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

Zhou Rui smiled and stepped forward, reaching out to take the things from his uncle Zhou Shiping's hands.

"Uncle, is there anything else you're bringing home? We have meat to eat at home."

"By the way, why didn't Auntie come?"

Zhou Rui asked the question knowing the answer, but he couldn't appear to have some kind of premonition, so he could only pretend not to understand.

Zhou Shiping handed the things he was carrying to Zhou Rui, then waved his hand and said:

"No family would complain about having too much meat. It's good to add some to our family's diet and give them some extra oil. We've been so busy lately."

"As for your aunt, hmph, that woman brought it on herself, let's ignore her."

Zhou Shiping snorted coldly, while the old man Zhou Yong'an, who followed him in, remained silent.

Zhou Rui, being sensible, didn't say anything more and invited his uncle to sit down and have some boiled water, but Zhou Shiping went straight to the stove in the backyard.

After warmly greeting his elder and younger sisters-in-law, Zhou Shiping got to work, chopping wood and carrying water until he was covered in sweat.

Just then, the two brothers, Zhou Shiwei and Zhou Shijie, who had gone out to work, returned.

As soon as they entered the house, they saw three more children and immediately realized that their third brother had returned.

The two put down what they were carrying and walked towards the back of the inner room.

"Third brother, how are you? Is work going well lately? Second brother and I are here at home, and the children are all grown up now, so don't worry."

Zhou Shiwei walked to the water tank by the stove, where his third brother, Zhou Shiping, was pouring a bucket of freshly filled water into the tank.

Seeing his elder brother return, Zhou Shiping's face lit up with joy, followed by a hint of guilt. He said apologetically:

"Brother, I'm so sorry. I've been away on business these past few days. I know what happened the other day. I'm really sorry."

Zhou Shiping felt very guilty. His family was his biggest concern, and he was deeply saddened to learn that his elder brother was being mistreated by his wife.

Seeing this, Zhou Shiwei reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's okay, don't argue with your sister-in-law. Our family is doing just fine."

Zhou Shiwei knew his third brother's temper; he was sure he would argue with his wife about this. As the eldest brother, he naturally wanted to soothe him. Unexpectedly, Zhou Shiping shook his head and said:

"We already had a fight, and I sent her back to her parents' home. She looks down on our family, and I'm also a member of the Zhou family. Since that's the case, separating might be the best option."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiwei was speechless. He never expected Zhou Shiping to be so decisive.

After a long silence, Zhou Shiping continued:

"Forget it, brother, let's not talk about this. I won't be going out any more recently. If you need anything, just let me know. The three of us brothers have been through so many years together, and things will only get better from here on out."

Zhou Shiping is the smartest of the three brothers and also the one who has achieved the most success at present.

But he did not forget his roots and still valued his family highly. He still respected his elder brother Zhou Shiwei very much. The reason was simple: he knew that his whole family had supported him to become successful.

Zhou Shiwei looked at his third brother, nodded, and then said:

"Your affairs with your sister-in-law are none of my business. I just want to tell you that whatever decision you make, we will support you."

Zhou Shijie chimed in at this moment:

"That's right, Pingdi, you're the smartest of the three of us brothers. Second brother doesn't have much to say either. Anyway, thank you for all these years."

Zhou Shiping nodded, a smile finally appearing on his face. He then changed the subject, praising:

"Brother, my nephew is really something. Everyone in the village knows him now. When I went to work in town today, some people even wanted to marry their daughters to him."

Just as he was speaking, another voice rang out from outside:

"Who is it? Let me see how his daughter compares to my Qingya. Brother Zhou, let me tell you, I think highly of Zhou Rui."

The person who came was Zhao Jianjun.

Zhou Rui, who had been standing silently to the side, couldn't help but pat his forehead.

Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhao, what I'm saying is, can you be a little more subtle...?

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Zhou Shiwei responded:

"Brother Zhao, your Xiaoya is wonderful, better than any other girl in our village..."

After Zhou Shiwei finished speaking, he and Zhao Jianjun exchanged a smile.

Zhou Rui said with some helplessness:

"Dad, Uncle Zhao, I..."

Before Zhou Rui could finish speaking, both Zhou and Zhao spoke up in unison:

"Shut up."

Zhou Rui: "..."

This scene made Zhou Shiping, the younger uncle, burst into laughter, and even Zhou Ming in the inner room couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the noise.

The two then walked arm in arm toward the backyard, seemingly plotting something.

Zhou Rui shook his head, but he was genuinely happy. He could sense that his father had become much more relaxed recently, not physically, but in a state of mind.

Zhou Rui understood the reasoning behind it.

At this moment, Zeng Jiamei, who had just cut the meat, went to the stove, took down the steamer containing white rice along with the pot at the bottom, and replaced it with a wok.

However, instead of cooking, he rendered some lard because they had run out of lard at home.

My uncle happened to bring a bag of lard, so we rendered some to cook. For them, dishes cooked with lard are much more fragrant than those cooked with rapeseed oil.

While busy, Zeng Jiamei joked:

"My son is so charming, even the daughter of a high-ranking official is very fond of him."

Zhou Rui silently added firewood, muttering to himself.

"Mom, please stop making fun of me."

Zeng Jiamei immediately corrected her, "Making fun of us? Who would dare to make fun of our eldest grandson and eldest son? Now everyone in the village is saying that you killed two 500-pound water deer, and they all say you are the reincarnation of a mountain god..."

Zhou Rui's lips trembled uncontrollably.

No, this is getting more and more outrageous... Two 500-pound water deer, me?

Zeng Jiamei smiled, ignoring Zhou Rui's reaction, and told Zhou Rui to go play with his younger siblings and not to help out here.

Zhou Rui didn't insist any further and turned back into the house.

However, he didn't go to play with his younger brothers. While Zhou Ming looked at comic books with his younger siblings, he went to get the item he had bought for his father—a watch.

Zhou Rui took the watch out of the drawer of the old-fashioned dark wooden cabinet, put it in his pocket, walked across the stove, and went to the backyard.

Unlike the Zhao family's backyard, the Zhou family's backyard was not enclosed by a wall. It was more of a vegetable garden behind the back gate, with a dry toilet in the corner.

At this moment, Zhou Shiwei and Zhao Jianjun were laughing from time to time, seemingly plotting something.

Zhou Rui hesitated for a second after seeing this, but finally gritted his teeth and stepped forward.

"Dad, this is for you."

Zhou Rui didn't say a word of unnecessary talk. He was afraid that if he greeted them first, they might lead him astray...

Zhou Shiwei was about to ask Zhou Rui what he thought about marriage, but he was surprised when he saw the watch handed to him.

"You little rascal, you sure know how to buy things. This really suits your old man's tastes. It must have cost a lot, right?"

Zhou Shiwei did not hold back, but generously accepted the watch and asked.

He was under a lot of pressure before, so he didn't dare to buy such luxury goods, and he never told anyone that he liked them.

Zhao Jianjun watched the scene with a smile, then pulled out a small stack of cash from his bag.

"Young Master Zhou, I have another piece of good news for you."