Cheng Ying misspoke, "How should I know? Watch the road, keep your balance, and if you dare drop me, I'll deal with you." Chi Wu replied, "I know, relax.

This road isn't going to throw anyone off. You think too little of my skills." Just then, a jeep sped past on the roadside.

Chi Wu's head remained turned toward the jeep long after it had passed, his neck refusing to straighten. If the road hadn't been straight, the bike might have crashed into something.

Cheng Ying broke out in a cold sweat, "Watch the road!" Chi Wu snapped back to reality, "Wow, that was fast! When can we drive one of those?

It must be so much quicker than this thing." Only then did he turn the bike forward, riding with significantly less swagger than before. Cheng Ying finally understood: the car had completely stunned the boy.

Cheng Ying said, "Just wait. In the future, I'll get you one even better than that.

What's this little bike compared to that?" Chi Wu scoffed, "Really? You're just boasting." He couldn't imagine how that was possible.

No matter how capable Cheng Ying was, could she conjure up a car? Cheng Ying let out a cold snort, "Before you met me, did you ever think you'd be able to afford fish for the New Year?

Did you ever think you'd own a pair of socks?" Chi Wu’s eyes widened, "We can really get a car?" He started to believe it. Cheng Ying had excited Chi Wu more than once, but this target felt too distant, making the boy hesitate in his belief.

Cheng Ying spoke with certainty, "We can. Trust me, we can." Chi Wu said instantly, "From now on, I'll listen to everything you say." Cheng Ying felt a surge of internal pleasure—winning over a follower wasn't that hard.

"Alright, ride carefully now. There are many cars in the city.

If you keep craning your neck to look at every one, you'll certainly cause an accident. Maybe I should ride instead.

I can't bear watching you look around with such a country bumpkin expression that clearly screams you're from the back end of nowhere." Those words stung Chi Wu deeply. "Hmph.

Just watch me." With that, he focused intently on cycling. The further they went, the more vehicles appeared.

Perhaps motivated by the need to prove himself, Chi Wu didn't crane his neck to stare at another car. Of course, there weren't many truly remarkable vehicles in the city anyway.

To Cheng Ying, these cars looked incredibly provincial—lacking in style, performance, or high-end features. She concluded that their own standards, vision, and class were simply on another level.

Chi Wu gestured toward the crowds and the traffic, asking, "Where are we going?" Cheng Ying frowned. Tiger skins were valuable, but they needed to find a buyer who recognized their worth—and, more importantly, could afford it.

Even though the city was richer than the countryside, five hundred yuan wasn't pocket change for everyone. Cheng Ying instructed, "Ride toward the busiest area.

If you see an old Chinese medicine shop, slow down." The environment for selling goods needed careful consideration. Cheng Ying planned to find a place with wealthy clientele and high spending power.

Chi Wu headed toward the densest crowds. As they passed a cinema, he stared for a long time, but eventually touched the tiger skin secured on his body and quickly moved on.

Chi Wu was more afraid of someone robbing him. Cheng Ying glanced at Chi Wu; he was bundled up like a prisoner.

The entire tiger skin was wrapped around him—the outfit screamed 'hick' as loudly as possible. But they couldn't agree; Chi Wu was terrified the skin would be stolen and refused to take it off.

Even with sweat beading on his forehead, he held it tightly, as the tiger skin was strapped right against his chest. Cheng Ying thought this was only increasing the risk.

She also worried he might develop heat rash under that heavy wrapping. Why was the boy putting himself through such misery?

Chi Wu ignored her suggestion. Chi Wu pointed, "Yingzi, there's an important-looking shop over there.

Let's check it out." Cheng Ying replied, "Mm, let's look." Chi Wu parked the bike to the side, clutching the tiger skin, and Cheng Ying took a small cloth pouch from the bike’s little pocket. "Let's go." Chi Wu asked, "What about the bike?" Cheng Ying shot him a glare, as if asking if he expected her to push it inside.

"Leave it. It won't get stolen.

Didn't you see all the other bikes parked nearby?" Chi Wu was still uneasy. He found a piece of rope and tied the wheel before following Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying looked at the bike and thought that if a thief ever showed up, that would be the first thing they’d take. She couldn't fathom the boy's logic; it was incredibly unsophisticated.

"Let's go!" Chi Wu urged. Cheng Ying grabbed Chi Wu’s head and twisted it, "Look how distinctive your bike is!

If you were a thief, who wouldn't steal yours?" Chi Wu looked back at the row of parked bicycles. His bike, tied up like a prisoner, truly stood out.

Blushing, he went back, untied the rope securing the wheel, locked it properly, and then returned, still asking anxiously, "Let's go? It’s really safe?" Cheng Ying lectured him, "We'll be inside for only a short time.

Just be careful. I told you, don't make yourself stand out.

Try to blend in like everyone else, and you won't attract attention, which means you'll be safe." This was practical education in real-time. Chi Wu acknowledged, "Mm, I understand." Cheng Ying thought to herself that understanding wasn't enough; he needed to be able to execute it.

She saw Chi Wu's hands trembling. Well, he was just a child, and the item he carried was precious; some nervousness was inevitable.

She decided to take Chi Wu's hand. "Let's go." Chi Wu grasped Cheng Ying’s hand, still tense, but slightly comforted.

He was a man, after all; he had to hold himself together now. Chi Wu followed Cheng Ying into the shop with a straight face.

It wasn't the first time Cheng Ying had held Chi Wu's hand, but this particular time would be forever etched in his memory. Inside the Chinese pharmacy, there was only one fashionable young couple.

