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

After leaving Qinjiagou, Li Kaixin was about to ride his bicycle away.

His father, Li Mingde, immediately called out to him, his face beaming, "Good son, you must be tired from riding this morning. Now it's my turn to ride back, and you and your mother can take the bus, okay?"

Looking at her husband's expression, Qin Xiuli, the mother, knew exactly what he was up to, and looked helpless.

Li Kaixin didn't think much of it and, without a second thought, handed the bicycle to her father.

"Dad, be careful on the road."

Father Li Mingde took it with a look of excitement: "Don't worry, your old man isn't a child anymore."

As he spoke, he shifted his leg and straddled the bicycle.

At this moment, Li Kai, the younger brother, sidled up to his father and whispered, "Dad, can I ride the bicycle?"

The father's face fell immediately: "Give me a reason."

"Dad, I'm your beloved second son." Li Kai, the younger brother, tried to evoke his father's love.

"The reason isn't enough!"

"It can save you the cost of one bus trip."

The father fell silent after hearing this.

The mother and sister secretly smiled when they saw this.

In the end, it was the father who left first, with his younger brother Li Kai in tow.

When Li Kaixin returned to the courtyard house with her mother Qin Xiuli and her younger sister Li Xiaoxiao.

Uncle Zhao, Uncle Sun, Uncle Liu, and Uncle Wang, the steward, all gathered around the bicycle that their father, Li Mingde, was holding, listening to what their father, Li Mingde, was saying.

Every now and then, the father, Li Mingde, would raise his hand and show off the watch on his wrist.

Li Kai, the younger brother, was also gesturing wildly with several teenagers, occasionally pointing towards the bicycle.

Li Kaixin and her mother Qin Xiuli exchanged a glance, and both couldn't help but twitch their lips.

Right now, the father, Li Mingde, and his younger brother, Li Kai, are practically identical, both showing off to the neighbors with great enthusiasm.

Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Xiuli, the mother, coughed softly.

Hearing the noise, younger brother Li Kai turned to look at the door and saw his mother Qin Xiuli and the other two.

She immediately ran over and said happily, "Mom, Big Brother, Xiaoxiao, you've finally arrived!"

He rode his bicycle into town today, feeling quite proud of himself. Many people on the road cast envious glances at him, making Li Kai extremely happy.

Father Li Mingde stopped his conversation with Uncle Wang and the other three, and looked over when he heard the sound.

Upon seeing his wife, he quickly propped up his bicycle and hurried forward, smiling and ingratiatingly saying, "Honey, you're back! You must be tired. Come on, let's go inside and rest."

As she spoke, she took her mother Qin Xiuli's hand.

He only realized halfway there that he hadn't given his wife a ride, but instead had given that brat Li Kai a ride instead.

Although Qin Xiuli, the mother, gave her father Li Mingde a disapproving look, she still let him pull her towards the backyard.

Li Kaixin followed behind, and had just reached Uncle Wang and his three companions when they arrived.

Uncle Wang then spoke up in a teasing tone: "Oh, Kaixin, you're quite something these days, acquiring such a large fortune without making a sound."

"Not at all, Uncle Wang. I only got a bicycle ticket because I did well at the transport station. It was all luck," Li Kaixin replied.

Uncle Zhao, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but smile and say, "Kaixin, why are you being modest? In this whole courtyard, your family is the only one with a bicycle now."

Uncle Liu and Uncle Sun nodded happily in agreement.

Li Kaixin's face felt a little hot.

"Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Sun, well... you guys keep chatting, I'm going back to my room first."

After saying that, he fled to the backyard.

"This child is still shy," Uncle Wang said with a smile.

This remark caused the other three to burst into laughter.

Time passed quietly, and after dinner, the family sat around the table as usual.

Qin Xiuli, the mother, took the key to courtyard number 94 from her bosom and handed it to Li Kaixin:

"You're back. Here's the key. I cleaned the other side a few days ago."

