"Li Xian, you can't lie to me. No matter what it is, good or bad, you can't lie to me."

Xu Nuo twirled her fingertips in her palm. What she hated most was self-righteous kindness. What kind of white lies or white deceptions were they? To her, a simple truth was more useful.

Aside from birth, aging, illness, and death, there's always a solution to everything if we face it together.

Xu Nuo's voice was very soft and gentle, without any threat, yet it felt like a sharp needle repeatedly pricking and pulling at Li Xian's heart.

His naturally dark pupils rippled with pain, and his long eyelashes lashed out, concealing everything in darkness.

He bit his tongue and said seriously, "Okay."

Xu Nuo's anger came and went quickly. She understood that Li Xian was afraid she would worry, and besides, he had fallen and looked like a ghost, so she felt more heartache for him.

Li Xian held her and comforted her for a while, and then she showed off her little white teeth and happily shared the candy with Li Xian.

She pulled out a candy from her purse, flashed him her tiny front teeth, and smiled sweetly: "I want the one you peel."

"Okay." Li Xian's eyes were full of doting affection. He was about to take the candy with his palm down when he was suddenly grabbed by a pair of small hands.

Turn it over, and you'll see a patch of wounds on your palm.

Xu Nuo's little hands were soft and tender, and her fingertips lightly touched his palm like a dragonfly skimming the water.

She complained, "Idiot, you're so badly injured."

Li Xian cupped his palm, afraid that the wound would frighten her.

It looked scary, but it was just some superficial injuries. He wanted to help her unwrap the candy, but Xu Nuo tore off the wrapper first and stuffed the candy into his mouth.

She tilted her head back, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Is it sweet?

"It's very sweet."

Li Xian unwrapped the candy and fed it to her, but saw that her little face was a little red. She twisted her little shoulders and looked around as if she was about to do something naughty. After confirming that no one was around, she looked up and asked him in a small voice.

"And what about me?"

Li Xian didn't understand, and stared at her with his unfathomable black eyes: "What's wrong with you?"

Xu Nuo thought he was really clueless about romance, so she reached out and poked his waist, asking him in a sweet voice, "Am I sweet?"

Li Xian's throat bobbed, his voice slightly hoarse as if he had been drinking, and he gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips: "Sweet."

Xu Nuo was finally satisfied. She then changed the subject and said to him, "By the way, you can't come to my house anymore. Xu Guihua is living at my house now."

Li Xian was taken aback: "You have guests?"

"What kind of guest is she? Just an annoying person," Xu Nuo said unhappily. "She's my dad's grandma. She used to live with my uncle, but now that my uncle has had an accident, she's moved into our house."

Li Xian stared at her pouting lips, his eyes darkening.

The little darling has always been generous and kind, but now her tone of voice is a bit off, and the corners of her mouth aren't upturned anymore.

Li Xian touched her head and bent down, supporting himself with his uninjured leg.

Looking into her eyes, I softly asked, "Is she treating you badly?"

Having found someone to confide in, Xu Nuo let out a loud "humph," pouting even more like a child about to cry: "Yeah, she bullied me."

She looked like she had been bullied terribly, and she looked very pitiful.

Li Xian's aura suddenly changed, as if a black cloth had been lifted to reveal the true nature of a wild beast in the mountains.

Xu Nuo thought he was being too fierce, so she gently tugged at his sleeve, shook it, and brought her face close to his downcast eyes, smiling as she said, "But she didn't bully me, so I fought back. I'm very fierce."

The little pampered girl made a fierce face, which, in Li Xian's eyes, looked like a cute little kitten showing its baby teeth to scare people.

He sighed, placed his large hand on her head, and asked worriedly, "You're not fierce at all. What did she do to you?"

"I'm fierce!"

Xu Nuo was very indignant: "She definitely won't dare to bully me again. If she dares to bully me again, I'll kick her out and make her go back to live with her eldest son."

She angrily recounted what Xu Jin'an and Xu Jinhong had done. Li Xian, who was already cold and stern-looking, showed no expression on his face, but upon hearing this, his brows furrowed even more: "Your uncle mortgaged the house to a private lender?"

Xu Nuo nodded: "Yeah, I must owe some money."

"If no one is pressing for repayment, will your grandmother go back to live with him?"

Xu Guihua cherished Xu Jiangjiang like her own lifeblood, and then there was her lazy and good-for-nothing eldest son.

Xu Nuo nodded and instructed him, "In short, don't come to my house during this period of time. Otherwise, if Xu Guihua sees me, she will definitely tell the whole world."

