Qin Hanshu touched Zhou Ruilan's forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you? Yang Guangyu and his sister-in-law are clearly the ones in the wrong, so why are you reflecting on yourself?"

"He's right?" Qin Hanshu sneered. "What right does he have? Is it right for him to side with outsiders?"

"It's clearly his sister-in-law's fault in this matter. It's one thing for him not to help you, but he even turns around and tells you to settle things peacefully. Is he out of his mind?!"

"You're not even married to him yet, and he's already not on your side. If you really marry him, you'll suffer endless grievances in the future!"

Seeing Qin Hanshu, who was usually so gentle, being so stern, Zhou Ruilan said with a hint of fear, "No way, he's just too kind-hearted and likes to think of others..."

Qin Hanshu said, "It's fine for him to consider others, but he shouldn't drag you into being wronged... Are you a doormat?"

Zhou Ruilan quickly shook her head.

Qin Hanshu: "That's fine then. So this matter needs to be resolved. You can't pay attention to him until he apologizes to you. And you must make him realize exactly where he went wrong, and then you need to observe how well he corrects his mistakes."

Zhou Ruilan nodded thoughtfully.

Qin Hanshu then taught her.

"If his sister-in-law bothers you again, don't rush up and argue with her yourself. Go talk to Yang Guangyu's mother. She'll definitely have plenty of ways to deal with her."

Zhou Ruilan suddenly realized, "Yes, not only can I not solve the problem myself, but I've also created new problems."

Qin Hanshu smiled and said, "That's exactly the point."

Zhou Ruilan hugged Qin Hanshu and said sweetly, "My third sister-in-law is so smart!"

Qin Hanshu rubbed her goosebumps. "Stop being so mushy!"

The two laughed and joked as they bought Zhao Chunmiao a new outfit.

Before Qin Hanshu left, Ma Chaoyang and Zhang Kangmei both gave her gifts.

A set of bedding including sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases; the duvet cover is red satin and embroidered with golden mandarin ducks.

“This is a gift from me, Zhang Kangmei, and Lin Zhiheng,” Ma Chaoyang said, rubbing his nose sheepishly. “I’ve run out of money, so I had to send it to you with them.”

Qin Hanshu quickly accepted the gift, saying, "This is a wonderful gift, I really like it, thank you."

Zhang Kangmei said reluctantly, "I don't know if we'll ever have the chance to meet again."

After a year of being sent to the countryside, most of the educated youth drifted apart, but the small groups of two or three maintained a relatively deep bond.

Qin Hanshu smiled and said, "Life is so long, how could we not have the chance to meet?"

“Exactly!” Ma Chaoyang said nonchalantly, “I’ll take you with me when I go to Jiangcheng next time.”

Zhang Kangmei glared at him, "Who needs you to take me? Don't I have legs of my own?"

Ma Chaoyang choked, "Good intentions are wasted."

"Come on, instead of wasting your time talking nonsense, you should work harder to earn work points and read more books to improve your intellectual level." Zhang Kangmei rolled her eyes.

It was the same old argument over and over again. Ma Chaoyang was too tired to argue with her anymore, so he turned to Qin Hanshu and said:

"I received a letter from home. I will be returning to the capital soon, but I haven't decided on a job yet. Please leave your address, and I will write to you again once I have a job."

"We can't lose contact!"

Qin Hanshu: "Okay."

Zhang Kangmei asked Ma Chaoyang, somewhat bewildered, "Are you going back to the capital?"

Ma Chaoyang looked at her with a complicated expression. "Yes, what about you?"

Zhang Kangmei was silent for a while before saying, "You've asked this question many times. I've said I won't answer it for now."

Ma Chaoyang nodded. "Then I wish you a happy life and continued progress."

Zhang Kangmei twitched the corner of her mouth and left after a short while.

Qin Hanshu asked, "So you've lost your chance?"

Ma Chaoyang nodded and said, "I confessed my feelings, but I was rejected. She thought I was too easygoing and didn't strive for progress, and that we didn't have anything in common."

Qin Hanshu: "...Perhaps in a few years, her thoughts will change."

During this special period, people's thoughts are also affected, some more so than others.

Ma Chaoyang suddenly grinned slyly, glanced outside, and whispered, "Did you see her expression when she found out I was going back to the capital? She looked so forlorn! She's obviously interested in me, she just won't admit it!"

"She'll definitely miss me when I get back! She won't be able to hold back her feelings anymore, and she'll chase after me back to the city!"

Qin Hanshu: "...So you deliberately provoked her by recalling to town?"

Ma Chaoyang thought for a moment and said, "Half and half! It's also because I've run out of money, and if I don't go back soon, I'll be eating dirt."

Ma Chaoyang, like a chatterbox, kept Qin Hanshu talking about his relationship with Zhang Kangmei until Qin Hanshu got tired of listening and asked him to leave. Only then did he reluctantly leave.

***

Once I leave, even if I come back, I will never live in the cave dwellings of the educated youth settlement again.

Qin Hanshu packed up everything in the cave dwelling, moving everything except her personal belongings to the Zhou family's house, specifically to the room where Zhou Weiguang lived.

The vegetable garden and chickens in the courtyard were left to Zhang Kangmei.

Qin Hanshu looked around. The paulownia trees she had planted last year had grown quite tall, and the jujube trees on the small slope were already laden with fruit.

She's only lived here for a year, but it feels like she's experienced so much...

Zhou Weili sent a car to take them to the train station.

After saying goodbye to the other educated youth, Qin Hanshu carried the tiger and her luggage to the Zhou family to meet up with them.

Zhou Chang'an changed his mind again and decided to go.

Zhao Chunmiao whispered to Qin Hanshu, "I knew this old man was really awkward... I didn't even buy him a train ticket, we have to go and buy one ourselves, what a hassle!"

Qin Hanshu suppressed a laugh and said, "This is a good thing, otherwise Brother Zhou might be sad if he doesn't see Dad."

"Sigh, if it weren't for our son, who would indulge his bad habits!"

Just as the Zhou family was rushing to catch the train to Jiangcheng, Zhou Weiguang frowned deeply as he looked at the shyly smiling woman across from him.