After hearing his daughter’s suggestion, Lin Qizheng thought about it for a moment and agreed that it was a good idea.
Otherwise, having his daughter trek over mountains and through the wilderness every single day was simply too exhausting. His heart ached every time he thought about what she had to go through!
Once Lin Shengxia had prepared everything she planned to take over and sell that day, she shouldered her basket and left…
Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the ruined temple, Lin Qizheng and Dong Wanqiu exchanged a glance.
Both could see the determination in the other’s eyes.
Although their daughter was the only one capable of traveling to the future, they absolutely couldn’t become a burden to her!
“There’s plenty of clay in the mountains. I’m planning to dig some up and build us a heated brick bed.”
The ruined temple they were living in didn’t even have a proper bed.
For now, the weather was warm enough that it wasn’t much of a problem. But once October passed, the temperature in the mountains would become noticeably colder than down below.
By then, even with the quilts Lin Shengxia had bought back for them, the cold seeping up from the ground alone would be enough to make them seriously ill!
Dong Wanqiu naturally understood what he meant, but when she looked at the wounds on his face, her heart ached.
“You haven’t fully recovered from your injuries yet. Didn’t I hear you cough a couple of times last night? If you ask me, you should stay home and rest today. Don’t push yourself.”
She wasn’t as worried about their daughter anymore.
These days, she was far more worried about Lin Qizheng.
Hearing her words, Lin Qizheng paused for only a moment before resolutely pushing open the back door.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind Dong Wanqiu to bolt the door from the inside.
Dong Wanqiu obediently nodded.
Almost the instant Lin Qizheng left, she locked the door behind him without wasting a second!
About half an hour later, Dong Wanqiu heard rustling noises coming from outside the gate.
Lin Handong looked at her worriedly.
Despite his small frame, he stubbornly stood in front of her, bracing himself as though he were ready to fight for his life against whoever was outside.
At that very moment, outside the gate, Yang Defu had already tried several times to pry it open without success.
Furious, he raised his foot and kicked the wooden gate with all his strength.
However, the force rebounded against him. He lost his balance and fell flat on his face, unable to get back up for quite some time…
“You bunch of penniless outsiders actually dare to lock your gate?! Are you doing something shameful in there? Hurry up and open the door so I can properly inspect the place! Otherwise, I’ll go get the village chief and the production brigade leader!”
Realizing that brute force wasn’t enough to break through the gate, Yang Defu resorted to threats instead.
He had been among the crowd watching when the Lin family first arrived in the village.
The moment he saw the Lin family’s eldest daughter, he had taken a liking to her.
That face, that figure…
Just thinking about her made Yang Defu feel hot all over.
But Dong Wanqiu treated his threats as though she hadn’t heard a thing.
She coaxed Lin Handong back into the ruined temple and firmly shut the temple door behind them.
Yang Defu waited for a long time, but there was still no response from inside.
His eyes shifted cunningly as his attention turned toward the courtyard wall surrounding the ruined temple.
Although the wall had been reinforced and was now rather high, he remembered that there was a stack of wheat straw beside the temple.
If he climbed onto the stack first, getting over the wall shouldn’t be too difficult.
With that thought in mind, Yang Defu hurried toward the wall!
However, the instant his hand touched the top of the temple wall, he felt a sharp sting.
At first, Yang Defu didn’t pay much attention to it.
But when he tried to use his hands to lift his entire body upward, an excruciating pain shot through his palms, as though countless needles had pierced them at once!
“Aaargh!”
Yang Defu couldn’t endure it any longer.
He fell backward from the wall and landed heavily on the ground.
Staring at his blood-covered hands, his eyes filled with hatred.
“Fine! Very well, Lin family! If I don’t get revenge for this, then my name isn’t Yang Defu!”
Only after the sounds outside had completely disappeared did Dong Wanqiu open the door and step out.
When she saw the bloodstains on top of the wall, she calmly fetched a basin of water and washed them away.
