The next day.
Zhong Yanling used the excuse that she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to go back to work at the commune.
“Then I’ll make a call back to the brick factory, and we’ll both ask for a day off,” Lu Jiefang said.
"Don't."
Zhong Yanling quickly stopped him, "You should go to work. Don't let me delay your work. I'm just a little dizzy. I should be fine after resting. When you go to the factory, please ask for a day off for me."
Seeing that she seemed to be really okay, Lu Jiefang realized that if he asked for leave, he wouldn't be able to find someone to take over his shift.
"Alright, you should rest well at home. If you really feel unwell, go to A Yuan's house and ask his wife or Uncle Gao to take a look. They are both very skilled doctors."
Zhong Yanling nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, if I still feel unwell later, I'll have my younger brother take me there."
Lu Jiefang said, "Then I'll go and tell Yuan Chao that if you're not feeling well later, you can ask him for help."
"good."
Zhong Yanling was secretly delighted; now she had an excuse to meet him alone.
After Lu Jiefang left, Zhong Yanling pretended to lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a while.
Wang Hongmei was also going to work at the sanatorium, and Lu Guoan was busy at the brigade headquarters. Lu Yuanchao was instructed to stay at home and keep an eye on his future sister-in-law's condition. He went to tell Xu Dong that he wouldn't be going to the supply and marketing cooperative to collect medicine today, and then went home.
One of the two elderly people in the family was weeding in their private plot, and the other was feeding the chickens at home. Lu Yuanchao, who couldn't stay idle at home, chopped firewood in a corner of the yard.
Zhong Yanling lay down for a while and then got up and went straight to the yard.
"Yuanchao, you're chopping wood? I'm free anyway, I'll help you stack the chopped wood."
"No need, Second Sister-in-law, I'll take care of it later."
Zhong Yanling ignored whether he refused or not and went forward to start stacking firewood.
Lu Yuanchao had no choice but to stop chopping wood and start stacking it himself.
He was quick and didn't chop much; he finished tidying it up in no time.
Zhong Yanling started looking for something else to do. She went to the kitchen, got a wooden basin, and then went from room to room looking for dirty clothes.
"Second sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
Zhong Yanling replied with a smile, "I feel much better. I don't have anything else to do, so I went to the river to wash the dirty clothes at home."
Lu Yuanchao objected and snatched the wooden basin away.
"Second sister-in-law, my second brother told me that you are not feeling well today, so you should stay home and rest."
“I was indeed feeling unwell before, but I’m much better now. I feel uncomfortable just sitting around doing nothing. Please let me do the laundry.”
He then snatched the wooden basin back.
She has to wash these clothes today, and not only that, she has to get Lu Yuanchao to do it too.
When they reach the riverbank, if she gets dizzy again and falls into the river, this person will definitely jump in to save her.
The two were soaking wet and huddled together, wearing only one piece of clothing in this season. How could their innocence be proven?
If she makes a scene and threatens suicide, Lu Yuanchao will have no choice but to take responsibility. In that case, it would be only natural for her to change her fiancé.
"Second sister-in-law, you really don't need to do the laundry. If second brother comes back and finds out that I made you do the laundry, he will definitely scold me."
Lu Yuanchao tried to snatch the wooden basin again, but Zhong Yanling dodged him.
"Don't worry, we just won't tell him, he won't know."
"Also, stop calling me 'Second Sister-in-law' all the time. Your second brother and I aren't married yet, and we haven't even held hands. It makes me very embarrassed if you call me that."
Lu Yuanchao scratched her head. Something about that sounded strange. Could she just casually bring up whether she and her second brother had ever held hands?
"Then I'll call you Sister Ling."
The other person is two years older than him, so it's probably right for him to call her "sister" instead of "second sister-in-law."
Zhong Yanling glanced at him.
"Whatever you like, call me 'sister' or call me by my name."
As he spoke, he picked up the wooden basin and walked out of the courtyard.
"If you're really worried, you can come along. If I feel unwell again, I'll let you know, and you can take me to see Dr. Gao and the others."
Seeing that she insisted, Lu Yuanchao didn't want to stop her any longer, so he quickly followed her.
Thinking to himself that his future sister-in-law was quite diligent, she even helped the whole family with their laundry.
Lu Yuanchao led his men to the riverbank, where several aunties, older women, young girls, and young wives were already washing clothes.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they washed, creating a lively atmosphere.
Lu Yuanchao spotted Jia Liqin there immediately, and his eyes were glued to her.
Jia Liqin came to do laundry with Wei Wenshu today, and the two girls immediately felt the intense gaze.
As Wei Wenshu washed the clothes, she chuckled and teased in a low voice, "Sister Liqin, that Comrade Lu San is looking at you again."
The brigade leader had three sons, and they all called him Comrade Lu, which always confused them. So they added a birth order to distinguish them.
Jia Liqin looked up for a moment, then immediately lowered her head, her cheeks flushed.
"Don't talk nonsense. There are so many people here; they might be looking at someone else."
That being said, she sensed today that this person was different from usual. Although he was usually very attentive, he would restrain himself somewhat in front of unfamiliar villagers and wouldn't stare at her so openly.
“I’m not lying, Sister Liqin, he really is looking at you.”
Wei Wenshu chuckled and whispered in Jia Liqin's ear, "Sister Liqin, Lu San definitely likes you. He's always been incredibly attentive to you, and today he's even more outrageous, openly staring at you and grinning like an idiot."
Jia Liqin wished she could gag her with clothes.
"Stop talking, what do you know, you're just a little girl."
Wei Wenshu retorted, "I'm 16 already, what don't I understand?"
Even though she's young and has never been in a relationship, you can still tell something from her.
She discovered that if someone truly likes another person, it's very difficult to hide the love in their eyes.
Zhong Yanling noticed that Lu Yuanchao had been staring in a certain direction ever since he arrived at the riverbank. Following his gaze, she saw two girls not far away.
The two of them stood a distance away from the others, looking somewhat out of place.
Zhong Yanling immediately guessed their identities; they were probably people from the cowshed.
The older girl who is more pretty is probably the one Lu Yuanchao likes.
Zhong Yanling scoffed inwardly. No wonder Lu Yuanchao was so infatuated; he certainly had the looks to seduce people.
She put the clothes down, took them all out of the basin, wet them, and placed them on a nearby stone.
He deliberately left a few pieces of clothing in the water without retrieving them, and then pretended to exclaim in surprise, "Oh no, my clothes!" once they had drifted far away.
He was about to go into the water to retrieve his clothes when he slipped and fell into the water after only a few steps.
"Ahhh, help!"
Zhong Yanling exclaimed in surprise and frantically thrashed about in the water.
"Oh no! Jiefang's boyfriend has fallen into the water! Help!" The other people washing clothes nearby were jumping up and down in a panic.
Lu Yuanchao was shocked and hurriedly prepared to go into the water, but was stopped by an aunt.
“Oh dear, Yuanchao, you can’t go down there. She’s your second brother’s girlfriend. If you rescue her, you’ll ruin her reputation. How will she live with that?”
Lu Yuanchao was extremely anxious, "But we can't just stand by and watch someone die, we can't worry about that now."
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