Fifty-two people on the journey

Intravenous drips are more effective than injections or oral medications, especially for a group of young people who have hardly ever had an IV drip before. They came out of the hospital full of energy, including Li Wei on Ding Anping's back.

So everyone agreed to Li Wei's suggestion to go to that decent-looking porridge shop not far from the hospital and have some easily digestible food to replenish their energy, since they had suffered quite a bit of damage last night.

Back at the hotel in the afternoon, after everyone had washed up, Chen Qian announced, "We're running low on funds. What do you all think we should do? Continue having fun, or pack up and go home?"

If you continue playing, you'll have to keep paying fees; if you want to go home, you'll have to buy a train ticket.

Today, team leader Li Wei immediately declared, "Everyone, let's pay some team dues and continue having fun! We're even planning to go to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It's not easy to get out of town like this. Next time we come out, you'll all be working by then, and it won't be so convenient. Look how much fun we had! We practically dug up every inch of Shanghai, even going to the hospital! It was an unforgettable experience! Think about it, think about it. In a few years, when you come out with your families, it won't be as enjoyable. A few years ago, if you went out for a trip, your teachers or parents might make you write an essay or diary entry when you got back—it would be such a hassle! This is a rare opportunity, let's continue! What do you all say?" Someone started urging again.

Actually, none of them really wanted to go back. They were a group of people eating, drinking, and having fun every day without any worries. It was so nice, and such opportunities are rare.

Before anyone else could say anything, Zhao Lingling, who loved to have fun the most and had never had a chance to be the team leader, deliberately made things difficult for Li Wei: "Hey, don't even mention that you've explored all of Shanghai. We've never been inside the Friendship Store." Last time, because the boys were all tired, none of them wanted to go to the mall, and the girls didn't dare to go in because they saw that the store was full of foreigners.

Li Wei glanced at her sideways: "It's easy to get in, but do you have foreign exchange certificates?"

Zhao Lingling: "That's why we didn't go. If you could go and buy something, we would have truly explored all of Shanghai. I saw foreigners coming and going all the time; how could we possibly get in?"

Li Wei smiled slyly: "Alright, I'll take you in tomorrow and show you what I'm capable of, then we'll head south."

In the afternoon, Li Wei wanted to go out for a walk by herself, but Cheng Fei disagreed. In the end, Li Wei had no choice but to go out for a stroll with her future uncle. When she came back, she was carrying a bag, and no one knew what she had bought. Ding Anping's expression was a little strange, but no one paid attention.

The next morning, Li Wei and Zhao Lingling got ready first. The others, curious, wanted to go check it out too. The group quickly arrived at the Friendship Store on the Bund. But Li Wei stood at the entrance, refusing to go in.

Zhao Lingling was displeased: "What's going on? We agreed on everything yesterday. Why are you backing out now? Where did all your skills go?"

Li Wei glanced at her newly bought small digital watch: "Wait a minute. Five minutes. Just five minutes."

A short while later, a blonde foreign woman led a blonde girl of about eight or nine years old to the store entrance. Li Wei immediately went up to greet her warmly. The little girl clearly recognized Li Wei and chatted happily with her. Then, hand in hand, they went into the store together.

Cheng Fei and the others were a little dumbfounded. When did this girl get to know a foreign child? How come she didn't know? And that child seemed quite honest. Hopefully, this sly girl Li Wei won't fool him.

Shopping malls held little appeal for Li Wei. The abundance of material goods now was incomparable to what it would be like ten years later. Especially with the restrictions on buying things—requiring foreign exchange certificates, passports, plane tickets, and other proof—it was unsettling to even think about. Li Wei took out the foreign exchange certificates she'd exchanged with the little girl's mother the day before. The little girl produced her plane ticket. Working together, Li Wei bought two bottles of cola and a large bag of candy. Then she said goodbye to the blonde little girl and her mother, and after browsing around with the others for a while, they left.

Once outside the store, Zhao Lingling couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed Li Wei, asking, "Huh? When did you meet this foreigner? You can even speak a foreign language now? You really know how to talk to anyone, whether they're human or ghost!"

Li Wei glared at her angrily: "You're the one who's seen a ghost! You and your brother have both seen a ghost!"

Zhao Yan: What's it to me?

Ding Anping was laughing so hard he could barely breathe when Cheng Fei punched him: "What are you laughing at? Did you two go out and do something funny yesterday? Tell me!" This kid is too much trouble; he's even starting to trick international friends.

Actually, this wasn't something Li Wei deliberately caused. Yesterday, she went out with Ding Anping and thought that since she didn't have a passport or a plane ticket, it might be difficult to buy things at the Friendship Store. She thought she could find a fake blonde hairpiece to wear on her head and pretend to be a foreign child. Anyway, she was quite fair-skinned, could speak a few words of English, and could exchange some foreign exchange certificates with a foreigner. Then, by pretending to be the child of some international friend, she figured buying some things wouldn't be a problem.

Ding Anping, who was watching her buy the yellow hair, was startled. He wondered if impersonating a foreigner was illegal.

