To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

The sound of water in the kitchen stopped.

Gu Juncheng came out. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

I thought the negotiations were going to fall apart.

“No, buying a house is a big deal, why don’t you sit down and chat with us?” Lin Qingping patted the chair next to her.

The second sister was stunned again.

So, your brother-in-law knew about this?

She absolutely cannot take advantage of this!

“Brother-in-law,” she hurriedly said, “you can just buy this house and give it back to yourselves. I’m already very satisfied with having a room here. After I graduate and start earning money, I will buy my own house. You really don’t need to buy it for me. Besides, companies usually provide housing.”

Lin Qingping thought to herself that it was true. Very few people buy houses these days. Most companies provide welfare housing. People like Lin Qingping who buy one house after another are almost nonexistent. That's why house prices are so surprisingly cheap!

Gu Juncheng sat down and said seriously, "How much money do you have right after graduation? You want to buy your own house? Young people who have just started working, don't they need to buy some nice clothes? Don't they need to have hobbies? All of these things cost money. Besides, your company does provide dormitories, but the house your sister bought for you is more spacious than the dormitory, and you have your own space. You don't need to postpone this anymore. Your sister and I have discussed it, so let's leave it at that."

"But, brother-in-law..."

"There are no 'buts' anymore. We're all family. You should focus on your studies, and listen to your sister about these trivial family matters," Gu Juncheng concluded.

The second sister's inner thoughts: Good grief, buying a house is such a big deal to my brother-in-law...

However, what surged in my heart more was gratitude.

How lucky she is to have such a sister and brother-in-law.

After persuading her second sister, Lin Qingping finalized the purchase of the house with the landlord, agreeing to go and complete the formalities at a certain time next week when neither she nor her second sister had classes.

Since the host had come to her home, Lin Qingping invited him to have lunch with her.

The second sister was very conscientious. Knowing that she had to cook, she prepared to go into the kitchen. However, someone was faster than her—Gu Juncheng had already gone back to the kitchen to continue washing the vegetables he hadn't finished washing.

"Brother-in-law, let me do it," she said, rolling up her sleeves.

"Go sit outside, I'll continue washing," Gu Juncheng said without looking up.

Her sister also told her to go out.

The second sister quietly pulled her older sister outside and whispered, "Sister, why did you let your husband come back to cook?"

Lin Qingping looked puzzled. "Why can't we do it?"

"What kind of man goes into the kitchen!" The second sister's deeply ingrained idea and habit was that the kitchen was for women. At least in Gujia Village and Linjia Village, she had never seen a man go into the kitchen. "I've wanted to remind you about this for a while."

Lin Qingping smiled and said, "What in this world can't men do, except give birth?"

Seeing that she was unmoved by reason, the second sister pouted and said, "And there's still the baby to nurse!"

“No, breastfeeding is fine! Formula feeding!” Lin Qingping tapped her pouting lips. “You have to remember, there’s nothing in this world that no one can’t do. The key is whether they’re willing to do it for you.”

The second sister listened thoughtfully, but was still worried, "Aren't you afraid that one day someone will come along and take your brother-in-law away, making him feel comfortable?"

"You call yourself a college student!" Lin Qingping poked her forehead. "If he could be taken away so easily, then he wouldn't be worth me trying to take him away."

The second sister was stunned again.

Her sister really speaks so differently than before, and she's different from everyone around her.

She used to listen to the wives in the village talking while she was washing clothes. They talked about how to win a man's heart, as if winning a man's heart was something to be proud of.

Her sister came from the same village as her and didn't have much more education, so why did she speak and act so differently?

Gu Juncheng was washing and preparing vegetables in the kitchen. He had excellent knife skills, cutting the vegetables into fine and even shreds and mincing the meat quickly and delicately. After he finished preparing the vegetables, Lin Qingping came to cook. He helped her cut the seasonings and prepare the plates. They cooperated very well.

The second sister looked at it several times and felt there was no place for her to fit in...

She realized that in a place where her sister and brother-in-law were both present, she was superfluous...

So I simply went outside to chat with the homeowner.

At noon, it was just the four of them eating. Zhiyuan and Xiaomai had already been taken to the shop by Sister Zhao and Gu Youlian.

Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng cooked several dishes, setting aside some to be delivered to the restaurant.

After lunch, Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng went to the shop together, while her second sister went to school.

Lin Qingping told her second sister about her mother Wu Axiu's visit to the capital, and also followed Gu Juncheng's advice to be careful and not bring any bad influence to her second sister.

Upon hearing this, the second sister visibly became depressed.

No one can be heartless when it comes to severing family ties, especially the bond between mother and daughter.

Her mother and younger brother will always be a thorn in her side, stuck very deep and impossible to pull out, causing her pain from time to time.

