Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Everyone was chatting in the living room, and Ting Nan listened attentively beside them, just like when they gathered at the Song family home that year.

She knew she was inexperienced and her knowledge base was far from sufficient. Some of the topics her two older brothers discussed yesterday were completely unfamiliar to her. And today, she knew even less about the current events her uncle Zuo mentioned.

"Tingnan, can you subscribe to magazines and newspapers there?" Zuo Zhenyu looked at Tingnan, who was standing quietly to the side, sometimes frowning and sometimes thinking with her head down, guessing that she probably didn't quite understand their topic.

“No, my home is a bit far from the county town, and the county town is not an option either, there’s only a library there,” Ting Nan replied softly.

"Oh, it's alright. Did you receive the items? I'll send you some magazines and newspapers next time," Zuo Zhenyu said gently.

"No need, Brother Zhenyu, it's too much trouble." Ting Nan hurriedly refused, as these books and newspapers were also a considerable expense.

When Du Hongxue sent things to his younger brother Zheng Ruidong, his older brother Zheng Xiangqian always insisted on paying for them, including postage.

Du Hongxue initially refused, but Xiang Qian said that even close brothers should keep clear accounts, and that sending these fabrics to Rui Dong was already a great trouble for him, so he shouldn't take advantage of him financially.

Nobody's money grows on trees, and besides, his brick factory is already profitable, so he won't let us send money if we don't want it.

Young Master Du didn't originally care about the money; he only did it out of consideration for Xiaoyue and out of sympathy for the ambitious child from a poor, remote area. He thought it was just a small favor.

This made Du Hongxue more attentive when sending goods. He specifically learned about fabrics and compared prices from different vendors to find the best value. Fortunately, the Zheng brothers didn't know the true price of some fabrics, so he always underreported the cost to avoid adding to their financial burden. Years later, Zheng Ruidong repaid his kindness many times over.

“It’s alright, we’ll look at those too. We’ll send them to you after we’ve looked at them, so they won’t go to waste,” Zuo Zhenyu insisted.

Ting Nan couldn't refuse anymore. She originally thought that the eldest brother of the Zuo family would only send it once or twice, but she didn't expect that the two brothers would take turns sending it to her for many years.

Those magazines and newspapers opened up a new world for Tingnan, allowing her to learn about the outside world even in a remote mountain village without television and with limited access to information.

Gao Haoran chatted with everyone in the living room for a while, then went into the study with the Zuo Renxin brothers.

The Zuo family truly lived up to their reputation as a family of benevolence and integrity. They did not tell anyone about the matter entrusted to them back then, not even the Du family, with whom they had been friends for generations.

Gao Haoran felt that he had judged others by his own petty standards, but he still spoke out about what he had already decided. He wanted to take his brothers home to avoid putting the Zuo family in a difficult position later.

Although Zuo Renxin didn't know why Gao Haoran had changed his mind, and had said something like that last time..., he still agreed. He discussed the date of returning to his hometown with Gao Haoran, and didn't plan to tell Zuo Jinyue. The children didn't need to be involved; she would be the Du family's daughter-in-law from now on.

Tingnan was already quite familiar with the two brothers from the Zuo family. They were not only kind-hearted but also very knowledgeable, from which Tingnan benefited a lot.

Zuo Jinyue deliberately took Tingnan back to her room to secretly test her lip reading and vocal skills. Tingnan's progress surprised her greatly; it seemed that Tingnan was not only talented but also very hardworking.

Zuo Jinyue greatly admired Ting Nan's hard work. She learned from her during the days she practiced with her and would practice unconsciously in her spare time. It's always good to have more skills, and this skill did indeed help her later.