Colorful years

Li Hua carefully whispered her thoughts to her deskmate San San. After listening, San San's bright eyes lit up instantly.

Being able to help Congcong would be a great thing for her! So, San San nodded without hesitation, expressing her willingness to act as a bridge between Li Hua and Zhang Cong.

If we turn back the clock to the 1960s, the countryside was still shrouded in a strong feudal atmosphere, a world apart from today's open, free, and information-rich modern society.

At that time, the relationship between boys and girls was very reserved. Let alone casual conversation or intimate interaction, even a normal conversation might attract strange looks from others.

The precious books that Li Hua lent to Cong Cong could only be transferred through San San, a special "bridge".

At first, Li Hua carefully selected several wonderful comic books and entrusted San San with the task of delivering them to Cong Cong.

These comic books are beautifully illustrated and have vivid plots. The titles include "The Story of Lei Feng", "Railway Guerrilla", "Wu Song Fights the Tiger" and "The Red Lantern", among others.

When these comic books, still smelling of ink, were delivered to Congcong, he was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure.

When Congcong got home that evening, he didn't even bother to eat dinner. He rushed into his room and began to read the comic books with great interest.

In just one night, the clever and studious Congcong had finished reading all the comic books.

The next morning, sunlight streamed down the country lanes as Congcong happily went to school with his schoolbag on his back.

He met San San on the way and asked his sister to help return the comic book he had read the night before to Li Hua.

At the same time, Congcong said to Sansan with a serious expression, "Sansan, could you please ask Lihua for me if she has any other types of books at home? Like novels or something. To be honest, although comic books are good, they are quite short, which isn't enough for someone like me who loves reading!"

Hearing Congcong's words, San San nodded obediently and replied, "Don't worry, Congcong, I will definitely ask for you!" After saying that, the brother and sister walked into the campus hand in hand.

On a sunny afternoon, San San arranged to meet Li Hua on the playground. Seeing Li Hua approach, a bright smile immediately lit up her face. She rushed forward and handed Li Hua the comic book she was holding.

"You finished it so quickly? I thought it would take a day or two!" Li Hua said with some surprise as she reached out and took the comic book. Her bright eyes sparkled with curiosity and doubt.

San San nodded, blinked, and explained earnestly, "My brother said that although this comic book is really exciting, it's too short, and the plot is a bit too simple. He didn't find it satisfying at all. So he asked me to ask if you have any other novels to read at home?" After saying that, San San looked at Li Hua expectantly.

Li Hua was slightly taken aback, then realized what she meant and replied with a smile, "Of course there are novels! Those are the extracurricular books my two older brothers usually read. It's just that they're all quite long, and there are so many unfamiliar words that I can't even understand them myself. I never expected Congcong to be interested in these!"

At this point, Li Hua paused for a moment, seemingly sorting out her thoughts and emotions.

Then she took a deep breath and continued, "Borrowing books is no problem, but these books are my two older brothers' treasures after all, so I can only secretly take them out and lend them to Congcong when they're not looking."

"And there are only three days at most, after all, those are all long novels of hundreds of thousands of words, I'm worried that Congcong won't be able to finish them in three days."

"Don't worry about whether my brother can finish reading it! Anyway, try borrowing a long novel tomorrow." San San looked at Li Hua anxiously, afraid that he would refuse to lend her a book, and quickly added.

Her big, watery eyes were full of expectation and pleading, as if a nod from Li Hua would instantly make her happy.