When Uncle Zhan Zhigao and Uncle Zhan Zhihua heard that they would bring their own food rations and receive work points for free, their expressions immediately improved.

His second aunt, Xu Fenglian, quickly poured him a glass of water and handed it to him: "Young man, you've been on the boat all day, you must be tired. Have some water."

Seeing that her second sister-in-law's attitude changed so quickly, Third Aunt Lin Hongcui also spoke very kindly: "I heard from Chunlan that your name is Xiao Cheng, right? You can see that we don't have that many rooms in our house. I'll let Honglin sleep with my husband and me, and you can sleep in his room."

"How can this be? He came to the countryside, not to be a young master: Third Aunt, please don't. Honglin is already 12 years old, he's a big boy. How can he squeeze in with you and Third Uncle? Let him stay with Xiao Cheng. That's his room. There's no reason for a guest to ask the host to move out."

As Zhan Chunlan spoke, Xiao Cheng's smile gradually disappeared. He had never slept in the same bed with anyone before, at least not since he could remember. He leaned close to Zhan Chunlan's ear and whispered, "Can I sleep alone? I have money to pay the rent."

Zhan Chunlan turned his head away, coldly refusing: "No! Go to the educated youth settlement tomorrow and see, there are even more people sleeping on one bed there. You're just enjoying yourself now, you know?"

"Second Uncle, shouldn't we be having dinner by now?" Zhan Chunlan hadn't eaten much in the morning, and after vomiting all day and walking such a long distance, the fact that she could keep talking for so long was all thanks to her iron will!

Although Zhan Zhigao is the second oldest, in his hometown, before Zhan Zhiqiang was around, he was the eldest, and his words often carried more weight than Zhan Zhiqiang's.

“Your second and third aunts just finished cooking when you arrived, the timing is perfect, but…” Zhan Zhigao gave an awkward smile, rubbed his hands nervously, and lowered his voice: “The food… can’t compare to what you have in the city, this Comrade Xiao Cheng probably won’t be used to it…”

“It’s alright, you don’t understand. He’s going to the countryside for love. Love is the greatest thing. He will definitely be able to adapt!” Zhan Chunlan’s face was full of seriousness, and her eyes were full of encouragement and appreciation for Xiao Cheng.

At least, that's what Comrade Xiao Cheng thinks.

The Zhan family: Are you out of your mind? Why would you give up a perfectly good life in the city and come to the countryside to suffer?

My second uncle's family has three children: the eldest, Zhan Hongsheng, is 16 years old; the second, Zhan Honghui, is 14 years old; and the youngest, Zhan Chunrong, is 12 years old.

My third uncle's family has two children: the eldest, Zhan Chunzhi, is 15 years old; the second, Zhan Honglin, is 12 years old.

Therefore, although Zhan Zhiqiang was the eldest son, his eldest grandson was Zhan Hongsheng from his second uncle's family. Even Zhan Honglin from his third uncle's family was two years older than Zhan Hongyu. It is conceivable how difficult those two years were for Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia.

However, they were lucky. Despite the hardships, they eventually had Zhan Hongyu. There are many couples who have daughters one after another, but never have a son until they die. They never stood up straight in their lives, and they probably died kneeling before their ancestors to beg for forgiveness.

Upon hearing that it was time to eat, Zhan Chunzhi moved a long bench to the fire pit, while Zhan Chunrong went to the kitchen to serve the dishes. Xu Fenglian and Lin Hongcui also went to the kitchen to help with the cooking.

Apart from Zhan Chunlan, everyone else at the fire pit was male.

Old Man Zhan turned and stared at Zhan Chunlan.

Zhan Chunlan sat firmly. It was their business to go about their work; she hadn't come back to take care of the men in the family.

Xiao Cheng carefully observed his surroundings. The wall behind him was blackened by smoke and fire, and his clothes would get dirty if he touched it. He was sitting on a straw stool, which Zhan Chunlan said was woven from rice straw. The stool was crooked and covered in dust, which he couldn't get clean no matter how much he patted it.

There was also a table under the stove, with several long wooden benches. It's estimated that, except in winter, people usually ate at that table.

