All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

"Wu Zi, you're so young, yet you've already learned to start something and then abandon it?"

Han Chunming was now unable to reason with his mother, so he could only look at her with pleading eyes!

Han's mother knew her son well, and from his words, she learned the whole story. In the end, it was Cheng Jianjun who had resorted to dirty tricks again. After being neighbors for so many years, Han's mother naturally knew the character of the Cheng father and son.

There's a lot of talk in the courtyard right now, all about how Wu Zi and Cheng Jianjun got into a fight over Su Meng.

"This matter isn't difficult to resolve," Han's mother quickly calmed down and said.

"Wu Zi, bring your girlfriend back tomorrow. If she's busy with work, go pick her up. Tomorrow night, our whole family will treat her well and let everyone in the compound see that this is the Cheng family's fault!"

Upon hearing his mother's idea, Han Chunming immediately gave her a thumbs up and readily agreed.

Hearing that Han Chunming was bringing his girlfriend over the next day, Meng Xiaoxing felt a pang of jealousy.

But she was going home with her third aunt tomorrow, and she definitely wouldn't be able to see Wu Zi's girlfriend that night. She felt a little sad and quickly said to her third aunt who was standing next to her.

"Third Aunt, can we go back the day after tomorrow?"

Aunt Han glanced at Meng Xiaoxing and said with some dissatisfaction.

"We've been here for two or three days, but we still have farm work to do at home. Your uncle is all alone at home, raising pigs and chickens and taking care of the kids. He can't manage it all. We'll leave tomorrow morning!"

Meng Xiaoxing immediately lowered her head, said "Oh," and accepted it.

She realized that she and Wu Zi were destined to be apart!

Meng Xiaoxing's mood immediately plummeted.

The next day, Cheng Jianjun took a day off specifically to annoy Han Chunming. With bandages on his back and looking seriously injured, he strolled around the compound and in front of the surrounding neighbors.

Occasionally, when someone asks him about what happened yesterday, he adopts a victim mentality to talk about his magnanimity and how Han Chunming was ungrateful and stole bread from the factory.

Cheng Jianjun was good at disguising himself and was also eloquent. In just one morning, Han Chunming's reputation was ruined, and his image in the eyes of the neighbors plummeted.

Han Chunming didn't take it seriously at all. He went to the ragpicker Hou's place in the morning to say hello, and then went to buy groceries. He planned to cook for himself that evening.

Because Han's mother planned to invite Su Meng and Cheng Jianjun's family over that evening, so that they could see Han Chunming's girlfriend in person and know that Han Chunming wasn't jealous of Su Meng.

They've been neighbors for decades, and Han's mother still wanted to clear up the misunderstanding; otherwise, if things continued like this, the families would become enemies.

Han Chunming had no objections; on the contrary, he was thinking that evening he would show them that even if he had to work as a cook, he could still earn a living. He wasn't going to be without work.

In the afternoon, Han Chunming went to Balizhuang to pick up Qi Siqiao. He asked Qi Siqiao to take the afternoon off and accompanied her shopping for the afternoon. The two of them didn't dare to spend too much money, so they just bought Qi Siqiao a pair of autumn shoes.

Around 4 PM, Han Chunming picked up Qi Siqiao, and after they tidied up, they headed straight for the courtyard house!

Qi Siqiao was a little nervous but also excited when she visited Han Chunming's home for the first time.

She had already decided that the man in front of her was her future partner, and now she would follow Han Chunming's arrangements completely.

Although they haven't known each other for very long, the sense of security this man gives her is something she has never experienced before in her life.

She sat on the back of Han Chunming's bicycle, gently hugging his lower back, resting her head against his back, feeling the strength in this man. A crescent moon unconsciously appeared on her lips. Perhaps this was the feeling of happiness!

Han Chunming was also very pleased with himself. Sure enough, women are different from one another. Although Su Meng was not bad looking, she was too pretentious and noisy. He estimated that he would lose twenty years of his life if he lived with her.

Only a woman like Xiao Qiao, once conquered by him, will always show him her gentle side.

She won't argue with you, nor will she make excessive demands on you. She doesn't even care what Han Chunming's job is, because she believes she can provide for him and create a better future for him.

