed into its gills and tied together from its mouth, making it easy to carry.

There were many rivers in the area where fish could be caught, but ordinary families mainly relied on farming for a living. Fishing was done in the irrigation ditches, and they mostly caught small fish and shrimp. It was rare to catch big fish.

If you wanted to eat big fish, you had to buy them from those who made a living by fishing.

The "people on the boat" that Jin Xiaoshu mentioned referred to those who didn't own land and lived on boats year-round. Many of these people made a living by fishing.

Fish were much cheaper than meat, but a fish weighing around three kilograms would cost about ten cents.

Jin Xiaoshu could catch fish himself. He had originally planned to catch some fish for Li Qingzhi when he had some free time in a few days. However, hearing that Li Qingzhi was eating grass, he deliberately used his own saved money to buy a fish and brought it to Li Qingzhi.

"I still have work at home. I'll leave first," Jin Xiaoshu said hurriedly before leaving.

The Jin family was considered wealthy in the village, owning a total of twelve acres of land.

Jin Xiaoye's eldest uncle worked as a cook in the army and didn't come back, but he had three sons. With Jin Xiaoshu and his father, the five men should be able to work quickly together.

However, Jin Xiaoye's several cousins liked to push the dirty and tiring work onto Jin Xiaoshu and his father, so Jin Xiaoshu and his father were always busy and tired.

Li Qingzhi's attention was drawn to the fish, and before he realized it, Jin Xiaoshu had already left.

But his little brother-in-law was indeed a good person! This was a fish! A three-kilogram fish!

Li Qingzhi looked at the fish and couldn't help but salivate again.

The two children were also drooling, looking at the fish and asking, "Dad, can we eat fish later?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "Yes! We'll eat half of it today and salt the remaining half for tomorrow."

Li Qingzhi went home to get a knife and then went to the riverbank to prepare the fish.

People generally didn't eat the fish's internal organs, but Li Qingzhi couldn't bear to throw them away. He cleaned the fish's intestines and stomach and then rubbed them with salt. When cooking, he would steam them on the steaming rack.

When Li Laogen came back and saw the fish, he laughed happily. Jin Xiaoye also became much calmer. As for Li Qingzhi…

With so much protein, how could he not like it!

As for the fishy smell… the two children didn't mind at all!

Today was another day of enjoying delicious food to the fullest, thanks to the heavens!

Jin Xiaoye and the others didn't pay much attention.

They had gotten used to Li Qingzhi's ecstatic expressions whenever he ate anything, as if he were eating delicacies from all over the world. They didn't know when he would recover…

As they ate, Jin Xiaoye said, "I'll be busy again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, I need to go to the county town."

Before, she would go to the county town about once every ten days to meet acquaintances and maintain relationships. But this time, because Li Qingzhi had returned and they were busy with farming, she hadn't been to the county town for twenty days.

Now that she finally had some free time, she wanted to go take a look.

Li Qingzhi immediately asked, "Can I come?"

Jin Xiaoye replied affirmatively, "You can't walk." Their village was ten miles away from the county town!

Li Qingzhi indeed couldn't walk. "Why don't you take a boat? It's a bit dangerous to walk…" The original owner used to walk to the county town alone, but when passing by the riverside, he was taken away by someone on a boat.

Of course, it's relatively safe now, and it's unlikely to encounter such unlucky incidents.

Jin Xiaoye said, "Taking a boat costs one penny… I'll go with dad, and it'll be fine with the two of us."

Before, Jin Xiaoye used to take boats as well, but now they didn't have enough money!

As for Li Qingzhi wanting to go, Jin Xiaoye wouldn't mind taking him on a boat to the county town if she had money. But she didn't have any!

Jin Xiaoye said to Li Qingzhi, "You stay home and take care of Damao and Ermao. I'll buy some delicious food for you to enjoy."

Li Qingzhi could only nod and agree, "Okay."

His body was recovering quickly. Next, he could walk around more to exercise and strive to find a job in the county town half a month later.

Upon careful consideration, he realized he still looked a bit thin and frail. If he were to go to the county town like this, others might not dare to employ him.

But in half a month, he probably wouldn't gain much weight either…

With a sigh, Li Qingzhi couldn't help but carefully chew on the fish bones before swallowing them.

After the meal, Jin Xiaoye went back to her tasks, and Li Qingzhi didn't delay either. He took Damao and Ermao and headed towards the riverside where many villagers liked to gather.

Every evening, there would be many elderly ladies gathered there chatting and gossiping. He wanted to go and listen in!

Chapter 14: Borrowing Books

With so many people there, even if he just stood by and watched, his mood would be lifted.

Another reason was… in the evenings, the villagers would go to the riverside to relax and chat, and the children would also go. Going there would allow Damao and Ermao to play with other children from the village.

He liked Damao and Ermao very much and wished they could always be by his side. But children their age liked to play and run around with their peers… he couldn't confine them.

Li Qingzhi led Damao and Ermao to the vicinity of the riverside, and the two children immediately went off to play with their friends.

As they didn't have a father, there were inevitably some rumors, but because Jin Xiaoye was a native of the village, and half of the people in the Miaoqian Village had the surname Jin, they still had playmates.

However, the children in the Miaoqian Village also had their factions, so there were also children who didn't get along with them. The child of the man who had argued with Jin Xiaoye and Li Qingzhi the day Li Qingzhi returned, and who had quarreled with Jin Xiaoye, bore a grudge against Damao and Ermao.

This man's surname was Yao, and he was named Yao Zuming. He was related to Yao Zhenfu by blood, but their relationship had grown distant.

Yao Zuming was the one who instigated Li Laogen to gamble and lent him money.

Li Laogen did gamble a lot, but he was timid and only gambled on small items like soybeans, fertilizer, firewood, and the like in the village.

Before Li Qingzhi recognized Li Laogen as his father, for a long time, because Li Laogen's younger brother and nephew treated him badly, he couldn't even produce a handful of soybeans and could only stand by and watch others play dice every time.

No one in the village would lend money to Li Laogen, knowing that he wouldn't be able to repay it!

Li Laogen himself wouldn't borrow money from others either. He had never had more than ten coins in his pocket from childhood to adulthood and didn't even have the concept of borrowing money.

At that time, Yao Zuming clearly saw that Li Qingzhi was absent and thought about their family's two acres of land, so he took the initiative to lend money to Li Laogen.

After Li Laogen borrowed the money, he quickly lost it all to Yao Zuming…

He won back the money he had lent out, plus more, and could even go demand repayment. Yao Zuming had indeed made quite a profit!

Jin Xiaoye knew about this and had taken Li Laogen to argue with the Yao family back then, even threatening that if anyone lent money to Li Laogen again, she wouldn't repay it…

After her outburst, no one had lent money to Li Laogen for several years, and Li Laogen no longer dared to borrow money from others. However, she had also made enemies with Yao Zuming, and the two families had been at odds ever since.

Yao Zuming's son, Yao Yuanbao, was slightly older than Damao and Ermao. As Damao and Ermao had two people, conflicts between the two sides were ongoing.

The incident of stealing firewood occurred during the winter when Damao and Ermao knew that their family lacked firewood and brought back some dry grass to put in front of their house.

As a result, when Yao Yuanbao saw it while he was out cutting grass with his basket, he took it away.

Of course, later on, Damao and Ermao managed to snatch the firewood back.

Today, Yao Yuanbao was not around, so Damao and Ermao played with their familiar friends. Damao pointed at Li Qingzhi proudly, saying, "That's my dad!"

"I know, my mom said he's the skinniest in the whole village."

"I heard your dad likes to eat grass, is that true?"

"Why would your dad eat grass?"

…

Ermao said, "I don't know why my dad likes to eat grass. I've tasted it, and it's not tasty at all." He thought his dad's brain was really messed up, but his mom didn't allow him to say that.

Damao, on the other hand, was more reliable. "My dad doesn't eat grass, he eats wild vegetables. My dad has read books, he knows a lot!"

The friends nodded as if they understood, but soon forgot about it and started playing "Cops and Robbers."

Seeing that the children were fine, Li Qingzhi sat on the small stool he had brought and watched the elderly men and women in the village chatting with a smile.

It was still the busy farming season, so the young and middle-aged men in the village were all occupied. Even the young women who were raising silkworms didn't have much free time. But the elderly people usually only had some miscellaneous chores to do, so they had leisure time now.

However, when Li Qingzhi looked at them like this, they felt embarrassed to continue chatting.

There was originally an old lady who wanted to mention that she saw Jin Xiaoshu bringing Li Qingzhi a fish… but now that Li Qingzhi was present, how could she say it?

Also… why did Li Qingzhi look at her with such enthusiasm? It's like he regarded her as his own mother…

In the end, it was Li Qingzhi who spoke first to the old lady beside him who was holding a baby, "Auntie, your granddaughter is really beautiful!"

This auntie was also from the Jin family. When she heard Li Qingzhi's words, she responded, "I think so too, this child has fair skin!"

"And big eyes!" Li Qingzhi added immediately.

"That's right!" The auntie was delighted. "Your sons, Damao and Ermao, are also handsome, taking after you."

Once the conversation started, everyone began chatting. And in the midst of it, the elderly men and women suddenly realized that after Li Qingzhi returned to normalcy, he became even more likable!

Five years ago, Li Qingzhi had some distance from the villagers, although he didn't show it, the villagers could feel it.

Now Li Qingzhi was different. Seeing his eyes and hearing his words, it was clear that Li Qingzhi genuinely liked them!

As they chatted, Li Qingzhi also told them about some things outside the village, such as how people lived in the city… things they had never heard before!

Although some of them had been to the county seat, they were too cautious to look around and only went to a few fixed places, so they didn't know much about many things.

Some of them hadn't been to the county seat for more than ten or twenty years, only having been there when they were young.

Both sides were having a good time chatting when a small boat approached and stopped by the riverbank.

"Master Yao is back!" someone exclaimed.

Li Qingzhi looked over and saw Yao Zhenfu and his father. Yao Zhenfu's father had been rowing boats for over twenty years, and the villagers always called him Yao Boateng.

The men in this village were generally shorter compared to those in later generations. Even Li Qingzhi was the tallest person in the village.

However, Mr. Yao was even slightly shorter than the average person, standing at about 1.6 meters.

But his shoulders were wide, and his arms were thick, clearly indicating his strength.

It was understandable since he rowed boats all day; his arms had to be strong.

Mr. Yao wore a sleeveless jacket, loosely hanging on his body, and a knee-length shorts, no different from the other men in the village. Yao Zhenfu, on the other hand, was dressed differently. He wore a scholar's robe, which looked quite hot.

And indeed, he was very hot. The kerchief on his head was soaked with sweat, and his face was oily and covered in sweat.

