Seeing that He Tiantian understood things so quickly, Liang Hongyu liked He Tiantian even more. If He Tiantian weren't so young, she would have liked to match her with her second son.

He Tiantian felt slightly uncomfortable being looked up and down by Liang Hongyu. Although she wasn't annoyed, such a gaze always made her uncomfortable.

"Aunt Liang, it's getting late, I need to go mow the lawn," He Tiantian said. She didn't want Liang Hongyu to keep staring at her, as if she could see something out of her.

“Yes, I almost forgot I had to go to work,” Liang Hongyu laughed. “Alright, you go ahead. You don’t need to go deep into the mountains and forests; it’s dangerous there. Just cut grass halfway up the mountain.”

"Okay, Aunt Liang," He Tiantian replied, and turned to head up the mountain.

Liang Hongyu enjoys chatting with He Tiantian, but she's busy with farm work right now and doesn't have time. She'll find another opportunity to chat with He Tiantian more in the future.

Today, He Tiantian plans to cut grass near the cave and release the snake king to swim in the pool inside the cave.

"You can't stray too far from me, understand?" The Snake King was overjoyed, but before leaving, he gave a final instruction: its current abilities were not enough to travel long distances to find He Tiantian.

He Tiantian readily agreed, saying, "I'll cut the lawn here. I'll call you when I'm done. It'll be the same 'glug glug mi' again, right?"

"Hmm, that's wonderful!" After saying that, the Snake King passed through the rustling grass and disappeared into the cave.

He Tiantian was cutting grass outside. She was very strong now, and the sickle had been sharpened by Old Man Qi to a high shine, so she cut grass very quickly.

He Tiantian took advantage of the cool weather and cut more crops, since there was plenty of open space on the mountain to let them dry in the sun for a while.

About an hour later, He Tiantian looked at the large patch of green grass behind her and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

This is the result of her hard work.

Sweat streamed down He Tiantian's fair cheeks. She wiped the sweat with a towel, rested for a while, drank some water, and then began putting things into the basket.

"Gurgle gurgle meow!" He Tiantian tried reciting the spell the Snake King had taught her. As soon as she finished speaking, the Snake King appeared on the grass in front of her. "It really works! We should go down the mountain now."

"Alright then." The Snake King was clearly reluctant to leave, but it had no choice but to leave because it couldn't stray too far from He Tiantian. In a sense, after the Snake King bit He Tiantian, a contract was formed, and they could be understood as a single entity.

“We’ll come back tomorrow, so you can still go play,” He Tiantian said. Her task was heavy: to prepare fodder before the busy farming season. After the harvest, everyone except the elderly and children would have to work on the river (building local water conservancy facilities and clearing the riverbed), so He Tiantian didn’t have much time and had to hurry.

The Snake King didn't say much; it already understood the situation. If He Tiantian wanted to live well and have enough to eat, she had to work hard.

When the snake king reached her left ankle, He Tiantian clearly felt a sudden coolness and stopped sweating.

It turns out that Grandpa Snake is a mobile, living central air conditioner!

Just as He Tiantian had guessed, with the Snake King protecting her, He Tiantian was no longer hot, and didn't even sweat, feeling particularly refreshed.

He Tiantian secretly plotted in her mind that in the future, when working in the sweltering heat, she should never let the Snake King leave her ankle! However, this was just a thought for He Tiantian. Every time she approached that cave, the Snake King would obediently move away. He Tiantian could only deduce when the Snake King left and when it returned based on the temperature of her body.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, He Tiantian dumped the grass in the livestock team's yard, and Old Man Bai walked over, leaning on his cane.

"Grandpa Bai, slow down." He Tiantian quickly stepped forward to help the old man. "Anyway, there are no outsiders here today, so you don't need to be so nervous!"

"Hehe, it's alright. I've been sitting here idly anyway, and I can even dry the grass here," said the old man. "You must be tired too. Go and rest, have a drink of water."

He Tiantian took a few sips of water and said with a smile, "There's still a lot of cut grass on the mountain. I have to go up the mountain, so I won't rest."

After He Tiantian finished speaking, she didn't stop and continued up the mountain. She made three trips back and forth before she could gather all the cut grass.

With the help of the Snake King, He Tiantian caught a wild rabbit today.

Remembering Liang Hongyu's advice to take good care of Old Man Bai, He Tiantian went down the mountain, cleaned the rabbit, and then casually stir-fried a pot of rabbit meat, adding long beans picked from the vegetable garden to stew together. The rabbit pelts were placed aside, prepared by Old Man Qi, to be used as winter clothing.

"Cotton coupons are scarce now, sweet girl. I'll clean this rabbit skin for you. You can make a fur coat for it in winter; it'll be very warm," Old Qi said with a smile. Ever since He Tiantian came to work for the livestock team, she has often eaten pheasant and rabbit meat and has accumulated quite a few rabbit skins.

"Thank you very much, Grandpa Qi." He Tiantian said with a smile, "I've already prepared the food. I've filled an enamel mug and will take it back to Grandma Qi."

Although the old man was drying grass, you could tell from his constant swallowing and glancing towards the kitchen that he was hungry.

When Professor Gu, Professor Wang, and the others returned from the fields, He Tiantian had just finished cooking and was about to leave.

After these people returned, they had food to eat and were very grateful to He Tiantian.

"Ah, thanks to Sweetie today, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to rest at noon and work in the afternoon if I had to cook after coming back." Professor Gu ate his coarse flour pancake with stewed rabbit meat with long beans, his mouth full of oil.

After eating, they can rest for a while, which is a rare treat for them, especially considering their age!

Old Bai nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, we old folks were lucky to be sent to labor camps together in Qijia Village. If we all work hard and get through this special period, life will be better."

Including Old Man Qi, the eight people were very grateful to He Tiantian and all thought that if they had the opportunity in the future, they would definitely repay He Tiantian properly.

When He Tiantian got home, she took out an enamel mug from her basket, opened the lid, and placed it on the table, saying, "Grandma Qi, dinner is ready."

Grandma Qi saw the rabbit meat on the table and didn't ask any questions. This sweet girl is quite capable; she made pancakes but didn't cook any vegetables.

"Sweetie, did Little Swallow's mother go looking for you?" Grandma Qi looked outside the door and, seeing no one, asked softly.

He Tiantian was taken aback, then replied, "She came to find me, Grandma Qi. How did you know Aunt Liang was coming to find me?"

"I was working at the threshing ground when I saw Liang Hongyu heading towards the livestock team," Grandma Qi said. "Don't worry, no one else knows except me."

"Oh, okay!" He Tiantian felt relieved, as long as she wasn't being watched. After all, she couldn't let anyone else know about the matter Liang Hongyu had asked her to do, otherwise not only would Secretary Qi be in trouble, but she would also be implicated.