This feeling of being trusted and admired by a woman is what a man should enjoy, instead of being Su Meng's lapdog for thirty years, like in the original novel, until he was over fifty and finally got his hands on her. Just thinking about it makes me feel heartbroken; I bet his sexual function would have atrophied by then.

Qi Siqiao had put on makeup specifically for this meeting. Han Chunming said his mother liked gentle, demure girls.

So today, Qi Siqiao's makeup was like that of a fairy who had stepped out of a painting. Her face was as white as jade, she wore a light blue dress, a floral hat, long hair, and black leather shoes. With her height of 1.7 meters, anyone who saw her face on the street would definitely turn their heads.

The two quickly arrived at the street outside the courtyard house. It was a little after 5 p.m., and there were already elderly people and children strolling around outside.

Right now, under the shade of a tree in the middle of the street, Cheng Jianjun is surrounded by a group of middle-aged women. His drooping right hand and the white bandage make him look so tragic.

Several middle-aged women were comforting Cheng Jianjun with their chatter when one of them slapped her thigh and said to him.

"Jianjun, I have a niece who is eighteen years old this year. She is as beautiful as a flower. I'll introduce her to you tomorrow. I guarantee she's better than that Su family girl!"

Another middle-aged woman, not to be outdone, started introducing another girl to Cheng Jianjun. The women chattered away, making it seem like a matchmaking event.

After Cheng Jianjun played the victim, he successfully won the sympathy of his neighbors. Since Cheng Jianjun's family was not poor, people naturally introduced him to girlfriends.

Cheng Jianjun was secretly delighted and happy. He had seen the girls introduced by these aunties before, and none of them could compare to Su Meng.

Cheng Jianjun has come to a decision. He's determined to fight Su Meng to the death for the rest of his life. He refuses to believe that he can't win Su Meng's heart!

Suddenly, a bicycle rode past the group, and a light blue figure appeared in Cheng Jianjun's eyes. He was shocked and stared at the figure in front of him, completely stunned.

Who is Su Meng? At this moment, Cheng Jianjun had already forgotten. In his mind, there was only a pale blue color and a crescent moon.

After a long while, he finally heard a sound. Several middle-aged women were also attracted by Han Chunming and the girl in the back seat. One of the women murmured in disbelief.

"That...is that the Han family's kid?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: At the Dinner Table

Cheng Jianjun's gaze followed Han Chunming's bicycle as it stopped at the entrance of the courtyard house before he came to his senses, his mind now completely blank.

He was completely confused, his mind filled with the image of the girl who had been in the back seat of Han Chunming.

After a while, he came to his senses and quickly spoke to the middle-aged women around him.

"Aunties, it's getting late, I'm going home for dinner now! See you later!"

After saying that, without waiting for anyone to say anything, he started walking towards the courtyard house.

Han Chunming led Qi Siqiao into the courtyard and soon encountered Grandma Su Meng, who was holding a palm-leaf fan. Han Chunming quickly called out to Grandma Su.

But the other party didn't give Han Chunming a friendly look. Just as he was about to look outside the courtyard to see if Su Meng had gone home from get off work, his eyes suddenly fell on Qi Siqiao standing behind Han Chunming.

Grandma Su's hand holding the palm-leaf fan suddenly stopped, and she remained stunned for a long time before coming back to her senses.

Han Chunming smiled and quickly introduced the situation.

"Grandma Su, this is my girlfriend. I'm bringing her home to meet my mom!"

Grandma Su kept her eyes fixed on Qi Siqiao, ignoring Han Chunming's introduction. Han Chunming didn't stop either, pushing his bicycle into the yard.

As Han Chunming walked along, he encountered Grandpa Guo, who had his hands behind his back, and greeted him with a smile.

Almost everyone's eyes were fixed on Xiao Qiao behind Han Chunming. It wasn't until Han Chunming returned to the courtyard and saw his mother picking vegetables that he quickly stopped his bicycle and pulled Xiao Qiao forward.

When Han's mother looked up and saw Xiao Qiao being led by Han Chunming, she was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly recovered and stood up.

Qi Siqiao greeted him warmly.

"Hello, Auntie, my name is Qi Siqiao!"

