Tong Yan now believed that Tao Rui could make money, so she came early to help the Tao family build a stove. When Tao Rui woke up, she immediately asked him, "What are you doing today?"
Tao Rui looked at his own bare house and said, "Let's go back into the mountains and gather as much as we can. Otherwise, it will all go to waste if it rots."
Tong Yan's eyes lit up. "Then I'll go back and carry the basket." Just as she turned to leave, she saw the stove and said, "Your stove isn't working, so why not come to my house for dinner? You're borrowing my stove, so you're responsible for cooking."
Tong Yan had learned fair trade these past two days, and selling on the spot was quite appropriate. After Tao Rui asked Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen, they all packed up and went to Tong's house. While Tao Rui was cooking, he saw Tong Yan diligently imitating the cooking nearby. Then he realized that this girl was just greedy and wanted to learn more.
He thought about how the Tong family didn't have many friends, so he said generously, "If you ever want to learn how to cook, come find me and I'll teach you. I used to dislike cooking because it was too much trouble, but now I'm interested. I'd like to think about more food and try making it. I'll invite you to come and see me while I'm experimenting."
Tong Yan glanced at him twice, wanting to speak but stopping herself. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered, "Can you do it? If you can't, don't do it. It's shameful to waste food. We don't have much food."
Without even looking up, Tao Rui said, "Don't worry. If I waste any, I'll definitely find a way to get it back. There's so much stuff in the mountains. Selling it this way won't fetch much, and it spoils easily. Processing it will make a difference. It can last a long time, and if you sell it slowly, you can always get a higher price."
Tong Yan had no idea what he was talking about after the processing, but she could sense his extraordinary confidence, as if he could accomplish anything he set his mind to. This was probably what she lacked the most. She often felt powerless and helpless, not knowing how to do many things, and others lacked the patience to answer her questions. Often, even her efforts were futile. Fortunately, Tao Rui had changed for the better!
Tao Rui is very patient and willing to help her. Now she can give her grandmother medicine and delicious food.
She looked at Tao Rui and silently made a wish: I hope Tao Rui will always be this good and never change back.
After dinner, Grandma Tong went to sleep, Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen went to work in the fields, and Tao Rui took Tong Yan into the mountains again.
This time, the villagers saw them going into the mountains together, but no one thought much of it, because Wu Xiufen kept talking about the Tong family's grandparents and was particularly grateful for their help, replacing so many kitchen utensils for her and letting her come over to eat. Seeing that Grandma Tong looked sick and frail, and Tong Yan wasn't very smart, she naturally helped out whenever she could, and Tong Yan even helped Tao Rui carry things.
When Tong Yan worked in the fields, everyone knew she was strong, but they had never realized how strong she was. Now, thinking about Tao Rui, who had always been weak, asking Tong Yan for help? Was he taking advantage of her stupidity and using her as free labor?
Many people speculated that Tao Rui's association with the Tong family was based on the desire to take advantage of widows and orphans. Didn't he even get the thermos and kitchenware? Even if they were traded, it still felt like the Tao family was taking advantage. When Tao Rui and Tong Yan went to town to sell things, some even speculated that Tao Rui might have cheated Tong Yan, taking the money and giving her less.
Outsiders didn't know Tong Yan would settle accounts, didn't know Tao Rui had found a doctor for Grandma Tong, and didn't know what kind of changes Tao Rui had brought to the Tong family. Naturally, they would think Tao Rui was taking advantage. So they went into the mountains alone, a man and a woman, and no one thought it was inappropriate.
Tao Rui had a systematic "radar," and he easily avoided the animals and headed deep into the mountains. The mountains were truly vast, and filled with treasures. The two of them would plunder for days on end, gathering everything they could and saving seeds for later use. Occasionally, they'd catch a rabbit or pheasant, and every meal at home consisted of one meat, one vegetable, and soup.
Because Tao Rui and Tong Yan work together every day, they simply cook and eat at Tong's house. Tao Rui wants to teach Tong Yan how to cook simple dishes, while Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen like the hustle and bustle here so as to avoid the annoyance of seeing the neighboring family at home.
