Font Size:
The little creature was overjoyed to see Su Niannian, frolicking excitedly.
Moreover, after drinking the spiritual spring water, it seemed to have become more spirited.
It had grown significantly in size, and its body had become sturdier.
Su Niannian was still a bit dazed about having picked up a tiger, but since she had already taken it in, it wasn’t like she could just throw it away.
With that in mind, she decided to find some meat to feed it.
However, upon checking, she was surprised to discover that the little creature had already taken matters into its own paws and secured its own meal.
The meat she had bought earlier was now missing a chunk—a large chunk.
Su Niannian turned her head and looked at the tiger happily frolicking on the ground.
The little tiger suddenly froze, as if realizing it might have done something wrong.
It stopped frolicking and sat down like a puppy, even swiping its front paw twice over its nose.
Its face was filled with the look of a guilty child who had been caught misbehaving.
Su Niannian thought about it and figured it made sense. The tiger had suddenly grown so much—it was bound to be hungry. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the accelerated time flow in the space or the effects of the spiritual spring water, but either way, it had caused the tiger to grow significantly.
But she couldn’t just let it go hungry.
Since it had already eaten, so be it. She would just buy more meat when she went to the county town in a few days.
Moreover, the little tiger was quite well-behaved. It hadn’t made a mess of the meat or other food.
Instead, it had carefully taken just one piece to eat, leaving everything else untouched and neatly in place.
That was already very considerate for a tiger.
Seeing that Su Niannian had no intention of scolding it, the shameless little creature moved closer and rubbed against her pant leg.
Su Niannian bent down and patted the tiger’s head.
“I guess I can’t call you ‘Puppy’ anymore. Let’s just go with ‘Little One.’”
Su Niannian also wondered if calling it “Little One” might somehow keep it from growing too big.
Otherwise… feeding it in the future would require a lot of meat.
After all, this was 1976.
The tiger seemed to understand that “Little One” was now its name.
Thinking about it, it rubbed against Su Niannian’s pant leg again.
Looking at Little One, Su Niannian considered—maybe she should let it out at night so it could go into the deep mountains and find food for itself?
Su Niannian felt that she was truly a genius!
A wild tiger naturally knew how to hunt.
She glanced around at the crops she had planted in her space. Surprisingly, Little One hadn’t damaged a single one of them.
The cucumbers, eggplants, and tomatoes had already blossomed and were bearing fruit.
They were still small for now, but in a little while, they would be ready to harvest and sell for money.
She had also planted fruit trees—apple, pear, peach, and jujube. They had already grown to about the height of a person.
It would still take some time before the fruit trees started bearing fruit.
As for the corn and wheat, they were growing very well.
She thought about buying some more seeds the next day.
After watering the crops with spiritual spring water and playing with Little One for a while, Su Niannian left the space.
After stepping out of the bathroom, she returned to her room and went to sleep.
The night passed quickly.
Su Niannian woke up early today because she was preparing to take the ox cart to the county.
Although Kaoshan Village’s brigade had a tractor, it ran on diesel, so unless it was being used for brigade matters, it was generally not used to transport villagers or educated youth to the county.
Moreover, only three people in the entire village knew how to drive the tractor. Most of the time, trips to the county were made by ox cart.
In the afternoon, there was a designated time and place for the return trip.
That meant that once she went to the county, she would have to spend the entire day there.
When Su Niannian arrived at the entrance of the village, there were already people waiting by the ox cart.
Two women had already taken their seats on the cart, while an elderly man, who looked to be in his sixties, was in charge of driving it.
“Young educated youth, are you also heading to the county?” the old man asked.
Su Niannian nodded and greeted him politely, “Good day, Grandpa.”
Seeing that this young, educated youth was not only good-looking but also well-mannered, the old man couldn’t help but smile.
Su Niannian climbed onto the cart and gave a slight nod to the two women as a greeting.
“Oh, this young educated youth is really pretty. She just arrived in the past couple of days, right?”
“Didn’t you see her the other day? I spotted her when she first came. Such a good-looking girl.”
The two women seemed kind and friendly as they chatted.
Su Niannian smiled and introduced herself, “Yes, my name is Su Niannian. I just arrived the day before yesterday.”
“Here, girl, I have a cushion. Sitting on this won’t hurt your backside,” one of the women said as she pulled out the cushion from under herself.
It was quite large, and pulling out half of it was enough to make space for another person.
Su Niannian smiled at the aunties and sat down naturally without any hesitation.
“Aunties, have some candy,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out four pieces of rock sugar candy. She handed one to each of the two women and another to the old man driving the cart.
Then, she unwrapped one for herself and popped it into her mouth.
“Oh my, Su Nianian is really generous,” one of the aunties said cheerfully as she accepted the candy.
“My husband’s family name is Liu. You can just call me Auntie Liu.”
“This one here, you can call me Auntie Zhou,” said the woman who had given Su Niannian the seat cushion.
“Nice to meet you, Auntie Liu, Auntie Zhou,” Su Niannian replied with a smile.
The two aunties were quite happy. In times like these, rock sugar candy was a real treat—even during the New Year, people hesitated to buy a full kilogram of it.
Auntie Liu immediately popped the candy into her mouth, enjoying its sweetness. Auntie Zhou, on the other hand, tucked hers carefully into her pocket, saving it for her little grandson at home.
Before long, more people arrived one after another, gathering around the ox cart.
Among the newcomers was Zhao Sulan.
Huang Yingying, however, was absent. Su Niannian already had a good idea why.
Despite her airs, Huang Yingying’s family was just an ordinary dual-income household—not particularly wealthy. When she first came to the countryside, she had spent more than half of her money on clothes, dressing herself up to appear well-off. It was all just an act.
As for Zhao Sulan, her family’s financial situation seemed average as well. But since she didn’t have a mattress or a pillow, she was probably planning to buy some in town.
Su Niannian didn’t comment on any of it.
Zhao Sulan glanced at Su Niannian, probably wondering how this “poor wretch” could also afford a trip to the county to buy things.
Su Niannian had brought a bamboo basket with her, containing only an empty cloth bag for now. It did look like she was planning to make some purchases in town.
The elderly man driving the ox cart saw that it was about time to leave. After collecting a few coins from each passenger, he urged the ox forward, and they set off.
A tractor could reach the county in just over an hour, but with the ox cart, the journey took more than two.
By the time they arrived near the county supply and marketing cooperative, it was already past eight in the morning. The ox cart slowly came to a stop.
The ox cart driver, Grandpa Jiang, informed everyone that the cart would depart around 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
One by one, the passengers disembarked.
Su Niannian asked Grandpa Jiang for directions to the county’s traditional Chinese medicine shop.
Grandpa Jiang even offered to take her there, but she politely declined. Since most people had come for the supply and marketing cooperative, she didn’t want to trouble him or make herself stand out.
After confirming the location, she hoisted her bamboo basket onto her back and headed toward the medicine shop.
Upon entering a store called Lingcao Hall, Su Niannian handed the prescription she had written the night before to the pharmacist inside to prepare the medicine.
Su Niannian smiled lightly and replied in a calm tone, “It was given by an elder in my family.”
The pharmacist, upon hearing this, examined the prescription more closely. The more he looked, the more he felt that this prescription was extraordinary.
He raised his head to look at Su Niannian, his gaze carrying a hint of curiosity. “This prescription is very well-written. The medicinal properties are balanced, and the combination is extremely meticulous—likely the work of a renowned practitioner. Is your elder a doctor?”
Su Niannian smiled slightly but did not answer directly. “Is the medicine ready?”