All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

Han Chunming nodded.

Han Chunming's second brother suddenly said something with a hint of sourness.

"Xiao Wu, you're not lying to us, are you?"

Han Chunming shook his head and said.

"Really, we've been talking for a month!"

Han Erjie looked at Han Chunming with some suspicion and asked.

"You're not dating Su Meng from the backyard, are you?"

Seeing that everyone's guesses were getting further and further off track, Han Chunming quickly said something.

"Mom, it's not Su Meng, it's my girlfriend. Her name is Qi Siqiao. She's a full-time employee at the textile factory in Balizhuang. I'll bring her back for you to meet next Sunday!"

When Han's mother heard what Han Chunming said, her face immediately lit up with joy, and she nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, alright, I'll go buy groceries ahead of time. You must bring them back for Mom to see properly. You're twenty-three now, not a child anymore!"

Han Chunming nodded in agreement. Seeing that everyone's topic had shifted to Qi Siqiao, Han Chunming finally breathed a sigh of relief, as the matter was now over.

After talking for a while, the topic shifted to Han Chunming's job. The older brothers and sisters started to look worried again. In this day and age, it was really not easy to find a job. There were still many educated youths who had returned to the city and were unemployed at home.

Many parents, even in their forties, retire from factories to find jobs for their sons, just so their children can have work. The scarcity of jobs is a common sight in this era.

Han Chunming mentioned Qi Siqiao to everyone in advance, naturally to discuss work matters, so he quickly spoke up.

"Mom, don't worry about my job. Here's what I'm thinking: the situation is gradually stabilizing now, and I believe that the country will definitely resume the college entrance examination soon. Qi Siqiao has the same idea. We plan to study together, and when the country resumes the college entrance examination, we'll go straight to university!"

Everyone was stunned, and Boss Han even directly raised a question.

"Xiao Wu, where did you hear this news? The college entrance examination has been suspended for so many years. Who knows if it will be reinstated in the future? You have a boyfriend now. You have to think about your future family."

Everyone else echoed this sentiment.

Han Chunming quickly explained.

"Big brother, I don't have a job right now, right? We plan to spend two years studying for the college entrance exam. I only have a junior high school education, right? I'm going to study hard for high school level in these two years. If the college entrance exam hasn't been reinstated by then, we'll get married, and then I'll find a good job. Wouldn't that be great?"

Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to persuade her. Fortunately, Han's mother was understanding and nodded in agreement.

"Since Xiao Wu has already made up his mind, let him do as he pleases. You shouldn't interfere. Our family is so big, do we need him to feed us?"

Everyone was still a little hesitant, but Han Chunming could see what they were thinking and then smiled and said something.

"Mom, don't worry, I'm not just sitting at home doing nothing. I recently met a friend, and I'll be able to do some temporary jobs with him and earn some living expenses without any problem!"

Hearing Han Chunming's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They had been somewhat worried about Han Chunming's freeloading, since they all had families to support. If they had to support another person, their burden would be even heavier. Although they agreed on the surface, they were still somewhat uncomfortable inside.

Upon hearing Han Chunming's words, Han's mother immediately put on a stern face and asked.

"You mustn't go out and do bad things!"

Han Chunming nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would not do anything illegal or against regulations. Only then did Han's mother nod in satisfaction and stand up to heat up the food for Han Chunming.

At this moment, Cheng Jianjun sat by the window, looking at the brightly lit room of Han Chunming, a sinister and smug smile appearing on his lips. He thought to himself that Han Chunming was definitely going to get a good scolding from his older brothers and sisters today.

He looked toward the backyard, his mind starting to wander to something else. He had received a message yesterday that several children of cadres who had gone to the countryside with him wanted to hold a reunion of former educated youth. He suddenly had a brilliant idea.

If I invite Su Meng over, and she reveals in front of all my fellow educated youth that Han Chunming was fired from the food factory, Han Chunming will probably be humiliated.

Given Su Meng's prideful nature, there's definitely no chance for them to be together anymore, and I can take the opportunity to win Su Meng's favor and capture her heart!

