The vendor spoke anxiously, “Young man, do you want these books? These three large ones are three yuan each. The others are fifty cents each… Or you can take them all, and I’ll only charge you twenty yuan.”

Without another word, Song Zhi pulled out twenty yuan and handed it to the vendor.

The vendor froze, wondering if he had set the price too low.

Song Zhi then took out another fifty cents. “Sell me this cloth bundle too.”

The vendor stared at the large bill and the fifty-cent note, hesitated for a moment, then decisively took the money. He quickly helped pack up all the books and handed them to Song Zhi before whispering, “Be careful. Don’t let anyone see you and cause trouble.”

Song Zhi nodded.

The vendor hesitated again, then asked in a low voice, “Do you want more books? I can bring some for you next month.”

Song Zhi replied, “Do you have any foreign magazines?”

Before he could add, “about machinery,” the vendor’s eyes widened in shock.

“Foreign magazines? Are you crazy? No, no!” The vendor hurriedly packed up and ran off.

Song Zhi sighed, slung the bundle, which weighed at least twenty kilograms, over his shoulder, and left the alley.

By the time a passing bus finally arrived, it was nearly dark.

When Song Zhi reached Ruyi Village, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Carrying the heavy bundle, he headed toward Bai Zhengqian’s house.

The night was dark, and the dirt road was scattered with stones. Song Zhi focused all his attention on his footing to avoid slipping.

“Brother Song Zhi!”

A delicate voice suddenly called out from the darkness.

Song Zhi followed the voice and vaguely made out a shadow sitting by the roadside. The darkness made it impossible to see the figure clearly, but the voice sounded like Yan Naqian.

He ignored it and kept walking silently with his heavy bundle.

Yan Naqian: …

“Brother Song Zhi, did you go to town? Why are you coming back so late? I—I waited for you all day…”

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly cried out in pain, “Ah!” It sounded like she had stepped on a stone and fallen.

Song Zhi acted as if he hadn’t heard and continued to walk steadily up the mountain, step by step.

Yan Naqian lay on the ground, sobbing softly for a long while, but Song Zhi didn’t come back to help her. Instead, he walked farther and farther away.

“Brother Song Zhi! Help! Help me! Come and give me a hand!”

At first, Yan Naqian tried to maintain her image, speaking in a soft and gentle tone.

But as Song Zhi kept walking without looking back, she panicked. Her tone turned sharp, mixed with anger and embarrassment.

“Song Zhi! Song Zhi… are you just going to watch someone die without helping?!”

Song Zhi had already disappeared into the distance with his bundle.

He climbed the winding mountain path, passed a large bend, and in the distance saw houses scattered across the mountainside, their heights following the terrain.

Taotao’s house was above, and Second Uncle Bai’s house was below.

There was no electricity in the mountains, but faint light seeped out from the windows of one house. It seemed the family was gathered inside—eating, chatting, or working on crafts.

As he got closer, Song Zhi recognized a bright lantern hanging at Taotao’s door.

He stopped in his tracks.

Even a fool could tell the lantern was lit for someone returning late.

Warmth surged in Song Zhi’s chest, and he quickened his pace.

Sure enough, as he approached the house, he heard Taotao’s sweet and lively voice.

“Song Zhi?”

Song Zhi responded with a simple “Hmm.”

“Why are you back so late? My mom’s been worrying about you for ages! Everyone’s waiting for you to eat… I’m starving! Oh, watch your step on the stairs!”

The girl’s sweet and playful complaint made Song Zhi feel as if he had just eaten a chilled white peach on a hot summer afternoon—refreshingly sweet and soothing.

Taotao turned and ran inside, shouting, “Mom! Mom, Song Zhi is back! Let’s eat, let’s eat!”

Song Zhi stepped steadily onto the stairs, unable to hold back a smile.

The once-quiet house instantly became lively.

Bai Zhengqian called out first, “Xiao Song is back?”

“Uncle, Auntie, I’m back!” Song Zhi responded with a grin.