Tao Rui sold some of his harvest and bought two cans of malted milk. Tong Yan followed him and felt sorry for him as she watched him spend so much money. She couldn't help but ask, "Isn't this for the kids? Why are you buying this?"
Tao Rui knocked on the can of malted milk and said with a smile, "This stuff replenishes calories and protein. It's nutritious anyway, and it's exactly the nutrition that people like us lack. I'll have to drink it every day from now on, and you should too."
Tong Yan hurriedly shook her head, "I'm very strong, I don't need it."
Tao Rui took a look at her. She was so thin that she had only a few pounds of flesh on her body. She looked delicate and petite, and there was no way she looked strong and sturdy.
He deliberately frightened her. "Not even the doctors at our town hospital can detect nutritional deficiencies, and you won't be able to feel them yourself. If they get serious, you might develop a thick neck, bow legs, and a hunchback. If you're severely deficient in calcium, you might break a bone if you fall, and suffer from bone pain every day. Do you want that?"
Tong Yan shook her head. "Is this so serious?"
"It's so serious, so not only the elders need to drink it, but you and I also need to drink it. Take it!" Tao Rui stuffed a can of malted milk into her arms and looked at the pitifully few cakes and candy balls.
Tong Yan looked at him for a while, frowned, and pulled his clothes. "Aren't these nutritional supplements? You want to eat them? Or I can buy you one. Just one piece, don't waste your money."
Tao Rui said with a smile: "You think it's a waste, but you're willing to buy me one? Let's go and look somewhere else."
After he left the supply and marketing cooperative, he said, "I'm not trying to eat it. I just want to see what's popular so I can try making some to sell. These things don't require many ingredients and aren't expensive, but you do need to master some techniques."
Tong Yan thought he was daydreaming. "Can you learn that by yourself? If you can, why is it so expensive? No one can do it."
"Others are others, I am me. Have you ever seen anything I don't know?"
This is really not the case!
Tong Yan thought about it seriously for a long time and found that Tao Rui knew everything she could think of. Tao Rui was really smart.
Before she could figure it out, Tao Rui called her over to look at the buns, sesame cakes and so on, and then went to the restaurant to see what dishes were available. He wandered around the street for a long time before going home.
Tong Yan didn't understand, "Why are you walking on the street?"
"See where the customer flow is, what people like to buy, and which factory has more young people. If you want to sell things, you have to be smart and think of all aspects. You can't just sit in an alley and be done with it." After all, Tao Rui used to be a venture capitalist and learned how to do business from entrepreneurs, so he is very skilled in studying these things.
No one had ever told Tong Yan about this before. She was confused but felt it was very powerful, so she went back and told her grandmother Tong about it.
Tao Rui has been hardworking and quick-witted these days. He has never lost a penny of the things he brought back from the mountains. He has exchanged them all for food and daily necessities, and he has never cheated Tong Yan out of a penny.
Grandma Tong saw this, and her worries were relieved. She even started to look favorably upon Tao Rui.
She looked at her granddaughter's happy face and sighed in her heart. It really was true that fools have good fortune. If Tong Yan had not been simple-minded, she probably would not have had the good life she has today.
Tong Yan made a bowl of malted milk for Grandma Tong and gave it to her after it cooled down a bit. But Grandma Tong was reluctant to give it to her. She said she didn't like it and told Tong Yan to drink it herself. Tong Yan said sternly, "If you lack nutrition, you will become deformed and sick. Grandma, you must drink it. If you don't drink it, then I won't drink it either."
Grandma Tong had no choice but to drink it. This was a gift from her granddaughter as a token of filial piety, and the malted milk was so sweet that it seemed to penetrate her heart.
The same thing happened at the Tao family. Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen had never drunk malted milk in their lives. When they had children, they only drank rice soup. How could they have ever touched such a precious thing? But Tao Rui insisted, saying that it was filial piety and they had to drink it together. They had no choice but to drink the malted milk before going to bed that night.
