As she was about to leave Qin Qingman's house, Qin Caiyun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sister Qingman, my mother said that these items should be deducted from the debt." After speaking, perhaps feeling a bit too harsh, she added, "Our family has many mouths to feed, so it wasn't easy for us to spare these things for you. We've all been living on cornmeal lately."

Qin Qingman hadn't expected Zhu Hongxia and the others to give her these supplies for free.

Nodding in understanding, she said, "Grain is rationed for everyone, and no family has much surplus. I wouldn't take advantage of you, Aunt. Don't worry, I'll calculate the value of these supplies and deduct them from the debt. I'll write you a receipt."

"Alright," Qin Caiyun said.

Qin Caiyun had come to help deliver the supplies with a task in mind, and now, seeing that Qin Qingman was on the same page, she felt a sense of relief deep inside.

She had originally thought she would have to do a lot more persuading.

"Sis, here." Hearing the conversation, Chuchu, being very quick-witted, ran inside and brought out paper and a pen, handing them to Qin Qingman. The little boy's face was tight with tension, looking both alert and nervous.

Only Qin Qingman knew that he was trying to hold back a laugh.

The food at home was already running low, so now that they had more supplies, Chuchu wasn't as worried anymore.

Qin Qingman quickly calculated the value and wrote the receipt. Within a few minutes, the receipt was ready and handed to Qin Caiyun.

Qin Caiyun had attended elementary school and could read. After confirming that the figures on the paper were accurate, and seeing that her family hadn't lost out, she quickly left with the receipt.

As for her plan to scheme over Qin Qingman's marriage prospect, she would need to give it more thought.

At the very least, she had to wait until she could get more information about Comrade Liu Hechang at the farm. If it turned out that he really was a leader and had substantial assets, she would definitely make a move.

As for whether this would offend Qin Qingman, she didn't care in the slightest.

She could even disregard her own family, so why would she care about a cousin without parents? Worst case, after becoming a leader's wife, she could help her cousin by arranging a job for her in the farm's cafeteria as compensation.

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Caiyun walked away with a light step.

Instead of going straight home, she headed to the home of the security officer, Qian Xiangyang, to find her old schoolmate, Qian Aimin.

After seeing Qin Caiyun off, Qin Qingman and Chuchu closed the door and exchanged smiles.

"Jie, how come the aunts were willing to give back things to our family?" Chuchu asked excitedly, petting the rooster, which clucked in response.

Having been well-fed and rested for over two months, the little boy had grown much stronger. He was now able to lift and hold the seven or eight-pound rooster in his arms.

"Don't hold it—chickens aren't clean. They carry a lot of germs," Qin Qingman quickly stopped him. It was winter, and doing laundry was a hassle. She didn't want to put herself through the trouble, and besides, they didn't have spare cotton clothes to change into.

"Oh," Chuchu said, reluctantly letting go of the rooster.

As soon as he released it, the rooster gave him a peck without hesitation. Fortunately, Chuchu was wearing thick cotton clothes and gloves, so the peck didn't hurt him. Otherwise, the rooster could have drawn blood from his hand.

Seeing that Chuchu had listened to her, Qin Qingman hurried to move the other supplies into the storage room before picking up the two large roosters, their feet tied together, and heading to the backyard.

Qin Qingman had no intention of keeping the chickens alive. She planned to boil water and slaughter them soon.

In the snowy weather, even if they couldn't eat all the meat at once, they could easily freeze it for storage.

"Jie, be careful of weasels," Chuchu said, thinking that Qin Qingman intended to keep the chickens. He quickly reminded her, as he knew how important food was, especially after experiencing hunger.

"We'll slaughter them and eat the meat soon," Qin Qingman said, fully aware of how valuable resources were during these times.

With the mountains snowed in, not only did humans rely on stored food to survive, but so did the animals. If some animals hadn't stored enough food for the winter, they might take risks and come into the village to search for food.

Most villagers kept their chickens and ducks in specially designated rooms during the winter to prevent them from freezing to death. At night, they made sure to lock the doors and windows to keep out predators like weasels.

Qin Qingman's family didn't have an extra room to raise chickens, so naturally, the plan was to kill them for meat.

Hearing they would kill the chickens for meat, Chuchu's face immediately lit up with a big smile. With no outsiders around, he didn't hide his true self in front of Qin Qingman—when he wanted to laugh, he laughed; when he wanted to be playful, he wasn't afraid to be playful.

"Jie, I'll go get the knife," he said, eager to help.

"Go ahead, but be careful not to cut yourself," Qin Qingman said as she and Chuchu arrived in the backyard. The backyard was their vegetable garden, but the cabbage and radishes had already been harvested before the snow fell. Now, only thick layers of snow remained.

