After dinner, Zhou Jiao held down Zhang's mother, letting her chat with her husband and son while she and her three maids cleaned up the mess. After cleaning the kitchen, it was already dark.

In the yard, Zhang Guoqing made two torches and handed them to Xizi and Ziwen. "You can have fun, but be sure to pay attention to safety. Don't take the sachets I gave you seriously. They repel snakes and insects."

"Don't worry, little uncle. I will definitely keep an eye on my brothers and sisters."

Zhang Guoqing was really worried because his son was inside.

He smiled and nodded, then told Ping An, "Don't be careless. If you get hurt, your mother will ground you and cancel all activities! Son, you better be careful!"

Xiao Pingan held his head high and saluted him, "I promise to complete the task!"

"Really, you don't need me to go with you?"

As soon as Zhang Guoqing finished speaking, everyone in the yard burst into laughter.

Father Zhang smiled and waved his hand quickly, saying, "Look out for safety, get out now, or it will be dawn soon."

Zhang's mother smiled at her son and said, "They often go out, don't worry!"

"Brother, wait for me, I'll say hello to my mom, it'll be quick."

Zhou Jiao just came out of the kitchen. When she heard it, she quickly replied: "Mom heard it, be careful when you go out."

"Okay~"

A group of children ran out of the house cheering, and suddenly the yard was left with only four adults, and it seemed unusually quiet.

"You guys should go take a walk in the village and get some rest early. You don't need to come over tonight. Ping An is tired from playing, so let him sleep here."

Zhang Guoqing: "Dad, we'll chat with you and mom. Let's wait for uncle and the others to come before we leave."

"No, they'll just start talking to you again when they come over."

Zhang Guoqing thought about the action tonight, stood up and said with a smile: "Okay. Call me if you need anything."

"Mom, let's go. There are some snacks in your room. Don't cook in such a hot day."

Mother Zhang smiled and nodded.

After watching the young couple leave, Zhang Dad said with a smile, "Mother, you're so mean. Why didn't you tell me that there were any snacks at home? What were they?"

"Haha... Jiaojiao rushed into our room this morning carrying a big bag. I think it was put there. I haven't seen what's inside yet. Why don't you go and take a look?"

"Anything that can hide this child must be good, even without seeing it." Father Zhang looked up at the stars in the sky and suddenly said, "Mother, please pick a good day. I will take the children to burn some paper money at their parents' graves."

"good."

"When they come over later, don't take my box of good wine."

Zhang's mother was momentarily stunned. She had just been feeling a bit sad, but now she was talking about the wine again? She said unhappily, "I know! I wouldn't have let you go if you hadn't told me."

"Don't touch my tiger wine either."

Mother Zhang scolded with a smile: "Why don't you just ask someone to come over and drink some water."

"That can't happen!"

The couple chatted happily in the yard. Zhang Guoqing, who had gone out with Zhou Jiao, did not go looking for the child, but was persuaded by her to return home.

Zhang Guoqing closed the gate as soon as he entered. This was a village custom. On summer nights, when the gate was closed, acquaintances who came to visit knew that no one was home and knew where to find some cool air. They would leave naturally, feeling warm.

Zhang Guoqing knew that if his door was left open, within half an hour, led by a few of his cousins' wives, all the wives, whether familiar or unfamiliar, would arrive to inquire about the outside world, gossip, and make obscene remarks. If a few young people showed up, and the conversation continued, he wouldn't have a peaceful night.

Thinking of the arrangements for the evening, Zhang Guoqing went forward without turning on the lights in the dark, picked up his wife and slowly walked towards the main room, joking as he walked.

Zhou Jiao had long been accustomed to being frightened by his behavior of picking her up when there were no outsiders around, so she calmly hugged his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

Seeing him walking into the room, her eyes rolled and she said, "Let's stay in the yard for a while."

Zhang Guoqing stopped and said, "Are you sure? I won't leave after ten o'clock. I won't be able to get home before dawn."

This time, he followed Zhou Jiao's instructions and went to the black market in the neighboring city. It didn't matter if he drove carefully in the middle of the night, but it would be difficult to hide the car later. He didn't believe that this girl would not give in.

"Then you can't do anything stupid."

Zhang Guoqing carried her into the inner room and said with a smile, "Just wait and see when I get into trouble. Just be obedient. With your man here, everything will be fine."

"How about we do it tomorrow night? You've been exhausted all day. And, our son might come knocking on the door later. If he finds us..."

Zhang Guoqing lowered his head and silenced her chattering mouth. Now it was good, finally quiet. Tomorrow night? Who knew if it would be convenient tomorrow night?

The moonlight shone through the window and saw a couple entangled together on the kang. It blushed and hid in the clouds.

There were sounds of dogs barking in the distance and frogs croaking all around, and Zhangjia Village fell into darkness.

A cool breeze streamed through the window, bringing a touch of coolness, but it couldn't extinguish the fire burning in Zhang Guoqing's heart. A few drops of sweat slid down his forehead onto his snow-white skin, causing Zhou Jiao to shiver.

Zhou Jiao glanced at him and asked breathlessly, "Is it time yet?"

"Not yet. Honey, we still have time to play slowly."

Zhou Jiao: “…”

…

In the dead of night, a figure carrying someone in his arms ran out of the village quickly. He ran for a while until he reached a deserted dirt road. He patted the dazed person in his arms and said, "We're here."

Zhou Jiao suddenly woke up and struggled to get up.

Zhang Guoqing supported her with a guilty conscience and said softly, "I've checked. It's safe here."

Zhou Jiao nodded, quickly got out of the car, opened the door and took out the items in the car, then sat down in the passenger seat and slumped down on it.

Zhang Guoqing followed closely behind, driving the car quickly and praising him: "My wife is so smart. She even knew to discard the license plate. She is really efficient."

Zhou Jiao chuckled at the words. "Praise me, praise me as much as you can. You really think you're safe!"

"...Jiaojiao, don't get off the car when we get to the black market. I'll go inside and find a human trafficker and get him out. First, consider which supplies take up the most space. We'll sell those first."

"Okay, be careful. If you think anything's wrong, come back and I'll start the car to pick you up."

Zhang Guoqing smiled at her. "Don't be so nervous. I'm very familiar with those places. Put on your makeup first, then go get some sleep. I'll call you when we're almost in town."

Zhou Jiao was about to refuse to rest when she yawned. She rolled her eyes at Zhang Guoqing and couldn't help laughing when she saw his face.

If Zhang Dad and the others found out as soon as I left the house, they would accuse me of cheating and beat the man to death!

Fortunately! Fortunately...

Seeing that Zhang Guoqing deliberately slowed down, she quickly took out the medicine powder and started applying it. She then used a mirror and comb to tidy it up again. After making sure that nothing was missed, she put her things away and could no longer resist the sleepiness, so she curled up in her seat and fell asleep.