On the way back after buying the gold-plated item, they encountered a foreign little girl asking someone for directions to a certain hotel. The passerby didn't understand English, and neither of them could understand each other. Li Wei happened to be there and, after asking the little girl, learned that she was also staying at the same hotel, so they came back together. The little girl had run away from home after arguing with her mother. Seeing that Li Wei and Ding Anping had brought her daughter back, the mother, in return for Li Wei's kindness, readily agreed to exchange points with the little girl's mother. During their conversation, they discovered that the little girl's mother was also going shopping the next day, and they arranged to go together.

After Ding Anping finished speaking, everyone was a little dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, "This works too!" It seems that in this little devil's eyes, there are plenty of ways to do anything, and nothing can stump her. She even dares to do illegal things. This child is too bold. You have to admire her.

Li Wei won the gamble again. Everyone emptied their pockets and pooled their money to see how far they could go. Only Li Wei didn't touch any money. Along the way, Li Wei had been collecting funds like the adults, so no one thought anything of her not touching any. This child, apart from being a bit mischievous and spending money, didn't actually eat or sleep very much.

According to Chen Qian's budget, the trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, including train tickets and accommodation, would be enough if she was frugal. However, the trip couldn't be too long; she could only stay in each place for about a day.

The group continued south.

However, trying to save money while staying with Li Wei is not an easy task, especially with a group of clueless young people who are not good at budgeting. Overspending is inevitable.

So after a brief tour of Guangzhou and a visit to the massive construction site of Shenzhen, Chen Qian, with the money left over from buying her train ticket home, announced, "We're going to be short of supplies when we get back, and we might go hungry!"

At this point, everyone stared at each other, realizing the seriousness of the situation. Would they end up begging for food on the train to get home? That was terrifying.

Just when everyone was feeling a bit gloomy, Li Wei, Ding Anping, and Chen Jingguang returned, dragging large and small plastic bags.

Zhao Lingling quickly grabbed a bag and saw it was full of snacks and treats. She was furious. They couldn't even afford a meal, and they were buying snacks! How inconsiderate! She remembered—if it weren't for this brat's instigation, would they have run this far? Now, they didn't even have money for food to take them home! Zhao Lingling grew angrier the more she thought about it. She didn't want to go home without food, so she sneered, "Li Xiaoming, look what you've done! Don't you know we're broke? Why are you buying all this junk?"

Li Wei was genuinely unaware that everyone was short of money. She looked at her aunt, who had a nonchalant expression, and asked, "Really, Auntie?" Seeing her aunt nod, she looked at everyone and said, "I never expected this! The money is gone so quickly. You guys are better off than I thought. I thought you'd still have some money left when you got home. I always say that you have to know how to spend money to make money. The problem is that you don't know how to spend it."

Everyone: What kind of absurd logic is this?

After Li Wei finished speaking, she patted her bag and said, "You know what? I came out with you guys and didn't even spend a fraction of the money I brought. I was so frustrated! Alright, alright, I have plenty of money. I don't need to worry about food anymore. People are obliged to pay for meals. From now on, no one can stop me from spending money. Ah, I'm finally free! Money talks, hahaha!" She almost burst into laughter.

Someone said to Cheng Fei, "Isn't this kid a little too arrogant?"

Cheng Fei: "Actually, she's quite humble, really. She's always wanted to live a life of luxury, but you guys held her back, so she's been holding back all this time. She's incredibly capable, but she hasn't bothered to tell you. She's a small business owner, she's rich!" Not long ago, she tried to seduce me with money, and this time she's planning to completely overwhelm me with money and then trap me. She's a complete nouveau riche, I despise her.

They bought gifts for their families on the spot, and on the evening train, the group finally embarked on their journey home.

The entire trip took more than half a month. When Li Wei arrived home, her school had already started two days prior. She rested at home for a day before slowly going to school.

Li Lin and Li Lianhui were incredibly envious, clamoring that they absolutely had to go with their aunt next time.

Although they returned late, Li Zhaoxing and Cheng Min didn't say anything to Li Wei because of her aunt Cheng Fei and the others. However, her grandmother gave her a good scolding, saying that she had been gone for so long and made everyone worry.

Everyone was quite satisfied with the gifts Li Wei brought back. Mom and Grandma received clothes, both stylish and fashionable. Dad received a watch from Shanghai, and Grandpa received a new mini radio from Guangzhou. The two younger children received a bunch of snacks. Everyone was delighted.

Some of the snacks were also shared with the Luo brothers, Wu Feng, and the other fat men. The next day, Li Lin also brought some candy for Gu Liwei. The two are now inseparable.

Having seen the world, Li Wei sat in class listening to the teacher, wondering what her aunt was planning. Was she going with her third uncle, Peach Blossom, or venturing into the free and exciting world? She was determined to get a straight answer from her when she got home that night; she couldn't keep her in suspense like this.

During the break, Li Wei was still lost in thought when suddenly several boys barged into her classroom, carrying chair legs and waving them at her, which terrified her.

I... I didn't do anything wrong, so why are these gangster kids coming to my door?!