With Jiang Xile's help, He Zhizhang indeed stood up.

"Don't rush, I'll help you walk forward, let's take it slowly!"

"good!"

And so, with a wooden stick on his left and Jiang Xile supporting him on his right, He Zhizhang limped back to the cowshed.

The other people in the cowshed were discussing going out to look for him when, unexpectedly, he returned.

"What's going on?"

Li Wanjun frowned and approached with a worried expression, taking He Zhizhang from Jiang Xile's hands.

"Oh dear, I'm getting old and useless. I twisted my ankle while gathering firewood."

"If it weren't for this little girl, I might still be sitting on the road waiting for you to come find me!"

"You too! I told you not to go by yourself, but you insisted on being a hero. Now look what happened! You're in for it!"

"Oh, Lao Li, please forgive me! I really didn't mean to!"

Supported by Li Wanjun, He Zhizhang sat down on a bench by the door.

"Thank you so much, young lady. I'm sorry to have troubled you today. Judging from your appearance, you must be a newly arrived educated youth. I've never seen you in the village before!"

"That's right, I just arrived here the day before yesterday. I'm a new educated youth. Now that I've brought you to your destination, I'll head back first."

Please be careful in the future, and try to travel in groups whenever possible for safety!

"I understand, thank you for your concern. But young lady, this old man still doesn't know your name!"

Jiang Xile smiled slightly.

"My name is Jiang Xile, and I'm from Jiangsu Province!"

“Oh, what a coincidence! We’re from the same hometown! My surname is He, and my given name is Zhizhang. I used to live in the southern part of the city for a while.”

"That's quite a coincidence, but this isn't the time to chat; you still need to take care of your feet."

I need to hurry back to the educated youth settlement, otherwise the elders will probably come out looking for me if I'm any later!

The sun had already set, and the afterglow of the sunset was still faint. Jiang Xile checked the time; it was already eight o'clock.

"Then you should go back now, my foot will be fine after a rest! We can talk again next time!"

He Zhizhang waved his hand and watched Jiang Xile leave.

When Jiang Xile returned to the educated youth settlement, it was already completely dark. Mao Gang and Huang Yingjie were arranging firewood in the yard.

"Jiang Zhiqing, you're finally back! We were just saying that if you hadn't come back, we would have had to call everyone out to look for you!"

"I'm so sorry, I took the wrong road and ended up in the village, which caused the delay and made you worry. I'm really sorry."

Mao Gang had only said it casually, but he didn't expect Jiang Xile to apologize so sincerely, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

He scratched his head, his speech becoming somewhat stammering.

"No, that's not what I meant! Why are you apologizing?"

"It's only right to apologize. You told me beforehand, but I still came back late. If everyone had to go out and look for me, that would be even more sinful!"

"Oh, it's nothing. You've only been here a short time and aren't familiar with the route yet. It's normal to be a little late coming back. I was just worried that you might accidentally go up the mountain and encounter danger!"

"Okay, I understand. I won't go up the mountain tonight."

"That's fine, that's fine!"

Huang Yingjie, who was standing to the side, felt inexplicably awkward listening to the conversation between the two, since they were not really familiar with each other yet.

Especially since Jiang Xile had disciplined Duan Chengyu in front of everyone that afternoon, she felt even more embarrassed now.

"Alright, now that Jiang Zhiqing is back, hurry up and wash up and rest. It will get even darker soon, and you won't be able to see anything then!"

"Yes, that's right. Old Huang is right. Jiang Zhiqing, you should go wash up too!"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you both for reminding me. I'll go back to my room now!"

Mao Gang nodded, then stared blankly at Jiang Xile's back, grinning foolishly.

Huang Yingjie took off his gloves and saw his old partner's infatuated look, so he immediately gave him a whack on the head.

"What are you doing! You're laughing like an idiot. You've got your eye on Jiang Zhiqing, haven't you?"

"What nonsense are you spouting! It would be terrible if someone heard us!"

"Hey, let me see, Gangzi, something's off about your expression!"

"What's wrong with that? I'm going to wash my feet. I can't be bothered arguing with you!"

In a panic, Mao grabbed his gloves and ran away, his guilty look making it hard not to think things through.

Huang Yingjie stood there, looked at Mao Gang's back, then at the direction of Jiang Xile's room, and shook his head slightly.

"Gangzi has really unusual tastes!"

Putting everything else aside, just looking at how Jiang Xile dealt with Duan Chengyu this afternoon, you can tell that this Jiang educated youth is not someone to be trifled with.

Considering Mao Gang's small stature, it's surprising that he actually likes this style.

Huang Yingjie rubbed his arms and shivered.

I can't even imagine that if such a fierce woman were my wife, I would be facing the risk of domestic violence every day.

"Gangzi, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast!"

In the backyard shower stall, Mao Gang took a shower while recalling his conversation with Jiang Xile on the way to the back mountain that evening.

Every smile and frown of hers was deeply etched in his mind and imprinted on his heart.

He just didn't know if the other person shared the same thoughts.

Achoo! Achoo!

Could it be a cold?

Jiang Xile sneezed twice while holding the freshly prepared malted milk powder, muttering to herself.

Little did she know it wasn't because she had a cold; it was simply because someone was thinking about her.

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