After the Qingming Festival, the brigade resumed work as usual. The loudspeaker at the entrance of the village played passionate slogans, and men and women rolled up their trousers and legs and sweated profusely in the fields. Women who didn't have to work sat on the doorsteps picking vegetables and chatting about family matters. The children were the happiest, carrying small buckets and calling friends to pick raspberries and wild vegetables.

Along the way, people greeted Cheng Yaoyao, and Cheng Yaoyao responded as usual. Until passing the slope, Cheng Yaoyao was like a cat with its fur standing on end, and a cool breeze emanated from his back.

Zhang Xiaofeng gently held her hand and said, "Yaoyao, who's behind you?"

Cheng Yaoyao turned around and saw Xie Zhao following her closely. It was like being caressed by a warm hand, and Cheng Yaoyao's fear was completely calmed down.

Han Yin teased her: "You're not scared now that someone is sending you there, are you?"

"I'm not afraid in the first place!" Cheng Yaoyao said stubbornly, but her steps became brisker, with a pair of eyes protecting her from behind.

The three of them arrived at the warehouse gate. When Cheng Yaoyao looked back, Xie Zhao was still standing not far away, looking at her. Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but silently said three words to him, and she didn't know if Xie Zhao saw it, so she hurriedly ran into the warehouse.

Even when he sat down, Cheng Yaoyao's cheeks were still hot.

Han Yin kicked her and whispered, "You're a promising young man, why are you so nervous?"

Cheng Yaoyao died unjustly.

After a while, the girls came one after another. The tea leaves were poured onto the sieve, shaken off evenly, and the slender fingers quickly picked up the tea stems. The girls worked and chatted with smiles. Someone asked, "Yaoyao, when did you get home yesterday? Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng had to look for you everywhere."

Cheng Yaoyao took a breath and smiled sheepishly: "Yesterday I..."

"Hi, she went to the village entrance to pick up Xie Zhao yesterday!" Han Yin spoke quickly with a wicked smile.

Zhang Xiaofeng added, "It's only a few steps away, but you still have to go to the village entrance to pick me up!"

Cheng Yaoyao was so angry that he wanted to hit them, but the girls burst into laughter and then talked about other topics. When Shen Yan called the roll, he saw that Cheng Nonuo was not there, so he didn't ask and just ignored her.

Instead, the other girls asked, "Why didn't Cheng Nonuo come?"

Cheng Yaoyao paused, lowered his eyes and continued working, with no expression on his face.

This question was addressed to Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping. They had fallen out with Cheng Nuonuo and had not spoken to each other for several days. Lin Dandan rolled her eyes and said, "Who knew that she would not come home to spend the night from time to time."

The girls all laughed and looked at each other. In this era, staying out overnight is a big problem. When Shen Yan left, the warehouse immediately started buzzing with discussion.

Everyone asked Lin Ranran: "Ranran, didn't you sleep in the same room with Cheng Nonuo? Did she come back last night?"

Lin Ranran looked embarrassed. After being questioned for a long time, she whispered, "Sometimes she doesn't come back. Maybe she stays overnight with other educated youth."

After hearing this, the discussion became more heated. Everyone knew that Cheng Nuonuo had a bad reputation and her sister Cheng Yaoyao was at odds with her. How could other educated youth take her in? Besides, other female educated youth were also present, and everyone said they had not seen her come.

Moreover, Lin Dandan said that Cheng Nonuo often didn’t come home, so where did she spend the night?

Someone said: "I heard that she and Shen Yan..."

The people present were all girls, so they were too embarrassed to say anything too explicit, but the looks they exchanged with each other were particularly exciting. When Shen Yan returned to the warehouse with the notebook, he found that the girls had been secretly looking at him, and when he smiled and looked over, they quickly hid away.

Shen Yan was so proud that he couldn't help but straighten his brand new coat. Just as he was about to say something, someone came and called Shen Yan for help: "Someone fell down the mountain, come and help lift him up!"

Cheng Yaoyao's heart trembled heavily, and he looked at Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin.

Lin Guiyuan rushed over and asked, "Who is that? What happened?"

Shen Yan also strode over and asked, "Who fell?"

The young man blushed as the girls kept asking him questions. He said everything in a conspicuous manner: "Lin Hui from the east end of the village fell down from the valley. He was found by some kids picking wild strawberries. The captain asked me to call you. Let's help carry him to the city."

Shen Yan had a complex expression on his face, not sure if he was relieved or regretful. He put on his coat and quickly followed the man.

The warehouse was in an uproar. The girls were talking about this matter: "My mother never let me go to that valley, saying that there is a mountain god there."

"Tsk! This is feudal superstition!"

"Why are you still not allowed to talk about it? A few years ago, many people went into that valley and committed suicide. It's very evil!"

