Refusing to marry a widower, I went on a crazy spree of sending my children to the army.

Qiao Manman stretched in the sunlight, just as she heard the brigade leader, Wang Defa, announcing over the loudspeaker: "With the summer harvest approaching, all members of the production team who are eight years of age or older and under sixty-five years of age, unless there are special circumstances, must report to the brigade headquarters."

"Any absence will result in a deduction from your rations!"

Qiao Manman was stunned for a moment, then ran back to the yard: "Dad, Mom, what does the team leader mean? Do I have to go to work too?"

He Nian looked at her sympathetically: "Yes, that's what I mean!"

The summer harvest is so important that every year at this time, government agencies, schools, and factories have to close for the holidays so that employees and students can go home to help and ensure that the grain is stored in sufficient quantity and quality.

Qiao Manman used to drift along, not asking for work points, and no one bothered her.

But if she is absent at such an important moment, she will definitely be scolded by the members.

Qiao Manman pouted, went back inside, applied sunscreen, braided her hair, and changed into long sleeves and pants.

He had a military water bottle hanging from his waist, a wide-brimmed straw hat on his head, and cotton gloves on his hands.

"Mom, I'm leaving now. Take good care of Dad at home!"

He Nian wanted to say that people in the village didn't dress like that. But thinking that the young girl liked to dress up, she didn't say anything.

As a result, Qiao Manman had just stepped out of the door when she turned back.

"Father, Mother, don't go around talking about Lu Yuan. I'm afraid he has other missions."

We'll announce it to the public when he returns to Qingshan Brigade to propose marriage.

The couple smiled and agreed. Qiao Manman waved her hand, relieved, and left, skipping over to the brigade headquarters.

There was a lot of noise and people were whispering among themselves. When they saw Qiao Manman coming over, they greeted her with smiles.

Ask about Qiao Runming's situation, and then reflect on He Nian's difficult journey. Of course, some people will accuse Qiao Manman of being pretentious.

Qiao Manman didn't mind and discussed with Ma Qiuhua: "Aunt Qiuhua, I heard that your chicks can lay eggs now. Can I trade with you for one?"

Before Ma Qiuhua could speak, Qiao Zhenzhen stepped in to stop her: "Qiao Manman, how dare you make such an outrageous request!"

Qiao Manman raised an eyebrow: "You think you're so shameless? I thought you'd just been dumped and were going to hide at home for a couple of days. Tsk tsk, you really are invincible!"

Touched on a sore spot, Qiao Zhenzhen's face darkened.

He reached out to scratch Qiao Manman: "At least I'm engaged to the deputy battalion commander, which is better than you having no one to marry!"

Qiao Manman: "......"

Is this something to brag about?

She didn't understand, but she chose to respect it!

He grabbed Qiao Zhenzhen's arm, making her grimace and unable to move.

He turned to look at Ma Qiuhua, his eyes unconsciously carrying a hint of ruthlessness.

Ma Qiuhua trembled slightly and stammered, "Okay, after work, Auntie will take the chicks to your house."

Qiao Manman hummed in agreement, then her expression changed instantly, and she said with a sweet smile, "Thank you, Auntie!"

Ma Qiuhua's heart was pounding wildly, and she thought to herself, "This girl is really terrifying."

Her ability to change her expression was so masterful, was she sure it wasn't inherited from He Nian's madness? She had her doubts!

A short while later, the captain came out. First, he took attendance to check if anyone was absent.

Then he gave everyone a few words of encouragement: "This year the temperature is low and there is little rain, so the wheat is ripening later than in previous years. But we cannot be careless or take it lightly. We must complete the task in the shortest possible time, with guaranteed quality and quantity!"

Does everyone have confidence?

"Yes!" Everyone raised their right hands and shouted at the top of their lungs.

Qiao Manman was shocked and shouted along with him. She shouted for a full minute before lowering her right hand.

The team leader assigned tasks to everyone based on age and ability: some were responsible for harvesting wheat, some for transportation, and some for threshing and drying the wheat.

