Wen Qing and Yao Shiling soon arrived at Shuiwan Village.

Wen Peng is playing on the dam.

Yao Shiling pointed at Wen Peng's figure and said, "Wen Qing, look, it's almost dark, and he's still out there. He definitely didn't do his homework today."

Wen Qing smiled, handed the bicycle to Yao Shiling, and said, "I'll go and call him back."

"Go."

After handing the bicycle to Yao Shiling, Wen Qing headed towards the dam.

"Pengpeng!"

Wen Peng turned around and saw Wen Qing, then immediately ran back: "Big Sister!"

Wen Qing wiped the sweat from his brow: "Let's go home!"

"Okay," Wen Peng replied, then said, "Big sister, Ji Yanjun came to see you today. He came in a car."

Wen Qing was taken aback and asked, "What do you want with me?"

"He didn't say."

Did you ask him?

Wen Peng paused for a moment, then said, "I forgot to ask."

Wen Qing remained silent.

Wen Peng scratched his head and said, "He, he, he looked very sad. He was looking for you in a hurry, and his face looked scary. I forgot to ask."

sad?

Is it urgent?

Scary?

Is it because of Ji Ningzhi and Zhang Fangfang?

Wen Qing thought about it briefly, but couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. If Ji Yanjun really had something urgent, he would contact her again.

Moreover, she didn't believe she had any connection with the Ji family anymore, so she put the matter aside and never mentioned it again.

The next morning, before dawn, Wen Qing fumbled in the dark to turn on the light bulb and began her day of studying.

In the morning, memorize Chinese, English, politics, history, or geography.

I did math problems at noon.

In the evenings, I draw patterns for clothes and then sit in front of the sewing machine to make them.

I'm very busy every day.

She rode her bicycle to the county town when Fengqing opened for business.

Aunt Xiao, Bao Hong, Master Yan, Master Wang, and even the team leader all arrived in the county town to wait for Wen Qing.

"Sister Wenqing, why haven't you gained weight?" Bao Hong asked with a smile.

Wen Qing laughed: "I was thinking about you."

Bao Hong giggled.

On the first day of business, in addition to firecrackers, Wen Qing prepared a two-yuan lucky money envelope, one for each person, making it a lively and festive occasion.

Then each person performs their duties.

Master Yan and Master Wang contacted the fabric factory and purchased all the necessary fabrics.

Aunt Xiao and Bao Hong were sorting through the unfinished orders. Aunt Xiao said with a big smile, "These orders are from half a year of last year."

"That's good," Wen Qing said with a smile.

The team leader wasn't idle either. After confirming the shoe design, he took Wang Da to the county town to buy shoe soles: white leather soles, yellow leather soles, foam soles, and they also carried back the large scraps of cloth from Fengqing Garment Factory before the New Year to Shuiwan Village for other uses.

Compared to the busy employees of Fengqing, Wenqing, as the boss, only had to spend money and make one major decision.

Therefore, Wen Qing wasn't that busy; she continued reading, drawing, and revising drafts as usual.

I faxed Guo Jian the sample designs for the spring clothing I promised him before the new year.

Then school started.

The day before school started, Wen Liang and Wen Peng went to school to pay their tuition and pick up their books before classes officially began the next day. Compared to last year when Wen Liang couldn't even afford a few yuan for tuition, he now had new clothes.

He was a little embarrassed.

While Wenpeng was still rushing to finish his homework, his friends from the village called out from outside the yard, "Pengpeng, school's starting! School's starting!"

"Pengpeng, hurry up! The books will be handed out when we get to school. I even brought newspaper to cover the books."

"..."

Outside the school, shouts of "School's starting! School's starting!" echoed from all sides.

Wen Peng gripped his pencil, hunched over the table, and wrote furiously. He had never been so focused before; if he didn't finish, the homeroom teacher would lock him in the classroom.

"Pengpeng, how much is left?" Wen Liang asked.

Wen Peng said with difficulty, "Um... um... there are still ten texts to copy, and..."

"So much?" Wen Liang said, "Don't you usually do any of your homework?"

“I…I…” Wen Peng couldn’t speak.

Yao Shiling shook her head and looked at Wen Qing, saying, "Wen Peng is like this every time he has a holiday; he makes up for his homework as soon as school starts."

Wen Qing laughed: "Never mind him, Mom, I'm going to Nanzhou City."

“I’ll take you,” Yao Shiling said.

"No need, I'll go myself. Just leave the bicycle at Fengqing Garment Factory. The shoe factory has just started making shoes, so please keep an eye on it for me," Wen Qing said.

Hearing Qing say this, Yao Shiling nodded: "Okay, take good care of yourself at school, eat on time, wear more clothes, and don't stay up late."

"Okay, okay," Wen Qing said with a smile.

Yao Shiling tied Wen Qing's backpack to the back of the bicycle, then watched Wen Qing ride the bicycle up the dirt road until she could no longer see Wen Qing's figure before she turned around and went to the shoe factory.

About ten minutes later, Wen Qing rode to the end of the dirt road and looked up to see a young man standing in front of her, carrying a large bag.

"Wen Qing!"

It's Shi Lei.

Wen Qing got out of the car and said with a smile, "Shi Lei, it's been a long time."

Shi Lei blushed slightly upon seeing Wen Qing and smiled, "Yes, school starts today. I'd like to ask you to go to school in Nanzhou City together."

"Looking for me?" Wen Qing asked with a smile, "What if you can't find me here?"

