Han Lushi walked into the kitchen and saw Li Weili sniffing at the sliced meat on the chopping board.
He took Li Weili's arm, "Lili, take me out for a walk. It's still early for dinner."
Li's mother also urged her granddaughter to go out. She had been doting on Li Weili, making her cautious for fear of bumping into something.
"Go, you take Lushi to tour the village. Call your sister Damai and sister Xiaomai back for dinner."
"Huh?" Li Weili immediately became possessive when she heard she had to call her two cousins back for dinner. "Grandma, can you steam one more bowl of braised pork? Otherwise, it won't be enough."
Li's mother looked at her granddaughter with amusement, "How did you become so possessive of food? Your sister Damai and sister Xiaomai eat here often, they won't snatch it from you."
"I don't know," Li Weili patted her belly. "This little one is just greedy. It's not my fault."
Han Lushi directly picked her up and walked out, "Grandma, don't mind her. She's all mouth and no stomach. When it's time to eat, she won't eat much."
He put Li Weili down after reaching the outer gate.
"Take me to see Kushan. You've always talked about how beautiful Kushan is. Now that we're back, you're hiding in the kitchen."
"Hehe," Li Weili giggled. "Let's go. We can stroll over to the greenhouse and pick some tomatoes."
Han Lushi shook his head helplessly and chuckled, supporting her as she descended the steps of the courtyard house.
Despite what she said, Li Weili still diligently took Han Lushi to tour the village.
The most interesting part of the village was undoubtedly the old courtyards.
Li Weili started from the first house, telling stories about each one.
She interspersed interesting anecdotes passed down by the elders and stories from her childhood with the tales of the old courtyards.
Tourists who were inadvertently drawn in by Li Weili's stories were even more engrossed than Han Lushi.
Soon, they were surrounded by tourists.
Han Lushi glanced at the crowd and put his arm around Li Weili's waist, moving forward at a relaxed pace.
When they reached the Li family's courtyard, Li Weili stopped telling stories and pulled Han Lushi towards the western greenhouse to pick tomatoes.
The villagers who cultivated the greenhouses were from the first and second villages of Kushan, so they naturally recognized Li Weili.
Li Weili chose a greenhouse guarded by a woman and went inside.
The woman greeted Han Lushi warmly, "You must be Lili's boyfriend? Go in with Lili and pick freely. Watch your step."
The woman seemed completely oblivious to Han Lushi's aloof demeanor.
Han Lushi nodded slightly at the woman and followed Li Weili inside.
The woman patted her chest. Why did Lili find such a cold man? But he seemed to treat Lili very well. Surely, this man had the Li family's approval.
Right, wasn't the banquet the Li family was holding the day after tomorrow for Lili's wedding? Why did Lili seem to be pregnant already? The woman quickly covered her mouth. It's best not to spread rumors about the Li family's affairs. Such things are not uncommon nowadays.
Seeing the two come out with a basket of tomatoes, the woman took out a plastic bag to pack them.
Han Lushi waved his hand, "I'll buy it with the basket. How much?"
The woman didn't intend to charge them. But Han Lushi's demeanor became even colder. She quickly said to Li Weili, "Lili, these tomatoes are nothing. We sell seedlings and fruits. Your mother and father have helped us so much."
Li Weili, who was biting into a tomato, nodded. "Then let's pay five yuan for the basket."
The woman waved her hand, "The basket is hand-woven by ourselves."
Han Lushi put down ten yuan, picked up the basket, took Li Weili's hand, and slowly walked out. "Are we going home?"
"Let's go. Let's go call sister Damai and sister Xiaomai home for dinner."
"Okay."
Watching their retreating figures, the woman was extremely envious. The boyfriends and girlfriends that the Li family's children found were all excellent.
In the courtyard of a small Western-style building on the second road of the village, Xiaomai was scolding her son.
Zhou Yulin had turned on the faucet of the small sink used for washing mops, plugged the drain, filled it with water, and climbed in to swim.
Zhou's father had gone for a walk in the village, while Zhou's mother and Xiaomai were cleaning upstairs. When Xiaomai came down to wash the mop, she found the entire floor flooded. This was because Zhou Yulin had not turned off the faucet.
She stepped through the water, turned off the faucet, pulled out her son, removed his wet clothes, and spanked his bottom twice. Zhou Yulin shamelessly smiled at his mother, saying he was swimming.
Upon seeing Li Weili and Han Lushi, Xiaomai released her son. "Lili, Lushi, you're back?"
Zhou Yulin's little paws immediately covered his groin. "There's a woman."
Xiaomai slapped her forehead, wondering who her son had learned this from. Li Weili couldn't help but chuckle, "Yulin, you exhibitionist, I'm going to call the police to arrest you."
Zhou Yulin turned and ran into the house. "Help! Grandma, help!"
Zhou's mother heard this, threw down the rag, and rushed downstairs, wondering if her grandson had angered her daughter-in-law.
The courtyard was full of water, so Li Weili couldn't go in. She called out to Xiaomai from outside the courtyard, "Sister Xiaomai, Grandma wants you to come back for dinner."
Xiaomai nodded, "I'll go after I finish cleaning up at home."
In the living room downstairs, Zhou's mother had already got her grandson's clothes and was putting them on him.
Li Weili glanced at the living room, then turned to Xiaomai. "How about we take Yulin with us first, and then pick up Yuanfang from the clinic later?"
Xiaomai nodded, "That's fine. He's causing trouble at home, and I won't be able to finish my work."
Saying this, Xiaomai went into the living room and picked up her son, who was still being dressed. "Mom, Lili is back. Grandma wants me to go back for dinner. Let's have Yulin go with them to the courtyard house first."
Zhou's mother's hands continued to pull at her grandson's clothes. "That's fine too. There are more people there, and he won't be making a fuss. It must have been him who made the mess with the water in this courtyard, right?"
Xiaomai said, "Yes. He sat in the mop sink, said he was swimming, and didn't turn off the water."
Zhou's mother said reproachfully, "This boy, ever since he came back from Kyoto, he's been talking about swimming every day. When his father gets back, I'll have him take the boy to swim in the river."
"No!" Xiaomai shook her head. "If he thinks the river isn't scary, he'll dare to jump in by himself."
Zhou's mother paused. That's true, her grandson was both brave and mischievous, and very bold.
Zhou Yulin raised his hand and covered his mother's mouth. "All you ever say is no."
Xiaomai dodged her son's paw. "No, no, no. If you dare to argue with me again, no matter how much your grandparents try to stop me, I'll beat you with a broom. He won't be well-behaved if I don't discipline him."
"You go with your Aunt Lili to your great-grandmother's first. I'll come over after I clean up the mess you've made."
"Okay," Zhou Yulin nodded. "Great-grandmother's food is delicious."
Zhou's mother poked her grandson. "Ungrateful brat, you eat my cooking just as much. You don't see you complaining about that."
Zhou Yulin patted his little belly. "I'll be hungry if I don't eat."
Xiaomai quickly picked up her son. If they continued to chat, it would be noon.
Xiaomai placed Zhou Yulin outside the courtyard gate. He looked up at the two adults who seemed like giants to him. "My legs are short, I need to be carried."
Han Lushi picked up his collar, lifted him slightly, and with his left arm, scooped him into his embrace.
"Ah?" Zhou Yulin screamed, and after landing in Han Lushi's arms, he exclaimed again, "You're stronger than my dad. Will you be my dad?"