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◎The Twenty-Nineth Day of the King of Scrolls◎
He watched the two figures squat down by the river before slowly walking out, his steps somewhat heavy.
Under the willow trees by the river, Jiang Wanzhou was pounding clothes, while Shen Xinglian sat on a rock picking wild vegetables.
Song Zheng arrived at some point, holding a book in his hand, but he didn't say anything. He just stood not far away, watching Jiang Wanzhou's back with curiosity in his eyes.
“Song Zhiqing, what brings you here?” Jiang Wanzhou looked up and saw him, stopping the pestle in her hand.
"I've come to take a look." Song Zheng walked to the water's edge and squatted down. "By the way... I wanted to ask you, is it possible to borrow a bicycle from the team?"
"A bicycle?" Jiang Wanzhou thought for a moment. "Zhou Zhiqing had one."
"Thank you very much then." Song Zheng smiled gently. "If you don't mind, I brought some biscuits for you and Comrade Shen to try."
"No need, no need, you're too kind," Jiang Wanzhou quickly waved her hand.
In the afternoon, Jiang Wanzhou went to the team headquarters to find Jiang Weiguo. When she passed by the farm tool shed, she saw Zhou Qingyu squatting at the door, holding an axe and chopping a piece of wood.
Sunlight fell on him, and beads of sweat trickled down his chin, but it did not affect his movements at all; every axe strike was precise and steady.
"Zhou Zhiqing, what are you chopping?" she asked as she walked over.
Zhou Qingyu looked up and saw her, then stopped hitting her with the axe: "I'll make you a mallet from jujube wood."
Jiang Wanzhou felt a warmth in her heart, but also a little embarrassed: "It's for me."
Zhou Qingyu picked up a piece of split wood and sanded the edges with sandpaper.
His movements were very focused, his fingers gliding nimbly across the wood.
Looking at his serious profile, Jiang Wanzhou suddenly felt that this "iceberg" wasn't so cold after all.
"I'm going to town tomorrow, do you need anything to bring?" Zhou Qingyu suddenly asked, her voice softer than before.
"We're hiring someone to build a house in a few days, and we need to prepare some things." Jiang Wanzhou nodded. "Zhou Zhiqing, are you building one too?"
"Hmm," Zhou Qingyu said calmly.
As Zhou Qingyu polished the wood, she caught a glimpse of Jiang Wanzhou standing beside her out of the corner of her eye. Sunlight fell on the tips of her hair, making it look like it was plated with gold.
He said he wanted to swallow it, but his hand moved a little faster.
He picked up the polished jujube wood and compared its length: "Is this okay?"
"It's fine, thank you." Jiang Wanzhou took the wood; it was heavy and felt comfortable in her hand.
"You're welcome." Zhou Qingyu looked at her, something seemed to melt away in her eyes. "If you need any help in the future, just come to me."
Jiang Wanzhou paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."
She carried the jujube wood back home, feeling a warm glow in her heart.
Jiang Wanzhou glanced back and saw Zhou Qingyu cleaning up the debris, her back view so lonely.
Jiang Wanzhou walked home with light steps.
She touched her burning cheeks, and just as she turned the corner, she bumped into Song Zheng standing under the old locust tree, holding a tin lunchbox in his hand.
"Comrade Jiang, it's good to see you here." Song Zheng greeted him with a smile, waving the lunchbox in his hand. "I heard your house was burgled, so I asked the comrades at the educated youth station to boil some eggs for you to take back and help Comrade Shen recover."
The lunchbox was opened, and inside lay four plump white eggs, still steaming.
Jiang Wanzhou waved her hand: "No need, Song Zhiqing, it's too much trouble for you. We have our own."
"Here you go," Song Zheng shoved the lunchbox into her hand. "We're all on the same team, so it's only right that we help each other out. Besides, I haven't thanked you yet for teaching me how to weed."