Yao Zhenfu was even a little shorter and fatter than Mr. Yao. He kept covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve. As soon as the boat docked, he couldn't wait to jump off and complain, "Dad, your boat stinks too much! Can't you wash it?"

Mr. Yao looked helpless. "I've already washed it."

"But it's still not clean… I think I'll take someone else's boat back tomorrow," Yao Zhenfu said, not caring. Then he complained to Mr. Yao, "Dad, maybe you shouldn't take jobs like transporting people in the future."

Mr. Yao didn't say anything. If people in their line of work were picky about jobs, who would hire them in the future? The key issue was that he needed money.

Among the villagers, Yao Zhenfu was considered to earn relatively well, even slightly more than what he revealed to others. However, the family expenses remained tight, especially since he was supporting an aspiring scholar.

Yao Zhenfu attended a private school in the county town, and while the fees charged by the teacher weren't high, there were expenses for books, pens, and paper.

Even thin books with only a few pages cost several dozen yuan, while thicker ones could cost several hundred yuan. Paper and ink were also not cheap… Their family didn't have much savings.

Initially, Yao Zhenfu sold a piece of land to Li Qingzhi to build a house because he saw that Yao Zhenfu was about to get married, yet the family didn't have much money.

In fact, Yao Zhenfu was already twenty-two and had become a father, so technically, he could find work to support his family. But Yao Zhenfu wanted to become a scholar…

Mr. Yao silently stopped the boat.

Yao Zhenfu stood on the stone steps, straightened his clothes, and then looked up, coincidentally seeing Li Qingzhi standing up.

Li Qingzhi was a head taller than him, so Yao Zhenfu had to look up!

"Li Qingzhi?" Yao Zhenfu hesitated for a moment before calling out Li Qingzhi's name.

He knew Li Qingzhi had returned, but he hadn't met him yet. Even five years ago, he and Li Qingzhi weren't very familiar.

Firstly, because he went to school in the county town early in the morning and returned late at night, and secondly… there was quite a gap in appearance between him and Li Qingzhi, and he didn't want to stand beside Li Qingzhi.

At that time, people in the village said that Li Qingzhi was good-looking and that his knowledge must be better than Yao Zhenfu's… Yao Zhenfu felt quite annoyed.

But later, someone confirmed that Li Qingzhi wasn't knowledgeable, and after five years, Li Qingzhi's health had deteriorated, and he had become skinny and looked like a ghost… Yao Zhenfu felt a sense of superiority in front of Li Qingzhi now.

"Brother Yao, long time no see!" Li Qingzhi smiled warmly, looking enthusiastic.

He found Yao Zhenfu to be quite friendly.

It had been a long time since he had seen his chubby friend!

Yao Zhenfu didn't know that Li Qingzhi now seemed to like everyone he saw, greeting them warmly. He thought that Li Qingzhi was trying to flatter him.

Upon careful consideration, Yao's family was indeed poor now. It was normal for Li Qingzhi to try to flatter him.

Yao Zhenfu wiped the sweat from his face and smiled slightly, "Long time no see! Since Brother Li is back, we can find some time to discuss scholarly matters together."

Before, Yao Zhenfu didn't dare to discuss scholarly matters with Li Qingzhi, but now that the scholar from the neighboring village had confirmed that Li Qingzhi wasn't knowledgeable and Li Qingzhi hadn't touched a book in over five years, Yao Zhenfu wasn't afraid anymore.

"No problem. As long as you're willing to learn, you can always pick up your knowledge again," Yao Zhenfu said.

Li Qingzhi sighed with a worried expression, "It's a pity. My knowledge wasn't good to begin with, and it's been over five years since I touched a book…"

"It's okay. As long as you're willing to learn, you can always pick up your knowledge again," Yao Zhenfu said.

Then Li Qingzhi asked, "Brother Yao is right! Brother Yao, I have an awkward request."

"What?" Yao Zhenfu asked.

Li Qingzhi said, "Brother Yao, when I fled, I didn't take a single book from home, and later, I didn't have the money to buy books… Brother Yao, would you be willing to lend me some books? Brother Yao, please rest assured, I will take good care of the books, and if any are damaged, I will definitely compensate."

Books were expensive at this time, and damaging them would require compensation.

As for why he wanted to borrow books… Li Qingzhi did indeed plan to find a job in the county town first to earn some money to support his family, but he also had plans for the future.

In this era, life was quite unfair. Ordinary people faced hardships, various corvée duties, and even if they acquired wealth, it was challenging to retain it.

If possible, Li Qingzhi wanted to achieve a successful career in the civil service examination.

However, the original owner's knowledge was quite ordinary, so Li Qingzhi had to start learning from scratch.

Yao Zhenfu hesitated slightly, "What books do you want to borrow? Some of the books I also want to read."

Li Qingzhi said, "Brother Yao, lending me a copy of the 'Three Character Classic' would be enough. I want to teach my two children to memorize it."

Yao Zhenfu readily agreed, "Brother Li, let's go get the book!" If Li Qingzhi had asked to borrow some of the more expensive books, Yao Zhenfu would have hesitated.

However, the "Three Character Classic"… Yao Zhenfu had no problem lending it.

Yao Zhenfu even felt a sense of superiority – he hadn't expected Li Qingzhi to forget even the "Three Character Classic"!

Although his knowledge was only average, he had memorized this book.

Chapter 15: Endorsement 1/2

After Yao Zhenfu called Li Qingzhi to fetch the book, he walked ahead.

Li Qingzhi glanced back—Mr. Yao had just moored the boat and was still unloading things from it!

He was carrying quite a lot, and he even took a carrying pole to carry them. Wouldn't Yao Zhenfu help?

Well, he really wouldn't help. His book box was over where Mr. Yao was…

"Why aren't you going, Brother Li?" Yao Zhenfu asked.

Li Qingzhi smiled and followed along. Since Mr. Yao, the father, didn't mind, what else could he say? If he really said something, Mr. Yao might blame him for meddling.

He indeed liked the people around him, but his experiences from the end of the world had also taught him one thing: don't meddle in others' affairs.

Although Li Qingzhi had improved a bit, he still walked quite slowly. Fortunately, Yao Zhenfu was short, and his pace wasn't fast either, so the two of them could walk side by side.

Before long, Mr. Yao, carrying the carrying pole, caught up with them.

The people who were enjoying the coolness by the river continued their conversation after they left. The aunt who had a good chat with Li Qingzhi just now couldn't help but say, "Those two… one is like a short winter melon, and the other is like a clothesline."

Li Qingzhi was the tallest person in the village, but after losing weight, he looked like a bamboo pole.

As for Yao Zhenfu… they didn't think he was fat before. They even thought he looked wealthy, like a city dweller or a landlord. But when he walked beside Li Qingzhi, he was too short!

The people in the village continued chatting, but Li Qingzhi had already followed Yao Zhenfu to Yao's house.

People in this era liked to build courtyards. According to the original owner's memory, some large households in the countryside would dig deep foundations for the courtyard walls, and the walls would be as high as three meters to prevent thieves.

However, there were few landlords in the Miaoqian Village, so there were no such houses. Most families just built simple fences.

The Yao family made fences from bamboo, enclosing their vegetable garden to prevent chickens from pecking at the vegetables.

Passing by the vegetable garden, they saw the Yao family's house. The Yao family had four rooms facing south side by side, and behind these four rooms, there were also an outhouse and a pigsty.

Li Qingzhi saw that one of the room's doors was wide open, and in the middle was a square table with various items placed around it.

Li Qingzhi's family had few belongings, not even a square table, but looking at the Yao family, they had almost everything a rural household would need.

Yao Zhenfu pushed open the door of the westernmost room, and Li Qingzhi saw a study inside, with a desk, a chair, and several cabinets.

Judging from the arrangement, it was indeed a study.

Yao's house was considered large in the village, but there weren't too many rooms. Yao Zhenfu's having a south-facing room as a study was quite prestigious in this household.

In this era, people were not accustomed to pampering children. Girls had to start learning household chores and silk farming at a very young age, while boys slightly older had to work in the fields.

Even though Grandpa and Grandma Jin favored Uncle Jin's family, the cousins in Uncle Jin's family were also sent to work in the fields when they were around ten years old.

Of course, they were lazy and unwilling to work, but that was another matter.

Yao Zhenfu, who never worked in the fields, was indeed unique in the village.

However, in this era, literate people were indeed highly respected. If Yao Zhenfu could achieve something in the imperial examinations… then all the efforts Mr. Yao had invested in him would be worthwhile.

Even if Yao Zhenfu, after studying, could find a job in the county town, he would live a comfortable life for the rest of his life.

Yao Zhenfu handed Li Qingzhi a copy of the "Three Character Classic" and encouraged him with refined words to study well.

As Li Qingzhi walked out with the book, he saw Yao's mother and Mr. Yao organizing things together, with Jin Moli holding a girl in her arms and leading a boy, trying to help out.

Yao's mother glared at Jin Moli fiercely and scolded, "You're always getting in the way. Get out of here!"

Yao's mother wasn't kind to Jin Molan, but she was very polite to Li Qingzhi. "Oh, it's Xiaoli Li. Do you want to have a meal at our place?"

Most people in the village ate two meals a day, but Yao's family ate three meals. Mr. Yao and Yao Zhenfu had a meal before they left in the early morning, Yao's mother took a simple meal with Jin Moli and the grandchildren at noon, and then Mr. Yao and Yao Zhenfu would have a meal together when they returned in the evening.

"Auntie, I've already eaten." Li Qingzhi politely declined, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then left.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, Yao's mother began to instruct Jin Moli, "Your father bought tofu, go to the kitchen and cook it!"

Jin Moli picked up the tofu and went into the kitchen with her children to cook it.

Houses in the county town were expensive, and renting was also costly. Yao Zhenfu had been studying in the county town for more than ten years, and Mr. Yao had been picking him up and dropping him off every day. Therefore, Yao Zhenfu and Jin Moli had two children in these five years.

These two children were all taken care of by Jin Moli, who also had to cook, do laundry, and feed the chickens.

Of course, Yao's mother was also busy. Mr. Yao earned more money from ferrying than from farming, so he was busy outside every day and had no time to work in the fields.

They had ten acres of paddy fields alone, and although Yao's mother hired people to do the heavy work, she still had to do some light tasks herself. When others were working, she had to supervise, so she was not idle.

Jin Moli went into the kitchen and took out the "oil pot".

During the winter, the Yao family would grow rapeseed, and the seeds from the rapeseed could be sold for money or exchanged for oil at the oil mill. Therefore, they had oil, but Yao's mother didn't allow Jin Moli to use much of it. Only when Yao Zhenfu was at home could she use oil for cooking.

In the "oil pot", there wasn't visible oil; there was only a piece of gauze soaked in oil.

