Rebooting 60, let's go on a rampage with the orange cat!

Shi Renmei thought that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, and that it is better to resolve conflicts than to create them. After finishing breakfast, she hurriedly took Lao Yu and Taozi to the police station to turn themselves in.

He first went to Officer Wang, the police officer, and earnestly said, "Taozi asked me a long time ago to borrow the radio to play with. I agreed at the time but forgot about it and didn't know when he would ask for it back. I didn't expect that yesterday when I was at work and no one was home, he couldn't find me, so he came in through the window and took the radio. He returned it last night, so I came here early this morning to try to get the case dropped. You see, he's only seventeen years old. We can't let him have a criminal record, otherwise his future will be ruined. Could you please help me get the case dropped?"

Old Wang looked at Shi Renmei sternly, then glanced at the Yu family father and son, and said, "Were you threatened or received benefits, and decided to settle this privately?"

Old Yu and his son stood there obediently, not daring to breathe.

Shi Renmei lit a cigarette for Old Wang and said, "No, no, I swear to God, I didn't get a single extra benefit. I just felt that the child is still young and was easily instigated. He acts impulsively and doesn't consider the consequences. If we give him a hand, he'll be on the right path. If we push him, he might fall down a crooked path. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Old Wang's heart skipped a beat. His eyes flashed as he looked at Taozi, who was bowing his head. He took the letter of understanding written by Shi Renmei and read it through. He then said sternly to Taozi, "Did you hear what Uncle Shi said? Your father and Uncle Shi have gone to great lengths for you. They ransacked someone's house just to borrow a radio. Is that really borrowing? Do they think we police are just for show? This matter could be a big deal or a small one. You're over sixteen but under eighteen, the amount stolen wasn't large, and you obtained a letter of understanding. Do you think you can get away with it?"

Old Yu was so ashamed that his face turned red. He hurriedly pulled his son hard to the ground and said, "You good-for-nothing, you're going to be the death of me! Hurry up and say something!"

Taozi knelt down on the ground with a thud and said, "I really know I was wrong. I will never dare to fool around with other people again."

Old Wang Chao nodded again and winked, saying, "You're lucky, kid. You turned yourself in in time. Look, your brother is here now."

Outside the gate, two policemen escorted a handcuffed "skinny man" in. The skinny man stared at Taozi without saying a word.

Old Wang chuckled and said, "Do you really think the police are pushovers? Do you think you can get away with this? If you hadn't come here with Uncle Shi, you would have come with Skinny. Let's go in together first, and I'll handle things accordingly."

Taozi was so frightened that he trembled and broke out in a cold sweat. Shi Renmei and Lao Yu could only anxiously go back to wait for news.

Three days later, Taozi was released. Because he had obtained the forgiveness of the person involved and was under the age of eighteen, he was considered an accomplice due to being instigated. He was administratively detained for three days and fined 50 yuan. He would not have a criminal record, but the police station would still keep an interrogation record.

The skinny guy was over eighteen years old and instigated minors to commit crimes. In addition, it was found that he had a criminal record before. He was detained for fifteen days and then transferred to a labor camp for one year.

After this incident, Taozi seemed to have become a different person. He often went to the docks with his second brother to do odd jobs and stopped fooling around outside.

That year, China suffered widespread floods, droughts, and other natural disasters, which led to a sharp decline in grain production and severe food shortages in rural areas, resulting in famine. However, to ensure food supplies for the people, the government implemented a system of rationing based on age. This principle ensured that all urban residents had a fixed food ration.

For example, Huai'an is a junior high school student. The state believes that children in this age group need food the most, so the ration for junior high school students is 40 jin of rice per month. Besides junior high school students, workers doing heavy physical labor have a slightly higher ration. Everyone else has a corresponding ration based on age and occupation, even newborn babies. Cadres receive no special treatment, only highly educated individuals receive some preferential treatment. It is said that English teachers in big cities, because they have returned from abroad, are also given a bottle of milk every day.

The ration has remained basically unchanged, except for a temporary reduction of one or two kilograms of grain during the most difficult months.

During the most severe food shortages, grain coupons could be sold for 2.00 yuan per jin (0.5 kg) on ​​the black market. However, due to insufficient supplies of non-staple foods, especially limited rations of cooking oil—only half a jin (250g) per person per month—and a reduction in meat consumption, people's nutritional status inevitably declined, leading to malnutrition-related illnesses such as hepatitis and edema.

