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

Secretary Qin and Li Kaixin exchanged a few more polite words before stopping.

At this moment, Qin Huaijiu, the village chief of Qin Family Village, who was standing beside him, took a step forward with a smile on his face:

"Secretary Qin, Kaixin, I don't think it's convenient to talk here. How about we go to my place to chat? It's almost noon, so how about we have a simple meal together?"

Actually, it's only a little past 10 a.m., and there are still almost two hours until noon.

"Uncle Huaijiu, I appreciate your kindness."

Li Kaixin quickly declined, saying, "You must have important matters to attend to, so I won't trouble you any further."

"No trouble at all!" Qin Huaijiu waved his hand repeatedly. "I've almost finished discussing business with Secretary Qin. We'll just have a meal over there."

"Comrade Kaixin, since Village Chief Qin has already spoken, you shouldn't refuse," Secretary Qin also chimed in, trying to persuade him.

He didn't have a chance to say much to Li Kaixin last time before he left in a hurry, so this time he can take the opportunity to chat more.

"This..." Li Kaixin hesitated.

He came today mainly because he wanted to spend more time with his grandparents.

Seeing that Li Kaixin wouldn't budge, Qin Huaijiu became anxious and looked at Li Kaixin's grandfather with pleading eyes.

Grandpa has lived to be so old, how could he not see through Qin Huaijiu's intentions?

He patted his grandson's arm with a smile: "Kaixin, if you want to go, go; if you don't want to go, don't go. Don't worry about us."

Although he knew the village chief's intentions, he wouldn't force his grandson to do something he didn't want to do.

Li Kaixin hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay! Uncle Huaijiu."

The main reason is that my maternal grandparents' family still lives in the village, and it wouldn't be good to refuse the village chief.

"Okay, okay! Shall we go now?"

Qin Huaijiu's face immediately lit up with a smile, and then he turned to his maternal grandparents, "Uncle, Aunt, why don't you come along? It's just a matter of having a couple more pairs of chopsticks."

"We won't go."

Grandpa responded with a smile, "You must have something to talk about. We two old folks wouldn't feel comfortable just sitting here."

Seeing this, Qin Huaijiu did not insist. He smiled and led Li Kaixin and Secretary Qin out.

When the villagers watching from outside the courtyard saw that they were about to leave, they consciously made way for them.

After leaving the courtyard, Qin Huaijiu slowed down a few steps and, together with Secretary Qin, accompanied Li Kaixin on either side as they walked towards his home.

The eldest and second uncles exchanged a glance, and were about to follow.

"You two don't need to go, come inside with me. Kaixin brought you some things too."

Grandpa spoke up to stop them, then turned and waved to the people outside the yard, "Everyone, stop crowding around here, go do what you need to do!"

After Grandpa led his two sons into the house, the people outside the courtyard did not disperse, but instead chatted idly in small groups.

"That Xiuli kid is really something now, even Secretary Qin from our commune treats him so politely!" A dark-skinned middle-aged man couldn't help but exclaim.

The others around looked on with agreement, their eyes filled with envy as they gazed at the courtyard.

"What's so special about that!"

Qin Huairu, raising an eyebrow, interjected, "You guys don't know, do you? Just yesterday, the whole family got into a car!"

Ever since Li Kaixin's parents told Qin Huairu about the situation in her hometown, she has been coming back to visit every week. Today was just a coincidence.

The people around looked at each other, all bewildered.

"Huai Ru, what's so special about this little car?"

The dark-skinned man scratched his head. "Happy Kid, he drives a big truck!"

"What's so special about that?"

Qin Huairu chuckled lightly, "Uncle Erqiang, let me put it this way: at my husband's steel rolling mill, only the factory director and deputy factory director have cars to ride in."

She paused, then lowered her voice: "They are much higher in rank than Secretary Qin of our commune."

As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the crowd.

Immediately afterward, a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, do you know how much he earns now?"

As soon as the question was asked, everyone around perked up their ears.

"I heard my husband mention it briefly, I think it's around eighty."

Qin Huai glanced at her cousin, noticing her rosy complexion, and knew exactly what she was up to. "But Hongjuan, don't even think about such wishful thinking."

Upon hearing this, Qin Hongjuan immediately retorted, "Why? Cousin, you're just married into the city, but Kaixin and I are from the same village. Why can't we have that?"

"This is different!" Qin Huairu shook her head. "Hongjuan, you should just give up on that idea!"

She didn't know how to explain it to her cousin.

Qin Hongjuan wouldn't listen to a word she heard, assuming her cousin was just worried she'd marry someone better than her.

The older people around understood Qin Huairu's meaning, but none of them pointed it out.

......

On the other side, Li Kaixin and Secretary Qin followed Qin Huaijiu for a short distance before arriving at their destination.

His yard was much bigger than his maternal grandfather's, and it was very clean, with no vegetables growing inside.

"Please sit down, please sit down!"

While greeting them, Qin Huaijiu moved a few chairs and a table over from the side, then called into the house, "Wife, quickly bring out the tea, Secretary Qin is back."

"Here it comes!"

Qin Huaijiu's wife, Li Guilan, rushed out of the house carrying a teapot, her face immediately beaming with a smile: "Oh, Secretary Qin, you've brought us all this joy!"

"I was thinking of bringing her over for a chat," Secretary Qin said with a smile as he sat down in the chair. "Sister-in-law, am I disturbing you?"

"No disturbance, no disturbance!" Li Guilan said, quickly pouring tea for the three of them.

It's called tea, but it's really just a bowl with a few tea leaves in it. However, in the countryside, being able to drink it is already a luxury.

Qin Huaijiu stood up and took the teapot from Li Guilan: "Alright, wife, you can go cook now. Put everything you prepared yesterday on the table."

"Okay!" Li Guilan replied and turned to go into the kitchen.

Once everyone had entered the kitchen, Secretary Qin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Li Kaixin with a smile:

"Comrade Kaixin, I wanted to have a meal with you at the Red Star Commune that day, but unfortunately you had a mission to complete."

"Secretary Qin, you're too kind! It's fate that we met in Qin Family Village today." Li Kaixin held the teacup with both hands and took a sip.

"Yes, yes, it's fate!"

Secretary Qin laughed heartily, "Speaking of which, you are a capable person who has come out of our Red Star Commune. You must come back to visit often in the future."

Qin Huaijiu, who was listening nearby, immediately chimed in:

"Secretary Qin is right! Kaixin, your maternal grandparents' family is in our village. If you don't mind my humble courtyard, feel free to come back in the future."

"Okay, Uncle Huaijiu, then I'll have to trouble you a lot in the future," Li Kaixin replied.

He understood the implication: as long as he made his stance clear, Qin Huaijiu would naturally take special care of his maternal grandmother's family in the village.