Su Chong nodded. “Okay, then let’s go.”

The siblings hit it off immediately. They packed up and left a note before leaving the inn.

After leaving the city, they went straight to Shan Mountain.

Away from human traces, Su Xiaolu and Su Chong used their internal forces at the same time and flew lightly to the treetops. Their toes tapped on the branches of the trees as they shuttled through the forest happily.

Su Chong had enough internal force. When he saw wild fruits, he even flew over to pick them for Su Xiaolu.

The two of them used Qinggong. Su Xiaolu sorted the trees and landed in the forest. Su Chong also accompanied her. The two of them walked together.

In the sparsely populated mountain, Su Xiaolu really found a few rare medicinal herbs. She carefully dug them out by the roots and planted them in the Space later.

They walked to a mountain stream and found a beehive.

Su Xiaolu couldn’t help but swallow. “Brother, there are many uses for wild honey. Go make a leaf bag and we’ll pick some honey.”

Su Chong nodded and flew away.

Su Xiaolu found some herbs around and rubbed the juice on her face, hands, and body.

Su Chong also found banana leaves with large leaves and took two pieces back to make a leaf bag.

Su Xiaolu carefully opened the hole of the beehive.

The bees flew out and tried to sting her, but they couldn’t stand her scent and had to fly away.

The hive was quite large. In the rocky hollow, there were more than twenty levels.

After spring and summer, it was full inside.

Su Xiaolu took out a small knife and cut off a piece of honey. It was sweet and smooth.

She carefully cut off half a dozen pieces and carried the rock back.

Honey was bee food. She certainly couldn’t cut it all away.

They cut off a few pieces and restored the hole before they left.

With so much honey, it could be several catties after processing.

Honey was a good thing. It was sweet and made one happy. It was also medicinal and could be used to nourish one’s skin. Honey was full of treasures.

They returned fully loaded.

At night, Su Xiaolu and Su Chong returned to the inn. Su Hua and the others had not returned yet, so the two of them ate together at the inn.

After eating, they borrowed the inn’s special stove. Su Xiaolu and Su Chong refined the honey together.

It was poisonous to eat honey directly. It was not good to eat too much. It was better to refine it. There would be no poison after that.

From six pieces of honeycomb, more than 8 catties of honey were extracted. Su Xiaolu divided them into 500 grams each and packed them up. After tidying up, she called for hot water to wash up.

Not long after she washed up, Su Hua, Zhou Heng, and the others returned.

Their cheeks were slightly red and they were a little drunk. Su Xiaolu went to make honey water.

They drank it down and the effects of the alcohol slowly wore off.

“Where did the honey come from, Xiaolu?”

Lin Pingsheng asked curiously. The honey water was fragrant and very good.

Could she have bought it? It didn’t feel like it either. He’d bought honey before, and it didn’t taste as good as this.

Perhaps he had bought fake honey in the past. Just thinking about it made him feel bad—

Su Xiaolu smiled and said, “Brother and I went out of the city to pick herbs. We found a beehive and picked some honey. If Teacher likes them, you can bring a jar back. Honey is good stuff. It’s good for Auntie and Sister to eat some.”

Lin Pingsheng nodded with a gentle smile. “Alright, thank you for your kind intentions. I’ll shamelessly accept it.”

The more he looked at the children of the Su family, the more he liked them. After interacting with them for a few years, this family had a good character.

It was a pity that he had no sons and no girls of the right age to marry. Otherwise, he would have fought for it.

After sobering up, Su Hua looked at Su Chong and asked, “Big Brother, is Zijin back?”

Liu Zijin went with them, but then they separated without noticing.

They searched but gave up when they couldn’t find him.

Liu Zijin might be avoiding them because of reasons they didn’t know, but they respected his wishes. When he returned, they would ask him too. After all, they were friends.

Su Chong shook his head. “He’s not back yet. Isn’t he with you guys?”

Liu Zijin had not returned. Where could he have gone?

Su Chong frowned.

Lin Pingsheng sighed and said, “It’s fine. He’s not a child anymore. He’s not ignorant. Let nature take its course when it comes to making friends.”

Lin Pingsheng knew that Liu Zijin had deliberately avoided them when they were outside.

The children really treated Liu Zijin as a friend.

However, people always have their own choices and paths to take. Everything was up to fate.

Su Chong, Su Hua, and Zhou Heng were also smart people. They understood immediately and did not mention this matter again.

It was getting late. Everyone packed up and went back to their rooms to sleep.

—-

At this moment, Liu Zijin was still in the county magistrate’s residence.

All the students had left. He did not leave. Magistrate Wang did not blame him for not leaving. Instead, he invited him to the main room for a private discussion.

He asked about his intentions.

Liu Zijin did not hide anything and went straight to the point.

Wang Huilan was the daughter of the county magistrate. He was willing to recommend himself as a son-in-law and marry Wang Huilan. He also swore a heavy oath that in this life, he would only marry Wang Huilan. His eldest son and eldest daughter would both be the children of Wang Huilan. In the future, if he had a concubine, he would never let the status of a concubine climb to Wang Huilan’s head.

Wang Huilan’s son could take his mother’s surname.

Liu Zijin confessed to the county magistrate so that he could size up the price.

After listening to Liu Zijin’s words, county magistrate Wang pondered for a long time before saying, “Liu Zijin, your conditions are very tempting, but you can tolerate what ordinary people can’t. You must have great ambitions in your heart. The current you is temporarily trapped. How can I guarantee that after you rise to prominence in the future, you won’t fall out and ruthlessly take revenge on my Wang family?”

Magistrate Wang was very happy that Liu Zijin was willing to marry his daughter. Moreover, the child would follow his mother’s surname in the future. The Wang family was only temporarily providing Liu Zijin with protection and nourishment for his growth.

They were mutually beneficial and used each other. However, Liu Zijin’s calmness and purpose made Magistrate Wang very worried.

What if Liu Zijin stood out in the future and came back to take revenge on the Wang family? At that time, he would be powerful. He would only be a small county magistrate and his family only had some money. If Liu Zijin stood out, they would not be able to go against him.

Facing the worried county magistrate, Liu Zijin looked straight at the county magistrate and answered, “The problem you’re worried about is still too far away. Even if it’s not me, others will have this worry. No matter what, it’s a gamble. It’s all about conscience and character. However, others might have a big family behind them, but I’m different. My family has a huge grudge against me. My only relative is my mother.”

“As long as Wang Huilan treats my mother well, I won’t bite the hand that feeds me. Humans aren’t grass or trees, and sincerity is exchanged for sincerity. Now, I can’t say that I have much feelings for Wang Huilan, but after interacting with her day after day, I can’t say that I won’t have any feelings in the future either.” Liu Zijin was very calm. He was also very confident that he wouldn’t lose to others.