Jin Moli used chopsticks to take out the gauze and wiped it in the pot. The pot got a little oily, and then she added tofu and water, along with some salted vegetables, making a stewed tofu with salted vegetables.

Most people in the village rarely spend money. They ate whatever they had at . Yao bought tofu almost every day, and many people in the village envied him for it.

But Jin Moli ate it every day and got tired of it!

She remembered clearly that by this time in her previous life, Yao's family was already living quite well. Mr. Yao would occasionally buy some meat, which made her envy him endlessly. Why didn't she have such a good life in this life?

Was it because Mr. Yao liked Jin Xiaoye more and didn't like her?

Even though Jin Xiaoye quarreled with Yao Zhenfu all day long and even fought with him, why did Mr. Yao still prefer Jin Xiaoye?

Jin Moli felt a little depressed, but when she thought of Li Qingzhi having to eat wild grass due to hunger, she felt relieved.

She felt that tofu was not delicious, but others wanted to eat it and couldn't!

While Jin Moli was cooking, Mr. Yao said to his wife, "Don't be so harsh on Moli."

"I haven't done anything!" Yao's mother said coldly, "If I don't send her away, she'll just stand here and stare, calculating how much money you've made… I just don't like her. She spends money recklessly and acts like I'm withholding money from her."

"You're overthinking it." Mr. Yao felt that this daughter-in-law was still okay. She was diligent and didn't throw a tantrum even when scolded.

Yao's mother remained silent and started discussing other matters with Mr. Yao, calculating the household expenses—Yao Zhenfu's education cost too much, to the extent that they had no savings at all.

On the other side, Li Qingzhi walked towards the riverhead while reading the book in his hand.

He walked slowly anyway.

In Daqi, becoming a scholar could exempt one from corvée labor, but becoming a scholar was not easy.

Chapter 15: Endorsement 2/2

If it were easy to become a scholar, the original owner wouldn't have given up completely.

But Li Qingzhi still wanted to give it a try.

He had managed to survive until the end of the apocalypse, hadn't he? What was there to be afraid of in studying? Besides, he had the "Golden Finger".

After the apocalypse began, various strange and unique abilities emerged.

At first, he thought his "Golden Finger" could only remove harmful substances from his body and purify internal pollution.

But later, he found that his "Golden Finger" could do more than that.

It could control his body!

He could use his "Golden Finger" to make his body strong, stimulate his brain, make his brain cells more active, and learn faster.

His "Golden Finger" couldn't be used for combat, but it had enhanced his physical fitness, so he did have some combat capabilities later on.

Moreover, after stimulating his brain, his memory became very good, and his reactions became very quick, comparable to those who had undergone intellectual enhancements during the apocalypse.

In the first few years, he desperately wanted to end the apocalypse and even joined a specialized research institute to try to figure out how to eliminate pollution, but unfortunately, he didn't come up with anything useful.

Speaking of which, he was able to survive until the end in his previous life because he had always used his "Golden Finger" to adjust his body, allowing him to consume less energy.

In this life, with a different body, his memory was not as good as before. He inherited the memories of the original owner…

Five whole years without touching a book, and the original owner had forgotten how to recite even the "Three Character Classic".

But as long as he keeps it for a while, he can develop his brain with golden fingers.

It will be much easier for him to study when the time comes .

Li Qingzhi held the book and compared the words with the memories of the original owner, quickly arriving at the riverhead.

Li Laogen had already returned from the fields and was bathing in the river wearing shorts.

Several men from the village were washing alongside him, teasing him about being thin and small, not like a real man, and saying they could lift him with just one hand.

Li Laogen just smiled in response.

Li Qingzhi said, "Dad, are you done washing? It's time for us to go back."

Li Laogen immediately got up from the river and said, "Let's go, let's go!"

Li Damao and Li Ermao were playing happily with their friends, a little reluctant to leave, but it was getting dark… They ran to Li Qingzhi's side and held his hand.

Li Qingzhi didn't immediately take them back home. These two kids had been playing all day and were covered in sweat!

There were several places along the riverbank paved with stone slabs or gravel, convenient for washing things. Li Qingzhi found a spot where no one was around, let the two kids bathe, and watched over them, occasionally helping to scrub their backs.

"Dad, from now on, you should be the one to bathe us," Li Ermao said, "Mom is too strong!"

Li Damao nodded seriously.

Li Laogen chuckled from the side, "Xiaoye's grip is very strong. Every time she bathes these two kids, it's like she's slaughtering a pig. They keep yelling and screaming."

"That's right, that's right!" Li Ermao listened proudly, "We are little pigs!"

Li Damao said, "You are, not me. I don't want to be a pig."

"Why not? Pork is delicious!" Li Ermao didn't understand.

Li Qingzhi couldn't help but laugh at his antics. "Ermao is the little pig. Come on, let me take a bite."

Li Qingzhi pretended to bite him, which frightened Li Ermao, who quickly hid behind Li Damao. "Dad, don't eat me." His dad ate everything, and now he wanted to eat him?

Li Qingzhi laughed heartily. "Ermao, don't worry. Dad won't eat you. You're Dad's son, more important than Dad himself. How could Dad possibly eat you? At most, I'll just give you a kiss."

After giving a kiss to his two children, Li Qingzhi dried his hands and then took the nearby "Three Character Classic," leading Li Damao and Li Ermao back home.

When they arrived home, it was almost dark, and Jin Xiaoye had also returned, hanging up his wet clothes.

Most people in the village went to bed when it got dark, but some continued to chat and cool off outside until late, and some even slept outdoors, thinking it was cooler outside.

Li Qingzhi remembered reading about night blindness in ancient times.

In Daqi, there were indeed many people with night blindness, but in Chongcheng County, the number of such people was relatively small compared to the total population.

This was probably also related to the region. Chongcheng County was located in the south, where there were vegetables and radishes to eat in winter, and people could occasionally eat fish and shrimp. Although the living conditions were not as good as in modern times, compared to other places, the villagers here were relatively well off.

However, people in this era indeed didn't like going out at night.

Firstly, there were no streetlights at this time, and if the weather was bad, it would be pitch black, making it impossible to see even if you didn't have night blindness. Secondly… without surveillance cameras, some criminals were bold and reckless. Going to unfamiliar places at night could be dangerous.

Chongcheng County, where Li Qingzhi's family lived, was relatively wealthy and didn't have bandits, but the county where the original owner's father had served as an official, Yu County, had many villages that organized patrols of young men at night.

Otherwise, if some food or poultry was stolen, it was a minor issue, but if a group of bandits came, the entire village would be in trouble.

Li Qingzhi's family had very few belongings, not even oil, so there were no oil lamps.

Today, there was no moon… After lying down, the house was truly pitch black.

Since everyone wasn't sleepy yet, Li Qingzhi told Li Damao and Li Ermao stories. This time, he told them a story about a righteous official who encountered trouble in a village while carrying out his duties and cleverly resolved it.

These were stories the original owner had heard while accompanying his master on official duties. He told them to tell Jin Xiaoye and even Li Damao and Li Ermao to broaden their horizons.

Jin Xiaoye said, "You know so much."

Li Qingzhi said, "I used to know people from the county office, so I know a little more."

The original owner hardly ever talked about his past, fearing that his identity would be discovered.

He even went to the county town cautiously every time, afraid of encountering someone who knew him.

Li Qingzhi, on the other hand, was much more open.

He was very thin now, completely different from the original owner in the past. As for the future… he planned to use his golden finger to slightly change his facial features.

With slightly fairer skin and larger eyes, he would look nothing like before.

"You even know people from the county office…" Jin Xiaoye sighed, feeling that the county office was a distant place for her.

Li Qingzhi said, "I know them. Actually, they're just ordinary people… Xiaoye, Damao, and Ermao, let me teach you to recite the 'Three Character Classic.'"

The original owner had forgotten the content of the later chapters, but he remembered the beginning. After reviewing it again, he could teach Jin Xiaoye and the children and explain it to them.

In modern times, four-year-old children would probably find reciting such ancient texts boring, but in ancient times, without even an oil lamp… Li Damao and Li Ermao recited with great enthusiasm.

Hearing the two children reciting, Jin Xiaoye felt especially good and said to Li Qingzhi, "Aqing, you teach the children well. When I have money, I'll buy you books."

Li Qingzhi: "…" Seeing Jin Xiaoye's recent words and actions… it seemed like she wanted him to stay home and take care of the children while she went out to earn money to support the family.

He was very willing to live off her, but he had a big appetite, and Jin Xiaoye might not be able to afford it.

Chapter 16: County Town

Afterward, Li Qingzhi spent his time cooking, going out for walks to exercise, and reading the "Three Character Classic" at home.

He needed to familiarize himself with the text of this era to solidify the knowledge of the original host.

Yao Zhenfu's copy of the "Three Character Classic" was printed. Such printed books were expensive in the Yu County where the original host lived before, but they would be cheaper in Chongcheng County.

The literary atmosphere was flourishing in the Jiangnan region, and there were many bookstores engaged in printing books. With many bookstores, the prices of books naturally came down.

Yu County, on the other hand, was different. At that time, there was only one bookstore in the entire county town, where the books were not only expensive but also of poor quality.

When the original host was learning the "Three Character Classic," he used the copy handwritten by his elder brother. Of course, the original host later copied it several times, selecting the clearest handwriting and compiling it into a book for his younger brother.

After many years without review, the original host had forgotten how to recite the content of the "Three Character Classic" at the back, but Li Qingzhi had read it several times and managed to recall these memories.

As for the allusions in the book, the original host was very interested in them, and he remembered them all. It just so happened that he could tell these stories to Jin Xiaoye and the Li brothers while teaching them to recite the book.

As for learning characters, Li Qingzhi felt that there was no rush for the time being.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were still young, as for Jin Xiaoye… it was currently the busy farming season.

While Li Qingzhi stayed at home, Jin Xiaoye picked vegetables from her own yard and took Li Laogen to the county town.

Before they left, Jin Xiaoye asked Li Laogen to put on clothes. While Li Laogen did put them on, he felt uncomfortable twisting and turning, "It's such a hot day, and you still want me to wear clothes…"

"No one walks around shirtless in the county town!" Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Laogen grumbled, "Those folks from the county town just like to fuss around." After saying that, he complained softly, feeling that those city people looked down on him.

Li Qingzhi felt a little helpless. In fact, not only the city people but also the villagers looked down on Li Laogen. These days, he had seen many men in the village making fun of Li Laogen.

But complaints aside, Li Laogen obediently followed Jin Xiaoye to the county town.

In fact, he liked going to the county town. Even if he did nothing there and returned afterward, he could still boast to the villagers.

Speaking of which, before being taken to the county town by Jin Xiaoye, Li Laogen had only been there as a child with his parents, and he hadn't been there since.

