In order not to disturb the two of them being alone, Liang Shuang wisely ran a little further away and found a place where she couldn't see Xia Qingqing and Song Ze, and continued to earnestly husk corn.

She also has two acres of cornfields of her own, and if she doesn't speed things up, she won't be able to finish today's task.

After Song Ze saw Liang Shuang leave, he immediately stopped picking corn.

She slowly sidled up to Xia Qingqing, her eyes filled with tenderness, and whispered sweetly, "Qingqing~, I miss you so much, do you miss me?"

Xia Qingqing couldn't resist Song Zechao's coquettish manner, and affectionately stroked his soft hair: "Of course I missed you."

Song Ze felt a sweet warmth in his heart. The feeling of being in a relationship was even better than he had imagined. Every day felt like he was soaking in sugar water.

Actually, he and Xia Qingqing had just met yesterday, but whenever they were apart, he couldn't stop thinking about Xia Qingqing.

Song Ze blushed and took Xia Qingqing's hand. Seeing that she did not refuse, he excitedly shook it.

From Xia Qingqing's angle, she could see that Song Ze's ears were completely red. She couldn't help but sigh, thinking how innocent boys were these days.

After cuddling together for a while, the two got back to work; romance shouldn't interfere with business.

The two of them were indeed much faster together, and they soon filled two baskets with corn.

Song Ze needs to transport these corns to the threshing ground first:

"Qingqing, if you feel tired, take a rest first, and we'll chat again when I get back."

A load of corn weighs at least 140 jin (70 kg). Song Ze easily picked up the carrying pole and walked steadily toward the threshing ground.

After Song Ze left, Xia Qingqing didn't rest. This was her job anyway. When Song Ze came back, she had already prepared two more baskets.

Song Ze put down the carrying pole and wanted to continue helping Xia Qingqing with the work, but Xia Qingqing stopped him:

“You haven’t finished your own task yet. You’re in charge of this whole cornfield, right? Go and move this pile on the ground and the ones over there with Shuangshuang first.”

Hearing her say that, although Song Ze was a little unwilling, he still obediently did as she said.

A little while later, Liang Shuang came over again. She wasn't idle either; she helped Xia Qingqing peel corn while talking to her.

"Qingqing, tell me, how did you manage to make Song Ze so obedient? He's as docile as a kitten in front of you."

When Xia Qingqing heard her describe Song Ze like that, she actually felt that there was some truth to it. When Song Ze acted coquettishly, he was just like a little kitten.

"It's not as exaggerated as you say, is it? Song Zeren is a good person, he's just stubborn but soft-hearted."

From their first encounter, although Song Ze showed signs of 'not helping those in distress,' he ended up saving her. Later, when she missed the oxcart in the county, Song Ze gave her a ride back. He would also share roast chicken and roast rabbit with her.

Song Ze may appear cold on the surface, but he's actually a warm-hearted man inside.

After hearing Xia Qingqing's description of Song Ze, Liang Shuang's jaw almost dropped: "You didn't see how he treats others. Take Qin Jiajia for example, she grew up with Song Ze, and he never holds back when he's talking back. It's common for him to make people cry."

"But thinking about it this way, it's actually quite nice. He's cold to everyone, but he's incredibly affectionate towards you the only one."

Liang Shuang felt she could already imagine a romance movie, with Xia Qingqing and Song Ze as the main characters.

——

With Song Ze's help, Xia Qingqing finished harvesting all the corn from her two acres of land by 3 p.m.

At that time, the corn yield was not as high as it would be in later generations; two acres of land together would only yield about a thousand catties.

However, since the others' tasks were not yet complete, Song Ze had to stay behind to finish up the work and transport all the corn in the area to the threshing ground before he could leave work.

Before leaving work, Xia Qingqing had one more thing to do: find the scorekeeper to register her work points for the day.

The team's scorekeeper was a girl about the same age as Xia Qingqing, Ding Miao, the team's accountant's youngest daughter.

Xia Qingqing searched around before finding Ding Miao, who was standing straight on the edge of the field. The little girl had a round face, fair skin, a few faint freckles, and two thick, black braids.

She originally had a cute appearance, but she always liked to keep a serious face, which suppressed her cuteness and made her look more serious.

Hearing Xia Qingqing say that she had completed her task, Ding Miao glanced at her with some surprise: "Finished? You were quick. I need to check it first."

“Okay, I’ll take you there,” Xia Qingqing nodded and led Ding Miao toward the area she was in charge of.

Ding Miao checked a few rows and found that Xia Qingqing had broken them very cleanly, without missing a single one.

She nodded in satisfaction: "Well done, I've already recorded 8 work points for you. It's still early, would you like to take on another task?"

She didn't know that Xia Qingqing had backup to complete the task so quickly. She thought Xia Qingqing was really that fast at working, even faster than the aunties and grandmas who were used to farm work. That's why she was so surprised at first.

Xia Qingqing quickly shook her head: "No need."

"I'd better go home and cook first, so my parents can have a hot meal as soon as they get off work."

When Ding Miao first heard Xia Qingqing refuse, she frowned secretly, thinking that although Xia Qingqing was capable, she was not proactive.

When she said she wanted to go home and cook for her parents, her furrowed brows relaxed instantly, and a faint smile appeared on her face: "Okay, go home now."

"Okay, bye-bye," Xia Qingqing waved to Ding Miao.

After arriving home, Xia Qingqing didn't rush to cook; instead, she took a shower first.

After a long day of work, she felt sticky all over.

After taking a quick shower and changing into clean clothes, Xia Qingqing felt like she had been reborn. She comfortably rolled around on the bed a couple of times: "Ah, so comfortable."

When Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping returned home from work in the evening, they smelled the aroma of food as soon as they entered the door. They looked at Xia Qingqing, who was busy at work, with some surprise: "Qingqing, how come you've already prepared a meal? Didn't you get two acres of cornfields?"

"Yes, I'm fast. I finished early and went home to cook," Xia Qingqing said with a smile as she placed the last dish she was carrying on the table.

Zhang Hongyan looked at her daughter with some heartache: "Why are you so diligent? Just wait for Mom to come home and cook."

Gou Dan was getting anxious seeing his parents standing still: "Mom and Dad, come and eat! My sister's cooking smells so good, my mouth is watering."

Zhang Hongyan curiously took two steps forward, wanting to see what dish Xia Qingqing had made.

When she saw the sizzling eggplant, her blood pressure spiked: This spendthrift has squandered a month's worth of oil!