A single man checks into a couples' room; his life of ease and comfort begins.

Hao Dezhong looked around Hao Qiangzhuang's house, then pulled Hao Aiguo aside and asked, "Uncle, when do you plan to start construction?"

Hao Aiguo, however, looked to his son Hao Qiangzhuang for advice and said, "Zhuangzi, what do you think we should do?"

Hao Qiangzhuang said, "Tomorrow! Brother Dezhong, you're the master chef and also our brother. Just make a list of all the materials you need today, and I'll go buy them."

Hao Dezhong paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "So you're in such a hurry? Okay then! I'll give you a list. Buy cement, sand, steel bars, and quicklime according to this list!"

Hao Qiangzhuang invited Hao Dezhong into his home, brought out a pen and paper, and asked Hao Dezhong to write down the building materials.

After Hao Dezhong finished writing, Hao Qiangzhuang intended to go into the bedroom to get two packs of cigarettes for Hao Dezhong, but Hao Aiguo had already prepared a pack of cigarettes costing ten yuan and gave Hao Dezhong a carton.

Hao Qiangzhuang didn't go. He took the list from Hao Dezhong, glanced at it, and said, "Dad, I'm taking Elise out to buy things. You and Mom stay home and watch the house. Don't go out."

Hao Aiguo nodded and said, "I understand. Or, you could ask your brother-in-law to come along too!"

Liu Yaodong was on his way to fetch water from a well a mile away. This was the first time he had been so diligent since becoming a son-in-law.

Hao Qiangzhuang nodded, looked at Hao Dezhong, and said, "Brother Dezhong, why don't you come with us? I have a car."

Hao Dezhong hesitated, but Hao Aiguo said at that moment, "Your brother Dezhong has something to do, you and Yaodong can go."

Seeing that his father had said so, Hao Qiangzhuang had no choice but to give up, and said with a smile, "Alright then! Brother Dezhong, you go ahead and do your own thing!"

Afterwards, Hao Dezhong left Hao Qiangzhuang's house. Hao Qiangzhuang took out 50,000 yuan from his backpack, handed the bag to Hao Aiguo, and said, "Take this money first. The county town is quite chaotic lately, so I won't carry that much with me to avoid attracting thieves."

"Okay!" Hao Aiguo responded, picked up his backpack, turned around and went inside, hiding the money.

Hao Meixia, who was sleeping in her bedroom, sat up quickly upon hearing the noise. Seeing her father fiddling with something, she asked, "Dad, what are you doing?"

Hao Aiguo had just finished hiding his backpack when he turned to look at his daughter and said with a smile, "It's nothing, I was just looking for something for your brother!"

"Oh!" Hao Meixia responded, then lay back down and said, "Dad, I'm sleepy lately, I'll sleep a little longer!"

Hao Aiguo walked towards the bedroom door, waved, and said, "Sleep! Sleep! I'll wake you up later when it's time for lunch."

After Hao Aiguo finished speaking, he walked out of the bedroom and just saw Liu Yaodong carrying two buckets of water walking in from the main entrance of the hall. When he saw Hao Aiguo, he greeted him with a smile, "Dad, you're back!"

Hao Aiguo was not happy. He snorted and said with a half-smile, "I just went to find your brother Dezhong. I'll have them come over to start work tomorrow."

Liu Yaodong paused for a moment and said, "So fast!" Then he walked into the kitchen and poured the water from the bucket into the water tank.

Hao Qiangzhuang was in the car at that moment. Elise was still half asleep in the passenger seat. When she heard the door open, she opened her eyes with great impatience, glanced at Hao Qiangzhuang, and said, "Ugh, so annoying! I can't even sleep well in the car."

Hao Qiangzhuang said with a smile, "In that case, let's go to the county town and get a room to sleep tonight!"

Elise chuckled and said, "That's fine too. I can't take it anymore, my back is aching from sleeping so much."

In addition to running a soup noodle shop, Zhao Dashan's family also owns a rice noodle factory.

To save costs, Zhao Dashan often drove his tractor to the villages to exchange rice noodles for rice, and then used the rice to make rice noodles.

Zhao Dashan happened to be passing by Hao Qiangzhuang's house and called out from afar, "Qiangzhuang, are you home?"

Upon hearing the voice, Hao Qiangzhuang approached Zhao Dashan and said with a smile, "Uncle, you've come to the village to collect rice again?"

Zhao Dashan smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes! Would you like to change your rice noodles?"

Hao Qiangzhuang didn't answer, but instead shouted into the main room, "Hey, Uncle Dashan's here to exchange rice, should we exchange some rice flour too?"

Hao Qiangzhuang's mother, Mu Guihua, was feeding the poultry in the side yard when she heard the noise. She hurried out, carrying some feed for the poultry. When she saw Zhao Dashan, she smiled and said, "Brother Dashan, how about we trade you twenty jin of rice? See how much rice flour you can get in return!"

Hao Aiguo was sitting on the bamboo bed, smoking a cigarette like an old man, and beckoned to Zhao Dashan: "Dashan, come here, have a smoke with your brother. We'll eat here for lunch today! I'll have your sister-in-law kill a goose!"

Zhao Dashan felt a little embarrassed. He lowered his head, smiled, and walked into the main room, coming to stand in front of Hao Aiguo.

Hao Aiguo took out a cigarette from his pocket, handed it to Zhao Dashan, and said, "My son is back from working in Shenzhen. Try the cigarettes he usually smokes."

Hao Aiguo's statement also contained an element of boasting, as he vividly remembered the scene when he took his son to his home to propose marriage and was kicked out by his wife.

Now that Hao Qiangzhuang is back, bringing back hundreds of thousands of yuan, Hao Aiguo can finally hold his head high. Now, even the timid Hao Aiguo musters up a bit and shows off.

What else could Zhao Dashan do? He could only force a smile and say in a humble voice, "Brother, it was my fault back then."

Hao Aiguo was a soft-hearted person. Seeing that Zhao Dashan had given in, he didn't make things difficult for him and said, "It's not your fault. Sit down! Have lunch at our house before you leave."

Zhao Dashan took the cigarette, sat down obsequiously, and said with a smile, "I know you can understand me, brother, but I can't make decisions in my own family. Otherwise, Qiangzhuang would have been my son-in-law long ago."

Hao Aiguo took a drag of his cigarette, shook his head helplessly, and said, "It's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore. Women's affairs shouldn't affect our brotherly relationship, right?"

Hao Meixia then scooped over twenty kilograms of rice from the rice bin in the kitchen, put it in a bag, and carried it to Zhao Dashan, saying with a smile, "Dashan, weigh it later and see how much rice flour you can exchange for!"

Zhao Dashan quickly got up, picked up the bag of rice, and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll go to my car now and get you some rice noodles."

Mu Guihua nodded and said, "Alright, you go get the rice noodles first, I'll go kill the goose. We'll have lunch at our house. You and your brother haven't had a drink together in a long time because of what happened last time. Qiangzhuang has also brought his wife back. Before long, Qing'er will also marry someone else. That matter will be completely over."