"..."

Shen Xiaomi's family now lives in the Forestry Bureau compound. When the houses were allocated, the Forestry Bureau allocated them first, so they moved here.

The houses at the Animal Husbandry Research Institute are also quite nice; they were built three years later than those at the Forestry Bureau.

At the time, He Wan told them that if they had money, they should buy a house if they could afford it, and if they couldn't afford it, they could borrow money or take out a loan.

We can't borrow any money; none of our relatives have much.

But He Wan had money; they borrowed 20,000 yuan from her and bought a place near the animal husbandry research institute. That place was large, but considering their daughter's school was a bit far, they didn't move there.

It's currently rented out.

It was only this year that they repaid He Wan 10,000 yuan.

He Wan was the youngest among the educated youth at the settlement, yet she was the one who helped them the most.

I heard that Ranran borrowed 10,000 yuan to buy a house.

At that time, 10,000 yuan was not a small amount. Although both of them worked, they could not save much in a year.

She didn't care about the amount of money, but for Zhang Cuicao and her friends, it would take a very close friend to lend so much money at once.

They will always remember this kindness.

Fortunately, she and Guoqing only have one child, Xiaomi, and they are usually very frugal.

Shen Xiaomi had no idea about any of this. When she got home, she was excited and was about to interrogate her father.

When I got home, I saw a little white cat on the sofa.

Shen Xiaomi exclaimed "Wow!" and happily went over to her.

Hearing the noise, Shen Guoqing, wearing an apron, peeked out from the kitchen. Seeing the mother and daughter return, he smiled and said, "Hurry up and wash up, dinner will be served right away."

Shen Xiaomi ran to the kitchen carrying the little white kitten and asked, "Dad, where did this kitten come from? Is it a gift for me?"

"I found this in the woods with your uncles today. It looks tiny, probably not even a month old, all alone. I thought it was quite cute, and I figured you'd like it, so I brought it home."

Shen Xiaomi jumped up and down and said, "Wow, Dad, you're so great! You're the best dad in the world. I love you."

"Stop being silly. This depends on your mom. If she doesn't agree, there's nothing I can do."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiaomi quickly took the kitten to the bathroom: "Mom, look at the gift Dad gave you, it's so cute! Do you like it? Let's keep it."

Zhang Cuicao really didn't know whose mouth her daughter got from, so she didn't call her out on it. Looking at the kitten in her arms, she suddenly thought of the little calico cat that He Wan used to have. It was quite cute and well-behaved. She wondered if it was still around.

Just imagine, when my daughter goes to high school and lives at school, it will be just her and Guoqing left at home, and it will be pointless for them to just stare at each other.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "You can stay, but you have to promise me that you'll go to university in Beijing. You have to write a guarantee and set goals for each semester. If you don't reach your goals, I'll give the kitten away."

"Okay, I'll go write it now."

Shen Xiaomi was overjoyed to have a new white kitten at home.

Shen Guoqing encountered many stray cats outside. The reason he brought one back was because his daughter was in her third year of junior high school and was busy with her studies. He and his wife were both busy, so he wanted to find her a companion.

When she's tired from studying, the kitten can help her relieve her emotions.

After washing her face, Zhang Cuicao ran to the phone and called He Wan.

“Wanwan, it’s me, Cuicao.”

"Sister Cuicao, are you off work?"

"Hmm, guess where I went today?"

"Where did you go?"

"Da Li Zhuang".

Zhang Cuicao smiled and told her about the current development of Dalizhuang: "Li Weidong asked for your phone number, and I gave it to him."

"Doesn't he have my phone number?"

"When?"

He Wan thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't heard from him for several years: "I guess it's lost. How's his feed mill?"

"Business is booming, and they're doing a great job. They even asked me when I was coming over so they could come and take a look."

He Wan laughed: "As long as he manages it well, what's there for me to care about? I'll talk to him when he calls."

Upon hearing that it was He Wan, Shen Xiaomi, who was holding a kitten, quickly came over and said, "Aunt He, can I come to your place to play this summer vacation? Xi Yao, can you show me around Haicheng?"

"Xiaomi, come on, come on. Tell your mom to tell me a time, and I'll come pick you up."

"Really, that's great. Aunt He, don't worry, I'm very well-behaved and hardworking. When we get there, I can cook for you and let you taste my cooking skills. I've really inherited my parents' skills."

"Come on, let's get into high school first. If you don't get in, you can't go anywhere."

He Wan said, "Good luck, Xiaomi. If you pass the exam and get into high school, Aunt He will give you a reward."

"Don't worry, Aunt He, I'm sure I'll get in. It's a pity that Xi Yao and I aren't in the same year, otherwise we could both get into the same university."

Seeing that the food was about to get cold, Shen Guoqing gestured to the table.

They then hung up the phone reluctantly.

"Wow, Dad, it smells so good! There's chicken too! Mom and I had chicken in Dalizhuang today. Grandma Chrysanthemum's cooking is pretty good too."

Shen Guoqing asked, "Have you learned it yet?"

Shen Xiaomi ate a spicy chicken cube, waved her hand and said, "I went to the river to catch fish with Sister Qiuju."

Zhang Cuicao said, "Your sister Qiuju is so old, and you're not a child either. Why are two girls going to the river to catch fish?"

"Everyone has curiosity, no matter how old they are. I finally got to go there, so I definitely had to experience it. Hmm, the countryside is so nice."

The couple didn't know how to respond to their daughter's words. They had lived in the countryside for a full ten years.

To say whether it was bitter or not, it was bitter, but there were also many happy moments.

But for Zhang Cuicao, all this happiness came from He Wan.

She was incredibly grateful that He Wan had been a part of her life as a sent-down youth.

Over the long years, it gave her light and a future.

In Shen Guoqing's view, meeting Zhang Cuicao was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him.

Therefore, the life of a sent-down youth was not considered bitter.