Cheng Jianjun was smugly thinking about it when he remembered Su Meng's face and figure. Suddenly, he felt a surge of heat, and some inappropriate images involuntarily surfaced in his mind, which were extremely discordant.

Chapter Twenty-One: Following the Scratcher to Collect Scraps

When Cheng Jianjun received news of the educated youth reunion, Han Chunming naturally received it as well, since his network of connections was much better than Cheng Jianjun's.

Han Chunming was still debating whether to go or not when relatives suddenly arrived at his home.

Han Chunming's mother's hometown is Fangshan, near Beijing. In the 1970s, Fangshan was still a rural area.

In those days, rural areas were still where you earned work points and could barely make ends meet. Compared to the city, the conditions in the countryside were far worse.

In addition, the Han family has always been run by Han's mother, who welcomes all relatives from her maternal side. This naturally leads to the relatives coming to the Han family to freeload every now and then.

Not only were food and lodging provided, but their travel expenses were also reimbursed. This indulgence naturally led to Han Chunming's aunts and uncles taking turns to freeload off him.

This time, it was Han Chunming's third aunt and cousin Meng Xiaoxing who came. The two women were brought into the courtyard by Su Meng at 10 p.m.

Upon learning that Su Meng had brought them, they discovered that the two had gotten lost while entering the city and had been waiting at the Zhengyangmen city gate for several hours.

If it weren't for Su Meng, who had just finished her night shift, the two of them would have planned to spend the night together under the city wall.

My mom cooked a pound of noodles for the two of them in the middle of the night. The two of them, one old and one young, even drank the broth clean.

Han Chunming had already taken a shower and gone to bed, but Meng Xiaoxing barged into his room in the middle of the night, making a racket and waking him up. Han Chunming looked at this little girl and couldn't help but feel speechless.

Although Meng Xiaoxing was also a relative of his, she was a distant relative beyond the fifth degree of kinship, a relative of his aunt in the countryside. However, it was not surprising that this girl appeared at Han Chunming's house.

This little girl fell in love with the city after visiting Han Chunming's house once with her aunt when she was little. Plus, she was eloquent and friendly, so after a few visits, she became a regular at the Han family's house.

That little girl is so clever. Every time she comes to Han Chunming's house, she always pesters him. Why is that?

Because Han Chunming was generous, he didn't have much of a temper with his cousin. With her constant nagging and fussing, she took away a lot of his clothes, shoes, socks, and pocket money.

Sure enough, the little girl entered the courtyard late at night and saw Han Chunming's bicycle casually thrown against the wall. After asking Han's mother, she learned that it was Han Chunming's bicycle, and the little girl immediately had an idea.

So he broke into Han Chunming's room in the middle of the night, knowing full well that Han Chunming had a habit of sleeping naked, and pulled back his blanket, demanding his bicycle.

In a daze, Han Chunming agreed.

The next day, Han Chunming got up early and saw Meng Xiaoxing taking apart his bicycle. Han Chunming was stunned and immediately remembered the promise he had made to the girl the night before. He was speechless.

Forget it, give it to her. I can't be bothered arguing with a little girl.

Upon seeing Meng Xiaoxing, Han Chunming immediately looked up and gazed at Cheng Jianjun's house across the street. He saw Cheng Jianjun pushing his bicycle out to work. Their eyes met, and Cheng Jianjun, that cunning old man, clearly panicked. He quickly quickened his pace and pushed his bicycle out of the courtyard.

Han Chunming wasn't upset about Cheng Jianjun spreading rumors about him yesterday. Rather, it was because in the original novel, Cheng Jianjun, that cunning old man, stole Cai Xiaoli, who liked Han Chunming, as his first wife, and Meng Xiaoxing, who liked Han Chunming, as his second wife—the little girl now squatting on the ground with her face covered in grease.

Meng Xiaoxing had always longed for city life, and Han Chunming had always been very good to her since she was a child, so this little girl naturally had a crush on Han Chunming. When she was a child, she jokingly said that she wanted to marry Han Chunming. In recent years, every time she came to Han Chunming's house, she would snuggle up to him and daydream.

Han Chunming had absolutely no romantic feelings for this little girl, mainly because she wasn't pretty!

