After Wei Xun left the Zhiqing Office, he went to the registration point at Jiuli and registered to go to the countryside under the name Wang Yong. He also gave some gifts and designated the specific location for the rural placement.
Liu Datao, carrying a bulging bedsheet bundle, stopped outside Cheng Junyi’s door. She wiped her sweat and raised her hand to press the doorbell.
After pressing it once, she waited at the door.
Several minutes passed, but the door still didn’t open. She pressed a few more times and continued waiting. After quite a while, it still remained closed.
She figured that Cheng Junyi might have gone out to prepare supplies for the countryside, so she thought she’d come back later and left with her bundle.
Inside the Spatial Dimension, Cheng Junyi was immersed in cultivation and had no idea Liu Datao had come by.
When she opened her eyes, she had already reached the Second Level of Qi Refining and could now use the Divine Speed Step and Divine Sense. She checked the time—it was already five in the afternoon of the next day.
The moment she stepped out of the Spatial Dimension, she heard voices outside, along with the sound of crying.
She recognized one of the crying voices as Liu Datao’s and quickly went to open the door.
The people who had been arguing stopped talking when they heard the door open and all turned to look at Cheng Junyi.
Liu Datao’s eyes were red and swollen. When she saw Cheng Junyi, relief appeared on her face, and her first words were ones of concern.
“Miss Cheng, you’re home! But I kept knocking and you never answered. Are you sick?” She reached out and placed her hand on Cheng Junyi’s forehead.
Cheng Junyi didn’t dodge. She looked at the crowd, quickly analyzing in her mind what had happened.
Besides Liu Datao, there were police officers, and also the next-door neighbors and passersby.
Based on Liu Datao’s question just now, she must have come to find her, but since no one answered the door for a long time, she called the police?
If Cheng Junyi had come back from outside, she could have said she’d gone out, but she had come from inside the house, so that excuse wouldn’t work.
Fortunately, Liu Datao had just given her a ready-made excuse.
“Aunt Liu, I really was sick these past two days. I had a high fever, and after taking medicine, I slept all the way until now.”
Liu Datao felt her forehead and found it was no longer hot. She finally felt greatly relieved, but she was still full of sympathy. Poor thing, living alone—when she got sick, no one was there to take care of her, and she had to bear it all by herself.
She began to worry again about how Cheng Junyi would manage after going to the countryside, and her mind wandered to whether she should send her youngest son to the countryside instead.
One of the police officers nearby said, “Alright, since she’s fine, we’ll be going now.”
Liu Datao only then realized there were still other people around and quickly said, “Thank you so much for your trouble.”
The officer waved his hand. “No trouble at all. We serve the people! But miss, since you live alone, next time you’re sick, you can ask the neighbors for help. Don’t tough it out by yourself.”
“Indeed, we’re all neighbors. Miss Cheng, just give a shout if you need anything,” a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit chimed in.
Cheng Junyi thanked them politely, but inwardly she was thinking—wasn’t he hot? In this sweltering heat, he was still bundled up so tightly.
The police left, the crowd dispersed, and Liu Datao followed Cheng Junyi into the house.
Liu Datao’s face was flushed red, clearly from sun exposure. Cheng Junyi went to the kitchen and poured her a glass of juice.
She must have been truly thirsty, because she gulped it down in a few big swallows.
After finishing, she looked at Cheng Junyi with worry and said, “Miss Cheng, seeing you like this, I really can’t let you go to the countryside.”
Cheng Junyi tilted her head. Like what?
“Just look at you—when you get sick, you don’t even let anyone know. What if something happened to you?”
So that was it! Cheng Junyi smiled. She really did care about her.
To ease her worries, Cheng Junyi thought about how to explain things in a way that would put her mind at ease.
After a moment’s thought, she spoke up: “Aunt Liu, actually, I wasn’t sick. I went out on some business. When I came back and saw someone at the door, I climbed over the wall into the courtyard.”
Liu Datao was startled. She even stood up and looked around, then asked in a tense whisper, “Is it something Elder Cheng asked you to do?”
Cheng Junyi smiled and nodded. This Aunt Liu really was perceptive—she always came up with excuses for her.
Liu Datao remained tense. “Then you must be careful, Miss Cheng! Don’t let anyone find out.”
In Liu Datao’s mind, there was only one thing Elder Cheng would entrust to Miss Cheng, and that was matters concerning money and valuables.
Miss Cheng going out at this time must mean she was getting some cash to use in the countryside.
Cheng Junyi smiled and assured her, “Don’t worry, no one found out.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Once her nerves relaxed, Liu Datao suddenly remembered what she’d said about climbing the wall, and her expression immediately turned to shock.
“Miss Cheng, you can climb walls?”
“Mm, I can.” With that, she stood up, walked to the staircase, grabbed hold of a spot, and with a light leap, was up on the second floor.
Liu Datao was dumbfounded by the sight. Good heavens, their Miss was actually this capable!
Even if she went to the countryside, there was nothing to fear now.
“Miss, Miss, so you had this skill all along—that’s wonderful!” Liu Datao wept with joy, forgetting to even mask her form of address.
But Cheng Junyi didn’t think much of the title.
The two chatted for a while, until Liu Datao suddenly remembered the purpose of her visits over the past two days.
She shot up from her seat. “Miss Cheng, wait a moment. I’ve prepared some things for you to take to the countryside.”
Before Cheng Junyi could refuse, she had already dashed out.
Cheng Junyi smiled and shook her head, then got up to make dinner.
She took out her cookbook and chose Spicy Diced Chicken and Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes.
Then she took out the ingredients from the Spatial Dimension, washed and chopped the vegetables, and began cooking according to the steps written in the book.
She had just put the shredded potatoes in the pan when she heard a knock at the door. She turned off the gas and went to open it.
It was Liu Datao, along with her thirteen-year-old youngest son, both carrying large bundles on their backs.
They came into the living room and set down the bundles. Her son stood off to the side, looking ill at ease, while Liu Datao opened the bundle to reveal jars and bottles of all kinds—pickled vegetables, salted vegetables, cured meat, fermented bean curd, and preserved vegetables.
“Miss Cheng, these are for you to eat in the countryside.”
Originally, Liu Datao had only prepared one large bundle, but just now she’d realized that since Miss couldn’t cook, she wouldn’t eat well even with money on hand. So she’d packed up all her household reserves.
Cheng Junyi was a bit stunned. All this to take on the cart? Besides, with the weather this hot, she was sure it would spoil, wasn’t she?
But seeing the genuine concern on Liu Datao’s face, she couldn’t bear to refuse, so she accepted with a smile.
She figured their family probably didn’t have much to spare, so she planned to give them some money and ration tickets. But just then, Liu Datao pulled another cloth-wrapped item from her trouser pocket and handed it to her.
“Miss Cheng, take this.”
Cheng Junyi took it and opened it to find money inside—two hundred yuan. She couldn’t accept this. She’d just been thinking of giving them money.
“Aunt Liu, I can’t take this money.”
Liu Datao gave her a playful glare. “What do you mean you can’t take it? This is yours to begin with.”
Cheng Junyi: “…”
Perhaps sensing her confusion, Liu Datao explained, “This is your resettlement allowance for going to the countryside.”
Cheng Junyi suddenly understood—so there was a resettlement allowance for going to the countryside!
Still, she had no intention of accepting it. She pulled a stack of ration tickets from her pocket and, along with the two hundred yuan, handed them to Liu Datao.
“Aunt Liu, I’ve accepted your things. Take this money and these tickets, or else take your things back.”