Shi Jiashu, standing nearby, also tried to persuade them.

"Zhimeng, Qingbai, you should accept them. It's unreasonable for you to accept Lao Shang's house deed but not Huaying's and my gifts!"

Zhuang Zhi thought about it and accepted it anyway, as the saying goes, one should not refuse a gift from an elder.

"Thank you, Master and Uncle Shi. Qingbai and I will accept this magpie and plum blossom embroidery. We will definitely keep it safe!"

Liu Huaying finally spoke.

"Zhimeng, this embroidery is my favorite piece. I'm giving it to you now as a way of passing on our master-disciple relationship! I believe you will cherish it!"

Zhuang Zhimeng stated this with great certainty.

"Master, don't worry, I will take good care of this embroidery!"

Liu Huaying was satisfied with what Zhuang Zhimeng said and nodded.

An Qingbai waited for them to finish speaking before thanking them.

"Thank you for the gift, Master and Mistress! We love it!"

Only after seeing that they had accepted the money did Shi Jiashu and Liu Huaying agree to let them leave.

As soon as Zhuang Zhimeng left the cowshed, she put the gifts in the warehouse, where there was no safer place.

Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai walked side by side toward home, talking in hushed tones.

"Brother Qingbai, I never expected Grandpa Shang to give us a house! And a courtyard house in Beijing at that! I'm so happy! And the embroidery my master gave us must be very valuable!"

An Qingbai looked at her. He didn't know much about embroidery, but Zhizhi said it was valuable, so it must be. He was more curious as to why she was so happy when the courtyard house was mentioned.

"Zhizhi, do you really like courtyard houses?"

Zhuang Zhimeng nodded without hesitation and told him.

"I love it! My favorite type of house is the courtyard house. There are many houses in Beijing with a courtyard house structure. Every time I see a courtyard house, I can't help but stop and look at it before I leave!"

An Qingbai asked her again.

"Did Zhizhi live in a courtyard house in Beijing before?"

Zhuang Zhimeng shook her head.

"No, my family lives in the steel factory's residential compound. My grandfather does have a small courtyard house, which I lived in when I was a child! It was so comfortable!"

An Qingbai understood her thoughts and then made a suggestion.

"Zhizhi, if we have the chance to live in Beijing in the future, let's live in a courtyard house. Let's take a look at the house that Grandpa Shang gave us. If you like it, we'll live there directly. If you don't like it, we'll buy another place to live later!"

Zhuang Zhimeng smiled and looked at him.

"Brother Qingbai, aren't you afraid that Grandpa Shang will be angry if he hears this? He gave us the house and we're still being picky. If Grandpa Shang gets angry, he'll take the house back and not give it to us!"

An Qingbai took her hand and shook his head.

"I'm not afraid of Grandpa Shang being angry, the most important thing is whether you like it or not! Your feelings are important!"

Zhuang Zhimeng felt a sweet warmth in her heart, and she swayed his hand back and forth while asking him questions.

"Brother Qingbai, don't you think you're spoiling me too much?"

An Qingbai looked at her with a smile.

"No, I want to spoil you, I want to spoil you forever! My Zhizhi is worth spoiling no matter how much I spoil her!"

Zhuang Zhimeng smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Brother Qingbai, have you eaten honey? Why are you so sweet?"

An Qingbai gently squeezed her hand back, his smile somewhat alluring.

"Whether you've eaten honey or not is another matter, but you definitely have a sweet tongue. Zhizhi, would you like to try some?"

Zhuang Zhimeng laughed in exasperation, released her grip on his hand, and patted him on the back.

"Brother Qingbai, I just praised you, and you're already acting all frivolous! You're always spouting nonsense!"

An Qingbai smiled and took her hand again.

"Hehe, just kidding! By the way, Zhizhi, how many engagement gifts have you received?"

Zhuang Zhimeng knew he was trying to change the subject, but she still played along and read out the gifts she had received.

"My second brother and sister-in-law gave me a military water bottle, my aunt mailed me leather shoes from Tianjin, my eldest aunt mailed me clothes from Shanghai, and my uncle mailed me a watch from Guangzhou. If we add the gifts from Grandpa Shang and my master, we've received a total of six engagement gifts!"

An Qingbai understood and offered his suggestion.

"Zhizhi, make a list of all the gifts later, so we can remember to give each other gifts when we have the chance!"

Zhuang Zhimeng agreed with his idea; that was what she had originally planned as well.

"I know, I've written it all down!"

An Qingbai nodded. He then thought that his uncle and aunt would be arriving soon, but he didn't know when they would arrive.

"Zhizhi, did your uncle and aunt say when they're coming? I'll drive the tractor to pick them up."

Zhuang Zhimeng tried hard to recall the scene of her mother's phone call. Had she mentioned it? She realized that her mother hadn't told her at all when she was coming over.

"Don't even mention it. My mom never calls for more than a minute. She didn't tell me the date, she just told me that she and my dad had taken half a month off, and my grandpa and the others would be coming a week later!"

An Qingbai thought about it and estimated the days, and he felt that it would be in the next day or two.

"Zhizhi, I guess it'll be in the next day or two. You should call them tomorrow to ask for the exact time so I can pick them up!"

Zhuang Zhimeng also felt that it should be within the next day or two, and she would call back tomorrow to ask.

"Okay, I'll call home tomorrow."

Then she remembered that she had never ridden a tractor before, and an idea popped into her head.

"Brother Qingbai, let me ride with you on the tractor to pick up my parents. I've never ridden a tractor before!"

An Qingbai thought about it and agreed.

“Okay, then let’s go to the train station together to pick up your parents.”

Zhuang Zhimeng called home, and this time Zhuang Xingzhou answered the phone.

Zhuang Xingzhou was overjoyed to receive the call; he missed his daughter.

"Yaya, your mom and I were just about to call you when you called. What a coincidence!"

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