Moreover, she has a noisy and boisterous personality, like a little monkey, which Han Chunming can't stand.

Meng Xiaoxing is quite clever and lively. She has also learned the trick of "borrowing power from others" very well. She is a good prospect for doing business in the future.

Han Chunming shook his head, pulling himself back to reality. In any case, Cheng Jianjun would never be able to touch anyone close to him in this lifetime. That bastard would get back at him sooner or later.

Han Chunming was humming a little tune as he prepared to wash up when he saw Su Meng pushing her bicycle out of the backyard, also on her way to work.

Su Meng entered the courtyard and immediately saw Han Chunming. The two looked at each other, and Han Chunming quickly lowered his head, thinking it was best not to mess with this girl!

Seeing Han Chunming's attitude, Su Meng snorted and pushed her bicycle, preparing to walk out.

When Meng Xiaoxing, who was squatting on the ground, saw Su Meng pass by, she quickly raised her head, her face full of smiles, and called out to her affectionately.

"Sister Su Meng, are you going to work?"

Upon seeing that it was Meng Xiaoxing, Su Meng replied sweetly.

"Yes, Xiaoxing, what are you doing?"

Meng Xiaoxing replied happily.

"My fifth brother gave me his bicycle last night. I'm learning how to repair it now. If it breaks down on the way, I can fix it myself, right?"

Hearing that Han Chunming had even given away his bicycle, Su Meng's expression changed. She knew that Han Chunming had been fired, and now he was really giving up on himself, even giving away his bicycle. Was he not going to look for a job?

Her small face showed a hint of anger as she looked up at Han Chunming.

Han Chunming was rinsing his mouth when he also took a liking to her, and immediately gave her a silly grin.

Su Meng got angry when she saw Han Chunming's stupid expression, and immediately ignored the two of them, pushing her bicycle outside.

Meng Xiaoxing was about to thank Su Meng for leading the way last night when she saw Su Meng leave in a huff, and she was immediately puzzled.

"What's wrong with Sister Su Meng? Did I say something wrong?"

Han's mother, who was about to go out to buy groceries, casually replied.

"It's nothing, your sister Su Meng and your fifth brother are just sulking!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Xiaoxing showed a look of surprise after a long while and quickly asked Han's mother.

"Auntie, does that mean my fifth brother isn't dating Sister Su Meng anymore?"

Han's mother was puzzled.

"When did they start dating?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Xiaoxing was overjoyed. She quickly put down the wrench, her face covered in grease, and ran to Han Chunming. Han Chunming was so frightened that he took two steps back and scolded her.

"Stop, stop, what are you doing?"

Seeing that her hands were covered in oil, Meng Xiaoxing quickly stopped and asked shyly.

"Brother Wu, Sister Su Meng doesn't want you anymore, so why don't you be with me!"

Han Chunming waved his hand speechlessly.

"Go away and play somewhere else. You have no manners! You're calling me 'brother'!"

Meng Xiaoxing was immediately displeased and hurriedly retorted.

“We’re not even blood cousins, we’re beyond the fifth degree of kinship, Fifth Brother, I’m going to marry you in this lifetime!”

Han Chunming was speechless at Meng Xiaoxing's antics, so he quickly put down his toothbrush and said with a serious expression.

"Meng Xiaoxing, I have a girlfriend now. If you keep acting like this, I won't treat you well anymore. You treat her like a little sister, but you're still thinking about my 180 pounds!"

Upon hearing Han Chunming's words, Meng Xiaoxing sighed dejectedly and retorted softly.

"If you don't want to marry me, then don't. Why are you shouting like that?"

After saying that, Meng Xiaoxing went back to disassemble the bicycle.

Looking at the brother and sister, Han's mother smiled helplessly, shook her head, and turned to walk out the door.

Han Chunming wasn't afraid of making Meng Xiaoxing angry. Another advantage of this girl was that she was simple-minded, easygoing, and her emotions were all written on her face. Like a goldfish, she would forget everything in the blink of an eye.

Cheng Jianjun had been waiting outside the courtyard with his bicycle, knowing that Su Meng hadn't come out yet.