Or was she testing him?
Rong Zhaonan's eyes flickered slightly, and he decisively changed the subject: "Didn't you ask me to fix the roof?"
Ning Yuan then realized that Rong Zhaonan was on the roof beam to repair the roof.
She looked up at the roof and, sure enough, could no longer see any light leaking through.
Although it wasn't properly repaired with tiles, the leak had been sealed with a thick cover made of straw and wooden strips.
She looked puzzled: "You know how to fix roofs? Then why didn't you fix them before?"
He's been sent down to the countryside for several years now. This little hut next to the cowshed is drafty and leaky; it's so torturous.
Rong Zhaonan said indifferently, "Because I'm lazy."
Ning Yuan was drinking water: "Cough cough cough..."
As expected of a big shot, his answer was concise and hit the nail on the head.
She couldn't help but wipe her mouth: "Then why did you fix the roof when I asked you to?"
Rong Zhaonan looked her up and down: "If I don't agree, you'll climb up and fix the roof yourself, so I'll do it."
Ning Yuan laughed: "Since you're so lazy, just leave it for me to fix!"
This big shot is actually quite a warm-hearted guy.
Rong Zhaonan adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and said emotionlessly, "You're not very strong, so you'll most likely fall off the roof beam and get injured. I'll be the one taking care of you. I hate trouble."
Ning Yuan choked: "..."
It turns out that Boss Rong was too lazy to take care of himself in case he got hurt.
She takes back what she said about him being a nice guy!
"Don't worry, I don't need you to take care of me, I don't owe you anything," Ning Yuan said with a forced smile, casually tossing a shoebox in front of him.
Rong Zhaonan paused, looked down at the shoebox, inside was a new pair of men's yellow cloth rubber shoes.
He picked it up and saw that it was exactly his size.
A strange glint flashed in the man's narrow eyes: "For me?"
“Yes, you fixed the roof, right? This is your payment, two yuan a pair.” Ning Yuan tossed her braid and turned to prepare lunch.
No wonder Rong Zhaonan was later treated so badly; with just one word from him, he could offend everyone.
As a result, during his years of being sent to the countryside, the only low-key thing he learned was to keep quiet and stand in the corner like a melon.
The word "winter melon" still makes people feel nauseous and uncomfortable.
After watching Ning Yuan's slender figure leave with buckets, vegetable baskets, and other tools, Rong Zhaonan lowered his eyes and looked at the rubber shoes in his hand.
He didn't stand on ceremony and sat down, then put his shoes on.
Behind Rong Zhaonan's glasses, his handsome face revealed a strange and complex expression.
His own yellow cloth rubber shoes, worn for so many years, have been patched up in several places and are almost unusable.
He once applied to go to the brigade's supply and marketing cooperative to buy shoes.
However, when they came to inspect the red armband on his submitted ideological report, they did not approve it, and instead ridiculed him, criticizing him for lacking the spirit of hard work and frugality.
After that incident, he never submitted any reports to the supply and marketing cooperative again, preferring to weave straw sandals for himself from then on.
Ning Yuan, that little spy, actually noticed that his shoes were almost unwearable...
Rong Zhaonan silently curved the corners of his lips, if this was one of her methods to get closer to him.
So he had to admit that it did have some effect.
We still need to be wary of the sugar-coated bullets from enemy agents...
...
Ning Yuan went to the stream again, but this time she fished while cutting down bamboo along the way.
She shaved bamboo strips and began weaving shrimp traps.
If the bamboo strips are too thick, it's very troublesome to weave shrimp traps. When bending the bamboo strips, it's easy to cut your hands. If they are too thin, they are easy to break.
She worked on it for quite a while, and except for the first shrimp trap which took her a little longer, she finished the next few simple shrimp traps in no time.
Ning Yuan threaded the earthworms she caught onto bamboo strips and stuffed them into several shrimp traps as bait. Then she put the five shrimp traps into the stream.
This cage can catch not only small shrimp, but also quite a few fish.
The cage has a large belly and a thin neck, with a funnel-shaped entrance made of woven bamboo strips inside.
Inside the funnel, some umbrella-shaped bamboo thorns with sharp ends are left, tilting inwards.
When fish and shrimp greedily enter the cage, they will be pricked by the bamboo spikes at the cage's exit when they try to get out.