Seeing that Li Xian didn't speak, Xu Nuo nudged his arm and whispered a reminder: "We can't let others know that we're dating."

Li Xian's fingers tightened.

If it weren't for his own bad family background and the fear of her being looked down upon, Li Xian would have loved for the whole world to know that she was his.

But this time, Li Xian was very serious. He looked into Xu Nuo's eyes as if he had made a decision: "Nuonuo, you're right. We must not let anyone know about our relationship."

Xu Nuo nodded, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. Then she heard Li Xian say, "Now that we have a place to grow our own crops, we can plant them in the soil."

Xu Nuo almost jumped up: "Really!"

Seeing her so happy, Li Xian couldn't help but smile, and his heavy heart felt much lighter.

Although it was not a great famine at this time, many people still did not have enough to eat or wear, and the gap between rich and poor was severe. The rich had meat at every meal, while the poor had to make wild vegetable porridge from grass roots to fill their stomachs.

The extent of the food shortage was simply unimaginable.

Adults were limited to purchasing 30 to 40 catties of grain per month, but in those days, everyone was short of food, so this amount was naturally not enough. Therefore, many people started to buy grain on the black market.

The black market is full of all sorts of goods, but the one that sells the best is grain. Rice, wheat, beans, and most people have bought them secretly. Even Xu Jin'an has bought them several times, simply because you need grain coupons to buy grain. Once you run out of coupons, you can't buy them even if you have money.

So as long as we can grow grain, we'll definitely have no trouble selling it.

During this period, Xu Nuo has made a lot of money from skin oil and herbal tea. If she adds her own grain production in the future, it will probably double again. Thinking about her little treasury getting fuller and fuller, she felt a little happy. She hugged Li Xian's waist and said with a smile, "Great! This way I am one step closer to my goal of becoming a ten-thousand-yuan household. Hehe, am I amazing?"

Li Xian affectionately patted her head, smoothing her stray hairs, his heart melting with tenderness: "Amazing, I'll give you my money too, it's all yours."

Oh, right, and Li Xian's money too.

The stack of money Li Xian gave her last time amounted to more than three thousand two hundred, which was a huge sum of money in this era.

Xu Nuo didn't want his money. She tugged at his sleeve and said, "I'll save our money and wait for the government to open up housing sales policies so we can buy a house!"

Li Xian was always astute; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to handle the illegal trade so skillfully under the Eighth Master's guidance.

When he heard "house sales," he showed a slight hint of regret: "It's a pity that the policies are too strict now."

"What are you afraid of? Trust me, it won't be long before we can openly and legitimately buy both houses and food."

Her certainty made Li Xian feel hopeful, and he sighed, "If houses can be bought and sold, those who own land will benefit the most."

The process of building a house is complicated, but the most crucial step is acquiring land. You need land to plan and build, and only after construction can the house be sold.

Selling houses will definitely earn you more money than selling pornographic goods.

Seeing Li Xian's foresight, Xu Nuo's big eyes were full of cunning, and she felt quite proud of him.

The later-popular Jiahe Real Estate was actually a project under the Zhongxu Group.

The two were chatting happily when Li Xian's expression suddenly changed. He grabbed Xu Nuo's hand and quickly opened another door to the room.

Outside the door was a pile of discarded, broken wooden planks, stacked there, completely blocking the door. When the door was pushed open, the planks clattered and fell to the ground.

Xu Nuo asked in surprise, "How... cough cough."

She was choked by the dust and stopped speaking. Li Xian pulled her behind him, quickly closed the door from the outside, and, ignoring the injury on his hand, piled the scattered wooden planks back up.

A sound came from inside.

"It smells so good! What's that smell?"

Liu Chun'er narrowed her eyes to slits, inhaling the lingering fragrance of flowers and plants in the room.

"It's like the herbal tea that Eighth Master drinks, but this one is even more fragrant." Xi Ba himself had never drunk that herbal tea, but he had smelled the aroma when Eighth Master brewed it. He exclaimed at the time, "It's truly a good thing; the aroma alone makes one feel relaxed and happy."

Liu Chun nodded: "No wonder it smells so good. Sister Xu said that Brother Li brought a very beautiful woman with him. Maybe she brought herbal tea with her."

It smells so good, I must take so many!

Liu Chun was very envious. Li Xian was truly blessed by the God of Wealth to get such good things, and he also had such a brilliant mind and courage. Today, even Eighth Master couldn't help but praise him: "Li Xian, don't underestimate him because of his young age. He's not simple, really not simple."

