Afterwards, Xue Yanchen returned to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought some things for Luo's mother, father, and grandmother. Xue Yanchen insisted on buying them, and Luo Jingyan couldn't keep refusing. That evening, they went to the cowshed to visit the three elders.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, they made dumplings together in the cowshed.

Since the heavy snow, no one from above has come to check the cowshed. Before, when someone came to check, the villagers would inform Luo's father and the others, so there was basically no danger.

The next day, Zhao Jun and Qin Zhenzhen arrived. Zhao Jun and Xue Yanchen discussed going hunting in the mountains, and Luo Changtian also wanted to go with them.

Xue Yanchen patted him on the shoulder: "Changtian is a big kid now, come with us."

Three men went hunting, while Luo Jingyan and Qin Zhenzhen strolled around the mountain at their leisure.

Throughout the day, they caught four rabbits and four pheasants. They also saw a wild boar while hunting, but they released it.

Hunting wild boars is too dangerous, and since they don't really need pork, there's no need to hunt them.

Of the four rabbits, one was left in the cowshed, one was given to the Qin family in the county town, and the other two were taken by Xue Yanchen and Zhao Jun to their hometowns in Beijing. The same was true for the pheasants, because wild game was the most coveted food in the city.

The weather is so cold right now that water freezes instantly. Rabbits and pheasants left outdoors will freeze solid in no time, but they'll be perfectly fine to bring back to Beijing.

This was Luo Jingyan's first visit to the Xue family, and it happened to be during the Chinese New Year, so she needed to prepare some gifts for them.

Xue Yanchen said, "Your presence is the greatest gift you can give them; there's no need to prepare anything else."

"That won't do either. It's my first time visiting your home. There are elders and children there. I can't go without bringing anything. That would be very impolite."

Xue Yanchen couldn't refuse her: "Then I'll prepare with you."

Luo Jingyan knew that the Xue family liked her pastries, so this time she didn't plan to make walnut shortbread and peanut shortbread, but wanted to try something different.

She decided to make jujube paste pastries, smooth sesame cakes, pumpkin pancakes, and her own homemade cured meat and sausages, totaling about twenty pounds.

Two days later, on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the four of them boarded a train bound for Beijing.

After boarding the bus, Xue Yanchen and Zhao Jun were in charge of watching the luggage. Qin Zhenzhen pulled Luo Jingyan and insisted on sitting with her, which earned her a lot of eye-rolls from Xue Yanchen, but she pretended not to see it.

As the train approached Beijing, Qin Zhenzhen became somewhat nervous.

"I'm meeting my in-laws so soon, what should I do if I'm so shy?"

Zhao Jun said, "I, your ugly son-in-law, have been to your house so many times, and I've never been shy."

Qin Zhenzhen: "Don't you know I'm easily embarrassed?"

Zhao Jun: "So you're saying I have a thick skin?"

"Aren't you shameless? If you weren't shameless, would you have stayed at my house for three days without leaving?"

"I left at night, so I stayed during the day."

"That's because I was lazy for three days."

"Fine, I only stayed at your house for three days. I'll let you stay at my house for the rest of your life."

"It's not that I'm staying here forever, it's that you're inviting me to stay for the rest of my life."

The two were arguing, and Xue Yanchen and Luo Jingyan were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.

Luo Jingyan said, "It's really funny how you two argue."

Xue Yanchen winked at her, "Don't talk, they'll stop arguing if you do."

Seeing the two of them laughing so hard, Qin Zhenzhen said, "You only watch us argue, we want to watch you argue too."

Xue Yanchen raised an eyebrow: "We never argue."

"I don't believe it," Qin Zhenzhen said. "She and Zhao Jun have argued four or five times in the past few days. 'One day I'll see you two arguing.'"

Before we knew it, the train had entered Beijing's largest train station, Beijing West Station.

Because Xue Yanchen had told his family in advance when the train would arrive, his father asked Zhao Donglai to drive and pick them up.

At the same time, Zhao Jun and Qin Zhenzhen also got on. They first took Zhao Jun and Qin Zhenzhen to the Zhao family, and then they returned to the Xue family.

When the car arrived at the Xue family's residence, Xue Yanchen and Luo Jingyan got out, and Zhao Donglai drove the car away.

In the living room, only Mr. Xue, Xue Ningyu, Yuanyuan, and Xiao Zhaoming were present; Mrs. Xue and Grandma Xue were not there.

Xue Yanchen carried two bags and entered the house with Luo Jingyan.

When Xue Ningyu first saw Luo Jingyan, the girl's almond-shaped eyes seemed to speak volumes. Her delicate nose and cherry lips, along with her fair face, were reddened by the cold air outside, making her look even more charming and beautiful, as if she had applied rouge.

Two jet-black braids hung down over a gray checkered cotton scarf, making her look like she had stepped out of a painting, even more stunning than in the photos.

While Xue Ningyu was sizing up Luo Jingyan, Luo Jingyan was also sizing her up.

The moment Luo Jingyan saw Xue Ningyu, she could tell that she was a child of the Xue family, because she looked about 80% like Xue's mother. They both had beautiful and gentle peach blossom eyes, teardrop noses, and their mouths and face shapes were also very similar.

Unlike Xue Ningnan, she couldn't tell that the other person was from the Xue family.

Her gaze then shifted to the middle-aged man in his fifties beside her; this must be Mr. Xue.

Mr. Xue has a square face, a full forehead, a square jaw, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He has a typical auspicious appearance and looks gentle and dignified.

Xue Yanchen is a combination of his father and mother, inheriting almost all of their good qualities.

Xue Yanchen said he wouldn't let her see Xue Ningnan at the Xue family home, and Xue Ningnan really wasn't there. It's unknown whether she'll appear later.

The two little ones next to her must be Sister Xue's children.

She hadn't met Old Mrs. Xue yet and wondered what Old Mrs. Xue's attitude towards her would be. Since the old lady wasn't here, she hoped that when they met later, things wouldn't be awkward.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!