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

When I drove back to the transport station, the piles of goods that had been unloaded earlier were gone.

Director Xie was still waiting under the carport, carrying a handbag.

Li Kaixin jumped out of the car and asked in surprise, "Uncle Xie, it's so late, why haven't you gone home yet?"

Director Xie smiled and said, "You're all going on a five-day holiday, so I need to check all the cars. What if one is missing when we come back?"

Li Kaixin realized that these tasks should have been done by the clerk, but the clerk had already left work, and Director Xie was waiting for him on purpose.

"Uncle Xie, thank you so much for your help," Li Kaixin said sincerely.

"Don't give me that crap." Director Xie patted his arm. "Alright, go home and get some rest!"

"Uncle Xie, you should go home early too." After saying that, Li Kaixin didn't linger any longer, went to the bicycle shed, got on his bicycle, and left.

Back in courtyard number 93, the neighbors were chatting with each other in the courtyard.

Seeing Li Kaixin pushing his bicycle back, everyone stopped and turned to look at him with smiles.

Li Kaixin felt a little uneasy under their gaze: "Aunt Zhao, is there something you need? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's alright, it's alright!" The four middle-aged women in the courtyard waved their hands in unison.

Then Aunt Zhao urged, "Kaixin, hurry home! Your mother should have already prepared the meal."

Li Kaixin didn't ask any more questions, and her pace quickened as she pushed the stroller.

Back in the backyard, I parked the car and went straight into the house.

The four middle-aged women in the courtyard watched him go inside before turning their attention away and continuing their conversation in hushed tones.

And the topic of their conversation was, naturally, the things Li Kaixin had brought back.

Li Kaixin pushed open the door to her home. The table was already set with food, and her younger siblings and parents were waiting at the table.

"You're back! Sit down and eat." Mother Qin Xiuli greeted her with a smile.

Li Kaixin responded and sat down at the table.

His mother, Qin Xiuli, kept piling food into his bowl, saying, "Kaixin, eat more. You must be exhausted from the journey."

"Mom, I'm not that tired. This isn't the first time I've been here." Li Kaixin picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of the food her mother had put on her plate.

Younger brother Li Kai, standing nearby, couldn't help but interject, "Big brother, aren't you tired yet? I just opened your blanket, and the stench almost made me faint!"

"Xiao Kai! You talk too much!" Father Li Mingde frowned.

Li Kai, the younger brother, shrank his neck and muttered under his breath, "That's right, the smell is so strong, I wrapped it up as soon as I opened it."

"Alright, alright!"

Qin Xiuli, the mother, put a piece of meat into her second son's bowl and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Xiao Kai, your older brother drives long distances, how can you compare that to when he's at home? It's normal for it to smell bad, isn't it?"

"Mom, you're wrong. The blanket didn't smell bad because of me," Li Kaixin replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiuli, the mother, turned her head to look over, while Li Mingde, the father, also looked on with curiosity.

Seeing that his parents were watching him, Li Kaixin didn't hide anything and told his family about his journey of transporting disaster victims.

Qin Xiuli, the mother, immediately put down her chopsticks, her eyes reddening: "These people are suffering so much!"

"Mother, you really don't need to do this."

Li Kaixin smiled reassuringly, "Their lives are much better than ours now; at least they don't have a shortage of meat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole family looked at him.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin quickly explained, "You should have seen the three skinned sheep, right? Those are wild gazelles. I hunted more than thirty of them in one afternoon in Mongolia."

The parents were utterly shocked upon hearing this. Their younger brother, Li Kai, and younger sister, Li Xiaoxiao, also stared wide-eyed.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

After a while, the father, Li Mingde, finally came to his senses and glared at his eldest son: "You brat, don't talk so big in the future. Look how you made your mother cry."

Before Li Kaixin could even speak, his mother, Qin Xiuli, got annoyed and pinched her husband's waist.

"Ouch! That hurts! What are you doing, wife? I'm just trying to defend you!" Father Li Mingde said, clutching the spot where he had been pinched, looking aggrieved.

When Li Kaixin and her younger siblings saw him like this, they covered their mouths and chuckled.

Just as Father Li Mingde had calmed his wife down, he glanced up and saw his three children still snickering. A little embarrassed, he said, "What are you all laughing at? What's so funny?"

"Dad, we didn't laugh!" Li Kaixin said innocently, turning to her younger siblings. "Xiaoxiao, Xiaokai, don't you think so?"

When the two little ones heard their older brother speak, they quickly nodded emphatically.

Father Li Mingde snorted and stared at his eldest son: "Kaixin, I think you haven't felt your father's love for quite some time."

"Father, your words have hurt me deeply."

As Li Kaixin spoke, he pulled a watch from his pocket and waved it in front of him, "I was planning to give you this watch as a gift, but now I think I'll pass!"

Father Li Mingde's eyes lit up, and without caring about anything else, he snatched it and put it on his hand.

Li Kaixin didn't say anything; this watch was originally prepared for her father.

Standing to the side, Qin Xiuli, the mother, couldn't help but scold, "You really are something! You even try to take the child's things!"

"Wife, I'm so happy that the boy gave me this. There must be more than I need." The father was admiring his watch with a smug look on his wrist, without even looking up.

After hearing this, the mother, Qin Xiuli, looked at her eldest son.

"Mother, I do have one more piece."

Li Kaixin smiled and showed off the watch on her wrist, "Look, this is a Rolex from a foreign brand. It's worth three or four dollars more than the one my dad has! I'll find you one like this sometime."

"Good, good!" Mother Qin Xiuli smiled broadly.

Suddenly, Li Mingde, the father, felt that his own watch was no longer appealing, and his eyes kept glancing at the Rolex on Li Kaixin's wrist.

Qin Xiuli, the mother, could easily see through her husband's thoughts and teased him with a smile, "What's wrong? One piece isn't enough, and you're already eyeing another one?"

"Daughter-in-law, how could that be!" Father Li Mingde awkwardly looked away.

The meal was quite lively, and by the time we put down our chopsticks, it was completely dark outside the window.

Mother Qin Xiuli got up to clear the dishes and went to the kitchen. Li Kaixin sat with her father and chatted idly.

"Oh, right," Father Li Mingde suddenly remembered something, "we're going to Secretary Liu's house. Judging by the days, we should be arriving soon, right?"

Li Kaixin hummed in agreement and continued, "The day after tomorrow, Secretary Liu will send someone to pick us up."

"Perfect! Let's go back to your grandparents' house tomorrow and send some of the things you brought back over. What do you think?" Father Li Mingde suggested.

"Father, you and Mother can decide what to do! You don't need to ask me."

"Alright!" Father Li Mingde instructed, "Go home and rest early, I'll come and get you tomorrow!"

Li Kaixin nodded, got up, and walked out.

As soon as he stepped out of courtyard number 93, he suddenly remembered what Uncle Li Cheng had mentioned about the village banquet.

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to tell my parents tomorrow.

Not long after he left, in the backyard of No. 93, Qin Xiuli, his mother, carried out more than 100 pounds of things and gathered with four other women in the courtyard, whispering and discussing something.

When they finally dispersed, every middle-aged woman had an undisguised smile on her face.