The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

Qi Weiwei frowned, trying hard to recall.

She couldn't quite remember.

All I remember is that I failed to drown the beans, and in my anger, I pinned him to the ground and beat him up again.

Douzi was so scared that she neither fought back nor dodged; all she could do was cry.

Oh, she remembered!

The one who saved Douzi was the grandson of one of Grandpa's old friends!

What was it called again?

"But Weiwei, don't rush. I have an old friend in Shandong Province, someone you met when you were little, Grandpa Ling." Grandpa's voice pulled her back from her memories. "Why don't you go find him?"

Grandpa looked at her: "Of course, it's up to you to decide who to ask. That's why I didn't fill out this letter of introduction. Weiwei, what are you thinking?"

Qi Weiwei blurted out, "Ling Heping!"

She remembered now; the meddlesome guy who saved Douzi was named Ling Heping!

At the time, she thought it was just her and Douzi at home, but she didn't expect Ling Heping to be there too!

He also witnessed the entire process of her preparing to "murder"!

She remembered everything—Ling Heping had come to Beijing with his grandfather on business, and had brought his third cousin and Douzi along to visit relatives, because they were too scared to travel by themselves!

Grandpa beamed, his wrinkles smoothing out: "You still remember your brother Heping? That's wonderful!"

He picked up where Qi Weiwei left off: "Your brother Heping is serving in the army near Hulu County. That kid has asked me several times about 'that really amazing sister,' asking about your current situation!"

Grandpa's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile: "The bond from childhood is the best! Perfect, I'll give you his address too!"

Qi Weiwei pouted.

What do you mean by "good relationship"?

Back then, after she beat up Douzi, she was furious and had nowhere to vent her anger. When she saw Ling Heping standing next to her with a look of relief, she became even angrier.

She rushed over and kicked Ling Heping several times, blaming him for meddling.

She remembered quite clearly what Ling Heping had said back then.

The boy, a few years older than her, was kicked so hard he was wincing, but he didn't fight back. He just frowned at her, his eyes filled with confusion and...curiosity?

"Are all the pretty young girls in Beijing this fierce?" he said, his voice tinged with a Shandong accent.

Upon hearing this, Qi Weiwei felt that Ling Heping was being a scoundrel and that she had been greatly offended. She burst into tears, turned around, and ran to complain to Grandpa Ling.

Grandpa Ling, without distinguishing right from wrong, scolded Ling Heping severely and made him apologize to her.

Ling Heping readily agreed, bowed to her, and said, "I was wrong."

But she ignored him and ran away.

Looking back now, it was... ridiculously naive.

As Qi Weiwei thought about it, she couldn't help but laugh.

It can indeed be considered a "fun childhood memory".

Grandpa was very happy to see her smile. He took out a pen from his pocket, uncapped it, and scribbled a line on a piece of paper.

"He Ping holds a high position in the army," Grandpa handed her the note. "If he's willing to help, you'll definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Qi Weiwei hesitantly took the note.

The handwriting above is strong and vigorous: "Pioneer Regiment of Unit 098432, Hulu County, Shandong Province, Ling Heping (received)".

Will Ling Heping help me?

He... wouldn't hold a grudge too, would he?

Qi Weiwei was unsure of herself.

But right now, there's no other choice.

She picked up the blank letter of introduction on the table, compared it with the address of Grandpa Ling that her grandfather had given her, and began to fill it out.

The pen was full of ink, and the ink bleeds a bit when it writes on the paper.

She wrote very carefully, stroke by stroke: Name: Qi Weiwei, Purpose: Visiting relatives, Destination: Hulu County, Shandong Province...

Grandpa watched from the side, occasionally offering pointers: "Yes, just write 'visiting relatives.' Your Grandpa Ling is doing much better than me now, he's at a very high level. However, he's getting old, and his energy is probably waning. It's best if you can get Heping's help."

Qi Weiwei had already filled out the letter of introduction. She picked up the paper and gently waved it in the air, waiting for the ink to dry.

She made up her mind to find both Grandpa Ling and Ling Heping.

Relationships always get better the more you use them.

Moreover, she was confident that she would be a useful person in the future!

In four years, the situation will change.

The vivid memories in her mind, the fragments of future trends, could, with just a slight reminder, completely change Ling Heping's fate.

This favor should have been repaid sufficiently.

The ink dried, and she carefully folded the letter of introduction and put it into her inner pocket.

There, she already had the letter of introduction given by Wang Dong, a copy of Tang Tiantian's household registration, and... that "guarantee".

Grandpa then took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and inside were two stacks of money—one stack of large sums of money and one stack of small bills, as well as a small stack of national grain coupons.

"Keep these with you, you'll need them on the road." Grandpa pushed the money and food coupons in front of her.

Qi Weiwei took the grain coupons—grain coupons were precious nationwide and indispensable when traveling.

But she pushed the money back, saying, "I have money, but I really don't have enough food coupons, so I'll take it, hehe."

Grandpa pretended to be angry, raising his eyebrows: "No way! A poor family needs to be prepared for a long journey; anything can happen when you're out and about! You have to take it!"

He pushed the money back, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Your other money is for emergencies, you can't spend it carelessly. This two hundred yuan is for your travel expenses, Grandpa gave you, you must take it!"

Qi Weiwei looked at her grandfather's serious face and knew that refusing was useless.

She had no choice but to accept it, carefully separating the food coupons and money—keeping the food coupons close to her body and putting the money in a hidden compartment of her bundle.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, but very urgent.

Qi Chou got up to open the door.

He froze as soon as he opened the door a crack: "Zhuangzhuang? Why are you back?"

A person, with snow piled on their head and shoulders, squeezed in sideways, not forgetting to stomp their feet on the cement floor at the doorway to shake off the snow and mud from their shoes.

He took off his Lei Feng hat, revealing a dark red face.

He had thick, dark eyebrows, small but bright eyes, a straight nose, and tightly pursed lips. He was very tall and wore a slightly worn military overcoat—not his active duty uniform, but one he had brought back from his demobilization; it was faded from washing, but clean and crisp.

His imposing figure, standing there, was like half a wall.

It was none other than the eldest brother, Qi Zhuangzhuang.

His gaze swept around the room, and when it landed on Qi Weiwei, his brows immediately furrowed.

"Weiwei," he said, his voice deep and crisp, carrying the characteristic decisiveness of a soldier, "Why have you lost so much weight?"

Qi Weiwei looked at her older brother, her nose tingled, and tears welled up instantly.

"Big brother..."

She cried out, her voice choked with emotion.

Qi Zhuangzhuang put his hat and gloves on the table and strode over.

He stood in front of Qi Weiwei, looking her up and down, his eyes filled with heartache and... anger.