Reborn in the 90s, I traded my ex-husband for eight apartments.

Old Man Bai handed Li Zhongguo a cigarette:

"Big brother, Xiufen and I are going to the city. You can plant these vegetables in the garden too."

"You and your sister-in-law should grow more vegetables and raise pigs to sell, which will also make money and provide manure."

"If you can't keep them at your place, then keep them at my place. We'll leave you the house key. There's a lot of rain in the summer, so please help us look after the house."

That's how houses are; they quickly become dilapidated if no one lives in them.

The two houses aren't too far apart. If Li Zhongguo could raise pigs here, it would help bring more people to the house.

Li Zhongguo and Zhang Yufang were extremely shocked.

"Are you going to the city?"

Li Zhongguo laughed again as he spoke:

“It’s good to go to the city. The children are all there, and you two old folks can be reunited.”

Zhang Yufang looked at the white pearl and sighed:

“Pearl is really capable. You all do your best outside, and leave the household to your uncle and aunt.”

Bai Zhenzhu smiled and said:

"Sister Yue Rong and Sister Yue Shu are capable too."

Zhang Yufang was even more grateful:

"Isn't this all thanks to you? If it weren't for you, their younger sister, thinking of them, with their cowardly nature, they would never have been able to leave this mountain village in their entire lives."

"Now that they are earning their own money, they have more confidence, and their lives will only get better and better in the future."

"Pearl, your aunt doesn't know how to thank you enough."

Bai Zhenzhu hugged Zhang Yufang's arm:

“My aunt has always doted on me since I was little. That’s just how I am; I’ll be good to whoever is good to me.”

After Li Zhongguo and Zhang Yufang were about to leave, Bai Zhenzhu went and brought over another bag of things.

Inside were a braised chicken, a braised duck, two cans of milk powder, and two cotton coats.

As for Li Zhonghua and Feng Cui's share, it was saved.

The next day, after breakfast, the family began packing.

Bai Chenglei took the gifts, got on his bicycle, and went to Xu Yin's parents' home first.

Bai Chengxiang asked him to give his father-in-law and mother-in-law 100 yuan as a filial gift, along with two sets of clothes, two pairs of cotton shoes, and braised meat from his own shop.

Xu Yin bought the clothes and cotton shoes at the market.

Liu Fang naturally didn't forget her parents either. Just like her second brother's family, she gave them 100 yuan as a filial gift, two sets of cotton-padded clothes, two pairs of shoes, and one braised chicken and one braised duck.

When passing through the town, Bai Chenglei bought a few more kilograms of fruit candy to take with him.

Bai Zhenzhu and the others packed their belongings at home.

We picked and chose clothes for the children and the elderly, bringing everything we could.

They also packed up all the cured meat made by the three families and took it with them.

Li Xiufen wanted to bring along everything from the rice and flour in the house to the dried goods she had dried in the sun, including the pickling jar and the rice drainer.

Unfortunately, Bai Zhenzhu's car couldn't fit her.

Seeing her reluctant expression, Bai Zhenzhu said:

"I'll have Third Brother take these pickled vegetables to eat later. Aunt Dong and Third Sister-in-law love the pickled vegetables and chili sauce you make."

Li Xiufen then remembered:

"I forgot to bring them some cured meat yesterday."

Just as Bai Zhenzhu was about to suggest leaving it at their home, Zhang Minmin's clear voice rang out from outside:

"Mom, Mom, Pearl, Jing Si and I are back."

Li Xiufen was puzzled:

"Weren't you still grading papers? Why are you back?"

Zhang Minmin speaks quickly:

"Jingsi and I worked overtime last night to finish grading the papers, and we specially set aside a day to come back and help you pack up."

Li Xiufen smiled and said:

"What a coincidence, I left you some cured meat and these pickled vegetables. Find a tricycle and take them all back later."

Bai Jingsi pushed up her glasses and smiled:

“Minmin was worried that you couldn’t take your kimchi with you, so we drove back in a tricycle.”

Li Xiufen glared at her third daughter-in-law:

"You are the only one who is smart."

Just then, Bai Jingsi returned, so Bai Zhenzhu took him and the children to the field to harvest vegetables.

After everyone left, Zhang Minmin took out three hundred yuan from her pocket and gave it to Li Xiufen.

“Mom, this is a gift from Jingsi and me to you and Dad. You have no worries about food and clothing with Pearl and the others, so I won’t buy you anything. The New Year is coming soon, so you can take the money and buy whatever you want.”

