Huo Yanqing's expression softened, and he took the handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

As soon as I looked down, I smelled a pungent, powdery fragrance.

The boy looked closely and realized that this was clearly not Lin Qixia's handkerchief, but her sister's, which was embroidered with a fancy azalea pattern.

"Whoosh—" He threw the handkerchief back, even more unhappy.

Lin Qixia: "?"

She took the handkerchief with a puzzled look and glanced at him with a strange expression.

I really don't know what this kid is unhappy about all day long.

Does she expect her to embroider a handkerchief for him herself? She doesn't have the time for that!

Fortunately, the other party's corruption level has stabilized and has not decreased.

Lin Qixia breathed a sigh of relief. Later, during a break, she handed the boy a pot of water. "Here, have some water?"

Huo Yanqing's expression softened considerably, and he thanked her.

"You're welcome," Lin Qixia said with a bright smile.

After spending a few months together, this kid seems much easier to get along with than before, and his "darkening value" isn't skyrocketing anymore.

This saves her a lot of trouble.

The Lin family doesn't own much land, only about eight or nine mu.

Thanks to Huo Yanqing's capable help, the family finished collecting the goods in just over five days.

Harvesting the wheat doesn't mean the work is completely done.

After that, there's still a lot of work to do: threshing, drying, cleaning, storing, and selling.

The villagers of Xiahe Village were so busy that they couldn't stop to rest. Wheat was drying in the yards of every household and along the village roads.

"That's wonderful! Our village has such a bumper harvest this year, all thanks to the Lin family girl."

Village chief Chen Weizhong looked at the situation in the village and couldn't help but sigh.

Old Li, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "That's right, protecting her earlier was the right decision."

"Oh, I didn't do anything." Chen Weizhong waved his hand, not intending to take credit. "That girl was smart and saved herself at the crucial moment. In the end—it's all because that brat Zhao Shao is a scoundrel."

"That kid deserved to die!"

He paused, then looked at Li Fugui with envy and said, "Speaking of which, your Li Pei has already passed the provincial examination and will go to the capital for the metropolitan examination next year. You won't have to worry about him anymore."

Li Fugui's white beard trembled at his words, but it was from joy:

"Haha, yes, of all my grandsons, only Li Pei is somewhat successful."

Chen Weizhong thought of something and sighed, "It's a pity that the Lin family recently gained a young man surnamed Huo, otherwise Xia'er and your Li Pei would be a perfect match."

"Ahem, well..." Li Fugui was about to say something when Li Pei's voice rang out from behind them.

"Sir! What are you talking to people about here again?"

Li Pei was very angry, unaware that he was angry at the boy named Huo Yanqing that the other party had mentioned.

It was because Gu Ciyu, who was beside her, overheard those words.

In short, he was very unhappy with what the village chief had said earlier. After speaking up to stop him, he glanced at Gu Ciyu, who was cautiously standing beside him.

"I—" Just as Li Pei opened his mouth to explain, Lin Qixia's bright and smiling face appeared in his mind, and he hesitated for a second.

He quickly regained his resolve when faced with Gu Ciyu's gentle gaze: "I have no feelings for Lin Qixia. She was the one who kept pestering me before!"

"I have no relationship with her, so please don't overthink it, village chief."

Li Fugui angrily said, "You brat! How dare you be so disrespectful to the village chief?"

Chen Weizhong was taken aback when faced with the boy's determined gaze, then admitted his mistake, "Oh—I see, this old man was confused."

He looked apologetic.

Li Fugui, who was standing nearby, got even angrier. He came running over on his crutch and hit him on the leg with the stick. "You bastard! Aren't you going to apologize to Grandpa Village Chief right now?"

“I didn’t say anything wrong, why should I apologize?” Li Pei remained stubborn.

"You brat—" Li Fugui was so angry that he raised his cane to hit him again.

At the crucial moment, Gu Ciyu, who was beside Li Pei, stopped him, saying, "Grandpa Li, be careful not to upset yourself."

"Hmph!" Li Fugui glared at her irritably, stubbornly refusing to talk to this girl.

Gu Ciyu was disappointed and pursed her lips in grievance.

Li Pei was about to say something when Li Fugui ordered him, "Get home now! What kind of behavior is it to be hanging out with other people's girls all day long?"

As he spoke, he struck Li Pei with a stick again.

Li Pei was hurt by the blow and screamed in pain before jumping away.

Even as he was forced to part ways with Gu Ciyu, he still said to her, "Remember! We made a promise, you must come to see me off when I leave for the capital!"

"Okay," Gu Ciyu replied gently, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Seeing that she agreed, Li Pei smiled and hurried home.

Gu Ciyu glanced at Chen Weizhong and Li Fugui before watching them leave.

She had overheard their previous conversations, including the praise they gave Lin Qixia.

Therefore, a hint of coldness appeared in her eyes at this moment, and she thought to herself, "Lin Qixia, I'll let you be arrogant for a while, but don't think it will last forever."

...

A dozen days later, in the Lin family courtyard.

The empty courtyard was now piled high with threshed wheat, which was being packed into sacks.

"Alright, this is the last bag!" After working so hard until the very end, He Zhilan was exhausted and couldn't help but sigh as she stretched her aching back.

Lin Qixia was already slumped in the chair next to her, exhausted. "Yes, I'm finally done."

"Fortunately, this year's harvest is bountiful, so our family won't have to worry about food for the winter."

Lin Xiao looked at the grain piled up in the yard and sighed.

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