When Tao Rui and Tong Yan were seen bringing the malted milk back, everyone initially thought they were trying to trade it for something else. After all, many people couldn't afford a can, so exchanging a bowl or two was fine. But when they asked Wu Xiufen the next day, they learned that Tao Rui had actually bought the malted milk as a gift to them, and had already opened it and drunk it!
That’s not all. Tao Rui and Tong Yan hid in the mountains all day that day, and when they came down they caught ten pheasants!
Tong Yan's family kept four, and the remaining six belonged to the Tao family. Someone came over curiously and asked, "Tao Rui, are you going to sell these in town again?"
Tao Rui waved his hand and said with a smile, "We don't have enough food at home, why should we buy more? We don't have any chickens at home, so we can't even afford eggs. I was thinking of catching a few pheasants and raising them well. I can guarantee they'll lay three eggs a day, which is enough for me and my parents."
He got a big cage to keep the six chickens in, actually intending to raise them for laying eggs!
Just as everyone was getting off work, many people gathered in Tao's yard. Seeing him tending to his chickens and rabbits, they asked him, "Tao Rui, what are you thinking? Your parents wouldn't be willing to eat eggs and rabbits. Why not sell them and save some money to buy food?"
While feeding the rabbits, Tao Rui said, "What's the point of saving money? Isn't it just to live a good life? Well, I can be more comfortable and eat better now, so why should I live so miserably on a shoestring?"
"You kids don't understand. This is called preparing for a rainy day, haven't you heard of it? Look, there aren't any hunters in our village. It's just that things in the mountains are hard to get. If you're not careful, you can get something. Ugh, I won't say that. Don't think that just because you're a hunter, you can rely on it for the rest of your life. You have to plan for the future."
Tao Rui smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing. I don't want to be a hunter for the rest of my life. This path is made by people, and the ways to make money are also figured out by people. If hunting doesn't work out, I can do something else. Will I starve to death? The worst that can happen is that I can live frugally like before. Anyway, I'll enjoy myself today and don't let myself down. This is my only hobby."
Tao Rui has been spoiled by his parents since he was a child. Everyone in the village knows this, and they often grumble behind his back that he will never amount to anything when he grows up. Now that Tao Rui has finally made some money and wants to enjoy it, no one seems too surprised, because he is a person who "doesn't know how to live", and it is normal for him to be a spendthrift.
It’s just that this time he spent the money himself, so outsiders have nothing to say.
When Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen came back, they heard Tao Rui say that his family had eaten all the pheasant eggs. Of course they felt sad, but they also found that Tao Rui was very opinionated. He was only eighteen years old, but they could not do anything about it. They just nagged him a few times and then stopped talking.
Besides, the old couple eats and drinks the best, and they really have a lot of face in front of others. Didn't no one think highly of Tao Rui before? Look, Tao Rui is more filial than anyone else now! Didn't they get nothing after the family division? Look, now her family is the only one that eats well. Her complexion has become rosy, and she smiles more often.
Wu Xiufen didn't brag about it, but she knew in her heart that she was very proud of herself!
Their family lived well, but the big family separated from them by only a fence was unhappy.
Normally, the two families split up and their lives didn't matter anymore. But now that the fences have been erected and they've torn apart the family, their relationship has become even more distant. This was also the eldest wife's intention from the beginning; they hoped Tao Rui and the two elders wouldn't come knocking, fearing they'd be taken advantage of.
But who knew the reality would be anything but? While they had some money and everything they needed at home, they didn't have the meat, milk, or fruit that Tao Rui had on his table. The noodles they rolled no longer tasted delicious. The initial excitement of starting their own business had long since vanished, and now they felt a constant sense of unease.
They closed the door and drank their porridge and ate steamed bread without any taste. Tao Yuanyuan wanted to go begging again, but she had gone twice, and Tao Rui just told her to go find her father. He never gave her a single sip of water. Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen loved their youngest son the most, so they naturally didn't make a fuss about this situation. It wasn't like Tao Yuanyuan was begging because she couldn't eat.
So Tao Yuanyuan could only eat quietly at home. If she expressed any envy, she would definitely be scolded by her parents.
