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That day, they had already heard about Su Niannian’s act of saving a child yesterday.
At first, no one took it too seriously. They thought it was just the village’s culture of exaggeration, typical of rural communities with lower education levels.
But now, judging by the value of the gifts she received, it was clear that Su Niannian had indeed saved a child.
The naive Sun Siyuan even thought that people were coming to cause trouble for Su Niannian, all because of something related to a self-driving car incident.
Many of the Educated Youths were envious. So many valuable gifts all at once—it wasn’t a small matter.
They also wondered if Su Niannian was perhaps pretending not to care. With all these things here, it was hard not to be moved, yet she still let others take them back.
But after thinking it over, they realized that since Su Niannian could afford to buy a self-driving car, these gifts might not seem like much to her.
However, even a grasshopper’s leg is still meat, right? How could Su Niannian be so indifferent to these things?
They all wanted to help Su Niannian accept them.
“Really, there’s no need for these. Take them back and enjoy them yourself. Leave the chicken for Huozi and Auntie and Uncle to replenish their health,” Su Niannian insisted. She truly didn’t need these things.
Moreover, Su Niannian understood the situation. Although the Zhou family was getting by, they weren’t wealthy, especially in this generation—no one’s family could be considered well-off.
If they accepted these things, they would have to cut back on their own meals and tighten their belts a bit.
Su Niannian, on the other hand, now had nearly a thousand yuan in savings. Moreover, after going to the county town in three days, that amount would likely grow.
For Su Niannian to make money in this era was truly an easy task.
Seeing that Su Niannian was genuinely not being polite and truly didn’t want these things, Aunt Zhou thought for a moment before taking the chicken from her son’s hands.
“Little Su, we’re all deeply grateful to you. Keep the chicken, and take the other things back with you.”
“If you don’t accept anything, we’d feel uncomfortable,” Aunt Zhou truly thought this way.
If Su Niannian refused all the gifts, they would feel unsettled.
Seeing that Aunt Zhou was insistent, Su Niannian finally relented.
“Then I’ll accept the chicken, Aunt Zhou. Thank you. As for the other things, you can still take them back.”
“Just live your life well, and don’t worry too much about this. It was nothing, really. I believe if anyone else had the ability to save Huozi, they wouldn’t have stood by and done nothing,” Su Niannian said seriously.
Most people in this era were honest and kind-hearted, and she believed that if anyone in the crowd had been able to help at that time, they would have done so without hesitation.
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou handed the neatly prepared chicken to Su Niannian, who took it.
“Even though Su Niannian says this, the Zhou family will forever remember this kindness,” Aunt Zhou said, patting Su Niannian’s hand with deep gratitude still in her eyes.
“Su Niannian, if you ever need anything in Kaoshan Village, or if there’s any work to be done, just let me know. I’ll do whatever I can to help, and if I can’t, I’ll find a way to get it done,” Zhou Daniu said from the side, nodding.
“Yes, what my Daniu says is right. If you need anything from us, just let us know. We… what’s that saying again? Ah, right—’we’ll go to any lengths!'” Huozi’s mother added, agreeing enthusiastically.
“You’re too kind,” Su Niannian smiled and waved her hand, dismissing their compliments.
After exchanging a few more words, the Zhou family took the remaining items and left.
Su Niannian handed the chicken she was holding to Song Zhaodi.
“This is too precious, you should keep it and eat it yourself,” Song Zhaodi said, looking at the chicken in her hands. It was truly plump.
It had been so long since Song Zhaodi had eaten chicken. Back when she was at home, every festival would see the family cooking chicken, but… Song Zhaodi hadn’t even been able to get a sip of chicken soup.
If her mother ever suddenly felt a moment of kindness, then Song Zhaodi might still have a chance to eat some chicken feet or chicken hearts.
But at this time, chicken feet were nothing like the boneless “phoenix claws” or “foot-soaked phoenix claws” of later years. In this era, chicken feet, chicken hearts, and similar parts were considered akin to pig offal—hardly anyone ate them at all.
“Tomorrow, I’ll bring it along, and I’ll take you to Gu Nan’s place for a meal,” Su Niannian smiled, planning to bring the chicken and Song Zhaodi to Gu Nan’s home the next day.
In this era, it was rare for people to visit others’ homes just to eat, but Su Niannian didn’t have many relatives here, and she certainly didn’t have any back in the original county either.
Song Zhaodi had helped Su Niannian in her past life, so in this life, Su Niannian treated her as one of her closest friends.
So, bringing Song Zhaodi to Gu Nan’s house for a meal didn’t seem like a problem to Su Niannian.
“Get a meal? Where are we going to get one?” Song Zhaodi naturally had no idea what Su Niannian was planning.
“Just wait and see what you’ll be eating tonight,” Su Niannian smiled mysteriously, pretending to keep things a secret.
The other educated youths, who had briefly held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking that perhaps they’d get a sip of chicken soup to satisfy their hunger, were now stunned. They hadn’t expected that Su Niannian would take the chicken elsewhere to eat, and they feared they wouldn’t even get a single bite.
Zhao Sulan, standing nearby, shot Su Niannian a look that seemed ready to spit fire.
Su Niannian, however, acted as if she didn’t notice at all.
Seeing Zhao Sulan’s reaction, Sun Siyuan couldn’t help but clench his teeth and finally spoke out.
“Zhao Sulan, if you want to eat chicken, I can go to the county town and buy one for you,” he said through gritted teeth. “A chicken like that will cost around two or three yuan, depending on the size.”
It wasn’t a small amount of money anymore.
Sun Siyuan’s monthly work points barely covered his food, and he might not even have two or three yuan left after exchanging them for grain.
But in order to chase after the girl, Sun Siyuan gritted his teeth and was prepared to spend heavily.
Zhao Sulan hadn’t planned to acknowledge Sun Siyuan, but hearing his words, her eyes couldn’t help but light up.
Since coming to Kaoshan Village, she hadn’t had much of a chance to indulge, and now hearing about the chicken, she began to let go of her earlier grievances a little.
“Mm.” Zhao Sulan hummed lightly.
Although Sun Siyuan had to spend quite a bit of money to buy the chicken, he believed that if Zhao Sulan ate the chicken he bought, their relationship would naturally become closer.
He thought the money spent would be worth it… at least, that was how Sun Siyuan saw it.
The other educated youths also gathered around to ask Su Nianian about the details of how she saved the child, but Su Nianian didn’t think it was anything special and was too lazy to explain it again.
She simply took some sunflower seeds and sugar water from her basket, shared them with everyone, and after casually responding to a few remarks, she went off to wash up.
The others also wanted to know the details, but since Su Nianian didn’t want to share, they didn’t press her. Especially after receiving the sugar water and sunflower seeds from her, they naturally didn’t ask further.
After all, when they went to work the next day, many of the local women at the information station would passionately retell the story.
Song Zhaodi still left some hot water for Su Nianian. After Su Nianian washed her face with the warm water and tidied herself up, she quietly told Song Zhaodi to wait for her after work the next evening so she could take her to Gu Nan’s house for dinner.
Song Zhaodi’s eyes widened like bronze bells, as if she had just heard something earth-shattering.
Su Nianian only gave her a knowing look, one that clearly said “you know what I mean…”
Song Zhaodi stood there, repeatedly processing Su Nianian’s words and expression.
Meanwhile, Su Nianian had already grabbed a basin of some cleaning supplies and headed back to her room.