Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 494 - 379: Quiet Dissolution

What does it mean for something to start strong and end weak...

The neighborhood canteen quietly stopped...

Zhou Jiao now thinks this is definitely the best news.

The canteen operated for two months, finally quietly ending at the end of October.

As the food at the neighborhood canteen worsened, many people started going to their work canteens.

During the first half month, everyone could still endure it; at least there were nearly full residents in the neighborhood canteen for dinner.

As work and the iron-smelting tasks increased, gradually, in less than a month, only some retired, retired, and unemployed residents continued eating there.

Then the county’s textile factory, brick kiln, meat processing factory, and other units started hiring temporary workers. By the middle of the second month, only some frail old ladies and gentlemen, and women like Zhou Jiao with little babies, were left dining there.

The improvised blast furnaces had no front-line workers or loaders, those strong labor forces.

Aunt Wang, filled with her experiences and insights, had to announce that once the grain for the month was finished, everyone should go back home.

All of a sudden, without pots, without knives, lacking firewood, coal, and lacking stored autumn vegetables, with no winter supplies prepared, everyone was running around in circles.

Why does Zhou Jiao always feel Aunt Wang is a good person?

She distributed the canteen’s firewood, coal briquettes, and autumn vegetables evenly among households.

As for the donated iron pots and knives, no one could do anything. Thick black smoke was still rolling over the county; who would dare mention iron products? Anyone who dared to say it would surely be marked. The canteen’s items might not even get a single thread shared.

Fortunately, bowls and chopsticks weren’t like in some places, all smashed. People had gotten used to bringing their lunch boxes to the canteen, much like at work; this was a small blessing in the misfortune.

By the official end of the lively activity from mid-August, everyone was back to their regular work.

This neighborhood’s high efficiency is astonishing and speechless. But no one could complain – there were too many full-time workers in the family, all going to their workplaces.

Lin Juhua also transferred to the textile factory, following her two sisters-in-law to work, and then Shi Tou and Mai Sui finally entered the textile factory’s nursery.

Oh, for the disbandment of the kitchen, Zhou Jiao felt her second sister-in-law deserved the most credit. It was because Lin Juhua was the first to become a temporary worker at the textile factory, sparking this incident.

For this, Zhou Jiao always felt guilty facing Aunt Wang.

Mr. Zhang and Mother Zhang returned from visiting their eldest son without any smiles on their faces.

Zhou Jiao knew they had encountered old issues. She could only comfort them with kind words and analyze it for the two elders. There, it wouldn’t last long like a rabbit’s tail.

Mr. Zhang and his wife held doubts about other people’s words, but they had unwavering faith in the words of Zhang Guoqing and Zhou Jiao. Haven’t they always seen the eldest son and daughter-in-law keep their promises?

Setting aside worries, revitalized Mr. Zhang and Mother Zhang showed their capability as heads of the family.

Mr. Zhang started organizing his sons to sneak off and cut firewood.

Mother Zhang guided the two younger daughters-in-law in pickling vegetables and took out the privately stored dried eggplants, beans, and vegetables.

This time, the two elders did not regret the three empty yards in the village.

An elder in the family is like a treasure.

Zhou Jiao felt that the two treasures in her family indeed made early preparations, organizing everything effectively.

Clearing chimneys, hanging curtains...

Everything inside and out was orderly, thanks to the invaluable life experience of the two elders.

Soon, November arrived, with temperatures dropping in the morning and evening, leaving only some warmth at noon.

Even Zhou Jiao could no longer suppress her inner anxiety. She also began taking her son at noon, following Zhang Guoqing to secretly go back to her hometown and climb the mountains.

This weekend, following Zhang Guoqing to the mountains again, she saw many hazelnuts, pine nuts, and chestnuts scattered on the ground, but without rain, it was nearly impossible to find traces of wood ear mushrooms. Returning to the mountain cabin, the fish in the pond were still not decreasing.

"Brother, how long has it been since you’ve seen Mr. Wang?"