Xiao Lizhen heard Tao Rui and the two elders laughing and couldn't help muttering, "Grandpa and Madam don't care about the third child. Who can withstand such a disaster? They are too proud, right?"
Tao Fu took a bite of his steamed bread and said, "That's just his character. There will be more to cry about later."
This seemed to comfort them a little. They didn't notice that they had unknowingly begun to hope that Tao Rui would fall, and their daughter was also being influenced by them every day.
Tao Rui stayed up late every day, studying his book "The Complete Course of Cuisine" in his room. He was really interested in this and had already learned how to make pastries like Changbai cakes, glutinous rice noodles, and mung bean cakes, as well as steamed buns and pancakes. All he needed to do was put them into practice.
After he had explored most of the safe areas in the mountains, he used the money he had to buy ingredients and started trying to make snacks.
Of course, there's a gap between theory and practice. Although Tong Yan thought Tao Rui's food was delicious, Tao Rui himself wasn't satisfied. To make money selling something, it has to be memorable. Why bother with something you're not satisfied with? You might as well just eat it all yourself.
So from then on, the Tao family's yard was filled with the fragrance every day, including meat buns, vegetarian buns, meat patties, oil-salt pancakes, scallion pancakes, etc., which made the neighbors drool and they wanted to ask the Tao family to continue to go to the Tong family for dinner.
When everyone heard Tao Rui wanted to make money from this, they were surprised. Firstly, they had never seen anyone in the village do it, and secondly, he had no idea about business, so no one was optimistic about him. Everyone thought, "Who would buy something I could make at home?" Even if someone in town did, it would be a small number, and there would be no profit. What if some of the leftovers spoiled? Wouldn't that mean I'd lose money?
However, seeing how hard Tao Rui worked, selling only refined rice and flour, they really thought that Tao Rui was making money from the mountains and was richer than they had imagined.
There were no hot searches at that time, otherwise Tao Rui would definitely be the one dominating the top of the village’s hot search list every day, with many people talking about him every day.
Li Qiang also set his sights on him.
Last time, Li Qiang tried to steal Tao Rui's rabbit in the mountains, but was interrupted by Tong Yan. He held a grudge, but Tao Rui and Tong Yan were always out early and back late, either going to the mountains or to the town, so he never found a chance to settle the score.
Now that he saw that Tao Rui was so "rich", he had other thoughts in his mind.
He used to hang out with the original owner and a few others, doing nothing all day and stealing things. It was because the original owner was timid and had parents who spoiled her, so she never stole anything. But Li Qiang had long since grown into a bad person, with a particularly bad heart.
Tao Rui's parents work all year round and are quite strong. Tao Fu's family lives next door, as well as several other neighbors. It would be very difficult to steal Tao Rui's things, and they might even be caught.
Li Qiang had set up a trap, intending to wait for Tao Rui to go up the mountain, then take advantage of the Tao family going to work, steal something, and run away without anyone noticing. But Tao Rui suddenly stopped going up the mountain and stayed at home cooking every day, leaving him no chance to find a way out.
After a few days of this, Li Qiang suddenly came up with another idea. Tao Rui's family always had people coming, but Tong's family didn't!
Although the Tong family has a grandmother, what use is that sickly old lady? He only needs to steal from the Tong family when Tong Yan comes to the Tao family to help cook, and that will be enough for him to have a good time.
The Tong family lived at the end of the village, and there was no other family nearby, which greatly facilitated Li Qiang's actions.
After watching Tong Yan walk away, he quietly pushed open the door and entered Tong Yan's room, rummaging through the drawers and cabinets looking for money.
Grandma Tong was originally planning to take a nap, but when she heard some small noises coming from next door, she frowned, grabbed the crutch next to her and got down.
Tao Rui had made her a cane in the mountains using wood and thick branches. She wasn't weak, but she wasn't lame. With a little support, she could walk steadily. She'd been taking the medicine Tao Rui had prescribed and supplementing her nutrition daily, and her health had improved somewhat. She stood there and listened, figuring it wasn't a rat or anything like that.
Tong Yan always moved very carefully for fear of disturbing her rest. There must be a thief next door.