"Thank you, Mom." Li Kaixin took the keys.

Then, the mother took out the three hundred yuan that Li Kaixin had given her earlier and said, "Take this money. In the next few days, take some time to go to courtyard number 94 and buy some things, such as a bed, a table, and a bench."

"No need, Mother, I have enough money. You can keep it." Li Kaixin quickly waved her hand.

Then Li Kaixin acted out a slightly mischievous act: "Mom, do you not want me to live here anymore and want to send me over there?"

"What are you thinking about all day, child? I'm just saying that since you have a house now, I want to tidy it up so that it'll be easier to find a wife, right?" Mother Qin Xiuli said irritably.

Li Kaixin was taken aback. She had just brushed it off last time, so why was it happening again? It seemed she really couldn't escape the pressure to get married.

So he quickly laughed it off: "Um... Mom, let me tidy up the house first, and besides, I'm not old enough yet."

"So what if you're not old enough? You can get engaged first, and then get the marriage certificate when you're old enough, right?" said Qin Xiuli, the mother.

Li Kai, the younger brother, eagerly joined in: "Big brother, once your house is finished, can I stay there for a few days?"

This sentence successfully diverted the mother Qin Xiuli's attention.

"Where are you going to stay? Isn't this enough for you?" Mother Qin Xiuli scolded her second son, who had interrupted her.

Li Kai, the younger brother, immediately became dejected.

For the first time, Li Kai found her younger brother so adorable, so she smiled and said to Li Kai, "Come on over, I'll get everything settled, you can stay wherever you like."

Li Xiaoxiao, the younger sister, was also watching her older brother with longing eyes.

Li Kaixin naturally saw it: "Xiaoxiao, you're the same, come whenever you want."

"Thank you, big brother!" said Li Xiaoxiao happily.

The mother, Qin Xiuli, was at her wits' end with her eldest son: "You only have two rooms there, what, you don't live there by yourself?"

"I'll just divide that little thing in half," Li Kaixin said to her mother with a smile.

Mother Qin Xiuli didn't say anything more.

At this moment, the father, Li Mingde, spoke up to discuss the matter:

"Kaixin, your mother and I discussed what you brought back last night. We're planning to distribute the 40 jin of walnuts and 8 jin of dried beef to the neighbors in the yard at the original price. What do you think?"

"Dad, I've already told you, you can handle it as you see fit. You don't need to ask me." Li Kaixin said nonchalantly.

In fact, Li Kaixin understood that, given her parents' personalities, they would definitely share some with the neighbors.

Besides, that's human nature. Bringing back nice things once or twice without sharing them is fine; but what if it happens a lot? Who can guarantee that no one will be envious?

But if a little is distributed every time, it's different. Everyone benefits, and even if people outside the courtyard gossip, those inside will help cover it up.

Aside from close relatives, shared interests are often the most reliable relationship.

Seeing this, Qin Xiuli, the mother, said, "Then I'll go call someone." With that, she rushed out the door.

The father then went inside and took out two bags.

A short while later, Mother led Aunt Zhao, Aunt Wang, Aunt Sun, and Aunt Liu into the house.

The four middle-aged women were all surprised when they saw what was in the bag.

Aunt Zhao spoke first: "I knew it! Kaixin must have brought back some good stuff again yesterday."

"You should talk less in the future, do you want people from other departments to hear you?" Aunt Liu reminded her.

Aunt Zhao snapped out of her daze, smiled, and gently patted her mouth: "Yes, yes, look at my mouth."

"These... are they for us too, just like last time?" Aunt Wang asked Qin Xiuli.

Mother Qin Xiuli nodded and looked at the four of them with a smile: "Sisters, the walnuts are still the same price as last time, and the beef jerky is one yuan per pound."

The four middle-aged women were all surprised when they heard the price of the beef jerky, and they all bought it.

Finally, they agreed to split the money equally, and each person carried two pounds of beef jerky and ten pounds of walnuts, leaving with smiles on their faces.