Cheng Yaoyao had a sweet and strange dream all night. When she woke up, her skirt had fallen to her thighs and her body was covered in sticky sweat.

She lay on the bed, dazed for a long time before covering her face. It must be because the bed smelled like Xie San...

The small lotus leaf was shaking. It had grown a lot in one night. The round leaf that was only the size of a copper coin before had now grown to the size of a cup. Cheng Yaoyao rubbed his forehead, got up, put on a light blue skirt, and walked out.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and the living room of the Xie family was cool. The breeze blowing on his face made Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but take a deep breath of the fresh air.

Grandma Xie and Xie Fei were both sitting in the hall, surrounding a basket and stringing grass beads.

Xie Fei raised her head and called out, "Sister, are you awake?"

"Good morning, grandma. Good morning, Xiaofei." Cheng Yaoyao blushed and took out his watch to check. It was already past nine in the morning.

Grandma Xie nodded, with no expression on her face.

Xie Fei ran over and pulled Cheng Yaoyao towards the kitchen: "Sister, let's have porridge this morning. I left a bowl for you."

"Wait, I need to brush my teeth first." Cheng Yaoyao said embarrassedly.

"I'll get you some water." Xie Fei diligently picked up Cheng Yaoyao's basin to get water.

Cheng Yaoyao was squatting by the well to wash up, while Xie Fei was squatting beside her with her face in her hands, looking at her infatuatedly.

Cheng Yaoyao's every step of washing up looks very meticulous. She brushes her teeth for three minutes, and doesn't use a towel to wash her face. Instead, she pours water on her face and then gently pats the water off her face with a towel. She combs her hair slowly with a horn comb, and lets the silk hang down on her shoulders.

Cheng Yaoyao's slender fingers shuttled through her hair, slowly braiding her long hair into a centipede braid. She finally made herself look refreshed, with fair skin, red lips, and picturesque features.

"Sister, your braid is so beautiful." Xie Fei looked at Cheng Yaoyao's hair enviously.

Xie Fei was very beautiful, but unfortunately she was malnourished. Her sparse yellow hair was tied into two small braids, making her a true yellow-haired girl.

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and played with the ends of her hair, saying, "When your hair grows longer, I'll braid it for you."

"Okay!" Xie Fei nodded happily.

Cheng Yaoyao looked up and saw that his clothes had been washed and hung in the yard. He asked Xie Fei a little embarrassedly, "Can you help me wash my clothes?"

"Hush." ​​Xie Fei raised his index finger to indicate Cheng Yaoyao, and then pulled Cheng Yaoyao into the kitchen and whispered, "Brother washed it for you."

"What a joke!?" Cheng Yaoyao almost jumped up.

Those were her underwear. Xie Sandu... washed them all for her?

Seeing Cheng Yaoyao's red face, Xie Fei explained hurriedly: "No, no, I didn't touch your underwear. It's the pink one. I washed it for you. It was already on the pole when I got up this morning."

"..." Cheng Yaoyao's heart gradually fell back to where it was, and he said in surprise: "He is clumsy, why did he wash clothes for me?"

"Brother is good to you." Xie Fei smiled, "I wanted to wake you up in the morning, but brother wouldn't let me, saying it was your first day at home, so he let you sleep a little longer."

Cheng Yaoyao pursed his lips and said worriedly, "Who wants to sleep in? I slept so late on my first day home. Grandma must think I'm too lazy."

Xie Fei took out the bowl of porridge and steamed buns that she had left for Cheng Yaoyao from the cupboard and said with a smile, "No. Grandma said that young ladies like you always sleep until noon."

Cheng Yaoyao: “…” It seems that Xie Fei really doesn’t understand what sarcasm is.

On the table was a bowl of thin millet porridge, a bowl of mixed dough and a plate of mixed platycodon.

Cheng Yaoyao picked up the porridge and took a sip. The millet aroma was pure and rich, and it went very well with the spicy and cold platycodon.

Cheng Yaoyao picked up the steamed bun, broke off a small half and handed it to Xie Fei.

Xie Fei waved her hands quickly: "Sister, I've eaten."

Cheng Yaoyao said, "Take it. I have a small appetite in the morning and can't eat much."

Seeing Cheng Yaoyao's insistence, Xie Fei took it and ate it quickly in small bites.

Cheng Yaoyao looked around the cabinet and asked, "What did you eat this morning?"

Xie Fei understood what Cheng Yaoyao meant and said hurriedly, "We had the same meal as you this morning. My brother said that my sister will live in our house from now on, so we don't need to cook separately anymore."

Thank you and rub your belly with satisfaction. I used to eat this kind of mixed noodle steamed bun only a few times a month, but since my sister came home, the meals every day have been delicious.

Cheng Yaoyao nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Where's your brother?"

