*

Nanqing handed the small basket of peanuts and melon seeds he was holding to Aunt Hua, his face practically screaming "Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Aunt Hua didn't stand on ceremony, smiling as she grabbed a handful of seeds and put them in her pocket, then lowered her voice and said:

"You probably wouldn't believe it."

"Those two people rolling around in the haystack are Liu Laoguai's son and his new wife whom he met last year!!"

The women from several brigades, who were sitting around doing work and chatting, all gasped in shock. This... a stepmother and her son? They had never heard of anything so outrageous.

Aunt Hua clicked her tongue several times, then slapped her thigh. "Liu the hunter picked up his hoe and said he was going to kill his son. I heard that both of them have been taken away, and I doubt they'll ever come back."

Nan Qing's lips twitched, and she even stopped eating sunflower seeds. Was this "stepmother literature" coming to life?

Sure enough, the TV series didn't lie to her; no matter where she was, the gossip at the village entrance was always the most refreshing.

Around 6 o'clock, He Monian walked over from the direction of his home. Ever since Nan Qing started to enjoy chatting with the aunties in the village under the big banyan tree, He Monian had gotten into the habit of coming to pick her up at this time.

Nan Qing saw He Monian's tall and strong figure from afar, so she greeted the aunts while carrying her small basket in one hand and the small stool she was sitting on in the other, and then went to meet He Monian.

Aunt Hua took out two melon seeds to snack on, and watching He Monian and Nan Qing walk together, she nudged Aunt Lin sitting next to her and muttered in a low voice:

“I feel like Xiao Nian is raising Sheng Zhiqing like his wife, protecting her like the apple of his eye. Look, no matter which young man in the team looks at Sheng Zhiqing, he’s sure to glare at him for a long time. It’s just a few steps away, but he still comes out to pick her up every day.”

Sigh, who in this brigade can't see what He Monian is thinking? But Sheng Zhiqing is so good-looking, let alone the young men who are in the prime of their lives, even the women in this group of women want to take a second look at her.

However, these words shouldn't be spread around. Aunt Lin ignored Aunt Hua's words, put down her work, and said, "Alright, we can't talk nonsense about these things. Let's go, let's go back to cooking."

Meanwhile, Nan Qing was sharing the gossip she had heard that day with He Monian. Since He Monian had taken over the small stool and the small basket for melon seeds and peanuts, not only were her facial expressions very rich, but her tone was also full of ups and downs, and even her little hands were waving around.

She thought those aunties were really amazing; they could tell different interesting gossip every day, and sometimes they would even tell scary ghost stories!

So besides liking to lie on the recliner in the yard, Nanqing has developed another hobby: listening to her aunts tell stories and gossip under the big banyan tree.

Every time she returned home, she would share the interesting stories and anecdotes she had heard that day with He Monian. He Monian was always very supportive, just like the straight man on a crosstalk stage, making Nan Qing very eager to share.

And so, every day she would go to the big banyan tree to cut two baskets of pig feed, and at five o'clock in the afternoon she would go to listen to all kinds of gossip and stories. After He Monian came to pick her up, she would go back to eat. After eating, she would lie under the tree and continue rocking her little recliner.

Nanqing's life as an educated youth was hardly tiring.

Every month, Sheng's mother would send a huge package from Beijing, containing all sorts of snacks and dried meats that she liked to eat at home.

The grain coupons and money sent along with the food were also quite substantial, so we never went hungry.

Moreover, He Monian would occasionally go to the back mountain to catch some pheasants or rabbits for her to change things up.

And so, Nanqing arrived at Xiangyang Brigade in September and spent more than three months living the life of an educated youth.

From the hot autumn to now, in the very cold winter of December, mowing the lawn has become very difficult. Not only is the weather cold, but there is also not much grass, so we have to go to very, very far places.

She had just finished her work today and, as usual, parted ways with the state-owned enterprises after registering her work points. However, she ran into He Monian on the way. She looked at him with some confusion, wondering if he was supposed to be mulching the rapeseed today.

Upon seeing Nan Qing, He Monian quickened his pace and, upon reaching her side, naturally offered his forearm. Nan Qing, in turn, skillfully placed her small hand on top of it.

The countryside is all muddy, and after it started snowing recently, the snowmelt mixed with the mud made the ground very slippery. Nanqing almost fell several times while walking.

So from then on, He Monian would let her hold onto his arm so she wouldn't fall, and even if she slipped, he would be there to support her.

He Monian glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then leaned close to Nan Qing's ear and whispered:

“Commander Sheng is here. He’s here to see me, so the captain and the others don’t know that Commander Sheng is your father.”

Because the policy for sent-down youth was that, under normal circumstances, parents were not allowed to visit their children in the countryside, and the sent-down youth were not allowed to return to the city. With the New Year just over ten days away, Commander Sheng, who was really missing his daughter, used the excuse of visiting his former regimental commander to come and see his daughter.

Nan Qing was immediately delighted to hear this. Her parents and brother in this world were also very kind to her, which she appreciated. She hadn't seen them for several months, and while she was fine when they weren't talking about it, the mention of it made her excited.

Her previously leisurely pace immediately quickened, and she grabbed He Monian's arm and hurried forward.

"He Monian, let's hurry up. Where's my mom? Has she come yet?"

He Monian quickly grabbed her and told her to walk slowly. "Commander Sheng just arrived, so I came out to meet you. Don't rush, walk slowly."

"The current policy is inconvenient, so only Commander Sheng came."

As he spoke, he kept an eye on Nanqing's steps, afraid that she might slip again, and gently supported her small hand that was resting on his arm.

Commander Sheng had indeed just arrived. He went to the brigade center first and had Captain Lin call He Monian back from the fields, claiming that he had official business to discuss with him.

So he went back to He Monian's house alone. As soon as they got there, he urged He Monian to go find his precious daughter, while he himself lay down on the recliner under the eaves, the one he had taken a liking to at first sight.

However, after shaking the door a few times, he couldn't wait any longer, so he stood at the gate and kept looking around to see if his daughter had arrived.

So not long after, Commander Sheng turned his head and saw his fair and soft baby daughter's little hand on He Monian, that rough man, and the two of them were walking very, very, very close.

Also, that kid He Monian's eyes are practically glued to his precious daughter!

Commander Sheng's tiger-like eyes glared. This kid was really after his precious daughter!