After finishing the steamed buns, she ate the wild vegetable pancakes she had brought with her, along with water, and only then did she feel alive again.

Holding the stone, he followed behind Su's father, finding everything fascinating.

Following Su's father to the shop where he often bought grain, Liu Huan finally saw the shiny rice, each grain plump and distinct, a variety that Maocao Village could not produce.

After hesitating for a long time, Su's father decided not to buy brown rice and instead bought the lowest grade of flour, dark flour.

Then we went to the bookstore. The bookstore didn't look very big, and there weren't many people there.

The waiter, seeing their attire, didn't seem to mind and asked what kind of book they wanted.

Su's father struggled to recall and finally remembered one character: 千.

The waiter understood immediately: "The Thousand Character Classic, isn't it?"

He pulled out a very worn-out book and handed it to him: "Uncle, this book costs two hundred coins. Don't be fooled by its tattered appearance, it contains every single word you should have."

Su's father hesitated for a moment, but Shi Tou said, "Dad, let's take this one."

During the bargaining, I spent an extra fifty coins to buy the cheapest brush and ink stick, and one hundred coins to buy a ream of the lowest grade of white paper.

Liu Huan realized he had underestimated the price. Unlike modern times, where everything is high-tech and production is low, things were very expensive in ancient times.

These few items cost a quarter of the family's savings; no wonder poor people can't afford to go to school.

Father Su dared not buy anything and decided to wander around and wait for everyone to go home together.

Liu Huan remembered the handkerchief she had brought for her sister and, seeing a tailor shop nearby, said she wanted to go and ask.

"Shopkeeper, do you accept handkerchiefs here?"

Shopkeeper: "I've accepted it. Let me see it."

Liu Huan took out the handkerchief embroidered by Cao'er. The shopkeeper glanced at it and commented expressionlessly, "To be honest, the embroidery is not bad, but the embroidery thread and fabric are too poor. If you used some better embroidery thread, I might accept it."

Liu Huan asked, "How much does your embroidery thread cost here?"

A few colorful embroidery threads cost more than ten coins, and even a hero can be brought down by a penny. This left Liu Huan, who had no money at all, in a very difficult situation.

The family has already spent so much money; she dares not ask her father for another penny.

They had to think of other ways: "Shopkeeper, do you have any embroidery work that needs processing? You've seen my sister's embroidery work; the finished product will definitely satisfy you."

The shopkeeper glanced through it and reluctantly agreed, "Alright, consider it a good deed I'm doing. Remember to tell your sister to embroider it nicely."

He exchanged a dozen or so pieces of grass for several bundles of colored embroidery thread, and also received embroidery work on ten handkerchiefs, for which he received a processing fee of two pieces of three coins.

The shopkeeper didn't ask for a deposit, explaining, "Several shops in this town belong to my family, including the bookstore next door. If you dare to run away with your things, you'll have to decide whether you want to stay in town forever."

Liu Huan patted his chest and promised that he would definitely send the handkerchief in a month.

Su's father and Shi Tou remained silent throughout the entire process, simply watching as she and the shopkeeper finalized the deal, even before the counter was even set up.

The three arrived outside the city gate. Not all the villagers had arrived yet, so they went to ask an old lady selling chicks. They were eighteen coins each, and the chicks didn't look very healthy.

At noon, the group set off on time.

The way back felt much more difficult than the way there.

The cotton shoes had thin soles, making it very uncomfortable to walk on uneven roads. Liu Huan felt like something was broken on the soles of her feet, and each step was painful, so painful that she became numb.

At the foot of the mountain, an old man looked at the bushes and joked, "Da Nian, you found your little girl here, didn't you? Everyone who passed by heard it, but no one dared to go near her."

Liu Huan looked in that direction and saw that the area was overgrown with thatch. She couldn't help but wonder if the original owner's mother couldn't afford to raise her, so she left her there waiting for a kind person to take her away.

Mr. Su said, "Luckily you didn't pick her up, otherwise I would have gotten such a thoughtful daughter for nothing."

The uphill road ahead was the most grueling part. Liu Huan, already exhausted and with blisters on her feet, was covered in sweat.

When Shi Tou asked if she wanted him to carry her, she shook her head. Only after they had passed through the deep mountains and could see the direction of her home did she feel relieved.

She vowed to earn money and escape this remote mountain village.

The first thing she did when she got home was to lie on the bed and bury her head in the stiff blankets. The pain in her feet kept coming, making her feel inexplicably wronged.

More than anything, I feel sorry for the people living in these mountains.

Earning money is like picking up soil with a needle, and spending money is like washing away sand with waves; it's a mountain they can never cross.

Beneath the simple smile lay heartache and helplessness. I finally understood why so many people passing by pretended not to see the swaddled baby in the grass—because every extra person meant one less hope.

Stone thought she was asleep and was about to take off her shoes when he discovered her bloody, mangled soles.

He carefully turned her over; silent tears had already soaked the hair bun on her forehead.

Stone seemed to hear the sound of his own heart breaking. Carefully avoiding the wound on his foot, he picked her up with trembling hands.

He forgot, forgot that she was only a three-year-old child. How could she not get hurt after walking such a long distance? He blamed himself for not being more careful and noticing it sooner.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Liu Huan felt tears falling onto her neck. She reached out and hugged him back, whispering, "Shi Tou, let's work together to get out of this mountain."

Stone, his voice hoarse, managed to utter a single word: "Good."

Liu Huan fell asleep from exhaustion while Shi Tou was blaming himself.

I boiled water and brought it in to wash her face and hands. I didn't dare touch her feet, afraid that if I hurt her, she would wake up. I covered her with the blanket, changed my clothes, and went to an old man in the village to get medicine.

Liu Huan slept until the next day. When she woke up, she found that her feet were wrapped in bandages. Her mother, with red eyes, sat on the edge of the bed, holding an egg custard in her hand, and kept complaining: "Your father is really something. He didn't even notice that your feet were like this."

She asked softly, "Does it still hurt now?"

It hurts, it hurts a lot.

Liu Huan smiled and shook her head, "It doesn't hurt anymore, Mother. I wanted to go myself, so you can't blame Father."

Su's mother handed her the bowl: "You should stay home and rest for the next few days. Don't go anywhere. You've never suffered like this before."

After wiping away her tears, she said, "Call me when you're done eating, and then I'll leave."

Shi Tou came in and took out a handkerchief from his pocket, inside which were the steamed buns that Liu Huan had given him yesterday.

He took the bowl, mashed the steamed bun in it, and handed it to her with a smile in his eyes. "Eat up, you'll have more in the future."

Liu Huan smiled and nodded, then buried her head in the bowl, swallowing her tears along with the steamed egg custard and the hardened steamed bun.

After that day, the two tacitly stopped mentioning the matter. Da Shi and Shi Tou started going to school, and when they came back, they would help with chores or dig earthworms.

Every day, Cao'er does laundry, cooks, and does embroidery. She is happy that she can earn money for her family, and she will ask Aunt Zhang for help if she doesn't know how to do something.

After Liu Huan's foot was fully healed in more than ten days, she followed Xiao Shi to dig for earthworms every day. When she came back, she learned to recognize characters from Shi Tou.