By the time she finished work at nightfall, she had two eels in her shrimp trap, plus three bass she had caught, so she could have a good meal tonight.
Ning Yuan cleaned the fish neatly by the river, put the cleaned fish into the fish basket, and then put the shrimp trap back into the stream.
She happily avoided people, carrying her fish basket, and crept back to the cowshed in the dark.
Rong Zhaonan had just settled all the cattle, and came out of the cowshed with a head full of straw and a bucket of hay.
Ning Yuan glanced at his worn-out yellow rubber shoes and muttered unhappily, "What's wrong? Is the shoe size wrong? Or do you not like the shoes I bought?"
Rong Zhaonan patted the straw off his head: "There's no need to wear proper shoes into the cowshed."
Ning Yuan was taken aback; it turned out he was reluctant to wear it.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He should be a man of exceptional talent and privilege, yet he was so worn out that he couldn't even afford a pair of rubber shoes.
She sighed: "Shoes are meant to be worn, otherwise are you going to wait for them to wear out and keep wearing worn-out shoes?"
Later, society became much wealthier, but many elderly people were used to being frugal.
They couldn't bear to eat the good meat and vegetables their children and grandchildren brought, so they left them in the refrigerator until they were about to spoil. It seemed a waste to throw them away, so they took them out to eat, only to get sick and end up in the hospital, spending even more money.
Rong Zhaonan looked into Ning Yuan's big eyes and coughed lightly, "Okay, I'll go change my shoes."
As he spoke, he put down the hay bucket and followed her into the room.
Ning Yuan rolled her eyes at him without any politeness: "What are you changing now? You stink all over. Take a shower."
With that, she turned and went inside.
Rong Zhaonan's expression was a little unpleasant. He subconsciously lowered his head and sniffed himself before going to take a shower with a dark face.
The smell is too strong!
Ning Yuan took an old aluminum pot from the back stove and started cooking porridge.
She originally wanted to make stir-fried eel slices, but she forgot to prepare the chili peppers today, so she decided to just use the eel to make porridge instead!
The shredded eel was marinated with ginger slices and pepper that she had specially bought today. Once the porridge boiled, she put the shredded eel into the pot and cooked it until it released a rich aroma.
Ning Yuan continued to hold up the tree branch, skewer the three bass, and place them on the small stove to roast, the heat from the firewood enveloping the fish.
The fish oil gave off a caramelized aroma, and the fish was brushed with soy sauce and salt, along with ginger, scallions, and wild perilla, the flavors of which permeated the fish.
Fish oil dripped onto the firewood, and the ginger, scallions, and wild perilla spices from the fish's belly once again filled the air.
Rong Zhaonan took a shower and came out with his hair still wet. He couldn't help but sniff the fragrance.
"Fortunately, the cowshed is at the foot of the mountain, far from where most people live. Otherwise, if you keep undermining the public's interests every day, you would be dragged out for public criticism, forced to cut off your capitalist tail, and make a self-criticism tomorrow."
Ning Yuan flipped the fish in her hand, rolling her eyes at him as she did so: "Heh, afraid of being cut off from the capitalist tail? Then you don't have to eat it."
When I looked up, I saw his beautifully muscular upper body, bare and naked.
Her face immediately turned red: "You're not wearing any clothes, go put some on!"
Seeing her blushing and embarrassed expression, Rong Zhaonan chuckled and turned to go back into the house: "Oh, but I was wearing pants."
He had been living here alone for several years. It was too hot, and he really wasn't used to having to put on a shirt after taking a shower.
How can a junior spy carry out a mission if he gets shy when he sees a man's body?
Ning Yuan couldn't help but pat her face and quickly got up to go to the back stove to check on the eel porridge.
She's an 'old lady' who's lived for decades, yet she acts like a young girl, blushing when she sees a young man with his upper body exposed.
As soon as Ning Yuan turned into the back kitchen, she suddenly saw a dark figure pick up her pot of eel porridge and run away down the back path!
"Stop! Put down my pot! Someone's stealing!" Ning Yuan was startled and panicked, immediately chasing after them.
That was her and Rong Zhaonan's dinner!
As darkness fell, the shadowy figure saw her chasing after it, suddenly stopped, and smashed something hard against her head.
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