Shen Zhihuan instinctively thought of someone but quickly dismissed the idea as impossible.

Going to the city required a round-trip ticket costing one yuan.

She didn’t believe Fu Guihua would spend one yuan a day on such an uncertain matter.

One yuan could buy two catties of meat—enough for her entire family to enjoy a proper meal.

Upon returning home, Shen Zhihuan realized she had underestimated Fu Guihua’s determination.

Half a month…

Fifteen yuan.

Tsk!

That’s not something an average person could manage.

Could one determine a person’s abilities just by looking at a few cotton quilts?

If she remembered correctly, when Fu Guihua came that day, she hadn’t even asked whether Qin Bin had a partner or was already married.

What if he had a partner? What if he was already married?

Was she planning to have Wu Zhenzhen intervene anyway?

“Sister Huan, you didn’t see it. When the hospital staff came with Wu Zhenzhen to collect the money, that old woman Fu Guihua was so angry she almost fainted,” chortled the chubby boy, his eyes nearly squinting shut from laughter.

“The hospital staff came with Wu Zhenzhen to collect money?” Shen Zhihuan laughed, “How much did they ask for?”

“Eleven yuan and fifty cents,” Xiao Pang said, grinning.

Shen Zhihuan burst out laughing.

Eleven yuan and fifty cents…

Twenty-three catties of meat were gone just like that.

Fu Guihua had tried to gain something but ended up losing dozens of catties of meat instead.

What a massive loss!

Xiao Pang pouted, “That money was paid by Zhou Zhiqing. Fu Guihua fainted, Wu Daqing and Wu Tai’an disappeared who-knows-where, and even Wu Qiaoqiao showed her face once before vanishing. In the end, it was Uncle Tiezhu who called Zhou Zhiqing back from the fields to fetch the money and pay them.”

“Zhou Zhiqing is really unlucky—he not only got schemed against but also had to pay out of his own pocket,” Shen Zhihuan said, shaking her head with a laugh.

With this, Fu Guihua’s family had truly become infamous in Panshi Village.

“Alright, stop gloating. Go back inside and rest. You’ve been busy for half the day,” Li Qiuhua said with a teasing smile.

“You’re right, Auntie! Sister Huan, you should rest now,” Xiao Pang echoed quickly.

Suddenly recalling something, the boy fished out two White Rabbit candies from his pocket and stuffed them into Shen Zhihuan’s hand. “Sister Huan, rest well. I’ll come to see you again tomorrow.”

“…”

Shen Zhihuan glanced at the candies in her hand before shifting her gaze to the Xiao Pang, who blushed shyly and fiddled with his fingers.

Has this kid drunk some diluted Meng Po soup?

Smiling, Shen Zhihuan asked Xiao Weidong to bring out a box of crayons for the chubby boy.

“Sister Huan, is this for me?” Xiao Pang looked up, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and his voice filled with emotion.

A token of love!!

His mother had given his father a pair of new leather shoes, and his father had treasured them like gold.

Sister Huan’s gift was a twenty-four-color box of crayons!

“It’s from Weidong. From now on, the two of you should go to school together, help each other out, and be good friends,” Shen Zhihuan said as she handed one candy to Xiao Weidong and kept the other for Xiao Pang.

“Don’t worry, Sister Huan! I’ll definitely take good care of my little brother,” Xiao Pang promised, thumping his chest.

“…”

Little brother…

Shen Zhihuan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

If this kid doesn’t marry a celestial beauty in the future, it’ll be a waste of his touching emotional intelligence.

Li Qiuhua chuckled and urged, “Go lie down for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon, and I’ll will call you.”

Having learned her lesson from past experiences, Shen Zhihuan dared not push herself and nodded, preparing to head back to her room to rest.

Just as she turned, a knock came from the courtyard gate.

“Auntie Li…”

Shen Zhihuan exchanged a surprised look with Li Qiuhua.

Wang Meili…

The educated youth had been in the village for some time. Considering that Li Qiuhua attended their lectures at the community hall daily, it would be impossible not to recognize Wang Meili’s voice.

Just as Shen Zhihuan was about to turn back to her room to avoid any arguments, the courtyard gate creaked open from the outside.

Shen Zhihuan glanced up, then turned to leave.

“Comrade Shen Zhihuan, I came specifically to thank you,” Wang Meili hurriedly said.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. Anyone else would’ve done the same; it was just a small effort,” Shen Zhihuan said with a faint smile.

She didn’t consider herself a saint, but she was willing to lend a helping hand when it was within her ability.

That didn’t mean she’d do every good deed, though…

Wang Meili walked up to Shen Zhihuan and shoved a bag of brown sugar and a jar of malted milk into her hands.

“I was wrong before. Please don’t hold it against me and let bygones be bygones,” Wang Meili said softly.

Frowning, Shen Zhihuan tried to return the items, but Wang Meili deftly avoided her.

“Comrade Shen Zhihuan, I sincerely came to apologize and thank you,” Wang Meili said with a forced smile.

“I’ve received your apology and gratitude. Take your things back,” Shen Zhihuan replied, pushing the items back into Wang Meili’s hands.

She hadn’t forgotten the unpleasant encounters they’d had before.

Nor did she believe Wang Meili had changed overnight after falling into a river.

Unless, like her, Wang Meili had been… replaced.

Otherwise, this had to be some ulterior motive!

Regardless of what Wang Meili had in mind, Shen Zhihuan wasn’t interested.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go rest now. I’m quite tired,” Shen Zhihuan said, turning back to her room.

Within minutes of lying down, the exhausted Shen Zhihuan fell into a deep sleep.

Outside, Wang Meili stood holding the brown sugar and malted milk, pitifully staring at the firmly shut door.

Li Qiuhua couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

“Don’t overthink it, Wang Zhiqing. Zhihuan isn’t upset with you; she’s just tired from our trip to the city,” Li Qiuhua explained.

“Auntie Li, I feel like Comrade Shen is still angry with me,” Wang Meili said, pouting.

Li Qiuhua shook her head. “No, she’s just exhausted. Don’t overthink it…”

“Wang Zhiqing, let’s go. Sister Huan is tired; we shouldn’t disturb her,” Xiao Pang said, pulling at Wang Meili’s clothes with one hand while holding the crayon box in the other.

Despite her age, Wang Meili couldn’t resist the strength of the little boy and was dragged out of the courtyard.

Trailing behind them, Xiao Weidong slammed the gate shut with a loud bang once Wang Meili’s foot crossed the threshold.

Looking at the closed gate, Wang Meili froze.

“Sister Huan isn’t well and needs to rest. You’re not allowed to bother her again,” Xiao Pang said, shooting her a disdainful look before running off with his crayons.

Wang Meili stomped her foot in frustration.

She’d never met such an infuriating little brat before.

Turning back to glance at the tightly shut gate, Wang Meili sulked and returned to the educated youth’s dormitory.