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

Back in the housing management department, Liu Jianming said goodbye to Li Kaixin and went about his work.

Li Kaixin then knocked on Section Chief Zhang's office door again.

"Please come in," came Section Chief Zhang's voice from inside.

As soon as the door opened, Section Chief Zhang stood up and greeted Li Kaixin warmly, "Comrade Li is back!"

Then, his gaze fell on the gray package Li Kaixin was carrying, and he asked with a hint of doubt, "What's this?"

Li Kaixin gently placed the package on the desk and explained with a smile, "Section Chief Zhang, I went home while I was looking at the house and brought back some local specialties for you to try."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Zhang immediately put on a smile and feigned refusal, saying, "Oh, Comrade Li, you're too kind. I can't accept this."

Li Kaixin pushed the package further inside, her tone earnest: "You've taken such good care of me, and you're Uncle Xie's friend, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

Section Chief Zhang then reluctantly accepted it.

The package felt heavy in his hands, which deepened Section Chief Zhang's smile. He called to Li Kaixin again, "Don't stand, sit down and let's talk slowly!"

After the two sat down, Section Chief Zhang asked, "Have you chosen a house yet?"

"Section Chief Zhang has chosen them; they're the two rooms in courtyard number 94 of Nanluoguxiang," Li Kaixin replied.

Section Chief Zhang nodded, and considering how sensible Li Kaixin was, he lowered his voice and reminded her:

"Comrade Xiao Li, you are currently living in a government-allocated public housing unit. Although you can live there for free, housing is in short supply in Beijing right now."

"If you want to avoid some trouble, I suggest you buy the house and make it your private property."

These words were just a hint, but Li Kaixin immediately understood. It was the local specialty from earlier that had made a difference, prompting Section Chief Zhang to give him a few words of advice.

He immediately expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your guidance, Section Chief Zhang. How much would it cost to convert these two rooms from public to private use?"

"Two hundred yuan," Section Chief Zhang quoted a rather low price.

Li Kaixin knew this was the price for converting a public house to a private one, so without saying a word, he put his hand in his pocket and took out two hundred yuan from the secret space.

Section Chief Zhang accepted the money with a slight surprise, but didn't ask any further questions.

He then took out a document and asked Li Kaixin to sign it.

After the formalities were completed, Li Kaixin had an additional property ownership certificate in her hand.

After thanking Section Chief Zhang again, he took his leave.

After the office door closed, Section Chief Zhang opened the gray package, inside which were neatly arranged two cartons of Daqianmen cigarettes, two bottles of Fenjiu liquor, and about five kilograms of walnuts.

Looking at the gifts, Section Chief Zhang couldn't help but smile with satisfaction, thinking to himself: The person Lao Xie introduced really knows how to get things done.

After leaving the housing management office, Li Kaixin found a secluded spot and took out fifty catties of cornmeal from his secret space.

Yesterday, Li Kaixin noticed that the grain jar at home was almost empty, with only fifty catties of wheat left from what he had brought back a few days ago.

It was noon when we returned to the courtyard house.

After finishing her meal with her younger siblings, Li Kaixin gave them a few more instructions and then went out, heading straight towards the station.

As for the grain that Li Kaixin brought back from home, he didn't touch it, thinking that since he was delivering it himself, he could just take it from the secret realm space.

By the time we arrived at the entrance of Lijia Village, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

Li Kaixin found a corner, took out thirty catties of cornmeal, thirty catties of wheat and ten catties of soybeans from the secret space and put them into a bag.

Then he took out 5 jin of milk candy, two bottles of Fenjiu liquor, and a carton of Daqianmen liquor.

Afterwards, Li Kaixin headed towards his grandfather's house.

Along the way, I met several villagers, all of whom had furrowed brows. Some were squatting on the edge of the field in a daze, while others were sitting on the doorstep sighing. No one paid any attention to Li Kaixin as he walked by.

Li Kaixin looked around and saw that all the crops in the village had been harvested, leaving only a bare expanse.

We arrived at the gate of my grandparents' courtyard.

Li Kaixin put down the sack on his shoulder and called out into the yard:

"Grandpa and Grandma, I'm home!"

