The morning sun was not too strong, and Song Yueying and Wang Qianqian were drying herbs in the yard.

After hearing Song Yueying explain the reason, Wang Qianqian almost knocked the herbs in the winnowing basket to the ground. She was stunned for a while before she found her voice.

She tilted her head to look at Song Yueying, asking incredulously, "Teacher Song... are you kidding me?"

The reason why his aunt gave Wang Aimin steamed buns for two consecutive days was because she felt sorry for him because he was tired from working in the fields.

This reason left Wang Qianqian both amused and exasperated. If she hadn't asked Song Yueying, she would never have guessed that it was for this reason, no matter how hard she tried.

"No, I'm not kidding you." Song Yueying stopped what she was doing and looked at Wang Qianqian with amusement. "Can't believe it, right? I'm actually a little surprised myself."

"Yes! I really can't believe it." Wang Qianqian honestly admitted, squatting down in front of Song Yueying. "I still can't quite understand it."

I can't understand why Song's mother would send food to her husband.

“Sisi, I understand your thoughts,” Song Yueying said. “But my mother gave your Wang Zhiqing food simply because she felt sorry for him working hard in the fields.”

"You and Wang Zhiqing don't need to feel guilty, just accept it."

"As far as I'm concerned, my family doesn't lack that little bit of food. My mom can give it to whomever she wants, as long as she's happy."

Wang Qianqian was stunned after hearing what Song Yueying said. At that time, every household had very little food; they didn't even have enough for their own families, let alone give it to others.

Teacher Song actually let her aunt give away her family's grain to others. Not for any other reason than to make her aunt happy.

"Teacher, is it really okay for you to let your aunt do whatever she wants?" It's unbelievable that she's met a daughter who spoils her mother so much.

Given how aloof Ms. Song usually is, I never expected her to let her mother do whatever she wanted.

She never thought her mother's actions were reckless. But Song Yueying knew in her heart that her thoughts were even more reckless in Wang Qianqian's eyes.

“Sisi,” Song Yueying said earnestly, “In your eyes, my mother’s behavior may seem reckless, but in my eyes, she is doing something to help others.”

"She wants to help others, so naturally I won't stop her."

Is this a matter of helping others? Wang Qianqian couldn't quite understand Song Yueying's peculiar thought process.

Wang Qianqian suddenly remembered a question, "Teacher Song, why did Auntie suddenly feel sorry for my Wang Aimin?"

"Well... Song Yueying really couldn't answer that question." She shook her head and said, "My mother's mental state is inconsistent, and her memory is easily confused."

"She's been feeling sorry for your Wang Zhiqing these past few days, making him steamed buns. Maybe tomorrow she'll start feeling sorry for you too, and make you steamed buns for the next two days."

Wang Qianqian stared at Song Yueying in horror, then lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“You can fall even when you’re perfectly fine. Either your leg hurts or it’s gone numb from squatting.” Song Yueying smiled and continued to turn over the herbs on the ground.

Wang Qianqian blushed as she got up and helped Song Yueying turn over the herbs.

Seeing Wang Qianqian's cautious manner, Song Yueying picked up a herb and waved it in front of her.

Song Yueying said, "Qianqian, you don't need to be so careful. These are very common herbs, found everywhere on the mountain and in the fields. Don't worry about damaging them."

"Although this herb has only moderate medicinal effects, it can treat many kinds of diseases."

Wang Qianqian is studying very seriously and diligently.

The day passed quickly; the sun blazed down on the earth during the day. Then, for no apparent reason, a strong wind arose at night, threatening a downpour.

The brigade leader called on the villagers to put all the harvested rice into the granary.

Even the rice that hadn't been dried yet was put into the granary and piled up until the sun came out to dry.

As evening fell, a torrential downpour began. Song Yueying and her mother tidied up early and went back to their room to sleep.

Actually, the only person who was really asleep was Song's mother. After Song Yueying returned to her room, she went into the space test vehicle to make pills.

Suddenly, she heard a noise outside the courtyard, which didn't seem to be caused by wind or rain. After listening carefully, Song Yueying confirmed her judgment.

Holding a wooden stick, she went outside and saw that the door to the main room was open. Song Yueying frowned, looked around but found nothing unusual, and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As she closed the door to the main room and turned around, she met Qi Yanjue's gaze.