Tang Liren began giving orders inside the house—

“Hongdou, Huangdou, put away your schoolbooks!”
“Hui’er, stop doing your crafts… Hey, don’t move! Your belly’s getting bigger by the day. Let them carry the food instead!”
“Dong, the food’s good today. Bring out some wine for you men to share!”
“Lizi, don’t forget there’s soup on the stove!”
“Xingzi, take down the lantern and close the door!”
“Ah, Taotao! My little ancestor, at least take off your shoes before climbing onto the kang!”

Song Zhi carried the large bundle inside and placed it beside the kang.

Bai Zhengqian asked, “What’s this?”

Song Zhi said, “You built a new house up and even gave me a room of my own… I know you and Auntie truly care about me, but I don’t have anything valuable to give back, so I brought some small gifts for everyone.”

Bai Zhengqian said, “Why are you being so polite…”

But then Song Zhi opened the cloth bundle and revealed a large stack of books.

Everyone fell silent as they stared at the pile.

Even Bai Zhengqian couldn’t continue with his pleasantries.

Song Zhi took out a bottle of Hongxing baijiu and handed it to Bai Zhengqian. He gave five pairs of work gloves to Bai Dongsheng, four packs of powdered milk for Tan Fenghui’s unborn baby, two kilograms of fruit candies for Hongdou and Huangdou, and boxes of snowflake cream for the other women.

Only then did everyone finally smile.

Afterward, Song Zhi carefully put away the books from the bundle.

Tang Liren couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Song, you didn’t let anyone see you carrying all these books back, did you?”

Song Zhi replied, “No.”

Tang Liren thought for a moment. “You should put these books in the cellar in our courtyard. I’ll give you a key. You can store them there and take them out whenever you need them. Once you’re done, just put them back.”

Bai Zhengqian agreed. “Listen to your aunt!”

Taotao felt a bit curious and flipped through the thick and heavy books. The pages were filled with characters that looked like little bugs crawling all over. She looked further—Advanced Mathematics (Volume 1), High School Chinese, College English…

Bai Taotao found it strange. “Are these banned books?”

Xingxing whispered, “They’re not banned, but if they end up in the wrong hands, people might say keeping these books means you’re clinging to old ideas and are part of the ‘stinking intellectuals.’ So it’s better to be cautious. Fourth Sister, you absolutely cannot let anyone know we have these things!”

Taotao still didn’t quite understand, but everyone around her looked so serious that…

She nodded earnestly. “I won’t say anything!”

“But…” Taotao couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t studying and learning very important? Look at you, Song Zhi. You know foreign languages, and that’s how you were able to help Wu Rui’an. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Everyone sighed.

Taotao asked Song Zhi again, “You make engines, right?”

Song Zhi let out a long sigh. “No, not yet. Right now, all our country’s engines are imported from abroad. That’s why I want to make engines of our own. I’ve been learning, but I’ve only scratched the surface. I still have a long way to go…”

After pausing for a moment, he declared firmly, “I will definitely build engines for our country!”

Taotao thought for a moment and then said decisively, “I want to study too! Song Zhi, can you teach me?”

Song Zhi nodded enthusiastically.

Bai Taotao stared at the three thick books filled with bug-like characters and made up her mind. “If anyone dares to call me a fool again, I’ll—”

“I’ll curse them out in a foreign language!” Taotao declared proudly.

Everyone burst out laughing.

The first to respond was Bai Xingxing, who knew what the future held. “I want to study too! Good thing these textbooks are for high school and college… Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister-in-law, Sisters, and Brother Song, think about it. Even though all schools are closed right now, who knows when they might reopen? If everyone else stops studying but we keep learning every day, this is what’s called—what’s called…”

Bai Xingxing racked her brain for the right phrase. Finally, she remembered. “This is called ‘opportunity always favors those who are prepared!’”

Tan Fenghui laughed. “Xing’er, what you said sounds so inspiring! Alright, I’ll study too! I already finished middle school anyway. Studying more is always a good thing!”

Xingxing grabbed Bai Lili’s hand and shook it back and forth. “Third Sister, you should study too! Learn more! Knowledge is the most profitable thing—you can use it for a lifetime!”

Bai Lili looked a little embarrassed. “I… I’m too slow-witted! I’ll pass. You all study, and I’ll cook for you…”

Tang Liren laughed. “Everyone in this family should study! Your dad, me—everyone! Cooking and chores will be shared. The housework can’t all be dumped on the women. The men have to help too!”