Han's mother quickly agreed, feeling overjoyed. She never expected that her son, Xiao Wu, would find such a beautiful girlfriend.

Han's mother smiled broadly and hurried forward. She was about to pull Xiao Qiao away when she suddenly remembered that her hands were wet, so she quickly wiped them off.

Seeing this, Qi Siqiao sensibly stepped forward, took Han's mother's hand, and said with a smile.

"Auntie, let me pick the vegetables! You go and rest for a while!"

Han's mother smiled even more happily and quickly replied.

"No, no, honey, go sit down, I'll pick the vegetables, they're almost washed!"

Qi Siqiao was not at all shy or hesitant; she was poised and confident, smiling as she bent down and reached into the basin to wash the vegetables.

Seeing this, Han's mother smiled and quickly brought her a stool. Qi Siqiao said thank you and sat down, and together they began to pick and wash the vegetables.

Seeing this, Han Chunming smiled knowingly, quickly took off his bag, threw it into his room, and began preparing dinner.

Han Chunming tied on an apron and said to his mother.

"Mom, I'll cook dinner tonight. By the way, have you told them yet?"

When Han Chunming said he would cook, Han's mother was taken aback, and then quickly replied.

"What are you doing? Can you even cook? Come and keep Xiao Qiao company. I already talked to both families this morning. We're all neighbors, there's no need to be so formal!"

Han Chunming said with a smile as he worked.

"Mom, let me show you something today. Your son has a lot of skills!"

Han's mother thought Han Chunming was joking, so she stood up, wiped the water off her hands, and prepared to take over Han Chunming's work.

Seeing this, Qi Siqiao glanced at the mother and son with a strange look. Seeing that Han's mother seemed to really not know Han Chunming's cooking skills, she became a little puzzled. Could it be that this guy's cooking skills have never been shown at home?

Qi Siqiao quickly spoke up.

"Auntie, please let Chunming cook. He's a great cook!"

Han's mother clearly didn't believe it, and then laughed and joked.

"He's never cooked before, how would he know how to cook? Honey, don't bother, take a break!"

Qi Siqiao smiled sweetly and quickly washed the potatoes in her hands.

Han Chunming smiled and then said to his mother.

"Mom, you should rest for a bit. I'm really good at cooking. I'll show you my knife skills!"

As he spoke, Han Chunming took a potato from Xiao Qiao's hand. He picked up a cleaver, turned the potato gently, and peeled off a thin layer of skin just like peeling an apple, completely slicing off the potato.

This move left Han's mother and Qi Siqiao completely stunned.

With a smile on his face, Han Chunming picked up a peeled potato, placed it on the cutting board, and began to demonstrate how to shred potatoes.

In less than a minute, Han Chunming had neatly sliced ​​a potato into thin shreds. His seemingly effortless knife skills left Han's mother momentarily stunned.

Qi Siqiao looked at Han Chunming with admiration. This man really had a lot of secrets!

When Han's mother saw Han Chunming's knife skills, she stopped talking and sat down to pick and wash vegetables with Qi Siqiao. However, she kept glancing at Han Chunming, clearly impressed by what he had done for her mother today.

Just as Cheng Jianjun reached the gate of the compound, he encountered Grandma Su Meng, who was being discharged from the hospital. He put on a kind but fake smile and was about to go up and greet her when Grandma Su snorted and gave him the slightest bit of a friendly look.

Cheng Jianjun felt a pang of heartache, gave an awkward smile, and carefully walked into the courtyard.

He walked slowly, his mind racing with thoughts. He was trying to figure out who the girl Han Chunming had just brought back was. Although he had a vague idea, his jealousy still gave him a sliver of hope that it wasn't true.

Cheng Jianjun walked very quietly. When he reached his own door, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quickly leaned against the back of a tree and, under cover, looked towards Han Chunming's house.

Upon looking, he saw the beautiful woman in blue sitting on a stool, chatting and laughing with Han's mother. His heart skipped a beat, and an ominous feeling rose in his mind.

Then he saw Han Chunming looking confident and busy cooking, while the girl sitting on the stool looked at him with admiring eyes. At that moment, Cheng Jianjun felt so jealous, envious and hateful that he could hardly breathe.