When their partner arrived, Zhan Chunlan and Xiao Qiulin left. After all, they were in a long-distance relationship, and it wasn't easy for them to see each other, so they shouldn't bother them.

Of course, in the end, the group exchanged names. The girl's name was Su Menghua, and she was a technician at Haicheng Food Factory, responsible for improving product formulas. In particular, she was in charge of the foreign client's custom-made super sweet candy and flavor adjustments.

But Haicheng Food Factory must be very busy right now, especially since the foreign order is quite large and the flavors are new, requiring the recipe to be readjusted. As a technician, how can she possibly get time off?

However, Zhan Chunlan watched the two leave together without asking any questions. Since they were already there, it didn't matter how they were treated.

At the dock, Deputy Director Zhou told everyone to go home and rest for half a day, then report back to the office tomorrow. He also specifically instructed Zhan Chunlan to summarize her experiences from the trip and her interactions with foreign businessmen, saying that the leadership would likely seek her out for a detailed discussion once she arrived at the office.

Zhan Chunlan nodded to indicate that she understood, greeted everyone, and then left.

When she got home, no one was there. She opened her bedroom door, but it wouldn't open completely. It was fine when she left.

Zhan Chunlan pushed open the gap wide enough for a person to squeeze in, only to find that her bedroom had turned into a storage room, filled with clutter, and even the bed was covered with dirty clothes.

"I..." Several curse words echoed in my mouth before I finally calmed down. Where did they collect all this junk? When there were more people in the family, we didn't need to pile things up here. Now that there are two fewer people in the family, it should be more spacious, so why is there so much clutter?

Without thinking twice, Zhan Chunlan simply waved her hand, putting all the clutter into the space, then pushing it out of the living room, and then putting everything out of the space again. This place is bigger than her bedroom, so she might as well put things here if she likes.

The clothes on the bed are the same; they're all dirty anyway, so what difference does it make where I put them?

So when Xu Lixia and Zhan Zhiqiang returned home from get off work, they were greeted by a mess of things and clothes scattered all over the floor.

"Zhan Hongyu! What's wrong with you at home?"

Zhan Chunlan was away on a business trip for a month, and her family had forgotten about her, assuming that it was her only son at home who was up to the trick.

"Mom, I just got out of class and haven't even walked in the door yet. What did I do?" Zhan Hongyu stood behind Xu Lixia and Zhan Zhiqiang, his backpack slung over his shoulder, his tone full of confusion. "I haven't even walked in the door yet, what's wrong with me?"

"Not you?" Xu Lixia turned around and saw her youngest son looking like he had just returned. Her tone was still somewhat suspicious. She pulled him to the door and pointed to the clutter piled up haphazardly in the house: "Look, didn't you do this?"

"No? I just got home. You can ask Liang Tu if you don't believe me. He came back to the compound with me." Zhan Hongyu looked at the mess in the room, his eyes full of confusion. Suddenly, he looked at the closed door and whispered, "Is it Third Sister who's back?"

"Your third sister... Zhan Chunlan?" Suddenly mentioning this person who hadn't appeared in a long time, Xu Lixia thought for a while before remembering her name. She coughed to ease her embarrassment, then said matter-of-factly, "So what if she's back? It's just some stuff in her room. Can't she tidy it up properly? What's the point of leaving it all scattered in the living room?"

The more she talked, the more confident she became. She stepped forward and banged on Zhan Chunlan's door: "Zhan Chunlan, you stupid girl, don't you have hands? A girl should be more diligent and come out and tidy up yourself."

Zhan Chunlan didn't reply to a word. She was busy sorting out the gifts she had brought back, which she would give to Fan Hongying, Li Xiuxiu, and Ms. Fang Yun tomorrow. She didn't have time to waste on this garbage dump with them.

Xu Lixia's curses exploded outside the door like firecrackers: "Zhan Chunlan, are you trying to get yourself killed? You come back and hide in your room, and the room is such a mess, can't you even clean it up? Get the hell out here!"

The room was silent; Zhan Chunlan did not respond.

