Zhuge Pan didn't stay long. He cupped his fists at Xia Zhaoyi from a distance and left with his men.
The sky was already dark, so Zhi Changle got up and went to the cliff to watch them leave. Several people led their horses and soon merged into the crowd heading south together.
"Ah Li, do you really want him to go to Hengxiang?" Zhi Changle came back and asked.
The girl was sitting by the fire reading a book. When she heard this, she raised her eyes and said, "Manager Chu is more experienced than me in this area. He will help me look after people."
"What he said is actually quite reasonable. If you meet someone like him again in the future, please call Hengxiang." Zhi Changle sat down and said.
"No," Xia Zhaoyi smiled, "If Zhuge Pan can use it, I will leave it to him from now on."
"That's right," Zhi Changle also smiled, "After being tested by Manager Chu, he has experience, so it's appropriate to leave it to him!"
After saying that, he looked behind Xia Zhaoyi.
Xia Zhaoyi also looked back, she was a little girl of eight or nine years old.
The girl's skin was obviously sunburned, the skin on her face was thin and sparse, and her eyes were dark and clear, like grapes.
She looked at the books beside Xia Zhaoyi, and as Xia Zhaoyi turned his eyes over, she raised her eyes and looked at Xia Zhaoyi, her eyes brightening.
"Sister, you are so beautiful!" the little girl said.
The local dialect was so thick that Xia Zhaoyi could barely understand it, and nodded to her: "Are you alone?"
"My daddy is here!" the little girl pointed not far away.
"Okay," Xia Zhaoyi said, "go find your father, don't run around."
She looked away, paused, and looked back at the shoes the girl was wearing.
Compared with the girl's torn and dirty clothes, her shoes fit her feet very well. Although there was a lot of mud, it was obvious that they were a pair of new shoes that had only been worn recently.
The little girl didn't leave, but stepped forward and said, "Sister, I also want to read a book."
These books were brought by Xia Zhaoyi from Congxin. She had a habit of picking up three or four books to read when she went to a certain place.
In the past, when she was in the capital, her second brother would often take her to read books at the bookstalls. On the way to the capital, she would go in and browse any market she encountered.
"You can read," Xia Zhaoyi said, "You may not understand these books, but you can ask me."
The little girl nodded happily, walked around and flipped through it, and chose a yellowed book. She didn't recognize all the words on the cover, but the texture felt good.
She picked up the book and thanked her, ready to leave, but Xia Zhaoyi stretched out her hand to hold the book.
"Little girl, I haven't read these books yet. If you want to read them, you can only sit here and read them." Xia Zhaoyi said in as gentle a voice as possible.
The little girl's eyes were wide open, a little stunned, and she looked like she didn't know how to answer the question.
"Or, you can go to your father first and tell him if you want to read at my place?" Xia Zhaoyi asked again.
"Well, then I won't read it." The little girl let go of her hand awkwardly, reluctantly looked at the other books on the ground, then turned and left.
"Little girls nowadays still like to read books." Zhi Changle said looking at her back.
"Reading is a good thing." Xia Zhaoyi said, looking to the other side.
People come up to that big bend from time to time, and people leave from time to time.
She didn't pay attention at first, but now she discovered that one or two of the ten people were wearing the same new shoes as the little girl just now.
Several of them also held similar pamphlets in their hands.
"Brother Zhi," Xia Zhaoyi closed the book, "I have something to do and will be back soon."
