Preparing so much food all at once exhausted Su Lu and Qin Xiaoxiao. Neither of them are particularly diligent people, so it's no wonder they were tired after doing so much work.

Because he was too tired, Su Lu even stopped his favorite sport and fell fast asleep while holding Qin Xiaoxiao.

Before I was even fully awake the next day, I heard the village bell ringing.

Frustrated, Su Lu pulled the blanket over his head, tucked Qin Xiaoxiao's exposed arm under the covers, and then pulled her into his arms.

Qin Xiaoxiao also heard the bell, turned over in dissatisfaction, and snuggled into Su Lu's arms to continue sleeping.

But the village bell always rings three times. They managed to avoid the first ring, and just as they fell asleep, the second one rang.

Su Lu angrily threw off the covers, sat up, and stared sleepily outside.

"Wife, get up."

Qin Xiaoxiao rolled over and said, "Mmm."

After waiting for a while, Qin Xiaoxiao still didn't move, and the bell stopped ringing. Su Lu lay back down, and soon after, snoring could be heard.

“Ding ding ding…”

As the bell rang for the third time, Su Lu and Qin Xiaoxiao sat up at the same time, staring at each other groggily.

Su Lu: "Wife, get up."

Qin Xiaoxiao: "Okay."

After saying that, the two looked at each other at the same time, then closed their eyes and fell back down in tacit understanding.

Qin Feng stood at the entrance of the village committee compound, scanning the villagers below. He looked around several times but couldn't see Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Lu. Getting anxious, he turned to look at Su Zhiyuan.

Do you know why Su Lu and Xiao Xiao haven't arrived yet?

Su Zhiyuan knew his son well. He took a drag of his cigarette, raised his eyelids slightly, and said, "He shouldn't be up yet."

Qin Feng choked, then realized that his eldest niece hadn't been to work for several months and had been getting up later than usual, and suddenly understood.

"Yes, my little one isn't in good health, so it's normal that he can't get up."

But your son Su Lu has always been in good health, so it's a bit unreasonable that he hasn't come.

Seeing that Qin Feng was pointing the finger at him, Su Zhiyuan remained completely calm. "It's outrageous. Why don't you go and call for help?"

Qin Feng choked again, and glared angrily at Su Zhiyuan.

He knew he couldn't wait any longer, so he held a mobilization meeting before spring plowing.

After a passionate speech, Qin Feng then called out the team leaders from each group. Each team leader had to give a speech guaranteeing the smooth progress of spring plowing and striving to improve production. Only after all this was done did Qin Feng wave the villagers away to get back to work.

After everyone had dispersed, Qin Feng pulled Su Zhiyuan to the back gate of the educated youth compound and knocked on the gate.

Su Lu and Qin Xiaoxiao had just woken up and were not yet dressed when they heard someone knocking on the door.

Su Lu didn't think much of it. He put on his clothes, got out of bed, and went to open the door. He was stunned to see Qin Feng and his father.

"What happened? What serious incident occurred?"

Qin Feng and Su Zhiyuan glared at Su Lu at the same time. Qin Feng asked first, "Where's Xiaoxiao?"

Su Lu looked completely bewildered. "Where's the house?"

Qin Feng then asked, "You two... just woke up?"

Su Lu nodded, then shook his head. "He woke up a while ago, but fell asleep again. What's wrong? Does the old man need something from us?"

Qin Feng clutched his heart in anger, "Didn't you hear the bell?"

Su Lu nodded blankly, "You heard that... right?"

Halfway through his sentence, Su Lu suddenly realized he couldn't say he had heard it, or the consequences would be unpredictable, so he quickly changed his words.

Qin Feng immediately knew what was going on. He angrily tapped Su Lu's forehead with his finger and said with a look of disappointment, "You heard me, why didn't you go? Didn't I tell you two days ago that you're working today?"

Su Lu sighed helplessly, "Grandpa, we really can't get up!"

Who would want to go to work? You work yourself to death all day and you don't earn much money, not even as much as a pheasant. He only needs two hours to go up the mountain and catch more than one pheasant. Besides eating them, he can sell them to buy face cream for his wife. He doesn't have to be exposed to the wind and sun. He's not stupid. Of course he knows which option is better.

Qin Feng rolled his eyes in anger and gave Su Zhiyuan a look, signaling him to continue.

Su Zhiyuan had no confidence in front of Su Lu now. He stammered and shuffled up to Su Lu, whispering, "You still have to do the work in the fields, otherwise, your uncle and I won't be able to explain to the villagers."

"Listen to me, for my sake... damn it, you guys have to at least show your faces!"

Su Lu glanced at Su Zhiyuan sideways and nodded, "Alright, we'll go to work this afternoon."

I never intended not to go, but now that the brigade leader and secretary have come to invite me personally, I have to give them face.

Seeing that Su Lu had agreed, Qin Feng and Su Zhiyuan both breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that they showed up, it's enough that they showed up. They don't care how much the two of them did, as long as someone was seen by the villagers, that's already good enough.

Qin Feng wanted to suggest that Su Lu take Qin Xiaoxiao home for dinner later, but then he realized it was almost nine o'clock and they had already eaten breakfast. Besides, the two elderly people at home were working in the fields, so he changed it to dinner.

Su Lu happily agreed, politely saw the two off, and then closed the door.

Inside the house, Qin Xiaoxiao got dressed after Su Lu left. Hearing Qin Feng's voice outside, she knew it was about them not going to the village committee, so she wasn't in a hurry. She slowly washed her face and took out five large meat buns from her space for breakfast.

When Su Lu came in, Qin Xiaoxiao looked up and asked with a smile, "Did my uncle call us to work?"

Su Lu nodded and added, "And my dad too, ugh, so annoying, I have to go to work this afternoon."

Su Lu was a little irritable. He ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times and got up to wash up.

Su Lu ate three steamed buns, Qin Xiao ate two, and the two of them each drank a cup of malted milk powder, thus getting by with breakfast.

The two looked at a few more modern machines that Qin Xiaoxiao had taken out of her space, studied them briefly, and after Su Lu figured out how to use them, they put them away.

Su Lu wasn't very interested in these things. He just needed to know how to use them so he could explain how to customers when they were released in the future. As for how these things were made, when they would be released, and why they were in his space, Su Lu ignored all of that.

He knew Qin Xiaoxiao still had secrets she hadn't told him, but so what? Who doesn't have one or two secrets they can't tell?

Isn't Qin Xiaoxiao's mystery precisely what attracts him?

What good would it do to figure it out? It would only make Qin Xiaoxiao wary of him and drift further away from him. He wouldn't make a losing deal like losing his wife over some little secret.

It's good to be a little confused sometimes; being a little confused isn't a bad thing.

The morning passed quickly, and the two had a nice lunch.

Big plate chicken, Sichuan-style duck, sweet and sour carp, and a plate of fresh stir-fried bamboo shoots were all taken by Qin Xiaoxiao from her space.

The two ate with gusto, devouring more than half of the four dishes. Qin Xiaoxiao then stored the rest in her spatial storage, planning to eat them again at noon the next day.