The midday sun was at its most intense, and Song Yueying had been outside in the sun for quite some time, making her feel a little dizzy. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she smelled a strange odor.
"What's that smell?" Following the smell, I turned my head and saw Qi Yanjue squatting in the corner plucking chicken feathers.
She remembered that when she first woke up, her mother said that Qi Yanjue had gone to the mountains to catch wild pheasants to nourish her body. She didn't feel anything at the time, but now she felt a little excited.
"We'll have pheasant for lunch today," Song Yueying thought, suppressing her upturned lips and turning her gaze toward the kitchen.
Hearing her footsteps as she left, Qi Yanjue paused in plucking the chicken feathers.
He heard her footsteps when she was still some distance from the courtyard. He pretended not to know she was coming back so that she would walk towards him on her own.
Unexpectedly, she walked towards the kitchen.
"Little Shadow's back!" Seeing her daughter walk into the kitchen, Song's mother, who was sitting by the stove tending the fire, stood up. On the stove, rice was steaming in a small iron pot.
Song's mother walked up to Song Yueying and asked softly, "Xiao Qi is back, did you see him?"
As she spoke, she glanced towards the door.
Song Yueying was amused by her actions and whispered, "I saw it, he's plucking pheasant feathers outside. We'll have pheasant for lunch today."
“Yes, let’s have pheasant for lunch.” Song’s mother nodded in agreement, her smile growing even brighter. “I can’t even remember the last time we had pheasant.”
"Xiao Qi is really amazing. He said he would go up the mountain to catch a pheasant to help you recover, and he actually caught one."
"I'm only able to eat pheasant because of you."
That makes sense… Song Yueying smiled and didn’t respond. Seeing the beads of sweat rolling down her mother’s forehead, she said, “It’s hot in the kitchen, and it’s even hotter when you’re tending the fire.”
Why didn't you put the firewood in the stove before leaving?
"I'm cooking rice. If I don't keep an eye on it, the rice will burn and we won't be able to eat it!" Song's mother smiled and rolled her eyes at her. Her daughter couldn't cook or stir-fry, all because she spoiled her.
Ever since her daughter got married and left her, she has started to regret spoiling her.
A woman who can't cook is looked down upon by her in-laws; it's all her fault. Fortunately, her daughter came back to her side a year ago.
The villagers all said that her son-in-law had died, and her daughter was a widow just like her, but with a better reputation, called the widow of a martyr.
She didn't believe what the villagers said, firmly believing that her son-in-law would come back. Look, he's back now, and he even went into the mountains to catch pheasants to nourish her daughter.
Seeing that Song's mother seemed lost in memories, Song Yueying did not disturb her. She walked to the stone water vat and picked up a gourd ladle to scoop water.
"Little Shadow, what are you doing scooping water?" Song's mother asked as she followed.
"Wash your hands," Song Yueying replied, taking the gourd ladle to the kitchen where wastewater was usually disposed of. It was actually just a hole slightly larger than a bowl.
Upon hearing that her daughter wanted to wash her hands, Song's mother wiped the sweat from her forehead. She walked over and quickly took the gourd ladle from her hand, saying, "I'll pour you some water so you can wash your hands."
Song Yueying paused for a moment before replying, "Okay."
"Young Wang, a former educated youth, came to call you to go to the fields to treat someone's injuries. How badly are they injured?" Song's mother asked casually, tilting the gourd ladle in her hand to slowly pour out water.
Song Yueying stretched out her hands and rubbed them. "I have a cut on my calf. It's not serious since it didn't damage any tendons. But because the cut is so long, I had to get several stitches, so it's not a minor injury."
"In general, ten days to two weeks of rest should be enough!"
"It needs stitches, is it that serious?" Song's mother sighed. "It will take ten days to half a month to heal, which means it will just avoid the double harvest season this year."
"Yes, it just so happened that we avoided the double robbery." Song Yueying nodded in agreement, recalling the strange feeling lingering on her uncle's leg wound.
Then, thinking of the shameless things Wang Muxiang had said, he realized that she wouldn't let it go so easily if he hadn't fallen for her tricks.
To prevent Wang Muxiang from targeting Song's mother, Song Yueying decided to give her mother a heads-up first, "By the way, Mom, do you want to guess who the injured person is?"
"Who is it?" Song's mother asked directly, her tone tinged with curiosity.
“Uncle Song, Uncle Song who lives next door,” Song Yueying replied directly without keeping anyone in suspense.