“How scary…”

Cheng Yaoyao stared at the tea leaves, trying hard not to show any strangeness, and his heart dropped to the ground. Xie Zhao didn't kill anyone! Xie Zhao didn't dirty his hands for such a person! The criminal methods of this era should not be underestimated. There is a big difference between being killed and falling off a cliff.

But this man has been discovered, so where has Cheng Nuonuo gone?

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng. They looked normal, talking and laughing. Cheng Yaoyao was a little curious, how could they be so calm? Later, she asked Zhang Xiaofeng alone, and Zhang Xiaofeng smiled and said that she had taken a train to participate in the National Link-up, and had seen all kinds of scenes. This didn't scare her!

The day ended peacefully. When he got off work, Cheng Yaoyao breathed a sigh of relief. This hurdle was finally over.

Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng sent Cheng Yaoyao to the intersection, where Xie Zhao was already waiting. Han Yin pushed Cheng Yaoyao and said, "Someone is here to pick you up. Let's go back!"

Cheng Yaoyao staggered after being pushed by her. He finally stood steady and looked up to see Xie Zhao striding towards him with his hand in the air. Just as he was about to put it down, Cheng Yaoyao grabbed him.

The look on his face was so hot that she couldn't ignore it.

Cheng Yaoyao lowered his eyes and said awkwardly, "Don't think too much, I just sprained my ankle."

There was no sign of pain on her face. Xie Zhao said "hmm" and asked, "Does it still hurt?"

It was hard to tell from Xie Zhao's voice whether he was still angry or not. Cheng Yaoyao pursed his lips and wanted to continue to act coquettishly, but he saw a group of villagers coming over after work, talking and laughing. Cheng Yaoyao quickly withdrew his hand, turned around and walked ahead.

Steady footsteps followed behind her, not too far away. In the afterglow of the setting sun, a slender shadow was cast from behind, occasionally overlapping with hers, looking extremely intimate.

Cheng Yaoyao ran into the yard with brisk steps, only to see Xie Fei also coming back, and she was cleaning a wild rabbit with Grandma Xie, with a pool of blood on the side.

Cheng Yaoyao said happily: "Xiao Fei is back! Why didn't you come back yesterday? Your brother went to the village entrance to pick you up several times."

Xie Fei's eyes dodged for a moment, and he said, "I...I was temporarily covering for someone yesterday, so I came back today instead."

Cheng Yaoyao said "Oh", looked at the hare and asked, "Where did it come from?"

"Zhao Ge'er got beaten yesterday." Grandma Xie complained, "Zhao Ge'er got beaten too. His new clothes are all covered in blood."

Cheng Yaoyao was stunned, recalling the smell of blood on Xie Zhao's clothes yesterday. Was it a rabbit?

Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but secretly look at Xie Zhao. He looked indifferent, put down his tools and basket, and went to the well to fetch water. Cheng Yaoyao's face was bitter. Who asked Xie Zhao not to explain?

Grandma Xie asked, "Yaoyao, what are you going to do with this rabbit?"

Cheng Yaoyao raised his voice and said, "Let's make spicy bunny diced."

"Okay!" Grandma Xie said happily, "Zhao'er loves spicy food the most."

Cheng Yaoyao secretly glanced at Xie Zhao again, but unfortunately got no response, so he had to go to the kitchen to cook dejectedly.

The rabbit was very fat, so Cheng Yaoyao used all his skills to make a spicy dish of diced rabbit, a dish of chili paste and stir-fried pork with green peppers, and a plate of golden eggs and green vegetables.

A large bowl of red, fragrant spicy diced rabbit was placed on the table, emitting a fragrant aroma. Cheng Yaoyao turned his head, covered his mouth, and sneezed slightly.

Grandma Xie said, "Yaoyao, you don't like spicy food, so don't make it so spicy next time."

Cheng Yaoyao's snow-white nose tip was slightly red, and the corners of his eyes were also red. He said in a hushed voice, "No... It's okay."

Xie Fei said happily: "Brother likes spicy food, and Sister Yaoyao always makes it."

Xie Zhao was easy to take care of, and he would eat whatever the family cooked. After Cheng Yaoyao discovered that he liked spicy food, he would make half of any meat dish spicy.

When Cheng Yaoyao heard this, his dark eyes flashed under his long eyelashes, and he glanced at Xie Zhao again. Xie Zhao ate his meal in big mouthfuls, as if he didn't hear anything.

Cheng Yaoyao's face puffed up. While Grandma Xie wasn't looking, he picked up a fried chili and was about to put it into Xie Zhao's bowl, when he saw a piece of bacon in the bowl.

Xie Zhao put away his chopsticks and continued eating. His beautiful lips were rosy from the chili oil, and his eyes and eyebrows showed obvious joy.

Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but be excited. She turned her chopsticks and put the pepper in Xie Fei's bowl, smiling and saying, "Xiao Fei, you eat!"

Xie Fei looked at the dried chili in the bowl and bit her chopsticks in panic. How did she offend Sister Yaoyao? Or did Sister Yaoyao see that she was lying?

After dinner, there was still a last ray of sunset in the sky. The strawberries in the vegetable garden were finally picked. A dozen bright red strawberries with water droplets hanging on them were placed on a snow-white shallow-rimmed plate, which was very pleasing to the eyes.

Jianjian was so excited that he waved his claws around, and only calmed down after Xie Zhao pinched the back of his neck.

Grandma Xie smiled and said, "It has been staring at these strawberries for two months. If we don't give it a bite, none of us will be able to have a good time tonight!"

Cheng Yaoyao said to Qiang Qiang: "Then I'll give you one, but you must not make trouble again."

Xie Zhao took a strawberry and carried Jianjian out. He put the strawberry in Jianjian's small bowl, and Jianjian approached the strawberry to sniff around, and then he became quiet for a while.

Cheng Yaoyao said to Xie Fei, "I've been waiting for you to come back and pick them. If you wait any longer, they will be overripe."

Grandma Xie wiped her hands on her apron, looked at the strawberries carefully and said, "They are so pretty! What kind of fruit is this? They are so pretty and smell so good, much better than wild strawberries!"

Xie Zhao walked into the kitchen and said, "These are strawberry seedlings introduced from abroad. They are sweeter than the original varieties we have."

Grandma Xie said, "Well, can we grow it in our village? We can use your plastic greenhouses."

Xie Zhao shook his head. Cheng Yaoyao explained: "These strawberries are difficult to preserve and the transportation cost is very high."

Grandma Xie said, "That's such a pity."

Cheng Yaoyao stuffed a strawberry into Grandma Xie's mouth: "Don't waste it, it's delicious if you try it!"

Grandma Xie chewed the strawberry, her eyes lit up: "Oh, I've eaten a lot of good things in my life, and this strawberry is really delicious! Come on, you guys try some too!"

Cheng Yaoyao also took a strawberry and put it in his mouth. He took a light bite, and the sweet and sour juice of the strawberry filled the tip of his tongue. The unique aroma was simply intoxicating: "So sweet! The ones I grow myself are better than the ones I buy!"

Strawberries must be fresh. In order to facilitate transportation, strawberries in later generations are often picked and packaged before they are fully ripe, and are also sprayed with chemicals. How can they taste as good as home-grown strawberries?

Xie Fei was also full of praise, and even Xie Zhao showed an astonished expression.

Grandma Xie ate one strawberry and stopped eating, urging the three children to eat. Cheng Yaoyao said, "The strawberries will still bear fruit! If you don't eat them, I won't eat them either."

Xie Fei also pulled Grandma Xie to act coquettishly, and Grandma Xie was very happy. The whole family ate the whole bowl of strawberries one by one.

In the evening, Cheng Yaoyao came out of the shower and saw Xie Zhao sitting at the door weaving a frame. She took the initiative to ask, "What is this?"

"Strawberry rack." Xie Zhao motioned for her to look at Jianjian.

Jianjian was lying by the vegetable garden, staring at two strawberry plants in a foolish manner.

Cheng Yaoyao said: "It's over, I shouldn't have given it food. Now I'm even more worried about it!"

"I'll make a big frame to cover it so that you can't make trouble." Xie Zhao said, "I'll leave it all for you to eat."

There was a hint of partiality in these words. The evening breeze gently brushed across Cheng Yuanyao's cheeks, making her heart beat inexplicably. She said sweetly, "Did you see what I said this morning?"

Xie Zhao asked, "What did you say?"

"…Forget it if you didn't see it!" Cheng Yaoyao stomped his feet and was about to run away.

The fingers were hooked.

Xie Zhao's rough fingers were warm and dry as usual, and he gently hooked her fingertips: "Me too. I shouldn't have been so mean to you yesterday."

"..." Cheng Yaoyao's anger disappeared like a punctured balloon. Her voice became soft and sweet: "I was wrong. I shouldn't have scolded you yesterday. I was just scared."

Xie Zhao's voice was a little gloomy: "Are you afraid of me?"

Cheng Yaoyao lowered his head and glared at him: "I'm afraid you're in danger. What if it's discovered and you...what if you're arrested?" Just mentioning this possibility, Cheng Yaoyao's face turned pale.

Xie Zhao's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at her for a long time without saying a word, with a strange expression.

Cheng Yaoyao thought he didn't believe it, and said angrily: "Really? Now we live in a society ruled by law. No matter what your reason is, if you kill someone, you must pay for it... What are you laughing at! Hey!"