"My brother went to the city to learn how to operate a tractor. Didn't he tell you?"

"So fast!" Cheng Yaoyao tilted her head and thought for a while. Xie San had said two days ago that he would go into the city today, but she forgot about it after hearing it.

The food in his mouth suddenly lost its taste, and Cheng Yaoyao was depressed: "How long will he be gone?"

"I don't know." Xie Fei shook her head.

Cheng Yaoyao ate all the food and washed the dishes, and then he had nothing to do. He simply helped Xie Fei string grass beads for Grandma Xie.

Grass beads are also called bodhi seeds. They are the size of soybeans and dark in color. There is a natural hole in the middle, which can be threaded to make curtains. Every household in the countryside has such grass bead curtains, which are cool and beautiful when hung on the door.

Grandma Xie still didn't say much, and she slowly put on the grass beads with her nose and eyes watching. Cheng Yaoyao learned from Xie Fei for a while and quickly mastered the essentials. She was young and had a good eye, so she put them on quickly and well.

Time seemed to be stagnant in the old house, passing extremely slowly, and the dust in the sunlight rolled like golden sand. Cheng Yaoyao lowered his head and carefully put on the grass beads in his hand, his cheeks glowing like porcelain in the sunlight.

Grandma Xie's wise and cloudy eyes fell on her face, with a little surprise.

Cheng Yaoyao is so beautiful and so young, and you can tell at first glance that she is not a quiet person. It's hard for her to have the patience to accompany an old woman like me.

Grandma thought so and uttered a few words to test the waters.

Cheng Yaoyao strung a string of grass beads and placed it aside, then picked up another string and said with a smile, "I grew up with my grandparents when I was a child, and I am used to accompanying my elders."

Grandma Xie was even more surprised to hear this, and couldn't help but ask a few more questions about Cheng Yaoyao's family: "You grew up with your grandparents? Where are your parents?"

Cheng Yaoyao bit her lip and whispered, "My mother died when she gave birth to me. I have a stepmother and a younger sister at home."

Xie Fei exclaimed softly and looked at Cheng Yaoyao with sympathy and concern.

Grandma Xie was a little surprised and looked at Cheng Yaoyao. Seeing how delicate and pretty she was, with the innocence in her eyes and eyebrows that only come from being spoiled, she never expected that she had such a background.

Grandma Xie's heart softened immediately and she sighed, "How pitiful. At such a young age..."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Grandma Xie's eyes dimmed, and Xie Fei jumped up in shock, almost knocking over the grass beads.

Cheng Yaoyao asked curiously, "What's wrong with you? Are you so scared?"

Grandma Xie said in a deep voice: "Xiao Fei, I've told you so many times to keep your composure."

Xie Fei's eyes flashed with panic. She took Cheng Yaoyao's hand and whispered, "Did they know that my brother is not at home and come to search our house again?"

Cheng Yaoyao felt a pang in his heart. How many times had the Xie family been harassed to scare Xie Fei so much?

Cheng Yaoyao patted the back of Xie Fei's hand and said, "Don't be afraid, I'll go take a look!"

The banging on the door became more and more urgent.

Cheng Yaoyao strode to the door and yelled at the crack: "Who is that? Why are you knocking on the door?!"

It suddenly became quiet outside. After a while, a child's voice rang out: "I'm Goudan. The Party Secretary asked me to come and ask you to go pick pig grass together!"

"Goudan? Who is Goudan?"

"It's me, Goudan."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Goudan."

"Who is Goudan?"

The children outside started to scream, as if they had a breakdown: "Are you going to pick pig grass or not? If you don't go, I'll leave by myself!"

Grandma Xie said, "Stop teasing the child. That's Goudan from the neighboring house."

Cheng Yaoyao held back his laughter, and Xie Fei was relieved and ran over to open the door. She unbolted the door and opened it. Standing outside was a little boy about eight or nine years old, wearing a short sweatshirt that had been washed bleached, with a tanned, chubby face.

Goudan was holding a broken basket in his hand. When he saw Cheng Yaoyao, his face turned red. He lowered his head and stared at his straw sandals that were so broken that his toes were exposed: "Do you want to go and pick pig grass?"

After Xie Fei's reminder, Cheng Yaoyao realized that the new job assigned to him by the village party secretary was to cut pig grass.

Cheng Yaoyao was confused: "Why didn't anyone notify me?"

Xie Fei said, "Brother brought it back for you a few days ago. Today, brother went to the city, so he asked Goudan to call you."

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at the sun outside and said, "I'll go. Wait for me. I need to change my clothes."

"What a trouble!" Goudan said in a fierce tone, looking impatient, "I won't wait for you anymore, I'm leaving first!"

Despite saying this, he still stood at the door with his hands behind his back waiting.

