Lin Chunying quickly composed herself and said, "Look in the basket on the top shelf of the cabinet. It might have been crushed by the seasonings."

After a few seconds of silence outside, Qiao Qiqi's excited voice rang out, "Found it!"

Realizing that she wouldn't speak again, Fang Jingru broke the silence first, "If you know anything, I hope you can tell me. I like Qiqi very much, and I want her to be happy more than anyone else."

Lin Chunying moved her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing.

Fang Jingru thought for a moment and then added, "I believe Qiqi has already told you about Qin Huai's reunion with his family. Old Madam Qin is a very kind person and is very grateful to Qin Baojun and his wife for adopting Qin Huai. If it weren't for the recruitment of soldiers, Qin Huai and Qiqi would have already returned to the village together."

“We are all enlightened elders. We will not sever ties with the people who raised us all our lives just because the children have recognized their ancestors. That would be called ingratitude.”

Fang Jingru finished speaking, stood up, and said, "I'm going outside to pick some mushrooms."

Lin Chunying watched her turn and leave, feeling as if all her strength had been drained away, her face filled with complex emotions.

Is this really destiny?

Her daughter went to Beijing with Fang Ke and met Fang Jingru...

Originally intended to help Chenchen and Xinxin find their families, it unexpectedly helped Qin Huai find his relatives as well...

If it weren't for this, knowing that it all happened by chance, she would almost have thought that someone had deliberately arranged it.

In the courtyard, after Qiao Qiqi started a fire, she went to the vegetable garden and picked a few persimmons that were almost out of season. After washing them, she gave one to Fang Jingru. "Persimmons taste best at this time of year. They are very flavorful, but they are not very sweet. They would taste even better if you mixed them with white sugar."

Fang Jingru took a bite and said with a smile, "It tastes good this way too. I like sweet and sour things."

“I like it too!” Qiao Qiqi said immediately.

She prefers fruits that are sweet and sour, but she also likes purely sweet ones, like cantaloupe and grapes, which are delicious. However, she finds persimmons, apples, and peaches to be more flavorful when they are sweet and sour.

Qiao Qiqi intended to go inside to give Lin Chunying two persimmons, but Lin Chunying came out of the house at that moment.

Qiao Qiqi seized the opportunity to say, "Mom, I see that the green beans in your garden have all stopped blooming, and there aren't many green beans left on the trellis. Shouldn't you pull them out?"

Lin Chunying nodded, "I was planning to pull them out in the next couple of days. I'll pick all the green beans off the top tomorrow and then pull them out. There's still time to plant some late spinach so we can eat for a while."

Qiao Qiqi had just finished eating a persimmon when she heard this and said directly, "Then why wait until tomorrow? I'm free right now, so I'll help you pull up the bean vines."

Fang Jingru had just finished picking the mushrooms and rolled up her sleeves, saying, "Let me help you."

"Okay." Qiao Qiqi could tell that Fang Jingru wasn't a pretentious person. Lin Chunying had broken her leg and was having trouble getting around, so having Fang Jingru help her from outside would definitely save her a lot of effort.

But Lin Chunying was a little nervous, "How can I let Miss Fang help me? I'll help you."

"Mom, you can just sit here and wait. You don't need to help. We can finish these green beans in no time."

Seeing Qiao Qiqi and Fang Jingru start fighting, Lin Chunying looked at their similar faces and felt extremely complicated, so she didn't insist anymore.

After we finished picking the green beans, it was time for lunch.

Qiao Qiqi originally planned to go home after delivering the mushrooms to Lin Chunying and cook for herself with Fang Jingru, but now that Lin Chunying's leg was injured, she simply stayed and ate with Lin Chunying.

Besides stir-fried mushrooms with chili peppers, Qiao Qiqi also made a cucumber and egg soup for lunch. It tasted sour and was especially delicious.

Since there were no leftovers, Qiao Qiqi kneaded the dough and made eight golden-brown pancakes that looked delicious.

Just as things were finished, Qiao Weiguo returned. Seeing his daughter there, he kept smiling.

After finishing their meal, Qiao Qiqi took Fang Jingru home to sleep.

On the way, Fang Jingru asked casually, "The grandmother you mentioned before, she also lives in the village, right?"

She asked casually, and Qiao Qiqi answered casually as well, "After Lu Xiufen left my house, she moved to my uncle's house, which is located at the east end of the village."

"Oh." Fang Jingru didn't say anything more.

But when Qiao Qiqi woke up, she found that Fang Jingru was not in the room.

I went out to look for them, but I didn't see anyone in the yard.

Just as Qiao Qiqi was about to go out to look for her, she happened to see Fang Jingru returning from outside. She smiled and said, "The air in the countryside is so fresh! I walked around the village, and it seems like everyone in the village has gone to work in the fields. I didn't see anyone."

"They haven't finished work yet. In an hour, the village will be bustling with activity." Qiao Qiqi was looking at the vegetable garden, wondering what to eat for dinner, when Zhang Qing came in carrying a particularly large cabbage.

"Sister-in-law, my family planted Chinese cabbage early. My mother found out you were back and asked me to bring you one to try."

The cabbage Zhang Qing brought weighed seven or eight pounds; it was exceptionally large, much bigger than Qiao Qiqi's head.

This one is enough to last for several days.

"Your cabbages are growing so well! Mine haven't even formed heads yet. I wonder how they'll grow this year."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. Brother Qin's cabbage seeds were bought at the same time as ours. They will definitely grow as well as ours in the future. My mother planted an early row of cabbages so that we could eat them sooner, which is why they are so big."

"I see."

Qiao Qiqi placed the cabbage on the windowsill, then quickly went inside and brought out a bag. "There are some pastries and candies in here that I bought in Beijing. I was planning to bring them to you tonight, but since you're here, I'll save myself the trouble of making the trip."

"Sister-in-law, I can't accept this!" Zhang Qing turned to run away.

Qiao Qiqi quickly caught up with him and stuffed the bag into Zhang Qing's hands, saying, "If you don't take it now, I'll have to deliver it to you tonight. Don't make me make an extra trip."

Zhang Qing was both amused and exasperated. He had come to deliver something, but ended up taking something even better back with him. If his mother found out, she would definitely scold him.

But since Qiao Qiqi had already said so, Zhang Qing had no choice but to accept it. He said, "Okay, then I'll take it back. If you finish eating the cabbage, sister-in-law, just come to my house and pick some. I have plenty, more than you can eat."

"good."

After seeing Zhang Qing off, Qiao Qiqi was about to start cooking.

She was initially worried about what to eat, but now that she saw the cabbage, Qiao Qiqi had an idea.

Just then, Lin Chunying brought her a small piece of pork belly at noon. After slicing it into thin slices, she put it directly into the pot, added a lot of soy sauce for color, and stir-fried it until cooked. Then she added sliced ​​cabbage and continued to stir-fry, then added water, threw in a handful of glass noodles, and just simmered it.

As for the main dish, since she had already eaten pancakes for lunch, Qiao Qiqi cooked a pot of rice.