Sun Jiaming exchanged a few words with Zhou Gu'er. When she saw he had no intention of leaving, she found it a little strange.
"I'm going to the city tomorrow. My mom said she wants some vegetables to eat with dipping sauce. You know there aren't many vegetables around right now, so I dug up some wild onions, and I was thinking of getting some dandelions for her to dip in the sauce too."
Sun Jiaming explained.
"Oh, I see. In that case, Brother Jia Ming, don't bother digging. I have some already dug up right here. Here, take them for your mother."
Understanding, Zhou Gu'er took the dandelions from her basket and offered them to Sun Jiaming.
"No, no, it's alright. I can just dig some myself. I don't need to take yours."
Sun Jiaming waved his hands, refusing. He truly hadn't intended to take Zhou Gu'er's.
"Look at you. This stuff isn't worth anything. It only takes two minutes to dig up. Brother Jia Ming, there's no need to be so polite."
Zhou Gu'er was being sincere. Just as she said, this stuff was common and worthless. Besides, she still owed Sun Jiaming a favor from last time. Even if she didn't, they were from the same village; giving away a handful of wild vegetables was no big deal.
"Then thank you, Sister Gu'er. Why did you gather so much? Can your family eat all this?"
Sun Jiaming thanked Zhou Gu'er and then asked.
"My family can't eat this much. I was thinking of taking some to the city to sell and see if anyone will buy it."
Zhou Gu'er answered casually.
'Hm? Sun Jiaming said he's going to the city tomorrow… could I go with him? I know the way to the city, but it would be safer walking with a man. I wouldn't be so worried or scared. I'm not thinking of asking him to help me, just to travel together. He probably wouldn't refuse, would he?'
"Sell them in the city?"
Sun Jiaming frowned slightly. 'Would anyone buy this stuff? It's true that fresh vegetables aren't in season yet, but people in the city know about wild vegetables. Would they really buy them?'
"I want to earn a little money. I don't know if anyone will buy them, but it's not like they cost anything. All it takes is a bit of effort to get them, so I thought I'd give it a try. Even if they don't sell, I'll only have wasted a day's work. No big loss."
Zhou Gu'er took a deep breath. She had never run her own business before. In her past life, after her husband died, her daughter had pushed her to earn money to buy her a house. She had worked three jobs a day, exhausted to the bone, but she never thought of starting something on her own. She had no experience and couldn't afford to fail. In this life, she wanted to change things, and she would start by trying to sell these wild vegetables.
Sun Jiaming looked at the young woman in front of him.
She was dressed simply in dark, drab-looking clothes. Her complexion was a bit sallow, yet it couldn't hide her beauty.
Among all the girls he had seen, Zhou Gu'er was definitely one of the pretty ones, but that wasn't what Sun Jiaming cared about.
He felt that Zhou Gu'er was different from the other girls he knew. His original impression of her was that she was very timid and introverted, but after these last two encounters, he found that she was very bold, very…
How should he put it? Sun Jiaming couldn't quite describe it himself. He just felt that Gu'er had something that other girls didn't.
Just like now, standing before him, she appeared very calm, but beneath that calmness was a hint of strength.
Other girls, while they also worked, didn't think about much else. At most, they just thought about marrying into a good family in the future. But Zhou Gu'er was thinking about earning money.
Earning money was supposed to be a man's business, yet here she was, a young woman, thinking about such things.
'Should I say she's farsighted, or that her life is just too hard?'
"By the way, I heard Zhang Da went to your house to propose marriage?"
Sun Jiaming wasn't sure why he suddenly thought of this. A sliver of doubt appeared in his mind. 'Could it be that Zhou Gu'er wants to earn money to build up some private savings?'
'He knew what kind of person that Zhang Da was. If she married him, Zhou Gu'er could forget about ever having a good life. Even if she saved up some money of her own, Zhang Da would just take it to spend on drinking and gambling, and all her hard work would be for nothing. But he also knew that Zhou Gu'er had no say in the matter; Zhou Mazi made all the decisions. And what kind of person was Zhou Mazi? He'd probably sell his own biological daughter for money, let alone an adopted one like Zhou Gu'er.'
'Sigh.'
Sun Jiaming sighed to himself. He felt it was a real pity.
"Yes, he came to propose."
Zhou Gu'er couldn't help but clench her fists. Zhang Da's influence on her in her past life had been too great; she couldn't just get over it in an instant.
"But my father didn't agree."
Remembering that this life had just begun, Zhou Gu'er relaxed, unclenching her fist and brushing her hair back from her face.
Sun Jiaming was genuinely surprised. 'Zhou Mazi actually refused?'
'After all, Zhang Da had offered thirty yuan. He'd been bragging all over the village that he would definitely marry Zhou Gu'er. Everyone had thought it was a shame and had already accepted that she would marry Zhang Da. So why would Zhou Mazi refuse?'
Sun Jiaming was puzzled. He glanced at Zhou Gu'er, who stood there quietly, gently smoothing her hair. At that moment, she possessed a different kind of beauty.
It was a beauty that inspired sympathy, making one feel an irresistible urge to protect her.
Sun Jiaming quickly composed himself. He noticed the small trowel in Zhou Gu'er's other hand.
'She said she wants to earn money.'
Sun Jiaming understood. 'Zhou Gu'er's desire to earn money must be related to Zhang Da's marriage proposal. I don't know what method she used to get Zhou Mazi to refuse, but to be able to convince him… this Zhou Gu'er is really something else.'
"If you want to go to the city tomorrow, let's go together. Don't worry, I don't have any other intentions. I'm just worried it's not safe or convenient for a young woman like you to go alone. I… I can also help you carry some things."
Sun Jiaming didn't know why he had said that. Perhaps it was because he felt that Zhou Gu'er's life was especially hard.
"Ah."
Zhou Gu'er was taken aback. She hadn't even opened her mouth, yet he had taken the initiative and asked her to go with him.
"Okay! Thank you, Brother Jia Ming."
Zhou Gu'er quickly thanked him.
"N-No need. We're from the same village, don't be so polite. You should get back to digging."
Sun Jiaming hurriedly waved his hands. After speaking, he felt his face flush a little. He opened his mouth as if to say something more, but then left without another word.
Watching him leave, Zhou Gu'er didn't think much of it. She assumed he had gone home and went back to gathering her wild vegetables.
Before long, Sun Jiaming came back, this time carrying a large bundle of wild onions.
"These wild onions taste better than the ones we grow at home. One kind is sweet, not spicy at all, and the other is spicy and has a real kick. Make sure you can tell the two apart. Tomorrow when you're selling your vegetables, if someone buys something, give them a few of these onions. It might help you make a sale."
Sun Jiaming placed the wild onions in Zhou Gu'er's back basket.
Zhou Gu'er didn't reply. Her eyes reddened slightly. She didn't know what to say. She never expected someone she had only just met to be so concerned about her. She was deeply moved.
"Thank you, Brother Jia Ming."
This time, Zhou Gu'er's thanks were completely sincere.
"Look at you, why are you being so formal again? Didn't you give me dandelions too?"
Sun Jiaming smiled good-naturedly.
Zhou Gu'er smiled too. She knew that Sun Jiaming had no ulterior motives. He wasn't after anything from her; he simply saw her situation and wanted to lend a hand. He was a good young man.