Ms. Yingqiu exclaimed in surprise, "It's her!"

Zhao Qingyun raised an eyebrow and said, "Mom, do you know her?"

Having learned the answer, Jiang Yingqiu ignored her son. There was a seat next to Xu Lai, so she walked over and politely asked, "Is this seat taken?"

Xu Lai looked up and saw that it was the same auntie again. She shook her head, pulled the chair out a little, and said, "No one's here, Auntie, please sit down."

Jiang Yingqiu got straight to the point: "Hello Xiao Lai, I'm Zhao Qingyun's mother, we're neighbors."

Xu Lai asked in surprise, "Auntie, you are... Grandma Jiang's daughter?"

Ms. Yingqiu nodded, and Xu Lai quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Auntie, I didn't recognize you."

"It's alright. I just found out you're Aunt Xiuying's granddaughter. I knew it! Besides the Xu family, whose granddaughter could be so beautiful?"

Xu Lai blushed. Everyone was listening to her words, so she quickly joked, "Auntie, please don't praise me. I might take it seriously."

Jiang Yingqiu was chatting happily when Zhao Qingyun leaned over and whispered something. Her smile disappeared, and she said, "If it weren't for the fact that you're single," she stood up and said to Xu Lai, "Someone is looking for me over there, Xiao Lai, let's talk later."

After she went to the old lady's table, Zhao Qingyun sat down next to Xu Lai. Xu Lai looked puzzled, and he coughed lightly: "Someone is looking for her over there. Besides, this table is mostly young people, so it's not appropriate for her to be here."

Xu Lai nodded. She didn't care who was beside her, as long as she could finish her meal in peace.

After the village chief spoke, the young man lit the firecrackers and then began serving the first dish. Here, the banquet is served one dish at a time.

Xu Lai unpacked the disposable chopsticks, picked up a piece of food, and found some wood ear mushrooms that she didn't like. She wanted to pick them out, but didn't know where to put them.

Just as she was about to get another bowl, Zhao Qingyun placed the bowl next to her and said, "Give it to me if you don't like it."

Xu Lai asked, "Do you like to eat this?"

Zhao Qingyun's brow twitched. He couldn't very well say, "I can eat the food you don't like," could he? He nodded, and Xu Lai picked up some food for him, saying, "Thank you."

Midway through the meal, some elders started speaking, mostly offering blessings to the newlyweds, wishing them a long and happy marriage, many children, and a long and healthy life together.

Then the bride and groom went from table to table toasting the guests. Xu Lai poured herself a glass of juice and said, "I won't drink any alcohol. Please forgive me. I wish you a happy marriage."

Zhao Qingyun raised her glass and drank it all. Xu Laiguang had almost finished eating her food and decided to leave to catch up on some sleep.

Then someone called out to him; it was the woman he'd played cards with before. "Hey, don't go! Let's continue playing this afternoon!"

Xu Lai turned her head and said apologetically, "Sister, I have something to do this afternoon. Let's do it another day, okay?"

Zhao Qingyun was genuinely surprised to hear this conversation. She hadn't expected that the woman would play cards, and she seemed to have a decent relationship with the women in the village.

Hearing this, the older sister didn't insist, only saying, "Alright, let's continue next time."

Xu Lai walked out, and Zhao Qingyun picked up her coat and followed. She remembered that the person in charge of the accounts had given her a pack of cigarettes and a hundred yuan as a return gift. Xu Lai touched her bag and took out the cigarettes: "I don't smoke, do you want these?"

Zhao Qingyun looked at the pack of cigarettes. He also had some, but he didn't usually smoke this brand, and he didn't smoke very often.

He shook his head and took out another pack of cigarettes, saying, "Does Grandpa Xu smoke? You can give this to him, and here's my pack too."

Xu Lai laughed and said, "If you observe carefully, you'll see that he only drinks alcohol, and I can't stand the smell of smoke." The implication was that practically no one in her family smoked, except for her father.

Zhao Qingyun touched his nose, and Xu Lai grabbed his wrist with one hand, palm up, and placed the cigarette in his hand.

He could feel Xu Lai's nails rubbing against his palm. Zhao Qingyun froze. Xu Lai yawned, waved her hand, and said, "Help me take care of this. Thanks. I'm going to sleep."

...

When Xu Lai woke up, it was almost five o'clock. She played on her phone for a while. Downstairs, her grandparents were feeding the chickens. When they saw her peeking out from upstairs, they asked, "Xiao Lai, are you going to the village chief's house for dinner again?"

Xu Lai didn't want to deal with those people anymore, so she shook her head and said, "Since the village chief has called you, you can go. I'll eat something at home."

She washed her face, changed into comfortable clothes, and noticed that the fruit trees in the orchard were beginning to bear fruit, and the fruit was slowly growing. She looked and saw that the two loquat trees already had ripe fruit.

Xu Lai took a pair of scissors from the kitchen, opened the gate to the garden, and cut off a loquat. She tasted one that looked ripe; the flesh was sour that she shivered, but then she tasted a hint of sweetness.

After pruning the loquats, she observed the growth of the other fruit trees and estimated that the other fruits would be ready to eat in about a month.

She didn't have much of an appetite for dinner, so she dug out some dried fish that her grandmother had dried before, and stir-fried them with pickled green beans to make a side dish to go with the porridge.

The porridge was prepared when she came back at noon, and it was now cooked to a thick consistency. She sprinkled some chopped lettuce into it and stirred it well.

Xu Lai set aside some of the loquats she had picked and took them next door. Zhao Qingyun didn't go to eat either, intending to cook something at home. He was standing in the kitchen with his hands on his hips, thinking about what to eat for dinner, when he heard a noise at the door.

Xu Lai knocked on the door: "I'll just come in."

Zhao Qingyun came out of the kitchen and asked, "Why didn't you go eat over there?"

Xu Lai put the loquats on the table and asked in return, "You didn't go either, did you?"

He chuckled, realizing they were on the same page. They had only recently returned to the village and weren't very familiar with the locals. It would be awkward for them to go over and sit there, so it was much more comfortable to eat at home.

Seeing that he hadn't started cooking yet, Xu Lai invited, "Would you like some porridge? I cooked some; if you don't mind, would you like to have some with me?"

Zhao Qingyun nodded, left the door unlocked, and went straight to the next room.

Xu Lai ladled out the porridge, placed the side dishes on the table, and then there was the Orleans-style chicken drumstick that the advertiser had given her. Pointing to the drumstick, she said, "If there's not enough porridge, help yourselves. And we'll each have one of these."

Zhao Qingyun took the chopsticks. It was the first time he had been so clearly instructed, and this feeling was actually quite nice.

Xu Lai drank a bowl of porridge, ate the chicken leg, and started peeling loquats. Zhao Qingyun went to get a second bowl and ate a little slower than her. Xu Lai glanced around and somewhat hesitantly instructed him, "Um, I cook, but I don't like washing dishes, so... you know."

Zhao Qingyun chuckled and nodded, "Don't worry, I'll wash it."