Everyone agreed with Erlinzi's words, and that's exactly what he meant.

Liu Jianguo put on his shoes and got out of bed. "Why are you all thinking so much? We're all from the same village. Hurry up and sit down. At Hongmei's speed, the dishes will be served soon."

The group thought about it and realized it made sense, since they were all from the same village.

Liu Jingze then brought in the hot and sour potato slices, saying, "You guys eat the vegetables first, I'll go and bring in the rice too."

"Brother Jingze, you go help Hongmei, we'll go get the food." Dashan and Liu Jianguo were more familiar with Liu Jingze than others, and since they were family, they were more at ease around him.

"Okay, serve the rice and start eating as soon as it's served. The tofu will be ready to eat soon too."

Da Shan and Liu Jianguo went out and carried the rice steamer in. As soon as they lifted the curtain, the pungent smell of fried chili peppers wafted into the room.

They could still hear Zhang Hongmei coughing incessantly. Liu Jingze snatched the shovel away and said, "Hongmei, go outside to get some fresh air. I'll take care of it."

"No need, it'll be ready in a minute." Zhang Hongmei took the spatula back and carefully lifted it from the side of the pot, turning the tofu little by little, otherwise it would break.

The tofu is ready. It's served, and its bright red and glossy appearance is incredibly appetizing.

While Zhang Hongmei went to wash her hands, Liu Jingze served her a bowl of rice.

"Hongmei, sit down quickly, everyone is waiting for you."

"Don't wait for me, hurry up and eat, or the glass noodles will clump together. The tofu is hard to pick up, right? I'll go get a spoon and scoop it directly onto the rice."

"Sit down, I'll go." Liu Jingze took Zhang Hongmei's hand, got up and went to the kitchen to get two spoons.

This person didn't cause any trouble and just looked at Zhang Hongmei.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's alright, Hongmei, you'll know your results on the tenth, right?"

"Yeah, I've filled out my college application. I'm going home for the National Day holiday. What's up, Jianshe-ge?"

Wang Jianshe was particularly shy, so it was quite remarkable that he could talk to Zhang Hongmei like that without blushing.

"It's okay, I'll come over after get off work on the tenth day of the lunar month."

"Hehe, don't worry about me. You can come over yourself, so you won't have to worry about me."

Liu Jingze picked up a piece of vermicelli for Liu Jingze, saying, "Eat quickly, we can talk after you finish, or it will get cold."

Today's meal was probably only unaffected by Liu Jianguo; the rest of the people felt somewhat uncomfortable.

However, that was only emotional; it didn't affect his eating at all, and he finished all the food.

Erlinzi patted his belly and said, "Rice is still the best. Hongmei, wait for me. Let's go fishing when we get back."

"Okay, I reckon we'll have caught all the fish by the time you get back."

"We'll be home by the afternoon of the 28th. No problem, I'll just wait to eat right away once you call back. Or how about the ten of us go a second time?"

This opened the floodgates, and everyone started talking at once.

Liu Jingze got up to tidy up the table. He had been doing this for the past few days, and the other young men felt embarrassed to just sit around chatting, so they quickly stood up to help.

"No need for you, you can wait a bit, I'll be done cleaning up in no time." The male homeowner was very much in a good position.

In the end, it was Liu Jianguo and Dashan who helped Liu Jingze lift the table and wash the dishes.

Seeing Liu Jingze leave, Erlinzi stuck out her tongue. "Hongmei, you seem a little nervous."

"What's so scary about him? How are you doing at the power company?"

“Okay, I think it’s much better than the others. We all think it’s because you gave me the gift.”

"That's right. Once this area is developed, we'll have to install electrical wires for every household. I don't want you to do manual labor. You need to study hard and learn technical skills."

"Thank you, Hongmei. We all know and remember your kindness. We will repay you double for the gifts you paid for," Shuangcun said excitedly.

"Hehe, we're all from the same village, don't worry about it so much. Do you think you would just stand by and do nothing if something happened to me?"

"Definitely not." The nine people said in unison.

"Of course not. I'll treat anything that's wrong with you as my own." Xiao Suo's expression was so serious it was as if she were making a vow.

"We are too."

"That's fine then. We're family, no need to be so petty."

With Liu Jingze gone, the group gradually relaxed and chatted and laughed with Zhang Hongmei about the fun things that happened in the study group. Everyone laughed along.

Liu Jingze and the other two sat in the kitchen. Liu Jianguo and Dashan felt extremely awkward. What was wrong with these people?

Liu Jingze smiled indifferently, not caring about these people's attitudes.

"Brother Jingze, you haven't gone back to Liujiatun yet, have you?"

Liu Jianguo glared at Dashan, thinking, "That stupid idiot."

Da Shan was helpless. The three of them couldn't just sit there doing nothing, could they? But they really didn't have anything to talk about with Liu Jingze, so they blurted out this idiotic question.

Liu Jingze chuckled, "I haven't gone back yet. My family doesn't know I'm back. I'm just waiting for Hongmei to get her results and submit her college application so we can go back together."

The two smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to say next.

Liu Jianguo glanced at the clock and saw it was already eight o'clock; he'd better hurry back.

"Brother Jingze, I've gone to call them back. They have to go to class tomorrow, and I have to go to work."

"Okay, take your time."

The eleven people rushed out of the yard and went back inside, and the house immediately became quiet.

Liu Jingze boiled water for Zhang Hongmei so she could wash up.

"Hongmei, did you help them with their work?"

"I didn't really help them, I just delivered a letter to them. It was Huang Ying from the post office who gave me the information."

Her husband's uncle is a leader at the power supply bureau, so I gave him a gift as well.

"Hongmei, what are you doing this for? Why are you taking such good care of an entire village?"

"Because the people in our village have been good to me. Now that I know, I will definitely let them know."

Liu Jingze found it amusing; this girl was truly naive to the point of being pitiful. She was the kind of person who would repay a small kindness tenfold.

However, this only strengthened my belief in Zhang Hongmei. How could I miss out on such a genuine person?

After Zhang Hongmei finished washing up, Liu Jingze helped her splash water, which made Zhang Hongmei feel particularly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Back inside, I got into bed and covered myself with the quilt. The kang was so warm today; it was so comfortable to lie on. I drifted off to sleep in no time.

Meanwhile, Liu Jingze, in another room, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Thinking of Zhang Hongmei's kindness, he unconsciously smiled.

It's so good to have met her.

In Liu Jingze's eyes, Zhang Hongmei is perfect and carefree. He sees nothing wrong with her; she's simply flawless!

Zhang Hongmei was unaware of all this; she was already asleep, and Liu Jingze was also quite comfortable with the warm kang (heated brick bed). So, without realizing it, he fell asleep.