Grandma Tong is still very self-aware. As an old lady, she cannot win the fight and may even lose her life.
She also wants to see her granddaughter live a good life, so she can't run into a thief like this.
So she took some effort to climb out through the back window. Although this was a little troublesome, she could walk outside the yard and people in the house could not see her. She leaned on her crutches and hurried along the path to the Tao family. She saw Tao Rui and Tong Yan and shouted breathlessly: "Yanzi, Tao Rui, come here quickly!"
Tong Yan stood up instantly, turned around and saw her, and ran out to support her, "Grandma? Why are you here? Are you feeling unwell?"
Tao Rui felt something was wrong and ran out quickly.
Grandma Tong took two quick breaths and pointed towards the end of the village, saying, "There's a thief in my house! I climbed out through the window carefully. Hurry, find someone to catch the thief."
Tong Yan's head buzzed, and her face turned pale with fear. She wasn't afraid of thieves, she was afraid of losing her grandmother. Whenever she thought about her grandmother being alone when the thieves broke into the house, her heart almost jumped out of her throat.
Tao Rui frowned and said, "Tong Yan, help grandma to my house to rest, then run to the field to call for help. I'll go to your house first."
Tong Yan immediately shook her head, "No, you can't beat the thief, I'll go."
"Listen to me, it's useless to fight with them, you'll get hurt. Hurry and call for help."
Tao Rui ran away after he finished speaking. Tong Yan subconsciously listened to him and went to the field to call for help as he said.
It was much safer for Tao Rui to catch the thief because he had already started the system scanning before he even got close. Grandma Tong's window-penetration was quiet, so the thief didn't notice and continued to search Tong Yan's room.
When Tao Rui heard the system say that the thief was Li Qiang, he was stunned for a moment, then he climbed in through Grandma Tong's window and stood at the door without disturbing Li Qiang.
He leaned his back against the wall, standing where Li Qiang couldn't see him, took out the slingshot from his pocket, grabbed a handful of stones, slowly inserted the slingshot, aimed at the numb tendon on Li Qiang's leg and shot it out!
Li Qiang was caught off guard, his legs numb and he suddenly fell to his knees, startled. Before he could react, Tao Rui pelted him with several more stones, hitting the numb tendons in his arms, his neck, and the painful areas on his head.
Li Qiang cried out in pain and immediately collapsed to the ground, feeling dizzy and numb in his hands and feet. He knew the situation was not good and tried desperately to get up, but Tao Rui had already rushed in and grabbed his arms.
Li Qiang shouted angrily, "Tao Rui! Let go of me, you little bastard!"
Tao Rui narrowed his eyes, and the next second he used some clever strength and twisted hard, and Li Qiang's two arms were dislocated!
"Ah—my arm!" Li Qiang fell to the ground again, this time in so much pain that tears welled up in his eyes, and he cursed Tao Rui profusely. But the pain also made him miss the chance to get up and run away. Tao Rui dragged him by his legs, dragged him into the yard, and quickly tied him up with a rope.
When Tong Yan ran over with a group of people, she just saw him tie a knot in the rope and shake off the dirt on his hands.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, looking at Tao Rui and then at Li Qiang, feeling dizzy.
It's not that they look down on Tao Rui, it's just that Tao Rui has so little strength and a small body that even ten of them can't beat Li Qiang. What's going on?
Tong Yan didn't think too much about it. She rushed into the yard, grabbed Tao Rui, and turned him around twice, looking him up and down. "Are you hurt? Were you beaten?"
"No, no, no!" Tao Rui said hurriedly, "I attacked him by surprise. Before he could react, I knocked him down. I'm fine, really."
Tao Guodong and Wu Xiufen also came over to check on him, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he was indeed fine. Wu Xiufen slapped him and said angrily, "You are such a troublesome kid. How dare you come here to catch a thief by yourself? Why don't you call everyone first!"
Tao Rui smiled and said, "I'm fine, right? I can only do it if I'm sure. If I'm not sure, I will definitely hide and wait for you. Mom, don't you know how much I cherish my life? Besides, I'm lucky."
