After that, An Qingbai stopped bothering Zhuang Zhimeng and only occasionally fed her popcorn and soda. Zhuang Zhimeng also occasionally fed An Qingbai a few pieces, and the two watched the movie together sweetly.

After leaving the movie theater, the two no longer held hands. There were Red Guards patrolling the area; if caught, they'd be reprimanded at best, and arrested at worst. These days, relationships between men and women are a serious matter.

Just as the two were about to go to the state-run restaurant for a meal, they saw a group of Red Guards go in. Thinking it best not to cause trouble, they prepared to head home to the oxcart area, but trouble still came their way.

As the two were walking, a person suddenly darted out from another alley. Upon seeing Zhuang Zhimeng and Zhuang Zhimeng, the person shoved a bundle into Zhuang Zhimeng's hands without saying a word and then ran quickly to the other side.

Before Zhuang Zhimeng could even think, she quickly put the bundle into the basket on her back, which was actually the warehouse.

An Qingbai noticed, but he didn't say anything. He knew that Zhizhi had a secret and wanted to wait for her to tell him herself. He could wait.

Immediately afterward, a Red Guard appeared and stopped the two: "What are you doing here? You look unfamiliar. Do you have a letter of introduction? Show it to me!"

Zhuang Zhimeng quickly handed over the letter of introduction: "I am an educated youth sent to the countryside. He is from our brigade. We came to town to purchase daily necessities for the village."

Hong Xiaobing took the letter of introduction, looked at it, and then returned it to Zhuang Zhimeng. He also noticed that their baskets were empty. "Alright, hurry up and leave after you've bought your things. Don't linger here!" he said, and then walked away into the distance.

Zhuang Zhimeng patted her chest, thankfully she always got a letter of introduction from the brigade leader every time she went to town, otherwise today would have been really dangerous.

"That scared me to death! I thought we were going to be in big trouble today!"

"It seems something has happened in town!"

An Qingbai happened to see a child and traded a few pieces of candy for the information.

It turns out that some migrant workers from other provinces have fled to the area. Recently, strict checks have been conducted at every intersection in the town, and anyone who sees an unfamiliar face will be questioned.

"Then let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative, otherwise we won't be able to explain it."

An Qingbai had no objection; he would accompany his Zhizhi wherever she wanted to go.

The two arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative and were thinking about what to buy to take back when the person who had just thrown the bundle to Zhuang Zhimeng came over with them.

He nudged An Qingbai's arm with his hand. An Qingbai saw that it was the same person from before, who probably came to ask for the baggage back.

An Qingbai tugged at Zhuang Zhimeng's hand to remind her to follow him, and saw that the man gestured with his eyes.

Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai exchanged a glance, and then followed the man out of the supply and marketing cooperative.

We arrived at a secluded street with few houses nearby.

The man stopped and turned to Zhuang Zhimeng and the other woman, saying, "I really owe you both a lot just now, otherwise I would definitely have been arrested."

Zhuang Zhimeng handed over the bundle, "Why did they arrest you? Are you a vagrant?"

"No, I'm here to find my family. The situation was urgent, and I didn't have time to get a letter of introduction. This bundle contains some gold and valuables, which I'm using for travel expenses."

"Aren't you afraid we'll report you?"

"I don't think you guys would, otherwise I wouldn't have dared to show up again!"

"Then you'd better be careful, there are a lot of patrols in town!"

"I will. Please leave me your contact information. I will definitely visit my family to express my gratitude once I find them."

"No need, we didn't do anything."

"Absolutely!"

Seeing his persistence, Zhuang Zhimeng gave him her contact information.

Jiang Yunhai solemnly accepted the gift and took out a gold bar from his bundle, handing it to Zhuang Zhimeng: "I have nothing else to thank you with, so please take this gold bar. I will prepare a more generous gift when I visit you another day."

Zhuang Zhi tried to decline, but seeing An Qingbai nod at her and then looking at Jiang Yunhai's determined expression, she accepted it.

Seeing that she had accepted the money, Jiang Yunhai said to them, "Then I'll be going now! It would be troublesome if we were discovered! I'll definitely come to thank you another day." Then he ran off.

"Why did you agree to accept it? He probably didn't have many gold bars with him."

"Accepting it is to tell him not to worry about it. Otherwise, he'll definitely keep thinking about it, and if it affects his mood and he gets arrested before finding his family, wouldn't that be our fault?"

"Okay! You're right. Let's go home, I don't want to stay in town today!"

The two returned to Zhuang Zhimeng's residence. Zhuang Zhimeng didn't want to cook meat for dinner and just wanted something light.

I made a big pot of tomato and egg noodle soup.

Each of the three ate two or three bowls, and An Qingbai even ate four bowls. The sweet and sour taste was just right, refreshing and appetizing, and very delicious.