She built the house, and she'd like to see who dares to kick her out.

With some time before dark, the three went up the mountain again and carried back some firewood.

I saw Meng Wanyin, the village party secretary, standing at my doorstep.

Upon seeing Lin Chuchu, the village secretary tapped the hole in his tobacco pouch.

"Chuchu is back. Among our group of female educated youth, you are the most thrifty. You bring back a little bit every day, so it will be easier for you to hibernate during the winter."

Lin Chuchu smiled slightly at the two men, "Uncle, have you been waiting for a while? Come in first."

With that, he unlocked the door with the key and invited the two of them inside.

The small house was not big to begin with. There was a quilt folded on the kang (a heated brick bed), a narrow kang table, and two stacked wooden boxes inside.

There were also things on the floor inside the house: a bucket next to the stove, a shoe rack by the door, a washstand under the window, and several woven baskets standing on the other side.

He poured a glass of water for the two of them, speaking to Meng Wanyin, whose face had been grim ever since she entered the room.

"You wanted to see me?"

When the village secretary saw the state of the house, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

"It's nothing much, it's just that Meng, the educated youth, had a bit of a disagreement with the educated youth settlement and was wondering if he could stay at your place for a few days."

Lin Chuchu shook her head awkwardly, "My room is already small, as you can see from the Party Secretary's perspective, it's really too small to fit everything."

Meng Wanyin wanted to say that sleeping on the floor was fine, but there wasn't much space on the floor.

Meng Wanyin forced a smile, "It's alright, it's my fault. I got sick as soon as I arrived in the countryside, which affected everyone."

Lin Chuchu smiled but didn't say anything. After chatting for a couple more minutes, the two left.

In the end, there was no other way but to let Meng Wanyin stay at the village clinic. The clinic doctor was not often there and went home at night, so it was just right to take Meng Wanyin in.

Ignoring them, Lin Chuchu heated up some porridge and ate it with steamed buns, then dried the mushrooms she had picked that day.

My luck was so-so today; I didn't come across any fruit. The fruit I put in my space a few days ago didn't show any signs of rotting, so it seems to be keeping fresh.

As darkness fell, I lit a candle and read the newspaper by its light, gaining a deeper understanding of the current articles.

Next, I read the book.

Lin Chuchu blew out the candles and went to sleep after watching for a while.

Oh, and the gold bracelet.

Lin Chuchu took out the bracelet and ring from her spatial storage. They were clearly old items, and anything certified by her spatial storage was definitely genuine.

She tried it on several times, but still carefully put it away.

The situation is a bit better now than it was a few years ago, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, I've put it away.

In the middle of the night, a dark figure quietly slipped out from next door and didn't return until dawn.

Seven days later, the reply Lin Chuchu had been waiting for finally arrived.

It cost eight yuan in total, along with a letter encouraging her to submit more articles.

Lin Chuchu couldn't help but smile. Her efforts had paid off; she earned more money today than many people earn in a month.