Chapter 112

Early the next morning, Su Youfu retrieved his worn-out Liberation shoes from the grass. Despite the heavy morning dew, he had wrapped them in plastic bags when he left them, so they remained dry. He deftly took off his leather shoes and put on the Liberation shoes again.

Although rural folks may seem to have nothing major going on, they are actually occupied with numerous trivial matters every day. They have to feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs, tend to the vegetable garden by watering and pest control, and manage and cut down trees in the mountains.

Therefore, after staying overnight, the couple left early in the morning.

Grandfather and grandmother saw them off all the way to the village entrance, feeling reluctant to part. Xiao Qi turned her head from a distance and could still see their figures—one tall and one short. She was still wearing the new clothes her grandmother had bought for her.

There was still no phone signal along the way, but the scenery was pleasant from grandmother's house to their own, providing opportunities for taking photos without any signal.

The three of them returned home and were met with a warm welcome in the village.

Jiang Yiru's TV show, "A Promise Along the Way," had high ratings in Lushan City. During that time slot in the evening, there were no activities in the countryside, so it was a popular program. The women enjoyed chatting about TV dramas, while the men preferred discussing things closer to reality, as if they could know everything without leaving their homes.

Compared to news and such, local programs like "A Promise Along the Way" were more relatable to everyone's daily lives and provided more topics for discussion.

Unexpectedly, last night, they saw Su Youfu's daughter on TV again.

Now even the Lame Su didn't use that name anymore; he was called Youfu instead.

As Su Youfu entered the village, he ran into his cousin who was working with a hoe. His cousin warmly called him Youfu, causing him to tremble and feel uneasy. In the past, everyone used to call him Lame...

As he passed several houses at the village entrance, people waved enthusiastically and asked if they had breakfast. If they hadn't eaten, they were invited to have a meal at their homes. Sheng Juanhua, who had returned to her mother's family with her head held high, was startled and her shoulders tensed up.

Xiao Qi was never good at facing the uncles and aunties in the village. When greeting them, she simply smiled with an open mouth.

The three of them quickened their pace and breathed a sigh of relief after entering their home.

Sheng Juanhua and Su Youfu immediately changed out of their clothes.

When they arrived home, they had to start working, and they didn't want to soil their new clothes.

Su Youfu started a fire, and Sheng Juanhua let the chickens and ducks out and fed them, then she fed the pigs.

They heated water, and Xiao Qi wanted to take a bath.

There was no water heater at home, so they filled a bucket with hot water and carried it to a small building behind the kitchen.

Below the small building was a ditch, and the water would flow directly into it. Xiao Qi effortlessly carried two buckets of water. There was a cold-water pipe in the small building, which they used for mixing. It was similar to having to carry water oneself when taking a bath in the school dormitory, but the facilities in the maternity ward were slightly more advanced, with a water heater and a showerhead.

After washing her hair and taking a bath, Xiao Qi changed back into her old T-shirt and sweatpants, and put on the white shoes she had been wearing before.

After changing clothes, Xiao Qi helped with the chores. Originally, she was planning to finish the chores before taking a bath, but she hadn't showered since spending the day at her grandmother's house, so she couldn't resist taking a bath first.

Su Youfu had taken good care of the chickens and ducks, but feeding the pigs was a bit troublesome. He had bought two pigs at the beginning of the year, with the intention of using the money to pay for his daughter's school fees. He had been diligently looking after them, and they were almost ready to be sold. During this period, they were eating a lot.

In a couple of days, someone was scheduled to come and slaughter the pigs. Su Youfu had been thinking about this and thought it would be a good opportunity to make a feast with the freshly slaughtered pig and celebrate his daughter's admission to college.

Xiao Qi didn't want to celebrate, feeling that there was nothing worth showing off about.

Sheng Juanhua, on the other hand, suggested that since the price of pigs was high at the moment, they should sell all the pigs and have a lively feast during the Lunar New Year. After selling the pigs, they could buy two more piglets and start raising them.

Regardless of the couple's arguments, one thing was certain: the pigs needed to be well-fed. The more they were going to be sold, the more carefully they needed to be fed. Otherwise, they would end up raising them for a whole year only to find them thin and unsellable.

The pigs ate a lot, but Su Youfu didn't buy any animal feed. Recently, they had been eating a lot of sweet potatoes and sweet potato leaves.

Su Youfu changed his clothes and went to the field to dig up sweet potatoes and cut the leaves.

Sheng Juanhua was going to cook the leftover sweet potato water.

Xiao Qi had also changed her clothes and decided to go to the vegetable garden with her father.

