He held Wu Lili's clothes, which she had left on the shore, and wrapped them tightly around her as soon as they got wet.
"Are you alright, Wu Zhiqing?"
Wu Lili went to great lengths to keep Feng Chao, even faking a leg cramp very convincingly.
"Teacher Feng, I can't move my legs, please don't let go of me!"
She threw herself onto Feng Chao, rubbing against him all over.
“Wu Zhiqing, you…”
Feng Chao sensed something was wrong, but he didn't think about it any further.
"Ouch! That hurts! My leg is cramping again!"
Wu Lili had already put her legs on Feng Chao's body; she was determined to have him.
Finally, Feng Chao managed to bring her to the shore. Both of them were soaked to the bone, especially Wu Lili.
Her white shirt clung to her body, offering no real coverage whatsoever.
"Teacher Feng, thank you so much just now, otherwise I would have..."
Wu Lili looked frail and boneless, clutching her clothes as if she were naked, and looked at Feng Chao in a coquettish manner.
Feng Chao was panting heavily and didn't dare to look at her at all.
"I'm glad you're alright. I was just passing by, I'll be going now."
After Feng Chao finished speaking, he got up and tried to leave, but Wu Lili grabbed his leg.
"Teacher Feng, please don't leave! If you leave, how am I supposed to get home looking like this?"
Wu Lili's clothes were all wet, and it was indeed inappropriate for her to go out like this.
"Then I'll start a fire and dry your clothes."
Feng Chao still didn't dare to look at Wu Lili, and simply walked to the side in silence.
In the middle of this reed marsh, there is a small clearing, just enough to start a fire.
It was already afternoon work time, so no one would be coming.
Under the blazing sun, Feng Chao's clothes dried quickly, but Wu Lili's clothes, being pure cotton, wouldn't dry for a while.
Feng Chao draped his clothes over Wu Lili, leaving himself shirtless.
The two sat around a small fire, with Wu Lili's clothes hanging between them.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Seeing that her clothes were almost dry, Wu Lili became a little anxious.
When Feng Chao handed her the clothes, Wu Lili took the opportunity to grab Feng Chao's hand.
The two locked eyes.
No one knows who started it, but naturally, something happened between the two of them.
After it was over, Feng Chao felt lost.
He just lost the love he wanted today, so what does this mean?
Wu Lili nestled against him, looking at him with a touch of shyness.
"Wu Zhiqing, about today's events..."
"Teacher Feng, what do you think of me?"
Wu Lili knew what Feng Chao wanted to say, so instead of answering, she asked him a question, taking the initiative.
“Wu Zhiqing, you should speak reasonably.”
Feng Chao suddenly became serious, making Wu Lili feel like she was talking to a stranger.
"I... you were the one who peeked at me first!"
But Wu Lili refused to believe it and insisted on testing his patience.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Wu Zhiqing, do you have any evidence?"
"I, you..."
"Alright, Wu Zhiqing, let's leave it at that for today!"
Feng Chao looked at Wu Lili and suddenly said gently, "Go back and get some rest. I'll talk to the captain and we won't assign you any work for the next few days."
Wu Lili felt very wronged. She never expected Feng Chao to treat her like this. Was she really that worthless in his eyes?
"Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly. I remember there's still a spot for returning to the city next year!"
Upon hearing Feng Chao's words, she seemed to come back to life instantly, struggling to open her eyes wide.
"Really? Teacher Feng, you're so kind!"
It seems that Feng Chao suddenly had an epiphany today, no longer as rigid and feudal as before.
The two people who are getting engaged are unaware of what is happening here; they are currently undergoing some local ceremonies.
The main purpose is for the two people who are engaged to exchange some tokens of their affection.
A small amount of rice and flour wrapped in colored paper symbolizes a rice and flour couple; a packet of mugwort leaves, with "mugwort" being a homophone for "love"; and two dried fish, symbolizing abundance.
Then it was wrapped in a red cloth and tied with red and green ribbons, with copper coins tied to both ends of the ribbons, supposedly so that the Old Man Under the Moon would connect the man and woman with a red thread.
A few pine or cypress branches are inserted into the hair tie, symbolizing that marriage, like pine and cypress, will be evergreen and flourishing. (Note)
By the time the entire ceremony ended, it was already dark.
Li Xiuhua prepared another sumptuous dinner, consisting mainly of vegetables grown in her own garden, and they ate almost everything.
It is worth mentioning that Lin Aiguo suggested that the two families hold their banquets together instead of separately.
Although the current conditions are not very good, very few people would take the initiative to suggest combining the banquets into one event.
The wedding date has been set for the beginning of next month.
The betrothal gifts given by Gu Shi all ended up in Lin Aiguo's hands, and he was overjoyed all day long.
That evening, the group sat in the courtyard talking when Li Xiuhua made a suggestion.
"Tomorrow I'll take Xiaoyu to the county to buy some fabric and make her some new clothes."
Unexpectedly, Lin Aiguo, who had so much money in his hands, suddenly changed his expression and said, "No, just make two. Where would we get so much money at home!"
Li Xiuhua neither said yes nor no, but simply continued speaking.
"We also need to prepare several quilts, and we have to buy the lining and cotton."
"What did you say? How can it cost so much money to marry off a daughter?"
Lin Aiguo stared wide-eyed at Li Xiuhua in disbelief.
Li Xiuhua didn't say anything more after that.
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