After a while, everyone finally accepted the reality of the situation and rushed into the yard to surround Li Qiang. The team leader frowned and asked, "What's going on? You came to steal things from the Tong family? You're so capable, you want to go to jail, right?"
Li Qiang was sweating profusely, his face twisted as he shouted, "Send me to the clinic! That bastard Tao Rui broke my arm!"
Tao Guodong stepped forward and kicked him twice, then looked at his arm in surprise and snorted, "Well done! Your hand should be chopped off. You even steal from fellow villagers, even from the orphans and widows of the Tong family. You are simply inhumane."
A young man came forward to take a closer look and asked in surprise, "Tao Rui, did you do this? How did you do it?"
"Right, right, Tao Rui, tell me how you did that sneak attack? I can't even beat Li Qiang."
Tao Rui raised his slingshot and shook it. "I hunt every day, so I'm pretty good with it. A while ago, I took Grandma Tong to see a Chinese doctor, and he asked a lot of questions. So I tried to hit him to numb his tendons. You know what numb tendons are? They'll be numb for a long time after you hit them. So I took the opportunity to dislocate his arm, also from a Chinese doctor."
"Hey, you're awesome, Tao Rui!"
"Oh my god, it's so uncomfortable to hit the nerves. No wonder you had the opportunity to attack me by surprise."
"You figured it out just by asking a Chinese medicine practitioner? How did you learn so quickly?"
Tao Rui laughed unceremoniously and said, "I'm smart. When I was in school, I just didn't want to study. Otherwise, I would have been ranked first in the province."
"You're just bragging! You haven't even been to the city, let alone the province. It's useless to pass the exam. You won't even be allowed to go to university." The young people laughed and teased him, but they also thought he was smart. Looking at what he did after the family split up, could anyone without intelligence do that?
Unlike their elders, young people do not look at Tao Rui based on their own life experiences. They think that Tao Rui does not know how to live and will fall sooner or later.
Young people only think that Tao Rui is awesome, and that he does things that they dare not think about or do, and that he is bold and powerful. Now they are all talking to Tao Rui with great enthusiasm.
The captain asked Tong Yan to check what was missing. Tong Yan had hidden her money well, so nothing valuable was missing. However, the house was a mess, and many things were dirty. This was not considered a loss, but Tong Yan insisted on sending Li Qiang to the police station.
This time, she was lucky. What if she and Tao Rui had gone into the mountains or to town? What if Grandma Tong had been discovered climbing through the window? She couldn't imagine the consequences. So no matter what the villagers said, she just said, "The thief should be taken to the police station."
The captain was a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that he wanted to protect Li Qiang, but he felt that in the current situation, while others had not suffered any losses, Li Qiang was in a worse situation. Everyone didn't understand the law, but subconsciously assumed that the weaker ones would not be convicted.
Tao Rui pushed everyone aside, stepped forward, and amid Li Qiang's curses, pulled his arm and pushed him, spreading his hands and saying, "Okay, it's settled. This guy tried to steal my rabbit last month, and now he's trying to steal things from the Tong family. Who knows who he'll target next time. If we don't send him to the police station, he won't get a lesson, and our entire team won't feel at ease."
This is indeed the truth. Although the captain thought it was not a big deal and did not want to contact the police station, it was the Tong family that was robbed. Tong Yan insisted, so he took two people with him and personally took Li Qiang to the town.
Everyone was so excited that they didn't want to leave. They pulled Tao Rui aside and asked him about the details of what happened and what happened when he stole the rabbit last time.
Tao Rui said a few words briefly, then said, "Everyone has to go to work, and I also have to go back and think about cooking. Let's go home for now. We can talk about it another day when we have time."
Tong Yan was leaving to clean up and take care of her exhausted grandmother, so Tao Rui closed the door for her and left with everyone else. He looked around, seeing no other houses, and frowned, "The Tong family is in such a remote place, it's too unsafe."
Wu Xiufen sighed, "Yes, in the past, everyone knew that her family didn't have much, and no one cared about it. We've just been living a good life for a few days, and who would have thought something like this would happen? It's also because after Tong Yan's accident, Aunt Tong didn't like to socialize with everyone anymore, so she built a house here to keep quiet. It doesn't seem appropriate now."
