On the evening of the third day after returning from Kyoto, Sangshen went back to the courtyard house. The first thing she looked at upon entering was Xiao Heiniu's door, which was tightly closed, before she went to her own room.

He opened the door, looked at the cold and empty house, sighed, and resignedly started cleaning. First, he threw out the spoiled vegetables and meat, then swept the floor and changed the sheets.

His room wasn't big; besides a bed, a recliner, and a cabinet, there was nothing else. He'd left in such a rush that he hadn't had time to arrange anything, and everything in the room, except for rice and flour, had spoiled.

In the evening, when Bu Ling got home from get off work, he saw that Sang Shen's door was open and knew he was back. He hurriedly went inside, grabbed a wad of money, stuffed it in his pocket, and headed out.

She's finally back! She can pay back the money, mainly the coupons she used to pay off mulberries, with the bulk of it being cotton and cloth coupons used to buy winter clothes.

To get cotton-padded clothes made at the state-run tailor shop, you needed not only cloth coupons but also cotton coupons, all of which came from Sangshen. How could she possibly take advantage of such a huge bargain?

"Knock-knock---"

"Mulberry".

Bling knocked on the door symbolically, then approached Sangshen's room. He saw Sangshen sitting half-reclined in a recliner, looking serious and deep in thought.

Hearing the knock, Sangshen looked up and saw it was Buling. She smiled, immediately shaking off her bad mood: "Buling, you're off work?"

Bling nodded. "Yes, I knew you were back when I saw your door was open. I came to give you back the money I spent in Kyoto." She then took out some money from her pocket and handed it to him.

Having spent some time together, Sangshen understood Buling quite well. Hearing her say that, she didn't refuse, took the wad of money, didn't count it, and casually placed it on the bed.

"Now you can rest easy, right?" Sangshen smiled.

Bling smiled but didn't say anything. She turned to leave, but halfway there she turned back and asked, "Are you having some kind of trouble? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Seeing the sincerity in Bling's eyes, Sangshen didn't refuse. She stood up, pulled Bling into the house, sat her on a recliner, closed the door, and her expression turned serious.

"A friend of mine has been sent to the countryside. The atmosphere in the county is tense lately, so be careful not to give anyone any reason to do anything about it," he warned in a low voice.

Bling was startled, then nodded solemnly, "I'll be careful." She knew the gravity of the situation, and then asked, "How is your friend? Is he alright?"

"It's alright. With our help, it's not too difficult, but we'll still have to endure some hardship," Sangshen said.

"It will all pass," Bling said after a long silence.

Mulberry nodded and fell silent as well.

After a moment of silence, Buling suddenly asked again, "Where was your friend sent down to? What are the village officials like? If they're decent people, could you ask them to keep an eye on your friend?" She suggested.

"I've met the brigade leader of Hanjiacun Village; he seems alright, not like there are any traitors among them," Sangzhen said.

"Han Family Village? The Han Family Village south of the county town?" Bu Ling exclaimed in surprise.

Mulberry asked, somewhat puzzled, "You know?"

Buling thought to herself, "It seems it's true. What a coincidence! No wonder it's the main map for the male and female leads!"

"I know, the furniture in my room was made there. I also have a colleague from Hanjiacun, so we're pretty familiar with each other."

"That's quite a coincidence," Sangshen said cryptically. Of course, he knew who the colleague the little black girl was talking about was.

Buling didn't notice Sangshen's tone at all. She asked cautiously, "What's your friend's name?"

"Chen Ci!" Sang Zhen wasn't afraid to tell the little black girl, since she would be dealing with her frequently in the future.

Bling's face remained calm, but his heart was in turmoil.

Shen Ci, it turns out it was Shen Ci! The unfortunate novel she was reading on the train mentioned Shen Ci. In the story, Shen Ci was a bad element sent to the countryside, bullied by everyone in the village. Only the female protagonist, from the future, knew that these people would eventually be exonerated and would occasionally help them out.

Shen Ci eventually died one winter. His warm clothes were stolen, and he froze to death. The kind-hearted female protagonist helped collect his body.

Then the female lead seemed to have a stroke of good luck, and everything she did went very smoothly.

Seeing the confused look on Sangshen's face, Buling cleared her throat. "Sangshen, you...you think Han Family Village is pretty good?"

Sangshen pondered for a moment: "The battalion commander is quite good. I heard he's a retired soldier, and his conditions are very good." He didn't understand why the little black girl suddenly asked this: "Is there something wrong with it?"

"You know that Hanjiacun isn't too far from the military base, right?" Buling asked tactfully.

Sangshen nodded. Of course he knew; this was one of the reasons his brother had assigned the bookworm there.

"So, I heard from the old ladies in the military family compound that the atmosphere in Hanjiacun is not very good. The brigade leader is a good person, but his wife and mother are both difficult to deal with. Moreover, the brigade leader is a filial son."

This wasn't something the old lady from the military unit said; she learned it from that unfortunate novel, but it didn't really matter.

"Is that so?" Sangzhen really didn't know. When they inquired, they only asked about the captain's character and never thought to ask about his wife and mother's personalities.

Bu Ling nodded affirmatively: "The most important thing is that Han Family Village has a lot of trouble."

Of course, where the female and male leads are, things are bound to get complicated.

Mulberry frowned, her handsome brows furrowing.

"Moreover, Han Family Village has good conditions, and there are quite a few people watching it. It's very likely that it will attract some people with ulterior motives," Bu Ling added.

Sangshen's eyebrows furrowed more and more tightly.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Hanjia Village is the most suitable village we could find nearby." Any further, and it would be inconvenient for them to help each other.

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