Back to my 1980s

Although it's all their own land, theoretically they can build whatever they want and do whatever they want.

However, the theory doesn't work in today's rural areas. Zhao Hua believes that it wouldn't work in rural areas at any time.

If your yard wall extends a little beyond other people's, they might feel you're trying to outdo them, and that's where the conflict arises. Either all the houses built later in the village lean backward, or none lean towards the front of the village.

Zhao Hua glanced back and saw Meng Qinghe standing there obediently, looking completely innocent. Zhao Hua chuckled, waved, and went straight into Meng Qinghe's house.

"Uncle, are you home?" Zhao Hua called out from the doorway. Then he suddenly turned around and looked at Meng Qinghe, feeling a bit silly. Her family was standing right there. Why was he shouting into the house?

Meng's father, who was busy preparing the meal, came out of the house and said with a smile, "I guessed you should be back by now. The food is almost ready. Sit down and have lunch here." He pulled Zhao Hua into the house, brought him a stool, and then asked Meng Qinghe to pour him a glass of water.

Zhao Hua looked at Meng's father's actions and felt they were somewhat familiar, but since he was at his house, he didn't pour water for Meng Qinghe, he only asked her if she was thirsty.

Zhao Hua quickly waved his hand and laughed, "I won't eat. The certificate has been processed. Your daughter said you've already discussed it and are planning to build a shed outside. I just came to tell you that the shed can be built now. Also, there's the matter of the wall around my house and yard. I'm thinking of making another alley in the yard to store miscellaneous items, so it needs to be extended a bit. I mean, you should extend your vegetable garden a little further forward. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Meng's father paused for a moment, then quickly took the warm water Meng Qinghe handed him and placed it on the table next to Zhao Hua. He raised his voice slightly and said, "What's the rush? That's a small matter! Cover it however you want! Why bother telling your uncle? We can talk about those things after dinner!"

Zhao Hua noticed Meng's father's subtle actions and his suddenly impassioned tone. Zhao Hua secretly sighed that it was good that he had come to discuss it. Meng's father must also be worried about these things, but he had been keeping them to himself. If Zhao Hua really made a mistake, keeping it bottled up for too long would easily turn into a mental illness.

Zhao Hua quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "No, my mother and sister have already prepared the meal at home, so I won't eat here." As soon as he said this, he felt a vague sense of familiarity. He couldn't help but glance at Meng Qinghe, who was also looking at him. As soon as he looked over, Meng Qinghe quickly looked away.

"Tsk! Since you've come all this way, how can you leave without having a meal! Eat before you go!"

Before Zhao Hua could speak, Meng Qinghe couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Upon hearing this, Meng's father turned to look at Meng Qinghe, wondering why she suddenly burst out laughing. Zhao Hua took the opportunity to roll her eyes at Meng Qinghe. Meng Qinghe had already forced herself to suppress her laughter, but upon seeing Zhao Hua's eye roll, she realized that Zhao Hua had also realized what was going on, and couldn't help but laugh out loud again, running into the house while laughing.

Meng's father kept staring at Meng Qinghe. He couldn't understand what was so funny. She had never been this rude before.

However, since she was his only daughter, he couldn't bear to scold Meng Qinghe. Instead, he looked at Zhao Hua and explained, "This girl is usually quite polite. I don't know what happened to her today. Don't take it to heart."

Zhao Hua waved his hand and laughed, "Hey! I just asked her to stay for dinner at my house the same way, the words were almost identical! She probably found it funny and that's why she laughed. By the way, I'll have to keep this safe from the bugs, it can be very useful in a critical moment."

Only then did Meng's father care about the proof, shouting to Meng Qinghe, "Qinghe! Where's that license you got? Let me see it!" He then quickly slapped his forehead and said, "Qinghe! Come out and help me entertain Xiao Zhao; the fire on my stove is still burning!"

As he spoke, he quickly bent down and crawled into the kitchen. Zhao Hua glanced at it and saw that their kitchen was inside the house, separated by wooden boards. There was also a wooden door outside the kitchen, making the space very cramped, and there was no roof.

Zhao Hua stroked his chin. Meng Qinghe, who had been keeping a straight face, placed the license on the table, glanced at the kitchen, and when she saw that her father wasn't looking in their direction, her expression relaxed a little. She sighed and said, "Oh dear, why don't you eat at my house for lunch today? I bet Dad has already prepared your meal."

Zhao Hua gave her an annoyed look and said, "I'm here to discuss where to build the shed, not to eat."

With no one watching, Meng Qinghe became a bit more lively. She sat down across the table and said in a low voice, "I don't care. Anyway, you can't leave now. Not to mention that we haven't discussed the shed issue yet, Dad asked me to entertain you. If you disappear when he comes out, Dad will definitely scold me. I won't let you go no matter what."

Zhao Hua turned to look at the kitchen and asked, "Does your dad usually do the cooking at your house?"

Meng Qinghe shook her head and said, "No, I cook when Dad is working in the fields. I don't cook at other times. Dad won't let me cook even if I want to. We don't have enough food at home. Dad is worried that if I cook too much, we won't have anything to eat."

Zhao Hua glanced outside the courtyard and suddenly realized that Meng Qinghe wasn't as delicate as he had thought, nor as taciturn as he had imagined. No wonder she was able to be such a good friend to Zhao Ru.

He smiled and said, "Never mind, Zhao Ru and my mother should be waiting for me at home. I won't stay for dinner. We can talk about those things this afternoon." With that, he got up.

Meng Qinghe quickly stopped her, saying, "I'll listen to you. The convenience store is about to open, and who knows if the villagers will come to cause trouble. So many people have seen you come to our house now. If you stay here for a meal, the villagers will say that your family and our family have a good relationship, and there will be far fewer troublemakers. If you leave now without even leaving a meal, what will people think? Without someone from our village supporting me, how can I open this convenience store?"

Zhao Hua scratched his ear, looked at Meng Qinghe in shock, and said, "You came up with all of this yourself?"

Meng Qinghe didn't reply, but turned her head and stared at Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua thought about it and realized that inviting him to dinner was a coincidence. He had previously invited Meng Qinghe to dinner, but it was inconvenient for Meng Qinghe to eat at his house, as it would affect her reputation. It seemed that there was not much justification for him to stay at her house for dinner, since Meng's father was there to cover for him.

No, Zhao Hua shook his head. What's the point of covering up? They were completely innocent to begin with. Thinking about it this way, it's really possible that Meng Qinghe was just thinking it herself.

Even after figuring it out, Zhao Hua was still a little shocked. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but Meng Qinghe had always given him the impression of being quiet, timid, and weak.

Suddenly, he spoke so logically, linking the convenience store to himself and even saying that he needed the support of the villagers.