It's time to let him experience some hardship.

"We finished eating a long time ago!" Chen Zhongze said, looking down. "It was almost empty a couple of days ago..."

"Wait a minute!" Chen's mother suddenly remembered, "Last time Liu Dong came to our house, he specifically told you to stock up on more meat, but you ignored him, didn't you?"

Chen Zhongze fell completely silent, his head drooping lower and lower.

"Are you really stupid or just pretending?" Chen's mother slammed her fist on the table in anger. "People advised you to join forces with the supply and marketing cooperative, but you thought it was too much trouble; and what happened? Now you can't even get a bite to eat! Your brain is blacker than a lump of coal!"

"So—you didn't save it at all, right?"

At this moment, Lü Fang held Chen Xueru's hand and whispered, "Xueru... I advised your brother before to listen to Liu Dong and save more things, but he wouldn't listen. He even said that Liu Dong just got lucky..."

She sighed, "Who could have imagined it would turn out like this in the blink of an eye..."

"The Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and the stove in the house is spotless, without a single speck of oil!"

"We just want to ask how much meat you prepared? Could you spare some for us? Don't worry, we definitely will! We'll definitely pay you back!"

Lü Fang gritted her teeth and held up two fingers: "Just twenty jin... not much!"

I thought Chen Xueru would nod, even if she hesitated for a moment.

result--

She suddenly looked up and asked, "What are you going to give me in return?"

Lu Fang was stunned, as if someone had grabbed her by the neck.

Chen Xueru added, "Tell me, how are you going to pay it back? When do you plan to pay it all off?"

"I...I..." Lu Fang opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Can't explain it?" Chen Xueru smiled. "Then let me do the math for you—adding my mother's ration, the three of you get four liang (200 grams) per month, which is only four jin (2.8 kilograms) per year. Twenty jin of meat, it would take four years and two months of saving without eating or drinking to pay it off."

"Sister-in-law, am I right?"

Lü Fang's lips moved, but she didn't make a sound.

Chen Xueru clapped her hands: "Alright, sister-in-law, let's invite my brother out. I'll explain this to him face to face."

Soon, Chen Zhongze, Chen's mother, Lü Fang, and Liu Dongquan gathered in the courtyard.

Chen Xueru stopped, her voice low but clear: "Brother, my sister-in-law just told me, and I understand now—twenty jin? You're really asking for it! Go out and ask around, who in the alley can store ten jin of meat? Do those cadres even have ten jin?"

Chen Zhongze's face darkened: "Xueru, how about... five jin will do? Three jin will also be fine, just in case!"

"We have some at home," Chen Xueru nodded, "but I won't give them to you."

"Why? It's an old saying in Beijing—if a daughter 'gives money' to her parents' family, and the neighbors find out, they'll say I, Chen Xueru, am unruly and spineless. How can I hold my head up in the courtyard after that? How can I talk to my neighbors?"

Chen Zhong then shut his mouth.

Chen Xueru looked at him, her tone softening slightly but still sharpening: "Brother, Mom's rations were given to you two a long time ago, which means you two are taking up the food rations of three people. Be content. If you're still not content—next month, I'll go to the neighborhood committee and have Mom's rations transferred to my household registration."

"No, no, no!" Chen Zhongze immediately raised his hands in surrender. "I won't lend it anymore! I really won't lend it!"

Chen Zhongze and his wife left with stern faces.

Liu Dong immediately chased after him out the door, and when no one was looking, he secretly slipped a few meat coupons into his brother-in-law's hand, forcing a smile as he said, "Brother, you know—Xue Ru is the one who calls the shots in our family. I don't even dare to open my mouth, for fear of getting scolded!"

"I understand!" Chen Zhongze waved his hand. "Xue Ru has always been the one who 'makes the decisions' since she was little, so it's normal for you to be a little timid."

Liu Dong quickly replied, "This is four ounces of meat coupons that we saved at home. It's not much, but you can use it to exchange for some meat to fill your stomach... Don't worry, I'll come to see you after the New Year and persuade Xue Ru to bring you some real meat. Please understand, we don't have much meat at home, we only have a little bit left."

"Thanks, brother-in-law!" Chen Zhongze pocketed the tickets and turned to leave.

As soon as Liu Dong entered the room,

Chen Xueru was sitting at the table, her face long and drawn: "What did you do when you sneaked out just now?"

He grinned bitterly, "I secretly gave those four ounces of meat coupons to my older brother."

"It was only four ounces, I didn't take any more!"

"Not even four ounces!" This time, Chen's mother spoke up, her voice firm. "Liu Dong, you yourselves aren't exactly living comfortably, so don't worry about him anymore. Give him all my ration; he won't starve!"

"That guy's lazy bones are practically melting. If we keep spoiling him, he won't even bother chewing pickled vegetables—it's time to let him gnaw on some bitter bread."

The end of the year is fast approaching!

But Liu Dong had no intention of making a big fuss about buying New Year's goods.

Buying too much will only bring envy and misfortune to the whole yard.

Good things are found in everyday life; a slow and steady approach is the best way to make them truly meaningful.

So he only took five catties of pork belly from his own wine cellar, bought a few cabbages from the vegetable market, and grabbed a handful of sweet potato vermicelli to make steamed buns at home.

Cabbage and pork filling—nowadays, that would definitely be considered a "hard dish".

They were busy all morning, steaming pot after pot. Chen Xueru had just finished eating lunch when she went to the tavern with her cloth bag; her mother-in-law also rushed into the house to make little clothes and shoes for the child.

The clothes were already sewn, two sets each for the boy and the girl; as for the shoes, they were all tiger-head shoes—regardless of gender, they would bring joy to both.

Liu Dong, on the other hand, was lounging around with his hands in his pockets, yawning constantly as he had nothing to do.

In the afternoon, he passed by the water station and saw Qin Huairu washing clothes with her big belly. He grabbed a dirty shirt and went to wash it. He turned and squatted down next to her.

"Huai Ru..."

"Hmm?" She looked up, saw it was him, her lips curled up, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"How have you been lately? Is the kid alright?"

Qin Huairu sniffled, almost bursting into tears.

She never expected that Liu Dong still cared about her, and even about the child.

"It's alright..." she said softly. "Brother Liu Dong, don't worry, I keep my word—this child has nothing to do with you, you don't need to worry about him, and you don't need to raise him."

Liu Dong glanced at her, his brows furrowing. "Your complexion is sallow, and you've lost so much weight. You're clearly malnourished... Is it because Jia Dongxu's family isn't feeding you enough?"

She shook her head and didn't say anything.

But he understood immediately.

With grain coupons, cloth coupons, and oil coupons rationing them every day, how could the Jia family possibly be doing well?

With Jia Zhangshi's "I come first, my son second, and everyone else has to step aside" attitude, the family always puts the food and drink first to her, then feeds Jia Dongxu, and by the time it's Qin Huairu's turn, the soup is already cold.

No wonder she looked so pale.

"Huai Ru..." He glanced around, then lowered his voice, "I'm worried about the baby suffering. After all, this child is mine."

"If you're taking such a heavy toll on your health, how will the baby grow in your belly? Here's what we'll do—when you go out later, I'll stuff you with something substantial!"

She pursed her lips and didn't answer.

Liu Dong, carrying the basin, swayed away.

About ten minutes later, Qin Huairu pushed open the door and came out.