Taotao straightened her neck and shouted, “Then I won’t let Song Zhi take me! I’ll go by myself!” She suddenly remembered she had no money and quickly changed her wording. “I’ll take him with me!”

Tang Liren scolded, “You’ve got guts now, huh? First, you ran off into the forest by yourself, and now you want to go to town alone?”

“Mom, I want to go! I want to go! I’m going to town to speculate and profiteer!” Taotao started acting cute.

Tang Liren was so startled her face changed. She yelled, “What? What are you going to do?”

Taotao: …

She flashed a bright, sweet smile, lowered her voice, and whispered sneakily, “I’m going to town to make money and buy pork for you to eat!”

Tang Liren: …

Her daughter was just too good-looking, so mischievous, but she couldn’t bear to scold or hit her. What was she supposed to do?

Song Zhi said, “Aunt, let’s just go together. Have Uncle write me a letter of introduction… Last time, the director of the county’s Hongxing Machinery Factory gave me an invitation letter, asking me to be their technical consultant. We can use that as our reason to go.”

Tang Liren hesitated. “I… can go too?”

Song Zhi nodded.

Xingxing said, “Then it’s settled! I’m going too!”

Lili also wanted to go. “Then, can I… can I go too?”

Zhengqian was getting a headache from his daughters’ commotion. He waved his hand and said, “You all go!”

Once everyone had agreed, Taotao went to take a bath first. When she returned to her room, she used a sewing needle disinfected with alcohol to prick the blisters on her soles and applied some ointment.

But looking at the broken skin and the red blisters on her soft little feet…

She was a bit troubled.

—She was planning to go to town and make some money by reselling goods, but if her feet stayed like this, wouldn’t that be torture? Judging by the looks of it, they wouldn’t heal overnight either.

After thinking for a bit, Taotao pushed open her window.

The window faced the courtyard, giving her a clear view of Song Zhi’s inner door.

She picked a wild fruit she had plucked from deep in the forest and threw it toward Song Zhi’s room. It hit its mark perfectly with a muffled “thud.”

Taotao called out, “Song Zhi! Song Zhi—”

In the darkness, someone let out two soft coughs.

Taotao recognized the voice—it was her brother Dongsheng.

But she ignored it and continued leaning against the window, raising her voice. “Song Zhi… Song Zhi, are you asleep yet? You didn’t pat my head today!”

She suddenly heard a muffled snicker from a few rooms away.

Then, a gentle voice asked, “Dongsheng, what’s wrong?”

Brother Dongsheng murmured, “Nothing,” and shut his window.

Taotao kept calling, “Song Zhi! Song Zhi…” Had he already fallen asleep?

“Creak—”

Song Zhi’s door opened.

The courtyard was pitch dark, and Taotao couldn’t see anything.

But she could feel a surge of spiritual energy approaching her…

Her face lit up with joy, and she immediately clenched the handkerchief in her hand—the one wrapped around the fake banana seeds.

Before long, Song Zhi reached her window.

Leaning on the windowsill, Taotao saw that he had just bathed, his hair still dripping wet.

She quickly lowered her head and said, “Hurry! Hurry and pat Taotao’s head.”

Standing outside her window, Song Zhi saw her leaning forward, her head bowed, revealing a fluffy tuft of hair…

The faint, warm candlelight from her room illuminated the graceful curve of her neck. Because of the heat, she was wearing a short-sleeved blouse, her slender arms resting on the windowsill like delicate jade, breathtakingly beautiful.

Taotao noticed he wasn’t moving and was a bit surprised. She lifted her head and curiously asked, “Why aren’t you patting me?”

Her bright, mischievous eyes blinked, her expression sincere and adorable.

Song Zhi couldn’t help but smile. He reached out and patted her head.

Taotao instantly felt enveloped in spiritual energy. It felt incredibly comforting. She thought to herself: Hurry up and heal the blisters on my feet! And while you’re at it, let the fake banana seeds absorb a bit more spiritual energy!

Song Zhi ran his fingers through Taotao’s hair—it was soft, fine, and silky. As he grasped it, the strands slipped through his fingers, smooth and cool…

He had never touched a girl’s hair before. After ruffling it for a while, he suddenly let go and said hoarsely, “It’s late. Go to bed early.” Then, he turned and left in a hurry.

For some reason, Taotao felt like he was fleeing in panic?

The next morning, Taotao discovered that the soles of her feet were much better! Though not fully healed, new skin had grown, and they didn’t hurt as much anymore.

Of course, stepping on the ground still hurt quite a bit.

This time, Xingxing was left behind because Tang Liren had made up her mind to take Taotao and Lili along with Song Zhi.

Xingxing cried and fussed for a while, but she couldn’t change her mother’s decision…

She had no choice. Gritting her teeth, she waited for an opportunity when no one was around and stopped Song Zhi. “Brother Song Zhi, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.”

Xingxing fidgeted for a long time before finally speaking. “I-It’s like this. Last time we went to town, I saw in the newspaper that someone was looking for a pen pal, so I… I wrote a letter to them. I used Aunt Guihua’s address. Brother Song Zhi, this time when you go… can you ask Aunt Guihua if she received my letter and bring it back for me?”

Song Zhi stared at Xingxing and asked, “A pen pal… from a newspaper?”

