Chapter 42

“Alright, I’ll go back and discuss it with your little uncle. If he agrees, then we’ll talk to your dad about it.”

“Okay.” Lin Nanzhi nodded with a smile. Suddenly, she realized that no matter how busy her father was, taking the fruits to the city herself would still be quite troublesome.

Public transportation here was inconvenient. The vans that passed through were rarely empty by the time they got here, unless she booked a private ride. But the ride in a van would be too bumpy.

She remembered that her aunt had a driver’s license and was even better at driving than her uncle. Smiling, she asked, “Auntie, can you drive me to the city? I need to take the fruits there to ship them!”

“Of course!” Her aunt readily agreed.

After preparing the fruits, her aunt went to get the car. Her uncle also came along, and Lin Nanzhi greeted him with a smile.

“Your aunt wants to set up a grape trellis. How do you plan to do it?” Her uncle asked while helping load the fruits onto the car.

Lin Nanzhi shared her plan with him. He nodded in understanding, then her aunt drove her to the city while her uncle stayed behind to build the grape trellis.

After all, it was just a trellis—he could handle it.

Sure enough, by the time Lin Nanzhi returned, there was already a large and sturdy grape trellis in her mother’s backyard. She gave her uncle a big thumbs-up and showered him with compliments, making him a little embarrassed.

“As long as you think it’s fine. Do you need any more on the side?”

“No need. My dad likes planting trees, so I’ll leave that space for him.”

Back in the day, Lin’s father had been busy making a living. Now that money was no longer an issue, he didn’t have to exhaust himself planting fruit trees. Instead, he wanted to do things he enjoyed. He loved planting trees and would often go up the mountain with an uncle from the village to dig up saplings.

Since Lin’s grandmother’s old house had been torn down, her uncle no longer needed the land, so he gave it to Lin’s father. Lin’s father then expanded the yard and planted many trees there.

On the other hand, Lin’s mother wasn’t into gardening. Apart from enclosing two walnut trees within the new walls, the backyard was mostly barren.

Now, it was a good place to plant some flowers and greenery.

“Alright then, we’ll head back now.”

Lin Nanzhi nodded and didn’t insist on making them stay for dinner.

Someone in the village had passed away, and since they had helped out earlier in the day, they had to attend the communal dinner that night. Lin Nanzhi and Lin Nanxun changed into fresh clothes and got ready to go.

Meanwhile, in the imperial capital, Wen Jiunian, having received the address, went upstairs to help Lin Nanzhi pack.

A white combination-lock suitcase sat there, covered with cute animal stickers. It was particularly eye-catching. He pulled it out, but it was nearly empty—her clothes were still in the wardrobe.

After setting the suitcase on the floor, he took out her clothes and neatly packed them.

Suddenly, he came across a few items that had very little fabric. His face turned red, and he regretted coming to help. He should have let his mother do this instead.

Forget it. Keeping these would make him look like a pervert. Wen Jiunian decided to call his mother for help, and soon everything was properly packed.

His mother also grabbed a bag of clothes and stuffed them inside. “I bought these for Zhizhi, but I never got to see her wear them.”

Seeing this, Wen Jiunian thought for a moment and added his own prepared gift into the suitcase before closing it.

Besides Lin Nanzhi’s personal belongings, mother and son had also packed some special local products from the capital and shipped everything to Lin Nanzhi.

At the same time, Lin Nanzhi also bought some local specialties from her hometown and sent them over.

However, while those local products could be shipped by regular courier, fruits took too long and might spoil. So she opted for air freight instead. She sent the package at noon, and it would arrive at Wen Jiunian’s home by the afternoon or evening.

Sure enough, that evening, the Wen family’s doorbell rang. At first, they thought it was a visitor, but it turned out to be a delivery.

“Hello, are you Mr. Wen Jiunian?”

“Yes.”

“Here’s your package. Please sign for it.”

A package?

Wen Jiunian frowned in confusion but still signed for it. The deliveryman handed him a receipt and left. Only then did he notice the pile of packages in the hallway, stacked like a small mountain.

“Jiunian, who was it?”

“A delivery.”

Wen Jiunian answered casually as he carried the packages inside. His parents, sitting on the sofa, watched as he brought in one after another. “What did you buy? Why so much?”

“I didn’t buy this.”

After moving everything inside, Wen Jiunian looked at the sender’s name and saw that it was from Lin Nanzhi. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “Zhizhi sent it.”

“Zhizhi sent all this?”

“I’ll call her and ask.”

Wen Jiunian dialed her number while his mother kept urging him to put it on speakerphone. He had no choice but to comply. Soon, a cheerful voice came through.

“Wen Jiunian, good evening! Did you get the package?”

“Good evening. I just received it. You sent so much—why?”

“It’s just some fruits and local specialties from our province. A little thank-you gift for you, Yuze, and your parents for taking care of me recently.”

His mother quickly took the phone. “Zhizhi, it’s me! Listen, we have all these things here too. You didn’t need to send so much. It’s a waste of money—you’re still a student! How much did this cost? I’ll have Jiunian send the money back to you.”

“Auntie, it didn’t cost much! These are all homegrown, and the cured meat is homemade too. I barely spent anything. Just try them out!”

Then, she added, “Wen Jiunian, there are two portions of everything. The big one is for your family, and the small one is for Yuze. I don’t have his address, so please give it to him. I’ll chat with you another day!”

Before they could respond, Lin Nanzhi quickly hung up. The family looked at the phone, feeling a little helpless.

Wen Jiunian thought for a moment, then grabbed a utility knife and handed a package to his father to open. He himself called Yuze, telling him to bring a cart over before hanging up. Then, he began dividing the packages into two parts.

There was an abundance of fruit. One large box of apples weighed about forty pounds. Peaches, apricots, and plums were each around twenty to thirty pounds. Cherries, strawberries, and raspberries were packed in fruit containers, with five boxes of each.

Aside from fruits, there was also cured meat, a piece of dark red something, flower cakes, brown sugar, black-bone chicken, and some odd-looking dough pieces.

“This girl sure sent a lot. I hope we can finish it all.”

“Why wouldn’t we? Most of it can be stored for a while. As for the rest, we’ll just eat it quickly over the next few days.”

Wen Jiunian didn’t say anything but texted Lin Nanzhi: [Why so much?]

Lin Nanzhi: [Hmm… I calculated it. You sent me local products too, so this is just reciprocity.]

Lin Nanzhi: [By the way, that’s called blood tofu. Slice and steam it before eating. And this is buckwheat tea—it’s good for clearing heat and detoxifying…]

She even sent pictures to make sure he recognized everything.

Wen Jiunian was a little surprised. Could she really calculate this? How did she know they sent her something too?

He sent a shocked emoji. Lin Nanzhi quickly replied with a smug meme: “I’m just that amazing!”

Wen Jiunian couldn’t help but chuckle.