Rong Lianhu smiled and nodded: "Of course, these are what your father picked out for you outside, along with some comic books. Take a look and see if you like them."

Rong Zhigao also came over, picked up a set of comic books, and when he saw that it was "The Changing World," he immediately exclaimed happily, "Wow, it's 'The Changing World,' thank you, Dad!"

Since bringing them back from their hometown, Rong Lianhu had never seen him so lively. He gently ruffled his hair with a touch of sadness and said, "Study hard, and Dad will buy you even more in the future."

"Dad, I will study hard."

Rong Lianhu nodded: "Alright, you guys go get your food first, and we'll go to town to pick up your sister after we eat."

Upon hearing that they were going to town to pick up their younger sister, the two stopped reading their comic books, grabbed their lunchboxes, and ran to the canteen.

Rong Lianhu changed his clothes and sat in the house waiting for his two sons. After a while, he saw them running back, covered in sweat.

Rong Lianhu quickly said, "Slow down, it's so hot. If you make this trip, you'll have wasted a whole day's worth of water."

Rong Zhiyuan whispered, "Dad, we have enough water to drink. Mom brings back a lot of water from Uncle Qingxuan every day."

Rong Zhigao patted him: "Mom told you not to tell anyone, why can't you keep your mouth shut?"

Rong Zhiyuan pouted: "I told my dad, but I didn't tell anyone else."

The eldest son was instructing his younger brother, and Rong Lianhu didn't interrupt. He waited until they stopped talking before speaking, "Alright, let's eat. After we finish, we'll go to town."

The two quickly ate their rice, and while they were eating, Rong Lianhu took out the gifts he was going to take to town.

A Zhongshan suit for Qing Xuanzi, a dried chicken, and a dried rabbit.

But after his two sons had finished eating, he saw the blazing sun outside, making it feel like he was being roasted in an oven. He hesitated again. He couldn't just rush to town in the middle of the day to see his sons because he missed his daughter. So he decided to wait a while.

He said to the two of them, "Eat your fill and rest for a while. Go out when the sun isn't so strong."

Rong Zhigao: "I'm not afraid of the sun."

Rong Zhiyuan: "I'm not afraid either."

Rong Lianhu: "I'm scared!"

Okay, I received two disdainful looks.

Ronglianhu grinds his teeth...

You brat, who am I doing this for?

The son ultimately couldn't defy his father, so the two of them simply went to read comic books.

Around 4 p.m., in the courtyard of No. 7 Sanli Lane, Qing Xuanzi finally made his move on the largest cucumber on the vine.

After washing it clean, he took a bite. It was crunchy, and cucumber juice dripped down his chin. He sighed with satisfaction, "No matter how bad the drought is, it can't stop me."

This worried Rong Jiaojiao greatly. She reached out her hand, screaming, but Qing Xuanzi wouldn't give it to her. She was only seven months pregnant; how could she bite it? She was afraid of choking.

At that moment, an invisible pulling force came, and in the next instant, the cucumber was freed from Qing Xuanzi's hand.

Qing Xuanzi realized what was happening and quickly used his divine sense to pull the object back.

The two women pulled at each other, but Rong Jiaojiao couldn't win. Whether she was angry or something else, she stopped trying to take it.

But the next second, she had an even bigger and fresher cucumber in her hand, which she immediately put into her mouth.

Qing Xuanzi quickly snatched it away, and Rong Jiaojiao was fuming. The next second, she got another one, which Qing Xuanzi snatched away as well.

Qing Xuanzi snatched one after another, staring intently at Rong Jiaojiao, hoping she would take out another one. Sure enough, the next second she had another one in her hand, but Qing Xuanzi snatched it away again.

As the saying goes, once is enough, twice is too much, but three times is not enough. Rong Jiaojiao could no longer hold back and burst into tears, and then cucumbers were thrown at Qing Xuanzi's forehead one by one.

Before long, a dozen or so had fallen to the ground. At this point, Rong Jiaojiao stopped crying and started giggling.

Qing Xuanzi didn't know what to do with her, so he helplessly picked up the cucumber and put it aside. Then he looked at Rong Jiaojiao and wondered where the cucumbers came from.

Just then, a familiar knocking sound came from the courtyard gate. Qing Xuanzi scanned the area with his divine sense and saw that Rong Lianhu and his two sons were standing outside the door.

The next second, the door opened, and Rong Lianhu walked in carrying some things: "Master, we've come to pick up Jiaojiao."

Qing Xuanzi glanced at him and said, "Call me brother."

Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan also came in and greeted, "Hello, Uncle Qingxuan."

Qing Xuanzi's expression softened: "Alright, hello."

He handed each of them a cucumber, and the three of them couldn't help but swallow hard when they saw the cucumbers.

In previous years, cucumbers would not have been a scarce commodity, but in this year's harvest, they are extremely hard to find.

The two hesitated to accept, but Qing Xuanzi said, "Go ahead, what are you men doing, being so hesitant?"

Seeing Qing Xuanzi's face turn serious, the two quickly accepted the task, and only then did Qing Xuanzi put away his serious expression.

Rong Lianhu had already come up to Rong Jiaojiao and reached out his hand, saying, "Come here, Jiaojiao, Daddy's back. Can Daddy give you a hug?"

As soon as he approached, Rong Jiaojiao immediately rubbed her nose and turned her head to the side.

Qing Xuanzi laughed out loud: "Hahaha, your daughter is disgusted with you, isn't she? How long has it been since you took a bath?"

Rong Lianhu was embarrassed: "It's only been a week, is the smell really that strong?"

Nowadays, no matter how glamorous people were in the past, they all smell of the same old stench when they walk down the street.

Qing Xuanzi looked at him, then at the two boys, and saw that their hair was also shiny with oil.

He disdainfully tossed each of the three a cleansing talisman, and the three of them were immediately clean from the inside out. Even Rong Zhiyuan's tattered cloth shoes with holes and toes were clean to the point of being white.

Seeing such a miraculous ability suddenly made all three of them widen their eyes. Rong Lianhu was a little better off, after all, he had seen such methods before.

But the two boys were different; they looked at Qing Xuanzi as if he were a god.

Seeing their gazes, Qing Xuanzi smiled smugly, but still waved his hand humbly, saying, "Don't look at me like that, I'm not a god."

Rong Zhigao and Rong Zhiyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing admiration in each other's eyes. Rong Zhiyuan whispered, "Uncle Qingxuan, you're amazing! You're even more amazing than my dad!"

Qing Xuanzi laughed and reached out to pat his head, saying only, "Just a little trick." He didn't offer any further explanation, because they wouldn't understand even if he did.

No matter how much his two sons admired Qing Xuanzi, Rong Lianhu only wanted to be close to his own daughter.

He reached out his hands to Rong Jiaojiao again, and Rong Jiaojiao, no longer showing any disdain, returned the gesture.

Rong Lianhu picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. The little girl was not at all estranged after not seeing him for more than a month. She giggled and grabbed at her father's face randomly.

After playing with the little girl for a while, Qing Xuanzi said to Rong Lianhu when he saw that it was almost time, "There is water and food in the kitchen. Go and cook. We'll eat here tonight." He then looked at the cucumbers in the basket and said, "I have something to tell you."