Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

In the hot summer, grilled sausages sell quickly, but sparkling drinks sell even faster.

Not to mention those like Zhao Gou who eat ten sticks by themselves while others watch.

Before long, all the food was sold out.

The crowd outside Zhiwei Restaurant dispersed, and Shen Qing began packing up his things.

To be honest, she really dislikes washing the cups every time she sells sparkling drinks.

The kids are pretty much settled in now. Tomorrow, let them come and wash the dishes and cups to get used to things.

As Shen Qing was thinking, there was a knock on the door.

She was taken aback. At this hour, who would still be coming to the door?

Upon opening the door, they found a stranger, a young woman, carrying a food box.

"You must be Madam Shen? I've come to return the food box." This person was Xiao Mo.

Shen Qing's gaze fell on the food box.

Since the opening of Zhiwei Restaurant, almost all diners have come to eat there in person. After all, grilled sausages will soften if left out, and sparkling drinks will not taste good if left out for too long.

Therefore, very few people use food containers.

She remembered that the only food box that was never returned was taken by a boy named Chen Jie.

No, there were two food boxes. He hadn't returned them yesterday, and he took one today.

"You must be Chen Jie's important person, right?" Shen Qing smiled. "Among my group of diners, he's the only one who doesn't eat it himself but instead brings some for others."

Since she transmigrated here, she has seen all sorts of diners.

There are fathers and sons who dig pits for each other because of food, couples who steal each other's food, and siblings who fight each other.

But this was the first time she had ever seen someone like Chen Jie.

"An important person?" Xiao Mo was taken aback, somewhat confused. "He always says he's already eaten."

"Yes, I asked him if it was food for someone important, and he didn't deny it."

"Furthermore, my Zhiwei Restaurant has purchase limits: one grilled sausage and one sparkling water per day," Shen Qing explained.

"Is...that so?" Xiao Mo's eyes lit up instantly.

But the next moment, the sorrow in her eyes deepened, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips: "So what? He still doesn't want to take me away."

Yesterday she mustered all her courage, but the young medicine man simply ran away.

He refused.

Even though we see each other every day, I bring her food every day, and tell her funny stories to make her laugh.

But he still refused to take her with him.

Even now, thinking back on it, Xiao Mo still feels endless sorrow.

She didn't sleep a wink last night, thinking about it for half the night.

This morning, my mother told me that my father had already gone to deliver gifts to that father-in-law surnamed Zhao.

At that moment, countless desires arose in her heart.

She wanted to see the outside world, to live freely, and above all, she craved freedom.

So she climbed over the wall and ran away, taking the food box with her.

When she passed by Zhiwei Restaurant, the line was too long, so she wandered around the streets all day and only arrived now.

"This young lady, perhaps..." Shen Qing wanted to offer words of comfort.

Before she could finish speaking, the boy's voice rang out:

"Yes! I do!"

"Miss Xiao, I'm willing to take you away!!"

Xiao Mo turned around. The boy at the door was backlit, panting heavily, but his gaze was extremely firm.

"You, how come..." She blinked, somewhat incredulous.

Chen Jie said, panting, "Miss Xiao, I've been looking for you for so long, and I've finally found you."

"I have never been unwilling; I will always be willing to do so for Miss Xiao."

"But I'm a poor man, and I'm afraid Miss Xiao will suffer with me, so I didn't dare to agree. But today, when I climbed over the wall and saw that there was no one below, I realized that I simply cannot accept a life without you."

"Miss Xiao, I love you. Would you come with me?"

The boy's eyes shone with a light, sincere and resolute.

This time, he chose to be brave.

He chose to confront this feeling head-on; he decided to fight against fate.

Xiao Mo's eyes reddened, and large tears streamed down her face, but the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile.

"I do!"

The girl ran towards the boy, and the two embraced tightly.

An atmosphere of love permeated the two of them.

Shen Qing: I'm a little touched.

She seemed to have pieced together the complete story from the fragments of words.

The story of a poor, lowly medicine man and a young lady who has lost her freedom, who redeem each other.

But for some reason, a sentence flashed into Shen Qing's mind.

Love without material support is like a pile of loose sand.

Looking at these two, having no material possessions yet still wanting to elope, it's like adding insult to injury, making them even more disorganized.

Perhaps she watched too many short videos before she time-traveled, making her almost completely obsessed with romance.

"Madam Shen, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know when we would have found each other." Xiao Mo's cheeks were flushed, but her eyes were filled with happiness.

Chen Jie also said, "Madam Shen, you are our benefactor. Thank you."

Shen Qing sighed softly.

This Miss Xiao looks to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. If she were in modern times, she would still be in school.

She's just a little girl.

"Don't thank me yet. I want to ask you where you've decided to go?"

Xiao Mo blushed and said, "I want to go to Jiangnan. I've heard the scenery there is beautiful. I'd like to buy a small courtyard, raise a puppy, and build a swing in the yard..."

Xiao Mo described it beautifully; it was her imagination.

Having been confined for so many years, she was filled with curiosity and anticipation for the outside world.

The more Chen Jie spoke, the uglier his expression became.

He couldn't even afford the travel expenses to go to Jiangnan.

"What about Chen Jie? What do you think?" Shen Qing asked again.

After a long pause, Chen Jie stammered, "I was thinking of going to the next county, finding a clinic to learn medicine, saving up some money for a few years, and then... going to Jiangnan..."

"How many years?"

"...It will take at least three or four years."

He was just a herbalist who collected herbs; he couldn't earn much money from ordinary herbs, only from rare ones.

But rare medicinal herbs aren't like radishes and cabbages that grow everywhere; they are something you can only come across by chance.

Therefore, he wanted to find a clinic to learn medicine slowly.

Shen Qing looked at Xiao Mo: "Three or four years is not a short time. Miss Xiao, are you planning to go with him to the next county and live on meager rations for three or four years?"

Xiao Mo lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I can do it. As long as I can be with him, I'm willing."

"What if he changes his mind three or four years later?"

"I won't!!" Chen Jie immediately replied.

Shen Qing persisted: "Time is the cruelest thing. I can see that your love is very real now, but as time goes by, no one can guarantee that this love will gradually fade and be worn away in the ordinary daily life."

"A man's infatuation can be explained, but a woman's infatuation cannot. Miss Xiao, have you thought this through?"

Xiao Mo lowered her eyes, and this time, she remained silent for a long time.

She was scared.