"She’s good-looking and smart enough to go to college," Yue Hongliang said, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the beautiful face under the shade of the tree. Even dressed in a very ordinary floral shirt and black pants, with her hair in the simplest of braids, Yue Hongliang found her a pleasure to look at.
Especially those eyes, bright and gleaming, as if they could speak.
Yue Hongliang stroked his chin, his small eyes glowing with intense interest.
"Next time, keep it for yourselves; don’t bring any for me."
Xu Nianji was eating delicious meatballs. They tasted wonderful, but it had only been half a month, and this was already the second time. He wondered if his younger siblings had any at home.
"Don’t worry, big brother, we had some at home too,"
Xu Nianhua said with a cheerful grin.
Their time together was incredibly brief. Xu Nianji went back to work, while Xu Nianhua and Xu Nian’an reluctantly left to sell mung bean jelly.
After selling the mung bean jelly, the siblings split up to do different tasks.
"Little sis, you go buy some needles and thread; I’ll go find a blacksmith shop,"
Xu Nian’an said. The family’s kitchen knife, received during the division of household items long ago, had become nicked and ineffective even after sharpening. This time, Xu Nian’an specifically brought the kitchen knife with him, planning to have the blacksmith reforge it.
"Okay," Xu Nianhua agreed swiftly.
"Then be careful and pay attention to safety. After buying the needles and thread, wait for me under the Big Locust Tree," Xu Nian’an instructed repeatedly, concerned about her getting lost as the county was not small.
"Second brother, don’t worry, I won’t get lost,"
Xu Nianhua replied, a bit annoyed by Xu Nian’an’s incessant worrying. "I’ve attended school in the county too!"
"Then, just be careful."
Xu Nian’an thought it over and decided to insist she be safe, looking back repeatedly as if his little sister might disappear any moment.
"Why don’t we go together?" Xu Nian’an suggested, walking a few steps then coming back with an empty bucket.
How worried could he be about her?
"Remember, meet under the Big Locust Tree." Xu Nian’an still went to the blacksmith shop alone. It wasn’t clear how long reforging the knife would take, and it was faster if they split up to handle things.
"Alright, under the Big Locust Tree."
Xu Nianhua waved off Xu Nian’an. The Big Locust Tree he mentioned was on the route from the county city back to Shuangzhu Village, a massive tree that one adult could not fully embrace.
Xu Nianhua bought the needles and thread, completely unaware that she was about to encounter someone familiar.
These days are different from the future, where we discard clothes simply because they are old rather than worn out. One wouldn’t wear clothes until they are threadbare.
Nowadays, clothes last three new years and three old years, and with some mending, they can be worn for another three years.
Let alone her older brothers, whose work clothes are all patched up. Although she’s a girl, her parents always doted on her, not many new clothes, but at least she had some.
The Xu Family wouldn’t split such small items as needles and thread.
Suddenly, a strange male voice interrupted. Just after buying the needles and thread and about to head to the Big Locust Tree to wait for her second brother, Xu Nianhua was startled. Turning around, a masked man grabbed her mouth and dragged her into a deserted alley.