Upon arriving at Qi Xiaoyan's room, Qi Xiaoyan poured He Tiantian a glass of water from the thermos.

"Sister Tian, ​​have some water." Qi Xiaoyan handed over a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds and placed them on the table. "My mom roasted them, they're so delicious."

He Tiantian didn't stand on ceremony. After drinking some water, she and Qi Xiaoyan started eating pumpkin seeds together.

"Little Yan'er, Aunt Liang just said that some girls can't walk away when they see a man. Who is she talking about?" He Tiantian asked curiously, starting to gossip since she had nothing else to do.

Gossip isn't just the domain of middle-aged and elderly women like Liang Hongyu and Grandma Qi; He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan are also quite adept at it. They just never talk about it outside; they only chat amongst themselves in their little house.

With no entertainment options, gossip and idle chatter became the topic of conversation for everyone.

"Hehe, I knew you'd ask," Qi Xiaoyan laughed. "It's Qi Fangfang and Qi Zhenzhen, these two cousins!"

Upon hearing that it was Qi Fangfang, Qi Fenfen, and He Tiantian, they became even more interested.

"Tell me, stop keeping me in suspense," He Tiantian said with interest. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory, so He Tiantian wanted to know more.

Seeing He Tiantian's interest, Qi Xiaoyan cleared her throat and said, "It was during those few days when you went back to Nanshi that the commune's propaganda team came to our village. On the first day, they showed a movie, and everyone went to watch. On the second morning, they started singing songs to encourage and thank the people for their hard work throughout the year. One of the accordion players was sick and couldn't provide the accompaniment, so Li Mingkai volunteered to go on stage to help. Li Mingkai was dressed very neatly and was quite handsome. The young wives and girls in the audience blushed and their hearts raced. Qi Fangfang and Qi Zhenzhen started arguing in front of everyone to get a better spot. Anyway, it was quite an ugly scene, and everyone was laughing at them behind their backs!"

He Tiantian was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Is that still the case? What do you think of Li Mingkai?"

He Tiantian didn't care how infatuated Qi Fangfang and Qi Fenfen were, after all, they were her rivals. He Tiantian wasn't a saint; she secretly hoped they'd be ruined by that ungrateful, heartless Li Mingkai!

But Qi Xiaoyan can't do it!

Now He Tiantian considers her a good friend, and she has not only put in a lot of effort but also sacrificed a great deal for Qi Xiaoyan, hoping that Qi Xiaoyan can have a healthy body and a sharp mind. She's gone to such lengths; if Qi Xiaoyan still falls into the trap set by Li Mingkai, He Tiantian doesn't know what to do next!

Qi Xiaoyan smiled and said, "I don't think there's anything special about him. I just think he plays the accordion quite well, but nothing else is particularly outstanding."

Thankfully, I wasn't fooled!

It seems that the previous method of isolating Qi Xiaoyan and diverting her attention was correct. We should continue to implement it well in the future!

"You can't judge a book by its cover," He Tiantian said. "That Li Mingkai doesn't work hard in the village, and he's very close to Lin Xiaoru and Huang Jingli. You become like those you associate with, so he's probably not a good person."

He Tiantian is really going all out!

In an attempt to smear Li Mingkai's image—or rather, to some extent, He Tiantian was simply telling the truth, albeit a few years earlier than expected.

Qi Xiaoyan nodded in agreement, saying, "He looks like a gigolo, unreliable!"

Hearing Qi Xiaoyan's words, He Tiantian felt relieved, but inwardly she was also thinking, "You were really screwed over by this pretty boy in your past life."

"Who said that?" He Tiantian asked, wondering if anyone else had also discovered Li Mingkai's true nature.

“My mom said that Li Mingkai was very popular on stage that day, and that a man like that attracts a lot of attention and isn’t someone who’s going to settle down,” Qi Xiaoyan said. She and He Tiantian talk about everything. With the guidance of her parents and good friends, she was no longer blind to fall for Li Mingkai.

The two sisters talked for a long time, and it was almost noon before He Tiantian finally went home.

In the afternoon, with the help of Grandma Qi, He Tiantian roasted a lot of pine nuts. The rabbit meat wasn't ready yet, so they couldn't send it, but they planned to send more.

My parents ate five jin (2.5 kg), and Huo Yingjie ate ten jin (4.5 kg). We also kept a few jin at home to eat as snacks.

Pine nuts are high in oil, taste great, and have many uses.

That evening, Qi Xiaoyan came over and told He Tiantian that Secretary Qi had agreed to discuss the commune's affairs the next day.

"Sister Tian, ​​you wouldn't believe it! Comrade Zuo and Comrade Xiang caught three wild boars, dozens of rabbits, and over twenty pheasants in the traps they dug! My dad arranged for two team leaders to go with Comrade Zuo and Comrade Xiang to dig traps elsewhere, hoping to catch even more prey. My dad also arranged for Brother Er Gou and a few cart drivers from the village to go to the county supply and marketing cooperative to sell our goods. Tomorrow we'll have two oxcarts, enough for us to ride in," Qi Xiaoyan explained, her voice brimming with excitement.

He Tiantian was also surprised that the villagers could hunt so many things.

"That's great! Everyone will get a bigger share of money at the end of this year," He Tiantian said with a smile. "Those who should give betrothal gifts should do so, and those who should exchange gifts should do so. Oh, and those who should talk about their wives should talk about their wives properly."

"Yes, my family will definitely find a wife for my brother this year," Qi Xiaoyan said confidently. In her heart, her second brother was the best, and he must marry the best girl.

"With this money, plus what your family has and your second brother has, it'll be more than enough," He Tiantian chimed in. She wanted to add a word about Niu Lili, but then again, matters of marriage are unpredictable. If things go well, it's because you, the matchmaker, did a good job; if things don't, the matchmaker will also bear some responsibility.

When I see Niu Lili tomorrow, I'll subtly say a few nice words to her. Knowing Qi Xiaoyan's personality, she'll definitely think twice.

Oh dear, I don't want to think about these things anymore. She has so many things on her mind, why is she worrying about someone else's marriage?

After Qi Xiaoyan left, He Tiantian wrote two long letters, then sewed them into the package. She checked several times to make sure she hadn't put the wrong package in before she could finally go to sleep.

The next day, before dawn.

He Tiantian put on a thick fur coat donated by Grandma Qi San and sat on the swaying oxcart.

Qi Xiaoyan was the same, wearing thick clothes to keep warm.

Sister Wu, Wang Lei, and the others were in a hurry to get home and didn't feel the cold.

Last time we went to the county town, we were all feeling heavy-hearted and apprehensive; this time, we went to the county town, and we were all very happy!

As they approached the county town, it was broad daylight, and everyone's mood improved.

Secretary Qi had someone take Sister Wu, Wang Lei, and others to the train station, and left He Tiantian and Qi Xiaoyan at the post office entrance. He then went to the agricultural and sideline product purchasing station with the villagers who had already started with Qi Ergou.

Secretary Qi was very busy today and didn't have time to accompany his daughter to the hospital. Fortunately, He Tiantian was with her, so he felt at ease even without her. (To be continued.)