Lin Qingping understood her.

If she hadn't already lived a whole life herself, she would have thought the same thing: no matter what happened, she would always remember her mother, the one who gave her life and raised her. Even though her mother loved her younger brother the most, she would still constantly try to please her. Sometimes she didn't even know why. Was it so her mother would smile at her? Or had it just become a habit?

The second sister, unlike her, was not reborn and could not foresee her past life. She probably thought to herself: "That was Mother."

"Qingyun, remember this: your sister will not harm you. You should still remember what your mother did to you. If you continue to tolerate this and keep thinking about how she gave birth to you and raised you, who knows what other serious things might happen that are even worse than selling you for five hundred yuan or stealing your exam admission ticket." Lin Qingping said solemnly.

The second sister nodded, "I know, sister."

The second sister decided on one principle: always listen to your older sister!

"Okay, then you go back to school. I'm going to the shop." Lin Qingping was slightly relieved.

Upon arriving at the shop, Gu Juncheng immediately went into the kitchen to knead dough. Kneading dough is a physically demanding task that he always takes on without hesitation whenever he comes to the shop.

Lin Qingping found it amusing and served the rice to Gu Youlian, Sister Zhao, and the two children.

Gu Youlian knew that Lin Qingping was not renewing the lease, which meant that Lin Qingping would have to move.

“Pingzi, Dugen will be back in a couple of days. I’ve asked him to move out so you can move in too,” Gu Youlian said proactively.

The house she bought has already been handed over to the owner. She just needs to clean it up before she can move in. Since she moved out, it frees up Lin Qingping's own house so that Lin Qingping can move in.

“Okay!” Lin Qingping also had this plan.

In the blink of an eye, these "country bumpkins" who stumbled into the capital city from Gujia Village have also settled down in the capital.

It seems to be our traditional thinking that, regardless of the era, having a house means you have truly settled down.

Strike while the iron is hot.

On Monday afternoon, Lin Qingping went with her second sister and the homeowner to complete the house purchase procedures.

Lin Qingping used her own money to deposit the entire package that Gu Juncheng had given her into Gu Juncheng's savings account, where Gu Juncheng's salary was also kept.

Although Gu Juncheng did give her the money to buy a house, it's better for her to use her own money to buy a house for her sister.

His feelings are his feelings, and she can't take them for granted.

Dugan returned on this day.

As soon as they got back, they cleaned the whole house thoroughly, and moved in the next day.

Although it was called a move, there wasn't much stuff. The furniture was already in the house, so all that was needed was to move the clothes and personal belongings. Dugen was busy for a day and that was about it.

Lin Qingping was actually a little reluctant to part with the house she was currently living in. After all, it was her and Gu Juncheng's first real home. Every curtain and tablecloth inside reflected her hard work, not to mention her beloved large desk and the shower that Gu Juncheng had specially made for her.

However, all good things must come to an end. Twenty years from now, all these houses will be demolished. Thinking about it this way, I feel at ease. Besides, the large desk and shower can be moved over, just waiting for Gu Juncheng to come back.

So, on Thursday afternoon, Lin Qingping and her second sister returned and moved to the house next door. From then on, she truly lived in her first house after her rebirth.

On Thursday, when the second sister came back to move, her mother, Wu Axiu, and Lin Jiagui appeared on campus.

This time, her mother didn't go to Lin Qingping's place, nor did she wait for her second sister in her dormitory. Instead, she went to the boys' dormitory and waited outside the dormitory for an entire afternoon. In the evening, she saw Yunqi returning from the library.

She was dressed quite neatly this time. Although her clothes weren't new, they were the ones she wore to the village banquet, and they were her best clothes.

Neat and clean, she looked like a simple rural woman.

As soon as she saw Yunqi, she strode forward and rushed straight to him.

Yunqi was startled. When he looked and saw that it was a strange older woman, she politely said, "I'm sorry." He thought he hadn't been watching where he was going and had bumped into her.

After he finished speaking, as he was about to return to his dormitory, Wu Axiu grabbed his clothes.

"Ma'am, is there anything I can help you with?" Yunqi asked politely.

“I am Lin Zhaodi’s mother.” Wu Aixiu held onto him tightly.

Lin Zhaodi? Yunqi thought for a long time but couldn't figure out who she was.

Lin Jiagui said from the side, "Lin Qingyun."

"Yes, yes, Lin Qingyun!" Wu Axiu suddenly remembered that her eldest daughter had changed her second sister's name!

"Oh—" Yunqi finally realized that Lin Jiagui did look somewhat like Lin Qingyun, and he was already half convinced.

Wu Axiu then took out a letter of introduction from her bundle. "This is a letter of introduction issued by our village. You can take a look if you don't believe me."