Even at home, Zhang Jianguo couldn't shake his habit of morning exercise. Afraid of disturbing his family's rest, he chose to go for a run on the mountain near his home.
On his way back from his morning run, he happened to run into Xia Qingqing, who was up early to gather pig feed.
To avoid Song Ze, Xia Qingqing deliberately chose to cut pig feed during the busy work hours, but she couldn't stand it after a few days. The sun was too strong, and if she continued to be in the sun, she would get tanned dark.
There was no other way but to resume the routine of getting up early to gather pig feed.
Seeing Zhang Jianguo running towards her, Xia Qingqing waved and greeted him: "Brother Jianguo, what a coincidence! What are you doing up the mountain so early?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Qingqing's gaze inadvertently swept over the other person's muscular chest, and she immediately looked away as if she had been electrocuted.
Cough, it was an accident, a complete accident. She's not some pervert at all.
Zhang Jianguo wiped the sweat from his brow and replied with a smile, "I just came back from my morning run. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm going up the mountain to gather pig feed. The sun hasn't fully risen yet, so I'm thinking of finishing as soon as possible and going home," Xia Qingqing said with a bright, flower-like smile.
Zhang Jianguo was dazzled by the girl's smile. Feeling a little lost, he scratched his buzz cut and suggested, "How about I go with you to gather pig feed?"
"No need, no need, I can manage on my own," Xia Qingqing quickly shook her head and refused.
Without saying a word, Zhang Jianguo stepped forward and took the basket from Xia Qingqing's back: "It's okay, let's go, gathering pig feed is just a piece of cake."
All the tools were taken away, so Xia Qingqing had no choice but to follow: "Brother Jianguo, I haven't even properly thanked you for saving me last time, and now you want to help me with the work again."
Seeing that Xia Qingqing brought up the matter from last time again, Zhang Jianguo said loudly, "We soldiers are here to protect our country and our people. This is what I should do. Qingqing, you don't need to keep it in mind."
Xia Qingqing could sense the sincerity in his words and couldn't help but admire his fine character.
Before joining the army, Zhang Jianguo had done a lot of work cutting pig feed. In his hands, the sickle seemed to be under a spell, and his basket was full in no time.
But Zhang Jianguo didn't stop. He had just heard Xia Qingqing say that her daily task was to fill four baskets with pig feed, so he cut a large pile of feed before stopping.
"Qingqing, all you need to do later is carry these grasses down," Zhang Jianguo said, pointing to the pile of grass on the ground.
Xia Qingqing nodded: "Okay, thank you for your hard work, Brother Jianguo."
Song Ze appeared at this time. He had not seen Xia Qingqing since their last unpleasant encounter.
He felt uneasy not being able to see anyone, so he decided to compromise and try to come up the mountain to wait for them as soon as possible.
What did he see? It hadn't been long, and Xia Qingqing already had a new helper. No wonder she didn't need his help anymore.
Look at Zhang Jianguo, that worthless guy, staring at that girl like that, what a pervert!
"Xia Qingqing," Song Ze interrupted their conversation.
Xia Qingqing paused for a moment when she heard Song Ze's voice, then pretended not to see it.
Zhang Jianguo noticed Xia Qingqing's unusual reaction and greeted Song Ze without making a sound: "Song, you've come up the mountain too."
Song Ze glanced at Zhang Jianguo and said in a nonchalant tone, "I'm here to help Xia Qingqing gather pig feed. I used to gather pig feed for her."
Zhang Jianguo felt uneasy looking at his assertive manner and replied dryly, "Oh, I see."
Then he forced a smile at Xia Qingqing: "Qingqing, am I being nosy? I didn't know that Song, the educated youth, was helping you cut pig feed. Look at the mess this has made."
Seeing his embarrassed expression, Xia Qingqing quickly explained what had happened: "That's about it. Song Ze kindly helped me cut pig feed for a few days, but I can't keep bothering him."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianguo's expression softened somewhat, and he smiled and said:
“Song Zhiqing, this is indeed a misunderstanding. Now that Qingqing is better, you don’t need to feel too guilty.”
Song Ze felt a little uncomfortable when he heard Xia Qingqing trying to clarify their relationship. He hadn't helped gather pig feed out of guilt, but he couldn't give a reason.
"Since someone is helping you, shall I leave?" Song Ze said with a dark face.
Seeing his pale face, Xia Qingqing knew he must be unhappy again, and she was completely baffled.
What's wrong now? Is your period coming?
Thinking that the other person had come to help her out of kindness, Xia Qingqing was not ungrateful and quickly smiled and said, "Song Ze, thank you for coming to help me."
Song Ze, Song Ze, Song Ze, when you call him, you call him the cold and aloof Song Ze, but when you call Zhang Jianguo, you call him Brother Jianguo.
Ah, that damned Jianguo-ge.
Song Ze felt his temper was getting out of control. To avoid saying anything unpleasant, he glared at Zhang Jianguo and left.
The two were left bewildered, staring at each other in disbelief.
Zhang Jianguo pointed at Song Ze's back and asked, "Is Song Ze alright? He doesn't look very happy."
Xia Qingqing shook her head: "I don't know, maybe she's in a bad mood."
"Is that so?" Zhang Jianguo shook his head. It's not good for a man to have such an unpredictable temper.
Zhang Jianguo helped Xia Qingqing carry the basket to the pigpen, where they happened to run into Sister-in-law Caixia feeding the pigs.
When Sister-in-law Caixia saw a man walking beside Xia Qingqing from afar, she thought it was Xiao Song, the educated youth she hadn't seen for a few days, and she had a gossipy look on her face.
When the others got closer, they realized something was wrong: "Hey, isn't this Jianguo? Qingqing, what's going on here?"
My goodness, she's stumbled upon some juicy gossip! How come Qingqing changes men so quickly? First there was Xiao Song, the educated youth, and now Zhang Jianguo.
Since they were all from the same brigade, Zhang Jianguo naturally knew Liu Caixia. He greeted her with a smile, "Hello, Sister-in-law Caixia, I've come to help Qingqing deliver some pig feed."
"Oh, you're helping Qingqing deliver pig feed. Just dump it in the pigpen over there," Liu Caixia said, watching Zhang Jianguo go to the pigpen to dump the pig feed.
He quickly and secretly winked at Xia Qingqing, then pulled her aside and whispered, "Qingqing, why is she with Jianguo? Where is that educated youth, Xiao Song?"
Xia Qingqing looked at Liu Caixia, who was heavily pregnant but still couldn't resist gossiping, and was very impressed by her spirit: "Oh, sister-in-law, don't be so gossipy, Song Ze and I really have nothing to do with each other."
Liu Caixia clearly didn't believe her: "Qingqing, you still don't believe me? I'm the most tight-lipped person."
"Tell your sister-in-law secretly, is Xiao Song out of the running? Jianguo is actually not bad either. He is the most outstanding young man in our brigade. His father is the brigade leader. Although he is not as good-looking as Song, he looks stronger than Song."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com