“He’s injured again.” Song’s mother blurted out these words without thinking.
"Again?" That word "again" is intriguing! Song Yueying asked in confusion, "Mom, why would you say that Uncle is injured again? Has he been injured before?"
“He was injured! Last year, he cut his hand.” Song’s mother replied, “He bled a lot, I don’t know if he needed stitches.”
"Because you weren't there, there was no doctor in the village, so everyone took him to the town's health center to treat his injuries."
"By the time he recovers from his injury, both the busy harvest season and the spring planting season will be over."
"The team leader's face was dark for several days because one less person was needed to work, which affected the speed of the double harvest."
Uncle Song has a criminal record; he cut his hand last year and his calf this year… If you say he didn’t intentionally injure himself to avoid being robbed, Song Yueying would be the first to disbelieve it.
This Uncle Song is something else! He's ruthless even to himself; he's tough enough.
He'd used the same trick twice, and no one suspected him—that was quite a feat. Her family wouldn't associate with someone so selfish and inconsiderate.
Since Uncle Song had a criminal record, Song Yueying said directly, "After bandaging Uncle Song's wound, Wang Muxiang asked me to take care of Uncle Song because I had nothing to do at home."
"They said he didn't need any special care, just to bring him water and three meals a day."
“I didn’t agree, Mom. If Wang Muxiang and Song Rumeng come to ask you to take care of Uncle, I hope you won’t agree either.”
"What?!" Mother Song threw the gourd ladle she was holding onto the stove, put her hands on her hips, and exclaimed, "Wang Muxiang, that shameless wretch, she's worse than a pig or a dog!"
"You're being asked to take care of Boss Song again? What right does she have? Are she and Song Rumeng dead?"
Again, again, even without Song's mother saying anything, Song Yueying could guess what was going on.
It turns out that not only Uncle Song had a criminal record, but Wang Muxiang also had a long criminal history. Wang Muxiang's shamelessness shattered her worldview.
This is truly unprecedented.
Song's mother was still angrily saying, "Last year, she asked me to take care of Song's eldest son, saying that I had nothing to do and that I didn't need to do anything except deliver water and three meals a day."
They couldn't even be bothered to change their wording; did they really think the mother and daughter were idiots? Song Yueying was speechless. She asked her mother, "You agreed to take care of them?"
"I'd never agree to that!" Song's mother cursed angrily. "Wang Muxiang may be shameless, but I still have my pride. Who does Song Laoda think he is, asking me to take care of him? Does he have any nerve?!"
"Let me, a sister-in-law and a widow, take care of my brother-in-law."
"Only someone as shameless and reckless as Wang Muxiang could come up with such a disgusting idea."
"No way, I'm going to beat up Wang Muxiang. That shameless bastard, she just messes with my daughter and me."
Song's mother was furious, grabbed a wooden stick, and headed out. Song Yueying quickly blocked her way and comforted her, "Don't be angry, don't be angry! It's not worth getting angry over such a nasty person."
"Besides, if you go and beat her up now, you're not teaching her a lesson, you're helping her. She'll use that as an excuse to say that you hurt her and refuse to go to work."
"When that happens, the team leader will lose another worker and will definitely blame you."
"It's not worth it, let's not be the good guys."
After thinking about it, Song's mother realized that her daughter was right. She grabbed Song Yueying's wrist and said urgently, "Little Yingying, don't agree to take care of Song Laoda."
"Even if Song Rumeng comes to you crying her heart out, you must not agree to her request, understand?"
"The excuses about bringing water and food are all lies. That family is no good, and anyone who gets involved with them will be doomed."
"Yes, I know, don't worry." Song Yueying nodded, and seeing that her mother was still worried, she added, "I haven't agreed, and I won't agree no matter who tells me."
"Including Song Rumeng."
"Mom, I've actually seen through Song Rumeng. All she knows is how to say nice things to coax me, act pitiful and weak in front of me, and that's all she can do."
"Do you really think Song Rumeng is deceiving you?" Song's mother asked.
“She’s been lying to me all along.” Song Yueying said with certainty. She glanced at the gourd ladle that her mother had thrown on the stove. “Could you please fetch me some more water? My hands aren’t clean yet.”
"Alright, alright." Song's mother gave her a doting look, walked over, picked up the gourd ladle, and started scooping water.
Song's mother continued to pour water, and Song Yueying continued to wash her hands.
“Every year during the double harvest season is busy, and this year there’s one less person to do the work. The team leader will definitely be unhappy again!” Song’s mother sighed.
