The Zhou family members were already asleep by this time.

Zhou Quan didn't call them. He got off the carriage, climbed over the wall into the courtyard, found the door bolt, and drove the carriage inside.

Old Man Zhou came out while he was unloading the carriage.

He heard the noise in the yard.

These past few days, the couple had been wondering if Zhou Quan and Li Mai would be back soon, as they had been away from home for more than two months.

"Xiaoquan, Xiaomai, you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Old Zhou asked.

"I haven't eaten, I'm not eating anymore, Dad. We'll eat together tomorrow morning. You don't need to worry about us. Could you please get the key to our yard over there? Has the fire been burning in that house these past few days?" Zhou Quan unloaded the cart, tied up the horse, and walked over to his father to ask.

"It's burning. Your mother said you should be back soon," Old Man Zhou chuckled. "Was the journey safe?"

“It went smoothly and all was well. We even made a trip to the capital.” Zhou Quan looked at his father and said softly, then lifted the carriage curtain. “Dad, the carriage contains the New Year’s goods that we bought for the family. Please open the door to the west room so we can move them in first.”

Old Zhou responded and went back to their room. He soon came out with two sets of keys.

Zhao, who was buttoning her clothes, followed behind.

"Xiaomai and Xiaoquan, you're back. Were you cold on the way? Haven't you eaten yet? Why don't you two come inside? I'll heat up some food for you. We had steamed buns and porridge today, and there's some left. It'll be ready in a bit." Zhao said as she walked towards the kitchen.

"Mother, there's no need to light a fire to heat them up. If there are any leftover buns, you can just give us a food box to put a few in," Li Mai said as she followed.

Zhou Quan and his father had already started moving things into the west wing.

"That's fine. There should be a fire in your stove over there. You can heat it up when you get back." Zhao didn't hesitate and quickly went to the kitchen to pack buns for the two of them.

She thought that her son and daughter-in-law must have had a long and tiring journey. Since it would be slower to start a fire in the kitchen, they could heat up directly in the yard when they got back.

Li Mai followed Zhao Shi into the kitchen and inquired about the family's situation.

Madam Zhao smiled and nodded, "Everything is fine at home, and the village is doing well too. There are a few things left, and I'll explain them to you in detail when you two come over tomorrow."

Hearing that nothing serious had happened at home, Li Mai was relieved and briefly explained their trip to Zhao Shi. As for the specifics, she simply told her a few things.

The two arrived at the carriage and saw that Zhou Quan and his father hadn't finished unloading their things. Zhao asked in surprise, "You bought so much stuff?"

"Some of these are New Year's goods that we bought ourselves, and some are gifts from others." Li Mai smiled and followed them into the carriage, taking out some of the things they wanted to take back there separately.

These are things that need to be made public; we need to follow the clear path that the Zhou family elders are looking for.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao understood; it must have been sent by Madam Yu!

After all, Xiaomai had gone out with her to help her look at the styles in the shop.

"Did Madam Yu come back with you this time?" Zhao asked Li Mai.

Li Mai shook her head. "No, they stayed in the capital. Zhou Quan and I bought our own carriage and rushed back."

"Oh, that's good. This carriage must have cost a lot of money, right?" Zhao took a lantern and went over to examine the horse. It was a black and brown horse, which looked like a good horse for long journeys.

"It's alright, it cost forty taels," Li Mai said to Zhao.

Zhao said "Oh," and remarked that the carriage was indeed expensive, but it also looked quite sturdy.

In the short time that Zhou Quan had just finished, he also managed to find out all the things that Zhou Laode wanted to know from him.

"Xiaoquan, is your leg still hurting?" Zhao asked Zhou Quan after seeing that they had finally finished moving everything.

Zhou Quan shook his head and comforted Zhao Shi, "No, I'm completely healed, Mother. Don't worry, I didn't break any bones, so I didn't need such a long recovery period."

Hearing this, Zhao was truly relieved.

Finally, the move was complete. The couple carried food boxes, Zhou Quan held the huge pile of things, and Li Mai took the bunch of keys handed to her by Old Man Zhou. The two left the Zhou family compound and walked towards the row in front.

Their small courtyard is just one row in front.

Zhou Quan was carrying things, and Li Mai opened the front door and then went inside to open the front door of her house.

They designed the courtyard themselves, and they knew exactly what their house looked like, so they went straight to their main house.

Li Mai lit the lamp, and Zhou Quan put his things down and looked around the room.

He had his father help him buy furniture, and it was all brought back. The whole house was furnished as if people had already moved in, and even the kang (a heated brick bed) was made up, only covered with a cloth.

At the same time, the room felt warm and cozy.

Zhou Quan went over and took a look; the water tank was full.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"It's great. It's a new house, clean and tidy inside, and so warm. Children with parents are truly blessed!" Li Mai said with a smile.

Zhou Quan felt a warmth in his heart when he thought about how good his parents had been to him and his siblings since they were little.

Comparing this life with the lonely one in his memory, Zhou Quan felt that he was here to enjoy happiness, that God was compensating him for the loneliness of his previous life.

"What are you standing there for? Use your skills to heat up these buns. I'll go tidy up the kang and organize things." Li Mai took off her cotton cloak, put it in the closet, then took off her outer skirt, rolled up her sleeves, and took away the bed sheet.

Place the tea set they brought back on the table.

After the two of them had been busy for another half an hour, they finally ate and tidied up the things they had brought back.

"Let's rest!" After washing up, Li Mai said, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), collapsed on it, and started tidying up her things. She was really tired.

Zhou Quan responded, locked the door, blew out the lamp, and got onto the kang (heated brick bed).

To keep warm, they also had kang beds in their rooms.

A chaise lounge was placed next to the wardrobe so that Huanhuan could lie on it during the day.

"Tired?" Zhou Quan wrapped his arms around her, his large hand slowly tracing patterns on her back.

"Yeah, I'm tired. Packing is really tiring. It would be easier to fight someone." Li Mai sighed, resting her head on his arm.

Zhou Quan chuckled softly, "Okay, let's sleep then. Today is the first time we've slept together in our new house."

"Yes, we'll sleep here from now on. Let's bring Zhuzhu back tomorrow and take good care of the child." Li Mai had seen and learned a lot on this trip, especially from Lord Zhong and Patriarch Chu, where she learned about the responsibility and mission of being a parent.

Upon reflection, she realized that neither she nor Zhou Quan had taken on such a strong sense of responsibility towards Zhuzhu before, instead relying heavily on Xiaotao and her parents for Zhuzhu's care.

Li Mai felt that this was not right. Since the child called her "mother," she should do everything she was supposed to do.

Zhou Quan lowered his head and kissed her, then softly hummed in agreement, "Okay!"