Chapter 268: Chapter 268

Erya happily sat on the ox cart, chattering away non-stop, clearly exhilarated.

Watching the exuberant Erya beside her, Gong Ruini just wanted to sleep. Getting up early from her cozy bed was truly exhausting, and yet the little girl beside her remained so thrilled.

Gong Ruini couldn’t understand. It was just a visit to a county town—what was there to be excited about?

From Gong Ruini’s perspective, this county town was indeed old and shabby; so dilapidated that she didn’t even want to glance at it twice.

Of course, the air was good, the water was unpolluted, and the food was safe. Gong Ruini was quite satisfied with this, given how much food safety had been compromised in the future.

Ah, safe food. Only now did Gong Ruini realize and she almost wanted to slap herself for being so foolish.

Gong Ruini felt all kinds of regret. She had done experiments before, and though her own space was somewhat impractical, its food preservation effect was excellent, much better than a refrigerator.

Alas, she was always thinking about making money, completely forgetting such an important matter.

Is making money more important than one’s health?

Gong Ruini was filled with regret, but it didn’t matter; there was still time. Gong Ruini planned to start secretly putting vegetables and other items in her space from today.

Alas, being a child meant facing all sorts of limitations. There weren’t enough rights, and anything one did required careful consideration. If she were an adult, she’d stash things without a second thought, not worrying so much.

Erya, watching the daydreaming Gong Ruini, had gotten used to it. Previously, she might have thought Gong Ruini was looking down on her. But after witnessing her zoning out in front of the Zhao Brothers several times, she realized Gong Ruini either was tired or hungry.

It was unlikely she was hungry now, as Gong Ruini must have left home full, but being tired was possible. "Ni Zi, if you’re tired, just take a nap."

Erya finally understood why Aunt Cai insisted on bringing a quilt despite the warm weather—it was for Gong Ruini to sleep comfortably.

Gong Ruini yawned. Thinking was exhausting. Rest is needed for better contemplation.

Gong Ruini slept throughout the ride to the recycling station in the neighboring county, lying on the ox cart was something she had grown accustomed to, without the initial shyness.

After all, she wasn’t an adult; she was just a six-year-old girl figuratively. What did it matter if people saw?

Erya watched enviously, but thinking about how she was visiting the county town today while her siblings envied her made her feel all sorts of joy. In the whole village, aside from the Zhao and Gong family kids, few had been to the county town.

Zhao Gang was used to Gong Ruini sleeping all the way to their destination. "Erya, we’re almost there, wake Ni Zi up."

Ah, haven’t we reached the county town yet? Although the city gate was already visible in the distance. "Still a bit early, right?"

"Ni Zi needs a little preparation time." Unlike Guang Ran, who could be woken up at the gate without issue, Ni Zi needed a while to fully wake up.

Erya responded with an "oh" and obediently woke Gong Ruini up.

The groggy Gong Ruini looked at Erya blankly, feeling as if her body was swaying. "Erya, why are you at my house?" How could this girl be at her place so early in the morning, wasn’t she too diligent?

What was happening? Erya looked dumbfounded at Zhao Gang, not understanding the situation.

"We’re going to the recycling station today." Zhao Gang said nonchalantly to Gong Ruini.

Gong Ruini gave an "oh", "We’re here then." Gong Ruini couldn’t help it; there were just too many things to think about every day to worry about little things .

"I hope today’s haul will be big." Gong Ruini continuously prayed for a fruitful day.

"There definitely will be." Zhao Gang had good relationships with administrators in nearby county towns. Although he couldn’t take home some seriously prohibited items, he could manage with the ordinary ones.

"Your dad said he’ll make another bookshelf for you." Zhao Gang thought of all the books stored at home with excitement.

People said books were useless, but once the environment stabilized, people would certainly cherish scholars. The books then would skyrocket in value, becoming more valuable than money left for descendants.

More bookshelves! Erya was already numb to this, as their money was all spent on buying books.

Erya assumed all the money Gong Ruini and her family made was spent on books. Gong Ruini and her family knew Erya had misunderstood but didn’t bother to correct her.

Otherwise, how to explain where the money for buying books came from? Adults provided that money, and with the village dividend being so small, who would spend all of it on books and still manage daily expenses?

Zhao Gang and the others were happy Erya thought this way, sparing them from others seeing their vast book collection and concocting theories. As for the village saying they indulged the kids too much, they would just pretend not to hear.

By the time Gong Ruini fully came to her senses, the ox cart had arrived at the entrance of the recycling station.

Zhang Ming heard the sound of the ox cart and was about to shout out when he saw Zhao Gang, and his expression immediately changed. "Brother, long time no see."

Zhao Gang took a bundle off the ox cart, "With school starting, the kids asked me to buy some books and notebooks. My brother has been making things for home lately and wanted to see if there’s good wood available."

Zhao Gang gestured for Gong Ruini and Erya to go inside and look around, while he stayed back to establish good rapport with the staff.

After entering the house, Zhao Gang placed the bundle in Zhang Ming’s hand, "Some rabbit meat I prepared a few days ago, dried into strips, try the taste."

"If it’s good, I’ll bring more next time." It was just spending some seasonings, but the investment was trivial compared to the upcoming benefits.

Zhang Ming weighed it in his hand, pretty heavy, probably three or four jins, "A batch of wood came in a few days ago, good quality stuff."

"I saved it for you." Zhang Ming’s ancestors were carpenters, and although the skills didn’t pass down fully to him, he could still identify wood quality.

Good wood? That’s great news.

Gong Tao had been teaching Zhao Gang diligently these days. Although he wasn’t advancing rapidly, he had learned to identify types of wood, which was why Gong Tao entrusted him to select the wood alone.

"It’s really good wood, I won’t let you down," Zhao Gang patted Zhang Ming on the shoulder, promising to show his appreciation. Read complete versıon only at novel•fire.net

Zhang Ming specifically set aside those things, just for Zhao Gang’s promise. "I’ll take you to see it."

They all knew each other well, no need for secrecy. He led Zhao Gang to examine the wood, reasoning that with few buyers or sellers around at this time, serving this major client well was worth it.