Reborn in 1979, with a female educated youth lying next to me.

"Dad, have you eaten yet? I'm starving!"

Hearing Liu Jia's voice, the whole family felt relieved.

Zhang Guilan's face immediately lit up with joy, "Your child, doesn't he know we miss you? It's already dark and he's still not home."

After complaining, Zhang Guilan walked towards the south room and said, "Hurry up and wash your hands. There's some rice left for you in the pot."

Liu Jia parked his bicycle. "Isn't this something that needs to be done? I'm not usually like this."

Liu Jianye quickly came over and asked, "How did it go? Was the contract signed? There weren't any conflicts, right?"

Liu Jia was taken aback.

"There was no real conflict, but I used a few tricks and that's how I got it done."

"Look at how capable you are, with such petty tricks. It's good enough that you didn't lay a hand on them."

Seeing his son happy, Liu Yutian couldn't help but laugh and tease him.

Upon hearing that the contract had been signed, Liu Jianye rubbed his hands excitedly and kept asking Liu Jia what exactly had happened.

Liu Jia had just finished washing his hands when Zhang Guilan brought over a plate.

There were two cornbread buns and a piece of pickled vegetable on the plate.

"Let's eat outside. It's too hot inside. I'll get you some corn porridge."

As Zhang Guilan was about to turn around, Liu Jia quickly stopped her.

"Mom, don't bother. I'll get more myself after I finish eating. You should rest for a while."

Zhang Guilan also wanted to hear about the contract, so when Liu Jiagang mentioned it, Zhang Guilan stopped and smiled.

The cornbread was hard and difficult to swallow, but while eating and talking about how he outwitted Director Li, Liu Jia found the cornbread tasted better.

Liu Jianye listened with his eyes wide open, and Zhang Guilan would occasionally gasp in shock.

Liu Yutian, who was standing next to Liu Jia, would glare at him during the pause in his gaze.

That kid is really cunning.

It scared even the director of a supply and marketing cooperative!

"You've got some nerve. What if you get caught? What if they find out you're using tricks and decide they won't cooperate anymore?"

Liu Jia glanced at Liu Yutian, completely unconcerned.

"Father, don't worry. Now that this matter has been settled, there won't be any more problems."

"The most important thing is that our baskets are of good quality, and there are many skillful people in our village."

"I was thinking of going to the library to get some books for Caixia, but I didn't manage to, and it took quite a while."

Liu Jia's casual remark caused the people opposite him to frown again.

"What happened? Why did it take so long?"

Zhang Guilan blinked and asked.

It was only then that Liu Jia realized he had talked too much.

Originally, Liu Jia wanted to just say a few words to get by, but the three people in front of him were staring intently at him, so he had no choice but to tell them about Guo Xiaolan.

The group of people listened, completely bewildered.

Even after Liu Jia finished speaking, Zhang Guilan and the others were still in shock.

Liu Jianye spoke first.

"Sanzi, you said the girl you helped at the library was Guo Xiaoyan's sister?"

"Ah."

"Does Guo Xiaoyan's sister know that you are Liu Jia?"

"I know, we met once when I went to deliver the money."

Before Liu Jianye could ask anything else, Zhang Guilan, who was standing next to him, couldn't wait to interrupt.

"Sanzi, have you seen Yan'er? How is she? Is she resting at home or at work?"

Zhang Guilan becomes quite talkative when Guo Xiaoyan is mentioned.

Despite her best efforts to control her emotions, Zhang Guilan's voice was still somewhat choked up.

Worried that Zhang Guilan would start crying again, Liu Jia said nonchalantly, "I didn't go inside. Since I'm already at the door, there's no need for me to go in."

Zhang Guilan fell silent.

Liu Jianye simply hummed in agreement.

Since the two of them are already divorced, it would be awkward for them to meet again.

Besides, the Guo family is now a respectable family, and they might not want to see them.

Thinking that Liu Jia might be looked down upon after going there, Liu Jianye also supported Liu Jia in doing so.

After talking for a while, Liu Jia had almost finished his cornbread and pickled vegetables.

Seeing Liu Jia go to the south room to get rice, Zhang Guilan quietly followed him.

"Mom, why are you here?"

"Oh, go ahead and eat. I'll wash the pot after you're done," Zhang Guilan said, picking up the chopsticks beside her.

The chopsticks in his hand were newly made; Liu Jia could tell at a glance.