Grandma, who was busy in the kitchen, heard the familiar voice and quickly wiped her hands and came out.

Upon seeing that it was Li Kaixin, his face immediately lit up with a smile:

"My dear grandson, you're finally back!"

"Let Grandma see, is she exhausted from the journey?"

"Grandma, I'm not tired."

Li Kaixin smiled and looked behind her grandmother again.

"Where's Grandpa? Isn't he home?"

"Your grandpa went out for a walk, he should be back in a bit."

As Grandma spoke, her gaze fell on the two burlap sacks at Li Kaixin's feet, and she couldn't help but scold him:

"You silly child, you're back now, but why did you bring so much stuff this time?"

"Grandma, there's not much," Li Kaixin replied.

He then handed the package containing milk candy, cigarettes, and alcohol to his grandmother.

Grandma took the package, opened it, and looked inside, but couldn't help muttering to herself:

"You're so happy! You need to save that money for your future wedding! Don't buy us anything next time."

"Grandma, I'm still young, so please don't worry about me."

Li Kaixin smiled and made excuses, but seeing that his grandmother was about to continue talking, he quickly bent down to move the sacks of grain.

"I'll move these grains to the kitchen first."

As he spoke, Li Kaixin carried the grain toward the kitchen.

After putting away the grain, I came out of the kitchen.

Then I saw my grandfather and third grandfather walk in from outside the courtyard.

Both of them had their brows furrowed.

Li Kaixin, smiling, quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Grandpa, you're back."

Then he turned to greet his third grandfather next to him.

When Grandpa saw that it was Li Kaixin, the worry on his face disappeared, and he quickly stepped forward with a big smile:

"Oh, my dear grandson, you're finally back!"

Li Kaixin grabbed her grandfather's arm and said with a smile, "Yes, Grandpa, I'm back."

Then, his gaze fell on his third grandfather.

Seeing this, Third Grandfather forced a smile.

Li Kaixin noticed that her third grandfather's expression was off and asked softly, "Third grandfather, is something wrong?"

Third Grandfather opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back.

Grandpa's smile faded, and he patted Third Grandpa on the shoulder: "Let's go, let's go to the main room and talk."

The three of them entered the main room and had just sat down.

Grandpa nodded to Third Grandpa, signaling him to speak.

Third Grandfather took a deep breath and slowly explained the reason.

It turned out that after hearing Li Kaixin's reminder that day, he immediately gathered the villagers and organized them to go to the pigeon market in the city to buy grain.

Not only is the quantity of available food limited, but the risks are also high.

The village just finished the autumn harvest these past few days, but the results were much worse than expected.

In total, the village has more than 50 households and more than 300 people, and there is still a shortage of 3,000 jin of grain.

After Third Grandfather finished speaking, the room fell into a brief silence.

Grandpa sighed and looked at Li Kaixin:

"I'm so happy! If we can help with that connection you mentioned last time, while ensuring our own interests are protected, then let's lend a hand."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As long as the price isn't too outrageous, money isn't a problem."

Third Grandfather's gaze immediately fell on Li Kaixin, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Looking at the expressions on her grandfather's and third grandfather's faces, Li Kaixin had already made up her mind.

"Third Grandfather, I can help with this, just don't tell the villagers my name."

Then, another price was quoted, which was only half the price of the pigeon market.

Upon hearing this, Third Grandfather could hardly believe his ears; the worry on his face was instantly replaced by surprise.

He exclaimed excitedly, "I'm so happy! This is wonderful! Grandpa thanks you on behalf of the whole village!"

He then solemnly assured her, "Don't worry, Kaixin, I will never tell anyone about you!"

Grandpa's brows relaxed, and he said "good" several times before patting Li Kaixin's shoulder hard.

Li Kaixin sincerely said to his third grandfather, "Third grandfather, please don't be so polite. This is what I should do. I am also from Lijia Village."

Li Kaixin immediately arranged the transaction for tomorrow afternoon.

With the matter settled, it felt as if a large part of the burden on Third Grandfather's heart had been lifted.

So he didn't linger any longer, got up and hurriedly left to get busy with preparations.