Sun Kaicheng accepted it: "Thank you, Brother Long."

Seeing that Sun Kaicheng accepted it so readily, Brother Long was quite satisfied: "Haha, you're too kind. Brother, what's your name?"

"Brother Long, just call me Xiao Zhou."

Brother Long knew this wasn't his real name, so he didn't press the matter further. There are rules in the underworld, and heroes don't ask about their origins.

"Okay, Brother Zhou, be sure to contact me next time you have goods. Here's the agreed-upon money, plus some receipts." Brother Long handed over another cloth bag.

Sun Kaicheng scanned the contents with his mental power and knew that the money inside was just right, and the tickets were the extra gifts.

The price Sun Kaicheng offered Brother Long for this batch of grain was even cheaper than what Brother Long had purchased before the disaster. Brother Long wouldn't accept it so easily just to take advantage of the situation; he made up for all the losses he was owed.

"Thank you, Brother Long. Since there's no problem with the goods, I'll be going now. You can take your time to sort things out, Brother Long."

Brother Long glanced at his underling, who nodded to indicate that there were definitely enough supplies. He then laughed and saw him off, saying, "Okay, you can go ahead and do what you need to do. I hope we can meet again soon."

Food is scarce everywhere. If only we could get more of this cheap food. This looks like a lot, but it's not enough when spread out.

Sun Kaicheng nodded, then pulled Qian Xiao out the door, walking further and further away amidst a crowd of onlookers until they could no longer be seen.

One of the underlings came out and asked, "Boss, should we follow them?"

Brother Long waved his hand: "We are legitimate business people. Don't do anything unnecessary. People trust us, so if you want to do business with us again, you'd better behave yourselves."

"It's my elder brother."

"Alright, hurry up and get all the grain away. The truck's here."

It's impossible for all of this grain to go to the black market; some will be left for the higher-ups.

"It's here, stop behind."

"Alright, let's begin." The underlings filed in and began carrying bags of grain out of the courtyard.

Once they were far enough away, Qian Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Wow, I was pretty nervous. That Brother Long didn't seem like a black market boss at all."

"Who says a black market boss has to look a certain way?" What a strange idea! Does a bad guy have to look like a bad guy?

"That's true. My limited thinking restricted my perspective. I thought that all gangsters were people who looked fierce and menacing."

Sun Kaicheng tapped Qian Xiao on the forehead: "What are you thinking about? We've given you a lot of tickets. How about we go out for a stroll tomorrow?"

"No, I don't need anything." All this grain belonged to Sun Kaicheng, and she hadn't contributed anything, so how could she accept using his money?

She's had her share of good days; by the standards of this era, she's already had a good life. People should be content.

Sun Kaicheng escorted Qian Xiao to the school gate, then entered his spatial dimension. He watched Qian Xiao climb over the wall and enter the dormitory. After giving Shuangdan some instructions, he returned to his room from the spatial dimension.

This feature was newly discovered. It wouldn't be very convenient for him to leave home in the middle of the night. Although his father wasn't in the military, he had been trained like one since childhood and was no less vigilant than a real soldier. It wouldn't be good if he discovered something.

Qian Xiao quickly washed herself with some water, lay down and fell asleep instantly. Before falling asleep, she kept wondering how her family was doing.

Before Shuangdan could even join in the chatter for a bit, they heard Qianxiao snoring. Seriously, aren't you going to get up and chat for a second before going back to sleep? You're making me so bored!

Qian Xiao had no idea that Shuangdan was still waiting for her to chat. She was sleeping soundly and even dreamed that she was in a modern night market, where she bought incredibly authentic stinky tofu and ate it piece by piece with great relish.

The food in the cafeteria is getting worse and worse, which shows how bad the situation is outside. The students are so hungry that they are all dazed and listless in class, as if they have lost all their energy to study.

Sun Kaicheng had been looking forward to the holiday for a long time and bought tickets for Qian Xiao well in advance. He wanted to go with her, but unfortunately, he had a project to work on and he didn't have any time during the holiday.

After seeing the person off on the train, Sun Kaicheng kept reminding him with concern, "Don't fall asleep. It's okay if you lose your things, but don't lose yourself too."

Qian Xiao rolled her eyes. Was she stupid? How could she possibly lose herself?

"Give me a call when you come back, and I'll have someone buy you a ticket. Don't suffer too much by taking a hard seat. I'll pick you up at the station."

"I'm not a child, you just do your thing and don't worry about me."

"Just listen to me, otherwise I won't feel at ease." After another six months of getting to know each other better, he made it so obvious, but Erdan still felt that the two of them were just good buddies, which was disheartening.

Speaking of which, didn't Comrade Erdan say he was already in his twenties in his past life? Why don't I understand his actions and feelings at all? Was Comrade Erdan a single dog in his past life, never having dated anyone even in his twenties?

Or should I ask the system administrator another day?

He didn't expect his guess to be so accurate. Qian Xiao was a single dog in her previous life, because her parents didn't allow her to date during school, and more importantly, she didn't even want to.

Qian Xiao nudged Sun Kaicheng, who was clearly lost in thought, and said, "Hurry up and get off the bus, it'll be leaving soon." Why did he start spacing out while she was talking? Was this job too difficult, requiring her to think about things all the time?

Sun Kaicheng snapped out of his daze and pointed to the small table: "Oh, okay, then eat the stuff in the bag first, it's too hot and it'll spoil easily. After you finish eating, go to the dining car for your meal."

"Okay, okay, you can go now." Why does Sun Kaicheng sound more and more like a father figure to her the more she gets to know him? Has she made a friend or found herself a father figure?

The heartless man said, "Okay, I'll go down first. Be careful on your way. When you get there, remember to call me or send me a telegram."

Qian Xiao nodded haphazardly. How could she not be impatient? These words had been repeated over and over since yesterday, and her ears were practically calloused.

Finally, the train started moving, and Qian Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Sun Kaicheng was usually quite aloof to outsiders, so why was he becoming more and more indecisive?

An old lady across the street found it amusing: "Is this your boyfriend? He's really good-looking."

Qian Xiao's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly waved her hands, "No, no, it's my brother." Good heavens, this is a huge misunderstanding; she's still a child.

In Qian Xiao's mind, the education she received in her previous life was still deeply ingrained. She would never date before she was an adult. Besides, Sun Kaicheng was too good-looking and even better than her. It would be too eye-catching to take him out.