In the big kitchen in the county town's courtyard, Lin Lishan finished wrapping the buns, looked at the time, and said to Cheng Hongli, "Hongli, your Yuanyuan should be out of school soon. Go back and bring her and her second brother here for dinner. It's a good time for our two families to get together. Come back early and bring a big cabbage with you. Don't bring anything else. There are too many vegetables here. Tomorrow, Zheng Ge and Lao Zhao are going up the mountain, so I won't come to the county town and will stay in the village with Jiaojiao. Even if you bring too much, it won't be eaten and will be wasted. Go and call them early so they don't have to cook early."

Cheng Hongli put a pot of seafood on the table. After hearing this, she thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll go out and call the children over. You're not used to using this earthen stove, so you can wait for me to come back and cook."

Lin Lishan watched her leave the yard, thought about it and saw that there was nothing wrong in the kitchen, so she turned around and went to the main room to find Zhou Xiaozheng to see what he was doing. She didn't know who those large and small baskets in the kitchen were intended for. They were piled up very crowded in the kitchen. It would be better to give them away early, or put them in the cellar.

Zhou Xiao was sitting in an armchair, leisurely drinking the tea Jiaojiao had given him, humming a little tune. When he saw his wife come in, he said softly, "Are you tired? Come sit down and have some tea. This is the Tieguanyin tea our daughter gave us as a gift. It's fragrant and sweet, leaving a lingering fragrance on your teeth and cheeks, refreshing your heart and lungs. It's top-notch. I wouldn't give it to ordinary people, I'd just drink Peony Tea like a cow. Is Hongli gone?"

"'Green leaves with red edges, the fragrance lingers after seven brews' is what Tieguanyin is about, right? It's a good tea. Our Jiaojiao is still a scholar at heart, haha, I guess she spent a lot of money on it. Where did she get it? The last time I brewed it for her grandfather, it wasn't this good." Lin Lishan sat down and made tea for herself.

Zhou Xiaozheng watched her reheat the pot, put in the tea, warm it, wake up the tea, and brew it. Her manners were natural and elegant, and he smiled knowingly.

Hearing the words coming out of her mouth again, I was speechless. "You are doing elegant things, but your mouth is full of vulgar things. The contrast is really big. It's like meeting someone on the street. From behind, they look 18 years old, but from the front, they are 81 years old."

Lin Lishan laughed heartily. "Time has worn away my elegance, turning me into a vulgar person. Now, when I go to Moscow, I have to think about the price of milk tea or coffee. As Jiaojiao said, time is a butcher's knife."

"That's a good point. Where did our daughter get her insights? We are really old, and time is really like a butcher knife, carving every step on the past. Years are cruel and ruthless, and will wipe out everything, make the once beautiful faces disappear, break up the once vows, make everything change, make everything that once existed no longer exist, and make deep love or hate become indifferent. Fortunately, I met you, and you are still the same as before." Zhou Xiaozheng sighed.

Lin Lishan smiled gently, "I also think it's great to meet you."

"Of course you are. You are lucky to have met me and given birth to such an outstanding daughter like Jiaojiao. None of the younger generations of your relatives and friends can compare to her. Are you proud?"

Lin Lishan glanced at him, her expression changing when she spoke of her daughter. "We can't brag about ourselves, or we'll be laughed at. There's no need for our Jiaojiao to compare herself with others. She just needs to live a comfortable life. As for me, I don't care about her achieving anything great. I just want Zhang Guoqing to protect her and spoil her for the rest of her life. What's the point of a strong woman? Our daughter has enough to eat and wear. Why should she change for mundane things? Just follow her heart."

Zhou Xiaozheng nodded seriously upon hearing this. "Jiaojiao has my own personality, but she's too easily satisfied. Luckily, she's a daughter. If it were a son, it wouldn't be possible. He'd be too stable."

After a moment, he looked outside and asked, "Is there something wrong with Cheng Hongli going back?"

"It's okay. I asked her to bring the child over for dinner. She'll come over later and bring some cabbage with her."

