Xiaoyue tucked Yun Xingfei and the other two's clothes into the gaps in the cloth to hang them out to dry. While tidying the cloth, she heard Yue crying over there. It sounded like she was crying very sadly. Xiaoyue became curious; who was crying so sadly so early in the morning?

So she quietly followed the sound of crying. Not far away, a soybean field blocked the view of the person crying. She couldn't see anything through the soybeans, which were almost waist-high. Xiaoyue followed the small path that had been trampled into the soybean field.

Li Qianqian was squatting by the river, beating clothes with a wooden mallet while wiping tears from her face. She was washing clothes in the same spot as Xiaoyue, except Xiaoyue's washing location was downstream.

Xiaoyue remembered that she had ridden in an oxcart with Li Qianqian when she went to the market last time, and that Li Qianqian had held onto Xiaoyue tightly on the way back because she was afraid she would fall off.

Thinking of this, Xiaoyue slowly approached Li Qianqian and quietly squatted down beside her. Li Qianqian saw Xiaoyue in the reflection in the water, wiped away her tears, and turned back to give Xiaoyue a bitter smile.

Li Qianqian didn't wash many clothes; there were two pieces of men's clothing, one of which was stained with blood, and the other was what should have been her own.

After quickly finishing the laundry, Li Qianqian quietly wiped away her tears, put the clothes in the wooden basin, picked up the basin, stood up, smiled at Xiaoyue, and said, "Let's go."

As Xiaoyue got up, she noticed that the girl was half a head taller than her, with a slender waist and wearing a washed pink and white short shirt that revealed her delicate wrists. She was indeed a beauty, except for the calluses on her hands from working.

Beyond the soybean field filled with pods, a little further up the mountain, there was a grove of trees. Like Xiaoyue, Li Qianqian tied a clothesline to the grove.

Xiaoyue also picked up the clothes from the basin and hung them out to dry with Li Qianqian.

After hanging the clothes out to dry, Li Qianqian placed the wooden basin used for washing clothes at the head of the soybean field, and then carried a basket on her back from there.

The two of them started picking mushrooms along the grassy area under the trees. With Xiaoyue by her side and mushrooms to pick, Li Qianqian finally stopped crying. Xiaoyue was usually a quiet person, so the two of them quietly started picking mushrooms.

Li Qianqian found a long-legged mushroom and smiled slightly: "My brother loves to eat this the most. Take it back, cut the stem of the chicken leg mushroom into slices, dry them in the sun, and stir-fry them in winter. They'll have a meaty aroma and taste delicious."

Xiaoyue turned her head and watched as Li Qianqian cleaned the roots and dirt off the chicken leg mushrooms she had picked, then put them in her basket. She then spotted a fragrant mushroom, smelled it, cleaned the debris from its roots, and added it to the basket as well.

Seeing Li Qianqian diligently picking mushrooms, Xiaoyue couldn't help but ask, "Your brother treats you very well, doesn't he?"

Li Qianqian found another long-legged mushroom and said as she picked it, "My brother is very capable."

Then, Xiaoyue sighed again. Thinking that Li Qianqian didn't want to talk about her family, she focused on finding mushrooms. The two drifted further and further apart. After picking five or six mushrooms here and there, Xiaoyue discovered a patch of milkweed mushrooms.

He called out to Li Qianqian, "Li Qianqian, there are so many mushrooms here, come to me quickly."

Li Qianqian, carrying a basket on her back, ran over quickly. Upon seeing such a patch of milkweed mushrooms, Li Qianqian was visibly happy, but hesitated for a moment and asked Xiaoyue, "You found it, so you can pick it."

As Xiaoyue squatted down to pick mushrooms, she laughed and said, "These things in the mountains belong to everyone. Let's finish picking this patch together so we can find the next one."

Hearing this, Li Qianqian finally relaxed and started picking mushrooms.

Before long, she had picked half a basketful. Li Qianqian wiped the sweat from her brow and sincerely said to Xiaoyue, "Thank you. I picked so many mushrooms, my brother can have a full meal now."

Xiaoyue looked at Li Qianqian in surprise, "I saw your father when I was in the car last time. How come your family is like this?"

Xiaoyue found it strange. Li Qianqian's father looked healthy, and there were no sick people in the family, so why were they not getting enough to eat?

Li Qianqian showed a disdainful expression and snorted, "My father, it would be better if he didn't exist." Then she choked up again.

Xiaoyue was at a loss when she realized she had made Li Qianqian cry again. In her haste, she used her sleeve to wipe Li Qianqian's tears. Unexpectedly, Li Qianqian threw herself into Xiaoyue's arms and burst into tears.

Xiaoyue was speechless. Pushing her away was not an option, but if she didn't, she would get heat rash in this sweltering heat.

Li Qianqian cried on Xiaoyue's shoulder for a while, and seeing that she had soaked Xiaoyue's shoulder with tears, she wiped her face shyly, blushing, and kept apologizing to Xiaoyue, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Xiaoyue didn't pay much attention. She held Li Qianqian's shoulders with both hands, looked up at a 45-degree angle, and sincerely said to Li Qianqian, "Is there anything wrong with you? Tell me. Even if I can't solve it, I can still be a good listener."

As she spoke, Xiaoyue looked around and saw a large, smooth rock under a big tree, perfect for tired hikers to rest. She pulled Li Qianqian to sit on the rock.

You can also see the clothes that the two people below are drying.

Xiaoyue took out the gourd, uncorked it, and handed it to Li Qianqian. Li Qianqian took a sip, then handed it back to Xiaoyue, pointing to the soybean field Li Qianqian had encountered, and slowly said:

"See that soybean field? That's land my brother got through the village chief. My brother is very capable; he helped my father pay off his gambling debts with our fifteen mu of land."

My brother then went to the village chief and said he wanted to cultivate the reclaimed land. He even planted the only soybean seeds we had left. See how well they're growing?

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!