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

"Of course I'll bring them to the city, and I'll also transfer their household registration there."

"Hehe, that's great! Xueru, I've seen the house that Dazhuang rented. It's right next to mine. If I speak loudly at my house, you can hear me. Then we sisters can be together every day."

"Sis, I have no problem with you being with us every day, but I'm afraid your husband won't approve!" Qin Xueru teased.

"You're the joke girl, right? I meant being together during the day."

"Why distinguish between day and night? Seriously, sis, you know my situation. I'm definitely hoping you can help me share the burden."

But if this goes on for too long, something will inevitably slip up. Have you thought about how to deal with your brother-in-law?

"He works during the day and usually doesn't come home. I go home to sleep normally at night, so what could possibly go wrong?" Qin Xueru's words made Qin Huairu's mind startled.

I'm starting to regret how I've behaved at home these past few days. No, I'll have to pretend properly when I get back this time and play along with my silly husband.

"Oh, by the way, I need to borrow your man for half a day tomorrow morning."

"Use him, use him however you like. He's tough, thick-skinned, and full of energy!"

"Get lost, why is that on your mind? I meant take me back to Qinjiawa to ask about Yue Ru's marriage."

"Sister, this is perfect. Go back and ask Yueru properly whether she agrees or not. Don't keep her hanging on like that. A few days ago, Yueru went to the temple fair with Niu Deshui and bought her gifts, but she still won't give you a definite answer!"

"Okay, I'll ask when I get back tomorrow. I just remembered, Dazhuang, when we came, the two of us and one rickshaw were enough, but this time, not only will there be three of us, but we'll also need to bring bedding. How are we going to get back?"

"Just have Deshui take a trip by donkey cart. Have you all rested enough?"

"Ah...you're coming again? If you come again, you really won't be able to go back tomorrow. That would be troublesome."

"Yeah, my sister's right. We'll live in the same courtyard from now on. I'm not worried about my sister not coming! Time for bed."

The next morning, after the three of them had breakfast, Niu Dazhuang took Qin Huairu to Qinjiawa, while Qin Xueru stayed home to pack her things.

Upon arriving at Qinjiawa, Niu Dazhuang and Qin Huairu parted ways. Qin Huairu went home, while Niu Dazhuang went to the brigade headquarters to obtain a certificate.

There's nothing a box of Daqianmen can't solve; if one box isn't enough, then two. In the end, Niu Dazhuang traded two boxes of Daqianmen for two blank sheets of paper stamped with the brigade's red seal.

The process went smoothly here; the certificates and blank letter paper were all prepared, so Niu Dazhuang went to the village entrance to wait for the others.

Not long after, Qin Huairu came over with a sheepskin jacket in her hand and a stern face.

"Why doesn't Yue Ru agree?"

"Yeah, that brat, she accepted the gift even though she didn't agree. Let's ignore her and go."

When the two returned to Niujiazhuang, Niu Deshui had already hitched up the donkey cart and was waiting at the gate. When he saw the sheepskin cotton-padded jacket in Qin Huairu's hand, his heart skipped a beat.

She asked cautiously, "Third Sister, what are you holding in your hand?"

"Sorry, Brother Deshui, my sister is being unreasonable. She didn't say she didn't agree, and she still accepted your gift. I gave her a good scolding when I got back. You can take this cotton-padded coat back!"

Niu Deshui forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and said generously, "Once something is given away, there's no reason to take it back. Even though Yue Ru didn't agree, I still gave it to her."

At this moment, Niu Dazhuang took the sheepskin coat and tossed it to Niu Deshui: "Alright, stop pretending to be generous. A real man shouldn't worry about not having a wife. Just have your family find someone else."

"Sigh! Where else in the surrounding area can you find someone as beautiful as Yue Ru?" At this moment, Niu Deshui looked like a wilted eggplant, listless and dejected.

Niu Dazhuang punched him in the chest: "Look at you, so pathetic. Hurry up and help me move my things. I'll give you a good talking to next time you come back."

Actually, there wasn't much stuff—just the quilt Qin Xueru usually used, two sets of clothes to change into, and some food.

"Xueru, there's no need to bring all the grain. We can buy more when we get to Beijing. Bringing too much will make the donkey cart too heavy," Niu Dazhuang said, looking at the large and small bags of grain.

"It's alright, I'll walk. All this food stored up at home would just get wasted by the rats."

"I'll come back again next week."

"Oh, is that so? Okay then!" Qin Xueru then got onto the donkey cart.

"Uncle, why don't you drive the cart and I'll ride the rickshaw?" Niu Deshui said, his eyes filled with longing.

"Wait until we reach the county town, when the road is smoother, then you can ride!"

"So tired!" With that, he flicked his whip and charged!

Before we even reached Changping, we saw a man with white steam rising from his head, pushing his bicycle with his head down, coming towards us.

While others might not recognize him, Qin Huairu, sitting in the donkey cart, was all too familiar with him. However, she couldn't be sure why Dongxu, instead of resting at home, was here.

As she got closer, Qin Huairu recognized him: "Jia Dongxu!"

Jia Dongxu, who was pushing his bicycle and hurrying along, recognized his wife's voice. He looked up and, sure enough, it was her. "Ah! Huai Ru, you're going back already?"

"Whoa—" Niu Deshui shouted to stop the donkey cart and jumped off, followed by Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu was such a clever person; she understood immediately after a moment's thought. She said to Niu Dazhuang and Qin Xueru, "You two go first. I'll have your brother-in-law take me with you later."

Niu Dazhuang was worried. What if the two of them broke up and Qin Huairu got beaten up?

"We're not in a hurry. We'll wait for you at that bend up ahead. It'll be more fun if we go together. Right, brother-in-law?" This was also a reminder to Jia Dongxu.

"Okay, you guys wait up ahead for a bit. I need to say a few words to your sister, then we'll head over together. We'll go back together."

The mountain road has a bend every short distance.

Once Niu Dazhuang and the others were out of sight, Qin Huairu's face fell: "Jia Dongxu, this is another one of your mother's bad ideas, isn't it!"

"How come you're so smart? Ouch, that hurts... Don't twist it so hard." It turned out that Qin Huairu had already twisted his ear.

"Just because your mother is like that, you assume everyone else is like that too. You're a fool too, you never think things through, you believe whatever she says!"

"It hurts... Please relax a bit. How could I not think? I thought about it for half the night, and the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became."

"You're so naive. How could you possibly think I'm dating another man?"

"Hmph! Ever since you came back from your parents' house last time, you haven't been willing to cooperate during 'that' time. That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that every time we do it, you're like a little fish struggling in the ocean, unable to swim to the shore no matter how much you thrash around!"

"Are you trying to kill me? Before, that was before I had children; now I have. You said it's the ocean, but what's so great about the ocean?"

"You're so stupid, always so suspicious. Come on, let me check you out right now and see if I'm cheating on you."