After half an hour, Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen arrived at the county town. Upon entering the town, Jin Xiaoye knocked on a household's door.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman with her hair tied up in a bun, fair skin, and a round face. When she saw Jin Xiaoye, she smiled and said, "Xiaoye, it's been a long time since you last came. Is it because of the busy farming season?"

"Sister Wang, it's not just because of the farming season… my husband has come back!"

The woman surnamed Wang was somewhat surprised. "He's back?"

"Yes, he's back. He was captured by bandits when he went out last time and was sold off. He managed to escape after many hardships."

Jin Xiaoye briefly explained Li Qingzhi's situation, and Sister Wang said, "Thank goodness he's safe." After saying that, a hint of worry appeared on Sister Wang's face.

Five years ago, Jin Xiaoye was in dire straits, pregnant and selling things in the county.

She wasn't favored in the Jin family, and she rarely went to the county before getting married. When she arrived in the county back then, she didn't even know where to go, let alone Li Laogen, who was even more clueless. He was just dumbfounded at the time, only knowing to hide behind her.

Fortunately, she was always daring. With determination, she went door-to-door, selling her goods.

She sold them cheaply, and along the way, she sold everything she had.

The woman in front of her, Sister Wang, was someone she met during that time.

Sister Wang's husband was a traveling merchant. He bought cloth on this side of Chongcheng County, took a boat to sell elsewhere, bought some goods from elsewhere, and brought them back to Chongcheng County to sell. He often stayed out for several months at a time.

Now, upon hearing about Li Qingzhi's encounter with bandits from Jin Xiaoye, Sister Wang began to worry about her husband who was often away.

Jin Xiaoye also noticed Sister Wang's concern and comforted her before leaving behind some vegetables brought from home and departing.

Sister Wang wanted to pay for the vegetables, but Jin Xiaoye refused to accept any money, saying she just came to check on her and give her peace of mind, and the vegetables were of little value.

Sister Wang didn't insist on paying for the vegetables. Instead, she gave Jin Xiaoye a small dried fish, saying it was for Li Qingzhi to help him recover.

Chongcheng County was not far from the seaside, where people specialized in fishing for a living would collect salted fish, dried fish, dried seaweed, and similar items to sell in Chongcheng County.

These items were inexpensive, with a pound costing just ten cents, and dried goods were practical… People in the city couldn't afford to eat meat every day, but steaming a salty fish every few days was no problem.

After chatting for a while, Sister Wang learned that Jin Xiaoye would come to the county again in half a month. She took out some money and asked Jin Xiaoye to buy a rooster for her in the village when she came next time, and she also asked her to help kill and pluck the chicken.

Nowadays, only live chickens were sold on the market, but Sister Wang didn't like to slaughter chickens herself.

Jin Xiaoye accepted the money and agreed readily.

Coming out of Sister Wang's house, Jin Xiaoye turned a corner and saw Li Laogen sitting in a corner, huddled up with a basket.

Li Laogen was timid and didn't dare to talk to people from the city. Jin Xiaoye tried to get him to come to Sister Wang's house with her, but he adamantly refused and waited outside.

Although Jin Xiaoye received a lot of vegetables from Sister Wang, which were not less valuable than the dried fish Sister Wang gave her, Li Laogen still had a lot of vegetables in the basket he held.

With these vegetables, Jin Xiaoye went to the houses of the people who had employed her before and gave them some.

For these two households, she gave more, for the remaining ones she visited briefly and also gave some dishes, but comparatively less.

After touring the county town, Jin Xiaoye went to the seafood shop in the county town.

The seafood shop is where they sell salted fish and seaweed. Before Jin Xiaoye came to the county town, someone from the village asked her to buy some salted fish and seaweed.

The cheapest salted fish is pickled small miscellaneous fish. You can buy two kilograms of it for ten cents. When you get home, you can take two taels and steam them on the steamer. The whole family can eat an extra bowl of rice with the salted fish.

The same goes for seaweed. Cut a piece from the dried seaweed, stew it with tofu after soaking it, and it's decent enough to serve to guests.

Before entering the seafood shop, Jin Xiaoye smelled a strong fishy smell. At the same time, she noticed that Li Laogen had slipped away again and was hiding under the nearby wall, afraid to enter the shop.

Jin Xiaoye was both angry and amused. The first time she came to the county town, she was also helpless because she had no money in her pocket, but Li Laogen was really more serious about it!

While Jin Xiaoye was busy in the county town, Li Qingzhi, along with Li Damao and Li Ermao, were out catching fish.

He currently didn't have the strength to dive into the water to catch them, but there were other ways to catch fish.

Taking a bamboo basket, putting some grains of rice and a stone in it, tying it with a rope, sinking it into the water, waiting for the fish to come into the basket to eat the rice, and then quickly lifting the basket could also catch fish.

However, what they caught this way were mostly finger-sized fish and small shrimps, and the harvest wouldn't be much. Usually, only children would do this.

It was only because Li Qingzhi was craving a taste that he would do it himself.

The rivers at this time were very clear. People in this era would make the most of everything. Manure was used as fertilizer, old vegetable leaves were used to feed chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep, and scraps of cloth could be used to patch shoes… People hardly produced any waste, so the river water was very clear.

After Li Qingzhi put the basket in the water, he saw minnows swimming in… He seized the opportunity and lifted it up, finding two slender fish the thickness of fingers in the basket.

"Wow!" Li Damao and Li Ermao were extremely excited.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi put the basket back into the water and then began teaching the two children to count their fingers: "One, two, three… You have five fingers on one hand, and ten fingers altogether with both hands…"

Li Damao and Li Ermao were thrilled to learn to count for the first time, and seeing this, Li Qingzhi gave them another question: "Damao has two eggs, Ermao also has two eggs, how many eggs do you both have together?"

The two children who had just learned to count started counting on their fingers.

While they were busy with this, a man wearing a straw hat strolled over.

Li Qingzhi instinctively looked up, took a step forward, and stood in front of Li Damao and Li Ermao.

He sensed malice from this man.

However, Li Qingzhi quickly relaxed again, and even flashed a smile at the man.

He suddenly realized that this wasn't the apocalypse, and the man in front of him wasn't a zombie that would lunge at him!

He was a person!

The public security in Daqi couldn't be compared to the modern era where there were surveillance cameras everywhere, but living in the same village, even if people argued, they generally wouldn't resort to violence.

Of course, this also had to do with the regional culture; the people in Chongcheng County were not known for their aggressiveness.

The person who came was Yao Zuming. Initially, he encouraged Li Laogen to gamble and even lent him money. After the conflict with Jin Xiaoye, he spoke ill of her in the village.

But living in the same village, everyone knew each other! No one took Yao Zuming's words seriously.

To the villagers, Jin Xiaoye was slightly more trustworthy than Yao Zuming. At least Jin Xiaoye never took advantage of others, unlike Yao Zuming's family… Their vegetable plot was adjacent to others', yet whenever no one was around, they wouldn't pick from their own land but instead picked from others'. Even if caught, they would deny it.

Yao Zuming came specifically after seeing Li Qingzhi, but he didn't expect Li Qingzhi to greet him with a smile. He seemed a bit taken aback.

But he quickly recovered: "Hmm, our top scholar's hands have become so rough, can you still hold a pen?"

Li Qingzhi smiled even wider.

During the apocalypse, whether it was zombies or those people… if he encountered someone with ill intentions, they might attack him directly!

But now? Yao Zuming was just being sarcastic!

Li Qingzhi remained calm: "My hands are fine, I can still hold a pen." The original owner's hands were not in great shape due to moving stones all day, causing deformities in the fingers. But he had the golden finger, which could restore his hands.

Unwilling to let the argument die down, Yao Zuming continued: "Even if you can still hold a pen, you probably can't afford to buy one, right? Your family can't even afford pens! Li Qingzhi, are you struggling to put food on the table? Otherwise, why would you be digging wild grass everywhere?"

Yao Zuming had an average appearance, and now he wore a particularly unpleasant expression, making him even more disagreeable.

But he wouldn't come to bite his neck, would he?

Li Qingzhi's mood remained good: "I just like eating wild vegetables."

Yao Zuming continued his attack: "Like eating wild grass? Do you think you're a sheep! I say, isn't it because you're useless and Jin Xiaoye despises you, not feeding you properly? With your physique, you definitely can't satisfy her…"

Li Qingzhi didn't mind Yao Zuming's sarcastic remarks about himself, as they were harmless. But when he crossed the line by talking about Jin Xiaoye, he responded calmly: "My wife Xiaoye is very good to me. She gives me whatever tasty food we have at home… Are you speaking from experience? Are you also unable to satisfy your wife?"

After saying this, Li Qingzhi looked at Yao Zuming sympathetically.

Previously, Yao Zuming had spoken ill of Li Qingzhi, expecting him to retaliate. Now that Li Qingzhi had countered, Yao Zuming felt uncomfortable! "You're damn useless! Li Qingzhi, you're just a waste. Let me tell you, Jin Xiaoye will eventually leave you. She's already got her eye on Da Zhuang from the neighboring village!"

There was a single man named Da Zhuang in the neighboring village who had always been interested in Jin Xiaoye and wanted to marry into the Li family.

In the surrounding rural areas of Chongcheng County, when a man died, leaving behind a wife and children, the woman had three options.

The first option was to remain a widow and raise her children alone.

The second option was to remarry. Generally, when remarrying, she wouldn't take her children with her, nor would she take away the assets and land of her deceased husband. Those assets would be left for the children.

The third option was to find a man to marry into the family, allowing him to take the husband's surname and help raise the children. If she had more children with this new husband, they would also take the surname of the woman's deceased husband.

Many women chose the third option, especially if there was no man in the house to do heavy labor.

Many men were willing to do this as well, ultimately for survival and for land.

Land was valuable, especially in densely populated plains like those around Chongcheng County. There was no uncultivated land here, and it was impossible to reclaim land.

In such circumstances, some families only had two or three acres of land, and they were very poor, yet they happened to have several sons. What should they do in such situations?

Parents often couldn't afford to provide each son with money to get married, so there were many bachelors.

Even if the parents managed to scrape together enough money for each son to marry… how much land would each son have after dividing it up? If these sons had more children, eventually someone would end up being a bachelor without their own land.

Wasn't Li Laogen just like this?

Then there were some families who faced difficulties and had to sell their land, leaving them with nothing. They could only rent land from landlords or work odd jobs to make a living.

Li Qingzhi's family wasn't affluent, but compared to those people… their situation was relatively stable.

During years of natural disasters and poor harvests, rice yields were only half of what they would be in normal years, but the agreement with the landlord still demanded seven-tenths of the usual yield as rent… After working hard all year, the tenant farmers would end up owing the landlord money by the year's end!

Many landless people couldn't afford to marry, so they didn't mind marrying into other families or changing their surnames. As long as they could survive and have enough to eat, that was good enough for them.

