"Chen Chong? Oh, I remember now, I received it. Please thank him for me next time you see it." Tian Yu remembered that Chen Chong did indeed take a package the day she went to chase after Xiao Ju. He hadn't opened it yet. When Tangyuan asked him what it was when they got home, he was very angry and said that he had picked it up on the road and wouldn't let anyone touch it. It seemed that he had taken it home later. She would have to ask him about it when she got back.

“Okay, he also said that once the house is finished, I must invite him to a banquet. Manager Qian also knows about Auntie’s house construction, and it seems he also said he would come to the banquet.”

"Huh?! How did you know all that?"

“Hey, they asked me, so I told them.”

"It's alright. What I meant was that the road is so far, it's inconvenient for them to travel back and forth, so I didn't want to invite them. Now that I know, it's not good not to invite them."

"Does Auntie mean she doesn't want them to know? Was I being nosy?"

"No, they would have found out sooner or later even if you didn't tell them. This has saved me a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry, Auntie, they all said they would prepare a big gift for you."

"Really!? That's great!"

Tian Yu found a place nearby to wash her clothes, while Gouzi and the others continued to collect snails. After washing her clothes, Tian Yu went back first, leaving Tangyuan and Xiaoju behind. Gouzi and Shuang'er reassured Tian Yu that they would be safe on their way back.

On the way back, downstream they encountered Zhao Jincheng and Zhao Jinxiu, a brother and sister, strolling along the riverbank with baskets. Zhao Jincheng still politely greeted Tian Yu, while Zhao Jinxiu remained haughty and turned her head away from Tian Yu. Zhao Jincheng explained on behalf of his sister, "Sister-in-law, please don't be offended. My little sister just returned from the county town today and has become even more rude thanks to her aunt's pampering."

"What are you saying, Second Brother? Why would I greet her? You don't need to explain for me."

"It's alright, she's right. There's no need to ask after me. You guys are busy, I'll be going now."

"Then take care, sister-in-law. My sister and I are looking for some snails here."

"Brother, why are you telling her this?"

Tian Yu glanced at Zhao Jinxiu, wondering why they were looking for snails. But Zhao Jinxiu glared at her as if afraid of being discovered and said, "What are you looking at? Even if you know we're looking for snails, you wouldn't eat them. What would a village woman like you know how to make them? I only ate such delicious snails at a famous restaurant in the county town. Even if I gave them to you, you wouldn't eat them. Now get out of here."

Hearing her say that, Tian Yu held back her laughter and turned to walk home, while Zhao Jincheng was still apologizing for his sister's rudeness behind her.

When Tian Yu got home, she saw that the few remaining garlic sprouts in the yard had all been pulled up. She took several deep breaths, telling herself not to be angry. Building the house was important, but the garlic she had painstakingly planted, hoping to achieve her "garlic freedom" next year, was gone—not a single one. She had planted the best garlic in the yard; there were some more on the west side, but they weren't growing well, and the seeds were all substandard. Her "garlic freedom" was out of the question this year; she could only wait until next year to plant more.

With three more adults eating at home, Tianyu has to come up with ways to cook every day to make sure there's enough food. Today, seeing a pile of garlic sprouts on the ground, Tianyu decided to eat garlic sprouts every day from now on. She washed the garlic sprouts clean, drained them, chopped them, and marinated the stalks and roots with seasonings before putting them in a jar. She'll stir-fry the garlic sprout leaves with eggs and stir-fry them with snails for lunch.

But these people still ate with great relish, constantly saying that garlic sprouts were delicious no matter how they were cooked, even the roots were so tasty. So, they finished all the rice again. Tian Yu was quite puzzled; were these people never satisfied?

After everyone had left that evening, Tian Yu finally had a chance to talk to Chen Chong properly. Tian Yu asked with a smile, "I heard Li Yong asked you to bring me something. Where is it?"

"No"

"No? You clearly had it, why didn't you tell me?"

"You want it?" Chen Chong asked, leaning closer and staring at Tian Yu.

"I don't really want it, I just wanted to ask what it is." Tian Yu felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and said softly with her head down.

"I ate the food."

"Oh, then you can eat it. Is it good?"

Chen Chong didn't answer but moved closer, whispering in her ear, "You're so eager to know."

Tian Yu was terrified by his gaze, fearing he might do something unreasonable. She shook her head and said, "I don't want to know. I'm going back now. I still need to take Xiao Ju to the village head."

After saying that, he quickly ran away, leaving Chen Chong standing there taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling. He really hoped that time could pass quickly so that he could marry Tian Yu sooner and not have to pretend not to know her every day.

Tangyuan and Tian Yu took Xiaoju to the village head's house, but unfortunately, Zhao Jinxiu opened the door. The situation was obvious. Seeing it was Tian Yu, she immediately closed the door again. Tian Yu, steeling herself, knocked for a long time before Zhao Jincheng finally opened it. Tian Yu and Tangyuan didn't go in; they handed Xiaoju to Zhao Jincheng, who told her to go back inside first. He only left after seeing Xiaoju inside. But they could still hear their conversation from afar—it was basically about why they helped her, how their older brother helped them, and how they'd both been deceived by her. Tian Yu smiled at Tangyuan and quickly walked away, not wanting to hear. Zhao Jincheng had promised not to hurt Xiaoju, and she believed he would keep his word.