After leaving the post office, Shen Zhihuan’s family headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Cooking oil, pork bones, pork belly, canned goods, malted milk, White Rabbit candies, glutinous rice sticks, egg cakes—the family filled an entire basket to the brim.

When Shen Zhihuan noticed the clothing counter had hung out new autumn clothes, she swiftly bought a set for each member of the family.

Watching the salesperson take the tickets and bills, Li Qiuhua winced with heartache.

This single piece of clothing costs eleven yuan…

Before Li Qiuhua could finish grieving over the expense, Shen Zhihuan went to the next counter and bought half a braised chicken.

By the time the family of three left the cooperative, even Xiao Weidong was carrying two pounds of salt and a bottle of soy sauce.

Because it was a holiday, there were a lot of people coming to the town. When the family of three reached the town entrance, the ox cart was already half full.

Seeing them approach, Wang Lianhua, seated at the edge, quickly scooted inward to make space.

“Weidong, come sit next to Auntie,” Wang Lianhua said, patting a spot in the middle of the cart.

Ox carts jostled a lot. Adults could manage, but lightweight children could easily be thrown off.

Years ago, a child from a neighboring village fell off the edge while his parents were distracted chatting. He hit his head and bled profusely. The village medical station refused to treat him, forcing the family to rush him to the town hospital.

It was said the child spent over ten days in the hospital, spending dozens of yuan. Worse, a thumb-sized scar remained on his forehead.

“Okay!” Xiao Weidong obediently sat next to Wang Lianhua, clutching the salt and soy sauce.

After Shen Zhihuan and Li Qiuhua settled in, a few more people climbed aboard, making the cart crowded.

“Li, your family must have a lot of money, buying so much!” Li Zhaodi said, eyeing the pork bones on top of Li Qiuhua’s basket.

“What money? Zhihuan hasn’t been well, so I thought I’d buy some bones to make soup for her,” Li Qiuhua replied, pulling the basket closer to herself.

In these days, households rarely had enough food, but very few people buy pork bones.

First, bones had little meat, mostly used to flavor soup. Second, many villagers thought bones were fit for dogs, not people.

If anyone did buy bones, they would keep it discreet, fearing gossip.

Li Zhaodi lifted the fatty pork in her hands and laughed.
“Bones? There’s nothing on them! If you want to nourish her, buy fatty pork instead.”

“My Zhihuan doesn’t like fatty pork; she prefers soup made from bones,” Li Qiuhua forced a smile.

“I’ve never heard of anyone not liking fatty pork,” said Widow Chen, sneering from behind the driver’s seat.

“Then you must be ignorant,” Shen Zhihuan retorted, smiling faintly at Widow Chen.

“What did you call me?” Widow Chen snapped, her eyebrows raised. She didn’t understand Shen Zhihuan’s words but felt insulted nonetheless.

“She said you have more hair than sense,” a crisp male voice interjected.

Everyone turned to look.

Shen Zhihuan glanced over briefly and furrowed her brows before looking away. Xiao Weidong also frowned and turned his head.

Wang Baotian greeted the man warmly, “Ziyu, heading home?”

“Yep,” Su Ziyu replied with a smile.

“Come sit here. I’ll squeeze in up front,” Wang Lianhua said, hopping off to make room for Su Ziyu.

Shen Zhihuan’s expression froze.

Li Qiuhua had specifically chosen a safer spot for her earlier. Now, the narrow space beside her was all that was left.

Su Ziyu glanced at the spot and noticed Shen Zhihuan’s furrowed brows and look of rejection. He swallowed the words he had planned to say.

In the army, running 20–30 kilometers with a full load was routine. Walking a few kilometers was nothing to him. But her obvious aversion left him extremely displeased.

As Su Ziyu boarded the cart, Wang Baotian cracked the whip, setting the cart in motion.

The bumpy ride caused occasional jolts, and a faint floral-fruity scent wafted toward Su Ziyu.

A flash of white crossed his mind, heating his face. His heart pounded as if it would leap from his chest, leaving him flustered and at a loss.

“Zhihuan’s mother, I heard Boss Zhu from Xilin Village fancies your daughter. When’s the wedding? Don’t forget to invite us neighbors!” Widow Chen sneered, grinding her teeth.

“Chen Dahua! When did I ever say my daughter was getting married? Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for spreading lies?” Li Qiuhua snapped.

She usually ignored Chen Dahua, but she wouldn’t tolerate slander against her daughter.

“Who’s lying? Boss Zhu’s sister keeps bringing gifts to your house. We’re not blind!” Widow Chen smirked.

“Which eye saw me accept their gifts?” Li Qiuhua growled, itching to slap her.

Widow Chen chuckled maliciously. She didn’t care if Li Qiuhua had taken anything. Making her angry was satisfaction enough.

Back when she had her sights set on Shen Jianguo, Li Qiuhua swooped in and married him instead. If it weren’t for that, she wouldn’t have ended up with her late husband and three unattractive children.

The thought made Widow Chen furious.

Li Qiuhua was livid. “You—”

“Mother, do you know why some people pick on us?” Shen Zhihuan patted Li Qiuhua’s hand soothingly.

“Because your father attracted trouble,” Li Qiuhua fumed.

Shen Zhihuan chuckled.
“Mother, that’s not fair. You can’t blame your own delicious bones for attracting stray dogs. That’s just nonsense!”

Widow Chen turned red with rage. “You little—”

Before she could finish, the cart jolted, and she tumbled off in an awkward heap.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Baotian pulled the reins, bringing the cart to a halt.

Once the cart stopped, Fu Guihua, a friend of Widow Chen’s, scrambled down in panic.
“Dahua, are you alright?”