The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Meanwhile, Li Kaixin rode his bicycle back to the No. 93 courtyard house with Song Anting as a passenger.

The courtyard will be very lively at this time.

Since the engagement banquet had been arranged to be held in Lijia Village, and the neighbors on both sides of the courtyard couldn't easily travel that far, it was arranged for today.

Several borrowed square tables were set up in the front yard, and Aunt Zhao and several other women were setting out bowls and chopsticks on them.

After greeting them one by one, Li Kaixin, holding Song Anting's hand with one hand and pushing her bicycle with the other, walked straight from the front yard to the back yard.

In the main house on the left side of the backyard, Li Mingde, Lu Chunhua, Song Qiang, Zhang Xiaohua's parents, and Wang Xiong, one of the four neighbors from courtyard number 93, were sitting at the table, eating sunflower seeds and chatting.

As for why Zhang Xiaohua's parents came, it was Li Mingde who personally went to invite them.

More than two months ago, Li Kai, the younger brother, and Zhang Xiaohua got engaged after discussions between their parents.

Wang Xiong put the sunflower seed shells he had just cracked on the table and spoke first: "Congratulations, Lao Li! Now both of your sons have fiancées. Life will be much easier from now on."

"Old Wang, this is nothing!"

Sitting in the main seat, Li Mingde looked at him with a smile and replied, "After they get married, we parents will have to worry about them having and raising children."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiong chuckled and shook his head: "Old Li, aren't you thinking too soon?"

Just then, Li Kaixin walked in, holding Song Anting's hand.

He glanced around the room, his gaze finally settling on the steward, Wang Xiong:

"Hey, Uncle Wang, what are you two chatting about that makes you so happy?"

"Who else could it be!" Wang Xiong's smile deepened when he saw the newcomer. "Of course it's you and An Ting. Your father is eager to have a grandson right now."

Upon hearing this, Song Anting's face immediately turned red, and she lowered her head, hiding behind Li Kaixin.

Li Kaixin was a little embarrassed and coughed lightly, saying, "Uncle Wang, of course I have no objection to this. But as for having a grandson, we should wait until An Ting finishes her studies."

"Listen to that, listen to that!" Wang Xiong pointed at Li Kaixin with his finger, then chuckled and looked around at everyone present. "That guy's really protective of his wife!"

After saying that, he looked at Li Mingde and raised an eyebrow: "Old Li, I'm afraid your grandson will have to wait a few more years!"

"I'll just wait a few more years!"

Li Mingde then picked up his enamel mug and said slowly, "Anyway, as their father, all I care about is seeing the young couple living happily."

"Well said!" Someone shouted, and then another round of applause erupted in the room.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang and Mr. and Mrs. Song exchanged glances, feeling a little more at ease.

With such open-minded in-laws, my daughter will definitely not be able to bear any grievances after she marries into the family.

Song Anting was even more embarrassed and almost shrank into Li Kaixin's arms.

......

At noon, the banquet began promptly in the courtyard.

This time, Aunt Qian, who had offended Li Kaixin before, was also invited, which can be considered as a way of settling the old scores.

After all, we'll be living together in the same courtyard for many more years. It's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy, especially since there's another ten years to go.

The banquet was of a fairly standard size, consisting of six dishes.

There are three vegetarian dishes: braised pork, fried dried fish, stewed old hen, and stir-fried shredded potatoes.

Actually, Li Kaixin brought out many other things, such as moose meat and mutton, but none of them were cooked.

The reason is simple: there are too many people and too much gossip in a courtyard house, so being too high-profile is not good.

However, this meal was quite a feast for the neighbors who rarely ate meat.

On the other side, Zhou Zhiming finished lunch and walked out of the courtyard gate with Wang Fang.

"Zhiming, how was it? My dad isn't that scary, is he?" Wang Fang tilted her head to look at him, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Zhou Zhiming didn't answer her question, but instead took her hand and said, "I'm sorry, Xiaofang. I didn't know you had endured so much gossip for me. I should have come sooner."

This was something that the Queen Mother inadvertently revealed during dinner just now.

At that moment, he felt like a bastard. If he hadn't met his master today, he didn't know how long it would have dragged on.

"It's...it's nothing, Zhiming." Wang Fang's eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion.

Zhou Zhiming panicked immediately and became flustered: "Xiaofang, why are you crying? I...I..."

"You big fool!" Wang Fang, seeing her boyfriend's expression, burst into laughter through her tears, turned and hugged him tightly: "Zhiming, I love you!"

She now felt that all the grievances she had suffered these past few days were worth it, simply because the man in front of her was the man she loved.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiming's panicked heart gradually calmed down, and he wrapped his arms around Wang Fang.

"Xiaofang, I love you too!"

The two hugged for a long time at the entrance of the courtyard before reluctantly parting ways.

......

At 6 PM, in courtyard house number 93, the main house on the left side of the backyard.

Li Kaixin, Li Xiaoxiao, Li Kai, their mother Qin Xiuli, their father Li Mingde, Zhang Xiaohua, and Song Anting were sitting around the table having dinner.

Zhang Xiaohua's parents went home after lunch, while Lu Chunhua and her husband were too embarrassed to come.

"Xiaohua, you can sleep here tonight, don't go back!" Li Mingde, the father at the head of the table, put down his chopsticks and suddenly spoke.

Zhang Xiaohua paused in her eating, then nodded: "Okay, Dad!"

Since she got engaged to Li Kai, she's slept here many times, so there's nothing wrong with it.

Upon hearing this, Li Kai's eyes immediately lit up: "Great, great, Xiao Hua, we can go to school together tomorrow."

"Li Kai, that's all you've got." Li Xiaoxiao, who was sitting alone across from him, rolled her eyes at him.

"Hmph, I'd rather." Li Kai raised his chin at her, a defiant look on his face. "Anyway, it's better than some people being all alone."

"You, you..." Li Xiaoxiao was so angry that she almost slammed her chopsticks on the table.

Seeing this, father Li Mingde quickly tried to smooth things over:

"Alright, alright, you two shut up. I don't know what you have to argue about all day long."

The others at the table just chuckled twice and said nothing.

They were already used to their daily bickering.

After finishing their meal, Li Kaixin said goodbye to her parents and returned to courtyard number 94 with Song Anting.

Because it's winter, it's not only cold outside, but it's also completely dark.

Li Kaixin and Song Anting snuggled together in the courtyard for a while before going home separately.