The woman had permed hair and was wearing bell-bottom pants, very much capturing the era's style. Cheng Ying observed the couple for a moment before walking up.

After watching the doctor finish dispensing medicine for another patient, she approached and asked, "Doctor, do you purchase medicinal herbs here?" The old doctor looked up at Cheng Ying. "What item?

Let me see it." Cheng Ying took out a small cloth bundle and handed it to the doctor. The doctor opened it.

He examined the contents and said, "Good stuff, but girl, you can't keep it stored like this." Cheng Ying asked, "Doctor, would you like to buy some?" The doctor replied, "Yes, I'll take this. Girl, how much do you want for it?" Cheng Ying replied, "Doctor, I don't really know.

You decide what’s fair." The old doctor looked at the small packet of honeysuckle. He noted the excellent quality and how thoroughly dried it was.

"Girl, how about one yuan for this?" Cheng Ying immediately agreed, "Okay. I have some more here.

Would you like it?" The doctor hesitated, "This is good material, but I can't use that much at once." Cheng Ying's face fell upon hearing one yuan. She had plenty of honeysuckle in her spatial dimension—she could get five hundred yuan easily selling it packet by packet, which was more than enough for her needs.

The tragedy was that this shop didn't have the sales volume. She nearly wept at the missed opportunity.

Chi Wu grew excited following her reaction. Cheng Ying and he had gathered a lot of honeysuckle in the mountains; he never realized it could be exchanged for money.

In front of Chi Wu, Cheng Ying had just revealed an expansive gateway to the future. Cheng Ying squeezed Chi Wu's hand tighter, signaling that one yuan was nothing to get worked up about.

The old doctor looked at Cheng Ying. "Girl, there are three or four other Chinese medicine shops in the city.

Perhaps you should try them." Cheng Ying thought that at best, she might scrape together five yuan more, but that still wouldn't meet her current requirements. Still, she smiled and said to the doctor, "Thank you.

We won't keep you any longer." The doctor offered, "Girl, your material is excellent. If you have more, you can bring it back, but I certainly won't use it all up any time soon." Cheng Ying could imagine that Western medicine was currently more popular; getting injections and pills was the modern way, just entering a standardized society.

Alas. But she wasn't going to run around the city just for a few yuan.

When Chi Wu emerged, he saw their bike still there and sighed with relief. "Yingzi, why didn't you take out the tiger skin?" Cheng Ying countered, "Look at the three people inside.

Do you think they could afford it?" Chi Wu argued, "I think that young couple could manage it." Cheng Ying explained, "Young people buy things perhaps for novelty; what do they know? Besides, just because they look well-dressed doesn't mean they have cash on hand.

More importantly, once we show this item, we must sell it. Otherwise, carrying it around between the two of us is unsafe.

Even if most people are good, there are always bad ones. Since we are just children, running into one bad person could ruin everything." Cheng Ying was essentially applying lessons learned from movies: caution prevents disaster.

Chi Wu felt that everything Cheng Ying said was completely correct. Cheng Ying was educating Chi Wu that the world contained pockets of malice, and one must remain vigilant at all times.

Chi Wu said, "Let's go. We can check a few other medicine shops.

Even a small amount of money is income. If I'd known, I would have gathered more honeysuckle." Cheng Ying offered a wry smile.

She had plenty of honeysuckle, but the sales volume simply wasn't there. "Alright, let's go," she said.

At the second Chinese medicine shop, after they had browsed around, they only managed to sell two packets of honeysuckle, and the price was nearly the same as before. This suggested the doctors were moral men, not trying to lowball Cheng Ying and Chi Wu.

Chi Wu remarked, "Even without selling the tiger skin, we still made three yuan on this trip!" Cheng Ying inwardly lamented that spending a full day and night for just three yuan—his expectations were too small, too easily satisfied. "Let's find a larger Chinese medicine shop." Chi Wu asked, "Why are you only focusing on medicine shops?

You still have honeysuckle, but I haven't seen you go up the mountain many times. How do you have so many packets to sell?" Chi Wu was perplexed.

The girl was lazy; she didn't gather as much as he did, so how could she have so many packages ready to sell? Cheng Ying thought his cleverness was focused on the wrong thing—why was he watching her so closely?

"I figured that in places selling medicine, most customers are sick people. A magnificent item like a tiger skin would only command a high price from someone who truly needs it, right?" Chi Wu marveled, "How is your brain wired?

You think of so many things." Cheng Ying deliberately explained the existence of her honeysuckle, feeling guilty. If she didn't explain, Chi Wu would have just mentioned it casually and forgotten it.

"Don't be fooled by the size of the bag; there isn't that much honeysuckle inside." Chi Wu countered, "Don't try to fool me with that. That stuff cures sickness and saves lives." Look how righteous the boy was.

Cheng Ying conceded, "The quantity is small, but the flowers are all top quality." After that, Chi Wu got on the bike and rode off, feeling that Cheng Ying’s thinking surpassed his own. Cheng Ying looked toward the distant post office; she had been to this place before.

Chi Wu also looked at the post office because a Chinese medicine shop was located right next to it. Without even asking, Chi Wu parked the bike.

Selling even one packet of honeysuckle would be good. Chi Wu and Cheng Ying entered the shop.

It was deserted and cold. Only one old doctor sat nearby, seemingly half-asleep.

Cheng Ying glanced outside; it was already nearing noon—the hour when drowsiness set in. Cheng Ying walked over and sat down at the examination table.