That evening, Shen Zhihuan told Qin Bin about the farce caused by Fu Guihua’s family, reminding him not to visit Panshi Village during the day unless absolutely necessary.

It was better to avoid falling into any traps by accident.

Qin Bin counted stacks of bills, too lazy to even look up.

After all, he had been in the world long enough. He’d seen it all—schemes, seductions, and dirty tricks.

How could he, a seasoned man, be outsmarted by an illiterate rural old woman?
What a joke!

“That widow is likely going to be detained for a while. Her daughters haven’t come to trouble you, have they?” Qin Bin handed the counted stacks of bills to Shen Zhihuan.

For troublemakers like Widow Chen, it was best to handle them thoroughly in one go. If you let them off too lightly, they’d come back to stir up trouble again.

“No!” Shen Zhihuan took the bills and stuffed them into her jacket pocket without hesitation.

The mess their mother caused had nothing to do with her. She hadn’t even sought them out, which could already be considered generous.

“Oh, right! I forgot to ask you—what kind of eggs did you send as a gift to the Su family last time? Why were they so smelly?” Qin Bin took two apples from a basket, wiped them on his shirt, and tossed one to Shen Zhihuan before biting into the other with a crunch.

“Rotten eggs!”

Recalling how Xu Jiaojiao’s face had turned alternating shades of green and white in anger that day, almost driving her mad, Shen Zhihuan couldn’t help but laugh.

“Rotten eggs?” Qin Bin paused mid-bite and looked at Shen Zhihuan. “What kind of rotten eggs?”

He had eaten all kinds of eggs—chicken, duck, quail—but rotten eggs? What was that?

Shen Zhihuan’s eyes crinkled with mirth.

“That time, the hens at home were broody and hid some eggs in the corner of the coop. By the time we found them, they had already gone bad. My mother wanted to throw them out, but my little brother insisted they could still hatch chicks.”

“Aren’t chicks hatched from eggs?” Qin Bin asked, puzzled.

“We don’t even have a rooster. How could there be any chicks?” Shen Zhihuan chuckled.

Her family only had two hens, which laid eggs sporadically, depending on their mood.

Rooster…

Qin Bin suddenly seemed to think of something, and his face flushed.

Fortunately, it was dark, and no one noticed his embarrassment.

“Are you still delivering fruit to Sister He?” Shen Zhihuan asked.

She was a buyer, after all. Once you agreed to supply someone, you had to honor the deal.

“Huang Xiao’er has been delivering it steadily. Don’t worry!” Qin Bin replied with a smile, his gaze lingering on Shen Zhihuan’s face, which had become much fuller compared to when they first met.

Back then, she had been so thin it seemed a gust of wind could blow her away—a walking skeleton wrapped in skin. Her frailty had been heart-wrenching.

“I’ll be heading to Guangcheng in a few days. Is there anything you want me to bring back for you? I hear their clothes and cosmetics are quite good,” Qin Bin said.

When his mother, aunt, and little cousin heard he was going to Guangcheng, they immediately bombarded him with requests for clothes and cosmetics. Thankfully, he could ship things back; otherwise, he’d have to rent a truck.

“The things in Guangcheng aren’t that different from what we have here. Don’t trouble yourself to bring anything back,” Shen Zhihuan said, shaking her head.

Indeed, the clothes there were better in style and fabric compared to those in Chuancheng. But…

It was better to keep a low profile for now. Stirring up trouble would only lead to losses.

Besides, she wasn’t particularly picky about clothing styles. As long as they were comfortable, that was enough for her.

“It’s done, Fifth Master.” Huang Xiao’er finished loading the last basket of fruit and approached, speaking quietly.

Qin Bin nodded and said softly to Shen Zhihuan, “I won’t be leaving for a few days. If you think of anything you want, just let me know.”

“Okay!” Shen Zhihuan replied with a smile. “Travel safely.”

“Hmm.” Though he knew it was just a polite remark, Qin Bin’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

Watching Qin Bin and his group disappear into the distance, Shen Zhihuan gathered the empty baskets, tossed her apple into the resort, and pulled out a bunch of Sunshine Rose grape to snack on as she walked.

In the past, if a wild rabbit or pheasant suddenly darted out from the overgrown graveyard, it would startle her.

Now…

Even if a whole group of wild rabbits and pheasants ran out, Shen Zhihuan wouldn’t bother to blink, letting them scamper around her feet.

Over time, the small animals in the overgrown graveyard grew accustomed to her presence. Even when they saw her, they no longer ran away and continued to eat and play as usual.

By the time she finished her bunch of grapes, Shen Zhihuan had arrived home.

After a quick wash at the resort, she jumped into bed.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, the thought of showing off his new schoolbag had Xiao Weidong bounding out of bed.

First, he knocked on Li Qiuhua’s door. After she got up to prepare breakfast, he anxiously ran to bang on Shen Zhihuan’s door.

“Third Sister, get up! If you don’t, we’ll be late!”

His knocking grew increasingly urgent.

Shen Zhihuan groggily opened her eyes, glanced at the dim sky, and struggled to sit up.

“Third Sister…” Xiao Weidong called out again, getting no response.

“It’s still early. Stop yelling and let your sister sleep,” Li Qiuhua said, setting down her knife and hurrying out of the kitchen.

“What if we’re late?” Xiao Weidong pouted.

Xiao Pang said that if you were late, the teacher would hit your palms with a ruler and make you stand as punishment.

“I’m up!” Shen Zhihuan rubbed her aching temples, pushed off her thin blanket, and got out of bed.

Li Qiuhua shot an exasperated glare at Xiao Weidong before returning to her pickled vegetables.

He’d never been this enthusiastic about farm work.

After breakfast, before Xiao Weidong could go find Xiao Pang, Xiao Pang, with half a steamed bun in hand, arrived at the Shen family’s gate.

“Sister Huan, open up. I’m here,” Xiao Pang called out, his voice muffled by the bun in his mouth.

Hearing Xiao Pang’s voice, Xiao Weidong’s eyes lit up, and he dashed to open the door.

“Where’s Sister Huan?” Xiao Pang asked, standing on tiptoes to peek behind Xiao Weidong.

“She’s changing her shoes. She’ll be out soon,” Xiao Weidong said, then ran off to grab his new schoolbag.

“Did you bring pencils and an eraser?” Xiao Pang asked, glancing at the nearly flat schoolbag.

“Yes, I also brought a writing notebook and a workbook,” Xiao Weidong said, opening his bag to show Xiao Pang its contents.

“Did you sharpen your pencils? How many?” Xiao Pang pointed to the metal pencil case in Xiao Weidong’s bag.

“Five. My third sister sharpened them for me last night,” Xiao Weidong replied, carefully opening the pencil case to show him.

Xiao Pang nodded in approval. “That’s enough.”

After finishing his bun, Xiao Pang wiped his mouth and said, “Weidong, you’re grown up now. You can’t keep relying on Sister Huan for everything. You need to learn to sharpen your own pencils. What if they break at school? You can’t come running home to have her fix them, can you?”