In the night sky, the moon suddenly hid behind the clouds, as if it had seen something it shouldn't have seen.

The night passed quickly.

When Qiao Qiqi woke up in the morning, she felt an unbearable backache. She sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and did a few stretching exercises, which relieved the pain somewhat.

Seeing that Qin Huai was not there, and that there were obvious sounds coming from the courtyard, she got off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Upon arriving in the courtyard, they discovered that Qin Huai was not there.

Hearing a sound from the kitchen, she went inside and saw Qin Huai squatting in front of the stove, tending the fire. On the stove was a large bowl of dried ferns that had been cooked and diced, along with chopped eggs and wood ear mushrooms.

Seeing that Qin Huai was already prepared, Qiao Qiqi immediately washed her hands, first mixed the filling for the buns, then picked up the dough that had risen by the wall, kneaded it, and then cut it into equal-sized pieces.

Qin Huai was in charge of rolling out the dumpling wrappers, while she was in charge of wrapping them.

The two of them worked together and quickly filled two large steamer baskets with buns.

After steaming, one pot was left for Qin Huai and Chen Chen to eat over the next two days, while the other pot was packed up for Qiao Qiqi to take on the road.

“This 120 yuan and these tickets are what I earned last night and some of my savings. Take them with you on the road. If you run out of money when you get to Beijing, just send me a telegram and I’ll wire it to you from the town.” Qin Huai handed her the money.

Qiao Qiqi raised an eyebrow. "Secret stash of money? You've been hiding so much money from me! Do you have any other money on you?"

Faced with her questioning, Qin Huai immediately became nervous and stammered, "No, it's not my secret stash. It's because you were in town before, and I went up the mountain a few times. I was afraid you would scold me, so I left some extra money on me."

Qiao Qiqi was just teasing him.

Seeing that he was terrified, she smiled and took the money and tickets. After counting them, she handed 20 yuan back, saying, "You and Chenchen need money at home too. Keep this 20 yuan for yourself."

"No need. If I need money, I can just go hunting in the mountains. You can take it with you; there are many places where you'll need money outside." Qin Huai pushed the money back.

Qiao Qiqi thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then I'll take them all."

After putting away the money and tickets, she immediately went inside and woke up Chenchen and Xinxin.

After breakfast, she braided Xin Xin's hair into two little braids and put on the hair ties and hair clips she had bought in the county last time. She looked as pretty as a little doll in a New Year's painting.

Qiao Qiqi wore a red shirt and a white skirt with small black polka dots. Her hair was tied up on top and draped over her shoulders, making her look both gentle and stylish, and she looked especially beautiful.

Qin Huai was slightly stunned.

He always knew his wife was beautiful, but Qiao Qiqi rarely dressed up. The only time she wore a dress to the fields was that day, and a group of men stared at her intently.

Looking at Qiao Qiqi's appearance after dressing up, Qin Huai suddenly felt a little reluctant to let her go to the capital.

"Qin Huai's wife, where are you going? You look so beautiful! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a bride at a wedding." A villager passing by the door was immediately amazed when he saw Qiao Qiqi's outfit.

Qiao Qiqi smiled slightly, "I have to go out for a while."

Upon hearing the sound, the two women instinctively assumed she was going to town again, thinking how extravagant this woman was. As for Qin Huai? He stood opposite her, not caring at all.

Seeing this scene, the two women suddenly felt a little envious. They also wished they didn't have to work every day and could go to the city to shop every day, leaving all the money-making to the men at home. Unfortunately, they weren't destined for that!

The two women withdrew their envious gazes and, even after walking a distance, continued to discuss it—

"Look at Qiao Qiqi, she has such a graceful figure, and her face is so pretty and fair. Tell me, how come there's such a big difference between women?"

Upon hearing this, another person chuckled and said, "In the end, everyone has their own fate. If I looked like Qiao Qiqi, my husband would love me too, and I might not have to work and could just stay home and enjoy life."

"Don't daydream. Even if you really became Qiao Qiqi, your lazy old man isn't as capable as Qin Huai."

The woman couldn't refute that.

Qin Huai's competence is well-known in the village; most people simply can't compare.

The two women gradually walked away.

Qiao Qiqi was about to head out to the Su family's house, while Qin Huai was about to take Chenchen to the Qin family's house.

The two could walk together for a while.

Just then, the villagers were carrying tools to the fields, and when they saw the couple, their eyes lit up.

Some people walked far away but kept turning back to look at Qiao Qiqi, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets. One of them was caught off guard when he saw a stone at his feet and tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Haha, Li Gou Dan, look at you, you can't even walk away just by looking at it. If you could touch it, you'd be ecstatic."

The man called Li Gou Dan quickly got up from the ground, not embarrassed by being ridiculed, and even glanced in Qiao Qiqi's direction as if he hadn't learned his lesson.

Only after they could no longer see each other did he reluctantly turn his gaze away, and exclaimed, "Tell me, how come Qin Huai is so lucky after all, except for the bad luck of being born and losing his parents? Not only was he adopted by Qin Baojun, but now he can also marry such a beautiful wife."

One man teased, "What? Judging from your tone, you're envious? Do you know that marrying a beautiful wife means you have to treat her like royalty? She can't do any work and spends money like water. If I gave you a wife like that, would you still want her?"

Upon hearing this, Li Gou Dan immediately replied decisively, "Yes! Why wouldn't I want her? If I could marry such a beautiful wife, I wouldn't even let her do any work. I'd be willing to set up a table around her and worship her, kowtowing and burning incense every day."

If he had such a beautiful wife, he would lock the door of the house and not let her out to be seen by anyone. He would keep her at home and admire her all by himself!

"Alright, that's enough for now. Go take Chenchen there and then hurry up and get to work. Don't be late for your job." Standing at the crossroads, Qiao Qiqi looked at the man who seemed reluctant to part and couldn't help but find it amusing.

Actually, she was a little reluctant to leave. Suddenly having to go out, leave her familiar place, and part ways with Qin Huai...

She has never been separated from Qin Huai since she transmigrated here.

The sudden separation filled Qiao Qiqi with reluctance.

If it weren't for the many people walking by, she would have definitely jumped into Qin Huai's arms and acted coquettishly, but she could only restrain herself and take Xin Xin's little hand, "Xin Xin, say goodbye to your brother."

Xin Xin couldn't hear, but when she saw Qiao Qiqi waving, she immediately waved back.

Then, the two of them quickly headed towards the Su family's residence.

When they arrived at the Su family's door, Zhang Hongyan was directing Su Shangjin to load the mountain goods he was giving to the leaders into the car.