To be honest, what family wouldn't want a child as well-behaved, obedient, and capable as her?

When Shen Mu Ning heard what he said, what could she do but nod silently and accept their affection in treating her like a junior?

After all, their rarity didn't actually cause her any trouble; it was just that she wasn't used to it.

"Here, have some sweet soup." Li Guihua came over briskly with a cup of sweet soup and handed it to her.

Although Shen Mu Ning herself didn't particularly like drinking sweet soup, she knew that in the countryside, serving sweet soup to guests was the highest level of hospitality.

The fact that Aunt Guihua made herself a cup of sweet soup without hesitation only shows that she truly cares for her.

So she didn't refuse and took the sugar water.

Just as she was about to explain to Gu Chengde the purpose of her visit, Li Guihua arrived beside her.

His excited expression, eager to share something with her, was impossible to hide.

She seems to rarely see people in this era so eager to express themselves and share.

After all, people at this time seem to be very reserved and rarely show their emotions so openly.

So Shen Mu Ning just sat quietly, waiting for her to say everything she wanted to say.

"Hey, Xiao Shen, you have no idea, the kimchi-making method I learned from you guys is really good."

“I had completely forgotten that our vegetables were soaking in the jar for the past few days, and I kept saying that we hadn’t planted enough vegetables this year.”

"It was only after my daughter-in-law reminded me that I remembered to check on the kimchi."

Li Guihua wasn't afraid of Shen Mu Ning laughing at her, so she just told her funny stories from before.

The other day, every time she cooked and went to her own vegetable garden to pick vegetables, she kept grumbling about how it seemed like there weren't enough vegetables to eat this year.

It wasn't until her daughter-in-law reminded her that she remembered she had picked a large batch of vegetables to dry and make pickled vegetables.

I remembered what that girl named Dingxiang from the educated youth settlement had said: put the vegetables in a jar, keep the water on the jar's edge from drying out, and the pickled vegetables will be ready in a few days.

If the kimchi turns out well, it'll be ready to eat.

That very day, she opened the jar, took out the pickled vegetables, and made them into a side dish to go with her rice.

As a result, everyone in the family felt that too little rice had been cooked that day.

"Xiao Shen, you have no idea how much they've become addicted to kimchi ever since I let them try it."

Everyone thinks kimchi is a great accompaniment to rice, and even Gu Xiaohu said it's the second best food after meat.

If the kimchi hadn't been so salty, that kid would definitely have wanted to eat it as a meal.

“Yes, Grandma is right,” Gu Xiaohu chimed in, sounding quite precocious for his age.

"It seems your kimchi is quite successful."

Hearing Li Guihua say these things to her, Shen Muling was both amused and exasperated, but she still responded seriously.

"That's because you educated youth were generous and willing to teach us."

If Dingxiang hadn't been willing to share her skills and guide them step by step, they wouldn't have been able to make it.

However, since this kimchi tastes good and can be preserved until winter, I really need to think about how to repay it.

She didn't say it in front of Shen Mu Ning, but decided to discuss it with the old man after he left.

Thinking of this, Li Guihua suddenly remembered that Shen Mu Ning must have come to her house to see the old man about something.

She interrupted their conversation as soon as she came out and kept chatting with her, which made them feel a little embarrassed.

"Xiao Shen, I'm sorry, I'm just chatting with you about such trivial things. Has it taken up your time?"

"No, I enjoy chatting with Aunt Guihua. Besides, my matter isn't a big deal."

Seeing the apologetic expression on her face, Shen Mu Ning knew what she was thinking and quickly comforted her.

Since Aunt Guihua had always treated her well after she went to the countryside, she deserved to repay her with sincerity.

I only chatted with her for a while, it didn't take up much time.

"You need to talk to your Uncle Gu, right? Then I won't disturb your conversation."

"It's perfect timing, Auntie is going to the kitchen to check on how the food is coming along. You can eat right after you finish chatting."

"Xiao Shen will eat here, so there's no need for him to go back and cause any more trouble."

Li Guihua knew that Shen Muning cooked alone and did not mix with the other educated youth.

Although this way she was less likely to have conflicts with other educated youth, it was still quite troublesome for her to go back and cook alone.

So, seeing that it was getting late, I decided to let Chen Mu Ning stay at home for dinner.

In any case, she was just a little girl and couldn't eat much food.

"Yes, that's right, Xiao Shen. It's so late. It would be too much trouble for you to go back and make another trip. Why don't you just eat here?"

Gu Chengde, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up and invited them to stay for dinner.

Of course, it wasn't just because of his affection for Shen Mu Ning.

More importantly, it was because her abilities caught his eye.

"No, no, thank you Uncle Gu and Aunt Guihua for inviting me to dinner, but I have already eaten, so I won't bother you any longer."

Faced with the two enthusiastic people, Shen Mu Ning really couldn't resist.

Besides, in those days, no family was wealthy, not even the brigade leader's family.

She didn't have the nerve to stay at someone else's house for a meal.

But she couldn't just refuse outright, so saying that she had already eaten was the best option.

"Huh? You..." Li Guihua had originally thought that if Shen Mu Ning refused, she would definitely use her silver tongue, which had been used to play matchmaker for her several times, to keep her there.

Who knew that once the child opened her mouth, she blocked any way for people to persuade her to stay for dinner.

"Would I lie to you? I really have already eaten, and I'm not hungry at all right now."

Shen Muling emphasized it again, so Li Guihua had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​inviting her to stay for dinner.

She was just subtly urging her old man to get things done quickly if there was anything to do, and not to procrastinate.

Noticing the interaction between the two, Shen Mu Ning found it amusing but didn't point it out.

She waited until Gu Chengde's attention was on her before revealing her purpose.

"Uncle Gu, it's nothing serious. I just wanted to borrow the brigade headquarters' phone to let my family know I'm safe."

She had never intended to conceal Sun Wu's existence, so she didn't make any other excuses at this time.

Gu Chengde breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her words; he was afraid that she might come to him with some difficult problem.

It turned out to be just a small matter like borrowing a phone.

"Alright, let's go then!"

As Gu Chengde got up, he told Li Guihua in the kitchen about his whereabouts.

"Guihua, I'm taking Xiao Shen to the brigade headquarters to make a phone call. We'll be back in a bit."

Before they could even leave the courtyard, Li Guihua caught up with them.

"I'll go too, I'll go too." As she said this, she glanced at Gu Chengde.