At this moment, Wang Jiayuan pushed open the door and ran in. When she saw Li Chu, she ran over and hugged Li Chu's leg: "Uncle, Uncle, I missed you so much."

"You little rascal, I think you're craving something delicious, not me," Li Chu said with a chuckle, ruffling his niece's hair.

Wang Jiayuan chuckled.

Wang Jiadong followed him in. "Uncle, you've arrived."

"Okay, Jiadong, take your sister over and wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon. Your uncle brought a bag of White Rabbit candy. Mom will get it for you after dinner."

After finishing his meal, Li Chu went home. Before leaving, he promised his sister that he would find time to bring Ding Qiunan home as soon as possible.

Ding Qiunan took the company bus home. Her family lived in a large, cramped courtyard; their house had only two rooms, smaller than Li Chu's, making it very inconvenient. Therefore, after starting work, Ding Qiunan lived in the factory's single dormitory.

In the courtyard, Ding Qiunan's mother sat in the shade by the door doing needlework, chatting casually with several other women doing the same thing.

Her father and several coworkers gathered on the other side, in a place where they wouldn't get any sun, to play chess.

Ding Qiunan was spotted by the people in the courtyard as soon as she entered.

"Hey, Qiu Nan is back. Goodness, she even brought such a big piece of meat."

"Hey, I'm back. Auntie, you're busy. I'm going back to wash my face. It's so hot here."

When Ding's mother saw her daughter return, she put down what she was doing and went to greet her. Taking the meat her daughter was carrying, she exclaimed, "Wow, it's so heavy, it must weigh almost ten pounds!"

As she walked home, she called out, "Dad, our daughter is home."

Mr. Ding stopped playing chess, handed the game to the person next to him, and walked back, saying, "I see them, they're here."

As soon as the three entered the house, the aunt started muttering to herself.

"How come there's such a big piece of meat?"

"Didn't Qiu Nan go off to pursue further studies?"

"Exactly, where would we get the money to buy so much meat?"

The group looked at each other, all sensing that there was some juicy gossip to be had!

After entering the house, Ding Qiunan took off the bag she was carrying, took out the cloth that Li Chu had given her, put it on the table, and picked up the large jar on the table to start drinking water.

Ding's mother looked at the meat in her hand and the cloth on the table, then turned to look at her husband. Ding's father was also looking at her. They exchanged a glance, realizing something was wrong! Where did these things come from? Their daughter didn't have the money to buy them.

Aunt Ding asked, "Qiu Nan, what's going on? Where did you get this thing?"

Mr. Ding remained silent, looking at his daughter and waiting for her to explain.

Ding Qiunan drank most of the water and finally felt a little better. She put down the cup and said, "Mom and Dad, it's like this. I went to do further studies and met a guy at the hospital. He knew I was coming back and asked me to bring these things back."

Ding Qiunan spoke frankly and openly.

The elderly couple were stunned.

When they were at home, so many matchmakers introduced potential partners to their daughter, but she didn't like any of them, which worried the elderly couple a lot. How come she found a partner after only three months of studying abroad?

Ding's mother put the meat on the table, pulled her daughter's hand and sat her down, asking, "Weren't you away for further studies? How come you're dating someone? What company does he work for?"

Ding's father also sat down, and he didn't say anything, just listened quietly to what the mother and daughter had to say.

"He is the doctor at the hospital where I went for further training, and also the doctor who supervised me. His name is Li Chu."

Ding's mother's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Your doctor? How old is he?"

When Ding's father heard this, he got anxious: "This age is too big, I don't agree." It's not like his daughter can't get married, why does she have to find someone older?

"Oh, Mom and Dad, please let me finish."

"Alright, alright, tell me, tell me, you have to give me a clear answer today."

"He's not that old, he's only 25 this year, and he's a college graduate."

As they were talking, the curtain was lifted, and before the person even came in, their voice rang out, "Sister, sister, am I going to have a brother-in-law?"

Ding Qiunan's younger brother, Ding Jianguo, has returned. It's a name very characteristic of that era; you can tell what year he was born just by hearing it.

Ding Jianguo was followed by an older woman from the courtyard. Just as they were about to come in, they heard what Ding Qiunan said.

Hearing this made him feel envious. He looked at that girl, who had found a college graduate, and then thought about his own poor son-in-law. He pursed his lips, didn't go in, and turned away.

As soon as Ding Jianguo ran in, he saw the huge piece of meat on the table, and his mouth watered. He forgot what he had asked and shouted, "Mom, can we have meat for lunch?"

Ding's mother slapped him on the bottom: "Go away, you're everywhere, don't interrupt."

Ding Jianguo rubbed his buttocks in grievance, his eyes still glued to the piece of meat.

When Mr. Ding heard that she was only 25 years old and a college student, he was relieved and stopped complaining that it wouldn't work.

Ding's mother's face lit up with a smile, and she continued to ask, "Where is his family from? How many people are in his family?"

“His home is not far from the hospital. His parents passed away a few years ago. He also has an older sister, but she is already married.”

Upon hearing that his parents had sacrificed their lives, Ding's mother's smile vanished. This sacrifice was no small matter. "What was the situation with his parents?"

Ding Qiunan shook her head: "He didn't go into details."

Before Ding's mother could ask anything else, Ding's father spoke up: "Alright, we'll talk about it later. Hurry up and cook, she has to leave this afternoon after lunch, otherwise she'll miss her train."

Upon hearing this, Ding's mother glared at her husband and said, "I'm just concerned about our daughter." She then picked up the meat and cloth and stood up. She first put the cloth away, then took the meat to prepare to cook.

Ding Jianguo saw his mother was about to cook: "Mom, make more meat."

Ding's mother ignored him.

Mr. Ding lit a cigarette: "Nannan, you've always been quite decisive. Since you've taken a liking to him, I won't say much. But you two can't just be together like this, without any clear boundaries. When are you planning to bring him home?"

"Dad, when I came back this time, he told me to ask around and see if it would be convenient for me to come over next week when I have time off."

"Convenient, of course convenient." A smile appeared on Mr. Ding's face. The fact that he took the initiative to come and visit, and even had his daughter come back early to say hello, shows how polite this kid is!

Mr. Ding was becoming more and more satisfied with his future son-in-law, whom he had not yet met.