Hou Yan's face had turned ashen. Qiao Qiqi's shouts had not only been heard by the villagers who were standing in front, but had also attracted several other villagers.

He felt utterly humiliated, and his voice trembled with anger, "Those...those were all your own choice..."

“It was indeed my own choice, but you clearly don’t like me and yet you still accepted my things. Don’t you think you’re shameless? Especially…” Qiao Qiqi pointed in Zhang Jingya’s direction.

"She's been here for a month, hasn't she? You started pursuing her a month ago, yet you still accept everything I have, always wanting more than you have. You're such a jerk!"

"..." Hou Yan's face had turned completely black.

Qiao Qiqi smiled and said, "Of course, I know you're poor, but aren't there others who are? You can't just cling to someone's coattails for nothing, can you? I won't make things difficult for you. I'll give you three days. I'll personally go to the educated youth resettlement site to collect it after three days."

It just so happens that she still has her luggage at the educated youth resettlement site. She can go and pick it up together, and count the things Hou Yan returned to her in front of all the educated youth. Qiao Qiqi doesn't believe he would dare to shortchange her.

If he dares to lack it, she'll spread the word throughout the surrounding villages, making him too ashamed to show his face in public!

Qiao Qiqi thought for a moment, and after deciding that she had said all she needed to say, she turned and walked away gracefully.

Behind him came Xing Guangyu's furious voice, "Has Qiao Qiqi gone mad? How did she suddenly become so unreasonable? She's practically a lunatic!"

Hou Yan's face was extremely pale at this moment. He didn't want to say a word and just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But the crevice was definitely gone now, so all I wanted to do was quickly pull Zhang Jingya away from this troublesome place.

As a result, the sleeve was pulled up, but it was flung away.

Zhang Jingya stormed off in her little leather shoes.

The remaining three hurriedly gave chase. On the way, Xing Guangyu suddenly looked at Hou Yan and said, "Could it be that Qiao Qiqi was heartbroken by you and suffered too much shock, so she decided to sever all ties with you?"

There was no response.

Xing Guangyu felt that this was highly likely, and immediately put his arm around Hou Yan's shoulder to congratulate him, saying, "If that's really the case, I have to congratulate you on finally getting rid of Qiao Qiqi's entanglement. This is truly something to be happy about."

Hou Yan frowned. He used to think that he would be happy if Qiao Qiqi stopped bothering him one day, but for some reason, he felt only disappointment now.

Thinking about what Qiao Qiqi had said made him feel even worse.

Of course, he knew that Qiao Qiqi still loved him. The reason she said those things was because she was jealous of him being with Zhang Jingya, which is why she threw a tantrum.

But he doesn't have time to worry about Qiao Qiqi right now; his priority is to appease Zhang Jingya.

Thinking it over, he immediately hurried after them.

Meanwhile, Qiao Qiqi had already returned to Qin Huai's home.

She had no interest in how Hou Yan coaxed Zhang Jingya; it was nothing more than things like, "I want to recognize her as my sister for you; I want to get you some meat and eggs to eat; I can't bear to see you suffer with me."

vomit!

It's disgusting to even think about.

She was afraid she would throw up on the spot, so it was best not to listen.

After closing the courtyard gate, Qiao Qiqi didn't even go back into the house; she went straight into the kitchen with the basket.

Qin Huai made breakfast, so she didn't go into the kitchen.

Upon entering, it was unsurprisingly dilapidated, but still quite clean.

Poverty and hardship are nothing to fear; as long as one is diligent, there is hope.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Qiao Qiqi immediately cut the meat and went to the yard to pick two eggplants.

After the fire is lit, first throw the pork belly into the pot to render the fat, and then throw in the eggplant.

These eggplants were grown in my own garden. Don't be fooled by their size; they're actually very tender inside and taste great. They're a delicacy you can't find in the city.

Moreover, in this day and age, the fields are fertilized with farmyard manure produced by the farmers themselves, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, making them healthy and nutritious.

Qiao Qiqi likes to add sauce when cooking eggplant. After simmering the eggplant in sauce for about ten minutes, she breaks it all up with a spatula, and it's so delicious when mixed with rice!

After the eggplant was cooked, four eggs were fried to replenish Qin Huai's nutrition. He had worked in the field all morning and had exhausted a lot of energy, so he needed to eat something good to nourish himself!

Just as Qiao Qiqi took the eggs out of the pot, she heard a noise coming from the courtyard gate.

Peeking out, I saw a man standing outside the courtyard gate.

Qin Huai smelled the aroma of food wafting from the courtyard and almost doubted that he had gone to the wrong house.

He lives alone in this house, and it's always quiet and deserted when he comes back. When has he ever smelled the aroma of food?

Moreover, the aroma is not just the smell of vegetables; you can tell there is meat in it just by smelling it, and there is also the aroma of eggs.

Qin Huai couldn't help but stand at the door and look around to make sure that this was indeed his home, but he still couldn't quite believe it.

"Qin Huai, what delicious food did you make at home? It smells so good!"

A villager happened to be passing by and smelled the delicious aroma coming from the courtyard. He almost drooled with envy. Seeing Qin Huai standing at the door, he couldn't help but ask a question.

Qin Huai looked over, paused for a moment, and then said honestly, "I don't know either."

He genuinely didn't know, but the villagers thought he was afraid they would come in and freeload. But these days, who isn't tightening their belt to make ends meet?

They don't even have enough to eat for their own family, so how could they bear to share with others? So it's understandable.

"Your mother must have brought you something delicious. You should go back and check on her!" the villagers joked.

Qin Huai's eyes flickered, and he felt that what the villagers said made sense. After all, apart from his mother, no one else would come to his house.

But then he thought that his mother wasn't doing well either. Every time she came, she would bring vegetables and eggs, but it seemed like she never brought meat.

Although he hadn't figured it out yet, seeing the passing villagers constantly peering into the courtyard, Qin Huai quickly went inside.

He remembered how he used to pass by other people's yards, smelling the aroma of vegetables and feeling envious. Now, seeing that someone was also looking at his yard with envy, he felt a strange warmth in his heart, and his steps toward the kitchen quickened.

The next second, he saw Qiao Qiqi carrying two plates of food out of the kitchen.

"Why have you been standing at the door for so long? I was hoping you would come in and serve it, but you haven't come in for ages."

After making a complaint, Qiao Qiqi turned around and carried the dishes into the house, urging, "Hurry up and wash up, it's time to eat."

Qin Huai stared blankly, his face filled with disbelief as Qiao Qiqi, who had left, suddenly returned.

Only after watching Qiao Qiqi enter the house did he suddenly have the thought that everything just now was an illusion, and he immediately followed her into the house.

Fortunately, Qiao Qiqi is still alive.

Seeing that she was about to put the dishes on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), Qin Huai quickly went over, picked up the kang table in the corner, and put it on the kang.

After watching Qiao Qiqi place the dishes on the table, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you leave?"

Qiao Qiqi looked up with a strange expression. "When did I leave?"