Before Cheng Yaoyao could finish her words, Xie Zhao hugged her. The man buried his face in her slender waist and held her tightly with both hands: "Sister."

Xie Zhao's hair had grown longer, and it was no longer tangled like before. Instead, it was soft, completely different from him. Xie Zhao smelled the sweet fragrance of her bath, and his heart softened.

In fact, he really had the idea of ​​killing someone when he went up the mountain yesterday. These two people dared to have such dirty thoughts about Cheng Yaoyao, and it would not be too much to cut them into pieces. But when he raised the hatchet, Cheng Yaoyao's pitiful eyes appeared in front of him.

In the end, he dragged the two men out of the house like dead dogs and dumped them in the woods. He picked a box of wild strawberries for Cheng Yaoyao, cleaned up the traces inside and outside the house, and left. The middle-aged man was afraid that he was unlucky, so he lost his direction when going down the mountain and fell down the valley.

After hearing the whole story, Cheng Yaoyao felt relieved. She couldn't help but rub Xie Zhao's hair, like rubbing a big dog: "Who told you not to explain it to me yesterday? You ignored me and I was angry all night!"

"Little fool."

"…You're so corny."

"Little goblin."

"Call me fairy!"

"Little fairy."

"Uh-huh!"

“…”

"... Go away, stubborn one!"

…

The middle-aged man died.

Shen Yan and the captain and his entourage escorted him to the city, but he died on the way. They had no choice but to carry him back to the village. It is said that before he died, he stared with fear, his throat made a hoarse sound, but he could not say a word.

This man was called Lin Hui. He had a wife in the past, but he beat her away. Now he was a bachelor. The team helped to take care of his funeral affairs. They just randomly chose a place on the mountain to bury her, and it didn't cause any disturbance.

However, Mrs. Lin was shouting in the village that Cheng Nuonuo had been missing for a few days and she didn't know if she had also run into the mountains. If anything happened, don't look for them.

The brigade was busy with spring ploughing and greenhouse vegetable farming, so they had no time to spare to look for her. Moreover, one or two educated youth in the village would often run away, secretly returning to the city because they couldn't stand the hard work, and they were used to it. The brigade leader only asked Shen Yan to call Shanghai first to see if Cheng Nuonuo had returned to Shanghai.

Shen Yanxu responded but did not actually fight.

Cheng Nonuo's departure was like removing an invisible landmine for Shen Yan. Cheng Nonuo left on her own, indicating that she had given up pestering him. He had already planned to go to the city in two days to call home and get him back as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble.

Shen Yan was calculating very well, and he could not hide his smugness on his face. He paced back and forth in the warehouse, and even walked to Cheng Yaoyao and said, "Yaoyao, the tea leaves you picked don't meet the specifications."

Cheng Yaoyao glared at him coldly with his peach blossom eyes. Shen Yan smiled and said, "Look, the tea leaves are still too coarse. We have to pick them out."

As Shen Yan spoke, he reached out and picked up a tea leaf, and his fingers just happened to touch Cheng Yaoyao's slender fingers. The moment they touched, Cheng Yaoyao moved his hand away and stared at him.

Shen Yan smiled and said, "Yaoyao, my family sent me a gift for the Dragon Boat Festival, and there's one for you. I'll give it to you later."

Cheng Yaoyao frowned coldly: "I don't want it."

Shen Yan said affectionately: "My mother watched you grow up, this is her gift. It contains your favorite Lao Dachang Qingtuan."

Cheng Yaoyao almost laughed out of anger. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Keep these things for Cheng Nonuo. I've eaten Qingtuan at Xie's house."

When Shen Yan heard Cheng Nonuo's name, his smile froze.

Han Yin also laughed and said, "Yes, Cheng Nuonuo is missing. Shen Yan, do you know where she went?"

Her voice was neither too loud nor too low, just enough for all the girls in the warehouse to hear. Everyone couldn't help but look at them. Shen Yan smiled dryly and said reluctantly, "Cheng Nuonuo and I are just ordinary young comrades. How would I know?"

Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but look sideways. Who in the village didn't know that Cheng Nuonuo had a past with him? Shen Yan's words were too ruthless, totally inconsistent with his usual affectionate and gentle appearance, and also made the other girls who secretly liked him feel a little chilled.

That day, after dinner, when the Xie family was cleaning up the dishes, Lin Dafu arrived.

Grandma Xie hurriedly asked, "Come in and eat something?"

Lin Dafu hurriedly said, "No, no, you guys continue eating."

Xie Zhao stood up and walked over, but Lin Dafu waved his hands and showed a serious expression: "I want to talk to Cheng Zhiqing about something."