Xu Lixia's anger flared even more, and she pounded on the door twice: "Zhan Chunlan, do you really want me to come in and invite you in? If you don't open the door, believe me, I'll chop this damn door down with a knife!"

The room remained quiet, without any response.

Xu Lixia was truly enraged this time. She never expected that this little girl, whom she had never taken seriously, would dare to disobey her. Rage instantly overwhelmed her reason; she turned and rushed into the kitchen, grabbing a cleaver and preparing to slash at the door.

"What's wrong with you!" Zhan Zhiqiang finally logged on, frowning and shouting, "If you damage the door, don't you need to get it fixed? If you chip the blade of the cleaver, how are you going to cut vegetables? Do you still have any industrial tickets?"

The kitchen knife in Xu Lixia's hand hovered three centimeters from the door panel, then came to an abrupt stop.

Zhan Zhiqiang's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of Xu Lixia's impulsiveness and restoring some of her rationality. Yes, a broken door wasn't a big deal, but a kitchen knife was a different story. What would they eat for dinner if she ruined it? She reluctantly lowered the knife, but the anger in her heart only grew stronger. She turned and glared at Zhan Zhiqiang: "So you're just going to let her stay inside and not come out?"

Zhan Zhiqiang frowned, his tone impatient: "What's wrong with you tidying up now that she's not coming out? Didn't you always tidy up when she wasn't home? Why can't you tidy up now that she's back?"

Inside the door, Zhan Chunlan listened quietly, silently echoing in her heart: "That's a good question, I want to know too. Since when has this family become so dependent on me that they can't even sweep the floor? That's a good question, I want to know too. Since when has it become so indispensable to them?"

Xu Lixia's chest heaved violently, her voice sharp and shrill: "Why should I? You and I both have to go to work. You come back and just sit there waiting to be fed, while I have to clean up this mess and get food for both of you. What's wrong with me asking her to come out and help me for a bit?"

Zhan Zhiqiang's temples throbbed from the noise. He waved his hand, hoping to quell the farce as soon as possible: "The problem is, she doesn't want to come out now. So you just wait for her to come out. You clean the house first, and make dinner. We'll talk about the rest after dinner."

Xu Lixia was somewhat incredulous: "Let's talk after dinner? I've already cleaned up, what else can I say? She came back early and didn't even cook, she left me with this huge mess, what's wrong with letting her clean it up?"

"Enough!" Zhan Zhiqiang interrupted her abruptly, his face full of exhaustion and irritability. "I've been working for a day and a half, and I'm already tired. I don't want to hear you yelling here anymore. You're not helpless, so clean up first and then I'll sit down for a while."

Xu Lixia glared at him fiercely, then turned and walked towards the kitchen: "Who hasn't worked a day? If you want to sit down, then clean up yourself. I'm going to cook."

"..." Zhan Zhiqiang froze on the spot, opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. He looked at Zhan Hongyu, who was leaning against the door with nothing to do: "Zhan Hongyu, put down your schoolbag and you can pack it."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Hongyu also looked reluctant: "'The big lazy one supports the little lazy one,' and I've also been to school all day. You're just doing physical labor, but I'm doing mental labor, which is more tiring. I also need to rest."

After saying that, he sat down on the ground, completely ignoring the mess around him.

Looking at the mess in the room, Zhan Zhiqiang felt a throbbing pain in his temples. Hearing the clanging and clattering of pots and pans coming from the kitchen, he became increasingly agitated and simply turned and went out to find someone to play chess with.

Xu Lixia, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen, hadn't heard any noise from the living room. When she went out to check, lo and behold, everyone was gone, and everything was still untouched. She was furious, and a surge of anger rushed to her head. In a fit of rage, she threw the spatula on the stove: "Fine, you don't care about anything, huh? Then nobody should eat!"

She had intended to go straight to bed, but her gaze fell upon the clothes strewn everywhere, and she stopped in her tracks. Finally, resigned, she bent down, tidying up while muttering through gritted teeth, "What sins did I commit in my past life to deserve this family in this one..."