Xi Ba said, "Maybe he's already gone. Hey Chun Ge, you know, Li Ge really has a lucky life. Yesterday..."

Xu Nuo didn't hear what happened next because Li Xian had already pulled her out of the alley.

The two parted ways before leaving the alley, walking properly to the left and right.

Xu Nuo was going back to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Lin Xiaofeng, but she ran out before they had even finished talking.

Xu Nuo used to go to Luxian Village for a few days every week. Later, even if she stopped going, Li Xian would still walk into the city every day to see her. Now that Xu Guihua has moved into Xu Nuo's house, it has become more difficult for the two of them to meet.

Because Li Xian had a leg injury, Xu Nuo walked exceptionally slowly. But for some reason, the supply and marketing cooperative was unusually close today, and they arrived in no time.

The thought of parting made Xu Nuo feel a little sad, and she let out a small "woo".

Li Xian didn't want to be separated from her in the first place, and hearing her aggrieved whimper, he wished he could take her home and hide her away.

"Huh."

Xu Nuo's eyes suddenly lit up. Because she was already attracting attention on the street, she didn't dare to show it. She just whispered, "I can tell my family that I have to go to Luxian Village for classes, and then I can stay with you for a few days."

This way, she can see Li Xian without having to stay at home, which is perfect.

Li Xian, who had been walking with his head down, straightened up instantly upon hearing her words, looking up at her with surprise.

If it weren't for the fact that we were on the street, I would have already picked the person up and spun them around.

He was perhaps a little excited, his voice trembling slightly: "Then, then I'll come pick you up."

"Okay, let's do it in three days, at..."

Xu Nuo was pondering where the two of them should meet.

Li Xian glanced at her and said, "I'll wait for you downstairs at your place."

The sadness of parting turned into anticipation of seeing each other again, and the corners of their mouths couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

A passing comrade looked at Xu Nuo with amazement, but paused when his gaze fell on the tall figure beside her.

The man's face was long and handsome, but unfortunately he was lame.

But it's strange, is it because the sun is too big?

Why are their cheeks so flushed?

…

Lin Xiaofeng looked at Xu Nuo, who had returned, and then looked curiously at the door.

It's deserted outside, there's hardly anyone around.

"What happened to you? You suddenly ran out just now, you scared me to death."

Lin Xiaofeng was genuinely anxious. If she weren't the only one at the supply and marketing cooperative, she would have run out to find someone.

Xu Nuo was a little embarrassed. She had just seen a figure that looked a lot like Li Xian, and in her haste she ran out, completely forgetting about Lin Xiaofeng.

She took Lin Xiaofeng's hand and shook it, her voice soft.

"I... I ran into someone I knew, so I went out to take a look."

Xu Nuo was already fair-skinned and beautiful, but now, for some reason, she exuded an irresistible feminine charm, with captivating eyes, rosy cheeks, and a voice so sweet it could melt your bones.

Lin Xiaofeng had no temper left, and instead had to comfort her: "Alright, alright, I'm not angry with you. I'm just worried that something might happen to you. I'm really not angry with you."

She was a straightforward person and had a special fondness for Xu Nuo. She grinned and said, "Even if you, such a delicate girl, kicked me hard, I wouldn't be angry with you."

"What kind of metaphor is this?" Xu Nuo chuckled. Lin Xiaofeng was a little stunned and said, "Comrade Xu Nuo, you are so beautiful."

Xu Nuo poked the back of her hand and said with a smile, "Xiao Feng looks good too, especially after her face turned white, she looks even better than before."

What woman doesn't love beauty? Lin Xiaofeng was pleased to hear this, and unconsciously cupped her cheeks with her hands, saying happily, "Right, right? I think my skin is noticeably whiter, and I don't get any red bumps anymore."

Lin Xiaofeng was delighted to see Xu Nuo looking more beautiful and became even friendlier to her, saying sincerely, "Thanks to you, I, Feng'er, am so lucky to have met such a benefactor as you."

Xu Nuo didn't stay at the supply and marketing cooperative for long. He figured it was about time and headed home.

Xue Ping's work at the subdistrict office ends at 4 p.m. Usually, she walks leisurely, but today she rushed out right on time.

He put the small bag on the handlebars, pedaled forward a few steps with one foot, and then stepped over the seat with the other.

At this time, there was a small group of people getting off their early shifts. On weekdays, most people on the street were wearing work uniforms or military green uniforms. You could hardly find anyone wearing any other color on the street.

Xue Ping had sharp eyes and immediately spotted the slender figure in the crowd.

Isn't that her precious daughter?