He was not in good health now and did not know when he would die. He definitely did not want the Li family to move here as it would be equivalent to inviting wolves into the village.

He did not want her family to come and bully Mei Mei.

No matter what Old Madam Li said in front of him, he did not speak again. He savored the tea that Xia Zhe sent and did not respond at all.

Soon, Qiao Mei finished cooking and the two of them left after having dinner.

“The two of them left just like that?” Qiao Mei looked at the two back views in confusion and disbelief.

These two people were never like this when she was young. This time round, they left right after dinner, and took only a large bunch of grapes from the courtyard and a handful of strawberries.

It was much better than when she was young.

In her memories, when she was young, these two Li family members would start going through the things in the house the moment they came over. When they left, they would carry away bags of items, and they behave completely like bandits.

Qiao Mei’s father was also unhappy about it and had reprimanded them.

However, they just ignored him and still ransacked the Qiao family house all the time. The Li family was actually the reason why Qiao Mei’s parents were always on bad terms.

In any case, the Li family was extremely greedy.

They did not seem like people who would let others off easily.

Determination flashed across Qiao Qiang’s eyes. He would not let these two people do whatever they wanted at his house. He would let Qiao Mei take good care of herself in peace during her pregnancy.

In the future, there would be Xia Zhe to protect Qiao Mei.

“Did you tell Xia Zhe that the dried fruits you sent him last time would taste very delicious when mixed together?” Qiao Qiang asked.

He often saw the young couple writing to each other and found it very interesting. From time to time, he would participate and add a sentence or two.

When Qiao Mei heard Xia Zhe being mentioned, she nodded happily. “I told him.”

At the moment, they had an abundance of fruits at home. She had no way of sending fresh fruits, so she made them into dried fruits and packed them into bags to send to Xia Zhe.

When these different dried fruits were put together, they made a very delicious and nutritious snack of dried fruit mix. Qiao Mei was the one who taught Qiao Qiang to eat it in this way.

As for Xia Zhe, he sent her a packet of Camellia tea from the mountains in return.

Camellia tea was very fragrant and had a long aftertaste. It was a very delicious tea and Qiao Qiang liked it very much.

Xia Zhe also mentioned in the letter that he had picked these tea leaves from the nearby mountains and asked the local people to help him process them.

Qiao Mei then wrote back to ask him to find her the camellia tea plant as she had a use for it.

Right now, Xia Zhe was digging for saplings on the mountain.

If she wants it, I have to satisfy her wish. She is already pregnant with my child. Why can’t I do this for her?

“Have you thought about what foodstuff to send him this time?”

Qiao Qiang asked out of curiosity.

Qiao Mei just laughed and said, “This time, I plan to make him some of my special dried fish snacks. This way, he can eat it as a snack or with his meal.”

“Sure.” Qiao Qiang nodded in satisfaction. Qiao Mei made some yesterday and it was indeed very delicious. If she sent it over, Xia Zhe would definitely like it.

…

The two Li family members made their way home leisurely.

At home, everyone was waiting for them. No one in the family went to work today. When they heard the news about neighboring Datian village, they were all very excited and did not feel like going to work.

“Mom, how did it go?” Li Dong, the eldest son, could not help but ask.

The youngest son, Li Tao, took a look at the expressions of the two people who had returned and knew that they did not succeed. He did not say anything.

The second son, Li Xiong, curled his lips and said unhappily, “I knew it. They surely won’t agree to our sudden request. I don’t think Qiao Mei and Qiao Qiang are good people.”

As for Old Madam Li, her smiling face suddenly darkened upon entering the house, and she hinted to Sun Ying to close the door behind her.

Then, she looked at Li Xiong and glared at him. She scolded, “You think you’re the only one with a mouth, you’re the only one who knows how to talk. If you’re so smart, why don’t you get Qiao Mei to also allow you to earn some money?”