Ning He returned home with a full load of newly bought cloth.

On the way back, Qianlin fell asleep sitting in the back of the tricycle.

When they got home, Ning He carefully picked up Qianlin and put him in the crib.

Ma Xiaohui, on the other hand, carried the empty bucket to clean.

Zhao Lan came out of the house when she heard the noise, and was really shocked when she saw Ma Xiaohui.

"Xiaohui? Why are you here?"

Ma Xiaohui, who was carrying an empty wooden barrel, was startled and almost dropped the barrel in her hand. Fortunately, she recovered quickly.

She looked at Zhao Lan and explained nervously, "I, I came to Ninghe to help."

Zhao Lan was shocked for a moment: "What? You're helping Xiao Ning to set up a stall?"

Ma Xiaohui nodded slightly.

Ning He heard the sound outside the house, walked to the door, and saw Ma Xiaohui chatting with Zhao Lan.

"What's wrong, Sister Zhao Lan?" Ning He asked.

Zhao Lan suddenly looked at Ning He at the door and asked her in disbelief: "Xiao Ning, did you ask He Dazhuang's wife to help you?"

Ning He nodded: "I am busy taking care of Qianlin by myself, Xiaohui is diligent and learns quickly, so I asked her to help."

"You..." Zhao Lan really didn't know what to say.

What did she tell Ning He before?

She told Ning He not to contact Ma Xiaohui, but she refused to listen.

I helped Ma Xiaohui last time, and I had already done my best. Why do you ask her for help again this time?

If He Dazhuang knew this...

Zhao Lan didn't dare to think about it further.

Ning He saw Zhao Lan's concerns, she smiled and joked: "Sister Zhao Lan, don't be angry, I still remember what you said before about making money together, I haven't forgotten it!"

Zhao Lan gave her a displeased look. She understood what Ning He meant.

This is because he didn't want her to say those unpleasant words in front of Ma Xiaohui.

"Alright, alright, just know what's going on. I won't say anything else."

Ning He responded with a smile. She walked to the tricycle, took out the remaining portion of turkey noodles and sour plum soup, packed them in a plastic bag, walked to the fence wall, and handed them to Zhao Lan.

"Sister Zhao Lan, please calm down!"

Zhao Lan took it and said, "You, you know how to bribe me with delicious food!"

But it’s very useful every time!

Ning He said to Ma Xiaohui, "It's okay, take the things inside."

Ma Xiaohui nodded and walked into the kitchen carrying the wooden bucket.

See Ma Xiaohui enter the kitchen.

Zhao Lan lowered her voice and said to Ning He with a look of regret: "You are really young and fearless! If something happens to her man with your character, you will be in trouble!"

Ning He smiled and said flatteringly, "If anything really happens, I know Sister Zhao Lan will definitely stand on my side."

Zhao Lan rolled her eyes at her and asked, "Have you told your husband about this? How come Captain He agreed to it?"

Ning He nodded obediently.

Zhao Lan shook her head helplessly: "If He Dazhuang wasn't afraid of Captain He, he wouldn't have come to my house to make trouble! You just relied on your man to be able to deal with him, so you didn't listen to my advice!"

Ning He smiled and asked, "So Sister Zhao Lan is not angry with me anymore?"

Zhao Lan rolled her eyes at her and said, "If your man isn't angry, why should I be angry?"

Ning He said a few flattering words to Zhao Lan again, and after Ma Xiaohui cleaned everything, she came out of the kitchen.

Zhao Lan took a look, turned and went into the house, as if she didn't want to have too much contact with Ma Xiaohui.

Ning He smiled and handed the oil fruit on the tricycle to Ma Xiaohui: "This is for you. Today's work is done, you can go back and rest."

Ma Xiaohui suddenly raised her head and looked at Ning He in disbelief.

"Ninghe, I can't accept this!" She stretched out her hand to refuse.

Ning He insisted on stuffing it into her hand: "It's for you, take it, otherwise you don't have to come tomorrow!"

Unable to withstand Ning He's coercion and inducement, Ma Xiaohui had no choice but to accept it.

She assured Ning He with some guilt: "I'm sorry for making so many mistakes today. I promise I won't make the same mistake again tomorrow!"

"Everyone makes mistakes. Making mistakes is not a bad thing. On the contrary, making mistakes will make people more vigilant and less likely to make the same mistake next time."

Ma Xiaohui nodded gratefully. She struggled in her heart for a long time and finally asked.

"Ning He, why don't you ask me who that man was today?"

Ma Xiaohui thought of Fang Ming and her expression became gloomy.

"That's your private matter. It's your decision whether you want to speak up or not. I won't ask. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable keeping this matter to yourself and want to talk to someone, I'd be happy to be a listener."

Ma Xiaohui nodded: "Ninghe, over the years, besides him, you are the only one who has been the best to me. I don't want to hide it from you."

Ning He sighed softly, took her hand and walked into the main room: "Let's go in and talk?"

Ma Xiaohui nodded and followed Ning He into the house.

Ning He poured her a glass of boiled water and placed it in front of her.

Ma Xiaohui recalled her past with Fang Ming and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Ning He could see that Ma Xiaohui and Fang Ming had a wonderful past, so much so that whenever she recalled it, she would smile.

"His name is Fang Ming. He is an intellectual from the city. He followed the team to the countryside and came to our village to help with rural construction. I met him while doing farm work."

"My family is poor, I have many sisters, and I am the oldest. If I don't work, I won't have food to eat. I was hungry since I was a child, and I was pale and thin. Once I fainted while doing farm work, and Fang Ming carried me to the shade of a tree. He gave me the steamed bread he had for breakfast, and even took on all the work himself to help me finish the farm work."

Thinking of this, Ma Xiaohui's eyes gradually moistened. She looked at Ning He and said in a trembling voice: "Ning He, do you know? At that time, Fang Ming was like a beam of light that illuminated me. He, like you, is a very kind person."

When Ning He heard this, she nodded and did not interrupt, but listened to Ma Xiaohui continue speaking.

"He taught me how to read and write, shared half of his food with me every day, helped me with farm work, and told me that if I wanted to escape my fate, I had to study hard and get out of here. As I got along with him, I gradually fell in love with him."

"It's a pity that we were not destined to be together. Later, my mother found out about my feelings for Fang Ming. She beat and scolded me, saying that I had no sense of shame. She even said that these educated youth were a group of well-dressed hooligans. She said that Fang Ming was just playing with me, and that they would return to the city sooner or later, and by then I would be a worn-out slut!"

"My mother's words completely woke me up. She was right. Fang Ming was an educated youth from the city, and I was just a wild flower in the village that no one cared about. Sooner or later, he would return to the city and do something big. But I could never escape from that mountain. I could only rot in my roots."

"Finally, I followed my mother's arrangement and married He Dazhuang. On the day of my wedding, Fang Ming came and asked me to go with him. He Dazhuang saw it and beat him up severely. I was afraid that he would be beaten to death by He Dazhuang, so I said a lot of vicious words to him. It was me who forced Fang Ming to leave. From that day on, I never saw Fang Ming again, and my heart was completely dead."