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

As soon as it was dawn, Li Kaixin and his family of five were already on their way back to Lijia Village.

Father Li Mingde and Li Kaixin rode bicycles, each carrying Mother Qin Xiuli, a large bag weighing seventy or eighty pounds, and their younger brother and sister.

The dirt road outside the city was still full of potholes. Li Kai sat at the very back of the back seat, gripping the seat tightly with both hands.

During yet another bumpy ride, he finally couldn't help but speak up: "Brother, why don't you buy me a bicycle too?"

"What, Xiao Kai, do you want to ride it to school to show off?" Li Kai didn't even turn his head, his tone teasing.

"No way!"

Li Kai chuckled and said ingratiatingly:

"I'm just saying this because I see how hard it is for my older brother to take us back to my grandparents' house every time."

"If I had one too, you wouldn't have to go through all that trouble, and I could even help carry some things."

Although he did have a little bit of ulterior motive, he certainly wouldn't admit it now.

"Sure! As long as Dad agrees, I'll buy it for you when we get back to Beijing."

"Really?" Li Kai's eyes lit up, then he turned and called out, "Dad, I..."

Don't even think about it!

The father, Li Mingde, interrupted his second son without any hesitation.

"Do you think I don't know your little tricks?"

When Li Kai saw that this tactic wasn't working, he panicked: "Dad, I really did this to help my older brother! How can you think of your son like this!"

"That sounds nice!"

Father Li Mingde snorted, unmoved:

"You should improve your grades first, then I'll consider the matter of your older brother buying you a bicycle!"

Li Kai pursed his lips, wanting to argue a few more times.

Sitting in the middle, Li Xiaoxiao turned her head, pursed her lips, and added insult to injury:

"Li Kai, Dad already said we'll talk about it after your grades improve, so you'd better improve your grades first!"

"What do you know, you little brat!" Li Kai said in a low voice, annoyed.

The father, Li Mingde, still heard it and turned to glare at his second son:

"How dare you talk to Xiaoxiao like that? Believe me, I'll stop right now and beat you up!"

Li Kai shrank his neck and muttered, "Okay, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong, alright?"

"Alright, alright, that's enough."

Li Kaixin, listening from the front, couldn't help but laugh out loud:

"Xiao Kai, if you really want a bicycle, then study hard. It's not like your dad won't give you a chance."

Li Kai gave a muffled "hmm" and then fell silent.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of No. 94 on the other side...

Several men in military uniforms stood in front of Li Kaixin's door and knocked for a long time, but there was no response from inside.

"Are you here to have some fun?" Lu Chunhua from across the hall heard the noise and came out of her house.

The leading soldier turned around and quickly asked politely:

"Yes, yes, Auntie, we need to talk to Comrade Li about something. Do you know where he went?"

"Oh dear! You've come at a bad time. Kaixin went back to his hometown with his parents early this morning," Lu Chunhua replied.

The leading soldier immediately looked anxious and walked a few steps to Lu Chunhua: "Auntie, do you know approximately how long it will take for Comrade Li to return?"

"I don't know either. Kaixin didn't tell me when she left."

Lu Chunhua shook her head, then said, "Comrades, if you have any urgent matters, I can help pass them on when he returns."

"No need, thank you, Auntie." The leading soldier waved his hand, a look of disappointment on his face.

After saying that, he turned and left the courtyard with several soldiers.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, a young soldier spoke up: "Platoon leader, what do we do now?"

The leading soldier stopped, frowned, and thought for a moment:

"Go back and report first. Just say that Comrade Li has gone back to his hometown, and it's not clear when he will be back."

"But what about the regimental commander...?" The young soldier hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

The leading soldier turned his head and glanced at him: "What, are we going to drag him all the way from his hometown?"

"That's impossible." The young soldier gave an embarrassed smile and shut his mouth.

Seeing that he had stopped talking, the leading soldier sighed as well.

He knew Commander Wang's temper well and knew that if he messed things up today, he would definitely get a scolding when he got back.

......

Meanwhile, Li Kaixin and his family have arrived at Lijia Village.

Under a big tree at the village entrance, several teenagers were squatting on the ground playing with pebbles.

One of the sharp-eyed ones looked up and spotted Li Kaixin and the others, and immediately jumped up.

"Look, Kaixin and Kai are back!"

Upon hearing this, the other children all stood up and rushed towards Li Kaixin.

"Hello, Kaixin!" "Hello, Kai!" they shouted all at once, their faces beaming with smiles.

Li Kaixin stopped the bike, grabbed two handfuls of milk candies from the bag on the handlebars, and handed them to her younger brother with a smile:

"Xiao Kai, go down and share it with your friends."

"Okay, big brother!" Li Kai took the candy and jumped out of the car with a grin.

Upon seeing this, the children immediately shouted in unison, "Thank you, Brother Kaixin!"

They gathered around, actually because they wanted the candy.

For more than a year, every time Li Kaixin came back, he would bring some candy for the children in the village, which has become one of the few things they can look forward to.

At this moment, Li Kai walked to the big tree at the entrance of the village and shouted at the group of children.

"Stop crowding around my older brother, come here to me."

The children looked at each other, none of them moving, all staring expectantly at Li Kaixin, waiting for him to speak.

"Go ahead, go ahead!" Li Kaixin waved his hand with a smile.

The children cheered and ran towards Li Kai.

Before long, Li Kai was surrounded by the children.

He deliberately held the candy high in his hand and pretended to be angry as he shouted:

"Fine, so nothing I say matters anymore, huh? Now the candy's in my hands, believe me or not I'm not giving it to you?"

"No, Brother Kai! We were wrong, we'll always be your most loyal little brothers!" A dark-skinned, thin boy squeezed to the front, his face full of flattery.

Seeing this, the other children chimed in, "Yes, yes, Brother Kai, we were wrong!"

"That's more like it!"

Li Kai nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand and said, "Go, line up, one at a time."

The children immediately lined up obediently, all staring intently at the candy in Li Kai's hand.

Seeing this, Li Kaixin shook his head helplessly.

He then turned around and looked at his younger sister sitting in the back seat: "Xiaoxiao, do you want to come over?"

"No, brother, I want to see my grandparents soon," Li Xiaoxiao replied.

Li Kaixin didn't say anything more after hearing this. He got on his bicycle and continued riding towards his grandparents' house.