At the same time, her trust in her daughter’s decision grew even stronger.
If it hadn’t been for Shengxia, she might have been forced to grab a kitchen knife and fight the man outside today…
Meanwhile, in 2026, Lin Shengxia had just finished seeing off another group of familiar regular customers.
Today, she had brought river shrimp and loaches.
Loaches were considered something of a novelty to everyone, so she sold them for twenty-five yuan per jin.
As for the river shrimp, Li Xiangqin bought them all again. They were one of her absolute favorites…
What made Lin Shengxia happiest was that the seven or eight wild duck eggs she had collected were all bought by Li Guiying!
Li Guiying figured that since there was no meat available, she might as well buy some wild duck eggs and give them a try.
If her daughter-in-law could stomach them, they would at least provide her with some much-needed nutrition.
Once all the customers around her stall had dispersed, Lin Shengxia quickly packed everything away.
She even picked up the leftover vegetable leaves scattered across the ground and threw them into the market’s designated trash bin.
Seeing that she had finished cleaning up, Li Xiangqin smiled and waved her over.
“Your Sister Shijin asked me to tell you that you can keep supplying her with those fresh purple-flowered violets!”
After receiving the purple-flowered violets from Lin Shengxia, Cui Shijin had immediately asked her assistant to deliver them to Dr. Fu’s laboratory.
Originally, she had simply wanted to introduce a new treatment at her traditional Chinese medicine wellness clinic.
Who would have thought that Lin Shengxia would give her such an enormous surprise?
According to Dr. Fu’s authoritative laboratory tests, the purple-flowered violets Lin Shengxia had brought contained not only zero pesticide residue and zero pollution, but also fifteen times the amount of certain trace substances found in ordinary purple-flowered violets available on the market!
The moment the results came out, Cui Shijin went home that very evening to tell Li Xiangqin the good news.
Truthfully, hearing her eldest daughter praise Lin Shengxia so highly gave Li Xiangqin a strange sense of pride.
After all, in the beginning, she had only helped the young girl because she looked so pitiful that Li Xiangqin couldn’t bear to turn her away.
But now, the girl’s life was clearly getting better and better.
It was almost like watching a priceless piece of unpolished jade finally being discovered and appreciated by others.
The feeling was so wonderful that Li Xiangqin could hardly put it into words!
Hearing what Li Xiangqin said, Lin Shengxia couldn’t help feeling delighted as well.
In truth, she had already harvested the purple-flowered violets and stored them inside her space some time ago.
She had been growing a little anxious over the past two days.
But she also understood that there were some things that couldn’t be rushed, no matter how impatient she was.
Remembering her main purpose for coming today, Lin Shengxia first went to the restroom and thoroughly washed her hands.
Only then did she turn to Li Xiangqin.
“Auntie, may I ask you something? Did anything important happen in 1976?”
Li Xiangqin didn’t think much of the question.
She simply assumed that Lin Shengxia was curious about that particular period in history.
With a smile, she replied, “Oh, if you ask me what happened in 1976, I really couldn’t tell you. But in 1977, there really was one major event!”
Hearing this, Lin Shengxia’s eyes immediately lit up.
She stared unblinkingly at Li Xiangqin, clearly waiting to hear the rest.
Seeing her reaction, Li Xiangqin didn’t keep her in suspense.
She chuckled and continued, “In 1977, the national college entrance examination was reinstated. You know Lin Changcheng from the grain and oil shop at the end of the alley? He was one of the first university students admitted after the examination was restored that year!”
Hearing those words, Lin Shengxia felt as though something inside her chest was about to burst free!
The college entrance examination would be restored in 1977.
Didn’t that mean…?!
A brilliant light instantly appeared in Lin Shengxia’s eyes.
But when she remembered her current identity and circumstances, that light quickly dimmed again.
Even so, she couldn’t calm the excitement surging through her heart.
All she wanted now was to hurry home and tell her parents this wonderful news!