She thought she was quite strong, and her father was small in stature and unable to do farm work. Although he was meticulous, he lacked the strength. When others carried things in one trip, he had to make two trips.

Xiao Qi wore a straw hat and carried a bamboo basket on her back, looking like a typical rural girl.

Along the way, people were surprised when they greeted them.

"Hey Youfu, your college student still has to work in the fields?"

"Your daughter is so obedient, she's been on TV and she still works in the fields."

These comments made Xiao Qi blush.

In reality, she rarely did farm work at home. Occasionally, she would go to the vegetable garden with her father or take food to him in the mountains. Chopping firewood was also something she rarely did. Her mother took care of that.

Her physical condition used to be delicate. She couldn't lift heavy things, her shoulders couldn't bear the weight, and her skin was prone to allergies. Whenever she went up the mountain, she would somehow come into contact with some plants, and her face would swell up. Or she would get bitten by some small insect, and while others would recover in a day or two, she would remain swollen for over half a month.

Sheng Juanhua was anxious when she saw this, thinking that if her daughter ended up marrying someone in the countryside, she would be worn out.

Although she felt sorry for her, being a rural girl meant having to do some work. Sometimes, she would let her pick vegetables or water the vegetable garden.

Xiao Qi occasionally had complaints, but after witnessing her parents' hard work, she was understanding. When she attended the town's middle school, she was faced with many temptations, especially in 9th grade. Many of her female classmates would go to internet cafes to play games or be invited to KTV.

She seemed to mature all of a sudden, and the relationships between male and female classmates were no longer innocent. There were more ways to have fun.

During that time, Xiao Qi didn't fit in. While others went out to play, she studied with her glasses on.

Deep down, she felt that she was different from others. Other families had siblings, and their fathers were not disabled. It was particularly difficult for her to study. In the end, her perseverance paid off. Three students from her town's middle school got into a top-ranked high school in the city, and she was one of them.

In high school, things became a bit more complicated for her. She realized that she ranked among the top three students in her previous school, but in high school, she was almost at the bottom, lacking various talents compared to others.

She experienced a mix of inferiority and arrogance, a constant state of unease.

It was during the summer vacation that Xiao Qi truly found herself.

She became more grounded and no longer feared putting in effort.

Initially, it was thanks to a system of improvement, but afterward, she felt a sense of progress through her own diligent efforts, which helped her grow.

Now, even when she accompanied her father to the vegetable plot, she no longer felt inferior to her classmates. She had matured in her thinking.

However, when she went to the sweet potato field with her father, Xiao Qi discovered that her weakness still haunted her. Standing in the middle of the vegetable patch, she spotted a large green caterpillar on a sweet potato leaf, and she couldn't help but scream and jump around in a frenzy.

She continued jumping until she reached the riverbank, where there were no more green vegetables, not even grass. Only then did she stop. She was terrified of those soft, chubby, and green little insects. The sight of them made her shudder, and her back trembled.

Compared to small insects, she wasn't even afraid of snakes.

But when it came to these little bugs, she couldn't handle it. As a child, she was so afraid of them that she couldn't even eat green vegetables.

Lately, Su Youfu felt that his daughter had grown up and become more mature and sensible. Although he felt gratified as a father, he also felt a bit lost. He always felt that as his child grew older, she seemed to be drifting further away from him, and she could even take care of herself without his help.

But now, seeing his daughter still screaming and running away at the sight of a tiny bug, just like when she was a child, he found it amusing. She would always be his little girl.

Xiao Qi was genuinely scared of bugs and didn't dare touch those leaves. Her father picked the leaves and dug out the sweet potatoes while she followed behind, collecting them in a basket on her back. The basket soon became full.

It was already quite heavy. The sweet potatoes had just been dug out and were full of moisture. Each one weighed over a pound.

The basket probably weighed over fifty pounds.

"You've packed too much. Pour out half of it and carry it back home. I'll handle the rest," Su Youfu said, noticing how hot the sun was and not wanting his daughter to stay out in the sun.

"It's fine. I've been eating a lot lately, and I've become stronger," Xiao Qi said. She didn't want to stay out in the sun anymore and was still afraid of bugs, so she carried the basket on her back and headed home.

With the basket full, she managed to carry it without feeling particularly heavy.

As she walked back home with the sweet potatoes on her back, she passed by the village office and noticed that something was happening. It was bustling with many people; it seemed like someone had arrived.

By the time she reached home with the sweet potatoes, she already knew what had happened.

Her elementary school classmate, Zhang Juan, had actually come back in a small car that she had bought herself.

The whole village was in an uproar. It was indeed a small car.

Its white exterior gleamed under the sunlight.

And it was said to be a German brand.