*
Having resolved his worries, He Monian's eyebrows were filled with smiles. He walked slowly down the road, his mind still replaying the words "partner" and "marriage".
Nanqing is his girlfriend, what a lovely title.
If only... it were true.
He walked to the edge of the square and saw Nanqing sitting on the small stool in the distance, supporting her fair face with her hands covered in thick cotton gloves.
She didn't know what the children surrounding her were saying, but she suddenly laughed very happily.
Her little face, wrapped in a fluffy hat, was flushed with a smile, and a few stray hairs fell from her temples onto her bright red lips. Even her beautiful big eyes were now curved into crescent shapes, making her incredibly adorable.
He Monian raised his right hand and placed it on his left chest. He suddenly felt a warm, swollen, and tingling sensation in his chest.
Even his entire left arm and chest felt numb and hot.
"A smile that outshines the stars"—He Monian didn't know where he had heard this line of poetry, but at that moment, only this sentence remained in his mind to describe his current state of mind.
Many people say that the starry sky is the most beautiful color in the world, but his beloved is clearly more beautiful than the stars.
It was a kind of beauty etched deep in his soul, and also a kind of obsession etched deep in his soul.
He walked slowly beside Nan Qing, forcefully carving out a spot from the group of children, and then, taking advantage of their inattention, secretly slipped a piece of her favorite orange-flavored fruit candy into Nan Qing's little hand.
Nan Qing, who felt He Monian secretly slip something to her, quietly opened her palm to look at it. She saw that it was a fruit candy wrapped in colored cellophane and smiled at He Monian with delight.
She slipped the fruit candy into her glove, intending to eat it later.
The distribution of pork in the brigade was particularly lively. The entire Xiangyang brigade has more than 100 households, and almost every family in the brigade gathered near the square when the meat was distributed, so it could be described as a sea of people.
He Monian and Nan Qing received a total of 2.5 jin of pork and a pig leg. The brigade's meat was distributed according to the number of people and their work points, so the 2 jin of pork and the pig leg were He Monian's share.
As a sent-down youth, Nanqing didn't contribute many work points, so in the end she only received half a pound of pork, but Nanqing didn't have any objections to that.
She didn't actually do much labor, earning only 2 work points a day. The rest of the work points were completed for her by He Monian, so she was already very happy to receive half a pound of pork.
He Monian didn't want the fatty parts of the two and a half pounds of pork that everyone liked; he only wanted some pork belly and some lean meat that wasn't so popular.
Nan Qing has always liked to eat meat, but no matter how much she eats, she doesn't gain weight, which makes He Monian particularly frustrated. He really wanted to fatten up his Qingqing to be more chubby and fair-skinned, with a round face, which would be so cute.
He had saved up a lot of allowances, and Nanqing had a lot of various tickets. The packages sent from the capital every month would also include some dried meat, so Nanqing never lacked meat to eat.
Of the entire brigade, their family was arguably the best off, eating meat almost every day, yet Nanqing still didn't gain weight.
However, even after three or four months with the team, Nanqing still looks the same fair and soft-looking person. She hasn't gained any weight, nor has she lost weight or gotten darker. Nanqing herself is very satisfied with this.
With the pork distributed by the brigade, everyone's face was filled with bright smiles. After receiving their meat, the families happily carried it home. Nan Qing and He Monian also took their pork and Nan Qing's special little stool home after receiving theirs.
In the following days, since they no longer had to do collective labor, Nanqing and He Monian went to Jiangcheng every day to buy a lot of snacks for the New Year, as well as paper-cut window decorations and couplets.
Lunar New Year's Eve is the last day of the year, and it's also a day when people stay up late after having their New Year's Eve dinner.
Today, He Monian cooked a lot of dishes, filling an entire table, and almost all of them were dishes that Nan Qing particularly liked.
So Nanqing ate a particularly large meal today, and after finishing, she continued to lie on the recliner under the eaves, swaying back and forth.
After washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, He Monian took Nan Qing's hat, scarf, gloves, and other items from the stool in the main room and squatted down next to Nan Qing's recliner.
"Nanqing, would you like to go up the mountain for a stroll? There's a plum blossom grove not far from the back of the mountain, and it should be in full bloom right now."
Nan Qing was already feeling a little full, and she kept touching her round belly. When she heard He Monian's words, she immediately opened her bright eyes and looked at him.
You know, normally when she told He Monian she wanted to go up the mountain, he would say it wasn't safe and the road was difficult to walk. But now that it was already dark, he actually offered to take her up the mountain.
What was she afraid of? It was dark, so what? She loved the mountains and forests. As long as it wasn't like when a barking dog suddenly jumped out like it did when she first arrived, she wasn't afraid at all!
Nan Qing took her gloves and hat from He Monian and put them on. With He Monian's help, she put on the super thick coat.
After making sure she was warm enough, she and He Monian walked together toward the back of the mountain, using a not-so-bright flashlight.
The mountain road was indeed difficult to travel, winding and full of potholes, rocks, and bushes that could easily trip people up.
So at first, Nan Qing was walking with He Monian's arm, but as they walked, He Monian started holding her gloved hand tightly as they walked together.
Nan Qing walked slowly, so it took about half an hour before He Monian said they would arrive soon.
She looked around at the pitch-black surroundings. The snow had been falling heavily for some time, so everything was white under the flashlight.
The woods were quiet at night. The plum blossom grove that He Monian mentioned was on the outskirts, so there were no traces of other animals there.
When Nan Qing arrived at the plum blossom grove that He Monian had mentioned, her view suddenly opened up, and she found herself in a valley.
And this not-so-large valley was completely covered with bright red plum blossoms.
He Monian shone his flashlight forward, and in the dim light, Nan Qing could clearly see plum blossoms in full bloom, with some flowers and branches even covered with thick, white snow.
"He Monian, this place is so beautiful~"
Nan Qing looked down at her feet and slowly walked forward, her nose catching the unique, cool fragrance of plum blossoms.
He Monian followed closely beside her, their hands clasped together without ever letting go. Upon hearing Nan Qing's words, he tilted his head, his bright black pupils fixed on Nan Qing's profile, his Adam's apple bobbing as he let out a low, deep voice.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
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