Someone else said, "That's not possible. If they were to move in and be neighbors with everyone else, they wouldn't have any houses to live in. And if we were to ask everyone else to move in and be neighbors with them, well, that's impossible."
Tao Rui walked around, taking in the surroundings. This place was actually quite spacious and well-located, though it was a bit far from the fields and his fellow villagers. After a moment's thought, Tao Rui said, "Dad, Mom, our house is too small. How about this? Once I make enough money, we'll build a house here and move in. That way, there will be two families at the end of the village, and maybe others will come and live here in the future. We'll keep each other company, so we won't be afraid of thieves. What do you think?"
"Ah? Coming here?" Wu Xiufen was stunned for a moment. "Why are you here when you can live peacefully at home? What are you doing..."
She didn't say anything else, but her first thought was Tong Yan. Tao Rui was moving in because the Tong family was robbed. Could it be that he had a crush on Tong Yan? Thinking about how they had been together every day, going up and down the mountains and rivers, wasn't that what he meant?
It's no wonder she thought so; the others immediately shared her thoughts. One of the aunts laughed and said, "Tao Rui, why are you taking Tong Yan out to eat and drink? Are you trying to find a date after all this fuss?"
Tao Rui had no idea how they came up with this idea. He said speechlessly, "You guys are too good at guessing. I think that place is pretty good. Anyway, my house is too small and I'm worried about finding a spacious place. Since I have to choose, why not choose to have neighbors who I know? If I go to town to sell things in the future, Grandma Tong can still help me keep an eye on the chickens at home. Isn't that great? What are you thinking?"
"Don't try to hide it. Just ask yourself, who would be willing to move so far away? It's so inconvenient. It takes half a day to visit someone, and you have to carry a hoe a long way to go to work."
Tao Rui finally understood. Their thinking was perfectly in line with their usual way of thinking. They gathered in groups, loved to hang out together, and thought that only orphans, widows, or strange people went to the end of the village. Furthermore, building a house was a family affair, not something that could be built just by anyone. Even if Tao Rui had mentioned building a house, they didn't think he would actually do it. They simply assumed he wanted to because he cared about Tong Yan, who was there.
Tao Rui listened to their teasing and reflected silently. Initially, he'd just wanted to make amends to Tong Yan, but later, because they worked so well together and enjoyed each other so much, they'd started hanging out together every day, finding it quite satisfying. He also had people he liked to hang out with and people he disliked.
However, he did ignore the times. When he gave Su Jiahui the book, he paid attention to it and didn't let anyone see it. Later, because Tong Yan was considered a "fool" by the villagers, no one thought there was anything wrong with them, so he gradually forgot about it.
When he brought up the unrealistic idea of building a big house today, it was only natural that everyone immediately thought of Tong Yan.
Tao Rui raised his hands and said seriously, "Everyone, stop joking. I'm a man and don't mind this kind of thing. It's not good to ruin Tong Yan's reputation. I didn't think it through. I thought Tong Yan had helped me before, so it was normal for me to help her. I didn't expect that it would cause misunderstandings."
Please don't talk about this again, or I'll be angry."
Seeing how serious he was, everyone stopped joking. Actually, few people thought he would marry Tong Yan. With his smooth talk and quick thinking, wouldn't he end up like Tao Xin, marrying a town girl and becoming a respectable man? How could he possibly marry Tong Yan?
But Tao Rui seems a bit more reliable now, so someone asked, "You're already so old, and your two brothers have already married and had children. Aren't you in a hurry? Aren't things a bit better now? Tell us what kind of partner you're looking for, and we can introduce you to someone. My cousin has a niece who's really good and even went to high school."
Wu Xiufen was immediately interested, but Tao Rui quickly waved his hand, "How can my conditions be considered good? It's still early. I should establish a career first and then start a family. I'm not interested in dating right now. I just want to make a lot of money quickly."
"Hey, I've only heard that you should get married first and then build a career. Is that right?"
