"Me and my hometown!" Little Bean sat on the chair next to Xu Keke, pointing with her little hand to the words Xu Keke had written in her notebook, and proudly read them aloud.

"Little Bean, your Aunt Bai is working. Come to your second aunt's place. Your second aunt has fried some soybeans for you. They smell delicious." Cui Qin stood at the door, holding a small straw basket in her hand.

"I'm not going, I can't talk." Remembering that she might have spoken just now, Xiaodouzi quickly covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Xu Keke nervously with her big eyes.

“I heard you speak, and you still say you didn’t. Never mind, if you don’t like these beans, I’ll give them to Aunt Bai.” Cui Qin walked into the house and put the small basket on the table where Xu Keke was writing.

She tapped Xiaodouzi's forehead with her finger, "It's a good thing I haven't become your mother yet. If I really did, who in this family would I still recognize? You little ingrate."

Fortunately, Xu Keke has heard these kinds of jokes so many times lately that she's become so accustomed to not arguing or blushing.

Aunt Bai said that if anyone teased her about wanting to be her mother again, she wouldn't be allowed to reply. If they did, she wouldn't be her mother anymore. However, Xiaodouzi hesitated, looking at Xu Keke.

"I'm not an ungrateful wretch. Aunt Bai, don't you think so?" Little Bean tugged at Xu Keke's sleeve, insisting that she testify for him.

"Do you know what 'ungrateful wretch' means?" Xu Keke asked him with a smile.

Little Bean nodded, then shook his head in confusion.

"It's when someone is nice to you and helps you a lot, but when they need help, you pretend you don't see it. That's the kind of person we Beans are."

Little Bean looked at him, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Chen Jianguo returned from outside, listened to Xu Keke's words outside the door, smiled, and went in, taking off his hat and hanging it on the corner of the chair. He picked up his son and asked, "What your Aunt Bai means is, is your Aunt Bai good to you?"

"Okay!" Little Bean shouted.

"If she's good to you, you should be good to her too. She wants some water now, what should we do? Little Bean, should we get Aunt Bai a glass of water?"

But Aunt Bai hadn't said she wanted water. Little Bean looked at Xu Keke with some disbelief, "Aunt Bai wants water."

Xu Keke knew he was going to send Xiaodouzi out again. She glared angrily at Chen Jianguo, but could only go along with him against her will, saying, "Yes, I do want to drink some water."

Chen Jianguo said to the little boy in his arms, "Go and get Aunt Bai a glass of water from your second aunt. The water shouldn't be too hot. Make sure it's cooled down before bringing it over."

Little Bean suddenly realized, "I know, Aunt Bai needs to take her medicine."

The little guy twisted his body and got off Chen Jianguo, then walked to the door. Seeing that Cui Qin was still standing there, he urged, "Second Aunt, hurry up, we need to pour hot water. You can't take medicine with the water in the tub."

"Here it comes," Cui Qin muttered as she walked towards the door, "Silly girl, you didn't even notice someone sent you out."

That's what he said, but when he got to the door, he didn't forget to close it behind him.

Xu Keke raised her hand and smacked Chen Jianguo, "Why are you so annoying? Cui Qin will laugh at me again later."

Chen Jianguo just smiled at her, reached out and grabbed her hand that was pounding on him. With a forceful pull, he lifted her up, brought her close, and pulled her into his arms. Holding her, he turned and sat down in the spot where Xiaodouzi had been sitting.

The action was so swift that by the time Xu Keke realized what was happening, she was already sitting in his lap.

"What are you doing?" Xu Keke's cheeks flushed red. She had noticed that ever since they started dating, Chen Jianguo had become increasingly audacious. She glanced at the unlocked door and twisted her body to get up.

"Don't move," Chen Jianguo buried his head in the crook of her neck, his arms around her waist. "Shall we get our marriage certificate tomorrow?"

The warm breath brushed against Xu Keke's ears, sending a shiver down her spine. Xu Keke didn't know whether to move or sit, and said defiantly,

"Who said they wanted to get a marriage certificate with you?"

Chen Jianguo sat up straight and looked down at her. "Didn't you say that in front of He Jie that day that you would marry me as long as I farmed in the countryside for the rest of my life?"

"You can't go back on your word. I saved your life. You have to repay me with your body. Understand?"

How could this person say such shameless things with such a serious face? Xu Keke pinched his cheek, "Then let's go get our marriage certificate tomorrow."

Chen Jianguo didn't expect her to agree so readily, "Are you serious?"

"Why not real? Any relationship that isn't aimed at marriage is called playing around."

Seeing the look in Xu Keke's eyes, Chen Jianguo knew that those last three words were an insult to him. He whispered in her ear, "Then let's go get our marriage certificate tomorrow. I'll show you tomorrow night."

The rural men were together every day, and there was never anything between them. Xu Keke knew she couldn't win against him in this regard. Pretending not to hear, she asked him seriously, "How was your day at the commune?"

Getting down to business, Chen Jianguo sat up straight, though his hand was still on Xu Keke's waist. "They said it was sent to the provincial level. The higher-ups are taking this incident very seriously."

"The provincial level?"

"Yes, the commune said that when Captain Li from the town's public security bureau came down to check their files, he said that the sentences would probably be quite heavy this time. The organization had already decided to turn that dilapidated temple into a primary school, so they added a charge against them for maliciously damaging state property, plus attempted murder. They said that only Xiao Han would get a lighter sentence, while the other three would be out in twenty or thirty years."

Hearing him mention Xiao Han, Xu Keke couldn't help but sigh, "I never expected that Xiao Han would still be so loyal and devoted to Wu Wanyi in the end. Last time, Officer Hao said that Xiao Han insisted that Wu Wanyi didn't know the truth. I don't know why he suddenly remembered how good she was to him while he was inside."

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