Shen Yi saw that Qin Jiao was about to blow a fuse, so he knew to quit while he was ahead. He remarked, "This flatbread is delicious," then turned and ran over to help Qin Zhonghui and the others with their work.

And what do you know, the group had already managed to get the courtyard into shape. All the miscellaneous junk had been cleared out, and they could plant vegetable seeds tomorrow.

Qin Jiao was even thinking she could transplant some of the strawberries and vegetables from her dimensional space. There was even a lotus pond on the side. It had been cleaned out, and once they refilled it with water, they could raise fish in it.

She had to admit, this courtyard house was truly wonderful. Qin Jiao secretly decided that once school started again, she would begin her grand plan to make money. That way, maybe her family could buy a courtyard house of their own before the prices shot up.

’It wouldn’t have to be as big as this one,’ she thought. ’A quarter of this size would be enough for our whole family.’

An hour later, everyone who had been working went to take a hot shower and change their clothes. They all gathered for dinner in the large dining room. The dining room was simple for now; the walls had been freshly painted. There was a huge, natural wood-style table that could probably seat twenty people without a problem. It was connected to the large kitchen, where there was also a bar counter with a wine cabinet next to it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Beidou had worked alongside Qin Zhonghui for most of the day and they had forged a deep friendship. He took the initiative to pour Qin Zhonghui a drink, saying enthusiastically, "This one’s a toast to my dear brother!"

Du Liya swatted him. "What ’dear brother’? Are you drunk before you’ve even started drinking?"

’If you call him your brother,’ Du Liya thought, ’then my son will have to call him his father-in-law in the future. So, should I base our family ties on your relationship with him, or my son’s?’

Everyone burst out laughing, and the atmosphere grew more and more relaxed. Because there were so many people, they used two copper hot pots, and the table was laden with side dishes. Su Yun’s knife skills were excellent; she sliced the plump roast duck onto two large platters and set them to the side.

While calling Qin Zhonghui "brother" and pouring him a drink, Beidou also turned to Shen Yi. "Little brother," he said, "you’re not so little anymore. You can drink now! Once you start drinking, you’re an adult, and then you can find a girlfriend."

Shen Yi hadn’t originally planned on drinking, but when he heard the last part of Beidou’s sentence, his gaze swept over to Qin Jiao. He immediately picked up his glass, clinked it against Qin Zhonghui’s and Beidou’s, and then drained it in one go.

Meanwhile, Qin Jiao was busy cooking some meat in the hot pot for Xiao Shi. The meat Du Liya had bought was of excellent quality. Besides lamb and beef, there were even some extra-large sea shrimp.

Although Xiao Shi had eaten hot pot before, she had never had such a lavish spread, especially not from a traditional copper pot. The little girl was ecstatic.

She had already eaten quite a bit but was still determined to keep eating.

Qin Jiao was worried she would get indigestion.

Su Yun smiled and said, "I also boiled some hawthorn and rock sugar water for you all. If you feel too full after eating, you can have some. Or, we could just turn on the lights in the courtyard and everyone can get back to work."

Xiao Shi raised her hand. "I’ll do the dishes later!"

It was great having so many people around. No one was lazy; in fact, they were all eager to pitch in, which made everyone feel relaxed and happy.

Qin Jiao watched Shen Yi clinking glasses and drinking with her dad, looking like they were getting along famously. And though Grandpa Du wasn’t drinking, he slowly cooked his food in the hot pot, a kind smile on his face as he watched them.

As Qin Jiao took in the scene, she thought about how everyone was doing so much better than in her past life, and a warmth spread through her heart.

Du Liya, sitting beside her, placed a freshly cooked jumbo shrimp in her bowl. "Xiao Jiao, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and eat."

"Thank you, Aunt Du." Looking at Du Liya’s flushed face, Qin Jiao suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, Aunt Du," she said, "Shen Yi mentioned you had something you needed my help with. Please, just ask if you need anything. You don’t have to be a stranger."