Chen Chao's house is next door to Chen Xu's grandmother's house. The two are the same age and often played together when they were young. They had a good relationship. When they were in high school, they were in adjacent classes.

"When did you get a girlfriend?" Chen Chao asked with a wink.

Chen Xu glanced at Yang Jinxia in his arms, and seeing that she had no intention of letting go, he smiled and said, "Just now."

"Okay."

Chen Chao thought his girlfriend was shy, so he gave him a thumbs up and said, "Okay, I won't bother you anymore. I'll come find you later."

"Okay, see you later." Chen Xu waved his hand.

After the car left, Yang Jinxia asked lazily, "Your friend?"

"Yeah." Chen Xu heard the sound of another car behind him and said, "Another car is coming."

"I don't care." She said without opening her eyes, "I just want you to hold me like this forever."

Chen Xu continued to hold her, but adjusted his position slightly so that he could see the situation on the road.

When the car passed them, it slowed down and rolled down the window. It was Chen Chao's brother. "Chen Xu?"

"Hi." Chen Xu showed an awkward but polite smile on his face.

"You're busy." Chen Chao's brother waved his hand, closed the car window, and left quickly.

A few minutes later, another car came over. This time, it was Chen Chao's cousin, who also stopped and greeted him.

Fortunately, no acquaintances passed by afterwards. The two hugged each other for more than half an hour.

Chen Xu said, "Let's go back."

"Yeah." Yang Jinxia finally let go of her hand, took his arm, and walked in the direction they came from.

"Those people just now, were they all your friends?" she asked after walking for a while.

"They are cousins. Their home is next to my grandmother's. We often played together when we were young. The first one I just met is called Chen Chao. He went to the same high school as me and was in the class next to me. After entering college, we lived far away from each other and didn't keep in touch. We only get together once a year during the Chinese New Year."

As they were talking, they returned to their grandmother's house. In front of the house next door, the three cars they had just encountered were parked. The door was open and the people inside were cleaning.

Chen Chao's grandfather's generation is all gone, and his parents have all moved out. The house is usually empty, and every time he comes back, he has to do a thorough cleaning.

Chen Xu asked Yang Jinxia to go back to the house to take a nap. He took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and went over to help.

Grandma has a very good relationship with Chen Chao's family. When Chen Xu was in elementary school, grandma's family was still growing rice. Every time they sowed and harvested, they relied on Chen Chao's family for help.

The three brothers Chen Chao all brought their families with them. Together with Chen Xu, the four men spent more than two hours cleaning the house. As for the three women, they packed their luggage while looking after the children.

"Let's go to the kiln."

After finishing the work, Chen Chao said hello to Chen Xu, picked up a box, and walked out.

Chen Xu was not surprised at all, as this was a must-do activity for them every year when they returned to their hometown, along with fishing.

Chen Chao's two brothers also carried a suitcase each. They went to the next door first. The women had already packed their luggage and took the children to drink tea with Chen Xu's grandmother.

As soon as Chen Xu entered the door, he saw Yang Jinxia sitting next to her grandmother, talking and laughing with them.

She changed her clothes again, into a lavender coat. The style was not flashy, but it made people feel bright.

"Is this your girlfriend?" Chen Chao was shocked when he saw Yang Jinxia after he entered the room. Just now, she had been lying in Chen Xu's arms, and he didn't see her appearance.

"Hello." Yang Jinxia walked over and naturally took Chen Xu's hand.

Chen Chao looked at Chen Xu with a different look in his eyes and said, "Okay, you really hid it well. Aunt Li called me two months ago and asked me if there was a suitable girl. She wanted to introduce you to a girlfriend. I didn't expect you to act so quickly."

The Aunt Li he mentioned was Chen Xu's mother.

Chen Xu explained, "My mother didn't know before."

Chen Chao's wife urged, "Come on, hurry up if you want to go, it will be dark soon."

At this time, grandma said, "You can come to my place for dinner tonight. Xiaoxu brought a goose today, and we can't finish it."