Li Xiufen quickly pushed it back to her:

“Your dad and I have money. You and Jingsi still need to have and raise children. There will be many more expenses in the future. We don’t want this money.”

Zhang Minmin's face hardened:

“Mom, we can earn money now. My clothing store may not be as good as Pearl’s, but it’s the first one in our town. It’s only right that we take care of you and Dad.”

After all, it was an expression of filial piety from her daughter-in-law and son, so Li Xiufen couldn't refuse any longer.

"Okay, Mom will keep it."

Then I found a bag to put the cured meat in:

"Don't you love pork ribs? Here's a rack of ribs for you, along with these two pork legs, some lean meat, and pork belly—Jingsi likes that..."

Zhang Minmin kept trying to stop her:

"That's enough, Mom, stop pretending, we can't finish it all..."

In the vegetable garden, the children were happily pulling up radishes.

The elderly couple really didn't sit idle at home; they grew a lot of radishes, cabbages, and bok choy.

The radishes were touched by frost, making them crisp and sweet.

A little while later, Li Zhongguo and Zhang Yufang also came to help.

Before Bai Zhenzhu returned, she removed the two rows of seats in the back of the van, specifically for hauling goods.

Old Man Bai, Li Zhongguo, and Bai Jingsi were strong, so they carried the heavier items like rice, radishes, and cured meat over and placed them at the bottom.

Seeing their posture, the village chief and his family were extremely curious.

"Brother Bai, what's going on here...?"

Old Man Bai explained with a smile:

“Pearl will take me, my mother, and the children to the city. We will bring everything we can.”

The village chief was taken aback, then laughed:

"Oh dear, you're going to the city to enjoy a life of luxury, Pearl is so filial."

Old Man Bai is rather reserved:

"The children are sensible."

And said:

“Village chief, you’ve been farming that land all along. I’ve discussed it with the kids, and we think you can give us 20% of the harvest.”

"Now that our whole family is leaving, we'll need you and your older brother to take care of this house for us."

The village chief agreed without hesitation:

"It's nothing, it's what I should do."

The braised chicken Pearl gave me was really delicious; I couldn't let it go to waste.

Moreover, Bai Chengxiang's land had already been planted with winter wheat and rapeseed, so they only needed to pay 20%, which was a huge bargain.

Li Zhongguo and another household in the village that farmed Bai Chenglei's land also changed their share to 20%.

We also hope they will cultivate the land properly and not let it go to waste.

In the eyes of rural people, the land is like their life; leaving it barren is a sin.

Moreover, the village chief has a certain prestige and power in the village, and he will not forget the Bai family if anything happens in the village.

After loading several bags of radishes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, bacon, cured meat, etc., there wasn't much space left in the van.

As for the bedding and everyone's clothes that Li Xiufen insisted on bringing, they could only be stuffed into the gaps.

At this time of year, almost every household has already slaughtered their New Year's pig and prepared cured meat. The village chief's wife and the family that farms Bai Chenglei's land also sent over cured pork legs.

In short, apart from the row of seats that were left, there were no other seats in the car. Even under the seats, Li Xiufen had stuffed two buckets of eggs that she had exchanged in the village.

At noon, Li Xiufen chopped up a cured pork leg and cut a piece of cured meat, and stewed a large pot of it with white radish.

Li Zhongguo and Zhang Yufang also ate here, and after eating, they started killing chickens.

Li Xiufen specially raised chickens to help Xu Yin during her postpartum confinement.

There were originally more than ten, but after a few died, only ten remained.

Liu Fang and Xu Yin had also raised several of them before, but they all killed them and took them with them.

Their items were packed separately.

Pack up all your belongings and make sure you explain everything that needs to be explained.

Bai Jingsi and Bai Chenglei moved all their valuables, such as televisions and bicycles, to Li Zhongguo's house for safekeeping.

The Bai family lives in a detached house, and it's easy for thieves to steal if no one is home.

The next day, after breakfast, Bai Zhenzhu drove the elderly couple and their children back to the city.

Watching the car drive away, Zhang Minmin felt a little reluctant to leave.

As soon as Bai Zhenzhu's car drove onto the main road, she saw a familiar old woman walking hurriedly towards her with a stern face.

Who else could it be but Cao Daniu?

They must have heard the news of her return and came looking for her.

Bai Zhenzhu acted as if she hadn't seen anything, stepped on the gas, and the car sped past.