For those who hadn't even achieved food and clothing security, they didn't even consider dignity.

A few years ago, when everyone thought Li Qingzhi wouldn't return, seeing that Jin Xiaoye was young and her family still had a house and two acres of land… the man from the neighboring village who had no land, called Da Zhuang, offered himself, wanting to be recognized by Li Laogen as his son and marry Jin Xiaoye, changing his surname to Li and becoming Jin Xiaoye's husband.

Li Laogen was tempted at the time, but Jin Xiaoye didn't agree.

Their family only had two acres of land. Jin Xiaoye could manage the work herself, so why add another person?

Moreover, if they were to have more children in the future… life would only get harder. With just two acres of land, there wouldn't be enough to go around when the children grew up!

Li Qingzhi wasn't aware of this incident, but he trusted Jin Xiaoye.

At this moment, he looked at Yao Zuming in astonishment. "You said… you got together with Da Zhuang from the neighboring village?"

Yao Zuming was taken aback, exasperated. "Are you deaf? I said it was Jin Xiaoye!"

"Mind your own business." Li Qingzhi looked at the irritable Yao Zuming seriously.

Yao Zuming exploded, "Your brain must be broken!"

Yao Zuming was about to start cursing loudly when some villagers approached. They were the two old ladies who had been chatting with Li Qingzhi by the river every day recently.

Upon seeing the situation by the river, the two women immediately became angry and spoke up for their friend Li Qingzhi. "Yao Zuming, don't bully Xiao Li!"

Chapter 17: Sister-in-law

Yao Zuming didn't think he was bullying Li Qingzhi: "When did I bully him?"

"I heard you cursing and talking nonsense here from a distance!" The two old ladies drove Yao Zuming away.

Yao Zuming left dejectedly, shooting a resentful glance at Li Qingzhi before departing.

Li Qingzhi wanted to laugh.

Although the public security in this era couldn't compare to modern societies with the rule of law, in Miaoqian Village, if Yao Zuming had ill intentions toward him, he would only speak a few words at most.

This world was truly good!

Of course, Li Qingzhi didn't laugh out loud. He even looked a little aggrieved.

Seeing this, the two old ladies couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

After Li Qingzhi disappeared, people in the village had mostly cursed him behind his back. As a result, when Li Qingzhi returned, they felt a bit guilty towards him.

Moreover, Li Qingzhi had been warm and friendly lately… In any case, now the people in the village sympathized with Li Qingzhi.

Of course, they also sympathized with Jin Xiaoye – now she had one more person to support!

"Xiao Li, don't listen to Yao Zuming's nonsense. That guy never speaks the truth." One of the old ladies spoke up.

Yao Zuming had often spoken ill of Jin Xiaoye in the village, but they all knew he was talking nonsense.

Jin Xiaoye indeed went out often, but that was all to support the family!

If she had any other thoughts, she would have found another man long ago. The fact that she hadn't found anyone else indicated that she simply didn't have such thoughts.

Moreover, at the time, everyone thought Li Qingzhi had run away… Even if Jin Xiaoye had found someone else, it would have been normal. They couldn't blame Jin Xiaoye for that.

"I know, he's just talking nonsense." Li Qingzhi nodded seriously.

The two old ladies had come to wash vegetables. Miaoqian Village had plenty of water, so except for the Yao family, which had its own well, other families washed their things by the river and fetched water from it.

However, families with better conditions would have a large water tank at home for convenience.

Li Qingzhi's family didn't have such conditions; after all, a large water tank was not cheap. Fortunately, their house was close to the river. It was less than fifty meters away, so they could just go and fetch a bucket of water whenever they needed it.

Li Qingzhi chatted with the two old ladies for a while before going to fetch the bamboo basket again. This time, there were three small fish and three river shrimps in the basket.

Unfortunately, because he had been delayed for a while, the rice he had put in was almost gone – he had only put in a little rice to begin with.

Li Qingzhi killed the small fish directly by the river. He didn't mind eating them whole, but since the children were there, he still needed to wash them…

"Initially, Dad caught two fish, and then he caught three more fish. How many fish are there in total?"

"There are five fish in total, right? How can five be divided?"

"You're so good, Dad! You both got it right!"

…

Li Qingzhi took Li Damao and Li Ermao back home and gave them a handful of soybeans to count, teaching them addition and subtraction within five.

At first, Li Damao and Li Ermao were a bit rusty, but as they continued to calculate, they got the hang of it.

Just watching these two children learning made Li Qingzhi feel overjoyed. Now that these two children were still diligently studying arithmetic… Li Qingzhi praised them as if it cost him nothing.

Li Damao and Li Ermao became even more motivated to learn.

When Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen walked back home from the county town, they were already very exhausted. Carrying things while walking wasn't a big deal for Jin Xiaoye, but she had been busy for several days and was a bit tired. Plus, the weather was too hot today…

Li Laogen kept complaining, "I'm definitely not going to the county town next time. It's too hot, and my back hurts…"

"If you don't go, then next time when I get salted fish, you won't have any to eat," Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Laogen closed his mouth and stopped talking.

As they entered the village, they could see smoke rising from some houses in the distance.

Smoke was also curling up from their own house.

When they entered the yard, they heard Li Damao and Li Ermao reciting the "Three Character Classic." After the two of them recited a passage, Li Qingzhi praised them, "Damao and Ermao are really smart! You're the smartest children I've ever seen. Come here, let me give you a kiss."

Li Damao and Li Ermao happily turned their heads to let Li Qingzhi kiss their little black faces.

Seeing this scene and smelling the aroma of rice, Jin Xiaoye suddenly felt that Li Qingzhi's return was quite good.

Before, when she returned home after a day's work, she had to cook by herself, and the two children were always dirty under Li Laogen's care.

But Li Qingzhi's children were different. Look, they could recite books already!

Jin Xiaoye was in a great mood. She took out the salted fish that Sister Wang from the county town had given her. "Sister Wang from the county town gave me a piece of salted fish. We can steam it tomorrow."

"Great! Xiaoye, you're amazing. This salted fish looks delicious!" Li Qingzhi's eyes lit up when he saw the fish.

Seeing his expression and hearing his words, Jin Xiaoye felt even happier. "The newly harvested rice has been dried. Tomorrow I'll pound some, and we can have freshly cooked rice together."

"Great, salted fish with freshly cooked rice will be especially fragrant." Li Qingzhi smiled.

Li Qingzhi steamed the small fish he caught.

There were only a few fish in total. Jin Xiaoye didn't even think about them. She just put them in front of Li Qingzhi and the two children. On the other hand,Li Laogen didn't hesitate to grab one of the fish, saying, "This fish looks good."

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi also picked a fish for Jin Xiaoye.

The remaining three crucian carp were divided among him and the two children, with each of them getting one. The three small shrimp, which didn't have much meat, were also divided among the three of them.

Although the small fish had bones, the people here had been eating fish since they were young and were used to removing the bones. Li Damao and Li Ermao ate them directly.

Li Qingzhi also took a bite. The flesh of the crucian carp was particularly tender and delicate. Even without any seasoning, it provided him with a strong sense of satisfaction from the protein.

However, there was just too little of it.

He could eat a hundred of these finger-sized fish in one go!

"I don't like fish, you eat it," Jin Xiaoye gave the fish Li Qingzhi had picked for her back to him.

"You eat it, Xiaoye. The family still relies on you." Although Li Qingzhi wanted to eat it, he firmly gave the fish back to Jin Xiaoye.

The original owner's body was severely deficient, and Jin Xiaoye's body wasn't much better.

Of course, most farmers in this era were in similar conditions, all lacking in nutrition.

Jin Xiaoye's father and Li Laogen were not yet fifty years old but already had very few teeth. This was due to poor hygiene, as well as exhaustion and lack of nutrition.

Even in the village, it was normal for people to die in their fifties. Those who lived past sixty were considered long-lived.

Jin Xiaoye's grandmother was one of the few long-lived people in the village.

After dinner, Jin Xiaoye planned to go to the field to check on things, but she didn't call Li Laogen. After all, she wasn't planning to do any work today.

So, Li Laogen went with Li Qingzhi to the riverbank to cool off.

Li Qingzhi knew a lot of things and was willing to chat with people. By now, he had become acquainted with the village's elderly women. As for Li Laogen, today there was also a group of people surrounding him, listening to him speak.

After all, Li Laogen had just returned from the county town.

"The county town is huge. The roads there are all paved with stone!"

"I saw a big ship at the dock this time, it had three floors!"

"There were a lot of goods on the dock, and people were selling buns there."

"Xiaoye knows a lot of people. She took me to meet people, and they even gave me salted fish."

…

Li Loagen talked on and on, even bringing up past experiences, his words filled with pride.

At the same time, Li Damao and Li Ermao were also boasting about their father to people, "My dad took us fishing today, and the fish was delicious!"

"My dad even taught us to recite books. Let me recite it for you!"

"Do you know how to count? My dad taught me how to count today!"

…

Although the people of Miaoqian Village were almost all illiterate, they could still count. It's just that Li Damao and Li Ermao were still young, and children of their age really couldn't count.

So, a group of children looked up to Li Damao and Li Ermao in admiration.

Li Ermao, eager to show off, even started reciting, "At the beginning, people are inherently good…"

Although those children didn't understand what he was reciting, it didn't stop them from looking at him enviously.

Li Qingzhi, noticing all this, wanted to kiss the little faces of the two children again.

These were his children, his!

They were just cooling off when they saw Yao Shaogong carrying Yao Zhenfu back.

As soon as Yao Zhenfu reached the shore, he heard Li Damao and Li Ermao reciting the "Three Character Classic."

Li Qingzhi had said before that he would teach the two children to recite books, and now it seemed to be true. It was said that these days, the two children were even being taught by Li Qingzhi himself.

A grown man could only stay at home to take care of the children. How incompetent!

"Brother Yao," Li Qingzhi greeted Yao Zhenfu with a smile, then looked at Li Damao and Li Ermao who were reciting, "Thanks to Brother Yao for lending me the books. I've been free these days, so I taught the children a bit."

"Children of this age should indeed be enlightened. I suffered because I started too late," Yao Zhenfu said. He was sent to school at the age of eight. Before that, he didn't know anything and just played around in the countryside. When he first went to school, he even made a fool of himself.

Thinking of this made Yao Zhenfu feel uncomfortable, but fortunately, he was now very familiar with the county town and was no different from the people there.

"I just let them recite casually," Li Qingzhi smiled, "Brother Yao, I've finished reading the Three Character Classic. Can I return it to you today? Would Brother Yao be willing to lend me another book?"

Yao Zhenfu readily agreed, "Sure."

Li Qingzhi asked Li Laogen to look after the children and then followed Yao Zhenfu back.