His tone was gentle, carrying a sincerity that was hard to refuse.
Jiang Wanzhou was hesitating when Zhou Qingyu's voice came from behind her: "She doesn't need it."
The two turned around and saw that Zhou Qingyu had followed them at some point, clutching a cloth bag in her hand. Her eyes were fixed on the lunchbox that Song Zheng had handed her, with a hint of coldness in them.
“Brother Zhou.” Song Zheng was taken aback. “I just wanted to deliver some eggs to Comrade Jiang.”
"We just found their eggs." Zhou Qingyu walked to Jiang Wanzhou's side and opened the cloth bag in her hand—it contained six eggs. "That's enough for them."
Jiang Wanzhou then noticed that he was carrying a bamboo basket filled with half a basket of bright green wild vegetables, which looked exceptionally fresh.
Song Zheng's smile faded slightly, but he still maintained his politeness: "It's always good to prepare more, Comrade Shen is pregnant and needs nutrition."
Zhou Qingyu didn't look at him, but said to Jiang Wanzhou, "These wild vegetables were just picked from the back mountain, they're very tender. Make some wild vegetable and egg drop soup for Comrade Shen when we get back."
Jiang Wanzhou took the bamboo basket, her fingertips accidentally touching his hand. She felt a burn and quickly pulled her hand back, saying, "Thank you."
Song Zheng glanced at the subtle interaction between the two, his eyes flickered, and he closed the lunchbox: "In that case, I won't disturb you any longer."
He turned and walked towards the educated youth settlement, but his steps were not as light as when he came.
Watching Song Zheng's figure disappear, Jiang Wanzhou asked softly, "Why did you follow me?"
"I forgot to give it to you." Zhou Qingyu's tone was very natural, as if the subtle contest just now had never happened.
He looked at her, his gaze gentler than usual, and said, "I'll take you home first."
The two walked home side by side without saying a word.
As they approached their doorstep, Jiang Wanzhou suddenly remembered something: "Zhou Zhiqing, I've thought about it and I'll calculate it for you based on your wages."
Jiang Wanzhou slipped a dollar to him.
"No matter what, I still have to thank you."
He didn't take it, but instead said, "Keep it for Comrade Shen, she needs it more."
"Then I'll take the things, you keep the money. If you don't take it, don't give it to me next time." Jiang Wanzhou shoved the eggs into his hand and turned to run into the yard.
Zhou Qingyu stood outside the courtyard gate, holding the eggs in her hand.
In the courtyard, Shen Xinglian was heating up the stove to help Shen Mingyuan take a bath.
When she saw Jiang Wanzhou come in, she smiled and asked, "What were you talking about with Zhou Zhiqing at the door? Your face is all red."
"It's nothing." Jiang Wanzhou put the bamboo basket on the stove. "He brought us some shepherd's purse."
Shen Xinglian looked at the shepherd's purse in the basket, then at Jiang Wanzhou's reddened ears, and smiled thoughtfully: "Zhou Zhiqing is quite thoughtful."
She knelt down to help Shen Xinglian hug Shen Mingyuan, and then heard Song Zheng's voice from outside the courtyard gate: "Is Comrade Jiang home?"
The two exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.
Jiang Wanzhou got up and opened the door, and saw Song Zheng standing at the door with a small wooden box in his hand: "I just came back from the farm tool shed and saw the old carpenter repairing something. I remembered that you said Comrade Shen is pregnant and it is uncomfortable to sit on a hard bench, so I brought over the sponge mat I brought."
He opened the wooden box, inside was a thick sponge pad wrapped in blue cloth, which looked very clean.
“This was prepared for me by my mother. I don’t need it, so it’s perfect for Comrade Shen.”
Jiang Wanzhou was stunned for a moment, and before she could refuse, Zhou Qingyu's voice came from behind her: "No need, we have cotton pads."
I don't know when, but he didn't leave.
