Faced with his mother's insistence, Zhang Lao Da fell into a deep struggle.

In his mind, there appeared alternately his son's bright future and the letters filled with silver from his second son in the past.

Finally, for the sake of his son's future, he gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and said firmly: "I'll go!"

……

A strong donkey was pulling a heavy cart.

The little girl snuggled tightly in her mother's warm embrace, sitting comfortably at the end of the cart.

Her eyes jumped from the desolate paths that gradually widened on both sides to the towering city gate in the distance.

Above the city gate, the words "Chengguan County" are slightly mottled, but still cannot conceal its ancient and majestic atmosphere.

The driver, Uncle Zhang Changshun, drove the donkey cart skillfully and easily, slowly approaching a towering old tree at the edge of the market.

He skillfully tied the reins to the tree trunk, buckling and tying them one by one.

As he turned around, a hearty smile spread across his face and he waved goodbye.

"Okay, go ahead, and don't forget to meet here in an hour. I won't wait for even a second then."

The little girl nodded obediently, her voice tender and sweet.

"Thank you, grandpa. We will come back early and go home with you." Those pure and flawless eyes are irresistible.

Although Uncle Zhang Changshun had a head full of white hair, his back was still straight. He looked at the innocent smile of Xiao Youniang, pretended to put on a stern face, and uttered a low hum of pretended dissatisfaction, but the doting and kindness flashing in his eyes could not be concealed.

Zhang Laoer and Xu Liyun smiled at each other, knowing in their hearts that this seemingly stern old man was actually soft-hearted towards children.

The road from Chengguan County to Zhangjiazhuang is winding and tortuous for dozens of miles. Without a reliable donkey cart, it would take most of the day to measure the distance by foot.

Zhang Qiangsheng originally bought this donkey in order to make a living by transporting goods, but he did not expect that a sudden accident would cause him to break his leg overnight. Not only was his own movement restricted, but his entire family accidentally fell into the icy Xiaoqing River. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured.

Now it seems that Xiao Youniang's thought of asking her great-grandfather for help really solved her urgent problem.

After bowing deeply to the great-grandfather again to express their gratitude, the Zhang family's group of six walked in unison towards the depths of the market.

At this time, the market is no longer crowded and noisy, and the fruits and vegetables on the stalls look a little tired after a day of exposure to the sun, but they still emit a natural fragrance, attracting people to stop.

As the backbone of the family, Xu Liyun led her family to the clothing store first. The original plan was to buy two new sets of clothes for each family member to cope with the upcoming seasonal change.

However, faced with the high prices, even ordinary ready-made clothes made them staggering. If they really wanted to buy them all, they were afraid that the little money they had on hand would be almost gone.

After careful consideration, they wisely chose to buy the cloth themselves and then go home to ask Mrs. Zhang to cut and sew it for them, which was both economical and fit.

Xu Liyun chose a piece of dark blue cloth, which was a calm color and most suitable for men's clothing.

The little girl excitedly pointed to a bright emerald green color. The color was fresh and bright, full of vitality and otherworldly beauty.

Her little hand pointed at the cloth, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

After carefully inquiring about the price, Xu Liyun paid the deposit. Because she had other items to buy and it was inconvenient for her to carry a large amount of fabric around, she agreed with the store on a time to come back and pick it up.

The shopkeeper was quick and efficient. He quickly issued a receipt and repeatedly reminded them to use the document to complete the transaction.

After solving the cloth problem, the next target is the shoe store.

Xu Liyun noticed that the pair of old shoes on Xiao Youniang's feet were badly worn out and the soles were almost worn through. She felt very distressed and decided to pick out a few new pairs of shoes for her, preferably with exquisite embroidery, so that the little girl could also have some decent new items.

From childhood to adulthood, Xiao Youniang mostly wore her second cousin's old shoes. This time, she was able to have new shoes of her own, and they were decorated with such exquisite embroidery. Her little face couldn't help but turn slightly red.

Just as the family left the garment shop and were about to go to the spice shop to buy seasonings, a sudden noise came from not far away, which aroused the children's great interest and they all turned to look.

The little girl has endless curiosity and longing for the world.

And by her side, there is always the lively and active Zhang Siwa, and the two of them can always discover the fun and surprises of life.

When their sharp eyes caught sight of four figures following behind them, they shouted in unison and, like two nimble little fish, shuttled into the bustling crowd.

In the center of the surging crowd, among the people gathered in a circle, a bloated middle-aged man lying on the ground, unconscious, stood out.

Beside him, a young man whose face was quite similar to his was tightly grasping a young man in plain grey clothes, tears streaming down his face, his hoarse cry filled with determination.

It turned out that when the father and son were enjoying glutinous rice balls at a street stall, the father suddenly covered his throat and fell down. The son was heartbroken and believed that it was the glutinous rice ball vendor who had murdered him, and vowed to seek justice for his father.

Xiao Youniang and the clever Zhang Siwa squeezed into the crowd, listening attentively, and soon pieced together the general story.

Just as they were learning about the situation, other members of the Zhang family happened to arrive. They saw that the young man was very emotional and was about to drag the innocent vendor to the government for confrontation.

Everyone in the Zhang family didn't like this kind of trouble. Zhang Laoer wanted to take his young mother away from the trouble and turned to leave, but unexpectedly, a tender little hand gently pulled his clothes.

Xiao Youniang's eyes were fixed on the helpless middle-aged man on the ground, full of pity and sympathy: "Dad, that uncle looks so pitiful. He must be so sad to have lost his father. He cried like his heart was broken. It would be great if I could save his life."

Xiao Youniang sighed softly, and after confirming that the middle-aged man showed no signs of waking up, she reluctantly prepared to leave.

At this moment, Zhang Laoer suddenly felt something strange in his heart. He slowly bent down, with a gentle look in his eyes, and asked his daughter in a low voice: "Young lady, do you really want to save that uncle?"

Little Youniang nodded obediently: "Children without fathers are so pitiful. Youniang was like that before, but now I have a father and mother, and the company of my brothers and sisters. If that uncle lost his father, he would be as lonely as Youniang was in the past."

Although she is still young and may not fully understand the heaviness of separation and death, her empathy has warmed people's hearts.

Zhang Laoer was deeply touched by his daughter's pure and innocent eyes. He gently rubbed her hair and made a promise: "As long as you are willing, Dad will do anything for you."

After saying this, he entrusted the little girl to the care of the steady Xu Liyun, and resolutely squeezed into the crowd. Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, he quickly helped up the middle-aged man who had fallen to the ground.

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