The little dumpling is five and a half years old, which made his father so angry that his head split

Li Tian held up the clothes and thanked them warmly.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou. This outfit is so beautiful, I love it."

Zhou Shaobo smiled shyly and waved his hands repeatedly.

It means, "You're welcome."

But you can't just take things for free.

If it was given to her by Duan An, she wouldn't feel guilty taking it.

Li Tian felt it was inappropriate to give money, as that would be a waste of the other person's good intentions.

People's new clothes are definitely not meant to be sold.

But she had nothing of value when she was out and about.

I can only put the clothes back in the house first, and while I'm at it, look for a gift I can give them.

Mr. Shen didn't know how to repay them.

As elders, we naturally want to think things through for our children.

But experience is the best teacher; the more you know, the better you'll understand what kind of etiquette to offer.

"Young man, you're so thoughtful. We've been wandering around in the mountains for the past two weeks, and we haven't dared to buy anything unrelated to our trip. Even if we see something we like, we can't buy it."

"I was originally planning to buy some local specialties here, but because of the New Year, the market and shops are not open."

"This gift is perfect for the little girl."

Zhou Shaobo still waved his hand shyly, but his smile became more relaxed.

"My younger sister is about the same age. My mother sewed this for her before the Lunar New Year. We originally planned to wear it when visiting relatives, but my uncle got injured, so we haven't been going out..."

"My uncle is the most capable person in our family. We are very grateful to you for saving him."

"I don't have anything else to offer, but I hope you don't mind."

Li Tian walked over with a smile and added a comment.

"Not at all, I like it more than anything."

I just tried it on inside the house, and the clothes should fit her quite well.

"Brother Zhou, please give this pen to your sister. My dad bought it for me when I was entering high school. It's only been used for half a year, but it writes very smoothly."

Zhou Shaobo knew that fountain pens were valuable; at the supply and marketing cooperative, a good one could cost one or two yuan.

My younger sister usually writes with a pencil or ballpoint pen; she doesn't have a fountain pen.

It is indeed necessary, but that is not a reason to accept it.

The reason my mother gave us the clothes was to express her gratitude; she couldn't possibly accept anything else from us.

He waved his hand and didn't take it.

"This is too precious, too precious. The clothes are homemade and not worth much. They are just my mother's way of thanking you for saving my uncle."

Little did he know that Li Tian's fountain pen cost far more than just one or two yuan; it was much more expensive than he had imagined.

Li Tian genuinely wanted to give it to him; she wasn't just putting on a show.

He reached out and shoved the pen directly into Zhou Shaobo's pocket.

"Let's keep things separate. This is a gift for your sister; consider it an exchange between the two of us."

Shen Yi walked over and patted Zhou Shaobo on the shoulder.

"Brother Zhou, just keep it. We won't interfere in the young girl's affairs."

How did this become a matter for a young girl?

Zhou Shaobo was a man of few words and not good with words, so it was already quite an achievement that he was able to give his reasons in one breath.

It's a bit difficult to ask him to come up with a new explanation now.

"By the way, do you have any plans for today? If not, please come home with me for dinner and try our specialties."

"I have to go even if I don't have time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Duan An walked in, accompanied by Xiao Yu.

Liu Wei acted quickly and went to meet them first.

"Battalion Commander, you're being discharged from the hospital already?"

Duan An patted Liu Wei on the shoulder.

"The case isn't closed yet, and my family is worried about me. It would be more convenient to go back to the hospital in our county for treatment."

Duan An walked towards Elder Shen and bowed to express his gratitude.

"Although it is said that great kindness does not need to be expressed in words, I must thank you in person."

Old Shen reached out and helped him up.

"It's a doctor's duty, it's what they should do."

Duan An knew perfectly well that a doctor's duty did not include administering that life-saving drug.

Every time I bleed or get injured, my body is weak for a long time, but this time it was obviously different. Apart from the wound, it seemed that I was not depleted at all.

Duan An smiled and looked at the children, praising each of them.

"I know you don't want to come home with me, so let's have a farewell dinner at my sister's house today. After lunch, I'll have the car that's picking me up take you to the provincial capital. You'll arrive tonight."

This arrangement was unexpected.

But it saved them a lot of time.

Old Shen reached out and shook hands with Duan An.

"It would be impolite to refuse Director Duan's kindness. Thank you, thank you."

"You're too kind, it's just what I should do."

Zhou Shaobo, who was outside the crowd, said something to Xiaoyu and then ran away.

Xiaoyu quickly came to her nephew's rescue.

"Shaobo is an honest boy. He said he would go home first to let everyone know, and then hitch up the donkey cart to pick everyone up."

No one would find it strange, but Xiaoyu's words were enough to fulfill Zhou Shaobo's courtesy.

It's clear that these two families are truly close.

The doctor did not allow Duan An to move around too much, which was also a good opportunity to wait for Zhou Shaobo.

A few people sat in the courtyard of the guesthouse and chatted idly.

Liu Wei was very concerned about whether the criminal had been caught.

"Comrades, you did a great job! We caught him! The five of us chased him for three days, and I even got injured. If we hadn't caught him, I wouldn't have been able to go back and explain myself."

"That kid's luck ran out. He just happened to run into a wild boar, which allowed our comrades to catch up with him."

Everyone was relieved to hear that the criminal had been caught.

After that, we had plenty of time to chat about anything.

Of course, only those who have experienced it can truly understand the hardships behind the arrest.

More than half an hour later, Zhou Shaobo drove back.

Duan An invited everyone to sit down.

The vehicle has limited space and cannot accommodate everyone, so priority is given to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled.

Liu Wei let Xiaoyu sit down, and then he led Li Muchen and Shen Yi on foot.

This is already the optimal solution.

The car was carrying a heavy load, so it moved a little slower and took about half an hour to get there.

It's a village on the outskirts of the city.

Zhou Shaobo greeted the villagers with a smile, saying that he had a distinguished guest at his home.

In the familiar village, the boy became much more relaxed and unrestrained.

Hearing the voices outside, the entire Zhou family came out to greet them and blocked the doorway.

Zhou Shaobo parked the car and reached out to help his aunt out first.

"When the village chief heard that there were distinguished guests from the capital, he also came to help entertain them."

Xiaoyu nodded and went over to help Li Tian. Old Shen and Duan An had Liu Wei and a few others helping them.

Since she didn't know anyone, Li Tian only needed to smile and act as a mascot, watching the adults exchange pleasantries.

Once inside, they simply sat and drank tea and ate.

However, because we had to take a long bus ride after the meal, we could only taste the various foods and dared not eat much.

After a lively meal, the jeep that was supposed to pick them up arrived.

While the adults were saying goodbye, a girl of similar height to Li Tian came to her side.

"Thank you for the pen, I really like it."

"This is a simple handkerchief I embroidered myself, the best one I've ever made. I wish you a safe journey."

The little girl was more outgoing than her brother, but she was still somewhat shy and didn't dare to look Li Tian in the eye.

Li Tian accepted it with a smile.

The simple handbag the little girl was talking about was a crossbody bag, embroidered with a peacock displaying its plumage; it was very exquisite.

"You have such skillful hands, I will treasure this."