"How dare I disobey your orders?"

Shen Heng regretted saying those words as soon as they were spoken.

Was his tone a bit harsh?

Embarrassed, I grabbed a towel and wiped myself dry.

He added, trying to salvage the situation, "Your older brother came to help too. We've done quite a bit, and it's all piled up in the brigade's warehouse now. It's just too wet..."

Before Shen Heng could finish speaking, Bai Jiaojiao threw herself into his arms.

Hearing his soft, warm wife holding him tightly, Shen Heng's throat tightened, and he couldn't speak. His arms were outstretched, and he dared not move.

Bai Jiaojiao sniffed: "Brother Heng, when I said that last night, I didn't mean for you to go and work in the heavy rain. I couldn't bear to see you like that. Brother Heng, you're so kind."

After five days of intensive harvesting, Bai Jiaojiao was still alive and well. Last night, she ate and drank her fill and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the bed, unaware that Shen Heng was lost in thought next to her.

"Alright, alright." Shen Heng patted Bai Jiaojiao's head, pulled her closer to his chest, and grinned from ear to ear: "This little bit of work is nothing, is it really that big of a deal? Are you that worried about your man?"

Bai Jiaojiao's eyes were wet, and she gave a muffled "hmm".

In Shen Heng's eyes, Bai Jiaojiao was incredibly audacious.

How dare you admit it like that?

"Bai Jiaojiao, are you trying to seduce me?" Shen Heng suddenly felt energetic again, and said impatiently, "Are you done with that yet? Can we just get it over with quickly?"

Her body was suddenly lifted into the air, and Bai Jiaojiao immediately held back her tears.

"Brother Heng, put me down!"

Bai Jiaojiao patted Shen Heng's shoulder, making a loud "slap slap" sound. Shen Heng became even more excited, while Bai Jiaojiao's own palms went numb from the slapping.

Having no other choice, he gritted his teeth and left a tooth mark on Shen Heng's face.

"Hiss... What's your zodiac sign?"

Shen Heng thought to himself that this young wife still needed to be disciplined.

"Brother Heng, let go, I have important business to attend to!"

Bai Jiaojiao couldn't possibly let Shen Heng harvest 20% of the village's wheat by himself.

Looking at Bai Jiaojiao's expression, Shen Heng knew that it was hopeless again today.

"What important business is it?"

Shen Heng wondered if this person would become someone else's wife.

What is the most important task of being a daughter-in-law?

Ah, a warm bed!

"Brother Heng, is there any wheat left at home that hasn't been ground into flour?"

"There's another bag in the cellar in the backyard."

Shen Heng didn't know how to cook food. Every year after the brigade distributed the grain, he would sell it, only keeping a little for emergencies.

"Brother Heng, could you scoop two bowls for me?"

Shen Heng took out a bag of wheat from the cellar: "I'll find someone to grind it when the weather clears up. You can eat as much noodles as you want from now on. I can't promise you anything else, but I won't shortchange you on what you eat."

Bai Jiaojiao couldn't suppress her laughter. She scooped two bowls out of the bag, washed them, and poured them into a pot to stir-fry.

Shen Heng remained silent, wanting to see what the roasted wheat would look like.

As the moisture in the wheat evaporates, the sound of the wheat in the pot gradually becomes crisper.

Bai Jiaojiao scooped out the fried wheat and placed it in front of Shen Heng, who smelled a strong aroma of grain.

"Brother Heng, could you help me grind it with a stone mill?"

"grind?"

Shen Heng thought he had just chewed it like that.

Shen Heng's family had a small stone mill, about the size of a person's arm. It was certainly not suitable for grinding flour, but it could grind a small handful of roasted wheat in just a few turns.

The millstone obediently grinded the wheat, and the aroma of wheat became increasingly rich as the roasted wheat turned into flour.

Fried wheat flour, also known as fried noodles, is made by roasting wheat and then grinding it into flour. When you want to eat it, you just need to soak it in hot water. It is high in calories and tastes good.