Song Zheng looked at him, a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "Brother Zhou, why haven't you left yet?"
Song Zheng's gaze swept between the two of them, and his smile faded slightly: "In that case, I won't bother you any longer."
He placed the sponge mat at the doorway, saying, "It's better to have something than nothing. Comrade Chen will find it useful."
After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.
Watching Song Zheng's figure disappear, Jiang Wanzhou glared at Zhou Qingyu: "I can't have everything."
"Why not?" he raised an eyebrow.
Jiang Wanzhou was speechless, so she turned and walked into the yard, saying, "I can't be bothered with you!"
Zhou Qingyu watched her sullen back as her smile deepened.
He picked up the foam mat by the door and handed it to Shen Xinglian, who had followed him out: "Please accept Song Zheng's kindness."
Shen Xinglian took the sponge pad and said with a smile, "Thank you, Zhou Zhiqing."
She understood that Zhou Qingyu's seemingly ordinary words had subtly drawn a line between them.
"Of course," Zhou Qingyu nodded. "I'll help you fix the lock on the cellar when I get back tomorrow."
“No need to trouble yourself, we can fix it ourselves…” Shen Xinglian was interrupted before she could finish speaking.
“It’s not safe if the lock is broken.” He looked at Jiang Wanzhou, who was busy at the stove in the yard, and said in a serious tone.
After saying that, he turned and left.
Shen Xinglian walked into the house with a sponge mat and saw Jiang Wanzhou staring blankly at the stove. She couldn't help but laugh: "What are you thinking about? The fire's burning the edge of the pot."
Jiang Wanzhou was startled and quickly added firewood to the stove: "No... I wasn't thinking about anything."
"I think you're wondering who's more suitable, Zhou or Song, the educated youth?"
"Shen Xinglian!" Jiang Wanzhou's face turned even redder. "What nonsense are you talking about! I just think there's something strange about the two of them."
"What's so strange about that?" Shen Xinglian sat down to help her pick vegetables. "You're young and clever, it's normal for someone to have designs on you."
She paused, looking into Jiang Wanzhou's eyes, "But Wanzhou, you should keep in mind that these two educated youths have very different personalities."
Jiang Wanzhou lowered her head and remained silent.
Song Zheng was gentle and polite, while Zhou Qingyu was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. But right now, she was more concerned about how to make a good living, how to ensure Shen Xinglian's safe delivery, and how to save enough money for the day when the college entrance examination was reinstated.
As for those vague feelings of affection, they're like sparks; whether they can ignite into a flame is anyone's guess.
At noon, the two used the shepherd's purse that Zhou Qingyu had given them and the eggs they had recovered to make a pot of shepherd's purse and egg drop soup.
Egg drop soup floated on the emerald green shepherd's purse, its aroma filling the air; it was the most sumptuous meal in a while.
As Jiang Wanzhou sipped her soup, she thought of Zhou Qingyu.
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of these random thoughts—why think about these things?
First, prepare her writing project.
I've already written two articles, but I haven't received a reply yet.
If she weren't afraid of losing the election, she would have asked Zhou Qingyu to help her look for it at the post office.
Let's go when Xingxing is off work on the weekend.
Thinking this way, Jiang Wanzhou's heart fluttered much less.
The next day, Zhou Qingyu squatted at the entrance of the vegetable cellar, repairing the lock.
Jiang Wanzhou handed over the tools from the side, and Jiang Wanzhou was now speaking normally to Zhou Qingyu.
As if sensing her thoughts, Zhou Qingyu looked up at her, her eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't understand.
He didn't say anything, but checked the repaired lock again before standing up: "Okay, it's safe now."
"Thank you." Jiang Wanzhou handed him a cloth to wipe his sweat. "Go ahead and wipe yourself; you're all sweaty."
Zhou Qingyu took the cloth, wiped his sweat, and looked at her, saying seriously, "Jiang Wanzhou, I'm serious."
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