Cheng Yaoyao hurried back to the house, changed into a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, put on her Liberation shoes, and rummaged through the boxes to find the small hat that Xie San had knitted for her.

Before leaving the house, she called out again, "What should I do if I don't have a basket?"

Xie Fei followed her around and hurriedly took out a basket: "Brother braided it for you last night, take this."

Xie San made a new basket for her overnight. It was beautiful and light. Cheng Yaoyao put it on her back with satisfaction and nodded: "Then I'm leaving."

Just as she reached the door, Xie Fei chased her out and handed her a kettle: "Sister, kettle, kettle!"

Goudan had already walked to the entrance of the alley impatiently, shaking his head like his father, "Women are so troublesome!"

Xie Fei also stood at the door and waved to Cheng Yaoyao reluctantly. Cheng Yaoyao waved at him: "I will come back soon! I will come back to make dinner later!"

Xie Fei looked at Cheng Yaoyao enviously as he left. It took him a long time to return to the yard and close the door again.

Grandma Xie was busy stringing grass beads, shaking her head. She was said to be patient just now, but now she was so anxious and hurried, making people feel headache.

The sun was already very bright outside. Cheng Yaoyao, wearing his favorite little hat, followed Goudan through the alley towards the suburbs. He turned around because he was dizzy from the sun.

Goudan was only seven or eight years old, but he walked much faster than Cheng Yaoyao with his two short legs. He could walk on those difficult paths on the field as if they were flat ground and left Cheng Yaoyao far behind.

Goudan is not Xie San, and he has no consideration for Cheng Yaoyao. He can't help Cheng Yaoyao when he encounters a difficult place to walk. Cheng Yaoyao is about to cry.

Just when Cheng Yaoyao was about to collapse, they finally arrived at the destination.

The place where we picked pigweed was beside a river, where the water was gurgling and the weeds and bushes were lush and green. There were several large willow trees on the bank and two cows were standing in the river drinking water.

There were already several children by the river, some riding cows.

As soon as he saw the kids, Goudan left Cheng Yaoyao and ran over, shouting at them: "I found this land first! Lin Weimin, don't occupy my land!"

"Why? We were here first today!" The child named Li Weimin was wearing a sailor shirt and it was obvious that he came from a well-off family.

Two or three other ragged children ran up to Goudan and shouted, "Brother Goudan, Lin Weimin has occupied the area where we were picking pig grass and fenced it off so we can't pick it!"

Seven or eight little kids started fighting on the shore.

Cheng Yaoyao walked over with the basket, passed through a few children who were fighting together, and looked at the clump of grass surrounded by willow branches: "Is this the pigweed?"

The two naughty kids hugged each other and rolled around at Cheng Yaoyao's feet. They looked up and saw a beautiful face. Their minds went blank and they stared at her stupidly.

Cheng Yaoyao was wearing a nice, clean outfit, with not a speck of dust on even his shoes. He stood there very cleanly, and spoke in a very pleasant voice: "Who among you can answer me?"

"Yes... this is it." A little boy was the first to react. He rolled over and got up from the ground, pointing at the pig grass beside the saw's teeth and said, "This is what pigs eat."

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "Thank you."

The other kids stopped fighting and stared at Cheng Yaoyao intently. They had been so busy fighting that they hadn't noticed Cheng Yaoyao, but now they could clearly see the famous Guanyin in the village.

She is so pretty, prettier than the pretty widow at the village entrance and the daughter of the rich Lin family!

A few naughty kids pushed and shoved around her. Cheng Yaoyao was not indifferent, but just too lazy to pay attention. She frowned and looked at the clumps of pigweed, not knowing where to start.

The pigweed was large and dense, with saw-like edges. Cheng Yaoyao reached out and pinched one, and pulled it off with great difficulty. The back of his hand was accidentally cut by the weeds next to it, and he shook his hand away in pain.

Little Tiedan was getting anxious and said, "That's not how you pick them. You just pull them out with one swipe!"

"Like this?" Cheng Yaoyao tried to grab it and pull it down, but it didn't move.

"How stupid." Lin Weimin laughed, "My mother said that women in the city can't work!"

Several children started laughing, which made Cheng Yaoyao angry. She bit her lip, glanced at the children, snorted, and continued to compete with Zhucao.

"Go to hell! Get out!" Goudan picked up stones and threw them at Lin Weimin and the kids. He said to Cheng Yaoyao in a frustrated tone, "Hey, how come you can't even pull pig grass!"

"..." Cheng Yaoyao had lived so long, but he had fallen to the point where he was taught a lesson by a child. He snorted angrily, "Every profession has its specialties! I can't pull pig grass, but I can read! Can you read? Can you write your own name?"

"...I, my mother said that she would let me go to school next year!" Goudan blushed and retorted without losing any momentum.