To ensure the supply of staple food, the state supplied miscellaneous grains in a certain proportion of the ration during the most difficult months. The city's grain station would supply flour, barley flour, corn flour, sorghum flour, etc., and there was also a kind called "three-in-one flour", which was the worst kind of staple food supplied.

For most people in the south, flour is not a staple food. Southerners are not very good at making steamed buns or dumplings, so they use it to make pancakes. Even during the most difficult times for the country, the food rations for the urban population were always guaranteed. In fact, students in the city went to school as usual, parents went to work as usual, and urban life was normal.

Shi Huai'an's family was both working, and she was an only child, so their life wasn't affected too much. Moreover, Huai'an often took out various kinds of rice, grains, oil, noodles, meat, and other food from her space to fill the kitchen and deliver to Master Liu's family.

October 1st marked the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Porcelain factories and organizations of all sizes in the city paraded through the streets with decorated floats to celebrate. Schools in Huai'an also organized students to participate in the student parade.

At the end of October, Gu Jingxing invited a few male classmates and took Shi Huai'an to the mountains to pick chestnuts. Huai'an also brought along Duoduo Pangju and secretly instructed Pangju to transfer as many chestnuts as possible to his space when no one was paying attention.

It was late autumn, and the mountains and fields were covered in green. Lush chestnut trees could be seen everywhere, and various wild plants frolicked among each other. Accompanied by the cheerful calls of their companions, the sound of mountain streams, and the chirping of insects, the autumn morning mist shrouded the forest. The chestnut trees stood tall and straight, their trunks dark brown with clear grain, their branches and leaves abundant, displaying a steadfast and vibrant beauty.

In the cool autumn breeze, rows of chestnut trees stand on the mountain. Many of the fruits have already been harvested. People then head deeper into the mountains, where the chestnut trees are laden with fruit. The heavy chestnuts resemble strings of golden pearls, creating a sense of profound tranquility that inspires longing.

Gu Jingxing and Xiao Yi carefully tapped the chestnut tree with sticks, and brown chestnuts fell like raindrops. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows. For the parts too high to reach, they even climbed the tree and gently tapped them with long bamboo poles, causing the brown chestnuts to tumble down like pearls from a broken string.

Shi Huai'an and the orange cat Duo Duo chased after the falling chestnuts under the chestnut tree. They ran a little further inside, out of Gu Jingxing's and the others' sight, and collected piles of chestnuts into their spatial storage. They would return after they had collected enough chestnuts to process them with Gu Jingxing and the others.

After harvesting most of the chestnuts, Gu Jingxing and the others sat on the ground and began using knives to cut open the shells. The easy peeling of the chestnuts, each plump kernel bursting open, brought boundless joy and happiness! Shi Huai'an helped pack them into their schoolbags and the prepared burlap sacks…

Gu Jingxing took Huai'an home, but Huai'an only wanted a bag full of chestnuts and refused to take anything else. Gu Jingxing ignored him, picked up a sack, emptied half of it onto the ground, and then smiled as he took the remaining half of the sack back home.

Seeing so many chestnuts, Shi Huai'an first put the peeled chestnuts into her spatial storage. Then she found a large bamboo basket, packed the unpeeled, fuzzy chestnuts she and Duo Duo had collected into her space, and distributed a basket to each of her neighbors in the yard. Grandma Zhang and Aunt Yu were overjoyed and thanked her profusely. Shao Donglai lived alone and wasn't home, so she poured a small basket of fuzzy chestnuts into a basin outside his door.

Afterwards, Huai'an carefully carried the full bag of peeled chestnuts on his back, preparing to deliver it to Master Liu's house.

Just as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she suddenly noticed her fifth brother, Li Huaiyuan, standing suspiciously outside, peeking around. Perhaps he was too focused on observing what was happening inside, because when Huai'an came out, he was so startled that he trembled all over, like a frightened rabbit.

At this time, Huai'an and Li Huaiyuan had not yet officially recognized each other, so she deliberately pretended not to know him at all, secretly finding it amusing. She put on a serious face and asked in a slightly questioning tone, feigning ignorance, "Hey, what are you doing here? Who are you looking for?"

