I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 239 - 236: The Path of the Eldest Brother

The trees have been planted. Whether they’ll survive is up to destiny, as large trees don’t transplant well.

However, thinking of the two transplanted banana trees and the two plum trees that are now flourishing with leafy branches... apart from not bearing fruit, um! They are quite resilient.

Hopefully, they’ll bear fruit next year, so the little ones won’t be disappointed.

She could see that, although the little one is fixated on the apple tree, having bananas and plums to witness the fruit grow from small green to big yellow or purple would surely bring plenty of joy to the child’s childhood.

It’s just... having such an unreliable father and an unreliable big brother is truly unfortunate!

The next day, Jiang Mingyue met Yan Jinzhi in the space. He had somehow gotten a basket of plump crabs and a basket of live shrimp, now placed in the space kitchen.

Jiang Mingyue looked at him, her eyes inquiring: Shall I prepare them for you?

Yan Jinzhi shook his head with a smile: "Wuyun Mountain still has more, these are for you all to eat."

When he said "you all," Jiang Mingyue understood—he wanted to appease her mother-in-law!

Truth be told, their place enjoys spring all year round, with an abundance of wild vegetables and fungi in the mountains, even in winter. However, seafood is a different story; occasionally some snails, mussels, and small shrimp surface in the river, but not in large numbers. After several catches, the supply dwindles. Like Gouwa, who constantly tries to find these for her, people must rely on the river’s bounty. But there must be resources in the river!

In the past, they could catch a small half-bucket daily, then every three or four days, and now it takes even longer. Jiang Mingyue advised him not to be fixated, as the river’s creatures also need to rest, regenerate, and reproduce, pleading for mercy!

As for him thinking he’s eating food left by her with no return, consider it a loan; he can repay her when he has the means in the future.

After a brief chat with Yan Jinzhi, both went about their own tasks.

The first day of lunar August, Jiang Mingyue simmered the half duck brought by Jiang Shuangyi the day before into old duck soup. The family enjoyed the old duck soup noodles for breakfast, accompanied by some deep-fried dried mushrooms—everyone was overwhelmed with the aroma. Her older brothers gazed expectantly at the chef after finishing.

"Yueyue, is there any more?" They could have two more bowls.

Mrs. Jiang glanced at her two sons’ bowls, thrice the size of hers, and coolly spoke, "Did you earn the money for this soup and noodles today?" If not, keep quiet, daring to ask for this and that.

As the head of the household spoke, the two brothers’ momentum instantly dwindled, their minds successfully diverted by Mrs. Jiang.

Earn soup noodle money? Certainly not; they’d just gotten up and hadn’t gone out to work yet. How could they be fit to ask for another bowl? The young men were red-faced over the matter just now!

Jiang Mingyue: So, compared to their thick-skinned cousin, these two brothers are much more lovable!

There is, of course, more, if she wishes; but everything should be done in moderation.

After breakfast, those needing to work went to work, those going to jobs went to jobs. Big Brother seemed busy today—the first task was to lead the village committee patrol team to load grain and deliver public grain to the commune. The village’s few carts and Mrs. Jiang’s tricycle were taken by the unfilial Jiang Jian Country, using private equipment for public tasks.

Jiang Mingyue habitually visited the village committee, spending an hour illustrating a bulletin board at the entrance, then discussed new school issues with Shu Wenquan before returning home to cook.

Xiao Hui didn’t come today; Xiao Ran and Xiao Meng Yundi were studying. Upon seeing her, they gathered around, bombarding her with storage-related questions. Jiang Mingyue patiently answered, engaging them deeply in her explanations. She effectively demonstrated the ability to extrapolate, share facts, reason, and even reference history. Math problems mixed with language stories, language problems uncovering math formulas, they had grown accustomed to it, even finding this teaching invigorating.

Finally disentangled, she checked the time; it was already eleven thirty. Jiang Mingyue didn’t delay further and washed her hands to cook.

First, she rinsed the rice and set it to steam—once that key step was done, she could serve space food for convenience and efficiency.

Thus, by twelve o’clock when Mrs. Jiang and they returned, the food was already on the table.

Cilantro mixed with century eggs drizzled with chili oil, that aromatic delight... Impossible not to have an extra bowl.

Sour fish soup, after a morning’s work sweating a lot, this dish was an appetite booster and rice companion. It’s indispensable for those who sweat excessively and lose their appetite.

Then, two meat cans, sliced and stir-fried with green pepper shreds to make a big plate, as with the half duck in the morning, all from Jiang Shuangyi.

By the way, her doctor brother hid a pile of money in a shoebox along with a note.

For her!

Planned for a long time it seems!

But if it weren’t for toppling the shoe box over, she wouldn’t have discovered it.

Additionally, she made two vegetarian dishes, perfectly matching this summer’s heat.

This month, Jiang Mingyue would try to adjust diet compositions, focusing on rice for lunch while dinners could be more plentiful—don’t tell her to eat less at night.

Big Brother was back from public grain deliveries, which surprised Jiang Mingyue.

"Other villages should have started their public grain trips at midnight; how did you all..." leisurely load the carts after breakfast and slowly hit the road? It’s possible?

Big Big Brother chuckled, "I had Jiao Can go to the commune last night to queue; we were the first village to submit grain."

"That’s still not right; how could your carts keep pace?"

Feeling scorned by his sister, Jiang Jian Country grinned foolishly: I have my tricks!

"Our convoy isn’t slow. The patrol team has been training by running in the mornings for months. Their cart-pushing speed isn’t slower than my tricycle riding."

This remark instantly ruffled Mrs. Jiang, who listened in: "You said what? I suspected my tricycle was missing, turns out you’re the thief, Jiang Jian Country, you’ll wash the dishes for a month, no negotiations."

Jiang Jian Country: "...Alright." It was as if it wasn’t him usually washing them, he fancied the idea that men should learn kitchen skills to charm future wives.

The other siblings chuckled quietly, even Xiao Ran covered his mouth to laugh: Third Aunt is a lion when angry, though this lion lacks teeth, won’t bite hard.

Jiang Mingyue was curious about this year’s public grain price, asking Big Big Brother.

"Just for rice, it’s fifteen cents a pound; exceeding the prescribed amount submitted becomes twenty-three cents, referring to first-class rice. Others have different prices. Our village only brought the public grain quota; I noticed two villages exceeded their quota, not considering calamities. If their villagers lack food later, buying at high prices would be unwise."

Jiang Mingyue recalled the previous village official liked to report exaggerated grain yields.

"Big Brother, what grain amount did you report?"

"Twenty percent less than actual yield. Still, we received orders from above asking us to submit thirty percent. I’ve calculated with Shu enough food for villagers, fortunately reported less."

Jiang Mingyue: "..." What talent! That amount is reasonable, considering both sides. As long as the harvest is normal, farmers can’t not contribute grain, city workers need to eat, defending military personnel need to fill their stomachs—all this grain must come from farmers.

Mrs. Jiang, being experienced: "Aren’t you afraid of losing reputation? People might say, see, Jiang Jian Country took office, and Qingshan Village’s grain yield drastically fell, lacking ability!"

Jiang Mingyue glanced at Mrs. Jiang, speechless!

"Reputation is nothing compared to life, and though my reported yield is low, Qingshan Village’s poverty alleviation is undeniable; people have eyes, besides, I’m upright and fear no crooked shadow."

Jiang Mingyue gave her big brother a silent thumbs-up: He’s made progress!

Now, it seems Big Brother is very suited for this path.

It’s just the educational level... if aiming for further promotion, it’ll be challenging, more education is necessary.