"Really?!" The uncle was surprised to find out that Anjing and Shi Xiaolan were still handkerchief friends, which delighted him immensely.
His face darkened immediately, and he sighed, "How could she return? Her in-laws, my older brother, and sister-in-law, are elderly and not in good health. Fu Zi is lame and has to sell tofu with her every time because he can’t manage it alone. They also have a little girl over one year old to take care of at home; it’s impossible for them to leave."
Anjing finally understood why Shi Xiaolan had never returned to Jiuping Village—her life had been much harder than imagined, which made Anjing feel deeply moved.
In the past, Lin Anjing had always envied Shi Xiaolan for having loving parents and marrying into a good family.
"Uncle, I’ll go to your village this afternoon to find Xiaolan and buy her tofu," she said, not intending to help An Fu but determined to help Shi Xiaolan.
Shi Xiaolan had been very good to Lin Anjing. Now that she had taken over Lin Anjing’s body and believed in fate, she thought it was no coincidence that she learned about Shi Xiaolan just then. It seemed that the heavens wanted her to lend Shi Xiaolan a hand.
"No need, no need, they’ve brought tofu to sell today, just over there," the uncle pointed to the right. "Last time I saw you buying tofu, I wanted you to buy theirs, but they hadn’t brought any to sell that day because Yu Yu was sick. My older brother and sister-in-law couldn’t take care of her, so Xiaolan and Fu Zi stayed at home. I never imagined that you two were handkerchief friends," he said with a sigh.
Anjing followed the direction of the uncle’s finger and saw a couple selling tofu ten-odd stalls to her right, but the distance made it hard to see clearly. She could only make out their extremely worn clothing, almost entirely covered in big patches.
"Never mind, I’ll go call them over!" Seeing that the distance was too great, the uncle stood up and hurried toward Shi Xiaolan and An Fu.
Anjing had wanted to ask Xiao Changyi to go with her to check it out, but the uncle beat her to it and called them over. She smiled to herself and shook her head before turning to her aloof husband, "Husband, our fermented bean curd business should be sustainable in the long term. Let’s buy tofu from Xiaolan’s family from now on."
"Mm," Xiao Changyi had no objection.
Just then, the uncle had already brought Shi Xiaolan and An Fu over. An Fu was limping, carrying his load of tofu.
When Shi Xiaolan saw her, she could hardly believe it was Anjing and tentatively called out in a soft voice, "Anjing...?"
Anjing looked at the emaciated woman in front of her, who was only eighteen but looked more like thirty-eight, with sallow skin on her face and dark skin on her hands, looking at her somewhat timidly.
"It’s me, Xiaolan." Anjing stood up and gave Shi Xiaolan a big, bright smile.
Shi Xiaolan immediately covered her mouth and cried, then rushed over and hugged Anjing tightly, trembling as she wept, as if she wanted to silently convey all the hardships she had endured over the years.
Anjing gently patted Shi Xiaolan’s back, consoling her, "Why cry? We haven’t seen each other for such a long time, and now that we have, shouldn’t we be happy?"
"Happy, I’m happy..." Shi Xiaolan tried to stop crying, but her voice still choked with sobs, "It’s so good to see you; I really want to go back and talk to you, but I just can’t leave... I can’t leave..."
Anjing felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. Such a life of hardship. Just like Lin Anjing, she too was fated to a life of suffering.