Zhang Guoqing, keeping an eye on the surroundings, suddenly heard her question, turned his head to look at her, "Are you wondering why they haven’t come to the mountain? I’ve heard there are iron ores in their mountain; their village built many furnaces. So, Mr. Wang and his sons were probably used as the main labor force and couldn’t make it up the mountain."

Zhou Jiao listened and understood. Nearby Zhang Family Village, several villages, about a dozen old hunters had no free time, along with Mr. Wang and his family. No wonder no one was climbing the mountain; the pine nuts and fish were still plentiful.

"After the autumn harvest this year, it was immediately time to build the canteen. Even the young guys and girls, young wives from each village were organized into militia groups. Except for the dry goods at the foot of the mountain, no one had time to come up. But I guess it won’t be long; I don’t know about other villages, but the old captain will definitely organize people to go up before the snow."

After Zhang Guoqing finished, he looked at the pond, then at Zhou Jiao.

Zhou Jiao smiled with her lips pressed, "Do it the way you think. Keep a good deed!"

"Good wife! We won’t catch much, just a net full of big fish for our son to see. Son, what do you think?"

Ping’an nodded, pointing at the pond’s surface.

"My son is nowadays becoming more and more tight-lipped. Son, is there anything else you want to catch in the mountains? Tell Daddy, today besides Mom, you have the final say."

Ping’an, just like Zhou Jiao, lightly furrowed his brow, looked around, and shook his head.

This expression made Zhang Guoqing laugh heartily, patting the child in front of his chest, "You need to speak. If you don’t say anything, Daddy doesn’t understand what you mean."

"No meat. I want meat."

Zhang Guoqing shook his head at Zhou Jiao. How could this child like meat so much? They never skimmed his meals at home; it was practically a special supply among special supplies.

Zhou Jiao laughed, "Alright, we’ll catch some meat for you later. But if there are wolves, you can’t move."

Zhang Guoqing saw his son tense up at the mention of wolves and quickly patted him, "It’s alright. Daddy is holding Ping’an, don’t be afraid. The big bad wolf can’t beat Daddy."

Ping’an heard this and smiled, "Daddy is awesome."

"Our Ping’an is even more amazing, speaking before the age of one, truly remarkable. More awesome than Daddy."

Listening to the child giggle, Zhang Guoqing patted his little head and asked Zhou Jiao, who was laughing beside him, "Jiao Jiao, do you plan to celebrate Ping’an’s birthday by the lunar calendar or the Gregorian calendar?"

"Let’s go with the lunar calendar. Father and mother remember the lunar calendar."

"Alright. Our Ping’an will celebrate two birthdays every year from now on." Zhang Guoqing said, stroking his son’s head with affection. His son was wronged. If the timing were better, he would definitely have a big feast. If this were the past, with a son like his being such a genius, he wouldn’t be afraid of others knowing; instead, he’d proudly show off.

Zhou Jiao looked at his expression and advised: "As long as the child is safe and sound, it’s fine. Don’t worry about ceremonies. The excitement is for others to see; we just need to focus on living our own lives. This time I asked the parents not to come because I was worried that those people in Beijing would come and discover the child’s precociousness. For the birthday, it’s mainly the grab test, do you think Ping’an needs to do it? I believe it’s good to just let him eat longevity noodles; it’s a good omen."

Zhang Guoqing teasingly looked at her. Ever since she had been served by her great-aunt’s personally cooked longevity noodles that day, she had never forgotten it. On his birthday, she actually went to let the village’s oldest grandmother personally cook the noodles. Truly superstitious!

"Who are you planning to ask to make the noodles this time?"

Zhou Jiao laughed heartily, "I won’t tell you yet."

The resentment her husband had towards whoever cooked the noodles was quite deep, always remembering this matter. She had personally made too many longevity noodles for Zhang Guoqing, fearing they might not be effective. This year, she specifically invited the old lady to come just to wish him safety and longevity.