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

The next day

Li Kaixin seemed to have lost his soul. When he inspected the vehicle with his tools, his eyes were always blank and his hands were moving a beat slower.

"Kaixin, what's wrong with you? You seem distracted."

"You look terrible, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Master Chen walked over and frowned as he looked Li Kaixin up and down.

Li Kaixin forced a smile: "It's nothing, Master, I'm just a little tired."

Master Chen stared at Li Kaixin for a few seconds, then patted Li Kaixin on the shoulder.

"Go lie down in the reception room over there for a while. It's empty there; I'll watch over things here."

"Thank you, Master."

Li Kaixin didn't refuse much; he really needed some peace and quiet right now.

The lunch bell rang.

Li Kaixin walked out of the reception room. After a morning of thinking things through, he felt much better.

He had just reached the entrance of the cafeteria when he heard someone calling his name.

Looking back, I saw Wu Tian and Qian Dazhuang walking over together.

"Come on, let's have dinner together!" Wu Tian greeted him warmly, a long-lost smile on his face.

Li Kaixin and Qian Dazhuang exchanged a surprised look; Wu Tian today was a completely different person from yesterday.

After getting their food and sitting down, Li Kaixin couldn't help but ask, "Wu Tian, ​​how are things going with Captain Wang now?"

Wu Tian's face instantly broke into a smile, and his tone unconsciously rose: "This morning, my master has been teaching me diligently. He knows I didn't learn anything last month, so he's very patient, though he's quite strict."

Li Kaixin revealed an expression of "I knew it." He had heard his master say that Captain Wang was a retired soldier and probably wouldn't do something like Yang Hua'an.

Then, he sincerely said, "I truly admire you for daring to go to such lengths to change masters."

Qian Dazhuang nodded in agreement: "Yes, I wouldn't dare."

Wu Tian scratched his head sheepishly:

"Actually, I didn't think that much about it. I just figured if I was going to be replaced, I needed to find someone with a higher status than Master Yang, so they'd dare to hire me. After thinking it over, I came up with Captain Wang."

As they were talking, Wu Tian suddenly stopped.

Li Kaixin followed Wu Tian's gaze and saw Yang Hua'an walking past with a lunchbox in his hand.

Then, Wu Tian and Yang Hua'an's eyes met, they glared at each other fiercely, and then looked away.

Wu Tian, ​​who had turned around, quickly regained his smile.

"Never mind him, let's eat our own food."

When Li Kaixin returned to work in the afternoon, her mental state had clearly returned to normal.

Even after receiving a short-distance assignment, Master Chen still looked Li Kaixin over with unease.

"Kaixin, if you're still feeling unwell, you can rest a bit more in the reception room. I can go on this short trip by myself this afternoon."

Li Kaixin gave a reassuring smile.

"Master, I'm really alright. Look, I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"

"That works!"

Master Chen nodded and continued:

"But I'll still drive this bus; you just need to watch from the side."

The short-distance transport went smoothly, and we returned very early.

Li Kaixin glanced at his watch and remembered the dinner party planned for the courtyard that evening.

He then said to Master Chen, "Master, I have some personal matters to attend to today and would like to leave early."

"Go on, go on, there wasn't much work to begin with today." Master Chen waved his hand.

Afterwards, Li Kaixin went to Director Xie's office and gently knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Director Xie was organizing documents when he looked up and saw Li Kaixin. He smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Kaixin?"

"Uncle Xie, I have some things to do at the yard tonight, and I'd like to ask for a leave of absence so I can go home early," Li Kaixin said bluntly.

Director Xie readily nodded: "Sure. Anyway, all the work for today is done. Remember to come on time tomorrow."

After leaving the transportation station, Li Kaixin went to several department stores and used up the tickets he had bought on the black market the night before.

Li Kaixin then found a secluded spot and entered the secret realm.

Next, he took out ten palm-sized crucian carp from the stream in the secret realm, and then took out the last deer leg and two bottles of Fenjiu liquor.

The other deer leg was sent to my maternal grandmother's house by my mother a few days ago.

Thinking that it was almost the end of the month and I should deliver food to my grandparents, I packed another fifty catties of wheat.

Carrying these things, Li Kaixin walked towards the courtyard house.

As soon as I entered the backyard of the courtyard house, I heard a lively chatter.

Aunt Sun from the front yard and Aunt Wang and Aunt Liu from the back yard were gathered around the sink, chatting and laughing as they prepared the ingredients for dinner.

Two cleaned roosters and a large basin of washed cabbage and potatoes were already placed on the stone table in the courtyard.

Li Kaixin first took the things into the house, and then came out carrying ten crucian carp and a deer leg.

"Hey, Kaixin, what are you doing?"

Aunt Sun, with her sharp eyes, was the first to notice what Li Kaixin was holding, and she straightened up in surprise.

Aunt Wang also turned around, looked at the deer leg and crucian carp, and waved her hands repeatedly:

"We agreed to prepare for tonight, why are you taking things out? Take them back, take them back!"

Aunt Liu chimed in, "That's right, you're being too formal, child."

Li Kaixin smiled and handed it forward:

"Aunties, I've already taken them out. What would it look like to take them back?"

"I'm a licensed driver now, so it's easier for me to handle these things. Please accept them; they'll make tonight's meal even better."

The three women looked at each other, and Aunt Wang finally smiled and accepted the deer leg: "Then thank you, Kaixin."

Aunt Sun took the fish and couldn't help but exclaim, "This fish is so plump!"

Li Kaixin rolled up her sleeves: "Let me help."

"Go! Go! Go!"

Aunt Wang immediately waved her hand to shoo people away.

"We don't need you here. Men should go do important things. We'll take care of the kitchen work."

Aunt Liu chimed in with a smile, "That's right, once you get married, you'll have plenty of opportunities to help."

In the end, Li Kaixin felt embarrassed to insist any longer after they talked to her, so she could only smile, shake her head, and turn around to go back into the house.

After some time, the courtyard gradually became lively.

The first to return were a group of children who had been playing outside the courtyard, followed by the adults who also came home from get off work one after another.

The adults gathered together to exchange greetings, while the children chased and played in the yard.

Until Uncle Wang shouted loudly, "Dinner's ready!"

Hearing the noise outside, Li Kaixin came out of the house carrying two bottles of Fenjiu liquor.

After taking their seats at the main table, Li Kaixin poured wine for each of the elders at the table.

Uncle Wang raised his glass first and said to his father, Li Mingde:

"Mingde, we agreed that our neighbors would be hosting a celebration today, and your family has prepared so many delicious dishes. You've really gone to great lengths."

"This glass is for your whole family!"

After saying this, Uncle Wang drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

Father Li Mingde quickly raised his glass in return, saying, "Brother Wang, you're too kind. It's just what neighbors should do."

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious.

The neighbors toasted Li Kaixin again, offering their blessings.

Li Kaixin returned each of their greetings, always with a humble smile on her face.

The two bottles of Fenjiu were quickly emptied, and then three more bottles of Erguotou were opened.

Li Kaixin couldn't remember how many cups he drank, only vaguely recalling that he staggered back to his room in the end.