Sitting by the fire, feeling warm and cozy, Xue Fu suddenly felt her eyelids getting heavy.

With each blink, her eyelids grew heavier until she could no longer open them, and her consciousness slowly sank away.

But when she was lifted up and airborne, Xue Fu was still somewhat conscious, but she was too weak to open her eyes and too sleepy to speak.

She knew it was Gu Chong. She instinctively nuzzled her head against his chest, full of dependence.

Xue Fu slept for almost two hours.

She slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the gray beams above her head for a long while before slowly coming to her senses.

She recognized it as Gu Chong's room.

The winter light is not as bright and orange as in summer; it carries the paleness of a cold winter, white and bright.

It was very quiet at the moment. The only sound in the room was her breathing. There was no other noise in the courtyard. It seemed that she was the only person in the Gu family.

Xue Fu rubbed her face and sat up, supporting herself with her hands.

When Gu Chong carried her to the bed for a nap, he thoughtfully took off her cotton-padded coat, leaving her only wearing a warm cashmere sweater underneath.

Fortunately, his blanket was thick and the bed was warm, so she didn't feel cold when she got up.

As expected, Gu Chong was not at home.

I don't know what he went out to do.

Gu Fei has not returned yet.

Xue Fu didn't choose to go back to the educated youth settlement, since she would be bored there anyway.

She entered the main room, where the charcoal brazier was not completely extinguished and still retained some warmth. She reached out to warm herself.

She then noticed Gu Fei's comic book on the table in the main room and, out of boredom, grabbed it to read and pass the time.

I had just finished flipping through two comic books and hadn't even started reading the third when I heard the door being pushed open outside.

She got up to go and saw that it was Gu Chong who had returned.

Xue Fu smiled broadly, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time, and happily ran to him: "You're back!"

Gu Chong hadn't put the basket down yet, and although his face didn't show much emotion, he was deeply moved.

She looked at him with a charming smile, and Gu Chongyi gazed back at her with equally deep eyes.

Although they don't have children yet, this is probably what they mean by "a wife, children, and a warm bed."

The person he likes is waiting for him to come home.

An overwhelming urge to marry her surged within me.

He really wanted to marry her.

He swallowed the words that were about to come out of his throat, then chuckled softly, "Yes, I'm back."

"I just went to see Zhou Zhi and got some things for him," he explained as he led her into the house.

"I've bought the tickets to Haicheng too." He put down his basket, took out the tickets and documents wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket, and handed them over.

Xue Fu was surprised, her eyes sparkling with admiration: "So fast!"

Gu Chong felt a burning sensation under her gaze: "There's an old buyer who works for the county's transportation bureau, and we happen to have some connections."

"Ah..." Xue Fu pursed her lips, belatedly feeling guilty, "Then I owe them a favor."

"I'm sorry..."

Gu Chong frowned: "Aren't you happy?"

Xue Fu hesitated, but still honestly answered her true feelings: "Happy."

After all, Gu Chong bought her the hardest-to-get soft sleeper ticket!

I'd be so happy to be able to sleep in a soft sleeper! It would make the journey much more comfortable!

But the better the vote, the bigger the favor owed.

Xue Fu felt somewhat unworthy of the honor at this moment, appearing to be caught in a dilemma.

"As long as you're happy."

Gu Chong touched her soft cheeks, knowing what she was worried about.

She was worried about him.

Gu Chong liked the care she showed him, but he was also afraid that it would burden her and make her less willing to reveal her 'needs' to him.

"Repaying favors isn't a problem," Gu Chong reassured her, telling her not to worry too much. "Don't you trust me?"

Of course she believed him.

She knew how capable he was.

Gu Chong is the best!

"Alright then!" Xue Fu sighed, then tried to compose herself.

Then she, as the girlfriend, can only enjoy it!

After dinner, Xue Fu returned to the educated youth settlement.

With only a few days left before their holiday, the educated youth have been busy with a thorough cleaning and packing their belongings.

Xue Fu also helped pack her things.

It has to be said, she has a lot of stuff.

Her family sends things over every month; her clothes alone fill a whole closet. The extra thick clothes that don't fit in the closet are folded up and placed in the corner of her bed.

She didn't plan to bring many clothes when she went back home for the New Year, as she still has clothes at home.

What worries her is that if she is transferred back to the city, she will have to pack all these clothes into parcels and take them to the city to be sent by express delivery.

It would probably take two or three snakeskin bags to hold it all.

And all the other things she bought, like buckets, basins, and jars, she definitely couldn't take with her.

But all of this is negotiable; she can take it all to the Gu family.

Looking at her pile of clothes, she sighed silently.

What can we do then?

She can only rely on her muscular and strong boyfriend!

"By the way, I'm going into town tomorrow. Is there anything you need me to bring back for you?"

The speaker was Liu Ling. As in previous years, every time she returned to the city, she was like a guest visiting relatives, carrying large and small bags of local specialties.

Cheng Pei-pei shook her head and said, "No need."

After buying the train ticket, she didn't have much money left.

And she didn't want to take anything back with her.

Her family doesn't send things over very often, so where would she get the money to buy things to send back as a subsidy? Dream on.

Xue Fu thought for a moment and said, "Liu Ling, could you bring me some wool yarn?"

She handed her the money and tickets: "Bring two skeins, oh no! Three skeins of yarn!"

Liu Ling nodded; the price of yarn was what it was, so it should be relatively easy to buy. She asked Xue Fu, "What color do you want to buy?"

Xue Fu hesitated for a moment, but thinking of the New Year, she still chose the most festive red.

"It's red, isn't it?"

"good."

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the production team opened the granary, and it was another lively day.

Xue Fu was also somewhat excited.

Yesterday, she went with Gu Chong to the commune accounting office to check her work points.

Gu Chong would occasionally go out to "do business" with Zhou Zhi. He didn't do the farm work very meticulously, and usually he would take seven out of ten work points.

But when you add up all the work points in a year, he ranks in the middle to upper range among the young men in the village.

Because Gu Chong would take on some land reclamation work, which would earn him extra work points as a subsidy. He also wanted to use this land reclamation as a cover for himself.

Xue Fu's work points, in comparison, were exceptionally mediocre, barely enough to make ends meet.

Her job at the fishpond was originally quite easy, earning her only four work points a day.

Xue Fu looked at the verified quantity and had no other objections.

When Xue Fu and the Gu brothers arrived at the granary the next day, a long queue had already formed.