Zhang Hongmei thought Liu Jingze would stay in Haishi for a while longer. She didn't expect him to return so soon.

"Hongmei, this is a New Year's gift for you."

"Thank you so much, Brother Jingze. This is too much!"

"Open it and see if you like it. I picked out things that we don't have here and brought them for you."

Zhang Hongmei opened it and, sure enough, there were several pairs of socks, as well as some food wrapped in paper. Opening them one by one, she found milk candy, fruit candy, biscuits, two bags of milk powder, and a red scarf.

"Do you like it? There are even better things, but I just can't get my hands on them."

"That's already very good, then you won't be polite."

When Liu Jingze saw Zhang Hongmei take out the biscuits and milk powder separately, he guessed that she was going to give them to her great-grandmother, and quickly refused, "Hongmei, are you going to give these to your great-grandmother? I bought some for her too, you can keep them for yourself."

Zhang Hongmei didn't feel embarrassed at all. "Brother Jingze, I really don't like these. I'm going to the city soon. I'll leave these for Grandma to eat slowly. You can buy them in the city. Since you gave them to me, they're mine. I can decide what to do with them as I see fit."

"Alright!" Liu Jingze didn't know how to persuade Zhang Hongmei to change her mind. He had bought this to improve her meals.

But seeing that she left behind the milk candy and fruit candy, you can tell what she likes to eat.

"Jingze, why didn't you stay in Haishi a little longer?"

“I go almost every year, and there’s never anything major going on. I’m about to go to the capital, and I want to spend more time with my family at home.” Actually, he had to squeeze out this time himself, and his second uncle was still quite dissatisfied. He wanted to introduce some people to him during the Spring Festival, but Liu Jingze came back.

"Yes, Great-Grandma misses you very much. Grandma and Auntie feel the same way."

Are you leaving tomorrow morning?

"Okay, I'm skipping breakfast. I need to visit the old principal's house first, and then head straight to the city. The sanitation there hasn't been done yet."

"Oh! I'll head back now. It's getting dark, you should get some rest too."

"I send you."

The next day, Zhang Hongmei got up early and tidied up the house inside and out. Then she took milk powder, biscuits, and half a bag of peanuts and went to the old lady's house.

"Grandma, I'm going to the city in a bit. School starts on the 18th."

"Go on, study hard, and our village can produce another college student from the capital."

“I will try my best. These were brought back for me by Brother Jingze. I don’t like them, so I changed them for you. There are also these peanuts. You can eat a few when you have time. They’re good for your stomach.”

"Don't worry about me, I'll be at ease as long as you're doing well."

Liu Jingze came in and asked, "Hongmei, shall I take you there?"

"No need, I know this road well, don't worry, everything will be fine."

"Great-Grandma, I'm leaving now. I still need to go to Uncle's house."

Zhang Hongmei returned home and took two pairs of socks and half a bag of sweet potato flour to Liu Maocai's house.

"Third Aunt, these are socks. You and Second Sister each get a pair."

"Hongmei, are you going to the city? I'm going with Brother Zhu tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll go over there today and tidy up the house."

“Hongmei, take the sweet potato flour back with you. You’re away at school, and everything costs money. I’ve heard that even with money and coupons, you can’t necessarily buy food.”

“Third Aunt, this is for my Second Sister. It’s not appropriate to give her the collective’s grain. I have enough for myself, so don’t worry. Don’t refuse me. We’re not that formal.”

"It's not easy for you as a girl, and we're always taking advantage of you." Li Cuihua felt really embarrassed.

“We should help each other. I have something now, but what if I run out? Will Auntie just watch me starve?”

"Mom, I already owe Hongmei too much. Don't worry, I'll repay her in the future, so please accept this." Er Ya didn't want her parents to be in a difficult position because of her.

"What are you talking about repaying? It's your own effort to improve yourself, and I'm just lending a hand. I have to go now, or it'll be late by the time I get to the city."

When Zhang Hongmei got home, she carried a bag of potatoes, a bag of sweet potatoes, more than ten kilograms of dried pumpkin, and more than ten kilograms of sweet potato flour, and then rode away on her bicycle.

Liu Jingze watched Zhang Hongmei leave from afar, feeling a little disappointed, but the thought that the two of them could go to the capital together during the Spring Festival made him inexplicably happy again.

When Zhang Hongmei arrived at the old principal's house, she only stayed for a short while before putting down the food she had brought.

"Principal, I'm leaving now. I'll come back to visit when I'm back, don't worry."

"I know, take care of yourself."

Zhang Hongmei didn't arrive in the city until 3 PM. After getting home, she didn't want to do anything and went to take a bath in her virtual space.

Zhang Hongmei felt so comfortable after taking a bath that she wanted to sing.

After lazily spending a few hours in the space, I finally went back outside.

Sweep here, wipe there. Finally, everything is tidy and I feel relieved.

It was almost dark when I took out a bowl of seafood noodles and enjoyed a delicious meal. This place's noodles are still the most authentic. I used to eat there every few days, so I have quite a few different kinds of seafood noodles in my space, enough to satisfy my cravings.

Zhang Hongmei decided to fetch water tomorrow morning, and then lazily stay at home to rest afterward.

The next morning, after Zhang Hongmei finished carrying water, the person who brought the cart arrived. Actually, this was not very useful to me; I only needed to carry two buckets a day.

They pushed the car into the warehouse to collect dust.

After that, I snuggled up on the kang (heated brick bed), found my favorite novel, took out some dried fruit, and even brewed myself a pot of fruit tea. This was wonderful!

She was living a happy life at home. Zhang Shouyi, on the other hand, was extremely busy, with a lot of things piling up during his ten days away.

During his breaks, Zhang Shouyi would wonder what Zhang Hongmei was doing. She should be back in the city by now, right? With her carefree nature, she certainly wouldn't be thinking of him.

Zhang Shouyi also found it unbelievable. Why would he take a liking to such a young girl?

She's too young, so the final conclusion is probably that she's like me, otherwise there's no other reason.

Maybe she's a fairy, otherwise how could she have such good luck?

I am now 100% certain that the resources I have are what they obtained in my past life, and now that they are in my hands, I wonder how they will raise the money.

Just thinking about it makes me excited. Knowing that they are in such a mess right now, I don't even feel hungry even if I don't eat.

They really have guts to embezzle disaster relief funds; I truly admire them. If it were my past self, I might have covered for them, letting them sink deeper into trouble. But my mindset has changed in this life; I don't want the working class to suffer because of their mistakes.

So they put the investigation materials on the top leader's desk; they're probably in for a rough time.