Lin Zhiheng saw several strong men carrying sacks onto a truck inside the grain station. They were all shirtless and sweating profusely.

Lin Qingyan asked, "Xiao Heng, what are you looking at? Is it because there's a lot of grain here?"

Lin Zhiheng withdrew his gaze, did not tell Lin Qingyan the truth, and nodded.

Lin Qingyan said, "When the autumn harvest comes, our brigade will also have a lot of grain. However, no matter how much grain there is, it belongs to the public. No individual can own that much grain."

Of course, this excludes her, who has her own space.

She then realized that she hadn't had a chance to go inside the space and take a closer look. She would have to tidy it up properly when she had the chance.

After her stroll, she remembered that she still needed a set of silver needles to treat Lin Zhiheng's epilepsy.

They went to the pharmacy, but the pharmacy didn't have any silver needles. A good set of silver needles is not easy to make, and not many people use them. It's normal that they can't buy them in the pharmacy in the small county. They need to think of other ways.

So she thought of the black market, where she might be able to find a set of silver needles.

But now is not the time; we need to find the right opportunity.

With nothing else to do, they prepared to return to their brigade.

Lin Zhiheng thought of how thin and frail his sister was, and since he had come to the county town, he wanted to buy her some good food.

The state-run restaurant was not far away. He said to Lin Qingyan, "Sister, let's go for a walk over there."

"OK."

When they arrived at the entrance of the state-run restaurant, a place he had never dared to hope to enter before, he went in without hesitation this time. When he came out, he had four hot steamed buns in his hand. He handed the buns to Lin Qingyan and said, "Sister, have some buns."

The boy's fair face beamed with the brightest smile. For him, being able to buy good food for his sister was the happiest thing.

Lin Qingyan smiled and took a steamed bun, praising him, "You're such a good brother, let's eat together."

"Um."

When Lin Zhiheng ate the steamed buns, he took each bite very carefully, cherishing every bite.

Lin Qingyan likes to eat slowly and carefully, but she found that she had already finished one, while Lin Zhiheng had not even finished half of it.

Logically, a boy like him should eat faster and more than her.

She pursed her lips. This child had never eaten well before, yet she was so willing to buy her good food.

Seeing that Lin Qingyan had finished eating, Lin Zhiheng quickly handed the rest to her, saying, "Sister, you eat."

"Your sister has a small appetite and is already full. But you, as a boy, should eat more since you're growing. You can finish the rest."

Lin Zhiheng looked at the remaining two steamed buns, reluctant to part with them.

He quietly took it, intending to give it to his sister when she was hungry.

However, by sheer coincidence, the next second they ran right into Lin Sisi and Lin Guanghui, who were rushing over.

Lin Qingyan subconsciously rubbed her forehead. How come she always runs into these two wretched creatures wherever she goes?

Lin Guanghui and Lin Sisi were both picky about the food the educated youth ordered. When they saw Lin Zhiheng holding two steamed buns, Lin Guanghui said, "Little beggar, you still have steamed buns to eat. Hurry up and give me the steamed buns. I'm starving."

Lin Zhiheng quickly moved the steamed bun to the side to protect it, determined not to give it to Lin Guanghui.

Lin Qingyan felt disgusted just looking at Lin Guanghui. She took out a kitchen knife from her bag and held it out in front of him: "If you dare to put your hand over here again, I'll cut it off."

Lin Guanghui reluctantly withdrew his hand, and Lin Sisi deliberately made a sound of dissatisfaction towards Lin Qingyan: "Guanghui, look at her, she has money to buy steamed buns for others, but she doesn't care about our lives."

Lin Qingyan didn't have time to play along with her act, so she called out to Lin Zhiheng, "Xiaoheng, let's go."

They walked past Lin Sisi and Lin Guanghui and left. Lin Sisi then said to Lin Guanghui, "She has money to buy steamed buns, so she must have a lot of money in her hands. Humph, a lot of that money was borrowed by our dad, and Mom has to pay it back. We need to find a way to get that money back."

Lin Guanghui's eyes immediately lit up when he heard the word "money".

"How can we ask her for it? She's ignoring us."

Lin Sisi shook her head: "Let's think of another way. However, we've gotten a bit tense with her right now. Let's keep things peaceful for the next few days and then figure out a way to ask her for the money later."

The two of them went to the post office, where Lin Sisi spent a penny to buy two sheets of stationery. She asked Lin Guanghui to write a letter to Fang Huilan, and she wrote one to Gu Mingzhou herself. In the letter, she wrote that she hoped Gu Mingzhou could come to see her as soon as possible, and also to anger Lin Qingyan.

Lin Qingyan and Lin Zhiheng returned to the educated youth settlement. Lin Zhiheng went back to his dormitory first, then came out again and called Lin Qingyan out from outside the female educated youth dormitory. He then handed a paper package to Lin Qingyan.

Lin Qingyan opened the paper package, and inside was a stack of banknotes, including coins of various sizes, including large sums of money, several yuan, several jiao, and fen.

Lin Qingyan looked up at him: "Xiao Heng, what are you doing?"

Lin Zhiheng said, "Sister, this is the subsidy I received when I went to the countryside. From now on, I'll give all my money and ration coupons to you for safekeeping."

"Xiao Heng".

Lin Qingyan couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat again. How much did Lin Zhiheng trust her to entrust all his belongings to her for safekeeping?

That's fine. It's safer to keep these money and tickets in her space than for Lin Zhiheng to keep them outside.

She took out five yuan and handed it to Lin Zhiheng: "I can keep it for you, but you should also carry some pocket money with you."

Lin Zhiheng did not accept it. "No need, sister. I don't need to spend any money in the village. I'll just ask you for it when I need it."

Lin Qingyan nodded: "That's fine too."

The boy smiled and said, "From now on, all the money I earn will be kept safe by my sister."

Lin Qingyan smiled as she looked at his obedient and adorable appearance: "Okay."

This is probably what it feels like to depend on each other for survival. Having someone who trusts you completely by your side adds a lot of security and warmth.

In the afternoon, Lin Qingyan found Lin Zhiheng and said to him, "Xiaoheng, I want to go up the mountain to find some medicinal herbs that can cure your illness. Come with me."

Lin Zhiheng, considering Lin Qingyan's health condition, hesitated and said, "Sister, just tell me what the medicinal herbs look like, and I'll go pick them myself. You can rest at the educated youth settlement."

“I’m worried about you going alone. I’m afraid you might not remember the herbs and get them mixed up. It would be a lot of trouble to go and collect them again. Let’s go together.”

Lin Zhiheng couldn't refuse Lin Qingyan, so the siblings went to the mountains together.

Due to time constraints, they did not gather all the necessary medicinal herbs. The herbs they collected were left to dry in the yard, and they would collect others later when they had more time.