Inside the house.

Looking at Zhou Xiaoye's flushed face, Li Xiaoli said with dissatisfaction, "There are no outsiders here, so just tell me!"

Zhou Xiaoye glared at her: "Whether you like it or not, your brother and I are already engaged..."

"An engagement is an engagement, and marriage is marriage!"

Li Xiaoli argued vehemently, "If you don't want to, can my brother force you to marry him?"

"Xiao Ye, let me tell you, you are my best friend, and of course I want you to be happy. Although my brother is also very good, you can't force yourself if you don't like him."

She patted her chest and said, "As long as you say you don't want to, I'll take care of it with my brother. I guarantee you won't have to go against your own wishes!"

Hearing this from outside the window, Li Weidong gritted his teeth so hard they almost broke.

This really is my younger sister!

You'd love for your brother to never get married and stay a bachelor for life, right?

However, what he was most worried about was Zhou Xiaoye's answer.

That scene in the cornfield in his past life left a deep imprint on his heart.

Having been reborn, filled with guilt and after numerous encounters, he has fallen deeply in love with Zhou Xiaoye, his new wife.

But what if Zhou Xiaoye said she didn't want to get married...?

What should I do then?

Li Weidong felt his heart was about to jump out of his chest; he was incredibly nervous.

Zhou Xiaoye remained silent for a long time.

Just as Li Weidong was getting impatient, she finally spoke.

"Actually, I..."

"Li Weidong! You wash your hands for ages without turning off the tap, do you think water is free?!"

Zhao Xiulian's loud voice echoed throughout the entire courtyard.

Li Weidong was startled.

Zhou Xiaoye, who was inside the house, was also quite frightened and suddenly stood up and opened the window.

They happened to make eye contact.

An awkward atmosphere instantly filled the air.

Li Weidong's face flushed red: "Well... I... I wasn't eavesdropping, I just came to wash my hands after making dumplings..."

"I was eavesdropping!"

Li Xiaoli glared at him: "Eavesdropping on girls' conversations, how shameless!"

Li Weidong had no way to express his feelings.

What upset him the most was that he was not only labeled as shameless, but he also didn't get to hear the important point!

Does my little wife really want to marry me?

He looked at Zhou Xiaoye.

Zhou Xiaoye blushed and lowered her head, refusing to look at him at all.

Just then, Li Xiaoli called out, "Mom, take some of the dumplings to the neighbor's yard after you've finished making them."

"Let my brother and Zhang Bin eat in that room, and call Sister Xiaoyan over so the four of us women can eat together!"

Zhao Xiulian laughed and nodded, saying, "Then go and call your sister Xiaoyan back. The dumplings are all wrapped up, and we can start cooking them as soon as she gets back."

Since Zhang Bin and Shen Xiaoyan moved into the village, Zhao Xiulian has taken over the cooking duties.

Li Xiaoli responded and pulled Zhou Xiaoye out the door.

Li Weidong looked at Zhou Xiaoye's retreating figure, feeling somewhat lost and dejected.

He only snapped out of his daze when Zhao Xiulian waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Still looking? Everyone's already gone!"

Zhao Xiulian said irritably, "This daughter-in-law hasn't even been married into the family yet, and she's already acting like she's lost her soul. If we really bring her home, will I, as her mother, still have any standing in the family?"

Li Weidong blushed and quickly said, "Mom, what are you saying? Do you think I'm the kind of person who forgets his mother after getting married?"

"Besides, you know what kind of person Ono is. She's definitely very filial!"

The premise is that the girl is willing to marry him after she comes of age...

Zhao Xiulian shook her head: "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. You're really taking it personally. Don't just stand there, go boil some water."

"Time to make dumplings!"

...

Freshly rolled dough, freshly cut pork, and tender, homegrown cabbage and sauerkraut—the dumplings are incredibly delicious.

One bite and your eyebrows will fall off from the freshness.

Besides dumplings, there was also a stew of pork bones, stir-fried river shrimp with chives, and stewed pork slices with vermicelli—a very generous meal.

Zhang Bin and Shen Xiaoyan also sat down to eat together.

"Auntie's cooking is amazing! These dumplings are the best I've ever eaten in my life!"

Zhang Bin spends every day in the fields teaching people how to build sheds. After a long day of hard work, he has a big appetite and soon finishes half a bowl of dumplings.

Shen Xiaoyan was very comfortable, picking up food and meat with ease, just like she was at home.

Only Zhou Xiaoye sat next to Li Xiaoli, holding a bowl of dumplings and eating them in small bites, his whole body exuding restraint.

Li Weidong felt sorry for her and couldn't help but put a big bone full of meat on her plate, telling her, "Eat more."

"that is!"

Zhao Xiulian also picked up a bone and handed it over: "It's not the first time I've come here, don't be shy! Anyway, you and Weidong are engaged, so you're family now. You're so thin, you need to eat more."

Shen Xiaoyan, who was standing nearby, joined in the fun, putting some meat into her bowl and admonishing, "Little sister, it's not good for you to be so shy."

"Women are inherently vulnerable. If you don't stand up for yourself and fight for your rights, you'll be trampled underfoot your whole life."

"Look at me, you're even engaged to Weidong. I'm a complete outsider with no family or ties to him, and I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

With the three of them squeezing it together, Zhou Xiaoye's bowl was instantly full.

Her face turned bright red, and she quickly shook her head, saying, "That's enough, that's enough! If you put any more in my bowl, there won't be any more room!"

"Then eat more!"

Zhao Xiulian said, "I'll serve you more after you finish eating!"

Zhou Xiaoye nodded, blushing.

Just then, Li Xiaoli muttered, "Hmph, what a load of rubbish about not being biased!"

"Once you all have my sister-in-law, you can't even see me anymore!"

She was just a fifteen-year-old kid after all. Even if she liked her good friend Zhou Xiaoye a lot, she couldn't help but feel jealous when she saw everyone's attention on her.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Xiaoye panicked and quickly gave her a piece of meat from her bowl: "Lili, I can't eat that much, let's eat together!"

She was already a bit reserved, and hearing Li Xiaoli's words made her even more worried that Li Xiaoli would misunderstand, so she became extremely anxious.

Zhao Xiulian glared at Li Xiaoli: "Look at your sister-in-law, she's always thinking of you, and you're still jealous! How old are you? Don't you have any shame!"

Looking at Zhou Xiaoye's worried and anxious eyes, Li Xiaoli felt even more depressed.

"Hmph, I only get to eat what my sister-in-law doesn't eat!"

Everyone was amused by her childish words.

Helpless, Zhao Xiulian simply picked up a large bone for her: "Here you go, here you go. Honestly, do you need someone to help you with what you want to eat at home?"

Seeing this, the others all followed suit and served her food.

Li Weidong simply took a basin and placed it in front of Li Xiaoli: "Here, I'll get you a bigger one, so it won't be too big to fit."

Li Xiaoli blushed, while the others burst into laughter.

Just as the whole family was enjoying a happy time together, the phone rang.

Li Weidong thought it was for him, so he got up to answer it.

To everyone's surprise, his expression changed after hearing just one sentence, and he exclaimed in shock, "What did you say?"