Jun Haoyue's eyes flashed, and he sighed like her and replied, "But I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since last night."

The indirect meaning is that you should work only after you have a full stomach.

Xu Xingchen didn't think much about it, just thinking that he was really hungry, so he lifted the door curtain and went to the backyard.

The fire in the earthen stove went out at some point, and the rice porridge that was originally baking on the side was frozen into a stiff lump.

Xu Xingchen held the pot and gritted his teeth angrily. What a mess!

Jun Haoyue assessed the situation and said, "Let me start the fire."

Xu Xingchen didn't hesitate to put the pot into his arms and went into the bamboo house. The porridge was frozen and the sediment sample she had prepared should be ready. She was going to get soil samples and would not cook. Out of sight, out of mind.

Jun Haoyue covered his stomach and shook his head helplessly. The little girl was quite strong.

Xu Xingchen uploaded the tested soil samples to the optical computer and put away the bottles and jars on the table. Jun Haoyue had already reheated the porridge.

After being frozen, the rice porridge lost its unique viscosity and became watery, like the nutritional supplements for patients on Xu Xingchen's planet.

Xu Xingchen felt a little disgusted.

Jun Haoyue saw the disdain in her brow and consoled her, "I heard there's a market in town tomorrow. How about I go with you?"

"Go...to the market?" Xu Xingchen repeated the word a little awkwardly.

"Every month the town sells all kinds of things, including food, daily necessities, and toys, and they're very cheap," Jun Haoyue explained to her.

Xu Xingchen nodded, not quite understanding, and said, "Oh..." He raised his hand as if to stroke his hair, but actually activated the light brain at the side of his ear to search for the meaning of "going to the market".

After the science explanation, it turned out to be similar to a flea market, but she suddenly thought of something and asked, "How did you know there was a market?"

Jun Haoyue was drinking his porridge when he suddenly choked. "Ahem, the neighbors were discussing it just now. I heard it," he replied seriously.

"Oh..." Xu Xingchen lowered his head to drink porridge without any doubt, and missed the flash of blue light behind Jun Haoyue's ear.

On the second day, Xu Xingchen and Jun Haoyue were ready to go and had just left the yard.

"Hey, Sister Xu, Sister Xu——"

Xu Xingchen looked in the direction of the shouting. It was the village head's wife, Auntie Pang. She came up to them panting and stopped, "Xu, Miss Xu, are you going to the market?"

"Yeah? What's up, Auntie Pang?"

Auntie Pang turned her gaze to Jun Haoyue and asked, "Cousin Haoyue, are you going too?"

Jun Haoyue glanced at Xu Xingchen, nodded and said "yes" in response. When Aunt Fat heard the affirmative answer, she slapped her thigh and looked embarrassed, "Oh, look, this, this, ah."

Xu Xingchen touched his nose in confusion, "Um, what's wrong with Aunt Fatty? Is there anything you need help with?"

Aunt Fatty replied, "Sister Xu, it's like this. My old man needs to go to the town to discuss this year's village subsidies. The town requires written documents and signatures. You know there aren't many educated people in the village. Your cousin is an educated person. Could you help my old man... that thing?"

After listening, Xu Xingchen raised his elbow and poked Jun Haoyue beside him, "Cousin, what do you think?"

Jun Haoyue hesitated for a moment before answering, "Then Aunt Pang, please ask the village chief when to leave. It would be best if you could leave with us now. If that's not possible, I'll go to town with my cousin first. I'm worried about her walking the mountain road alone. I'll wait for the village chief at the town entrance and then go to the government office with him."

When Aunt Pang heard that this meant she agreed, she sighed repeatedly, "Oh, it's okay, it's okay. My old man is taking his time. You and Sister Xu go first. Go first. I'll go back first and urge the old man to go." As she spoke, she hurried away.

"I'll come to you as soon as I finish my work." Jun Haoyue suddenly spoke.

Xu Xingchen hummed twice, not taking this episode to heart, and was only thinking about what to buy later.

Then they hurried on their way on the white snow. Sanwan Village was located in a remote area, about ten miles away from the town. After walking a few miles, Xu Xingchen's calves were trembling from the thick snow that reached his calves.

She looked at the vast expanse of white. Apart from the crunching sound of her steps on the snow, there were not even a few footprints on the sparsely populated mountain road. Did they take the wrong road?

While she was suspecting that the guide in front of her was actually directionally challenged, she couldn't help but miss the flying vehicle on her home planet, which was controlled by artificial intelligence and could travel thousands of miles a day, reaching her destination in the blink of an eye.

Sigh—she exhaled deeply, a cloud of white mist covering her face. She raised her eyes to look at Jun Haoyue. Jun Haoyue stood straight and looked extremely relaxed. For her, the snow on his calves only reached his ankles.

"It's not great to have long legs!" Xu Xingchen spat inwardly.

Jun Haoyue heard the creaking sound behind him fade away, and turned to see Xu Xingchen wrinkling his nose and baring his teeth at him. He couldn't help but laugh, "What's wrong?"

"I can't walk anymore."

Listening to Xu Xingchen's seemingly willful words, Jun Haoyue asked, "What should we do then?"

What should I do? Xu Xingchen was stunned by the question. Yes, what should I do?

Just eat it cold!

Xu Xingchen couldn't help but spit at himself. What a ridiculous question he asked.

Just as she was muttering to herself, a large white hand stretched out in front of her. There was a slightly raised thin callus on the knuckle of the middle finger. She thought unconsciously that this was caused by holding a pen for a long time.

But for some reason, her mind flashed back to another hand with distinct knuckles that she had seen in the research laboratory on her home planet, holding a photon pen and pointing out the mistakes in her report.

Jun Haoyue's puzzled question came from above his head, "Huh? Cousin... Stardust?" He paused and changed the tone.

"Ah? Oh, what's wrong? Men and women shouldn't touch each other." Xu Xingchen reacted when his name was called and came back to his senses from his wild fantasies.

She shook her head to get rid of the image in her mind. It was strange that she thought of Director Ice.

Hearing this, Jun Haoyue narrowed his eyes and withdrew his hand, then said, "How about this, I'll walk in front and you follow in my footsteps, okay?"

Xu Xingchen had not yet recovered from the image just now, and she nodded no matter what Jun Haoyue said.

Jun Haoyue's inquiring gaze scanned her face, he pursed his lips, turned around and walked away, each of his steps deliberately slowed down, just to make it easier for the person following him.

One person led the way and the other followed, and before they knew it, they arrived at the town.

When she arrived at the town entrance, Xu Xingchen put everything that happened on the road behind her. She was already attracted by the lively scene in front of her. After agreeing on the meeting point with Jun Haoyue, she plunged into the market like a bird flying out of a cage.

Jun Haoyue wanted to say a few more words, but the person in front of him had disappeared. He leaned helplessly against the pillar at the entrance of the town waiting for the village chief to arrive.

Xu Xingchen excitedly wandered around the market, looking here and touching there.

It's no wonder she looks like she's unsophisticated. Back on her home planet, she was a bookworm during her student days, studying all the time. After graduating from university, she went straight to graduate school, spending every day in the lab, rarely leaving the house.