"I won't wait for you; I took the first bus here," Shi Lei said.

Wen Qing was slightly taken aback, a strange feeling passing through her heart, as if she saw her former self. She smiled and said, "Yes, I'll take the bicycle to the shop, and then we'll go to school together."

"Okay." Shi Lei was overjoyed and followed Wen Qing.

After Wen Qing left the bicycle at Feng Qing Garment Factory, she gave Master Yan a few instructions.

Mr. Wang said, "Young boss, you can buy a car."

Wen Qing walked out of Fengqing Garment Factory with a smile, and Shi Lei was waiting for her with a backpack on his back.

"Can we go now?" Shi Lei asked.

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Let's go."

The two walked together toward the bus stop. Since there were many male and female students walking together to school in the county, no one paid any attention to Wen Qing and Shi Lei walking together.

"Let me carry it for you," Shi Lei said.

Wen Qing asked, "What?"

Shi Lei slung the backpack off her shoulder over his own.

Wen Qing quickly said, "No need, no need, I can do it myself."

"It's okay, I can carry it." Shi Lei smiled, overjoyed that he could do something for Wen Qing.

Wen Qing couldn't resist, so she had to let Shi Lei carry her on his back.

"The car is here," Shi Lei said.

Wen Qing looked towards the bus. As soon as the bus stopped, everyone rushed to get on, so when Wen Qing and Shi Lei got on, there were no seats left.

“Let’s just stand here,” Shi Lei said.

"Okay." Wen Qing nodded, then said, "I'll carry the backpack."

"It's okay, don't worry about it. It's just a bag, nothing serious."

If Wen Qing continues to argue about it, she'll seem pretentious.

The bus swayed and rattled along the way. Because of the start of the school term, there were only people getting on the bus, and no one getting off. The bus was packed with people.

Shi Lei stood next to Wen Qing, occasionally getting jostled. His body pressed against Wen Qing's, his ears turning red, and he said, "I'm sorry."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "It's alright, there are just too many people."

"Um."

More than half an hour later, they finally arrived at the city bus station, and Shi Lei and Wen Qing headed towards the Nanzhou City School District.

Nanzhou No.1 Middle School and Nanzhou No.3 Middle School are not far apart, so they are on the same road.

When the two reached the green garden, Wen Qing stopped and said, "Shi Lei, give me your backpack, I've arrived."

"Are we here?" Shi Lei said, "The school isn't here."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "I don't live in the school dormitory."

"and you……"

Wen Qing pointed to the Green Garden and said, "I live here."

"Here?" Shi Lei thought for a moment and said, "Is it for convenience when making clothes?"

Wen Qing nodded.

Shi Lei laughed again: "Wen Qing, you're capable."

Wen Qing smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

"Then, then I'll go back to No. 3 Middle School," Shi Lei said with some reluctance.

Wen Qing nodded: "Okay, be careful on the road."

"Hmm." Shi Lei took two steps forward, then suddenly turned back, took a large canned food jar out of his backpack with a sheepish expression, and handed it to Wen Qing, saying, "Wen Qing, you take this."

"What?" Wen Qing asked.

"The cured pork is ready. My mom said you're too thin and should eat more meat." Shi Lei said, "It's cold, so it can last for a few days."

Aside from Yao Shiling, no outsider had ever been so considerate to her. Wen Qing immediately felt that the canned food was too precious and quickly declined, saying, "No, I can't accept this. You should take it back for your aunt to eat."

"My mom insists on giving it to you, so you can have it." Shi Lei shoved the canned food jar into Wen Qing's hand and turned to leave.

To prevent the jar from breaking, he quickly grabbed it, and when he looked up, Shi Lei had already walked away with his bag.

Wen Qing held the canned food jar, initially feeling a mix of emotions, which then slowly turned sweet, filling the air with a subtle sweetness.

She carried the jar and turned to enter the Green Garden. On the second floor, she first called Yao Shiling to let her know she had arrived safely. Then she began tidying the room, boiling water, airing out the blankets, and buying groceries. She spent the entire day busy with these things and didn't touch the sewing machine.

In the evening, she would hold a book and read until she got tired, then fall asleep.

The next morning was the first day of school. With the new year bringing new beginnings, every student's face was beaming with smiles.

After having breakfast, Wen Qing followed the students into Nanzhou No. 1 Middle School, where many students greeted her.

She greeted him happily.

Wen Qing followed her classmates into Class 2 of Grade 11. Wan Min had already been there. Wen Qing sat down and talked to her for a while. Then she waited for the class teacher to enter the classroom and for the boys in the class to go to the library to get books.

At this moment, Wan Min leaned over and said, "Wen Qing, do you know? Ji Ningzhi didn't come to the dormitory yesterday."

"Is there anything strange?" Wen Qing asked. She had Ji Yanjun drive her directly to the school gate today, wasn't it so she could show off how rich her family was?

"That's strange," Wan Min said.

"What's strange about it?" Wen Qing asked.

“In the past, whenever there was a holiday, Ji Ningzhi would always come a day early, and then use the money her brother gave her to treat her close male and female classmates to a good meal. This time, she didn’t. Xu Shanshan was waiting for Ji Ningzhi to treat her to a meal, but Ji Ningzhi didn’t come,” Wan Min said.

Wen Qing asked in confusion, "Has it always been like this?"

Wan Min nodded: "Mm."

As the two were talking, Ji Ningzhi arrived.

Wen Qing and Wan Min both looked towards the classroom door at the same time, and both of them were stunned.