Xu Xiu sat to the side, watching Xiao Ruoyan eat breakfast, his hands supporting his chin.
To outsiders, the two appeared to be a loving couple.
After breakfast, Xiao Ruoyan and Xu Xiu took a car to their hometown. Xiao Ruoyan was still one test away from getting her driver's license, the third part, and she hadn't had time to take it yet. She could drive, but without a license, it was useless.
They took a rural bus to a small town not far from the village, and then the two found a tricycle to go back to the village.
Although it was a bit sunny along the way, the scenery was still beautiful, especially when you're with someone you like.
The man riding the tricycle saw the two people's clothes and figured they were probably young, students, and going back to their hometown.
The tricycle drove for more than an hour before finally seeing the village on the mountainside. Xiao Ruoyan's eyes were filled with longing.
Xu Xiu felt a pang of sadness upon seeing the mountain village before him. He had been there once in his previous life, but he had only ever been alone.
Looking at Xiao Ruoyan beside him, Xu Xiu was relieved that everything could be restarted. After the two got out of the car, Xu Xiu picked up a large foam box.
He didn't even need to ask how far it was to the village in the sweltering summer heat; he had already prepared ice packs and styrofoam boxes, otherwise the vegetables would have spoiled long ago.
Xiao Ruoyan practically regarded Xu Xiu as a god, feeling that there was nothing he didn't know and nothing he couldn't do.
As the two walked up the mountain path, several elderly villagers stared at Xiao Ruoyan for a long time, but they still couldn't recognize who this girl was.
But the figure was so familiar. Finally, Xiao Ruoyan uttered a sentence in her hometown dialect, and the old men finally remembered who it was.
"Oh, it's Ruoyan! She's changed so much, none of us recognized her."
"Hello, Grandpa Zhang, Grandpa Li, Grandpa Wang."
"Good, good, good boy... Who is this young man?"
"Object?"
Upon hearing the words of several familiar grandfathers, Xiao Ruoyan's cheeks flushed red, and she quickly explained, "No...no, this is my...classmate."
Xu Xiu bowed slightly and said, "Hello, gentlemen. I am Xiao Ruoyan's classmate and deskmate. I am also from Shixian County. We are all from the same hometown."
"I visited Xiao Ruoyan's home today, and I thank you all for taking care of her all this time."
Xu Xiu's words at the beginning seemed fine, but his last sentence made the old men think carefully.
He didn't say anything on the surface, but told the two to hurry back as it was getting late and they might miss lunch if they went too late.
After saying goodbye to the old men at the village entrance, Xu Xiu walked side by side with Xiao Ruoyan without any hesitation, as if they were returning to their own home.
Arriving at a mud-brick house halfway up the mountain, Xu Xiu's eyes welled up with tears upon seeing the familiar scene.
Zhang Aixiang was peeling corn at the door when she suddenly saw two young people appear in front of her. She didn't react at first, but after looking them over carefully, she recognized her daughter.
"Ruoyan, why are you back?"
"And who is this?"
"Mom, I'm home. This is my classmate."
She was always so brave and confident in front of her mother; she didn't want her mother to worry about her.
Seeing her daughter get a haircut and a new outfit, Zhang Aixiang's first thought was whether her daughter had been scammed.
She turned to look at Xu Xiu again, feeling a sense of déjà vu about him.
Xu Xiu said directly, "Hello, Auntie. My name is Xu Xiu. I am Xiao Ruoyan's classmate and deskmate."
“I’m also from Shixian County. I came with her today to visit her grandfather.”
"Ah... Hello, hello, don't stand outside, come inside."
After saying that, he quickly turned around and went back into the house, calling out, "Dad, Ruoyan is back to see you."
Xu Xiu and Xiao Ruoyan followed them into the house. The furnishings inside were no different from those in their previous life. There was a worn-out eight-immortal table in the main hall, and a portrait of the God of Wealth on the front wall.
All sorts of farm tools were scattered on the ground. Although it looked crowded and messy, Xu Xiu reached out and touched them and found that the tables, chairs and farm tools were all clean.
Although the house was old, it was very clean and tidy. Zhang Aixiang quickly poured a glass of water from the kitchen, using a disposable cup.
I don't have many cups at home, and they're quite old and look dirty, so I'm embarrassed to bring them out to serve guests.
We don't usually have guests coming over, so we didn't prepare anything, especially no fruit. We could only take out some peanuts.
Xu Xiu said nonchalantly, "Auntie, don't bother, I'll just have some water."
"By the way, my family hosted a dinner at a hotel yesterday, and Ruoyan and I packed some dishes to take home. We don't need to cook any dishes for lunch, just some rice will do."
After saying that, he opened the styrofoam box and took out all the food that had been packed in fast food containers.
At this moment, Grandpa Xiao Liang came out of the room and did not recognize his granddaughter at first glance.
Xiao Ruoyan stepped forward and circled around her grandfather, then suddenly produced a cloud cake, Xiao Liang's favorite food, from her hand.
Xiao Liang then realized what was happening, but the first thing he did was to blame Xiao Ruoyan for wasting money.
Xiao Ruoyan immediately took her grandfather's hand and started acting coquettishly. This was the first time Xu Xiu had seen such an adorable side of her.
Perhaps she is only so relaxed in front of her family.
At this moment, Xiao Liang glanced at Xu Xiu sitting next to him, his eyes filled with vigilance, looking at his granddaughter's attire and the table full of dishes.
He felt that his granddaughter was still in school and the family didn't have any money for her, so where would she get the money to buy clothes and do her hair? It must have been this boy who gave it to her.
But there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I'm afraid there's some ulterior motive. My granddaughter is too naive and hasn't seen much of the world.
He wouldn't even know if he was sold out, but what Xiao Liang didn't know was that Xu Xiu had already considered his eyes and his guesses.
Before Xiao Liang could even ask, Xu Xiu took the initiative to speak, "Grandpa, hello, I'm Xiao Ruoyan's classmate and deskmate."
"Xiao Ruoyan, two other classmates and I started a business together. We made a total of 200,000 yuan, and each of us received 50,000 yuan."
"Xiao Ruoyan has worked particularly hard these past two months because she is a core member of our team, or as we commonly call her, the backbone."
"You don't need to overthink it. Our startup project is based on my family's factory. My family runs a clothing factory that sells clothes."
"So you don't need to worry, we are all in legitimate industries."
Xu Xiu's words clearly explained Xiao Ruoyan's changes and their relationship, and he also mentioned the money, so that Xiao Ruoyan wouldn't scare them when she took out the money later.
Xiao Liang and Zhang Aixiang were stunned when they heard this. Then, Xiao Ruoyan took out a bag containing a card and 10,000 yuan in cash.
All of this was arranged by Xu Xiu. He kept some cash on him and deposited the rest in the credit union. He also got a new credit card when he was in Jincheng.
There's only a credit union in the small town outside the village, so it's convenient to deposit money there.
Xiao Liang was so excited that he was about to kneel down, but Xu Xiu quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying anxiously, "Grandpa, what are you doing!"
"Young man, thank you so much. Ruoyan is so lucky to have a classmate like you."
"This child has had a very hard life. He has never had a good life from childhood to adulthood."
"She has to share the burden of the family at such a young age. We, as her elders, are useless and have dragged her down."
Upon hearing her grandfather's words, Xiao Ruoyan exclaimed excitedly, "Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about? If you say these things again, I won't talk to you anymore today!"
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