Chapter 15

Grandma Li saw Old Man Li agree, her face full of smiles, she affectionately took Su Ruo's hand and said:

"Miss, don't be frightened by your Grandpa Li's frightening appearance, but he's a good person; if you ever run into trouble in the village, you can come to him."

After Grandma Li finished, she turned to Old Man Li and told him about how Xiao Bao encountered danger on the train and Su Ruo rescued him.

Then she added with a sigh: "This time I owe it all to this girl; otherwise this old body of mine wouldn't have made it back."

"Such a great kindness, I fear I could never repay it in this lifetime; if you, girl, encounter any trouble in the village, you must look after her."

Old Man Li listened silently the whole time; although his face showed nothing, when Grandma Li spoke of the perilous moment, Su Ruo could clearly feel his body stiffen.

Although Su Ruo was curious about the relationship between Old Man Li and Grandma Li, she sensibly refrained from asking further.

After Grandma Li finished speaking, Old Man Li's gaze toward Su Ruo became more solemn, and he said: "If you ever encounter trouble, come find me at the ox shed behind the village!"

Although just a few words, they gave Su Ruo a strong sense of power, making her feel utterly reassured inside.

Naturally it's good to have another person looking out for you, especially since she felt the old man before her was not ordinary, so Su Ruo immediately nodded and agreed.

After Old Man Li said that, he turned and went to tend to the ox cart.

Su Ruo watched Old Man Li's back, her brows slightly furrowed; before she could think further, a voice interrupted her.

"Grandma Li, you've finally come back; Yan'er has missed you so much." The newcomer excitedly grabbed Grandma Li's hand and said.

Su Ruo, unaware, almost got knocked off the ox cart by the person; after she finally steadied herself, she saw clearly that the newcomer was none other than her former-life rival, Li Yanhong!

After Grandma Li helped Su Ruo up, she then said to Li Yanhong: "You're all grown up, why are you still so flighty?"

Li Yanhong didn't mind, continuing to cling to Grandma Li's arm in a coquettish way: "Grandma, I'm not just missing you, am I? Did you bring me anything when you went to see my uncle?"

Grandma Li laughed and said, "I brought it, I brought it," then handed Li Yanhong a packet of milk candy.

Actually, Grandma Li's family and Li Yanhong's family are already beyond five degrees of mourning; strictly speaking they aren't really relatives, but since they're neighbors and Li Yanhong has been sweet-talking since childhood, they've grown closer.

Seeing Grandma Li produce only a packet of milk candy, Li Yanhong felt a bit disappointed; she had thought that after being away so long, Grandma Li would at least bring her a piece of cloth to make clothes.

To think she'd be brushed off with just a packet of milk candy—how stingy! If she'd known, she wouldn't have wasted all this time waiting here this morning.

However, Li Yanhong quickly hid her feelings, smiling and saying: "Thank you, Grandma; I knew you were the best and loved me the most."

Grandma Li smiled and patted Li Yanhong's head; their family is small, she has only one son, and now only one grandson by her side.

So although she knows Li Yanhong has some ulterior motives, after all she's watched the girl grow up, and she truly feels some affection for her.

Su Ruo greatly liked Grandma Li, finding her straightforward and grateful, and wanted to get closer to her.

But she hadn't expected that the woman was actually a relative of Li Yanhong; Su Ruo wondered whether she should keep her distance from now on.

At that moment, Li Shīrou, Li Zéyǔ, and Chen Wei, each dragging a pile of luggage, walked up to the ox cart.

Upon seeing Su Ruo on the ox cart, their faces instantly fell, thinking she was an inescapable ghost.

Li Yanhong's face instantly flushed upon seeing Li Zéyǔ; she had never seen such a handsome young man before.

Immediately after, seeing Li Shīrou beside Li Zéyǔ, she also darkened her expression, for before Li Shīrou arrived, she had been the prettiest girl in the village.

As a woman, her intuition told Li Yanhong that Li Shīrou would surely steal her limelight in the future.

Li Zéyǔ and the others didn't know Li Yanhong's inner thoughts; they wanted to put their belongings on the ox cart, but upon seeing Su Ruo's bundle, their faces grew even uglier.

Because Su Ruo's bundle occupied the best and cleanest spot on the ox cart.

Li Shīrou, feeling unhappy, forced a smile and asked: "What's inside Su Ruo's bundle, it's so big?"

"A quilt." Su Ruo replied coldly.

Chen Wei beside her immediately exclaimed exaggeratedly: "Su Ruo, is this your first time going out? In this midsummer heat, you actually brought such a thick quilt."

Li Shīrou pretended to pull Chen Wei aside, saying: "Weiwei, don't say that; Su Zhiqing probably wants a thicker quilt because her family's conditions are poor, so she can sleep warmer."

"Warm? Covering yourself with a thick quilt in this heat will surely give you heat rash!" Chen Wei continued.

Su Ruo watched their performance, the corners of her lips curling into a cold arc: "Laugh! Laugh! Soon you won't be able to laugh."

Grandma Li took it all in, frowning slightly, and said: "Su girl, you're right; in Black Province the winter is cold and we came in a hurry—if you didn't bring a thick quilt, you'd better prepare early, otherwise you'll just freeze."

Chen Wei glanced at the blazing sun overhead, curled her lip, and thought: "Is this old lady crazy? In this heat, making us prepare thick quilts—even if she's biased toward Su Ruo, she wouldn't go this far."

Li Shīrou thought the same inside, but she always puts on a front, so she smiled and said: "Okay, Grandma, we understand."

Grandma Li glanced at them and saw they hadn't taken her words to heart and didn't care; she'd given her advice, and whether they listened or would later catch cold was none of her business.

At that moment two more boys approached—Xu Hao and Liu Zheng; Su Ruo had hardly interacted with them in her previous life, so she wasn't familiar with them.

Old Man Li lifted his head, glanced at the sky, and said: "Since everyone's here, let's go! It might rain today; we must get back to the village before dark."

Li Shīrou and the others looked up at the cloudless sky and thought Old Man Li was surely just trying to scare them—this weather didn't look like it would rain at all.

But Su Ruo knew Old Man Li was correct; in her previous life, the night they arrived at the Educated Youth Point, a torrential downpour began.

That rain lasted a week, many roofs leaked; not only that, the strong wind blew down numerous trees, and it's said some villages even suffered mudslides.

Thus Su Ruo's expression also grew somewhat solemn; she wanted to hurry back to the village.

In her previous life, Su Ruo fell seriously ill in that storm; the illness nearly took half her life, and even after recovering her constitution was weaker—now Su Ruo never wants to get sick again.

Because there were many people and they carried a lot of luggage, the ox cart couldn't hold everything, so only the ox cart went ahead pulling the goods while the people followed behind.

But soon someone couldn't keep walking; Chen Wei whispered to Li Shīrou: "This Old Boss is too foolish, actually valuing the ox more than people."

But she didn't realize that in this era, an ox is a brigade's main productive force—and thus more valuable than a person.

In her previous life, Su Ruo was weak and, upon reaching the Educated Youth Point, was exhausted to the point of near death; this lifetime, after the system's improvements, her constitution has changed greatly, so she doesn't feel that tired at all—in fact she can walk while studying medicine in her mind.

Su Ruo and the others went on, stopping and starting, and finally arrived at the Educated Youth Point before sunset.

But everyone was drenched in sweat, looking quite disheveled.

Just as they reached the Educated Youth Point, they saw a small car parked in front of the gate, which made them very curious, since in this era private cars are rarely seen.

(End of chapter)