His voice was chillingly cold, completely devoid of emotion. His sharp gaze seemed to see right through her lie.

Xingxing lowered her head, so embarrassed she wanted to cry.

“Alright.” Song Zhi answered concisely.

Xingxing’s voice turned as soft as a mosquito’s. “Brother Song Zhi, if… if someone really wrote back to me, please, I’m begging you, don’t let my mom find out. She’ll kill me.” Saying that, she was so ashamed she wanted to crawl into a hole.

Song Zhi gave a low “mm” and turned to find Taotao—her feet hurt, so he had to carry her.

Xingxing leaned against the door, watching eagerly as Song Zhi carried Taotao on his back. Tang Liren and Lili each carried a basket on their backs, hurrying away.

She bit her lip, feeling uneasy—if Song Sui had really written her a letter and she had asked Song Zhi to retrieve it, would he recognize Song Sui’s handwriting and address? Would this cause any complications later?

Song Zhi and Tang Liren had left early with their introduction letters, aiming to catch the direct long-distance bus from the neighboring town to the county. This way, they wouldn’t need to transfer at the town and could arrive at the county three hours earlier. If all went smoothly, they would board the bus at seven o’clock and reach the county’s long-distance bus station around two in the afternoon.

However, just as the four of them reached the Educated Youth Station, they ran into Yan Naqian, who was holding a towel and a washbasin with a toothbrush and a cup inside.

Lately, Yan Naqian had been forced by Jiang Hongzhi to go to work, leaving her utterly drained. When she saw Song Zhi, she completely ignored Taotao on his back and instead noticed that he was wearing his going-out leather shoes. Tang Liren and Lili also looked like they were heading out.

Her eyes lit up. “Brother Song Zhi, where are you all going?”

Lili, unaware of any need for caution, answered casually, “We’re going to the county—”

Tang Liren shot her daughter a glare, scaring Lili into silence.

Yan Naqian’s joy was obvious. “You’re going to the county? That’s perfect… Just, just perfect! I also need to go to the county for something! Brother Song Zhi, wait for me, I’ll be quick—”

Song Zhi asked coldly, “Do you have an introduction letter?”

Yan Naqian froze, her face turning red.

No, she didn’t. But when she looked at Tang Liren and Lili, she felt reassured. “I—I can use yours!”

—Even if Song Zhi had the means to get an introduction letter, Tang Liren, Lili, and Taotao definitely wouldn’t have one. The most likely scenario was that they were tagging along with him. If they could, why couldn’t she?

But Song Zhi said firmly, “No.”

With that, he carried Taotao and left. Tang Liren cast Yan Naqian a sharp glance before pulling Lili along with her.

Yan Naqian’s face was so red it looked like it might bleed.

But she was unwilling to give up—staying in the village was exhausting! If she followed Song Zhi into the city, surely, for the sake of Song Xi and Song Sui, he wouldn’t really abandon her, would he?

Making up her mind, she rushed back to the Educated Youth Station, slammed her washbasin down, and shouted at Jiang Hongzhi, “Hey, I’m taking the day off! I have something to do in the county!”

Jiang Hongzhi’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot. “What business do you have there?”

“I don’t know! Song Zhi asked me to go!” With that, she ran out of the Educated Youth Station and hurried after them.

By this time, Song Zhi, carrying Taotao, had already left the village with Tang Liren and Lili.

They needed to walk twenty minutes to reach the highway.

Yan Naqian ran breathlessly to catch up. “Brother Song Zhi! Brother Song Zhi… wait for me!”

Song Zhi’s face was dark, and he didn’t slow down or acknowledge her.

When she finally caught up, she complained, “Brother Song Zhi, why are you like this? You’re just ignoring me!” When he still didn’t respond, she felt a bit embarrassed and asked, “Brother Song Zhi, what are you all going to the city for?”

No one answered.

It was awkward.

Yan Naqian, unable to take the silence, turned to Lili. “Lili, you’re going to the county to buy things, right?”

Having already gotten into trouble for talking earlier, Lili refused to say another word no matter how much Yan Naqian pressed her.

Yan Naqian felt both humiliated and furious, but she didn’t want to turn back—if she did, wouldn’t Jiang Hongzhi and Jia Hong just laugh at her? Rather than give them that satisfaction, she might as well stick to Song Zhi. At the very least, she could make it to the city, find something to eat and drink, and maybe even get something for herself if she was lucky.

So, she kept quiet and stuck close to Lili.

When they reached the highway, a long-distance bus soon arrived.

Taotao, who had been ignored by Yan Naqian for a long time, looked at her curiously and asked, “Do you have money for the bus?”

“Be careful!” Song Zhi scolded lightly, then carried Taotao onto the bus.

Taotao stuck out her tongue, pressed her face against his back, and ducked under the low door as he carried her in.

Yan Naqian froze.

—She got the message loud and clear. Taotao was implying that Song Zhi wasn’t going to pay for her ticket at all.

The bus conductor glared at Yan Naqian. “Hey! Are you getting on or not? If you are, hurry up! If not, step aside! Don’t just stand there blocking the way!”

Yan Naqian’s mind went blank. She rushed onto the bus and pointed at Song Zhi, saying to the conductor, “Comrade, I’m with them! They’ll pay my fare too!”

Song Zhi’s face turned ice-cold.