Zhuang Zhimeng also wanted to experience a public bathhouse, as she had never been to one before.

Zhuang Zhimeng always heats the water before taking a bath at home. She washes in the bathtub in the bathroom and has to put on her clothes immediately afterward, otherwise she will catch a cold.

When Zhuang Zhimeng started making furniture, she didn't consider the issue of bathing. The bath tub was made by Zhuang Zhimeng later by a carpenter in the village. She filled in the missing parts as she thought of them, and gradually the whole set was completed.

After taking a shower, Zhuang Zhimeng felt much better. An Qingbai was already waiting for her outside.

She had just seen pedicures at the bathhouse, but she didn't get her toes done; she felt it was strange to have someone else do it for her.

"Brother Qingbai, did you get your pedicure done just now?"

"No, I'm not used to getting my pedicure done outside."

"Me too, I feel a little embarrassed."

The two looked at each other and smiled; their interests were so aligned—they didn't like anything they didn't like.

Zhuang Zhimeng, realizing that he hadn't formally introduced An Qingbai to Uncle Qin yet, suggested, "Brother Qingbai, let's visit Uncle Qin's house before the New Year and formally introduce you to Uncle Qin and Aunt Gao."

It's best not to bother them now, otherwise Uncle Qin and Aunt Gao will be busy entertaining us. This is probably a very busy time for them, and going there would only cause them trouble.

"Okay, we'll prepare some New Year's gifts to take with us then."

"OK!"

"Have I told you about Uncle Qin?"

An Qingbai shook his head: "Not yet."

"Uncle Qin was my grandfather's bodyguard. He respected my grandfather a lot, so he was also good to my grandfather's family. When I went to the countryside, my grandfather asked Uncle Qin to take care of me, and Uncle Qin carried out my grandfather's instructions very well."

"I can tell that Uncle Qin is a good person, and he's good to you too."

"Yes, Uncle Qin is a very honest and kind person, and he has been very good to me."

"Then let's visit Uncle Qin often to thank him for taking care of you."

"Okay! Let's go to the scrap yard and see if there are any books we can take back."

"OK."

The two rode their bicycles toward the scrap metal recycling station.

When we arrived at the scrap metal recycling station, this time the gatekeeper was an old lady.

Zhuang Zhimeng smiled and handed a few pieces of candy to the old lady, saying, "Auntie, we'd like to pick out some books and newspapers. May we go inside and take a look?"

The old woman felt a surge of joy when she saw the pretty girl smiling at her. "Go on, come out and we'll weigh you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai went inside, mainly to look for books.

Zhuang Zhimeng rummaged through the floor, tidying up the newspapers and setting them aside. Then she looked for books she could take home, as some were very sensitive and couldn't be brought back.

An Qingbai noticed that several comic books that weren't in the house had been put away. The children had already finished reading all the ones at home, and they were getting tired of reading the same old stories all the time.

Zhuang Zhimeng flipped to a book on tractor repair and use, and tugged at An Qingbai's arm: "Brother Qingbai, are you interested in reading this book? You never know when you might need it!"

An Qingbai took it and looked at it, very interested. "Zhizhi, I really want to see it. Let's put it away!"

"good."

Zhuang Zhimeng was lucky this time, finding two math, physics, and chemistry books. Now she has a total of 8 books, and she only needs 9 more to complete the set.

An Qingbai found a book on radio repair and put it away. He was quite interested in trying his hand at repairing radios, thinking that he could fix one for Zhuang Zhimeng and bring it back for her to use to relieve her boredom.

She didn't turn over anything else; it was too cold. Her hands were almost frozen after turning over for a while. Zhuang Zhimeng rubbed her hands, and An Qingbai saw this. He looked around and saw that no one was in the room, so he took her hands and warmed them for her. His hands were warm, and it took a while for them to warm up.

Zhuang Zhimeng and An Qingbai came out of the house. "Auntie, how much do you think it is?"

"I'll take two cents from you."

An Qingbai handed the money to the old woman.

After leaving the scrap metal recycling station, it's time to head back; it's getting late.

The two rode their bicycles home. Suddenly, Zhuang Zhimeng, who was sitting on the back, saw a person acting suspiciously in the corner, looking left and right. In front of him was a child. He walked up to the child and said something. He took out a piece of candy and a handkerchief from his pocket. Seeing that the child had already taken the candy and put it in his mouth, he prepared to cover the child's mouth with the handkerchief.

Zhuang Zhimeng quickly told An Qingbai to stop the car, whispered something in his ear, and then she walked quickly to the child and took his hand, saying, "Zhiming, what are you doing here? Your sister has been looking for you for ages."

The child was about to speak, "I don't...", when he felt Zhuang Zhimeng tug at him, so he stopped talking.

An Qingbai followed closely behind and stood beside them.