"Mother, who made this?"

Zhang Guilan smiled.

“Besides your father, who else is there? The sorghum one before didn’t last long; it fell apart after only a few uses. This bamboo one is much better; it’s sturdy and lasts a long time.”

Liu Jia stared at the chopsticks for a moment, then laughed along.

At that time, steel wool and sponge brushes were not used. Most families used sorghum or bamboo tied into a small bundle to scrub pots.

In comparison, bamboo is much sturdier and lasts longer.

Liu Jia thought that if the bamboo basket business went well in the future, he could develop other bamboo products, such as wicker baskets and chopsticks, which would probably also capture some market share.

Liu Jia didn't go outside while drinking the corn porridge.

Zhang Guilan was washing the pot while talking to Liu Jia.

"Sanzi, now that you've signed the contract, will you be going to the city more often?"

"Yes, we need to deliver goods to the supply and marketing cooperative regularly, so we have to go to the city."

"So, will you still go to the library to borrow books?"

"Yes, I need to let Caixia see those knitting techniques. Oh, and next time I go to the library, I need to bring our family's household registration book and get a library card."

As soon as Liu Jia finished speaking, Zhang Guilan quietly turned around.

"Third son, I need to discuss something with you. Didn't you say that Yan'er's sister is at the library? I was thinking of having you bring her something over."

Zhang Guilan spoke cautiously, glancing at Liu Jia every now and then as she spoke.

What are you bringing?

“Look, our family’s old pickled vegetables are cooked. Last year’s pickled vegetables were dried particularly well. They’re red and delicious when cooked. I was thinking of sending some to Yan’er.”

Worried that Liu Jia would disagree, Zhang Guilan quickly added, "Yan'er loves this old-fashioned pickled vegetable the most, I'm afraid we can't get it in the city."

Liu Jia didn't speak, but his brows furrowed.

To be honest, once you see through some things, you can let them go.

In this life, his feelings for Guo Xiaoyan are no longer as intense as they were in his previous life.

He neither felt that he couldn't live without Guo Xiaoyan, nor did he intend to continue his relationship with her.

Liu Jia thought of things in a very simple way.

That means avoiding meeting or interacting with each other whenever possible.

It's true that I saved Guo Xiaolan today, but I wasn't doing it for Guo Xiaoyan.

"What? You're not happy about it? No matter what, Yan'er has lived in our family for three years, and I just can't let her go."

Seeing that Zhang Guilan's eyes were red again, Liu Jia quickly agreed.

"Okay, whatever you say, I'll go, alright? Don't rush me!"

Zhang Guilan wiped away her tears.

"Isn't it because I was afraid you wouldn't go?"

"Go ahead, I'll bring the old pickled vegetables to the library for you next time."

Only after receiving Liu Jia's affirmation did Zhang Guilan stop crying and start smiling.

While the mother and son were talking, Liu Yutian waited outside.

Liu Yutian thought he would ask Liu Jia about the contract in detail after Liu Jia came out, but he found that Liu Jia walked out after coming out of the south room.

"Sanzi, it's getting dark, where are you going?"

"I'm going to Uncle Zhou's house to talk to him about the contract."

Liu Yutian was stunned.

He didn't come to his senses until Liu Jia left.

"What's going on? When did this kid change his ways? Why is he going to talk to outsiders instead of discussing things with his father?"

"It's Uncle Zhou again, and he's borrowing books for Caixia. Why does it sound like he's closer to the Zhou family than to us?"

"How about I go and take a look too?"

Liu Jianye's eyes darted around several times.

Compared to before, Liu Jia has indeed changed a lot.

Thinking of the rumors circulating in the village, Liu Jianye quietly approached Liu Yutian.

"Dad, don't get excited or angry. If things go wrong, we might end up becoming relatives with Uncle Zhou's family."

"What kind of relatives? Our two families are already quite close, how could we..."

Liu Yutian suddenly stopped talking halfway through his sentence.

Immediately, his face became serious.

"Jianye, don't talk nonsense. People outside don't know what's going on and are just gossiping. We don't care, but if you say it, it will become true!"

Liu Jianye looked embarrassed.

"No, no, I would never make things up."

……

After recounting what happened, Guo Xiaolan couldn't help but shed tears again.

"boom!"

Guo Jianjun slammed his fist on the table!

The dull thud startled everyone!