Song Wei knew her health was fine, so she didn’t actually need a checkup. But that didn’t stop her from using it as a reason to get time off. After all, she had indeed fallen in the river and bumped her head not long ago, so it wasn’t a total lie.

The team leader easily approved her leave. With a smile, Song Wei returned to the dormitory, packed up some mountain goods she’d gathered, and stuffed them into her basket. She had a surprising amount—though it was mostly just things she’d foraged.

“Alright, Heidan, let’s go!” she called out.

While Song Wei was away, Heidan had already cleaned up after the rabbits, feeding them fresh grass and tidying their area. When he heard her, he grabbed his small basket and hurried to her side.

As they walked along the village path, children ran by now and then. When they heard that Song Wei was taking Heidan to town, they looked at him with envy. Heidan puffed out his chest proudly—he was finally going to town for the first time during the day!

A village cart went into town every so often, and it happened that today was one of those days. Song Wei and Heidan were in luck. Several village ladies were already seated when they arrived.

Despite having little money, the villagers still needed to buy some things. With supplies often limited, they sometimes had to rush to get what they needed, as there was only one supply and marketing cooperative in the small county town.

“Song Zhiqing, heading to town too?” asked Aunty Wang, who was also on the cart.

She was one of the friendly women Song Wei had shared gossip with while threshing corn before.
Song Wei squeezed onto the cart with Heidan and smiled at her warmly.

The old cart driver called out, “Everyone ready? Let’s head out!”

“Nice to see you, Aunt Wang! Going to town for shopping?” Song Wei chatted as the cart started moving.

“Yep, just to pick up a few things,” Aunt Wang replied, glancing at Song Wei’s full basket. “Why did you carry so many things?”

The other women eyed her basket too, curious to see what was inside.

“Oh, it’s just some mountain goods I gathered recently,” Song Wei said, untying the cloth to show them. “Nothing fancy. Just a few things I want to send to my brother since he sent me some things too, so I need to pick them up.”

Hearing this, the other women’s curiosity turned to admiration.

“Your brother must be really good to you.”

With a cheerful smile, Song Wei nodded. She knew that mentioning her brother in advance would give her an excuse for any items she brought back. If people asked, she could say her brother had sent them.

The cart moved slowly and the trip took time, but it was far from boring. The village women enjoyed chatting about all kinds of things since news and gossip were their main source of entertainment. Song Wei held Heidan in her lap and listened with great interest, and even grabbed a handful of melon seeds for everyone to share.

This handful of melon seeds successfully brought her closer to the aunts and sisters.

She exchanged these melon seeds with three taels of pine nuts from the educated youth.

As they snacked, the conversation inevitably turned back to her.

“Song Zhiqing, so you really took Heidan in? You’re really caring for him?” one of the women asked, looking at Heidan with interest.

Song Wei didn’t mind the attention and smiled. “Heidan is a great helper. I’d say I’m the lucky one—he’s a hard worker. Besides, it’s good for him to come along and see the town.”

Seeing her so openly fond of Heidan, the women exchanged glances. They admired Song Wei’s kindness but thought she was being a bit too generous.

“It’s not often you see someone as good-hearted as you, bringing him to town and even dressing him up in decent clothes,” another woman remarked.

Song Wei patted Heidan’s head. “No big deal—my brother looks out for me, so I can manage.”

Heidan stayed silent, shy and reserved around strangers. He’d always been quiet around the village kids, and he’d often been seen as moody or tough, even getting into fights sometimes. To most, he seemed like a hard-to-approach, sullen child.

But Song Wei had come to know him better. She could see that Heidan was just guarded, keeping his walls up as a way to protect himself. He wasn’t used to receiving kindness, so with her, he was trying his best to show he was worth keeping around.

About an hour and a half later, the cart finally reached the county. The village women quickly made their way toward the supply and marketing cooperative—“quickly” being an understatement, as they practically sprinted, shouting out orders as they went.

“Soap! I need a bar of soap!”

“Do you have any Liberation Shoes? I need a pair of Liberation Shoes!”

“How much for that kettle?”

Heidan, seeing the chaotic scene at the store, was stunned into silence.

Song Wei was also taken aback. She hadn’t expected the situation to be this intense. Supplies were scarce, and she realized she needed to act fast to get what she needed. But first, she had to mail her package to her brother.

“Let’s go to the post office,” she said to Heidan.

“Excuse me, I’d like to mail something,” she said once inside.

“Of course,” the postal clerk replied, taking her package and weighing it. Song Wei filled out the address, paid the fee, and thanked the clerk.

Postal services were slow in those days, and with her brother stationed far away, it would probably take at least two weeks for the package to reach him.

With her package mailed, Song Wei took Heidan’s hand and they headed back to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.