Seeing Qi Yanjue return, Song Yueying suppressed the excitement in her heart. But she couldn't help but speak first, "It's pouring rain outside, it's dangerous for you to come back at this time."

"If you are stopped on the road by a rainstorm, the danger will be doubled."

"At the time, I just wanted to come back to see you as soon as possible, I didn't think about anything else." Qi Yanjue's clothes were soaked, and he looked at Song Yueying with a smile, his tone full of longing.

He was speaking from the heart; he rushed back in such a hurry because he wanted to see her as soon as possible.

He missed her terribly after not seeing her for three days.

Hearing Qi Yanjue say this, Song Yueying's heart fluttered again. But what she said was, "You shouldn't have ignored your own safety and rushed back in such a hurry."

"You brought a change of clothes, right? Come inside and change out of your wet clothes. Even though it's summer, wearing wet clothes for too long can still make you catch a cold."

Qi Yanjue was pleased that his wife cared about him, but said nonchalantly, "It's okay, I'm a man, I won't easily catch a cold if I get a little rain on me."

Song Yueying disagreed with him and said coldly, "Although you are a man and not afraid of getting wet, it's still best not to go near dangers that should be avoided."

"After all, you have a family now, you should cherish your life."

Qi Yanjue didn't want to upset his wife so soon after returning, so he didn't respond to her words. Instead, he asked with a smile, "Yueying, I'm back. Are you happy?"

Song Yueying didn't speak, but the tips of her ears turned bright red.

“Even if you don’t tell me, I already know the answer.” With that, Qi Yanjue took something wrapped in oil paper from his pocket and stuffed it into Song Yueying’s hand.

Then she looked at her with a smile.

She reached up and touched her face; she shouldn't have shown her joy. Song Yueying lowered her eyes to look at the oil paper package in her hand, the warmth seeping through the paper into her palm.

She looked at Qi Yanjue and asked in surprise, "What's in here?"

"I brought you steamed buns." Qi Yanjue made no attempt to make her guess. In his view, making his wife guess wasn't romantic, it was a waste of time.

Steamed buns! Song Yueying blinked. Her husband had brought her steamed buns instead of clothes or jewelry when he came back from his trip. She must be the first person to receive this from him.

That being said, Qi Yanjue at least brought her steamed buns, which is already quite kind of him.

"Go inside and change your wet clothes quickly, or you'll really catch a cold," Song Yueying urged.

"Okay." Qi Yanjue replied, picked up the bundle he had placed by the door, and went into the house.

Summer temperatures are high, and cooked food easily spoils if left outside. After thinking for a moment, Song Yueying put the oil paper package in her hand into the space test vehicle.

She should get up early tomorrow and put the steamed buns in the kitchen. That way, Song's mother and Qi Yanjue won't notice that the buns weren't in the kitchen before.

On the other side is the former residence of educated youth.

A figure wearing a raincoat and holding a flashlight walked into the educated youth center in the rain.

She carried an aluminum lunchbox in her other hand and walked into the courtyard where the educated youth lived. Knowing the way well, she went straight to the large house where the male educated youth lived.

As he walked, he took off his raincoat and threw it under the eaves.

The faint light from the flashlight shone on Song Rumeng's face, which was filled with excitement and determination. If she hadn't been holding the flashlight, she would have been unable to move an inch in the rainy night.

"Why are you only arriving now? Don't blame me for not doing my job once the others get back," a voice asked, its tone laced with displeasure.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Song Rumeng wasn't angry at all because of the man's displeasure. "Besides, now is the best time to come."

"Hurry up, don't waste any more time." The man said and turned to leave.

"Fool, you don't even understand the principle of 'haste makes waste'." Watching the man's retreating figure, Song Rumeng snorted and quickly headed towards her destination.

Soon they arrived at the door of a house. Song Rumeng lowered her eyes and checked herself over. After confirming that everything was alright, she gently knocked on the door.

She had already found out that a young intellectual from Beijing was living in this room.

This educated youth is new. He was sick today and didn't go to work. He's alone in the house now.

The male educated youths living with this young woman were still working in the barn. She needed to hurry and make things official with this young man.

Then she will marry into the capital city, just like Song Yueying.

No, she will marry someone better than Song Yueying.

Because her husband was a sent-down youth, an educated young man. He was nothing like the rough and uncouth soldier that Song Yueying married.

Seeing that the door was ajar, she went straight in.

