The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

Along the way, Li Kaixin learned the nicknames of the two children: the girl was called Erni and the boy was called Gousheng.

As for his name, they simply shook their heads, saying they didn't know either.

After turning through several narrow alleys, the two children stopped in front of a house.

Li Kaixin looked up and felt even more sorry for the two little ones.

The wooden door was missing a large piece, so even when it was closed, one could still see inside from the outside.

Such a door, let alone keeping people out, could probably be blown open by a strong wind.

The walls were crooked and thin, looking even worse than the drafty houses we had seen on the road earlier.

The two children led Li Kaixin into the house.

But as soon as she looked up, Li Kaixin hurriedly looked away, her face burning.

On the simple bed in the room sat a woman, wearing only a close-fitting undershirt and shorts.

As soon as she saw the strange man enter, she quickly pulled the tattered quilt over herself and, forcing herself to remain calm, asked sternly:

"Who are you? What are you doing here? My man will be back soon, so don't you dare do anything rash!"

Li Kaixin quickly lowered his head, awkwardly touched his nose, and explained:

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm here to buy fish. You can ask Erni and Gousheng for details."

He never expected to encounter such a scene.

The woman then noticed her two children, and after hearing what Li Kaixin had said, she finally relaxed a little, though her face still flushed with embarrassment.

Li Kaixin felt extremely uncomfortable at that moment and quickly said:

"I'm so sorry, I'll wait for you outside. We can talk again when it's convenient for you."

After saying that, he lowered his head, turned around, and practically fled to the door.

The woman on the bed wanted to say something, but after looking down at her current state, she didn't say anything.

He whispered to the two children, "Quickly, follow that older brother, don't keep him waiting."

Erni and Gousheng nodded understandingly and jogged after them.

Li Kaixin didn't wait long outside the door before the two little ones followed her out.

Looking at the two children, I felt a little annoyed, but when I saw their bewildered expressions, I swallowed my words.

Seeing that Li Kaixin's expression was off, Gousheng asked timidly, "Brother Kaixin, what's wrong?"

Erni also stared at him with her dark eyes wide open, looking completely bewildered.

Seeing the two of them like this, Li Kaixin immediately felt that he had gone too far. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from the secret space.

He then squatted down, his tone softening:

"Gousheng, Erni, it was Kaixin's fault just now. Here's some candy for you as an apology."

As he spoke, he handed the milk candy to the two of them.

When Gousheng and Erni heard it was candy, their eyes lit up immediately, but neither of them reached out.

"What's wrong? Don't you like sweets?" Li Kaixin asked softly.

Gou Sheng shook his head and said seriously, "Brother Kaixin, my mother taught me that I shouldn't take things from other people casually."

Li Kaixin truly never expected that such a poor family could still have such a good education.

Then he continued, "This isn't something I'm asking for casually; it's an apology for my brother's bad attitude earlier."

"Take it, otherwise Brother Kaixin will feel bad."

As she spoke, she gently took the two children's hands and placed the candies into their palms.

The two children eventually succumbed to the temptation of the candy, their little hands gently clutching the milk candy, and they didn't insist any longer.

Li Kaixin waited outside the door for about half an hour before a dark-skinned, lean man carrying a fishing net hurriedly walked in from the alley entrance.

As soon as Erni and Gousheng saw their father, they ran over excitedly, chattering away while pointing towards Li Kaixin.

The man walked briskly up to Li Kaixin, a simple smile on his face: "Comrade, are you here to buy fish?"

Then, subconsciously, he reached out his hand, but seeing that his hand was still covered in fishy smell, he stopped in mid-air, wanting to pull it back.

Li Kaixin immediately reached out and grasped his hand, smiling as she said, "Brother, it's me who wants to buy fish."

The man immediately perked up and exclaimed, "Great! Great! Come on in and sit down!"

He then tried to pull Li Kaixin into the house.

Li Kaixin quickly stopped him, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face, and glanced into the house.

The man then suddenly realized that his wife was still inside.

His dark face flushed red, and he hurriedly said, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, comrade! Please wait here for a moment, I'll have her get ready right away!"

After saying that, he picked up his catch and hurriedly ducked into the house.

A short while later, the man came out wearing an old pair of shorts and was shirtless.

He stepped forward a few paces, a sheepish but simple smile on his face, and said to the side, "Comrade, please come inside."

As he spoke, he gestured for them to proceed.

Li Kaixin didn't stand on ceremony and went back into the house.

Inside the house, the older woman I had just met had already put on an outer garment, but her face still had a lingering blush.

Two neat piles were arranged on the ground: one side was dried fish, and the other side was fresh fish in wooden basins.

Li Kaixin didn't mention the price he had agreed upon with Gou Sheng beforehand. Instead, he pointed directly at the fish on the ground and asked, "Brother, what's the price of these fresh and dried fish?"

"Fresh fish is one cent per pound, dried fish is two cents per pound," the man replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin thought she had misheard and asked again, "How much?"

The man, thinking he thought it was too expensive, quickly probed, "Comrade, what price would you like to offer?"

"No, no, the price you quoted is fine."

Li Kaixin waved his hand and then said, "I'll take all of these."

He then realized that the two mao that Gou Sheng had mentioned earlier actually referred to the price of dried fish.

The man's voice trembled slightly as he excitedly asked, "Comrade, you really want them all?"

Li Kaixin didn't say anything more, but nodded with a smile.

Upon seeing this, the man was overjoyed and didn't know what to do. He quickly found a scale, squatted down, and carefully weighed the dried fish and the fresh fish separately.

Before long, the numbers were tallied: 54 catties of dried fish and 42 catties of fresh fish.

After a quick mental calculation, Li Kaixin took out his money, counted out fifteen yuan, and handed it over.

The man accepted the money with both hands and thanked him repeatedly.

However, seeing that Li Kaixin's hands were empty and he hadn't brought any tools to hold the fish, he was at a loss for what to do.

He can't even find a bag in his own home that can hold fish.

Li Kaixin noticed his troubled expression, immediately understood, and smiled, saying:

"Brother, you don't need to prepare a bag. Just leave the fish here, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he smiled and nodded at the woman, then turned and walked out.

Li Kaixin hadn't gone far. When he turned the corner of the alley and saw that no one was around, he took out a large sack from his secret space.

He took the bag in his hand and hurriedly turned back.