Upon seeing this, Li Huaiyuan was slightly taken aback at first, then looked the little girl with the schoolbag up and down. After a moment, he asked somewhat nervously, "Um... excuse me, are you Lao Liu?"

Hearing this, Huai'an almost burst out laughing, but she still managed to suppress her laughter, gently shook her head, and replied, "Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. But you can call me Shi Huai'an."

Li Huaiyuan was clearly taken aback by such a response and seemed somewhat at a loss for words. But he quickly composed himself and put on a friendly smile, saying, "Shi Huai'an... what a lovely name! By the way, my name is Li Huaiyuan. We both have the character 'Huai' in our names, which is quite a coincidence, isn't it?"

Then, as if he had thought of something important, Li Huaiyuan asked, "Well... I'm in third grade now, I wonder if you're in first grade?"

Upon hearing this, Huai'an could no longer suppress her inner smile, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. However, she quickly composed herself and nodded slightly, replying, "Well, I guess you could say I'm in first grade!" But in her heart, she thought, "I won't tell you, I'm actually in the first year of junior high..."

Li Huaiyuan didn't know what to say. His eldest sister had warned him not to presumptuously acknowledge them, otherwise Lao Liu's adoptive parents would be unhappy. He went to the old house where Huai'an used to live and inquired, learning that Huai'an had moved here.

He recognized Huai'an at a glance because he felt that Huai'an resembled his two older sisters. They weren't exactly alike, but they shared a similar charm. Perhaps the three sisters and their third brother looked like their father, while he and his second brother looked like their mother.

Li Huaiyuan opened his mouth, wanting to shout out, "I'm your fifth brother, and you're the sixth!" But for some reason, the words seemed stuck in his throat, unable to come out. In the end, he could only say timidly and weakly, "You...you look a bit like my little sister."

Upon hearing this, Shi Huai'an was slightly taken aback, her eyes almost welling up with tears. She then shrugged and suddenly said to Li Huaiyuan, "Wait for me here for a bit!" After saying that, she turned and ran home.

Not long after, Shi Huai'an came running back in a flurry. This time, she was carrying a large bamboo basket filled with round, fuzzy chestnuts. She jogged over, held the basket up to Li Huaiyuan, and said, panting, "This is a bit heavy. I don't know if you can lift it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Huaiyuan thought to himself, "What's a little weight? I'm a grown man!" So he quickly patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, no problem, I'm very strong!" As he spoke, he reached out and took the bamboo basket. But as soon as he lifted it, he found that the basket was much heavier than he had imagined. However, in order not to let Shi Huai'an laugh at him, he gritted his teeth and said, "It's nothing. Tell me where you need to take it, and I'll help you deliver it."

Seeing Li Huaiyuan struggling but trying to look relaxed, Shi Huai'an couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh.

She said with a grin, "Oh, I didn't ask you to deliver these for me. These are all for you. Take them home! We have plenty more at home. But remember, bring the basket back next time! Okay, I have something to do, I'll be going now!" Before she finished speaking, Shi Huai'an had already turned around and jogged away with light steps.

Li Huaiyuan stared intently at Shi Huaian's receding figure, a bright and satisfied smile involuntarily spreading across his youthful face. At that moment, his heart was filled with ripples of joy and anticipation.

"Although I didn't manage to recognize my sister this time, at least I've made acquaintances," he thought happily. "From now on, I can come over to play with her more often. Hehe, when I get home, I'll definitely tell Mom and my older sister this good news as soon as possible. Let them know that our sixth son's name is Shi Huai'an, and that his name also contains the character 'Huai'. They'll be so surprised! Haha!" Thinking of this, Li Huaiyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He looked down at the full bamboo basket of chestnuts in his hand, and his heart was filled with joy. "Oh my, Lao Liu actually gave me so many chestnuts! I never thought I was so generous to her!" The more he thought about it, the more proud he became, and he even began to fantasize about becoming a good teacher and helpful friend to his younger sister in her studies.

"Hmm, it seems I need to work harder on my studies from now on. What if I can't answer my sister's questions in the future? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing? But then again, those first-grade questions are a piece of cake for a smart and clever person like me!" Li Huaiyuan thought to himself with a smug smile, as he struggled to lift the incredibly heavy basket of chestnuts and set off on his way home, his steps faltering but his heart filled with joy.