A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

The car window rolled down, revealing a man in his forties wearing a Zhongshan suit; he didn't look like an ordinary person.

"Hey folks, can I ask you for directions?" the man's voice boomed. "To get to Dahe Village, is it by following this road straight ahead?"

Sister-in-law Hongxia smiled and said, "Yes!"

The man nodded, his gaze sweeping over the baskets at their feet, then at the child in Su Xiulan's arms, his expression softening.

"Your luggage looks quite heavy. We're on our way to Dahe Village on business, and we can give you a ride."

"Oh? This...this is too much trouble!"

Sister-in-law Hongxia was startled and waved her hands frantically, "No need, no need, we can walk by ourselves, it's not far."

This car is very valuable. If you accidentally dirty someone's car, you wouldn't be able to afford to pay for it even if you sold yourself.

"Come on up, it's snowing heavily, it's inconvenient to bring a child."

Without wasting words, the man waved directly to the driver in the front seat, "Xiao Wang, go down and help your fellow villager put his things in the back."

The driver, Xiao Wang, was a quick and efficient young man. He jumped out of the car, picked up the two men's baskets, and stuffed them into the trunk.

Now she had no choice but to get in. Holding Nuannuan, Su Xiulan braced herself and carefully sat down inside. The car was so warm inside; the seats were leather, soft and springy.

This was Nuan Nuan's first time sitting in such a metal monster. She placed her two little feet neatly on her knees, her little body tense up, not daring to even breathe loudly.

[Little Greenie, this car can move! It makes my bottom feel all tingly.]

Little Green was practically rolling its eyes; it was its first time sitting like this too.

The man, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at them through the rearview mirror without any hint of disdain. "Are you from Dahe Village?"

"Yes...yes." Sister-in-law Hongxia didn't dare to raise her voice this time, her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum, she was very reserved, "We're going to town to buy some New Year's goods."

"Yes, life is going well." The man nodded and then closed his eyes to rest.

The carriage was quiet except for the roar of the engine.

Su Xiulan's heart pounded. What was this person doing in Dahe Village? Judging from his demeanor, could he be the new leader of the commune?

If their superiors find out they were dealing in things on the black market...

Thinking of this, Su Xiulan's palms started to sweat.

The car drove very fast, and in less than thirty minutes, the iconic locust tree of Dahe Village came into view.

It was lunchtime, and a group of villagers were eating under the big locust tree.

When a green car drove into the village, everyone stopped eating, craned their necks, and looked around curiously.

"Wow, what kind of car is that? It's so impressive!"

"Is it a high-ranking official from the county?"

"Look, there are people sitting in the car! Are those... Hongxia and Xiulan?"

Some sharp-eyed people immediately recognized the person in the back seat and exclaimed in surprise.

"My goodness! Su Xiulan is riding in a car? Her family's fortunes are about to turn around!"

The car stopped slowly.

Driver Xiao Wang got out of the car to help them carry their baskets.

Su Xiulan, carrying Nuannuan, and Sister-in-law Hongxia, carrying a basket, got off the car in full view of everyone.

"Thank you, leader! Thank you, comrade!"

Su Xiulan bowed respectfully towards the car.

The man didn't get out of the car; he simply nodded through the window, "You're welcome."

The car window rolled up, and the car spewed out a plume of black smoke as it drove towards the brigade headquarters.

As the car's rear end disappeared around the corner, the villagers instantly erupted in excitement and swarmed around it.

"Xiulan, Hongxia, why are you two in a car? Who's that?"

"Yes, is that a leader from the county? How do you know him?"

"Is it comfortable inside the car? Is it like riding on a cloud?"

The cacophony of voices from the crowd was so loud it gave me a headache.

Su Xiulan didn't want to cause trouble, so she replied casually, "I just gave them a ride because I was on my way. They were kind enough to give us a handyman, and we don't even know them."

He pulled Nuannuan and started to walk home.

Sister-in-law Hongxia stood still, staring at the direction the car had disappeared, her brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Su Xiulan asked, turning around.

Sister-in-law Hongxia scratched her head, looking puzzled. "Xiulan, did you hear that person speaking just now? Why does that voice sound so familiar? Like I've heard it somewhere before... but I can't remember who it is."

"Does that sound familiar?"

Su Xiulan's heart skipped a beat.

Sister-in-law Hongxia is the village's gossip queen; there's no one in the surrounding villages who doesn't know her.

If someone sounds familiar to her, they must be someone she has interacted with before.

How could such a high-ranking leader have any dealings with commoners like them?

unless……

A thought flashed through Su Xiulan's mind, but she felt it was impossible and quickly shook her head to dismiss the idea.

"Maybe that's just bureaucratic jargon; all leaders speak in that tone."

Su Xiulan tugged at Hongxia's sleeve, "Don't think about it anymore, hurry home, we still have to cook."

Carrying their belongings, the two hurried home amidst envious and jealous glances from the crowd.

As soon as I arrived at my doorstep, I saw Da'an squatting on the snow in front of the door, drawing something with a twig in his hand.

Upon seeing Su Xiulan and Nuannuan return, Da'an abruptly threw away the tree branch and stood up.

"Mom, little sister!"

He strode over, took the basket from Su Xiulan's back, and carried it on his own.

"Why is it so heavy? Mom, aren't you tired?"

Da'an looked at the sweat on Su Xiulan's forehead, his eyes filled with heartache. He then looked down at Nuannuan and asked, "Is your little sister cold?"

"It's not cold!"

Nuannuan reached out her little hand and touched Da'an's ears, which were red from the cold. "Big brother, your ears are red, like carrots!"

Da'an smiled foolishly, not flinching, letting his little sister's hands mess with his face.

Su Xiulan stared at her eldest son in shock. What had she just heard?

Her son not only came over to help her carry her things and greeted her, but he also showed concern for her.

Is this really her son?

Is my son completely healed? In the past, my son never cared about anything outside, and he rarely said a word when you talked to him.

"Come inside quickly, it's cold outside."

Gu Jianguo was standing at the door with his cane. Seeing that his mother and her two children had returned safely, he finally felt relieved.

Once the family was inside, Su Xiulan closed the door tightly before proudly taking out the items from her basket one by one.

"This is the floral fabric I bought for Nuannuan. I'll make her a new cotton-padded jacket, and the rest can be used to make a small schoolbag."

"These are for Da'an and Xiao'an. The color won't get dirty easily, so they're perfect for making pants."

"And this piece of meat, we'll make dumplings tonight! Pork and scallion filling!"

Da'an's eyes lit up when he saw that pile of good stuff.

That pound of brown sugar was a rare treat; normally only women in their postpartum period could have a sip. After Dad was injured, the family couldn't bear to buy it.

"Mom, this is too much..."

Da'an swallowed hard. Although he was craving meat, he was still a little worried. "How much will this cost? Do we have enough money?"

"Enough! How could it not be enough!"

Su Xiulan pulled a roll of 130 yuan from her bosom and slammed it onto the kang table with an air of authority. "This is the money from selling the cash register, 130 yuan. They even gave us cloth coupons!"

"What? One hundred and thirty yuan?"

Da'an and Gu Jianguo were both stunned. Was a radio really that valuable?

Su Xiulan hugged her eldest son's face, rubbed his head vigorously, and praised, "My Da'an is really amazing. He earned 130 yuan just by fixing a radio."

At that moment, a man's cold voice came from the village committee office, "I'm looking for a woman with a young child who often goes up the mountain. She should have some ginseng that's a hundred years old."