Cheng Yaoyao nodded: "Then I can't. What about you? Can you all read?"

The children looked at each other in amazement. Rural children start school late and they can't read.

Cheng Yaoyao shuddered and nodded: "So you can't even read. You still have the nerve to teach me."

The children blushed immediately. Rural people, regardless of age, naturally have a kind of respect for educated people. Cheng Yaoyao is an educated young man from the city, beautiful and educated. What's wrong with her not being able to pull pig grass? She can write!

Cheng Yaoyao narrowly won his first battle with the naughty kid.

These children didn't come to the suburbs just to play. The children in the countryside could also earn work points. They could earn half a centimeter every day by cutting grass for pigs, rabbits, and cows. The children had nothing to do anyway, so earning half a centimeter was considered a good job.

Cheng Yaoyao was a special case: she was pretty but not good at working, so she was just asked to collect pig grass for the production team every day and was fine with it.

Unfortunately, Cheng Yaoyao is not a hard worker. Seeing Goudan pulling up a basket of pig grass in a few seconds, she took the children to run around and play war games. She also squatted beside the grass and fought with a bunch of pig grass for her life.

There were mosquitoes in the grass, biting Cheng Yaoyao's snow-white ankles and leaving several lumps. Cheng Yaoyao pulled at the grass while crying, missing Xie San more than ever.

Suddenly, a little boy came up to Cheng Yaoyao and poured some pig grass into her basket.

Cheng Yaoyao looked up and saw an extremely thin little boy wearing a small jacket and pants made from adult clothes. Although he was very thin, he had delicate features and was very cute.

"Huh?" Cheng Yaoyao looked at him, a little surprised.

The little boy blushed and whispered, "For you."

"Thank you!" Cheng Yaoyao smiled softly, looking at the half basket of pig grass, he felt touched and amused, "What's your name?"

The little boy said: "My name is Mingming."

"Lin Mingming, get out of here!" Goudan suddenly ran over with great momentum and pushed Mingming away.

He pushed me so hard that I fell flat on my back and sat on the ground.

Cheng Yaoyao stood up suddenly: "Goudan, why are you bullying others?!"

Cheng Yaoyao is an adult after all, and she is beautiful. When she gets fierce, she looks very intimidating.

Goudan yelled, "His mother is a bad woman, and no one in the village cares about him!"

"Yes! His mother is a bad woman!" Lin Weimin's children also ran over and now they were arguing with Goudan.

Mingming got up without saying a word, dragged the basket and walked away silently, looking like someone who was used to being bullied.

Cheng Yaoyao hated bullying the most, and he was furious: "Shut up! In my opinion, you are the bad guys, bullying others by relying on your numbers."

Gou'er's eyes widened: "I... I'm not a bad guy!"

"You are, and you too! You are pretending to be the People's Liberation Army. Is there any People's Liberation Army that bullies people like you?" Cheng Yaoyao said contemptuously.

Cheng Yaoyao was so pretty and educated, but the children became depressed when she criticized them like this. Tiedan, the youngest, pulled Cheng Yaoyao's sleeve and said incoherently, "I... I don't bully people. I'm nice to you."

Cheng Yaoyao burst out laughing and held Tiedan'er's hand: "Okay, you are a good boy."

Tiedan immediately attracted the hatred of the whole audience! Tiedan's dirty little hand was actually held by Cheng Yaoyao, who even wiped his face with a scented handkerchief and took him to pull pigweed. Mingming also came over and followed Cheng Yaoyao like a follower.

After a while, Tiedan put on a stern face and stuffed a large bundle of pig grass into Cheng Yaoyao's basket. Seeing this, the other children did not want to be outdone and helped Cheng Yaoyao to pull up the pig grass.

Cheng Yaoyao: “…” Do these naughty kids really deserve to be abused?

A basket full of pig grass was ready, and it was not yet eleven o'clock. Cheng Yaoyao stretched his back and sat under the shade of the tree by the river to watch the children play.

Goudan and his children rolled up their pants and went to the river to pick snails. Today, the beautiful Cheng Yaoyao was there, and the children were eager to show off. Occasionally, if they found a lobster or a snail with patterns, they would show it to Cheng Yaoyao like a treasure.

Cheng Yaoyao covered his mouth and yawned: "It's so boring, is this what you usually do after you finish cutting pig grass?"

Goudan scratched his head and said, "We also played war games, caught cicadas and monkeys, caught loaches when it rained, and fished for lobsters in the evening!"

Cheng Yaoyao asked, "Catching cicada monkeys? Do you know about cicadas?"

Lin Weimin answered eagerly: "I know! They are cicada shells. Some people come to the village to collect them. They exchange two taels of them for a piece of maltose!"

Cheng Yaoyao finally showed some interest: "Can you catch it?"