Su Yan looked up abruptly, and when she saw who had scared her, she frowned and said, "Comrade Jiang? It's you again."

Jiang Jingxing raised an eyebrow. "Judging from your tone, it seems you really don't want to see me?"

"No, it was just a bit of a surprise to meet you here."

Su Yan silently recited the phrase "a lingering ghost" in her heart.

She didn't really want to have much contact with the man in front of her; she always felt he was dangerous and too calculating.

This was President Su's sixth sense, so she wanted to keep her distance from him.

Although she remained expressionless, Jiang Jingxing still sensed her deception.

“I’ll be in town until you find the ginseng, so it’s not surprising that you might run into it. This place is so small.” He said casually.

Su Yan rested her chin on her hand and stared at him. "Don't have such high hopes for me. I've been searching everywhere for the past two days without success. Maybe I won't be able to find you."

Jiang Jingxing's deep eyes reflected her image, and after a moment of silence, he spoke: "I think you're like a little sun."

"What little sun?"

"A little sun that brings surprises."

Su Yan: "..." Brother, the way you talk is so corny.

"Then... thank you for the compliment?"

Could the disdain in her tone have been any more obvious?

Jiang Jingxing's lips twitched, and he naturally changed the subject, "Tang Li said you set up a stall selling braised food, what are you doing here?"

"I'm closing up shop. I'm here to find a long-term supplier. He went back to pick up his goods, so I'll wait here."

He was about to say something more when a childish, panting voice spoke first, "Sister, I'm back."

The two looked over.

At the intersection at the end of the market, a thin little boy struggled to push a cart loaded with over a hundred pounds of duck products. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans kept falling from his face, but the smile on his face was one of happiness.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Jingxing immediately stepped forward, took the cart from the child, and said with a pursed lip, "I'll do it."

The little boy saw the uniform on the soldier's body and handed it over with peace of mind, saying, "Thank you, soldier brother."

Su Yan realized what was happening, her brows furrowing deeply, and said, "Why did your family let you push them out alone?"

She thought that since she was buying so much stuff, the child's family wouldn't feel comfortable coming along.

Moreover, even an adult like her would find it difficult to carry something weighing over 100 pounds.

The little boy continued to avoid the question, saying, "Sister, I'm used to doing these chores, it'll be fine."

"She meant that you're bringing so much stuff out without your family following you. What if you get robbed?" Jiang Jingxing explained.

Su Yan glanced at him but didn't say anything.

That's what she meant.

The little boy's big eyes were full of clear innocence. He scratched his head and said, "Then I'll be more careful next time?"

Su Yan sighed almost imperceptibly and said helplessly, "The duck products you sent are fresh, but I want to find a long-term supplier. You are too young. If you want to cooperate with me long-term, then you should have your parents come and talk to me. Otherwise, I will have to find someone else."

Upon hearing this, the little boy immediately stamped his feet in panic and hurriedly said, "Sister, I can make the decision. From now on, no matter how much you need each day, I can deliver it to you on time. Can you please not go to someone else?"

Jiang Jingxing sensed something was wrong, squatted down, grasped the boy's shoulders, and asked earnestly, "I'm a soldier. If your family is facing any difficulties, you can tell me, and I'll try my best to help you."

The little boy's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Brother, my dad broke his leg and is lying in bed. My mom took all the money, so we can't go to the hospital to get my dad's leg treated. We raise a lot of ducks at home, and I need to sell them to get money for my dad's medical treatment."

Hearing this, Su Yan felt a pang of guilt. She opened her mouth and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know about your family situation just now, and I was a little too harsh in my words."

She looked somewhat lost at that moment.

Jiang Jingxing noticed this and continued, "Why didn't you borrow money from someone?"

The little boy's family owns a farm, so his father's friends should all be people who are not short of money.

“They were all afraid that my father’s leg wouldn’t heal and that we wouldn’t be able to pay back the money, so no one was willing to lend it to my family.”

In times of crisis, you can best see whether the friends you've made are true friends or traitors.

The little boy wiped away his tears and choked out, "Before Dad broke his leg, Mom was always very good to us, but then she took the family's money and ran away, leaving only Dad and me at home."

After saying that, he looked at Su Yan with pleading eyes, "Sister, I'm very capable, I can definitely deliver the goods to you on time, can you give me a chance?"

Jiang Jingxing also looked at Su Yan, somewhat curious about her choice.

However, it's understandable that she refused.

After a long silence, Su Yan said, "Could you take me to see your family's farm? Then let me talk to your father before making a decision."

The little boy agreed without hesitation, "Okay, sister, I'll take you back right now."

"Wait a minute." Su Yan pointed to the ducks in the cart. "I'll give you seventy yuan for these 120 jin of ducks, based on the price I charged you before."

In fact, she only paid fifty yuan for more than 100 kilograms of duck products, since these things are not worth much.

Suddenly, she realized something and immediately asked, "You didn't kill all the ducks and then take the duck meat, did you?"

The little boy nodded honestly.

"...What about the ducks that were slaughtered?"

"It's kept in the cellar."

Su Yan: "..."

Jiang Jingxing: "..."

"How many are there in total?" she asked again.

"Fifty," the little boy said. "I can sell them cheaply; I won't lose money."

Su Yan rubbed her forehead, looking exasperated, and said, "Your father broke his leg, doesn't he want to explain the family business to you?"

The little boy lowered his head, pursed his lips, and said, "My dad stopped talking after he got sick, and he doesn't talk to me anymore."

He broke his leg, his wife ran away with the family savings, he found that none of his friends were good people, and he had no money to treat his leg. How could he not be devastated and utterly despondent?

Even if the situation is this bad, he shouldn't abandon the child.

Su Yan packed all the duck meat into feed bags, hired an oxcart to take it home, and then she and Jiang Jingxing followed the little boy home.

After walking for about ten minutes, we arrived at the farm, where the little boy and his father lived.

There were probably two or three hundred live ducks left, and the little boy led the two of them directly into the house.

"Dad, this lady wants to talk business with us!" The little boy excitedly ran into the house.

Upon entering the room, a strong smell of blood assaulted the senses.

The three stared in astonishment at the scene before them, and involuntarily stopped in their tracks.

The emaciated man lay on the bed in a pool of blood, a knife stuck in his chest, his wide eyes staring at the ceiling, lifeless.

"dad!"

The little boy knelt by the bed and screamed in despair, tears streaming down his face.