Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

Even if it's just spending one night here, Niu Dazhuang doesn't want to make do. He wants to leave Qinling with a beautiful memory, so he's not afraid of taking the easy way out.

Half an hour later, Niu Dazhuang returned on his bicycle with two new reed mats, two new pillows, and two new bed sheets on the back.

"No need to go through all that trouble. It's just for one night, why waste the money?"

"No need to waste it, we're going to buy it anyway, and we might need it later." Niu Dazhuang carried the things onto the kang (heated brick bed) and went out again.

When I returned, there was an ebony box on the back of the bicycle. Just by looking at the box from the outside, you could tell it was a valuable item.

"What is this now?"

"Open it yourself in a bit and see, it's a gift for you!"

Niu Dazhuang carried it into the house and placed it on the table, waiting for Qin Ling to open it himself.

When Qinling got closer, he recognized it, but he couldn't quite believe where he had gotten this thing in such a short time.

Gently open the lid, and sure enough, it's a phonograph; there are two black records in the cloth bag on top of the lid.

Qin Ling asked curiously, "Where did you get it?"

"Don't worry about that, just tell me if you like it or not!" Niu Dazhuang still has four or five of these old-fashioned phonographs in his space, but he's always been afraid of being exposed, so he hasn't taken them out.

Now that the homes of capitalists and old landlords have been almost completely ransacked, many of these old items must have been confiscated as well. Bringing them out again doesn't seem so out of place.

Qinling winded the gramophone, fully strung it, and turned the volume down to the minimum...

Niu Dazhuang listened to black records with her.

They listened for the entire afternoon, until their stomachs started growling, at which point Qinling finally asked, "What are we going to do for dinner?"

"Let's go eat out! Did you bring your quotes?"

"I brought it."

"That's good. What would you like to eat?"

"It doesn't matter, a bowl of cold noodles is fine on a day like this!"

At this point, if you want to eat out, you first need to know a quote...

Qinling was quite satisfied with a bowl of shredded pork and minced meat noodles with some cucumber shreds. Niu Dazhuang was afraid he would get hungry in the middle of the night, so before leaving, he bought a pound of pig's head meat and a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor).

It was still so hot and humid. Even after the sun had set, the wind was still hot.

During the day he was still a bit reserved, but after returning, Niu Dazhuang went shirtless, carried a wooden bucket, and fetched a bucket of spring water from the mountain spring behind the house.

I'm going out for a walk; you can wash up by yourself.

"No, I don't know anyone here. Don't worry, you can stay in the yard and I'll go inside to shower."

What is Niu Dazhuang waiting for? It's just this sentence!

"Okay, so you didn't bring a change of clothes!"

"Well, you haven't confirmed the exact date of your arrival either. I'm afraid my mom will find out if I pack my clothes."

"I'll buy you a few ready-made items tomorrow."

"Then I won't be polite. Stay put and don't peek!"

Which young girl doesn't dream of love? Especially Qinling, who had been in contact with Niu Dazhuang since she was eleven, twelve, or thirteen, and the two had always had a good relationship. Her constant fantasy was about Niu Dazhuang…

When the little boy was thirteen or fourteen, he met a neighbor or a distant cousin and got along very well with them.

Whatever this little boy thinks, that's what Qinling thinks; they're both human, just with differences in gender.

Qinling was conflicted; she especially hoped that Niu Dazhuang would suddenly burst in and hug her at that moment…

She was also particularly worried that he would suddenly come in, after all, he and Su Ting had already had that kind of relationship...

Should I refuse, or should I go along with it...?

Half an hour passed in hesitation, and Qin Ling was still wondering to herself, "Could it be that he doesn't have feelings for me? That shouldn't be the case. If he doesn't, why is he being so nice to me? Is it because of my mother...?"

Muttering to herself, she quickly washed her underwear, but she forgot that she hadn't brought a change of clothes with her when she left.

You can't exactly wear something trendy, can you? Wearing long pants over it and rolling up the cuffs is fine.

He was wearing a short-sleeved jacket, made of polyester fabric.

Anyone who has worn this kind of fabric knows that it doesn't absorb sweat; once it does, it clings to the skin...

Qinling deliberately left the top button undone.

After getting dressed, I opened the door and splashed the water from the basin into the yard. "Find me a pole, I need to hang the clothes up!"

"Big brother, how many of you used to live together? I see newspapers pasted around the kang (heated brick bed) on both sides!"

"Your aunt lives in the east room, and Bai Hongyan and Yu Li live in the west room." Niu Dazhuang never hid the fact that he had many women.

Where do you live?

"Hehe, I live in both places, and sometimes I have to run back and forth in the middle of the night. Do you think I'm having a hard time?"

"Oh, so you were with Auntie back then? You two were pretty wild back then. I never knew my aunt was so open-minded... Tell me, how did you two get together?"

"Sure, I'll take a shower too, it's nice and warm here. I'll tell you more after I'm done." After saying that, Niu Dazhuang brought back another bucket of water, placed it in the alley between the main room and the side room, and started pouring it over himself, wearing only his shorts.

My hair got so wet that it got in my eyes, so when they poured water on me again, I touched the bucket with my eyes closed.

Just then, a warm little hand took the water ladle from Niu Dazhuang's hand: "Let me help you!"

Even though it was so obvious, Niu Dazhuang couldn't resist the opportunity and pulled the person into his arms with a gentle tug.

Qin Ling sang a high-pitched folk song, "Xintianyou," over and over again until his throat was hoarse, before taking a short break.

"My goodness, this is just too... too... indescribable. No wonder they're all so fascinated by this kind of thing."

Big brother, I don't want to leave tomorrow. I'll stay here for a few more days.

"I have to go to work tomorrow, are you sure you dare to live alone?"

"Ugh, you know that's not what I meant, but I still want to go to Beijing with you."

"Hey! It even has a little tail!"

Qin Ling clung to Niu Dazhuang's arm: "I'm your little tail, don't even think about getting rid of me."

"Okay, I'll take you away tomorrow!"

Niu Dazhuang had no intention of going back to the courtyard house. They were all cunning and scheming. He had heard that Xu Damao had become mentally unstable, although he was mostly to blame.

Before heading to Hong Kong Island, Niu Dazhuang had one more thing to take care of.

Let's arrange for Qinling to be located in Qinhuairu first.

When Qin Huairu came home from get off work in the evening, she saw Niu Dazhuang and Qin Ling chatting and laughing while cooking.

I could hardly believe my eyes. It wasn't anything else, but I never expected Niu Dazhuang to be so shameless.

The woman who brought him here must mean there's something going on between them.

This is Su Ting. She messed up Qin Ling as well. This is just too shameless.

Qin Huairu was thinking of her daughter, Xiao Dang.

In another five or six years, Xiao Dang will be about the same age as Qin Ling, and then...

Qin Huairu shuddered...