The snow glittered brightly under the sunlight.

"Chuchu, when you grab the knife, also check how much water is in the kettle. If it's low, add more to boil," Qin Qingman said as she crouched down to prepare for slaughtering the chickens.

"Mm," Chuchu nodded enthusiastically and ran back inside to the kitchen.

Just as Qin Qingman finished plucking the feathers from the chicken's neck to expose the spot where she would make the cut, Chuchu returned with a shiny kitchen knife, excitedly reporting, "Jie, I added more water to the kettle. It'll boil soon."

He handed the knife to Qin Qingman as he spoke.

Qin Qingman worked swiftly. It only took her half an hour to finish cleaning and preparing the two large roosters. After hanging the chickens by the eaves to freeze, she brought the cleaned chicken innards back to the kitchen, which was connected to the main room.

As soon as she stepped into the main room, she was greeted by a rush of warmth.

Since Chuchu had used a lot of firewood to boil water, the room was several degrees warmer than usual.

It felt wonderfully cozy.

Qin Qingman took off her thick cotton coat, rolled up her sleeves, and began preparing the meal.

The original host of her body had been diligent and had grown plenty of vegetables. Before the snow fell, she had stored cabbage to make sauerkraut and had sun-dried radishes, mixing them with chili to make preserved radish.

These were essential dishes for surviving the long winters in the Northeast.

Qin Qingman grabbed some of the preserved radish from the earthen jar and diced it. She stir-fried it together with the chicken innards and added a few garlic shoots from the corner of the room. The mouth-watering aroma instantly filled the kitchen, wafting into the noses of both Qin Qingman and Chuchu.

Chuchu had been circling around Qin Qingman, eagerly watching her cook. His bright, shiny eyes were glued to the pot, and he couldn't look away.

"Chuchu, go to the kitchen and get a few of the warm steamed buns. I'll cook some bean sprout soup, and we'll have lunch," Qin Qingman instructed, while picking up a piece of chicken liver with her chopsticks and popping it into Chuchu's mouth.

With his mouth full of delicious food, Chuchu was afraid to open it for fear of dropping the precious bite. He could only nod enthusiastically in response to Qin Qingman.

His little face was flushed, looking soft and cute.

Especially his eyes, which were bright and clear, like shining grapes. The sight made Qin Qingman's heart soften.

She ruffled his hair, then gently pushed him toward the kitchen.

Meanwhile, she quickly plated the stir-fried chicken innards and cleaned the pot to start making bean sprout soup.

In the middle of winter, there were no fresh green vegetables to be seen outside. Every household made do by growing garlic shoots, onions, or bean sprouts indoors, taking advantage of the warmth.

Qin Qingman had already sprouted a large basin of bean sprouts.

She grabbed a handful of bean sprouts, washed them, and once the water in the pot boiled, she added some peanut oil and salt, then tossed in the bean sprouts.

Bean sprouts cook quickly and are resilient to boiling.

Seated by the warm fire stove, the siblings began their lunch. While they ate, Qin Qingman explained to Chuchu why Zhu Hongxia and the other aunts had returned some of their food supplies. Of course, she didn't tell him the full truth.

Chuchu was still young, and there were some things a child didn't need to know.

Knowing that the food they received was safe, Chuchu felt reassured and ate his lunch with even more enjoyment.

With the mountains snowed in, travel was difficult. In the afternoon, Qin Qingman stewed half of one of the chickens. Before the stew was even fully cooked, the rich aroma spread through the surrounding area, reaching Zhu Hongxia's house next door, where it caused quite a commotion.

That wasteful girl, Qin Qingman, actually killed the rooster for meat.

How wasteful!

But it also made Zhu Hongxia's mouth water.

The strong aroma filled the room, and both Qin Jianming and Qin Jiangjun couldn't stop swallowing. Qin Jiangjun, the youngest, accidentally choked on his own saliva from swallowing too fast, causing him to cough loudly and uncontrollably.

"Look at you, so useless!"

Zhu Hongxia glared fiercely at her youngest son.

Qin Jiangjun felt extremely wronged. He hadn't asked for any meat, nor had he even said anything. He was just coughing, but apparently, that wasn't allowed either? If his mother had the guts, why didn't she kill a chicken herself so he could have some meat!

"Honey, why don't we kill a chicken too and eat it?" Qin Lei, who had been warming himself by the fire, was also tempted by the smell of chicken stew from next door. His mouth had long been watering, and if it weren't for wanting to maintain his dignity in front of the children, he would've gulped down the drool spilling from his mouth.

Even so, he had already swallowed several times secretly.

He was trying to discreetly swallow his saliva.

Qin Lei's suggestion to eat meat deeply irritated Zhu Hongxia, causing her to jump up and shout, "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Don't you realize how many eggs a chicken can lay? Do you think salt costs nothing? We need eggs to exchange for salt!"

