When He Pingan returned home from get off work, he was somewhat surprised to see so many extra things.

This transaction, from one hand to the other, could amount to a month's salary for him.

"It's a pity we lost a lot before. If we had more of this, we could have our own home."

The two of them were crammed into this small room, which was far from their workplace and located in the countryside, making them feel uncomfortable in many ways.

The two of them have been working so hard and living frugally these days, all so that they can move back to the county town as soon as possible.

“I’ve been thinking about this at home for a long time. We don’t have these things ourselves, but our former classmates do,” Zhou Xiaolan said, stating the key point she had just realized. “Those classmates should have a lot of them too…”

He Ping'an said, "...They should all be taking the college entrance exam, right? These things are also very important to them, they need to study, how could they possibly lend them to us?"

"Borrow? Then how will you pay it back?" Zhou Xiaolan looked at him with disdain. With a brain like that, he still wants to make more money?

He Ping'an said, "But even if we ask, they won't give it to us. Why should we go looking for trouble?"

"Do you think this will work..." Zhou Xiaolan whispered in his ear. He Ping'an hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded firmly.

The couple didn't dare to delay. One of them picked up the things and left, while Zhou Xiaolan went into the room to change her clothes and followed closely behind.

&

Hua Xiangyun and her friends truly kept to themselves, spending their time either studying at home or eating at the Hua family's house.

Unexpectedly, on this day, he ran into Zhou Xiaolan as soon as he left the Hua family.

The two families have completely fallen out. I thought she wouldn't have the face to try and get back together with them, but who knew they had such thick skin.

Zhou Xiaolan called out to her, "Xiangyun, are you also preparing for the college entrance examination?"

Hua Xiangyun ignored her and prepared to bypass her and go straight home.

Seeing that she was ignoring her, Zhou Xiaolan started talking to herself as she followed behind, "Xiangyun, you've been studying for so long, you probably don't need a lot of the materials, could you lend them to me first?"

Jiang Yi protected his wife, standing between the two of them, without intending to answer her.

Anger flashed in Zhou Xiaolan's eyes, but she clenched her fists and suppressed it. "Don't laugh at me, but my family sold all my books. I can't even look at any materials here."

This concerns my entire life, so I hope you can be magnanimous and forgive my petty mistake. Please lend me the documents for a moment; I will definitely return them to you.

When Tian Guihua, who was about to take out the trash, saw this scene, she immediately grabbed Zhou Xiaolan with one hand while carrying the trash in the other, saying, "What are you doing now? Don't you know that my granddaughter and the others are at a critical moment? Can't you see that no one in the compound is gossiping about them?"

What? You guys don't take the exam yourselves, so you're just thinking of sabotaging it?

"Grandma Hua, you've misunderstood. I really just wanted to ask Xiangyun for help." Zhou Xiaolan looked anxious, but with so many people watching, she didn't dare to shake off the hand. If the old woman fell, all the savings she had accumulated over this period of time would be lost.

The only consolation was that Hua Xiangyun and the others finally stopped. Hua Xiangyun said to Tian Guihua, "Grandma, why didn't you tell us to take the trash out with us?"

This old lady is getting more and more outrageous. Taking out the trash is just a simple thing to do, but she won't even let them do it.

"We'll talk about these things later," Tian Guihua thought, "how could such trivial matters bother the children? I'm only thinking that I'm delaying their reading now. You and Jiang Yi should go back quickly and don't stay up too late. Get some rest so you'll be energetic tomorrow."

Hua Xiangyun was somewhat worried. Zhou Xiaolan didn't dare to struggle now, but what if something happened?

"Hua Xiangyun, please tell your grandma to let go of me. I really need your help."

We all grew up in the same compound, you wouldn't want my future to be bleak, would you?

If you lend me your used exam papers, I promise I won't bother you again.

Hua Xiangyun: "You're too late. My grandfather has already decided to lend these things to others."

She wasn't exactly lying to Zhou Xiaolan. Liu Laosan followed Dong Kaishan to visit several more times, and the other party was very sincere, bringing a lot of things. In the end, he gave him all the unused exam papers of the siblings.

“You’re engaging in speculation and profiteering,” Zhou Xiaolan exclaimed immediately. She had initially thought of this path because of the inspiration she received from Old Man Hua.

When they arrived at She'er Village, they exchanged a few exam papers for a bunch of vegetables.

“You can’t talk nonsense like that,” Tian Guifang immediately shook off her hand with a stern face, pointed at her nose and scolded, “Does our family need to do such a thing?”

These neighbors are really something, what kind of eyes do they have? Don't they all know their own family's situation?

"I got up thanks to you. Do you remember last year when you broke my little darling's head and he was rescued by a fellow villager?"

"Grandma Hua, this happened so long ago. We've already compensated and apologized. Why are you still holding onto this?" Zhou Xiaolan said with a wronged expression. "It's because some people have been using this information to speculate and make money in exchange for convenience."

Don't you often go to nearby villages to exchange supplies? Who knows if anyone is using this to make a profit?

Hua Xiangyun smiled at her, "Don't be so quick to accuse our family. Let my grandma finish what she has to say."

Tian Guihua said, "That's exactly what my little darling is saying. Because you hurt someone back then, my little darling was rescued by a fellow villager. The villager has a nephew in school, and they came to us for help. How could we just ignore it?"

The neighbors who were watching the commotion overheard this and secretly admired the Hua family's righteousness. Even though so much time had passed, they still maintained contact with their saviors and continued to repay their kindness.

But this week, Xiaolan's words were a bit unpleasant to hear. What does "speculation and profiteering" mean?

Living in villages near the county seat, anyone who doesn't offer agricultural products in exchange for tickets sounds so unpleasant coming from this person's mouth.

Zhou Xiaolan said, "...I heard that several people in your family are taking the exam, so you must have plenty of study materials. I wonder if you could lend me some?"

Tian Guihua spat, "Our two families don't have that kind of good relationship. Don't forget what you did before."

I, Tian Guihua, am not that magnanimous. You've ruined so much for our family, and I'm the one helping you instead.

I just don't understand where you get the nerve to keep staring at us?

"With so many people in the county preparing for the exam, many of them must be your classmates, right? Even if you asked anyone else, you wouldn't find us."

After Tian Guihua finished speaking, she urged Hua Xiangyun to go back quickly. If you don't want to work with someone, then don't bother with them. In this area, Grandma can still protect you.

Hua Xiangyun smiled sweetly at her. It felt so good to have an elderly person looking after you. "Okay, then we'll go back first. Give us the trash, and we'll take it out while we're at it."

Tian Guihua no longer refused; she still had to keep an eye on certain people here.