There are also a few wooden chairs with backrests, but the backrests only have two side frames and the middle one has fallen off, so they can't support your back when you sit on them and feel very uncomfortable.

With the help of the four women, the dishes were served, and the rice was handed to each person.

On the bench sat a plate of blanched wild vegetables, a dish of pickled cowpeas, a plate of shredded radish, and a pot of clear broth boiled vegetables, all placed directly on the triangular table. The cabbage and shredded radish were added fresh after Zhan Chunlan brought Xiao Cheng back.

Everyone had a bowl of porridge that was as thin as soup.

Zhan Chunlan: I don't know if Xiao Cheng can adapt, but she certainly can't adapt at all.

When eating, everyone sat around the fire, sharing a bowl of thin porridge. Every now and then, the smoke would make their eyes water. Everyone took turns eating from the same pot.

However, everyone still maintains proper dining etiquette. Every time they reach into the pot with their chopsticks to pick up food, they tap the bowl with a "snap".

Zhan Chunlan didn't care, since there was no tradition of using serving chopsticks at home anyway. She carefully observed Xiao Cheng, wondering if he was used to it or not. He seemed normal on the surface, but he only picked food from the plate and didn't touch the cabbage in the pot. She didn't know if he didn't like cabbage or something else.

“Xiao Cheng, this is just how things are in the countryside. Besides, because of your visit today, we’ve prepared two extra dishes. We don’t usually eat this many dishes at home.” Zhan Chunlan wanted to constantly remind him that the countryside wasn’t some leisurely life of “picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence.”

"I know I can adapt now. It's nothing, not even worth the word 'overcome'." He smiled broadly, as if thinking of something sweet. "If Comrade Rosanne and I went to the countryside together, and we sat around the fire like this every day to eat, that would be a very romantic thing."

Zhan Chunlan was speechless. How could he be romantic amidst all this smoke and fire? It seems his love-struck mind is really serious. He needs to increase the dosage!

After dinner, Zhan Chunlan took him to her cousin Zhan Honglin's room, which was a small cubicle with just enough room for a bed and a wardrobe. The window was covered with transparent plastic film, which allowed light to pass through while keeping the room warm.

On the other side of the wooden plank was her cousin Zhan Chunzhi's living quarters. The room contained only a bed and some miscellaneous items. There were no windows, so Zhan Chunlan couldn't see anything. In her memory, her cousin Chunzhi kept her room very clean and the miscellaneous items were neatly arranged.

“You’ll be staying here from now on, sharing a bed with Zhan Honglin.” Zhan Chunlan pointed to the only bed in the room, indicating that he should put his luggage on the cabinet. “You two can discuss whether to sleep at one end of the bed or side by side.”

"Can't I live with you?" Xiao Cheng wanted to make one last attempt. He remembered what the Zhan family had just said and looked at her hopefully: "I heard that you have two rooms in your house. We can each have one room."

"Do you think that's possible?" Zhan Chunlan rolled her eyes, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "The two of us, a man and a woman alone, I'm afraid that being in the same place would tarnish your image in Comrade Rosanne's mind. Don't you have any male virtue?"

"Male virtue?" Xiao Cheng had never heard of it, but he roughly understood the meaning. "Do you girls care a lot about male virtue?"

"Of course!" Zhan Chunlan answered confidently and decisively! "Have you ever heard the saying, 'A man's virtue is his best dowry'?"

"Dowry? Shouldn't it be betrothal gifts?" Xiao Cheng corrected. Besides, he had never heard that phrase before. Was it just a custom in Qushui County?

"A dowry is fine too," Zhan Chunlan waved her hand, indifferent. She was tired and just wanted to rest. "Anyway, you just need to be careful and uphold male virtues from now on!"

Zhan Chunlan went back to her room.

Third Uncle lived in the west wing, next to Second Uncle. Second Uncle's house was in the room on the left side of the main hall. The old couple lived on the right side of the main hall. Next to it was the second room, which was the kitchen and the living room with a fire pit.

Zhan Chunlan lives in the east wing. Originally, she didn't have a separate room in the house, but since she's the only one coming back, she can have a wing all to herself, which is much better than in the city.