"But mom, roosters don't lay eggs," Qin Jianming muttered quietly.

"And you think finding a job doesn't cost money? Do you think getting married won't cost money? Do you know how much I've sacrificed for you two? Not only do you show no appreciation, but now you're starting to act like that wasteful Qin Qingman, craving meat!" Zhu Hongxia was nearly driven mad by the men in her family.

Her face was flushed with anger.

She had scrimped and saved for the sake of whom, if not for this family?

Seeing Zhu Hongxia throw a fit, Qin Lei and the two children eventually gave up on the idea of killing a chicken to eat.

Watching all this unfold, Qin Caiyun was more determined than ever to leave this household.

To haggle over even eating a chicken they had raised themselves was unbearable for her. She wanted a life where she could eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.

With that thought, she became even more invested in Liu Hechang.

She was determined to beat Qin Qingman to securing Liu Hechang. Once she got him, she was confident she could handle him.

With this determination, Qin Caiyun placed high hopes on Qian Aimin.

She was eager to hear what information Qian Aimin could dig up.

Meanwhile, at Qian's house, Qian Aimin had absolutely no intention of going to the farm to inquire about Liu Hechang. Why on earth would he bother to help Qin Caiyun on such a cold, snowy day? Just because he liked her didn't mean he was going to let her take advantage of him.

He wasn't stupid. There was no way he believed Qin Caiyun's story that she was gathering information to help Qin Qingman.

It was obvious that Qin Caiyun was interested in Liu Hechang herself and wanted to cut in.

After taking a sip of his wine, Qian Aimin felt the warmth spread through his body. Seeing that it was still early, he put on his thick cotton jacket, donned a hat that covered his ears, and headed out the door.

While Qin Qingman was teaching Chuchu how to read, they both heard the sound of small stones hitting the back window.

They exchanged a glance, and each grabbed a stick before opening the window.

There was no one outside, but there was a large paper ball lying on the ground.

Raising her eyebrows, Qin Qingman went outside, picked up the paper ball, and unfolded it. Inside was a detailed account of everything about Liu Hechang, including how his ex-wife had died as a result of domestic violence.

Someone was helping her!

Qin Qingman didn't know who was helping her, but she certainly appreciated the gesture.

The next morning, Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang came to fetch Qin Qingman to take her to town.

The reason Heishan Town had grown into a proper town was because of the Qianjin Farm. The farm was large, attracting a lot of people from surrounding areas. As the population grew, the economy developed, eventually forming an administrative unit—a town.

Kaoshan Village was about five li (around 2.5 kilometers or 1.5 miles) from Heishan Town, and it only took half an hour to get there by sleigh.

After settling Chuchu, Qin Qingman joined Zhu Hongxia and the others on the sleigh ride to town. To keep up appearances, she even dressed herself up a bit, wearing a new set of cotton clothes.

A bright red coat and green cotton pants—she was quite eye-catching.

Qin Qingman dressed this way because she was confident that Zhu Hongxia and the others wouldn't dare let her meet Liu Hechang up close.

The tall horse pulled the sleigh swiftly over the thick ice covering the river.

This was Qin Qingman's first time seeing the scenery outside Kaoshan Village since she'd transmigrated into the book. On both sides of the river were tall, endless mountains, with many birch trees growing on them. The birch trees had long since shed their leaves, and the snow on the branches made them look like Christmas trees from her previous life.

Unfortunately, one was lush and green, while the other was covered in white snow.

Zhu Hongxia and the others took Qin Qingman to the state-owned restaurant in town.

The restaurant was located on the bustling Hongqi Road, the busiest street in town.

"Qingman, sit here for a while. We're going to check if Comrade Liu has arrived," Zhu Hongxia said before leaving with Qin Xiang.

Qin Qingman knew they were going to discuss with Liu Hechang how to avoid meeting her in person.

Since she already knew the plot, she didn't bother waiting for Zhu Hongxia and Qin Xiang to return. Once they left, she ordered a bowl of noodles and started eating.

She had woken up early and hadn't had breakfast yet. She was hungry.

As she ate her breakfast in comfort, she overheard a conversation between a man and a woman at the table next to her.

The state-owned restaurant was the most respectable place in town, and many people chose it as a meeting spot for blind dates. Sure enough, the woman next to her was asking the man all sorts of questions about marriage.

Out of curiosity, Qin Qingman turned her head slightly to take a look.

Her gaze met a pair of dark, cold eyes—so cold that she instinctively shivered.

The owner of those eyes was a tall man dressed in a military uniform. His face was hard and expressionless, giving him a stern and imposing air, like a general from ancient times.

He was intimidating.