"Don't worry about not having food. Xiaowu will be back soon with wine and food. Our son-in-law is very considerate. When we get home, I'll tell Jiaojiao we're having dinner with Zhao Dashan. Who is our daughter? They'll make all the arrangements." Zhou Xiaozheng said casually. His Jiaojiao was thorough and would take care of everything without him having to ask.

"I just regretted not telling Xiaowu to bring some cabbage and bacon. Brother Zheng, when are you going to bring Jiaojiao and the others over to live here? The house is already tidied up, and no matter how welcoming the Zhang family is, it won't be convenient. Besides, they have people coming over every day, so we should just stay here and come in and out more freely."

Zhou Xiaozheng glanced at the wet fabrics hanging outside the study. "We're going up the mountain tomorrow. We'll be back the day after tomorrow at the latest, and we'll move the day after that at the latest. First, pack up Jiaojiao and the other two's clothes, especially the baby's clothes and milk powder. It doesn't matter if you forget the rest, you can go back and get it anytime. The fire wall in this yard is always burning. I'm not here, so please keep an eye on it. This area is safe, so don't worry about leaving your things there. Just take your money with you."

Lin Lishan laughed happily, "It would be best if you could leave as soon as you come back the day after tomorrow. I'll bring some things over tomorrow. Then you can come empty-handed and try to sleep here the night after tomorrow."

"Okay, let's see what happens. Someone is coming in from outside, it should be Red Pepper with the loud voice. Let's go out and take a look." After saying that, Zhou Xiaozheng brought his wife out.

Zhao Yuanyuan came skipping in from outside. Seeing them, she greeted them with a cheerful smile, "Uncle, aunt, hello. I came here because I heard there was seafood. Is Jiaojiao not home yet? You should bring her over soon. I'm so bored."

Lin Lishan smiled and walked forward to hold her hand, "You've come just in time. Where are your mother and your brother?"

Zhao Yuanyuan complained, "You don't know that my brother is the slowest. My mom asked him to go find my dad and have him open Uncle Zhou's place. We don't need to cook dinner tonight and just have a big dinner." After that, she shouted, "Mom, hurry up."

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at her with a smile. This carefree personality was really like the couple. "Don't shout. Go to the kitchen first and have a look. If you like anything, eat it first."

Zhao Yuanyuan jumped excitedly and shouted, "I like Uncle Zhou the most. You really deserve to be Jiaojiao's father, but our Jiaojiao is just as considerate." After that, she pulled Lin Lishan and ran to the kitchen.

Cheng Hongli, who came in from outside, shouted anxiously, "Why are you running, girl? You almost made your Aunt Shan fall. Hey, your temper is just like your dad's, so rough and tumble. Can you be more steady?"

"How much is steadiness worth? I don't know what it is. Don't delay my meeting with Delicious." Zhao Yuanyuan heard her mother's shouting. She was not convinced, but she still slowed down her pace and smiled apologetically at Lin Lishan. She forgot that Zhou Jiao's mother was not as strong as her mother. Don't pull it, or you will get hurt.

Zhou Xiaozheng couldn't help but burst out laughing when he saw the mother and daughter bickering. The Zhao family must be bustling with activity. Zhao Yuanyuan had a good temper, a broad-minded and honest child. Only someone with her personality could be close to Jiaojiao; otherwise, his Jiaojiao's even-keeled nature wouldn't tolerate such a boisterous girl. He was happy for her to be close to Jiaojiao; little girls should be carefree like this every day. He hoped Jiaojiao's personality would become more cheerful after spending more time with her.

Lin Lishan laughed loudly and said, "How can I be as weak as you say? Yuanyuan is fine, don't blame her." After saying that, she looked at her carrying a large basket and a cloth bag in her hands.

"Hongli, what are you doing? Are you moving? There's plenty of everything here. Just take a cabbage. You've brought so much. Don't you have your own family?"

Cheng Hongli shook her head and walked towards the kitchen. "What's the big deal? Do our two families need to be polite? I brought some sausages for you to try. They're homemade back home."

