Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Grandma Wang's cloudy eyes widened, tears welling up in her eyes. The words, "Leave an heir for her son," touched the softest spot in her heart.

"Third," Liu Xiangyang turned to Lei Dazhuang, his tone turning stern, "you will pay Aunt Wang a lump sum of fifty yuan to compensate the old woman for the suffering she's endured these past few days. In addition, from the child's birth until he turns eighteen, you and Zhang Xiumei will jointly pay Aunt Wang five yuan a month in child support, and the child's food rations will be delivered on time. Let it all be in writing, not a penny less."

Fourth, when the child grows up, you will be the main breadwinners for their marriage.

"Lei Dazhuang and Zhang Xiumei, you two must recognize Aunt Wang as your godmother. After Aunt Wang passes away, you must also take care of the funeral arrangements by contributing money and effort, and make sure that the old lady is laid to rest in peace."

After Liu Xiangyang finished speaking, the room was so quiet that the crackling of the stove fire could be heard. Everyone looked at him, waiting for the reactions of Village Chief Lei and Aunt Wang.

Village Chief Lei sighed heavily, slamming his pipe on the table. "Inspector Liu, you've gone to great lengths. This arrangement takes the overall situation into consideration." He turned and glared at Lei Dazhuang. "You scoundrel, did you hear me? It's your turn!"

Tears streamed down Aunt Wang's face. She looked at Liu Xiangyang, then at Village Chief Lei, and finally her gaze fell on her rough hands. After a long while, she asked in a hoarse voice, "Is that child really considered my son? Can he really take care of me in my old age?"

"The written agreement serves as proof, the whole village bears witness, the commune is on file, and his household registration will be added to your household registration." Liu Xiangyang said firmly, "As long as you treat him like your own grandson, he will be the legitimate grandson of your Lei family."

Aunt Wang wiped her face with her sleeve and finally nodded: "I, I'll listen to the inspector."

Liu Xiangyang then turned to Lei Jun and said, "Village Chief Lei, as for the matter between Lei Dazhuang and Zhang Xiumei, you'll have to resolve it yourselves. I won't interfere."

Lei Jun came over, shook his hand vigorously, and said, "Comrade Inspector, thank you so much. Please feel free to ask me for help in the future."

Liu Xiangyang immediately had someone bring paper and pen. He dictated the details, and Village Chief Lei wrote them down clearly, including the adoption relationship, compensation amount, monthly child support, food allowance, future marriage and old-age care responsibilities. He specifically stated that the child was "adopted by Lei Wangshi's son, Lei Peng, to continue his family line."

Lei Dazhuang, Zhang Xiumei, and Wang Dama pressed their fingerprints in turn, and Village Chief Lei, as the guarantor, also pressed his fingerprint. Liu Xiangyang finally signed his name, noting that there were four copies, to be kept by the parties involved, the village, and the commune respectively.

Liu Xiangyang simply nodded slightly, watching their figures disappear into the early winter twilight.

"Alright, the show's over, everyone disperse!" Militia captain Zhang Tiejun shouted to the villagers who hadn't gone far. "In this freezing weather, aren't the old women going home to cook? Are they just waiting to get beaten by their husbands?"

The crowd laughed and gradually dispersed. Zhang Tiejun walked over and patted Liu Xiangyang on the shoulder: "You handled it well. You prevented things from escalating and gave him a way out."

"I'm afraid someone might die." Liu Xiangyang looked at the empty courtyard.

"That's true." Zhang Tiejun nodded. "The old women in the village were all praising you just now, saying that you not only took care of Grandma Wang's retirement but also left Pengzi an heir. You've thought of everything."

Liu Xiangyang didn't reply, but turned and went through the small door of the woodshed. Xue Bingbing was warming a pot of water by the stove. When she saw him come in, she looked up at him. He walked over and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"Bingbing," he buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled, "let's go to the village chief tomorrow and get our marriage certificate."

Xue Bingbing stiffened slightly, then relaxed and gently patted his back: "Didn't we agree to go to Suzhou next year with Qiqi and Yaoyao? If we hold it here, what will we do when we return to the city? It won't be easy to explain to them."

"I just want to give you an explanation." Liu Xiangyang raised his head and looked into her eyes. "When I was dealing with the Lei Family Village matter just now, I thought I had to give you a real guarantee."

Xue Bingbing smiled, but her eyes were a little red: "Xiangyang, I'm happier than if I'd eaten honey if you could think that way, but I can't be so selfish. Qiqi and Yaoyao, they're just like me, their hearts are full of you. You have to treat them all equally."

Liu Xiangyang looked at her for a long time, then sighed and hugged her tighter again: "You..."

A few days later, Liu Xiangyang went to Leijia Village again.

Lei Dazhuang had already left. He went to Zhang Xiumei's house to take a look. The woman was working in the yard. When she saw him, she hurriedly stood up and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Mom is much nicer to me now," she said softly, her hand unconsciously protecting her stomach. "She said that this child is now Pengzi's child, her lifeblood."

Liu Xiangyang nodded: "Since you and Dazhuang are truly sincere, then live a good life together from now on. Don't cause any trouble, especially with Aunt Wang, or the whole village will gossip about you."

"Inspector Liu, thank you so much. Otherwise, Dazhuang and I would have been in trouble," Zhang Xiumei said gratefully.

After visiting Zhang Xiumei, Liu Xiangyang was dragged to Village Chief Lei's house for dinner. After a few cups of rice wine, his ears were filled with words of gratitude.

Finally, he pretended to be so drunk that he was unconscious, and thus escaped a disaster. He was helped onto a bicycle and rode unsteadily out of the village.

Liu Xiangyang returned home reeking of alcohol, but didn't see Xue Bingbing. Then he heard a commotion coming from her yard.

Liu Xiangyang went over and saw that Xue Bingbing, Zuo Qingqing, Luo Lan, Jiang Xiaowen, and He Xiaoqin were playing cards. Their faces were covered with paper strips, especially the short He Xiaoqin, whose eyes were the only ones showing.

"Hey, you guys are so scary going out at night, you're going to scare people to death." Liu Xiangyang offended everyone with his first words.

The group chattered and made a ruckus until Liu Xiangyang apologized before they let him go.

"You've been drinking, I'll make you some brown sugar water to help you sober up." Xue Bingbing got up and went to make the brown sugar water.

Zuo Qingqing looked at him happily and asked, "Where have you been drinking? Sit down and rest for a while."

The others made room for him, and Liu Xiangyang sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed): "I went to Lei Family Village to take a look. Village Chief Lei is quite shrewd. He insisted on drinking with me, but I pretended to be drunk and ran away."

He told them about his visit to Zhang Xiumei, and they all praised Liu Xiangyang for handling the matter well; otherwise, Zhang Xiumei would have been doomed.

"Xiangyang, drink some brown sugar water, or lie down and rest for a while."

He took the brown sugar water that Xue Bingbing handed him, took a big gulp, and said.

"It's okay, you guys keep playing. I'll just go home and lie down for a while." Liu Xiangyang put down the porcelain jar and went home.

Because there was more wood than they could use, Liu Xiangyang kept telling Xue Bingbing and the others not to use it sparingly, so the kang (heated brick bed) in the house was still warm. Liu Xiangyang took off his outer clothes, wrapped himself in the quilt, and went to sleep.