"Comrade, how much is this fabric?" she asked, pointing to the most beautiful piece of lake-blue floral fabric.

The sales clerk glanced at her and said in a cold tone, "Three yuan and eighty cents a foot, no cloth coupons required."

A collective gasp filled the air; this price was equivalent to almost half a month's wages for an average worker.

Rong Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she took out the money her brother had given her from her cloth bag: "I want six feet!"

The sales clerk paused for a moment, then instantly became enthusiastic, quickly measuring and cutting the fabric.

Several middle-aged women nearby looked at her enviously, whispering among themselves, "Who is this girl? She's so generous..."

Rong Jiaojiao pretended not to hear, happily put the cloth into her bag (actually stuffed it into her little secret place), and then browsed other counters, buying some local specialties, two packs of dried shrimp and two bottles of jellyfish sauce, intending to take them back for her master and parents to try.

It was almost time, so she strolled leisurely back to the train station.

There were already quite a few passengers waiting on the platform. She found a quiet corner to sit down and pulled a lunchbox out of her pocket.

Inside was half a red-spotted fish left over from last night. The fish was tender and the sauce was rich. She ate it in small bites, her eyes squinting with happiness.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the other end of the platform—

"Grab him! Don't let him get away!"

Rong Jiaojiao looked up and saw a small, thin figure weaving nimbly through the crowd, followed by two menacing men in red armbands.

The child looked no more than eight or nine years old, dressed in rags, clutching something tightly in his arms, and was about to be caught...

In his panic, the child ran headlong into the corner where Rong Jiaojiao was.

He looked up, his dirty little face filled with terror, clutching a shrunken cloth bag tightly to his chest.

Rong Jiaojiao reacted quickly, pulling him behind her, placing an invisibility talisman on him, and whispering, "Don't make a sound."

The man in the red armband quickly caught up and shouted sternly, "Young comrade, have you seen a little boy running over here?"

Rong Jiaojiao blinked, looking bewildered: "A boy? No, I've been sitting here the whole time."

The woman in the red armband looked at her suspiciously, then peeked behind her.

Although she knew they couldn't see her, Rong Jiaojiao still subconsciously shifted her body, just enough to block the child.

"Strange, it clearly ran this way..." the woman in red armband muttered, then glared at her. "If you see it, you must report it immediately, understand?"

"I know, I know!" Rong Jiaojiao nodded repeatedly, her face full of sincerity.

Once the red armband had disappeared into the distance, she breathed a sigh of relief, turned to the child, and removed the invisibility talisman from his body: "Alright, they're gone."

The child stared at her warily, like a frightened little animal, still clutching the cloth bag tightly in his arms.

Rong Jiaojiao scanned it with her divine sense and found that it contained a little bit of cornmeal.

"Did you steal something?" she asked, grabbing his collar.

The child pursed his lips as if to speak, but his stomach rumbled first.

Rong Jiaojiao sighed and took out an oil paper package from the secret realm. Inside was half a braised rabbit leg.

"Tell me, if you haven't done anything wrong, this rabbit leg is for you."

The child stared intently at the rabbit leg, drooling incessantly—a primal craving for meat after a long period of abstinence.

After a while, he looked away and said, "I did something bad, but could you please not hand me over?"

"Then tell me what bad things you did?"

The boy was held by the collar and unable to move. He confessed honestly, "I took the money to the black market to exchange for food."

Rong Jiaojiao thought to herself that this wasn't such a bad thing, so she let go of his hand and handed him the oil paper package: "Eat it, I won't hand you over."

The child hesitated for a moment, then finally took the oil paper package, but didn't eat it, clearly showing her wariness. She didn't force the child to eat it.

"What's your name?" Rong Jiaojiao asked again when she saw that he hadn't left.

"Little stone".

Where are your family members?

Little Stone paused, then whispered, "It's gone... A few years ago there was a big flood, the house collapsed, and I was the only one left."

Rong Jiaojiao was silent for a while, then took out a few grain coupons and a few yuan from her bosom and stuffed them into his hand: "Take this, go buy some food. Don't go to the black market anymore, it's too dangerous."

She had heard of cases where people were caught making deals and, fearing capture, fled only to be beaten.

Little Stone was stunned, his eyes instantly reddening: "Why...why did you help me?"

"For no reason," she said, not knowing why, perhaps she just wanted to do a good deed every day.

Remembering that they weren't too far from the sea, he suggested, "If you really have no food, you can go beachcombing. It should be possible to go back and forth in a day. Putting aside everything else, a day's beachcombing should be enough to feed you for several days. It's much safer than going to the black market."

The little boy's eyes lit up immediately: "Thank you, sister! Sister, what's your name?"

What Rong Jiaojiao didn't know was that it was because of her words that the little boy grew up to become a famous fish king.

Seeing that time was almost up, Rong Jiaojiao stood up: "My name is Rong Jiaojiao, Rong as in banyan tree, Jiao as in beautiful face. I'm leaving!"

Clutching his food coupons, Little Stone imprinted Rong Jiaojiao's name and words in his heart, and suddenly called out to her, "Sister! Will you come again in the future?"

Rong Jiaojiao turned around and waved to him: "See you again someday!"

Little Stone watched her leave until she was out of sight, then left with the things in his hands.

The train whistle pierced the sky, and Rong Jiaojiao, carrying her cloth bag, hurried toward the ticket gate.

The platform was crowded with people. Farmers carrying shoulder poles, educated youth carrying bundles, and women holding children were all crammed together, vying to get into the carriages.

"Make way! Make way!" Several train attendants in blue uniforms shouted at the top of their lungs, but the noise of the crowd almost drowned out their shouts, and there was no order to speak of.

Rong Jiaojiao, relying on her agility, dodged left and right, and finally squeezed to the front of her carriage, only to find that the door was already blocked.

A burly man carrying a sack climbed through the window and into the carriage, prompting others to follow suit. Soon, the windows of the carriage were crowded with heads and arms.

"Comrade, excuse me!" She was about to squeeze through the crowd when she was suddenly jostled by the crowd.

Just as she was about to fall, a rough, large hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back steadily.

"Be careful, don't fall!" The voice was a little hoarse, but it was also very kind.

Rong Jiaojiao looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a faded military uniform standing in front of her, with a kind smile on his face and gentle eyes.

"Thank you!" Rong Jiaojiao quickly expressed her gratitude, feeling a warmth in her heart. Soldiers are reliable, whether they are retired or active duty.

"It's alright." The man smiled, let go of her hand, and then helped her lift the cloth bag up a bit. "You're small, so you have to be careful."

Rong Jiaojiao nodded, looking at him gratefully.