Qiao Manman was assigned to work with Ma Qiuhua, Qin Erhua, and Zhao Zhaodi to harvest wheat.

Four people, four mu of land, each person earns eight work points per day.

Ma Qiuhua and the others looked at Qiao Manman in alarm, thinking that her thin arms and legs might be a burden to them.

Qiao Manman saw through it and said with a smile, "It's okay, Auntie. Each of us will get one acre of land. If I can't finish, I'll work overtime. I promise it won't affect you!"

Ma Qiuhua immediately put on a smile: "Oh, what are you saying? Auntie knows you're a quick worker, back when you were at Old Qiao's house..."

"Haha, I misspoke. It's alright, we're in charge now, and we're living a good life!"

Qiao Manman nodded: "Auntie is right!"

The group collected farm tools from the warehouse and headed to the fields together. Qin Erhua hadn't seen Qiao Manman for a while and looked at her with curiosity.

"How come it seems like the separation from family and severing ties hasn't affected you at all? Your life is actually getting better and better?"

Qiao Manman chuckled: "I used to have to wash more than a dozen pieces of clothing a day, but now I only need to take care of myself."

Before, I had to go to work after finishing housework, but now I can earn money by writing articles. Life is definitely getting better and better.

Qin Erhua gave a thumbs up: "That's why I always say you need to read more books. This person is really capable, what's that about, transforming into a dragon?"

"Ha, I really didn't know that!"

Qiao Manman thought to herself, these days you can't talk about dragons and phoenixes anymore. She'd better keep a low profile and make her fortune quietly.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Zhaodi raised her chin, as if to say, "You're not so great either!"

Qiao Manman chuckled and shook her head, not paying any attention.

Before long, the group arrived at the plot of land assigned to them by the brigade leader.

As the group leader, Ma Qiuhua assigned tasks to everyone. Each person got a plot of land, which was quite fair.

Qiao Manman stood there and observed Ma Qiuhua for a while. Only after confirming that Ma Qiuhua had learned the technique did she go to her own side to harvest wheat.

Tell me, tell me, you were cutting wheat until late last night yesterday, and now you're busy here again today.

She's really going after Mai Zi, isn't she?

However, the wheat in the field was easy to harvest; one sickle cut down a large handful at a time, and in no time, a large open space appeared in front of Qiao Manman.

Ma Qiuhua was stunned.

This is ridiculous! It's not that Qiao Manman dragged them down; it's that they were chasing after Qiao Manman!

Of course, Qiao Manman wasn't too much faster than everyone else. Too much of a good thing can be bad; she always maintained a distance of one or two rows ahead of the others.

Her back hurt so much, and there were wheat awns that pricked her skin.

Qiao Manman would sit down on the ground every now and then to rest, drink some water, and space out for a while.

The scorekeeper wanted to criticize her several times, but seeing her progress, he swallowed his words.

Qiao Manman looked innocent, rested enough, and continued working. At noon, she returned the sickle and went home, where He Nian had already prepared a delicious meal.

Big Yellow, as if it had a sure thing about them, squatted by the door. It didn't shout or yell, but rested in the shadows.

Qiao Manman greeted Da Huang, then washed her hands and went to eat.

Seeing her flushed face, He Nian felt a pang of sympathy. She asked, "Want me to help you with the chores?"

"No way!" Qiao Manman raised her hand to stop her. "If Mom goes, we'll have to harvest two acres of land. Waaah, I can't do that!"

He Nian had been tormented by Old Madam Qiao for many years, and her health wasn't very good. She didn't dare think about the possibility of her fainting on the ground.

He Nian couldn't help but laugh when she saw her pout.

"Alright, alright, Mom won't go. Let's eat!"

Qiao Manman nodded, enjoying the fragrant cured pork rice with great satisfaction.

Thinking of the big yellow dog outside the yard, I couldn't resist leaving some water at the bottom of the bowl and pouring it into its broken bowl.

He kept muttering, "Big Yellow, Big Yellow, you've finally caught a good family!"