Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

Su Fengyan greeted them with a smile, "You're here to buy things too?"

"Hmm." Su Fengnan responded with a smile, her gaze sweeping over the girl beside Yanzi. She recognized her as Wang Huihui from the next village. "Weren't you two in Zhucheng? When did you get back?"

"I happened to have two days off, so I thought I'd go home and visit. I arrived around noon and wanted to buy some things before heading back," Su Fengyan explained.

Su Fengxia couldn't help but interject, "Sister Yanzi, Sister Xiaohui, why do you both like to get this kind of perm? I almost didn't recognize you just now, but it looks pretty good."

Wang Huihui chimed in, "A lot of people around us get this hairstyle, so we just follow the trend and try it out. We'll have to get it back to normal once it grows out."

Wang Huihui was petite and thin, with a pointed, monkey-like face covered in pockmarks, a stark contrast to Yanzi beside her. Yanzi, on the other hand, was delicate and gentle, with a pair of large, watery eyes set in her fair, doll-like face, blinking as if they could speak, and her tone was exceptionally gentle.

From behind, the two appear to be about the same height and build; but when turned to face them, the difference is immediately apparent.

"I'm a little envious, what should I do? You guys have it so good, you can do whatever style you want, and nobody cares," Su Fengxia sighed.

*Little sister, your flattery sounds a bit strange... You'd better stop talking and shut up.* Su Fengnan silently rubbed her forehead in her mind.

Wang Huihui smiled and said, "You're still a student, of course your teachers will have to supervise you. I envy you guys, it's so great to be able to study at school!"

Su Fengnan knew Wang Huihui; her character was hardly good. She remembered that Wang Huihui and Yanzi had been in the same class since childhood. Yanzi was soft-hearted and didn't know how to refuse, so Wang Huihui always clung to Yanzi. Su Fengnan was a year older than them and they had basically never interacted before.

To be honest, Wang Huihui was a bit pitiful. She actually did well in school, but her family was too poor. Her mother ran away with someone else, her father was mute, and she had a younger brother and sister. After graduating from elementary school, her family couldn't afford to send her to school anymore, so she went to the city to work as a nanny through an acquaintance.

Later, I heard that she had been married twice, but both marriages ended in disaster. When Yanzi was seriously ill, she still owed Yanzi money. In the end, she was scolded by someone and had to scrape together money from all sides to pay it back before Yanzi passed away.

Su Fengnan didn't like Wang Huihui and didn't want to listen to her rambling, so she interrupted their exchange and turned her gaze back to Yanzi's face: "You two came back from vacation?"

"Yes, I'm going back tomorrow afternoon."

"Have you chosen your items? If not, let's look around again together."

"OK."

So the four of them strolled around the supermarket. Su Fengnan bought some daily necessities for her uncles' families—laundry detergent, dish soap, bar soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, tissues, etc. They were all everyday consumables, not expensive, but clearly affordable, and asked Yanzi to help carry them back.

This was also to express her gratitude to her uncles. After all, since she and her sisters weren't home, the house and land were looked after by their elders. She didn't dare buy too many expensive things, because in her uncles' eyes, she was just a student, using money earned through her parents' hard work, and shouldn't be wasted. Buying some practical daily necessities would put their minds at ease.

"Sister Nan, you bought too much. Don't use up all your living expenses!" Su Fengyan looked at the huge pile of things in her hands with some concern.

"It's alright, it's alright. My dad's allowance this month is enough for me. I'll trouble you to take it back to them for me," Su Fengnan said with a smile.

After paying and leaving the supermarket, Su Fengyan and Wang Huihui prepared to say goodbye.

"Sister Nan, we'll be going now."

"Wait a minute," Su Fengnan called out to her, "Yanzi, let me save your phone number so we sisters can stay in touch."

"Okay, my number is 139..."

Su Fengyan recited a string of numbers, which Su Fengnan saved on her mobile phone and dialed. The phone rang once and then hung up. "Save mine too, and remember to keep in touch."

"Okay, let's go then."

"These two big bags are inconvenient to carry, let's take a taxi back."

"Okay, let's go over there then."

Yanzi and Wang Huihui flagged down a motorcycle on the roadside not far away, tied the two large bags to the back seat and secured them, and then got on the back seat and drove off into the distance.

Only after the motorcycle was out of sight did Su Fengnan and her sister head home with their purchases.

Along the way, Su Fengnan's thoughts drifted back to her cousin, Su Fengyan. Yanzi was two months younger than her, the daughter of her second uncle, and they had grown up together, sharing a very close bond. This girl was the gentlest of the Su sisters, and also quite beautiful, with a delicate and graceful appearance.

Unfortunately, she dropped out of school before finishing junior high. She still remembers her second uncle saying helplessly, "We have three children in the family going to school, how can we afford to support them?"

In her past life, Yanzi had a lovely daughter after getting married. Soon after, her husband's family received compensation for their land due to government requisition, and the couple received 300,000 yuan in savings. However, her husband was later robbed of all his money in a gambling scheme and ended up with 300,000 yuan in debt.

Yanzi resolutely divorced her husband and went to work in another province, where she stayed for seven or eight years. Later, with the help of his family, her ex-husband paid off his debts and begged her to remarry him, but she initially refused. It wasn't until seven or eight years later, after confirming that her ex-husband had completely quit gambling and had been waiting for her, that she finally agreed.

During the years she was away, her mother-in-law took good care of the children, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was harmonious. She also often came back to visit the children. But just before she was about to remarry, she was diagnosed with colon cancer and passed away in less than three months. She was only thirty-five years old when she died.

At that time, Su Fengnan was pregnant with her second child and was unable to attend the funeral. She only caught a glimpse of Su Fengnan's haggard face in a video.

Yanzi worked away from home year-round, with irregular day and night shifts, and her meals consisted mostly of takeout or simple, makeshift meals. Over the years, even her strong constitution took a toll. Although she had saved some money to buy a house back in Zhucheng, medical treatment had almost depleted all her savings. A few years ago, Su Fengnan could only see her once a year during the Spring Festival; she looked unhealthy and extremely thin, a testament to how arduous her night shifts were.

At this stage, Yanzi is probably not in a relationship yet and is currently an apprentice learning to make cakes.

That's it! We could open a cake shop and have Yanzi be the manager! Wouldn't that change her fate and spare her from all those hardships?

Lost in thought, Su Fengnan arrived home before she knew it. She placed her things on the coffee table in the living room, then turned to her younger sister and said, "Little sister, I need to write something. Don't disturb me."

After saying that, she went into the study, took out paper and pen, and began to write and draw. It wasn't until the last rays of the setting sun faded and the streetlights came on that Su Fengnan put down her pen.

She stretched and looked out the window. It was already completely dark. She had really gone all out to open this dessert shop, planning for the entire afternoon.

The matter of opening a shop must be put on the agenda as soon as possible, but the prerequisite is to have money and people. The money is already there, but as for people, besides Yanzi, we need to find someone else who can manage the shop with Yanzi to put our minds at ease.