Actually, in the village, as long as the children didn't go into the water, they generally wouldn't encounter any danger. The villagers all knew each other, and strangers entering the village would be watched closely.

After returning the Three Character Classic, Li Qingzhi borrowed another book from Yao Zhenfu, a primer called "Thousand Family Poems." Like the Three Character Classic, this was a book that the original owner had memorized and studied, so he should be able to memorize it after studying it for a few days. He could also teach the two children some poetry.

After borrowing the book, Li Qingzhi thanked Yao Zhenfu and went back home. However, as soon as he reached the doorstep, he met a middle-aged woman who looked somewhat familiar.

After thinking for a moment, Li Qingzhi remembered that she was Jin Xiaoye's younger sister-in-law, the one who married into the village.

Jin Xiaoye's grandparents had two daughters after having two sons. Jin Xiaoye's younger sister-in-law was actually only in her thirties, but she looked almost as old as a fifty-year-old in the modern era, with messy hair and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

"Sister-in-law!" Li Qingzhi called out warmly, "Sister-in-law, do you need something? Come in and have a cup of tea?"

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law was a bit unused to Li Qingzhi's warmth, "Is Xiaoye at home?"

"She went to the field, but she should be back soon," Li Qingzhi said.

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law nodded. Seeing that Li Qingzhi had brought out a chair for her, she sat down and took out some vegetables to give to Li Qingzhi. Then she asked, "I heard that Yao Zuming bullied you today?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "It wasn't exactly bullying, just a little dispute."

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law said, "You've been wronged. This Yao Zuming is not a good person at all. Our family has been unlucky for eight generations since we became neighbors with their family…"

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law complained about various excessive actions taken by the Yao family, such as stealing their manure, vegetables, and eggs from their chicken coop. What was even more outrageous was that when the Yao family's chickens laid fewer eggs, they accused Jin Xiaoye's family of stealing them.

Li Qingzhi listened quietly. When he was sick before, Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law didn't come to visit or bring anything, but today she suddenly appeared… Was Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law specifically coming to complain about Yao Zuming to them?

However, he was quite willing to listen.

For him, these trivial matters of life were part of the human experience.

Chapter 18: Rice Pounding

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law was quite talkative and loved to speak.

She began by complaining to Li Qingzhi about Yao Zuming, then moved on to complain about her own family, saying that her in-laws constantly quarreled, her husband didn't take care of anything, and her son was a fool.

Li Qingzhi listened quietly. It seemed that there was quite a bit of human drama in Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law's life!

However, he still enjoyed listening… Li Qingzhi subtly asked about Jin Xiaoye's situation.

Sure enough, Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law started talking about it! She said that Jin Xiaoye had a bad temper, was competitive from a young age, and that Jin Moli was lazy from childhood. She also mentioned that her own mother, Jin Xiaoye's grandmother, favored Jin Moli's family more…

Li Qingzhi summarized it in his mind. It seemed that Jin Xiaoye's grandparents favored Jin Moli's family more. When Jin Moli's three sons were still young, Jin Xiaoye's family did most of the work around the house.

Jin Xiaoye's parents didn't say anything about it, but Jin Xiaoye had a hot temper and would argue with her grandmother.

Li Qingzhi couldn't help but imagine how Jin Xiaoye would stand up for her parents at such a young age and she couldn't help but smile.

He really liked Jin Xiaoye's personality.

Having experienced the apocalypse, he knew one thing very clearly: people could only rely on themselves.

But he didn't like those who were selfish, ruthless, and willing to harm others for their own benefit.

Someone like Jin Xiaoye was really good.

When Jin Xiaoye returned home, she saw Li Qingzhi chatting happily with her sister-in-law.

For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

Jin Xiaoye didn't like Jin Moli and also didn't like her sister-in-law. Or rather… she couldn't stand her.

Before she got married, every time her sister-in-law came back to her parents' house, she would complain endlessly about her in-laws to anyone who would listen, endlessly complaining about everything.

At that time, Jin Xiaoye was so angry when she heard it that she gave her sister-in-law some advice. But her sister-in-law didn't think any of her suggestions would work, so she didn't make any changes and just came back to complain again next time.

As time went on, Jin Xiaoye started avoiding her sister-in-law.

Instead of spending time listening to her sister-in-law's complaints, Jin Xiaoye preferred to think about how to make money.

She hadn't expected Li Qingzhi to get along so well with her sister-in-law!

Five years ago, Li Qingzhi was not talkative at all!

After enduring five years of hardship, Li Qingzhi had indeed changed a lot.

He used to be quite aloof, but now he actively engages in conversations with people all the time, chatting about various topics…

Well, that was fine.

Jin Xiaoye thought that in the future, she could treat herself as the man of the house and Li Qingzhi as her wife. Li Qingzhi could stay at home to take care of the housework and the children, while she went out to earn money to support the family.

Thinking this way, Li Qingzhi seemed pretty good. He was literate, good at teaching children, and none of the women in the village could compare to him!

He even brought two acres of land as a dowry… That was two acres of land! Worth fifty taels of silver! It could support a family!

Jin Xiaoye's gaze towards Li Qingzhi softened.

When Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law saw Jin Xiaoye, she immediately approached her and said, "Xiaoye, your man was bullied by Yao Zuming today. That Yao Zuming is just a scoundrel, always badmouthing you in the village and even going to talk to Damao, Ermao, and your man…"

Hearing this, Jin Xiaoye frowned and asked Li Qingzhi, "Yao Zuming bullied you?"

"He did! There were witnesses. He even talked about Da Zhuang to Xiaoqing!" Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law looked at Jin Xiaoye with shining eyes, as if hoping Jin Xiaoye would teach Yao Zuming a lesson right away.

Jin Xiaoye, as a woman, certainly couldn't match Yao Zuming, a big man, in terms of strength. But in rural conflicts, besides strength, personal temperaments and family support also mattered.

Even though Jin Xiaoye's family didn't get along with Jin Moli's family, they were still family. When Jin Xiaoye had an argument with someone, her three cousins, her younger brother, and her father would all stand by her side, not to mention that there were so many people surnamed Jin in the village!

As for why personal temperament was important… Some people were soft-hearted, so even if their family could provide assistance, it wouldn't help much, and they would still be bullied.

Jin Moli had three real brothers and a lot of confidence, but wasn't she scolded by her mother-in-law every day?

And some people had strong temperaments, so even if their family couldn't help, they could stand up and live well on their own. For example, Jin Moli, even without her natal family, her mother-in-law couldn't do anything to her even if they argued. She already had children, so could the Yao family really abandon her because of a quarrel with her mother-in-law? If they really did that, the Yao family would be criticized by everyone in the village.

Of course, Jin Xiaoye also knew when to draw the line and wouldn't really fight with others.

She was weak, and if she really fought, Yao Zuming could easily throw her out and break her arm.

In fact, people in the village also knew when to draw the line. Yao Zuming might be a loudmouth, but he didn't dare to bully Jin Xiaoye. If things got serious, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

Hearing Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law's words, Li Qingzhi realized that she wasn't here to gossip but to instigate Jin Xiaoye to confront Yao Zuming.

He didn't have a good impression of Yao Zuming, but he also knew that Jin Xiaoye, as a woman, wouldn't gain any advantage by going to confront him.

Li Qingzhi said to Jin Xiaoye, "He didn't do much, just had a bad breath after eating too much and annoyed me."

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Jin Xiaoye felt a little worried.

She did know someone named Da Zhuang. She often went to the county town, and Da Zhuang earned a living by carrying goods at the county town wharf. It was inevitable that they would meet.

However, they really had nothing to do with each other.

Despite his name, "Da Zhuang," he was actually quite thin and small. He would even try to please widows when he saw them, which was quite annoying.

However, even though they had no relationship, if Li Qingzhi believed Yao Zuming's words…

In their village, there were men who, upon hearing some rumors, would go home and beat their wives, and some women who, upon hearing rumors related to their husbands, would cause a scene.

Li Qingzhi definitely couldn't beat her, but she was worried that he might argue with her like those other women.

But then Li Qingzhi came and said that Yao Zuming had bad breath, which made Jin Xiaoye burst out laughing.

Li Qingzhi had poured a bowl of water for Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law earlier, and he poured another bowl for himself. Now, he kindly brought the bowl of water he hadn't drunk to Jin Xiaoye. "Xiaoye, have some water."

Jin Xiaoye took the water and drank it. Then she said to her sister-in-law, "Are you done talking? If you're done, you can leave. It's getting dark!"

Jin Xiaoye's sister-in-law looked disappointed and muttered a few words before leaving.

Once she was gone, Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi, "Did Yao Zuming mention Da Zhuang again? I have nothing to do with him."

"I know. I'm so good-looking, you definitely wouldn't look at other men," Li Qingzhi joked as he touched his face.

Jin Xiaoye couldn't help but laugh again. Li Qingzhi used to be very handsome, but now he looked unhealthy, black and thin. Even Yao Zhenfu was better-looking.

Yao Zhenfu had so much flesh on him, so strong!

Li Qingzhi made Jin Xiaoye laugh, then said, "It's getting late. I'll go call the two kids home and give them a bath."

Both he and the two kids needed to bathe.

At first, he was too weak to bathe in the river, not because he was afraid of the cold water, but mainly because his legs were weak, and he was afraid of slipping in the river while bathing.

Now he didn't have to worry anymore… Li Qingzhi took Li Damao and Li Ermao to bathe in the river.

However, unlike other men who bathed in shorts, he wore clothes just like the women.

He didn't want to be seen with his skinny body.

After bathing, the three of them walked home, damp and cool from the evening breeze, feeling quite comfortable.

When they got home, they changed their clothes and hung up their wet clothes.

Their family was still fortunate. In the poorest households, sometimes they didn't even have a spare set of clothes, so after washing them, they could only wait naked until they dried.

The next morning, Jin Xiaoye went to work in the fields first. When she came back from the fields and had eaten, she loaded some newly harvested rice and said she was going to pound rice.

Pounding rice was actually the process of dehusking rice.

In Miaoqian Village, people used stone mortars to pound rice.

The stone mortar was made of stone, two feet square with a hollow in the middle. It could be used not only to pound rice but also to make rice cakes.

These items were not found in every household in Miaoqian Village, as they were quite expensive.

However, those who had stone mortars were generally willing to lend them out for free, as they were very durable.

Of course, after using them a lot, people would usually give something in return.

Their family was not well-off, so they didn't have a stone mortar, but the Yao family next door did. Whenever Jin Xiaoye needed to pound rice, she would go to the Yao family to borrow their stone mortar.

Jin Xiaoye didn't really like going to the Yao family to borrow it. There was no other reason, mainly because Jin Moli always kept an eye on her.

