Although the Shen family's plight was heartbreaking, it did not dampen the villagers' spirits for the New Year.

It took Chen Shuning three whole days of copying the antique appraisal notes that Chen Jiandang had asked for.

That kid stayed up for two nights carefully reading through the notes from beginning to end.

Then he kept pestering Chen Shuning to take him to town again.

Unable to resist the boy's persistent pleading, and also thinking that it wouldn't hurt to go to the black market again before the New Year, Chen Shuning took Chen Jiandang to Hongqi Town again.

This time, the siblings went to the post office first to call Qin Yalan. Chen Shuning was anxious to know whether his mother had successfully bought his third uncle's house.

Secondly, she was afraid that Qin Yalan wouldn't know where her five hundred yuan came from and would be anxious.

Of course, it wasn't convenient to discuss the source of the money over the phone, but Chen Shuning repeatedly assured them that the money was legitimate and legal. However, the specific source would have to wait for Chen Jiandang to tell them in person when he got back.

Qin Yalan wasn't afraid that Chen Shuning would do anything illegal, because in her eyes, her youngest daughter had always been quite timid.

Qin Yalan now only believes that the money was borrowed by Chen Shuning and He Chaoyang. Although she does not agree with it, she is far away from the emperor and can do nothing about her daughter. She can only cut back on expenses and try to save up the money spent on buying the house as soon as possible to pay them back.

And Chen Shuning did indeed buy the house he had been longing for.

Five hundred yuan. It is said that Chen Laosan only gave a discount of fifty yuan because of their relationship. Although this price is still higher than the normal house price, Chen Shuning doesn't care about the small amount. As long as he can buy the house smoothly, that's all that matters.

After repeatedly confirming that his parents hadn't simply signed an agreement to save time, but had gone to the local street office to complete the formal transfer procedures, Chen Shuning finally hung up the phone with peace of mind.

Chen Jiandang was eager to go to the scrap metal recycling station to test what he had learned in the past two days, so he asked Chen Shuning for a few yuan and headed straight for the station.

Without that little tail, everything became much easier for Chen Shuning: putting on makeup, going to the black market, selling goods, and then returning early to the oxcart to wait for Chen Jiandang.

While waiting for others, Chen Shuning also went to a state-run restaurant to pack several portions of dishes that she and Chen Jiandang liked to eat.

Chen Shuning rode in Old Yang's car this time, happily eating the melon seeds the old man gave him while chatting with him about everyday things.

However, as time went on, Chen Shuning's expression grew increasingly grim.

Because Chen Jiandang, that kid, rushed back just as the last oxcart was leaving.

He was also mysteriously holding a wooden box that was more than half a meter long and more than 30 centimeters wide.

As soon as he got in the car, he cheekily sidled up to Chen Shuning and said he had bought something great.

Unexpectedly, Chen Shuning slapped him on the head.

Confused and bewildered, Chen Jiandang looked aggrieved and asked, "Sister, why did you hit me? What did I do wrong?"

Chen Shuning was also furious at this moment. She slapped Chen Jiandang again before saying coldly, "What did I do wrong? Did I tell you that it was almost Chinese New Year and that there would be a lot of people on the train, so you should come back soon?"

"Do you know that if Grandpa Yang hadn't insisted on waiting for you here today, and let several aunties hitch a ride back in an oxcart from another brigade, you would have had to walk all the way back to your brigade today?"

Today is already the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, and tomorrow is the Little New Year. Many families are afraid that they won't be able to keep an eye on their children to prevent them from stealing food, so they prefer to buy New Year's goods on these two days. Therefore, the oxcarts in various villages are full of people these two days.

If Chen Shuning hadn't returned early and caught Grandpa Yang's cart, and if Old Yang hadn't used his influence to arrange for several villagers who were eager to go home to ride in oxcarts from other brigades along the same route, the siblings would have really had to walk home today.

It wasn't until this moment that Chen Jiandang realized why his sister was so angry. He quickly apologized sincerely to Old Yang and the aunties and grandmas in the car: "I'm sorry, Grandpa Yang, I'm sorry, aunties and grandmas. I was having so much fun that I forgot the time. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Those who are still waiting here are all easy to talk to. Now that they have seen Chen Jiandang's sincere apology, everyone said it's okay.

They traveled in silence, and by the time the siblings returned to their educated youth settlement, it was already completely dark.

During this period, due to the series of incidents involving educated youth, the atmosphere in the educated youth settlement has been somewhat gloomy and oppressive.

Moreover, ever since Liu Shumei moved from the front yard to the back yard, Chen Shuning has rarely interacted with the cunning female educated youths in the front yard.

After sending Chen Jiandang to the front yard to tell Feng Baoguo that he and his sister had returned, he went straight back to his hut to start a fire and cook.

This is also a new rule at the educated youth settlement.

It might be because things haven't been peaceful at the educated youth settlement lately, or it might be because the New Year is just around the corner and no one wants anything to happen, ever since Yang Xiaohong got into trouble.

Feng Baoguo and Liu Shumei held a meeting for all the educated youth, and made some regulations for them at the meeting.

First, the educated youth were required to return to their settlements before 7:30 p.m., and if they had other matters to attend to, they needed to ask for leave in advance.

Every night, Feng Baoguo and Liu Shumei would check each room one by one.

Another change is that the time for locking the gates at the youth settlement has been changed from 9 pm to 8 pm every night, and those who need to go out for special reasons must ask for leave in advance.

Furthermore, whether going up the mountain or to work, the educated youth should try to act together as much as possible. If something happens while acting alone, they should be responsible for it themselves.

So when Chen Shuning returned this time, he had his younger brother report to the person in charge of the educated youth settlement.

At this moment, Chen Jiandang's mind was filled with the box he had bought at the scrap metal recycling station. So he ran to the room where the male educated youth were, told Feng Baoguo that they had returned, and then ran back to the backyard.

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