However, since then, those in the village who wanted to take advantage of or bully the Fu family have to think twice. Fu Zhawei, this kid, may look weak, but he is a tough guy at heart and should not be easily provoked.

Liang Bin shook his head and shook off these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

That was all a decade ago.

He raised his eyes and looked again at the young man standing silently beside the tractor in front of him.

Compared to a month ago, Fu Zhewei seemed thinner, but his skin remained a striking white. The sharpness and arrogance between his eyebrows seemed to have been smoothed away, replaced by a deeper, more restrained tenacity.

It's like an angular stone that is washed by the stream day after day, wearing away its sharp edges but making it more hard and stable.

Those obsidian eyes were still sharp, but that sharpness seemed to be sealed by a thin layer of ice and no longer easily exposed.

After a while of fighting, some marks were left on this kid.

Liang Bin pondered this internally, but didn't show it on his face. He simply felt that the countryside, where the soil and water both nourished and wore people down. Even the most prickly thorns, if thrown into the mud and rolled for a while or two, would eventually be smoothed out and taught to bow.

He narrowed his eyes, a seemingly hearty grin spreading across his lips, revealing teeth yellowed by smoke. He patted the bumpy metal seat of the tractor beside him and said, "Sure! Come on up! I'm going to the supply and marketing cooperative to pick up fertilizer, and after I'm done, I can even bring you back so you don't have to run all the way."

The words sounded like a favor, but also had a subtle undertone of "I'm taking care of you."

"Thank you, Captain Liang." Fu Zhawei did not say anything extra polite, his voice calm and composed, as if he did not hear the subtext in Liang Bin's words.

He climbed onto the back of the tractor in one go.

“Thump, thump, thump—”

The old tractor spewed out a cloud of black smoke, made a loud roar, and staggered onto the dirt road.

The road was bumpy and the tractor was shaking violently.

Liang Bin skillfully steered the wheel, tilted his head, raised his voice, and asked casually, "Fu Zhiqing, what are you doing in town?"

Fu Zhewei looked at the rapidly receding ridges and trees and replied calmly, "Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy some things."

"Oh..." Liang Bin said casually, "I heard your sister is sick? Has she gotten better in the past two days?"

When he mentioned his sister, a slight flicker finally appeared in Fu Zhewei's calm black eyes, but it was quickly suppressed. His tone remained steady: "She woke up this morning and can speak."

"Oh, that's great! I told you, he's just a kid, how could he stay sick all the time?" Liang Bin sighed in exaggerated relief, as if he was genuinely happy for him. "A few days ago, I heard the barefoot doctor mention it. He had a high fever, and I was thinking of finding time to go see him, but I've been busy with the team and haven't had the time."

Fu Zhawei lowered his eyes slightly to hide the emotion in them, and replied lightly, "Captain Liang, thank you for your concern."

"Hey! Why worry about it!" Liang Bin waved his hand and said with a smile, "We are from the same brigade. Your Fu family is also a member of the commune under my jurisdiction. As the brigade leader, I should care about the members!"

He said words of concern, but his eyes were looking at Fu Zhawei subtly.

This kid had become increasingly silent ever since Niu Bo got beaten up, and no one in the village dared to provoke him easily anymore. His ruthlessness, no matter how well he hid it, still made people wary.

Now it seems that he is more patient than before.