After the incident of Li Laogen gambling and incurring debts came to light, she often went to the county town to sell things. Mr. Yao saw that she was heavily pregnant and inconvenient to travel, so he let her ride his boat for free and didn't charge her for the fare.

Mr. Yao sent Yao Zhenfu to the county town every day. Normally, if villagers wanted to go to the county town, they would pay one copper coin or give an egg to ride the boat back and forth. Those who had a closer relationship with the Yao family could ride the boat without paying.

At that time, Jin Xiaoye was indeed in difficulty. Mr. Yao firmly refused to take her money, so she rode the boat without paying. However, she only rode the boat twice, and Jin Moli found her, subtly suggesting that she keep her distance from Yao Zhenfu, fearing that she might take advantage of the Yao family…

She couldn't help but laugh! She didn't stop riding the boat because of that. Why should she! But afterwards, she paid every time she rode the boat. If she didn't have money, she would rather walk to the county town.

It wasn't very far anyway.

At that time, she didn't want to borrow the Yao family's stone mortar to pound rice anymore. However, since their houses were close together, if she went to someone else's house far away to pound rice instead of going to the Yao family's house, most of the villagers would say something… so she just did whatever she wanted.

The stone mortar was made of stone and very heavy, making it difficult for thieves to steal. Therefore, villagers usually didn't keep it inside their homes but outside near the door.

Jin Xiaoye had already talked to Yao's mother in advance. When she arrived, she scooped some rice into the stone mortar with a ladle, then used a thick piece of wood to pound it.

The rice had been dried for several days and was very dry. Moderate pounding would cause the outermost layer of husk to fall off, revealing the brown rice.

After that, she would shake it in a winnowing basket, separating the brown rice from the outermost layer of husk.

It was difficult to cook and absorb brown rice, so it was usually further processed in two ways.

One way was to continue pounding or grind it with a suitable millstone to remove the bran from the brown rice, revealing white rice, which could then be eaten as white rice.

The other way was to crush the brown rice into small pieces, not too finely. Crushed brown rice cooked faster.

Wealthier families would eat white rice, while poorer farmers would eat more brown rice. Their family mostly ate brown rice.

Some families were extremely poor and could only eat rice bran!

People in the county town loved white rice, so rice shops would produce a lot of rice bran every day. Some people would buy rice bran from the rice shop, claiming it was for feeding their pigs, but in reality, they would eat it themselves.

Pounding rice was actually a physically demanding task usually done by men, but now their family relied on Jin Xiaoye.

Li Qingzhi stood beside Jin Xiaoye, stirring the grains in the stone mortar with a bamboo stick, helping to mix them evenly.

The outermost layer of the new grains was quickly removed. This layer was completely inedible and could only be used as firewood.

Jin Xiaoye shook the rice grains and husks in the winnowing basket, using the power of the wind to quickly separate the husks. Then she put the brown rice back into the stone mortar and continued pounding, saying, "Today, I'll make white rice for you!"

By this time, the sun had risen to its zenith, and its rays were almost directly shining on Jin Xiaoye.

Sweat glistened on her dark face as she worked. Seeing her smile, Li Qingzhi felt his heart racing in his chest.

He wanted to say something, but Jin Xiaoye had already resumed pounding the rice, so he could only watch beside her as the brown rice slowly turned into white rice.

Chapter 19: Multiplication

The rice pounded by Jin Xiaoye by hand was certainly not as white as the rice ground by modern machines, but it was much softer than the previous brown rice!

When Li Qingzhi took a bite of the white rice that night, he felt an unparalleled sweetness.

Even without any side dishes, he could easily eat a pot of this rice alone, and there was even salted fish on the table…

Li Qingzhi felt like he could eat two pots himself.

At the beginning of the apocalypse, he was only eighteen years old, and although his family was not wealthy, they were not poor either.

Back then, he enjoyed meat and wouldn't have thought white rice could be so delicious.

But this time… he felt that white rice was truly delicious!

He wasn't the only one with this feeling. Li Laogen and the two children also enjoyed it very much. Li Laogen even said, "The first time I went to the county town when I was a child, I saw a child about my age holding a bowl of white rice and eating it at the doorstep. That rice was even whiter than what we're eating today… I remember thinking, I wish I could eat white rice every day."

Li Ermao immediately said, "I want to eat white rice every day too!"

Even Li Damao said, "White rice is really delicious."

Li Qingzhi said, "We will definitely be able to eat white rice every day in the future." How could his children not even have enough white rice to eat?

And himself… he would eventually live the days where white rice was abundant!

By then, he would eat three bowls in one meal!

"Dad, really?" Li Ermao looked at Li Qing curiously, and Li Damao's eyes were also full of expectation.

"Of course it's true, Dad won't lie to you." Li Qingzhi affirmed.

This era was very unfamiliar to him, but he would strive to make sure his family lived good days!

Just as Li Qingzhi finished speaking, Li Laogen said, "Your dad is just trying to please you! It's not easy to eat enough every day, let alone white rice every day…"

Jin Xiaoye also thought Li Qingzhi was just trying to please the children, but they were still young, so a little coaxing was okay.

She glared at Li Laogen and said to the two children, "Damao, Ermao, when we save enough money to buy two more acres of land, we'll be able to eat white rice every day."

Jin Xiaoye's goal had always been to buy two more acres of land and save some money for Damao and Ermao to marry.

Their family's two acres of land was too little; buying two more acres would ensure that Damao and Ermao could support the family in the future.

Of course, if the two children could find a livelihood other than farming, that would be even better.

Li Laogen was afraid of Jin Xiaoye, so he immediately said, "That's right, with two more acres of land, we'll be able to eat white rice every day, hehe."

Li Damao and Li Ermao immediately cheered.

For the next half month, Jin Xiaoye didn't go to the county town again, but instead worked in the fields.

Earning money in the county town was important, but grains were the foundation of their lives.

Half a month later, Jin Xiaoye purchased some items from the villagers and prepared to go to the county town the next day.

The things she bought were mainly chicken and duck eggs, as well as some vegetables—there were too few vegetables grown at home.

Of course, she didn't forget the rooster that Sister Wang wanted.

However, since it's hot now, it's better to slaughter this rooster before she sets off tomorrow.

"Tomorrow, there will be chicken blood from slaughtering the rooster. I'll cook it for you to eat and replenish your body." Jin Xiaoye said to Li Qingzhi.

Li Qingzhi had been back for a month already, but he was still very thin. Whenever there was a strong wind, she felt like it could blow Li Qingzhi away.

Although he was thin, Li Qingzhi's health had improved a lot. Tomorrow, when she went to the county town, Li Qingzhi planned to go with her.

She didn't have much to do tomorrow either, so it was fine to walk slowly… Jin Xiaoye agreed to Li Qingzhi's request and planned to take her time tomorrow, taking an hour to walk half an hour's distance.

Since Li Qingzhi was going to the county town, Li Damao and Li Ermao naturally wanted to go with him. These two children were actually stronger than Li Qingzhi; Li Qingzhi might not be able to walk, but they were used to running since childhood and wouldn't have any problems.

When Li Damao and Li Ermao were very young, Jin Xiaoye would sometimes carry or carry them to the county town, but they had long since forgotten those memories. In the past year or two, Jin Xiaoye hadn't taken them to the county town…

The two children were especially excited about going to the county town tomorrow.

Li Qingzhi was also in a good mood; his health had finally improved a bit, and he could go to the county town to find work.

Five years ago, Uncle Jin had once introduced a job to the original owner, but at that time, Uncle Jin only knew that the shop was hiring and couldn't guarantee that the original owner would get the job if he went.

Uncle Jin was just a kitchen worker; he might have some information, but he didn't have that much influence.

Li Qingzhi was very clear that with his current sickly appearance, it would be difficult to rely on Uncle Jin to find another job, so he had to work hard on his own.

"Mom, is the county town very big?"

"Mom, what does a big ship look like?"

"Mom…"

Li Damao and Li Ermao were pestering Jin Xiaoye with questions, while Jin Xiaoye responded while sorting out the chicken feathers.

People in ancient times would utilize everything to the fullest, including chicken feathers and duck feathers; they wouldn't waste anything.

Even in modern times… during the material shortage of the 1970s and 1980s, chicken feathers and duck feathers could be sold for money. There were even peddlers who would walk from village to village with a shoulder pole, shouting "chicken feathers for sugar", eventually growing into famous entrepreneurs.

Earlier, Jin Xiaoye had exchanged some chicken feathers with seaweed from the villagers, and now she was sorting them out.

Alright, planning to take them to town to sell.

Among all the feathers, the ones on the rooster are the most valuable. The beautiful feathers on the rooster's body could be used for fans or headdresses used by literati scholars. Chicken feathers could also be used to make dusters or shuttlecocks, and even the less attractive feathers could be used as stuffing for clothes.

Wealthy families would use silk in their winter clothes, but ordinary families would put anything they could find, even straw.

As Li Qingzhi helped Jin Xiaoye sort out the chicken feathers, he spoke up, "Xiaoye, let me teach you the multiplication table."

"The multiplication table?" Jin Xiaoye was curious.

For the past half month, Li Qingzhi had been teaching the two children ancient arithmetic, and he had also taught Jin Xiaoye some things.

He found that Jin Xiaoye was quite good at arithmetic, perhaps among the best in the village.

She could quickly calculate how much something would cost or how much money they could make.

Jin Xiaoye had never learned multiplication before and didn't understand it.

Li Qingzhi explained multiplication to her.

After listening, Jin Xiaoye's eyes lit up. "How do you memorize this multiplication table?" She had always liked doing calculations. The more she did, the faster she got, but she had never learned multiplication before.

Li Qingzhi recited it once.

He had recited it countless times when he was young, so he remembered it vividly. The only problem was reciting it in the local dialect, which was a bit unfamiliar.

Jin Xiaoye became more interested as she listened, so Li Qingzhi slowly taught her, "One times one is one, one times two is two…"

Without paper or pens, and since Jin Xiaoye couldn't read, Li Qingzhi had to recite it repeatedly, and she followed along each time.

But Li Qingzhi didn't get impatient at all. This was communicating with people; he would never get tired of it!

Not to mention the two children and Jin Xiaoye were looking at him with admiration!

As the day darkened and they lay in bed, Jin Xiaoye kept muttering the multiplication table, and even the two children managed to recite it roughly.

Li Qingzhi was especially happy—his wife and his children were truly diligent and intelligent!

Li Damao and Li Ermao, however, felt that their father was really amazing, knowing so many things!

But their admiration for Li Qingzhi didn't last long.

The next day, Jin Xiaoye slaughtered the chicken, plucked its feathers, and then set off to the county town with the whole family. However, Li Qingzhi couldn't walk much after a short while, and his pace became slower and slower.

Li Damao and Li Ermao watched their father with a perplexed expression. Their father's walking speed was even slower than theirs!

