Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

"I have good news for you. I just asked the village chief and the others for a few easier jobs, so you won't have to work so hard in the fields anymore."

"Really?" She turned around and asked him with a look of surprise.

"Really, I just finished talking to the three big shots. You and Qiqi and Yaoyao can relax a bit then. But I have one condition: you all have to pick up your high school books again after next autumn harvest."

"Why do you suddenly want us to read books? It's been years since we've touched a book, and we've almost forgotten everything."

"You have to listen to me on this matter. I'll be supervising you, and if you don't do well, I'll punish you with a stick."

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say. After all, you're the head of the household. I'll go cook now."

After dinner, Liu Xiangyang turned on the radio and searched for a while before finding a channel playing music. He adjusted the volume to a comfortable level, and the two snuggled together to listen to the songs.

After listening to only a few songs, the lights were turned off, and the radio emitted shouts of battle, pleas for mercy, and coquettish voices, creating a vivid and three-dimensional picture of war.

Liu Xiangyang, panting, got up and pulled the blanket over them, then hugged her tightly. Xue Bingbing was so tired that she was almost asleep.

"Bingbing," Liu Xiangyang kissed her sweaty forehead, his voice low and husky, "tomorrow is the 29th, we need to clean all the rooms thoroughly, it's called bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, we also need to put up Spring Festival couplets and cut paper-cuts..."

Before he could finish speaking, the person in his arms was already snoring softly and evenly, fast asleep with their head on his arm.

Liu Xiangyang lowered his head, using the dim light coming in from the window to look at her peaceful sleeping face. The corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile, and he pulled her closer into his arms.

The next day, as dawn broke, Liu Xiangyang woke up, while Xue Bingbing was still fast asleep beside him.

He got up quietly, dressed, and went to the kitchen to start the stove and boil a large pot of water.

While waiting for the water to boil, he took the broom, found a long stick, and tied the broom to the stick.

Xue Bingbing was awakened by his noise and came out yawning. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You worked hard last night, I want you to get some more sleep." Liu Xiangyang handed her a feather duster tied to a long pole. "Start with the beams and corners, dust off all the cobwebs and dust. Be careful not to get any in your eyes."

"I'll make two hats to wear first, so that the dust won't fall on my head." Xue Bingbing found two old newspapers and made two triangular hats, which looked just like the hats of pirate captains. One of them was put on by each of them.

Wearing a tricorn hat and covering his nose with a scarf, Liu Xiangyang wielded a broom, cleaning every nook and cranny, from the kang (a heated brick bed) to the floor, from the top of the cabinet to the corner of the wall.

The two worked together seamlessly, exchanging few words; the only sounds were the rustling of brooms across the ground and the occasional cough.

Xue Bingbing swept meticulously, even lifting the kang mat to thoroughly clean the accumulated dust underneath. Liu Xiangyang was responsible for carrying the swept garbage out of the yard, basket by basket.

"There's still a little...yes, right there in that corner."

"The water's hot, go wash your face first."

"Let me see under the cabinet. You have long arms, so poke the spider's nest in the corner."

After working for most of the morning, the rooms were finally thoroughly cleaned. The air was filled with the scent of moisture and clean dust. Both men had sweat on their foreheads, but their faces showed the satisfaction of their hard work.

"Take a break and have some water." Xue Bingbing poured two bowls of hot water.

Liu Xiangyang gulped down the drink, looked at the bright and clean room, and nodded: "It does look like it's Chinese New Year now."

In the afternoon, Luo Lan, Zuo Qingqing, Jiang Xiaowen, and He Xiaoqin all came over, and the small main room was suddenly packed with people, so lively that it almost lifted the roof off. The girls sat around the kang (a heated brick bed), with red paper, scissors, and a small dish of paste spread out in the middle, and began to cut paper snowflakes while chattering away.

"Look at this rabbit I cut out! It's so chubby, it'll definitely be fat next year!" Zuo Qingqing held up an adorable rabbit paper-cut.

"I cut out a magpie perched on a plum blossom, symbolizing joy!" Jiang Xiaowen retorted, not to be outdone.

He Xiaoqin cut the most carefully, creating a complex "福" (fortune) character with a carp pattern, which she quietly handed to everyone.

Xue Bingbing had the most skillful hands and cut the fastest. She created many lifelike patterns of peonies, pomegranates, and bats. While cutting, she would instruct the person next to her: "You need to cut lightly here, leaving a thin stem will make it look better."

Someone, without anyone noticing, dipped their fingertip in some paste and smeared it on the face of the person next to them. Exclamations and laughter immediately erupted, quickly escalating into a small "paste battle." Everyone chased each other, the room filled with laughter and commotion. Even the usually quiet He Xiaoqin got a little white dot on the tip of her nose from Jiang Xiaowen, making everyone burst into laughter.

Just as things were getting heated, Liu Xiangyang's voice came from the courtyard: "Someone come help me hold this paper! This is my first time writing couplets!"

Upon hearing this, the group rushed to the doorway. They saw that Liu Xiangyang had already moved a traditional eight-immortal table into the courtyard. Long strips of red paper were laid out on the table, along with writing brushes, ink, and inkstones.

"Oh, Brother Liu is going to write couplets!" Zuo Qingqing was the first to run over.

"Let me do it, let me hold the paper down for you!" Jiang Xiaowen also stepped forward.

Luo Lan and He Xiaoqin followed behind, while Xue Bingbing wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen with a smile to watch the fun.

Liu Xiangyang rolled up his sleeves, picked up the calligraphy brush he had borrowed from the village office, struck a pose, but smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "This is really my first time writing, don't laugh if I mess it up."

"Don't laugh, don't laugh!" Zuo Qingqing quickly said, and she and Jiang Xiaowen carefully held down both ends of the red paper, one on each side.

Liu Xiangyang took a breath, held his breath, and with his wrist suspended in the air, the pen tip fell.

The first line reads: "The vast world tempers the red heart," the second line reads: "Youthful years dedicated to the countryside," and the horizontal scroll reads: "Ambition lies in all directions."

After finishing, he put down his pen, let out a long sigh of relief, and noticed a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. Looking at his first piece of calligraphy, he rubbed his hands together and asked, "How is it? Can I still put it up?"

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" Xue Bingbing stepped forward, carefully examining the still-wet ink on the characters, her eyes full of smiles. "They're written neatly, and the meaning is good too. They're sure to look good when we put them up."

"That's right, it's no worse than Accountant Li's handwriting!" Zuo Qingqing said sweetly.

"We want one too! We need to write a pair in our room too!" Jiang Xiaowen said impatiently.

Liu Xiangyang then wrote seven or eight more couplets, including the couplets for the doors of their houses and the gates of their courtyards. All of these couplets were full of revolutionary spirit.

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Li Jianjun walked in. Seeing so many people in the courtyard, he was taken aback and said, "Oh, everyone's here."

After everyone greeted each other, Li Jianjun rubbed his hands together and said, "Xiangyang, do you have time? Let's chat?"