Since she was going to find Fu Lan, Xing Zhaozhao decided to visit the old principal on the way and bring him the money she had earned from selling incense. Unfortunately, she had promised to buy him incense, but she had to go to the capital because of Gao Mingcheng's matter and couldn't make it. She would have to wait until next time to buy it.
Considering the current shortage of supplies, even if you have money, some things are hard to buy. Xing Zhaozhao specially carried a bag of rice and a bag of flour for the old principal, and packed some red dates, longan and brown sugar for Grandma Qin. Finally, she packed two bags of candy and snacks for little Qin Shi in a basket before taking the three little ones out the door.
As soon as I reached the foot of the mountain, I saw Aunt Hao coming towards me.
"Where are you all going?" Aunt Hao asked curiously when she saw Xing Zhaozhao with the three little ones.
"I'm going to town," Xing Zhaozhao said, then asked Aunt Hao, "Where are you going this time, Auntie?"
Aunt Hao reached out and teased the little girl in her arms, saying with a smile, "I was originally planning to go to your place. Yesterday, I saw that you were being pestered by this little girl, and I was worried that you wouldn't be able to get away, so I was going to go to your place to see if you needed any help. But now it seems there's no need."
"But you just got back yesterday, after a long train journey. Why didn't you rest at home? Why did you suddenly decide to go to town? And why did you have to choose this time? Da Han's tractor has already left. Are you planning to take the three little ones and walk all the way there?" Aunt Hao asked.
Xing Zhaozhao's eyes flickered, and she said, "It was a last-minute decision. Anyway, we're not far from the town. We can walk there in an hour."
Aunt Hao looked disapproving and said, "I think you're just looking for trouble because you have nothing better to do, and you even have to take care of three little ones."
As she spoke, she reached out her hand to Xiao Hongling and said, "How about Xiao Hongling stays with Grandma? Don't go with Mommy. The sun is so strong, it's going to make our Xiao Hongling's fair and tender little face red."
Aunt Hao had been taking care of Xiao Hongling for a month, and Xiao Hongling was quite familiar with her. She was holding Aunt Hao's fingers and playing happily, making "ee-ee-ya-ya" sounds.
Whether she understood that Aunt Hao wanted her to stay with her mother-in-law instead of leaving with her mother, Xiao Hongling immediately fell silent. Then, she disgustedly flicked Aunt Hao's finger, turned her head, hugged Xing Zhaozhao's neck, and ignored her.
Aunt Hao was stunned: "This little girl is so tiny, and she's already so clever? What will she be like in the future?"
"Aunt Xing..." someone suddenly called out from the side.
Xing Zhaozhao turned her head in surprise and saw Gao Qingshan walking quickly toward them not far away.
However, after not seeing him for a month, the once energetic young man had lost a lot of weight and looked quite haggard. No wonder Captain Gao was so anxious.
Gao Qingshan quickly walked up to Xing Zhaozhao and asked, "Auntie, are you going to town?"
"Mm." Xing Zhaozhao nodded.
"Are you going to find Xiaolan?" Gao Qingshan asked Xing Zhaozhao with a hint of urgency.
Xing Zhaozhao did not deny it, and asked, "Did your grandfather tell you everything?"
Gao Qingshan nodded and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Auntie."
Xing Zhaozhao shook her head dismissively and said, "It's nothing. If it weren't for me, you two wouldn't have met. I'm practically your matchmaker. You're both good kids. If things really work out, I'd be happy to see it happen."
"If my aunt sees her, could you please give this to her for me?" Gao Qingshan said, carefully taking out a flower from his pocket. It was a flower made of red paper, with trembling petals that looked quite realistic.
When Xing Zhaozhao reached out to take it, she was still somewhat incredulous.
Well, this kid is something else. I never realized before. Not only is he skillful with his hands, but he's also quite clever at pursuing girls.
"I'd appreciate it if you could ask her for a definite answer. If it really doesn't work out, I won't force it," Gao Qingshan said, bowing to Xing Zhaozhao before quickly turning and leaving.
Aunt Hao looked at Gao Qingshan's departing figure, then at the flowers in Xing Zhaozhao's hand, and said in disbelief, "I didn't expect this kid to be so capable."
After saying that, Aunt Hao turned and glared at Xing Zhaozhao, saying, "So you went to town to talk about this? Why didn't you just say so?"
Xing Zhaozhao smiled sheepishly and said, "This is their private matter..."
Aunt Hao rolled her eyes and said, "What private matter? Before today, who in the village didn't know about it except you?"
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." Okay, she was just being presumptuous.
"However, this is indeed quite strange. At first, Qingshan and that girl seemed to get along very well. The girl often came to the village to play. We even joked with your Aunt Gao that good things were probably coming soon. But then one day, without any warning, it just ended abruptly," Aunt Hao said.
"What reason could there be? Does Qingshan really not know anything about it?" Xing Zhaozhao asked curiously.
Aunt Hao nodded and said, "I asked, and they really don't know anything."
As Aunt Hao was speaking, she suddenly paused, looked around warily, leaned close to Xing Zhaozhao, and whispered, "However, I think this matter might be related to your cousin."
Xing Zhaozhao was startled and asked, "You mean Lin Wan? Why do you say that?"
"Didn't you always tell me to keep an eye on her and that Zhang Wenming to see if they were having an affair?" Aunt Hao said. "I've been keeping an eye on them, but unfortunately, ever since she almost got caught by Aunt Gao, she hasn't come around much. The only time she came was about half a month after you left. Knowing you weren't there, she didn't stay long and left. That was when that girl came to see Qingshan and she caught them. She even asked me about their relationship. When she found out they were dating, she looked extremely upset, as if her precious cabbage had been eaten by a pig, even though that cabbage had absolutely nothing to do with her family."
Xing Zhaozhao's heart skipped a beat. After hearing what Aunt Hao said, it seemed there really was a problem. Why was she in such a hurry to date a girl who had absolutely no relation to her family?
A bad feeling suddenly crept into Xing Zhaozhao's mind. Could Fu Lan's disappearance in her past life also be related to Lin Wan?
Thinking about the close friendship between Fu Hong and Lin Wan, she suddenly felt that if this were the truth, it would be too cruel for Fu Hong.
Thinking of this possibility, Xing Zhaozhao frowned deeply.
"Mom..." Hongyu suddenly called out loudly.
Xing Zhaozhao snapped out of her daze and looked down at them: "What's wrong?"
Hongyu pointed at the little Hongling in her arms with a look of horror: "Little sister..."
Xing Zhaozhao turned to look at Xiao Hongling, her pupils shrinking involuntarily.
Oh no! This little girl took advantage of her inattention and chewed on the little red flower that Gao Qingshan had given her to give to Fu Lan. She had half a flower in her mouth and was chewing it. Although she didn't have any teeth yet, she was still trying her best to chew.
"You're going to die! How can you eat this? Spit it out!" Aunt Hao was terrified and quickly pried the half-flower out of Xiao Hongling's mouth.
Having not only failed to get any good food, but also had her mouth picked at, Xiao Hongling tilted her head and leaned on Xing Zhaozhao's shoulder, looking aggrieved.
Xing Zhaozhao breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was alright. Then she looked at the remaining flower stem and worried about how to explain it to Fu Lan.
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