"Heng-ge, you should try some!"

Bai Jiaojiao made a bowl of soup for Shen Heng: "We'll dry and grind the harvested wheat into flour. It's like firewood, but compared to grain, firewood is only worth a few coins. It can be used as good grain, and it tastes good. Even if the collective doesn't buy it, we can have the village take it to the supply and marketing cooperative to exchange for money. It's better than letting it rot in the fields!"

Shen Heng scooped up a mouthful of fried wheat flour and found it delicious: "I think it's good. I'll take the rest of the wheat flour to the brigade leader's house later and let him try it."

"OK!"

Bai Jiaojiao walked to Shen Heng's side and leaned against him, like a docile cat.

Shen Heng granted her such an outrageous request simply because she was in a low mood, and Bai Jiaojiao was now filled with sweetness.

"Heng-ge, you're so kind."

Bai Jiaojiao seemed to know that Shen Heng had no resistance to these words, so she wrapped her arms around Shen Heng's arms, pressed her face against Shen Heng's shoulder, and looked at Shen Heng gently, which made Shen Heng feel extremely aroused.

Shen Heng felt a bittersweet pain, gritting his teeth: "You only talk the talk, what about your actions? When will you stop drawing salaries without working?"

Bai Jiaojiao was surprised that Shen Heng would ask this so bluntly. She blushed and lowered her head, saying, "That's about enough for today."

Shen Heng lifted Bai Jiaojiao's chin, making her look at him: "What do you mean by 'more or less'? Explain it clearly, and I'll make sure you understand."

Bai Jiaojiao pursed her lips, her eyes darting around: "Tonight is fine."

She was already embarrassed enough, but then Shen Heng asked, "Is it alright now?"

"..."

Is it okay?

"No!" Bai Jiaojiao released Shen Heng and moved far away from him.

Shen Heng couldn't help but laugh out loud, pushing the fried noodles he had only taken a bite of towards Bai Jiaojiao: "You eat it, I'm going to the brigade leader's house!"

Shen Heng took the remaining wheat flour and left, leaving Bai Jiaojiao alone, looking at the steaming fried noodles and covering her face with a smile.

"Captain! We've brought you a gift!"

Shen Heng's voice preceded his arrival, and Zheng Xu's mind went blank upon hearing it was him.

"I didn't even come looking for you, and you still dare to come to my house?!" Zheng Xu roared like a fighting rooster, his voice booming with anger. "You and Bai Jiaojiao are really like two rotten eggs in the same bowl! One dares to give advice, and the other dares to do it!"

"Try this first!" Shen Heng ignored him and put the fried wheat flour on the table. "Sister-in-law, is there any hot water at home? Let's rinse the brigade leader's throat."

"What is this thing?"

The captain leaned closer, and as soon as he got close, the fragrance filled his nose.

The captain sat up straight: "I don't accept bribes, you should take it back."

If it were before, Shen Heng would have cursed and left.

But then he patiently explained, "This is flour that Jiaojiao first roasted the wheat and then ground into powder. It tastes good, but it uses a lot of firewood."

At this moment, the brigade leader's wife brought hot water, and the aroma of the fried noodles filled the entire room after it was dissolved.

"Dad, what's this? Give me a bite!"

The brigade leader's son is only thirteen years old, which is the age when he is growing and growing taller. He can't sit still when he smells the aroma. This kind of high-calorie food can make people drool!

The captain looked at his son, who was behaving so poorly in front of others, and said, "Stop drooling!"

After saying that, he solemnly scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth, smacking his lips twice.

Wow, that's really good.

He then asked, "How much wheat did you roast to make this?"

"A bowl of wheat, after being ground into flour, can make this much soup."

When Shen Heng heard the captain ask this question, he knew that it could be accomplished at this time.

The captain pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh as if he were making a desperate decision: "We'll listen to Bai Jiaojiao on this matter!"