Song Rumeng was immersed in the beautiful fantasy she had created. Unbeknownst to her, the moment she entered the gate of the educated youth center, a figure silently disappeared.

"Qi Zhiqing." Receiving no response from inside, Song Rumeng called out softly a few times. She knew very well that the new educated youth's name was Qi Yanyun.

Is your surname Qi?

Perhaps this educated youth Qi and Qi Yanjue have some connection.

"Qi Zhiqing, are you awake? Can you hear me?" Song Rumeng's voice was tinged with trepidation and unease.

It was the first time she had ever approached a man, and it was for the purpose of offering herself to him, so she was naturally nervous. Standing at the door of the large house, she listened intently to the sounds coming from inside.

After a while, a slightly surprised, hoarse voice came from inside the house. "Who is it? Who's calling me from outside?"

"Qi Zhiqing." Song Rumeng took a deep breath and pushed open the door. At a glance, she saw the man lying on his side on the bed, looking a little tired.

In particular, there are some dark circles under the eyes, which is due to lack of rest.

I heard he fell ill as soon as he arrived at the educated youth center, and has been sick for several days. It's normal that he looks unwell; if he looked well, he would have been working in the fields long ago.

Standing beside the large bed, Song Rumeng introduced herself: "Qi Zhiqing, my name is Song Rumeng. I heard from the people at the educated youth center that you were sick, so I came to see you."

Song Rumeng emphasized the two words "specially" to show her concern.

Qi Yanyun opened her eyes, glanced at her, and dismissed her in a distant tone, "I don't care who you are, get out of here right now."

"Qi Zhiqing, I'm here to bring you food. I mean no harm. Please don't misunderstand me, okay?" Song Rumeng's voice trembled slightly.

She hadn't expected this new educated youth to be so difficult to talk to, immediately telling her to get out.

However, Song Rumeng was not someone who was easily persuaded. She would not abandon her goals because of someone else's words.

She refused to believe that, given her good looks and her initiative in getting close to men, they wouldn't have any ulterior motives.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yanyun frowned slightly, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes. But he quickly regained his composure, suppressed his annoyance, and sighed softly as he asked.

"You said you came to bring me food?" Qi Yanyun asked. "We're not related, we've never even met before today, and you came to bring me food?"

Do you even believe that yourself?

“We were not related before, but we won’t be anymore,” Song Rumeng said decisively, as if things would develop according to her wishes.

“From now on, we will have no connection whatsoever.” Qi Yanyun added after finishing her sentence, “I know you didn’t come to me to bring me food.”

"If you leave now, I can pretend you were never here. If you don't leave..." Qi Yanyun didn't finish his sentence, but the threat was very strong.

"What can I do if I don't leave?" Song Rumeng didn't take Qi Yanyun's threats seriously at all.

She placed the aluminum lunchbox she had brought on the shared bed. Her gaze was fixed on Qi Yanyun without any attempt to hide it, and Song Rumeng froze when she saw Qi Yanyun's face clearly.

Beautiful, beautiful, this Qi Zhiqing is really good-looking! Whether it's friendship or love, Song Rumeng is determined to get this Qi Zhiqing.

She murmured to herself, "Qi Zhiqing, you are very handsome, more handsome than any man I have ever seen."

Qi Yanyun felt offended by this damned woman and glared angrily at Song Rumeng, "Say what you just said again."

"Qi Zhiqing, you're so handsome, more handsome than any man I've ever seen. I'll say it again, no matter how many times I say it." Song Rumeng acted as if she didn't care about anything.

"Qi Zhiqing, I like you. From the first moment I saw you, you were the only one in my heart."

Faced with Song Rumeng's sudden confession, Qi Yanyun was stunned for a moment. Then he flew into a rage, "You shameless woman, you are truly shameless!"

"Where am I shameless? Does liking you mean I'm shameless?" After questioning her, Song Rumeng couldn't help but tear up and grit her teeth in grievance.

"What's wrong with liking you? You don't have to like me back. It's my business that I like you, and I'm not asking you to like me back."

As she finished speaking, Song Rumeng choked up again, "My cousin said that if you like someone, you should take the initiative to pursue them. Don't care about saving face, face is worthless."

"My cousin shamelessly pursued the person she liked and even married him as she wished."

The behavior of her cousin seemed strangely familiar to him. Completely baffled, Qi Yanyun asked directly, "What's your cousin's name?"

“My cousin’s name is Song Yueying,” Song Rumeng replied.