Time flies, and before we knew it, it was the end of the year again. Granny Liu started urging her sons to come back to the village for the New Year many days in advance, fearing that they would have to stay here again this year.

Zhang Xuemei smiled as she watched her mother-in-law busily packing things, saying, "Mom, you don't need to bring so much stuff. Just bring a few sets of clothes. We can buy the rest in town. It'll be convenient if we hire a car to go back."

"We need to charter a car? That's too expensive. We can just wait to take a tricycle. It'll only cost two yuan per person." The thrifty Granny Liu felt that it didn't matter which vehicle she took, there was no need to waste money.

"Mom, waiting for the bus takes too long. Besides, there are so many of us and so much stuff, we might not even be able to squeeze on. Chartering a bus saves time and effort, so it's a good deal."

Zhang Xuemei thought that if cars weren't so expensive, she would really like to buy one, so that it would be more convenient for her to travel back and forth.

Granny Liu thought about it and agreed. She figured it was alright, she didn't care about the money, so she didn't argue anymore.

Xu Hongshan waited on the bridge at the village entrance early in the morning. As soon as he heard the sound of a car, he would immediately stand up to check. If he didn't see anyone, he would immediately sit back down. He waited like this from morning until noon before Xu Minghan and his group finally arrived.

"Why are you taking so long? I've been waiting for ages." Xu Hongshan patted his backside and stood up, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the two vans. He rubbed his hands together and asked, "What? You bought these vehicles? Wow, you're really something. I've never ridden in a car like this before..."

Xu Minghan quickly stopped him, glanced awkwardly at the driver, and replied with a smile, "Dad, we didn't buy it. We just chartered a car. Come on, get in too, and let the driver take us directly to our new house."

"You didn't buy it?" Xu Hongshan was a little disappointed, but when he heard that he could get on the bus, he regained his energy and quickly squeezed on.

Granny Liu was so crowded she could hardly breathe. She complained, "Why did you come up here? Can't you walk a few steps? Can't you see how crowded it is inside?"

Xu Hongshan pretended not to hear and watched the driver in front of him, thinking to himself that he wished he could drive.

As soon as Xu Minghan got out of the car, he saw that it was surrounded by a crowd of people, all of whom were curiously looking at the car.

One busybody asked directly, "Minghan, did you buy this car yourselves? It looks really nice."

Xu Minghan waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, I don't have the money to buy such a nice car. I just chartered a car to come back."

"Oh, is that so?" The speaker's interest immediately waned. He had thought that Xu Minghan had really struck it rich and even bought a car, but it turned out he was just all show and no substance.

Bai Tingmei pushed aside the people next to her, smiled, and stepped forward to help unload the things from the car. "Sister-in-law, we've cleaned the house and aired out the quilts. Why don't you go lie down for a while? You must be tired after sitting in the car all morning! Have lunch at my house."

Zhang Xuemei looked at her second aunt in surprise, wondering why she was being so enthusiastic.

Xu Hongliang, who was standing next to him, also laughed and said, "Yes, we'll have lunch at my house, so you won't have to cook."

Third Aunt Sun Honghua didn't argue with them and said directly, "Then let's eat at my house tonight. Sister-in-law, aren't you having a housewarming party tomorrow? I've ordered everything as you asked, and it'll be delivered tomorrow morning, all fresh!"

Granny Liu replied with a smile, "Alright, thank you for your hard work. We'll go back and tidy up first, and then we'll go to the second brother's house for dinner later. Thank you for your hard work, sister-in-law."

Bai Tingmei clapped her hands and laughed, "Alright, I'll go back and cook first. Come over when you're ready!" Then she ran off.

Zhang Xuemei nudged her husband and asked softly, "What's wrong with Second Aunt? I've never seen her so enthusiastic before?"

Xu Minghan also answered in a low voice, "Didn't Dad say he would go to work in Tianshui City after the New Year? So the land at home has been lying fallow. My second uncle and aunt wanted to take the land to farm, but they were afraid we wouldn't agree, so they were a bit too enthusiastic."

Zhang Xuemei immediately understood what was going on and laughed, "Actually, Uncle San's family can't grow this much anyway; it would have been divided up for Uncle Er's family to grow."

"Isn't she worried that because she doesn't get along with Mom, she's afraid Mom won't give them to them?"

Seeing that the third son and his wife were still whispering to each other, Granny Liu immediately called out, "Minghan, what are you two whispering about? Hurry up and get ready to eat."

"Okay, coming right away."

Bai Tingmei set up two tables at home, one for men who drink and one for women who don't, and it was quite lively for a while.

"Oh, sister-in-law, now that all the children are married, you can finally rest easy. Unlike our Mingyue, who still doesn't have a place to settle down..."

Xu Mingyue immediately became unhappy when her mother brought up this matter. "Mom, why are you bringing this up? It's not like I can't get married. If you keep talking about it, I'm going back to my room."

"Hey, I was just saying it offhand. Look at your temper, if only you were half as good as your sister Xiaowan..."

Granny Liu quickly stopped talking, "I think Mingyue is very good. Marriage is all about fate. When the time is right, it will happen quickly. You don't need to worry so much."

Bai Tingmei glanced at Granny Liu, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. She had originally thought of asking Granny Liu to introduce Mingyue to a potential partner, which would be better than finding someone in the village, but Granny Liu was clearly not responding.

The men at the table were talking about land, and Xu Hongshan was very generous, saying directly, "Once I go to Tianshui City, you two can divide up the land at home to cultivate. You don't need to pay me any rent. Just don't let it lie fallow."

“That won’t do. How about we leave you a few hundred kilograms of rice and flour every year, so you can take them to the city to eat?” Xu Hongzhen suggested.

“Yes, brother, being white isn’t good. We’ll pay you grain!” Xu Hongliang added.

Xu Hongshan waved his hand generously, "No need, we don't need that little bit of grain. You can keep growing it. Just don't be upset if we come back sometimes and have to come to your house for a meal."

"No way, we'd love to welcome you!" The two brothers happily agreed. Their eldest brother was so kind, always thinking of them.

Bai Tingmei overheard the conversation and was pleased to see that she had also benefited. However, her eyes darted around and she thought of the orange grove. She tentatively looked at Granny Liu and asked, "Sister-in-law, what about your large orange grove? How about we look after it for you?"

Grandma Liu paused in feeding her granddaughter, which prompted Linlin to grab the spoon and eat it herself.

"You little one, but you're quite strong." Granny Liu patted Linlin's head, then looked at Bai Tingmei and replied, "We'll talk about that later, I haven't decided yet."

She had heard that someone wanted to rent her family's orange grove, but she didn't want to cut down the orange trees, so she was still struggling with the decision!