She patted Li Xiangyun on the back to comfort her, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't take it seriously. Third brother is very capable, it'll be alright. Ningning is also clever, it'll be alright. Don't think too much about it."

Li Xiangyun nodded.

But Song Pandi, Aunt Ma, and Ma Lao Er in the crowd sneered inwardly.

Huo Junshan and Yun Ningyan finally got their comeuppance.

Their house was mostly destroyed, leaving them homeless. Song Pandi's arm was also injured when it was hit by falling mud bricks.

She was the one who most wanted Yun Ningyan to die on the mountain, her eyes fixed on the roadside without blinking.

Suddenly someone shouted, "They're back! They're back!"

Li Xiangyun hurriedly asked, "Have the third brother and his wife returned?"

The man stammered for a long time, unable to speak.

Looking at the man's expression, Li Xiangyun understood everything.

Tears streamed down her face, her lips twitching, the tears falling like beads from a broken string.

Before he could even utter a single word, his eyes rolled back and he fainted on the spot.

Zhang Guihua glared at the person who had spoken, then shouted, "Have the third brother and his wife come back yet? You're stammering, hurry up and tell me!"

The man stammered, "I...I didn't see either of them."

It’s over!

Zhang Guihua's heart clenched, and only two words came to her mind: It's over!

It’s over!

But Li Xiangyun had fainted over there. She didn't have time to think about anything else and pinched Li Xiangyun's philtrum hard.

Li Xiangyun was jolted awake, and Huo Changgen was sitting on the ground sobbing.

As soon as Li Xiangyun opened her eyes, she asked, "Where is Lao San? I need to find Lao San."

Her eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of their usual sparkle and smile.

When the captain led everyone to the brigade headquarters, they found it in complete chaos.

His heart skipped a beat: "What happened? What's going on?"

He saw Li Xiangyun lying on the ground and Huo Changgen sitting on the ground, sobbing.

Hearing the brigade leader's voice, Li Xiangyun scrambled to her feet, grabbed his trouser leg, and choked out, "Brother, where's Lao San? Why didn't you bring him back? Why?"

She then burst into tears.

The captain was puzzled.

Why are you crying like this?

He looked at his wife, Zhang Guihua, who silently lowered her eyes: "Third brother and Yun girl, are they... are they gone?"

The captain was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on.

He chuckled twice: "The third brother and his wife went back to their house to wash up. They'll be back in a bit. They're filthy."

Li Xiangyun was overjoyed. She asked incredulously, "They're back? Are they injured? Are they both alright?"

The captain rattled off Yun Ningyan's explanation, leaving everyone stunned.

Li Xiangyun took off running towards the Huo family.

Huo Changgen also ran home.

The crowd, not understanding why, followed along to watch the spectacle.

Meanwhile, the two people involved were still playing and laughing inside the house.

Yun Ningyan and Huo Junshan went into the space to wash up. They had just finished washing up and changed their clothes when the outer door was banged on loudly.

Huo Junshan put on his clothes and went to open the door.

Looking at her unharmed third son, Li Xiangyun burst out laughing: "Good, good, you're back. You scared your mother to death, third son."

Huo Changgen also laughed.

Only when Yun Ningyan came out did their worries completely dissipate.

Confused, Yun Ningyan asked, "Why are you all here?"

Li Xiangyun then realized that the person who said Huo Junshan hadn't returned was looking for her in the crowd.

A figure appeared, realizing something was wrong; that person was Yan Hua.

Li Xiangyun took off her shoes and slapped Yan Hua's buttocks a few times.

Yan Hua cried out as she was being hit: "Auntie, Auntie, please stop hitting me! I stutter when I'm nervous, you know that. I didn't see the two of them, I was so nervous that I couldn't speak, and I didn't even know they were back."

Li Xiangyun suddenly burst out laughing while she was playing.

Everyone was horrified.

She's crying one minute and laughing the next, has she gone mad?

Li Xiangyun felt that the fact that her third son and daughter-in-law had returned safely was more important than anything else.

The brigade leader said, "Alright, Third Brother, go to the brigade headquarters and see what to do about the damage to your homes."

The group headed towards the brigade headquarters.

The brigade leader asked each household to report their losses; this kind of thing happens every year.

Everyone reported on the situation of their homes. Aunt Ma's family suffered the most damage; most of her house had collapsed and it was completely uninhabitable.

Grandma Ma was on the verge of tears, wondering why her family was so unlucky.

She looked at Huo Junshan and Yun Ningyan, and instantly collapsed to the ground crying out, "Damn it! Huo Laosan, you could drive away the bear, why didn't you do it sooner? My house has collapsed! Why am I so unlucky? Huo Laosan, you have to pay for my house! You have to pay for my house!"

Huo Junshan frowned.

The captain glared at him: "What are you wailing about? Are you mourning a funeral? You're bringing bad luck!"

Yun Ningyan had already taken out her personal stick. When Granny Ma saw that Yun Ningyan had taken out the stick at some point, she rolled over.

He got up.

But he was still muttering under his breath: "Why didn't you drive the bear away sooner? Our family is in trouble. Captain, you have to help us, or we'll all die."

The captain was so annoyed that he wanted to kick the howling man away, but he held back.

He shouted angrily, "If you keep yelling like that, you can fix your own house! It's so annoying!"

Aunt Ma shut up immediately after being scolded by the brigade leader.

The captain immediately got down to business.

A total of 8 households suffered losses.

The brigade leader said, "Whoever owns the house, they should repair it themselves. The brigade will provide the manpower, and you will pay your own wages. We won't provide meals."

He then called out a few names: "Huo Jianguo, Yan Hua, Li Dawang, Yang Daguo, Huo Jiandang, Huo Guodong..."

There were probably twenty or thirty people.

They divided into teams of five or six and went to repair a house.

He originally wanted Huo Junshan to come along too, so he could earn some wages, but then he thought about how Huo Junshan had a rich wife at home, and the Changgen family's courtyard wall had also collapsed a bit.

After thinking about it, I decided against it.

Yun Ningyan never intended for Huo Junshan to do any work.

They still need to study and do exercises at home!

Li Xiangyun said that a section of the courtyard wall had also collapsed, so she probably had to go to work there.

The commotion lasted until almost dawn before the staff at the brigade headquarters gradually dispersed.

Huo Junshan led Yun Ningyan back to rest, and Yun Ningyan yawned widely: "So sleepy, but so exciting!"

Huo Junshan shook his head helplessly: "You can sleep in tomorrow."

When the two returned home, Huo Junshan carried her into the house in a princess carry, placed her on the kang (a heated brick bed), and kissed her lips.

Yun Ningyan knew what he was trying to do, and she slapped him across the face: "Huo Junshan, aren't you tired yet?"