Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Zhou Rui did not accept the thirty yuan.

Even if today's transaction is not completed, the ten-odd yuan in his pocket is enough to buy food, just not meat.

Around 9:30, Zhou Rui got up to say goodbye to his elders and headed to Zhao Jianjun's house.

The sky was a clear, unblemished blue, and the air was fresh, completely free from the pollution of later generations.

Zhou Rui walked along the country road, looking at the blue-tiled mud houses on both sides and the distant mountains, feeling quite good.

Before long, he arrived at the Zhao family's house.

Aunt Li was washing clothes outside when she saw Zhou Rui arrive, and she was very welcoming.

"Zhou family kid, come in and play."

Aunt Li was struggling to wring out the water from her clothes when Zhou Rui saw this and quickly ran over to help.

At that time, even the Zhao family did not have a washing machine; it was something that only urban workers or those with ten thousand yuan in savings could afford.

Moreover, at that time, tap water was not yet readily available, and people mostly relied on river water and well water.

If you want to use a washing machine, you have to manually pour water in, which is very troublesome and not practical.

In addition, unstable power supply leads to frequent power outages, which can easily damage the motor.

Therefore, even Li Dehua's family doesn't have a washing machine yet.

Zhou Rui held the other side and wrung the water in the opposite direction from Aunt Li.

"Aunt Li, you're doing laundry so early in the morning?"

Villagers usually wash their clothes at noon or in the afternoon because it's warm then, and they take their clothes to the river to wash them.

This way, you don't have to go through the trouble of fetching water from home, and you can also get the clothes cleaner by using a washboard.

Aunt Li must have drawn the water from her own hand pump well, or hand pump well.

This type of well requires pouring in a little water, and then pressing the handle up and down to bring the water from below up using the airtightness of the upper water inlet.

This water is drinkable and quite convenient.

Like other households, many have ordinary wells, requiring a bucket with a rope to draw water.

However, water obtained this way usually needs to be settled or boiled before it can be drunk.

Zhou Rui's family uses a pressure well.

The two wrung out the water from their clothes, and Aunt Li picked up the clothes, stretched them out, and smoothed them out.

"I'll get up and wash these two dirty clothes. I won't go to the river. The sun is shining today, they'll dry in the sun all day."

Aunt Li skillfully hung up the clothes, then took Zhou Rui's arm and led him into the house.

"Zhou family's eldest son, you've come at the right time. Your Uncle Zhao just came back from the factory last night, and he told me he was going to your house tonight."

"I asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me."

"But we know, we can guess, so let me ask you, Uncle Zhao, is it about wild gastrodia elata?"

"Only after we got to this point did your Uncle Zhao admit it, and then I warned him not to take advantage of you."

Aunt Li spoke fluently and without any formality, which touched Zhou Rui deeply.

Aunt Li actually stood up for her husband, an outsider, because she was afraid he would take more than his share.

Zhou Rui sincerely thanked him and then explained that, as previously agreed, Uncle Zhao had not taken advantage of him; on the contrary, he had actually helped him quite a bit.

Hearing this, Aunt Li nodded with a smile and said that was more like it.

Aunt Li treated Zhou Rui well, both in the previous life and this life.

This wasn't just hearsay, because the two families had a good relationship from the beginning. Zhao Jianjun was a few years younger than Zhou Shiwei, and the two were good friends before.

Aunt Li had a good relationship with Zeng Jiamei, but in recent years, Zeng Jiamei knew that her family had fallen on hard times, so she stopped bothering her.

On the contrary, Aunt Li often helped out...

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the backyard.

Zhao Qingya is reading and writing. As the only child in the Zhao family, she is currently in school.

At this time, many local high schools were still implementing a two-year system and were transitioning to a three-year system.

In addition, Zhao Qingya, as a girl, is already considered a "big girl" among her peers.

Many students either only attended primary school for two years or went to junior high school, and very few went on to high school.

These conditions are very demanding, requiring parents to be open-minded, the family to be of above-average economic means, the student to have excellent academic performance, and finally, the local area to have a high school.

However, Zhao Qingya met all these conditions, making her the village's true "precious jewel".

Countless wealthy families from neighboring villages, towns, and even the county came to propose marriage, but Zhao Jianjun rejected them all.

Zhao Jianjun's reason was simple: the child was still young.

In reality, it was simply because he looked down on those families; they couldn't agree on anything, and even if he were rich, it might only be temporary.

On the contrary, he had a good relationship with Zhou Shiwei, knew his character and conduct, and appreciated the Zhou family's open-mindedness.

Zhao Qingya was overjoyed to see Zhou Rui arrive.

"Brother Rui, you're here! Dad was talking about you last night."

The girl's smile was beautiful, like a flower in full bloom; in an instant, the sun shone brightly, the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and butterflies fluttered their wings.

Zhao Qingya had already put down her book and pen, her face beaming with smiles.

Zhou Rui responded graciously and appropriately:

"Yes, I'm here to find my uncle."

Upon hearing this answer, the girl's smile faded by half, and her cherry-like lips pouted.

Zhao Qingya was well protected; her face didn't have the redness of high altitude, and her white shirt was partially lifted, revealing her porcelain-like arms.

Aunt Li could easily see through her daughter's behavior, and her tone was a little sour.

"Oh dear—Brother Rui didn't come to see you, are you unhappy? Just as I thought, daughters grow up and leave home~"

"Study hard; Zhou Rui is here to discuss business."

Aunt Li first teased her daughter, then became more serious.

Zhou Ruiqian chuckled. At that moment, Zhao Jianjun walked in from outside the backyard. He had gone to water the vegetable garden.

Zhao Qingya made a face at her mother, then snorted, "Hmph! Mom, what are you talking about!"

After saying that, she lowered her head to do her homework, but still glanced at Zhou Rui out of the corner of her eye.

Just then, Zhou Rui was looking at the girl, and their eyes met. Zhao Qingya immediately lowered her head shyly.

Zhou Rui was not particularly moved and instead turned his gaze to Zhao Jianjun, who had just entered.

Unlike the Zhou family's backyard, which was an open space, the Zhao family's backyard was enclosed by a wall, with a vegetable garden outside.

Zhao Jianjun had overheard his wife and daughter's conversation before entering the room, and he laughed heartily.

"Haha, Qingya has grown up and it's normal for her to have her own ideas."

Zhao Jianjun explained to his wife Li Lan, who responded with a laugh and a scolding remark.

"You spoil her so much, what will you do when she's spoiled rotten?"

Zhao Jianjun didn't respond, but instead led Zhou Rui to the vegetable garden outside his backyard.

In the backyard vegetable garden, a variety of vegetables are grown, as well as side dishes such as scallions and garlic sprouts.

Zhao Jianjun picked up a ladle, watering the plants as he spoke:

"There's one bad news and two good news. Which do you want to hear?"