Yun Ningyan looked at Huo Junshan, who was standing not far away, with a puzzled expression. What was he staring at?

Not moving at all?

"Huo Junshan, what are you daydreaming about?"

Huo Junshan was pleasantly surprised by Yun Ningyan's shout. With a smile on his face, he strode over to her.

Yun Ningyan took a piece of sponge cake from the cloth bag next to her and handed it to him, saying, "Have a piece for me. You bought too much, it will spoil if you don't eat it soon."

Huo Junshan patted her head, finished a piece of chicken cake in a few bites, and then opened the water bottle and brought it to Yun Ningyan's lips. "Yanyan, have some water, don't choke."

Yun Ningyan took two sips from his hand, then pushed the bottle towards him, indicating that he should drink it himself.

Huo Junshan tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down twice. Yun Ningyan looked on with longing, wanting to reach out and touch it.

Her fair fingers touched her Adam's apple and gently pinched it.

Huo Junshan let out a suppressed gasp, his rough hand gripping her wrist, saying helplessly yet affectionately, "Be good, don't make a fuss."

His large hand caressed hers a few times, longing to pull her into his arms, but the corn was sparse now, and if someone found out, it would damage her reputation.

Ma Lao Er walked by here, looking for Yun Ningyan, but when he saw Huo Junshan there, he was so frightened that he turned around and ran away.

Huo Junshan narrowed his sharp eyes, his gaze filled with disdain and disgust.

He ruffled Yun Ningyan's hair. "Yanyan, after work I'll take you to the mountain to pick grapes and wild persimmons. We'll roast rabbit on the mountain, okay?"

Yun Ningyan nodded and pushed him to walk away, saying, "Okay, you should go now, I need to get to work."

Huo Junshan's plot of land was right next to hers; the two of them could see it with just a glance.

Huo Junshan was still worried and instructed, "If anything happens, just shout for me."

Yun Ningyan found him long-winded. With her physique, she could kill a wild boar, so why would she be afraid of people?

The weather was still hot in early autumn, and the summer heat had not completely subsided. The sun shone on the ground where there was no shade. The women working wore headscarves, and beads of sweat slid down their foreheads. They would lift their sleeves to wipe it away and continue working.

Some of the men were cutting corn stalks, some were picking corn, and some were continuing to break off corn cobs.

Lin Mengmeng no longer felt aggrieved like she did when she first arrived. She worked diligently like everyone else, but she often fell far behind.

Her plot of land was next to Zhang Qiang's today, and Zhang Qiang kept turning around to look at her.

The women nearby chuckled and whispered among themselves, "I think Zhang Zhiqing has a bit of a thing for Lin Mengmeng. Look at him, he keeps glancing back at Lin Zhiqing, as if he's afraid she'll run away."

Lin Mengmeng blushed as the aunties spoke to her. She glared at them angrily and said, "Aunties, please stop making fun of me. It's not true. Don't spread rumors."

As she spoke, she glanced up at Zhang Qiang, but Zhang Qiang seemed not to hear her and continued working with his head down.

However, if you look closely, you'll notice that his cheeks are red, not from the heat, but from embarrassment.

Little did he know that the aunties in the village were such gossips.

When Aunt Guihua from the brigade leader's family saw Lin Mengmeng blushing, she knew that young people were shy, so she smiled and said to the other women, "Alright, alright, don't talk about Lin Mengmeng anymore. We can't interfere in the affairs of young people."

Several women busied themselves with their own tasks. After all, she was the brigade leader's wife, so they still had to give her some face.

Aunt Guihua stood up to rest her back. From afar, she saw Huo Junshan and Yun Ningyan standing together, very close to each other. She didn't know what they were talking about, but she had heard from his family that the two were dating.

Yun Ningyan worked 4 centimeters today, more than the previous few days, but she didn't leave work early and rushed home with everyone else.

Lin Mengmeng had barely finished her work. After Zhang Qiang finished his eight work points, Lin Mengmeng was still far behind. He wiped the sweat from his face, walked up to Lin Mengmeng, and said a few words.

"Go and rest, I'll do this for you."

Lin Mengmeng felt embarrassed to let someone help her all by themselves, so she waved her hand and said, "This is my work, I'm very grateful that you're helping me. I'll work with you to finish early, and I'll go home and cook you something delicious. You'll have to fetch water tonight!"

Zhang Qiang's eyes lit up at the mention of delicious food, and he worked even harder. Being a man, he finished the work in no time.

Lin Mengmeng went back and kept her promise, cooking rice for Zhang Qiang and stir-frying chili peppers with cured pork. The cured pork was brought from home, and the chili peppers were obtained from Aunt Guihua's house.

Zhang Qiang's mouth was glistening with oil as he ate two large bowls of rice. This was the best meal he had since arriving at the educated youth settlement.

Yun Ningyan didn't come back that night. As soon as she and Huo Junshan finished work, they went into the mountains. Dahei led the way and ran off as soon as they entered the mountains.

Huo Junshan led her along a winding mountain path for a long time, holding her hand tightly the whole way without ever letting go.

Finally, they stopped in front of a sturdy grapevine. Yun Ningyan looked at the bunches of black grapes hanging on the vine, which were as crystal clear as black pearls and emitted an enticing light. She swallowed and felt a little thirsty.

Huo Junshan picked one for her, wiped it on his clothes, and brought it to her lips. She opened her mouth and ate it, her lips lightly touching Huo Junshan's fingertips. A jolt of electricity instantly ran through his body. The softness of her lips was as delicate as silk, making his heart tremble.

Huo Junshan rubbed the fingertips that had touched her lips; her warmth still lingered on his fingers.

The mountain grape juice exploded in Yun Ningyan's mouth, the sweet and sour taste filling her mouth, so delicious that she squinted her eyes.

Huo Junshan quickly picked a lot of grapes and put them into the basket on his back. Yun Ningyan ate them, her lips stained with the color of wild grapes.

They picked a whole basket full of grapes, and many more, already ripe, were still hanging on the vine, but unfortunately, their baskets were too small.

Huo Junshan clapped his hands and patted her head. "We'll come again next time. It'll take a few days for them to ripen. Come on, I'll take you to pick persimmons."

We didn't go very far this time, but the persimmon tree was a bit tall.

Huo Junshan put down his basket and skillfully climbed up the tree, standing steadily on a branch. He took out a bag from his trouser pocket and tossed the persimmons into it one by one.

"Huo Junshan, why are you picking those unripe ones? They're not edible."

Yun Ningyan cupped her hands into a megaphone shape and placed them near the car's exhaust, amplifying her voice considerably.

Huo Junshan looked at her with a hammer, and waved the bag in his hand. "Eat the ripe ones first, and let my mother rinsing the unripe ones with salt water to remove the astringency. They'll taste good too, though they're just crisp persimmons."

"Oh, oh, oh," Yun Ningyan nodded excitedly.

Awooo...

The sound of barking dogs came from afar. Huo Junshan whistled, and Dahei darted over from not far away, carrying a rabbit and a pheasant in its mouth. There were traces of blood on the corner of its mouth, so it must have come back after eating its fill. No one knew how it caught them; it was as nimble as Huo Junshan, running around in the mountains.