Taotao said, “Mom! Let’s have a study competition! Whoever loses for seven days straight has to draw lots and be punished! They could have to climb a tree and sing folk songs! Or wear their clothes backward, with the buttons fastened at the back! Or wear a flower folded from a pillowcase on their head—and keep it on all day…”

Everyone laughed hysterically.

“Why would someone climb a tree to sing folk songs?”
“Oh my god, a pillowcase flower? For the whole day?”
“Clothes backward? Only you could come up with this!”
“Hahaha, Taotao, you’re too funny!”

Amid the lively chatter, the family enjoyed their meal in a cheerful and harmonious atmosphere.

After dinner, the Bai family eagerly started flipping through the books Song Zhi had brought back…

Meanwhile, Song Zhi discussed learning blacksmithing from Bai Zhengqian.

Bai Zhengqian was the only blacksmith in the surrounding villages. After months of recovering from an injury, he had a big backlog of work.

Hearing Song Zhi’s request, Bai Zhengqian was surprised. “Xiao Song, blacksmithing is nothing like working. It’s much harder!”

He described the work—it didn’t seem like much, but it was incredibly exhausting and required brute strength. That said, it was a well-paying job.

First, blacksmiths could schedule their own work hours. When the production team’s tools broke, they’d be collected and sent for repairs, and the blacksmith decided when to fix them. Second, blacksmiths earned full work points—twelve per day.

Right now, Bai Dongsheng was the only strong laborer in the family. Working ten hours a day, he only earned ten points. The women, who were generally less physically strong, earned even less. Tang Liren, for example, earned eight points on good days and only five to seven most of the time.

Song Zhi didn’t hold back. “I’m in good shape and strong, so I can learn. Most importantly, I want to save time to go to the town and county to learn mechanical repair techniques.”

Before relations with the Soviet Union cooled, Song County had been a base for major industrial projects. After the fallout, several factories struggled due to a lack of materials and technical skills. Some barely operated with frequent breakdowns, while others shut down completely because no one understood the machines.

Song Zhi wanted to find opportunities to work with those Soviet-made machines.

Bai Zhengqian thought for a moment. “Alright! I’ll help you arrange it tomorrow!”

While Song Zhi and Bai Zhengqian reached an agreement, Tang Liren and Tan Fenghui were discussing Yan Naqian.

When Song Zhi finished talking, Tang Liren asked, “Song Zhi, did you run into Yan Naqian on your way back?”

Song Zhi didn’t answer.

Tang Liren continued, “She came by several times looking for you today. She kept asking why you hadn’t returned yet. Even Dongsheng said he saw her waiting for you by the roadside. Are you sure you didn’t see her?”

Song Zhi finally replied, “I might have heard someone calling me by the road, but it was too dark to see clearly. I didn’t bring a flashlight and didn’t want to trip, so I just kept walking.”

Just then, Taotao ran over (deliberately wanting to absorb spiritual energy) and leaned against Song Zhi, holding a math book. “Song Zhi! Teach me! What does this book say?”

Song Zhi was distracted and carefully looked through the book. After a while, he said seriously, “You won’t understand this yet. Math has to be learned step-by-step. Start with the basic math in your Hongdou and Huangdou’s books. Then I’ll find you a middle school math book.”

Taotao bombarded him with more questions, and Song Zhi patiently answered them all.

He couldn’t help but think—girls who loved studying were so cute. Take Taotao, for example. She was so earnest and pure… so much better than that troublesome Yan Naqian.

But Bai Taotao’s thoughts were entirely different.

How can I lure Song Zhi into the forest? How can I achieve spiritual energy freedom?

Where does his abundant spiritual energy come from? Does he have an inner core?

Taotao had already checked—she didn’t have an inner core.

But if he did…

She wouldn’t mind dual cultivating with him.

Hehe.

Taotao stared at Song Zhi with a sly smile.

Author’s Note:
Male Lead: Taotao is so pure!
Author: Pure, my foot. She wants to eat you alive!
A moment later, the male lead frowned: I… better go wash up first.