"Do you want to take a rest?" Jin Xiaoye asked Li Qingzhi.

"No need, I'll just walk a bit slower, I'll be fine to continue," Li Qingzhi said with a smile.

The original owner was almost dead but managed to walk for several days to get home. Li Qingzhi's body was still okay, so walking to the county town was completely doable.

At most, he just had to walk slower.

As they continued walking, Li Qingzhi pointed not far away and said, "Five years ago, that's where I was captured."

There was a small patch of reeds there, where the bandits' boat was hidden.

If the original owner had taken Mr. Yao's boat to the county town, nothing would have happened.

But since the original owner was a wanted criminal, he was worried that there might be a wanted poster of him in the county town, and he was afraid that Yao Shaogong, who was relatively knowledgeable, would notice something wrong, so he chose to go to the county town alone.

Unfortunately, he ran into the bad guys.

Jin Xiaoye was startled and looked in that direction before finally saying, "In the future, don't go out of the village alone."

Li Qingzhi smiled and replied, "Alright."

He wanted to survive and live for a long, long time, so he would definitely pay attention to his safety.

And Jin Xiaoye had to be even more careful than him!

Chapter 20: Finding a Job

The environment in ancient times was truly good, with incredibly fresh air and clear river water.

People were working in the fields, and many of them knew Jin Xiaoye and greeted her as they passed by.

"The county town is quite big. When we get there, Grandpa will take you to see the big ships!" Li Laogen enthusiastically spoke to the two children along the way.

Jin Xiaoye was carrying more things than Li Laogen, and with the hot weather, she tried not to speak much, just occasionally glancing at Li Qingzhi, afraid that he might faint.

But Li Qingzhi didn't faint.

Although he felt very uncomfortable, with his heart rate feeling alarming, he persisted by continuously activating the golden finger within him.

The group slowly made their way, and after an hour, they finally saw the gates of the county town.

The original owner had been to the county town before, and Li Qingzhi had the original owner's memories, but seeing the county town for real, he had a completely different feeling from the original owner.

The original owner thought the county town of Chongcheng was very large and beautiful, but Li Qingzhi looked at it… Chongcheng County was really not big at all.

This city resembled the scenic areas of ancient water towns he had visited in modern times. It was a bit larger than those scenic areas, but compared to modern cities, it couldn't be compared at all.

Chongcheng County had city walls. The walls weren't high, but there was a moat outside the walls. The bridge over the moat, used for entering the city, wasn't a stone bridge directly built on top, but a drawbridge made of bamboo and wood that could be pulled up. The locals called it a suspension bridge.

If there was danger, they could pull up this bridge, and the enemy wouldn't be able to run directly to the city walls!

During curfew, the bridge could also be retracted.

However, since the establishment of the Daqi, the area where Chongcheng County was located had always been very stable. Even the curfew had been lifted, so now, even if it was night, the suspension bridge wouldn't be retracted.

Of course, there was more than one way to enter the city other than crossing the bridge; they could also take the water route. However, there were gates there too, and if there was real danger, they could block the river with gates and stones.

Once inside the city, they could see the streets.

The streets were indeed paved with stone slabs, but they were very narrow. The widest street was only a bit over two meters wide, and many alleyways were only one meter wide.

The streets were narrow, but the river was wide, with many small boats coming and going in the river.

Summer days started early, and even though Jin Xiaoye didn't leave until after killing the chicken today, it was only around six o'clock when they left, and now it was only a little after eight.

At this time, the county town was bustling with activity.

All the houses in the city were built along the river. Some people wanted to buy things, so they would open the windows facing the river and shout out. Soon, a boat would come over for business.

There were also some boatmen constantly shouting their wares: "Songhua Cakes, sweet Songhua Cakes!"

"Meat buns! Delicious meat buns!"

"Freshly picked eggplants and green beans! Freshly laid chicken and duck eggs!"

"Old hens! Nourishing old hens!"

…

Curiously, Li Damao and Li Ermao looked at those boats and asked, "What are Songhua Cakes?"

Songhua Cakes were a local pastry made from glutinous rice flour and sweet bean paste, very delicious but not cheap.

Expensive items in the county town were not limited to Songhua Cakes. Just as Li Qingzhi entered the city, he saw a breakfast stall where people were eating tea cakes made of glutinous rice flour stuffed with meat, accompanied by soy milk.

Further ahead, there was a restaurant emitting a rich fragrance, probably frying something in oil.

The technology for making vegetable oil in Daqi was much more advanced than in previous dynasties. Many people in the county town could afford to use oil for cooking, let alone in big restaurants. However, in the countryside, people generally wouldn't buy oil.

The living standards in cities and rural areas were vastly different.

Li Laogen, who had been praising the county town all the way, felt restless after entering the county town. He kept his head down and didn't dare to look at the people in the county town.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were also very scared, tightly holding Li Qingzhi's hand.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi smiled and comforted them, "Damao, Ermao, don't be afraid, everything will be fine."

Both Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye didn't show any fear. Li Damao and Li Ermao finally stopped being afraid after seeing their parents, but even though they were no longer afraid, they felt somewhat inferior when they looked at the children in the city who were dressed in bright clothes and nice shoes. They curled their toes.

Their clothes were very worn, and they weren't wearing shoes.

In the countryside, nobody wore shoes in the summer, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with that, but it seemed that city people weren't like that.

Li Qingzhi noticed the situation of the two children, but he couldn't do anything about it now.

They were indeed poor, that was a fact.

Jin Xiaoye looked at Li Qingzhi. "I'm going to sell things. Are you going to follow me or wander around?"

Li Qingzhi replied, "I'll wander around." He wanted to inquire around and see if any shops needed workers.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiaoye took out ten coins and gave them to Li Qingzhi. "Then wander around. When you're tired, go to the pier and wait for me there." She had a lot of things to sell, and it might not be possible to sell them all to acquaintances. If she couldn't sell them all, she would have to set up a stall at the pier.

Li Qingzhi agreed to go after they had wandered around for a while. By then, she should already be there. If they went straight away, there were plenty of new and interesting things at the pier for Li Qingzhi and the children to see.

"Okay." Li Qingzhi took the money and watched as Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen left with their baskets.

After resting for a while, he took Li Damao and Li Ermao's hands. "Damao, Ermao, let's go wander around together."

Li Qingzhi had the memories of the original owner. Although the original owner was not very familiar with Chongcheng County, he was knowledgeable, and Li Qingzhi could name many things in the county town. He carefully explained each one to the two children.

"This is a rice store, a place that specializes in selling rice. Common rice types include japonica rice and glutinous rice…" Li Qingzhi stood not far from the shop's door, first introducing the situation of the shop to the two children, then holding their hands and walking towards the shop. "Shopkeeper, hello. Is the shop hiring? I can read and do accounting quite well."

Although Li Qingzhi's current appearance didn't look great—he was too thin, and his clothes were of poor quality—his eyes were clear, and he spoke politely. Moreover, he mentioned his ability to read and do accounting.

The shopkeeper responded kindly, "Sorry, we don't need anyone at the moment."

"No problem, thank you," Li Qingzhi replied with a smile.

After leaving the rice shop, Li Qingzhi took the two children to other shops. After introducing himself, he asked if they needed any help. Unfortunately, most of the shops weren't hiring.

At this time, people didn't often change jobs. Once they were hired at a shop, they might work there for a lifetime. And they preferred to hire people they knew.

As Li Qingzhi asked around, he also chatted with several shopkeepers. He found that although there were very few literate people in the countryside, there were actually quite a few in the county town. Finding a job wouldn't be so easy for him.

However, Li Qingzhi didn't feel discouraged. So what if he didn't find a job today? He could always come back to the county town another time and ask around again.

Unfortunately, he didn't have money to buy pen and paper to practice writing. Otherwise, if he could improve his writing, he could earn money by copying books.

Printing technology in Daqi was already very advanced, and books with good sales would be printed, resulting in fewer errors. But some books had few buyers, so bookstores would hire people to copy them. Additionally, some wealthy households would also hire people to copy their collection of books for backup.

Li Qingzhi walked with the two children, asking around as they went, until they unknowingly arrived at the pier.

The pier was very large and bustling. Many boats were docked, and many people were helping with loading and unloading goods.

The connection between the boats and the pier was only a foot-wide plank made of wood. Li Qingzhi watched as shirtless men carried or lifted various heavy goods on the plank. Seeing the plank bending under their weight, he couldn't help but feel anxious for them.

These people could easily fall into the river if they weren't careful.

Carrying goods at the pier was very tiring, but many people were willing to do it. During the slack farming season, some young men from Miaoqian Village would come to the pier to carry goods.

However, Li Qingzhi couldn't do this kind of work now.

Near the pier, there were many businessmen. Li Qingzhi observed for a while and approached some who seemed well-dressed, inquiring if they needed any help.

Unlike the shopkeepers who had been generally polite, some of these people were impatient when he stopped them.

Li Qingzhi didn't mind at all.

Their impatience was nothing compared to what he had faced before. They wouldn't come up and bite him or suddenly attack him!

How nice these people were!

Unfortunately, none of them were hiring.

What he had thought earlier about finding a job might not be so easy after all.

Or perhaps he could find another way to earn money?

Li Qingzhi really wanted to make money. He needed enough food to maintain his health, and to have enough food, he needed money.

At that moment, Li Qingzhi began to think about what skills he could sell.

But he didn't have any cooking skills, and besides, there were already many delicious foods in this era. Some delicacies hadn't appeared simply because of the lack of seasoning. In this situation, he didn't have any skills to sell.

Li Qingzhi found a shady spot with Li Damao and Li Ermao and rested. As he pondered ways to make money, he saw a wealthy-looking man disembark from a boat, surrounded by three people, and come over.

The man looked to be in his forties, with a stout build and a slightly dark complexion, wearing a carefully trimmed beard.

His appearance was nothing special, but his attire… Not only were his clothes brightly colored, but he also wore several gold rings on his fingers, and his hat, belt, and even his shoes were studded with gemstones.

He seemed like someone who wanted everyone to know he was wealthy—an ancient version of a nouveau riche.

At the moment, he was talking to the people around him. "I've checked the goods, and everything is fine. Arrange for someone to move them quickly, and tell them to be careful. We can't afford any mistakes…"

Although the man's attire was gaudy, he seemed very dedicated to his business.

Two of the three men beside him went to find people to move the goods, but he stayed behind, standing in the shade and wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

Seeing this, Li Qingzhi greeted him with a smile. "Sir, you have a grand appearance; clearly, you are not an ordinary person!"

The local dialect didn't have a formal address like "you," so Li Qingzhi didn't use any honorifics.

Interestingly, although the original owner of this body wasn't very proficient in the local dialect five years ago, having spent five years imprisoned with locals all around him, his accent is now indistinguishable from theirs.