Chapter 43: A Wish of Twenty Years

Inside the guesthouse room.

Wang Hongjie took a deep breath and carefully pulled out the envelope that had been warmed by being tucked close to his chest.
He wiped his hands clean on his clothes before cautiously pouring the money out.

“Ten yuan…”
“Twenty…”
“…”
“One hundred…”
“…”
“Two hundred!”

By the end, his fingers were trembling.

“R-really… two hundred yuan?!”
Wang Hongjie’s eyes were red as he looked at Su Miaomiao, his voice thick with emotion.

“Yes, it’s two hundred,” Su Miaomiao replied.
She didn’t know why, but she too felt choked up, her chest slightly tight.

“This is two hundred yuan! With this money, we can buy food for the villagers to get through winter. No one will starve anymore.”
Wang Hongjie clutched the stack of bills with trembling hands.

“Yes, this winter, no one will go cold or hungry,” Su Miaomiao nodded firmly.

Wang Hongjie stared at the money, and suddenly knelt down in front of Su Miaomiao.

Shanya Zi quickly followed suit and knelt as well.

“Uncle Wang, what are you doing? Please, get up!”
Su Miaomiao hadn’t expected this at all and rushed to help him up.

But Wang Hongjie pushed her hands away, his red eyes fixed on her.

“Miaomiao girl, you’ve only been in our village for less than two months—you might not fully understand our situation.”

“But I’ve been the village head of Shimatou for 20 years. For those 20 years, every single day, I’ve thought about how to make sure the villagers have enough to eat and wear.”

“I worked hard for two decades and still couldn’t fulfill that wish. But you—
you did in one month what I couldn’t do in a lifetime.”

“Miaomiao girl, I’m just an old farmer who lives off the land. I don’t know how to say fancy words, but please, let me give you this bow.”

As he spoke, he lowered his head to kowtow.

Su Miaomiao was about to interrupt, but he spoke again, cutting her off.

“This isn’t just for me. It’s on behalf of the entire village of Shimatou!”

Su Miaomiao looked at Wang Hongjie, whose eyes were glistening with tears, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
In the end, under his pleading gaze, she slowly withdrew her hand.

With a heavy thud, Wang Hongjie kowtowed to her, followed by loud bangs as Shanya Zi did the same.

“Alright, alright, please get up now. If you keep kneeling, it’s not gratitude anymore—it’s going to shorten my life!”
Su Miaomiao quickly helped them up after accepting the bow.

…

When Wang Hongjie and Shanya Zi left Su Miaomiao’s room, both of their eyes were red.

Left alone in the room, Su Miaomiao thought about the bow Wang Hongjie had given her, and the words he had said.
Suddenly, she felt a strong urge to do something—for this village, for this era.

She had grown up under the strict training of the organization.

People like her weren’t supposed to feel emotions.

She had watched people die in front of her without even blinking.

But this era wasn’t the one she had come from.

She had arrived and first met kind-hearted Butcher Su, who raised her with care and treated her like a precious gem until she was 18.

Then she encountered the warm-hearted Huo family.

After receiving so much love, the heart that had long since gone cold slowly began to grow warm again.

She was even learning how to love others in return.

Maybe… that was why the heavens had given her a second chance at life.

Lying on the narrow bed in the guesthouse, Su Miaomiao slept the most peaceful and comfortable sleep she had ever had in her life.

…

The next morning.

Su Miaomiao was woken by a knock at the door.

She got up and opened it—to find Wang Hongjie and Shanya Zi standing outside.

“Miaomiao girl, we need to leave now—otherwise, we’ll miss the bus back to the county,”
Wang Hongjie’s emotions had finally calmed after a night’s rest.

“Give me two minutes!”
Su Miaomiao hadn’t expected to oversleep. She quickly rushed to wash her face, packed up, and hurried out.

The three of them left the guesthouse and went straight to the bus station.

To make things more convenient, they planned to purchase supplies in the county.
Their needs were different from Su Miaomiao’s, and the county’s market was sufficient for them.

Probably because he was carrying a large amount of money, Wang Hongjie was on high alert the whole time, tightly clutching his clothes with both hands to protect the money hidden inside.

Su Miaomiao tried several times to reassure him, telling him there wasn’t a thief who’d dare approach with her around.
But Wang Hongjie wouldn’t listen, and eventually, she stopped trying.

He was probably just happy in his own way.

After a long bumpy journey, they finally reached the county town.

Back in familiar territory, Wang Hongjie let out a sigh of relief.

He instructed Shanya Zi to bring the donkey cart to the supply cooperative, while he and Su Miaomiao went ahead to buy things.

He had to stretch every yuan of that 200 yuan as far as it would go.

At first glance, the amount had seemed plenty.
But when he thought about how it had to be enough to provide winter supplies for over 300 people, it suddenly felt far too little.

As soon as that thought entered his mind, Wang Hongjie shook his head.

People are just too insatiable, he thought.
Back then, even five yuan felt like a fortune—and now, with 200 yuan, he was already feeling it wasn’t enough.

Su Miaomiao didn’t get involved with the purchasing. She waited outside the supply cooperative while Wang Hongjie handled the arrangements.

By the time Shanya Zi brought the donkey cart over, Wang Hongjie had already spent all the 200 yuan.

He had originally planned to keep a bit in reserve for emergencies.
But after Su Miaomiao told him they could go to the city again next month to sell more medicinal herbs, there was no need to save.

Thinking it over, he agreed—and used up every last cent.

For the first time in his life, Wang Hongjie truly experienced what it felt like to spend money like water.

Fortunately, since he was buying supplies for the village’s winter needs, it didn’t draw too much attention.

“W-Wang Uncle, why… why did you buy so much stuff?”
Shanya Zi jumped down from the cart, stunned at the mountain of items piled at their feet. He could barely speak clearly.

“This isn’t a lot. It’s all for the village. Once we distribute it, it still won’t be enough. Now hurry up and load everything—we need to get back before dark,” Wang Hongjie said, frowning.

“Oh—got it!”
Snapping out of his shock, Shanya Zi quickly helped move the items.

The donkey cart was packed full—so full that even Su Miaomiao and Wang Hongjie only had space to perch on half a seat.

But Su Miaomiao noticed that Wang Hongjie kept smiling, his gaze fixed on the full cart of supplies, and his smile never once faded.

Shanya Zi was eager to return, too.
He drove the donkey cart at top speed, and they made it back to the village before nightfall.

Several little kids playing at the village entrance spotted their return and immediately dashed back to alert the others.

At the time, the villagers were still at the herbal workshop, carefully drying the herbs.
But when they heard from the children that Wang Hongjie and the others had returned, they dropped their baskets and rushed to the village entrance.