…………

Chen Xu and his team found a turned-over field, which was a field where sweet potatoes had just been planted this year. When they dug the soil out, a lot of mud was brought out, making it the most suitable place for making a kiln.

The four men each found a place and piled up their belongings.

Chen Xu first went to find mud blocks of the right size, and Yang Jinxia came to help. When the amount was enough, he dug a pit nearly ten centimeters deep, and then used three large mud blocks to make a door for burning fire.

Next, use smaller pieces of mud to form a circle along the earth pit, and then stack them up layer by layer, narrowing the circle upwards. After about ten layers, the top is reached, forming a conical earth kiln.

When Chen Xu finished, the others had only built half of it. Not only were his hands flexible, but his control ability was also extraordinary, so building a kiln was just a piece of cake.

"Okay, let's go pick up some hay and dead leaves." Chen Xu patted his muddy hands and took Yang Jinxia to collect firewood.

"The hotter the kiln fire, the better."

As Chen Xu walked, he said to her, "Don't use branches that are too big, because they burn too slowly. You need to use thin branches. Leaves like this won't work either, because they still have moisture in them. The best things to burn are dried ferns, because they burn very well. Dried straw is also good."

"But when I was a kid, no one could afford gas. These two things were used by adults to cook. If you dared to use them to burn kilns, you would be beaten to death."

As they were talking, the two walked into a bamboo forest.

Chen Xu said, "We usually use dry bamboo leaves and bamboo branches. The thinner the better. We also use bamboo shells. They are easy to burn. Don't move. Let me take it. Don't get your clothes dirty."

"Then I'll take less." Yang Jinxia didn't mind the dirt and picked up a few pieces of dead bamboo from the ground.

The two ran back and forth several times, and Chen Xu felt that it was about time, so he started to make a fire.

At this time, Chen Chao and his brothers had just finished building the kiln and ran to pick up things for burning.

From time to time, Chen Xu stuffed some dead bamboo and leaves into the kiln, and held a branch in his hand and poked it a few times to make the fire burn more vigorously.

The clay in the kiln body turns black at first, and then becomes redder as it is fired.

"It should be almost done." Chen Chao also lit a fire, walked over, took a few looks, and said.

Chen Xu also felt that it was about time, so he stuffed the last handful of leaves in and asked, "Where's the food?"

"Here it is." Chen Chao's wife came over with a box. After opening it, she took out a chicken wrapped in tin foil and said, "It has been marinated since last night. It must be well seasoned."

Chen Xu recalled that last year, he started preparing it after returning to his hometown. He was too hasty, did not marinate it for long enough, and it was not very flavorful. In the end, no one ate much.

It seems that lessons have been learned this year.

At this time, the fire in the kiln weakened. He used branches to dig out the ashes left after burning, and then took a large piece of mud he had prepared and blocked the door.

Then, he poked the mud blocks on the top of the kiln, revealing a hole big enough, put the chicken wrapped in tin foil in, and threw a few sweet potatoes on both sides. Then he picked up a big stone and smashed the mud kiln, turning all the mud blocks into dirt.

After flattening it, he dug some soil from the side and covered it on top.

Next, it’s time to wait.

Chen Xu and his companion went to the edge of the field to rest first. The women were not idle either. They moved a table and a few stools over so they could sit down and rest.

After a while, Chen Chao and the others had finished their work too. They came over and sat down, and everyone chatted together.

After sitting for a while, the four women went back together, saying they were going to the bathroom.

"She's so beautiful, how did you get her?" As soon as the people left, Chen Chao couldn't help but ask curiously.

You may not believe it, but she was the one who pursued me.

Chen Xu thought to himself, however, saying this would only draw hatred. It would be better to be low-key and said, "I was just trying to pursue her, but I didn't expect that she actually agreed."

Just try to chase her, and it will work? Chen Chao felt that he really deserved a beating.

(End of this chapter)