"Then I won't get married. I want to build a career first." Tao Rui said this in a naughty way. He just arrived home, waved to them and ran back home to continue steaming buns.
However, Wu Xiufen was pulled by several aunts and aunties to go to the fields, and she heard several girls with good conditions.
After they left the scanning range, the system relayed their words to Tao Rui and asked, "Brother Rui, what are your criteria for choosing a partner? Do you like any of the ones they mentioned?"
Tao Rui was speechless: [What's there to like about someone you've never even met?]
[So, Brother Rui, what are you going to do? ]
"Let's wait and see. I'm only eighteen, no rush." Tao Rui steamed a pot of buns, wiped his hands, and said, "Several educated youth went to the Tong family to catch the thief just now. Didn't Su Jiahui go?"
[Yes, I didn’t see her.]
You scan, let's go see what she's doing.
Tao Rui took a small path to avoid people, and soon heard from the system that Su Jiahui was found at the educated youth site.
He did not show up, but just walked around nearby to let the system check on Su Jiahui's situation.
The system said: [Su Jiahui was reviewing a problem and seemed to have a difficult one that she couldn't solve. Then, a thirsty educated youth came into the room to drink some water and started chatting with her about the Tong family.]
How did you say that?
The educated youth was puzzled and asked, "Su Jiahui, have you finished your work again? Why are you sitting in your room doing homework?"
Su Jiahui smiled and said, "I think we should not forget knowledge. It will be useful in the future. The country will need us. When you have time, read more books. I can lend you mine."
The educated youth quickly waved his hands and said, "Come on, we're not even taking the college entrance exams, so what's the point of learning all this? It would be better to just learn how to farm."
"What if the college entrance examination is resumed one day? We must always have hope. When that day really comes, the knowledge we have learned will become the most useful thing." Su Jiahui cannot talk about the college entrance examination in vain, but she will advise others every time she has the chance.
But no one was interested in continuing to study. After all these days, she was still the only one reading and studying. The educated youth didn't want to talk about these boring things, so he said mysteriously, "You weren't in the fields just now, so you didn't know. The Tong family was robbed. It was Li Qiang from this brigade. You remember him, right? He's so annoying! Guess what? It was Tao Rui who caught him!"
"Tao Rui?" Su Jiahui was stunned and put down her pen. "How did he catch it?"
"He's really amazing! He just asked a lot of questions from Chinese medicine practitioners, learned a lot, and was able to find the exact acupoints. I heard he used a slingshot to hit Li Qiang's muscles and knocked him down. He also broke both of Li Qiang's arms. That's amazing. Tong Yan just said to send Li Qiang to the police station, and Tao Rui reattached his arms. That's almost like a doctor at the health center!"
He's really smart, actually. Why didn't I see that before? Oh, I remember he came to try to please you a while ago, but why didn't he come anymore? Otherwise, he might have brought us some goodies so we could share in your good fortune.
Now it seems that he has set his sights on Tong Yan. He even said that it is unsafe for Tong Yan to live at the end of the village and that he wants to build a house there and move there.”
Su Jiahui didn't have much impression of Tong Yan. After thinking about it carefully, she remembered, "Does he like Tong Yan? That's good too."
The educated youth waved his hands and said, "He denied it and told everyone not to talk nonsense and ruin Tong Yan's reputation. I'm just telling you, don't talk nonsense when you go out. Regardless of whether it's true or not, Tong Yan is very lucky, right? Tao Rui does seem to be quite powerful and reliable after the separation."
Su Jiahui looked at the exercises in front of her and nodded. "He is indeed very capable and reliable. Whether it is being liked by him or being helped by him, it should be considered a blessing! Let's not talk about their affairs. It would be bad if others heard it."
"Yes, okay, I'm going to work now. You should also work harder to earn more food." The educated youth drank a few more sips of water and hurried out.
Su Jiahui touched the book cherishingly, smiled, and whispered: "If you are blessed, you should seize it well."
She looked at the difficult problem again intently, and suddenly she knew how to do it. She wrote down the answer carefully, stroke by stroke.
The system said: [Brother Rui, she did the test, didn't seem to think too much about it, and got it right.]
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