She didn't mention her plan to bring all the sausages home to them, but first decided to see if they suited her taste. As for the ten kilograms of rice in the cloth bag, she didn't even mention it. She had just seen Lin Lishan soaking several kilograms of rice, without even glancing at the bag of dried sweet potatoes. She opened her mouth to dissuade them, but then thought better of going back and bringing ten kilograms of rice, as four adults from her family were coming to dinner tonight.

Nowadays, every household in the county town relies on sweet potatoes and yams as their staple food. Those who are considered well-off eat the rations and buy fine grains privately. Many families, with their parents busy at work, send their children out to the countryside to gather wild vegetables and eat them together. Every corner of the yard, except for the stepping stones, is planted with vegetables and fruits. They receive only monthly flour, which they use for guests. Rice is even more precious, and is counted before being cooked into porridge. Seeing Lin Lishan shopping, she genuinely doesn't care.

Yesterday, I said I wanted to plant some vegetables in the yard, but I couldn't leave it completely empty. What did she say? Oh, she said that the only good thing about this house was the flowerbed in the yard, and that planting vegetables would require fertilizing, which was too dirty. Cheng Hongli was speechless and depressed. It was only later that Lin Lishan told her that Xiaowu's father had built a large yard for him in the village, so he didn't have to worry about not having room to grow vegetables. Only then did she feel relieved.

Cheng Hongli saw Zhou Xiaozheng also came to the kitchen and hurriedly persuaded him to stop. There were several women in the kitchen, so why did they need men to go to the kitchen? "Brother Zheng, you go to the living room and rest for a while. Shanshan and I will be fine."

Zhou Xiaozheng looked at him and saw that he couldn't help. "Take your time and don't rush. Let's wait for Dashan and the others to come back before we start eating. Go get your daughter something to eat first."

Cheng Hongli saw her daughter in the kitchen, shouting and yelling around the table and the seafood on the floor. She walked over, patted her on the shoulder, and turned around and said, "Brother Zheng, have you put the bamboo baskets in the kitchen back in the cellar or the warehouse? Why are they piled up here?"

Zhou Xiaozheng was about to turn back to the living room when he heard this and stopped, "No need, put it aside for now and wait until Xiaowu comes."

Lin Lishan was busy cooking. When she heard this, she looked at him strangely and asked curiously, "Brother Zheng, who are these for? We have to wait for Xiaowu to come back. Your brother in the provincial capital won't ask Xiaowu to deliver them so late at night, right?"

"Zuolin's, Hongli's, and Xiaowu's two older sisters live not far away, don't they? We also need to see if Jiaojiao and Jiaojiao have any good friends in the county town. We have to wait until Xiaowu arrives before we can discuss this. Put them here first, and if there's not enough, we can make up the difference and give them to Aguang and the others. We won't send them today. When Aguang comes tomorrow, I'll take them all back with me."

Seeing the couple discussing something, Cheng Hongli walked to the earthen stove and planned to light the fire first. Before she reached the stove, she saw her daughter sitting by the table. She was so angry that she secretly pushed her daughter and told her to be more restrained and not to rush to eat. They could start eating after her father came over. This child is so old, but she doesn't understand the ways of the world.

Zhao Yuanyuan was enjoying her meal when she felt her mother touch her. She looked up at her mother in surprise, then suddenly realized something and hurriedly put the conch meat to her lips. "Mom, please eat it. It's so fragrant and fresh. Don't be embarrassed. There are no outsiders here. What's the relationship between Jiaojiao and me? We are sworn brothers. We are like sisters. We have a deep bond. Her home is my home, her father is my father, and her mother is my mother. Don't be polite. Eat it. It's delicious."

Zhou Xiaozheng had long noticed Red Pepper's subtle movements. Seeing her expression of despair, he suppressed his laughter and hurried out of the kitchen, heading for the door. He couldn't help but burst into laughter. Oh, he had finally witnessed the power of this mother and daughter's misinterpretation of their meaning.