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Su Niannian reluctantly loosened her arms around Gu Nan’s waist.
“We’ll see each other soon,” Gu Nan said, flicking his finger against Su Niannian’s nose.
“Mm.”
“You go ahead first. I’ll turn off the spatial flow rate before I head out,” Gu Nan told Su Niannian.
“Alright.”
“Oh, by the way, I need to make a trip to Baicaotang later to get some medicine for my older brother and check if my silver needles are ready. I’ll be a bit later getting home, so don’t worry,” Su Niannian said to Gu Nan.
Gu Nan sighed inwardly at the thought of Su Niannian being a bit late coming home, but he still nodded in agreement.
Su Niannian waved her hand at Gu Nan. “I’ll be quick!”
“Be careful,” Gu Nan reminded her.
“Be careful.”
“Okay!” Su Niannian then turned and left the space.
After Su Niannian had left, Gu Nan turned off the spatial time flow and left the space as well.
The little guy stood frozen in place, stunned. Had they… already parted so quickly?
As expected, I’m the one who isn’t loved.
The little guy stayed in the space, feeling dejected.
There was no other choice; the little guy could only go play with the little rabbit and the little chicken.
In the distance, the little chicken and the little rabbit suddenly felt a bad premonition. They could sense the gust of wind as the little guy rushed toward them.
The gleam in their eyes faded, for their nightmare had returned.
They started fleeing in all directions.
The little guy wasn’t hungry yet; it was just fond of playing chasing games.
Meanwhile, outside, Gu Nan entered his room, preparing to make lunch for his mother.
Actually, even though Gu Nan had done chores before, he wasn’t very good at cooking. After all, in his eyes, food was only meant to fill the stomach.
Whether it was tasty or not, it didn’t really matter to Gu Nan.
Moreover, Gu Nan ate particularly quickly. Even if the food wasn’t tasty, he didn’t mind.
But ever since he met Su Niannian, she had encouraged him to chew slowly and enjoy his meals. Gu Nan also learned that Su Niannian loved to eat, so he started to learn how to cook.
He thought to himself that once he knew how to cook, he could take better care of his little girl.
Gu Nan’s mother, of course, didn’t hold the belief that men shouldn’t cook and that household chores were only for women. When she saw that her son cared for his wife, she was very supportive.
Since Gu Nan wanted to learn how to cook, his mother was more than happy to teach him.
Fortunately, Gu Nan was attentive and quick to learn. Now, the dishes he made were already at a level that could definitely be considered delicious.
On the other side, after Su Niannian left the space, she exited the rented house, pushing her bicycle through the yard.
After locking the gate, she rode off on her bicycle.
Su Niannian made a trip to the supply and marketing cooperative, buying a lot of things. Fortunately, Boss Qian had given her plenty of tickets last time.
Otherwise, Su Niannian would have had to resort to black-market channels for her purchases.
The items she bought were placed in her basket, but in reality, they were immediately tossed into the space by Su Niannian.
After finishing her shopping, Su Niannian exited the cooperative and headed straight to Baicaotang.
By coincidence, when she arrived, Zhou Qishan was inside Baicaotang.
When Zhou Qishan saw Su Niannian, he smiled broadly and came out from behind the counter.
“Sister Su, you’re here.” Zhou Qishan greeted Su Niannian warmly.
“Yes, I’m here to get some medicine and also to check in on you, Brother Zhou,” Su Niannian smiled as she replied.
“Oh? Is someone at home sick?” Zhou Qishan asked, curious.
Su Niannian briefly explained that she was getting medicine for Gu Nan’s older brother. She handed Zhou Qishan the prescription she had written earlier, and Zhou Qishan personally went behind the counter to prepare the medicine for her.
“These prescriptions you’ve written are excellent. Your skills really impress me,” Zhou Qishan praised as he prepared the medicine.
“At such a young age, you already have such remarkable skills. Truly impressive,” Zhou Qishan continued as he worked.
Su Niannian smiled, “You’re too kind, Brother Zhou.”
After the medicine was ready, Zhou Qishan took the initiative to bring out a set of silver needles and handed them to Su Niannian.
The fabric bag holding the silver needles was as delicate as ever. Su Niannian opened it to take a look and found that the set was similar to the one she already had, though it seemed to have more needles.
Su Niannian inquired about the price, and Zhou Qishan furrowed his brow. “If I were to ask you for money, I’d probably be killed by the old man.”
Zhou Qishan always referred to Old Master Lu as “Old Master” when talking outside, to protect his identity.
“Business is business. If you don’t accept any money, I won’t be able to come back here in the future,” Su Niannian said with a smile.
She then took out thirty yuan and handed it to Zhou Qishan.
Zhou Qishan refused to accept it, but Su Niannian insisted, placing the money on the counter.
Since this set of silver needles was a bit more extensive, Su Niannian guessed it would certainly be more expensive than the one she had at home.
Along with the traditional Chinese medicine she had bought, the total of thirty yuan was certainly not a small sum.
Seeing that Su Niannian was determined to pay, Zhou Qishan had no choice but to take out three yuan and fifty cents and handed it back to her.
“Here’s your change,” Zhou Qishan said as he passed the money to Su Niannian.
Su Niannian smiled and accepted it.
“If the old man finds out I took your money, I’ll probably get an earful,” Zhou Qishan said with a wry expression.
“Business is business. We just won’t tell him, and that’ll be fine,” Su Niannian chuckled.
Zhou Qishan sighed helplessly, “You’re something else.”
The two exchanged a few more casual words, and after Su Niannian mentioned that Gu Nan was waiting for her at home, she bade him farewell and left.
Zhou Qishan watched Su Niannian’s retreating figure, thinking to himself that she was truly a remarkable young woman.
He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Gu Nan would be reassigned to the military unit in Beijing, and he wasn’t sure what the old man in the capital was thinking. Would they bring Su Niannian along as well?
If such a good girl like her stayed here, Gu Nan would probably be restless after he left. Zhou Qishan pondered in his mind.
After leaving the Baicaotang, Su Niannian placed her things into her bicycle basket, unlocked the bike lock, and rode towards Kaoshan Village.
By the time Su Niannian returned home, it was already close to one o’clock. The lunch hour had already passed, and both Gu Nan and his mother were waiting for her to come back.
As soon as Su Niannian arrived at the door, Gu Nan stepped out to greet her.
“You’re hungry, right? The food’s already ready.” Gu Nan took Su Niannian’s bicycle and parked it in the yard, then took the basket from her.
When he lifted the basket, it felt light at first, but once it was in his hands, it suddenly became heavy. Gu Nan could feel the weight, which was at least around sixty pounds.
Fortunately, his little girl had her space, or else he would really be worried about her getting exhausted carrying such a heavy load.
“Second sister-in-law is back!” Gu Ningning saw Su Niannian and called out to Gu Mother.
“Mm, I’ll bring the food out.” Gu Zhi responded and hurried to the kitchen to bring the dishes.
Gu Nan took the basket to the kitchen, and Su Niannian followed him in.