After time travel, share a space with your modern family.

After Old Lady Zhang left with her two sons, Chen Donghua invited the clan chief to sit down and said to him, "Uncle Clan Chief, I'm so sorry to have troubled you again."

“Xiaojun’s mother, life isn’t easy for you orphans and widows. If you need anything, have the children come to me or the village chief!” Chief Ruan sighed.

Ruan Mumu took out a small jar of wine from the basket on her back and handed it to the clan chief, saying, "Grandpa Clan Chief, thank you for speaking well of our family to the village chief yesterday, which is why we were able to buy the mountain. This is a small token of our respect for you. Please accept it."

The clan chief smiled broadly, saying, "You child, there's no need to be so polite." He also refused the wine.

Ruan Mumu tactfully put the wine aside and said, "Grandpa Clan Chief, I'll leave the wine here for you. Take it with you when you go back later!"

Then Ruan Mumu pulled up a stool and sat down next to the clan chief, saying, "Grandpa Clan Chief, I wonder if Uncle Dongyang and Uncle Donghuai are free? Our family wants to build a house at the foot of the mountain. If they are available, I would like to entrust the construction to them and pay them for their work."

Upon hearing this, the clan chief thought, "This is work!" His two sons and four grandsons were worried about having nothing to do and were planning to go to the town or county to find work. They had a large family but little land, and they couldn't stay at home after finishing their work!

"Girl, you mean you want our eldest and second eldest sons to come and help with building your house, right?" the clan chief asked again to confirm.

“That’s right, Grandpa Clan Chief, look at our family, my two older brothers don’t know anything about building houses, so we’re asking for your opinion first! Besides, Uncle Dongyang and Uncle Donghuai are both good at building houses and carpentry!” Ruan Mumu flattered.

The clan chief was very happy to hear Ruan Mumu praise his two sons, especially since he now had work to do.

In Ruan Mumu's memory, Uncle Dongyang knew a bit about building houses. After all, she had watched the clan chief's few tiled houses go from nothing to something, and she had heard that it was Uncle Dongyang who led the construction. Uncle Donghuai also knew a little about carpentry. Ruan Mumu's family of four knew nothing about these things, but she knew that everyone had their own expertise, and it was better to leave such matters to professionals. Besides, these people were all from the same clan, and she believed that they wouldn't cheat her family.

“Alright, I agree on their behalf. I’ll have them come to you tomorrow,” the clan chief declared decisively.

“Then thank you very much, Grandpa Clan Chief. We also want to finish building the house as soon as possible and move out of the ancestral hall so that no one will have any objections and it will put Grandpa Clan Chief in a difficult position,” Ruan Mumu said.

“Very well then. It’s quite inconvenient for your family to live here. Once the house is built, your eldest and second brothers can get married sooner.” Chief Ruan chuckled.

"Big brother, second brother, did you hear that? Grandpa Clan Chief also said that you two can get married." Ruan Mumu looked at Ruan Xiaojun and Ruan Xiaohai with a teasing expression, and deliberately winked at them.

Both of them blushed upon hearing their sister's words and quickly turned to leave. They busied themselves, trying to hide their embarrassment and shyness.

Chen Donghua was busy preparing dinner. As she skillfully cooked the rice, she said to Chief Ruan, "Uncle Chief, why don't you stay for dinner before you go back?"

However, Chief Ruan slowly stood up and replied gently, "No, Xiaojun's mother, you all go ahead with your work. I have to go back, or it will get dark." He knew he couldn't disturb this family's life too much, especially since everyone was so busy right now.

Ruan Mumu understood the clan chief's decision. She didn't try to stop him, but instead instructed her family, "Mother, cut a piece of pork belly for Grandpa Clan Chief to take back. Eldest brother, go and see Grandpa Clan Chief off." This showed respect for the clan chief while ensuring his safe return home, as the village chief was getting old.

Soon, Chen Donghua took out the fresh pork belly she had bought that day, cut it in half with one stroke, weighing about a pound, and tied it with straw rope. Then she handed it to Ruan Xiaojun and instructed, "Quickly take the clan chief back! Be careful carrying this."

Ruan Xiaojun took the pork belly, picked up the jar of wine, and carefully escorted Chief Ruan out the door. They walked slowly along the path, chatting about everyday things, in a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Soon they arrived at the gate of the Ruan clan chief's house. Ruan Dashan, the eldest grandson of the Ruan family, saw that it was Ruan Xiaojun who brought his grandfather back, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Xiaojun, thank you for bringing my grandfather back."

Ruan Xiaojun placed the wine he was carrying into Ruan Dashan's arms, then hung the pork he was carrying on his finger, and said with a smile, "Brother Dashan, our clan chief came all the way to our house to help us with our affairs, and we feel really bad about it. Besides, we always trouble him with our problems, so it's only right that we bring him back! Now that we've safely brought him home, I'll head back first. I have a lot of things to do at home, so we can talk again another day."

Ruan Dashan nodded and replied, "Okay, then be careful on your way back!"

Ruan Xiaojun waved his hand, turned around and left.

Watching Ruan Xiaojun's departing figure, Ruan Dashan followed the clan chief into the house, asking as he went, "Grandpa, how did things go with Xiaojun's family?"

Chief Ruan sighed and said helplessly, "That old lady of theirs actually had the nerve to come to Xiaojun's house and make a scene, and even wanted to take all of Xiaojun's things back. She's just taking advantage of her age! That day, she clearly divided up all the things in the house in front of the villagers, and even signed a letter of severance. Now that she sees that Xiaojun has bought new things, she wants to take them back. She's getting more and more shameless as she gets older."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Dashan was furious and couldn't help but feel indignant on behalf of Ruan Xiaojun's family. "Grandpa, it's a good thing you went to help. Otherwise, Xiaojun's family would probably have been thrown into chaos and couldn't be managed at all. After all, that Grandma Zhang is notoriously shrewish and difficult to deal with. If no one had stopped her, she would have definitely caused a huge uproar. Moreover, Xiaojun's family are all rather timid and no match for Grandma Zhang. They wouldn't dare to easily clash with her. Alas, what bad luck! How could they have ended up with such a domineering and unreasonable grandma?"

Chief Ruan nodded and echoed, "Yes, this family is indeed quite pitiful. But let's help them if we can, since we're all from the same clan. By the way, Dashan, hurry up and take this piece of pork to your wife to cook! Today I'd like to have a couple of drinks with you all and have a good chat." After saying that, he slowly walked into the hall and sat down.

Ruan Dashan responded, took the pork, and then turned and went into the kitchen. After a while, he returned to the hall with a pot of wine and carefully placed it on the table.