"The captain seems a little unhappy, but there's nothing we can do about it." Song Yueying washed her hands and shook off the water.
A drop of water landed on Song's mother's face, and both Song Yueying and her mother froze in surprise. Then, Song's mother reached out and gently patted her on the back.
He laughed and scolded, "You naughty kid, you splashed water all over my face."
With these words, the atmosphere between the mother and daughter instantly became lively.
"Really? Really? Let me see, let me see." Song Yueying smiled slyly, pretending to lean closer to take a look, her wet hand touching her mother's face.
After touching it, she ran out of the kitchen. Song's mother laughed and scolded her for being a bad child, but she didn't chase after her.
Song Yueying turned her head and saw Qi Yanjue in the corner. His trousers were rolled up to his knees, and there were several scabbed scratches on his muscular calves.
His eyes widened in surprise. How could he have come back injured from his trip to the mountains?
Song Yueying walked towards him, and only when she got closer did she see clearly that the pheasant in his hand had no feathers left, and the wet feathers were piled up at his feet.
He was holding the chicken's head and carefully plucking the fine feathers from it.
"You're back?" Qi Yanjue didn't even look up, his voice was low and slow, but his hands moved quickly.
The midday sun was blazing down, making you feel like you were about to burst into flames. Song Yueying frowned at Qi Yanjue, "Why don't you go somewhere in the shade?"
“This place is suitable,” Qi Yanjue replied, still not looking at her.
"But the sun is so strong here!" Song Yueying didn't know what was suitable or unsuitable; all she knew was that the sun was so strong it felt like she was about to burst into flames.
She was already suffering enough from the sun in the fields, and now this additional heat is simply unbearable. Especially since the sun can turn people into black lumps of coal.
Qi Yanjue paused. If he suspected she was concerned about him after the first sentence, then he had no doubt that she was indeed concerned about him after the second.
My parched heart felt as if a warm current had been injected into it, making me feel warm and cozy.
Looking up, Qi Yanjue gazed at Song Yueying, who was standing with her back to the light. There was no discomfort from the glare, because her petite figure perfectly blocked the scorching sun.
Her little face was flushed from the sun, like a ripe peach, making you want to take a bite.
Qi Yanjue said, "It is indeed a bit sunny here. You should go back inside first."
He looked up, and Song Yueying saw that he was covered in sweat. A bead of sweat rolled down his handsome face, down his firm jawline.
He stared at the bead of sweat until it disappeared into his black shirt.
Song Yueying subconsciously swallowed, but the words slipped out without thinking, "Qi Yanjue, you look very good in a black shirt, very stylish, but it's not suitable for summer."
Qi Yanjue was taken aback. Before he could even savor the praise, he heard her say that he smelled? What smell? What kind of smell could a person have in the middle of summer?
It's the smell of sweat!
The sun was so strong and the weather so hot that you'd sweat even with the slightest movement. Besides, he'd gone into the mountains that morning to catch pheasants, and his clothes were soaked with sweat before the sun dried them.
It would be strange if the smell was faint; she was standing right next to him, so she could definitely smell his sweat. Qi Yanjue's sun-tanned face also turned red, embarrassed.
He wasn't good at explaining things, so he simply reminded her, "I do smell a bit strong, but if you stay away from me, you shouldn't be able to smell it."
Ah! How could she say such provocative things? Realizing what she had said, Song Yueying screamed inwardly, her face turning bright red.
Hearing Qi Yanjue's words, she felt utterly ashamed and embarrassed, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and bury herself.
“Which…that’s not what I meant. I said you have a smell, not that you have a smell, I meant…I meant…” Song Yueying stammered.
What can I say? I can't exactly say that the other meaning of the phrase "having flavor" is to provoke or tease someone.
She felt that if she dared to say that, Qi Yanjue would definitely abandon the pheasant and run away.
"What I wanted to say was... the sun is really strong today!" Song Yueying thought to herself. She must have been in the sun for too long today, and her brain was spinning.
Otherwise, how could Song Yueying, such a proper person, say such inappropriate things?
Yes, that's it. Song Yueying shifted the blame to Taiyang without any remorse. It's better than admitting that a single sentence from her could make both of them extremely awkward.
“Yeah, it’s really sunny.” Qi Yanjue agreed, pointing towards the courtyard gate. “When you were talking to us in the kitchen, two people brought that small box over.”
“I was going to call you out, but the woman said no need, and then she left the small box at the gate of the yard and left.”
"The woman said she would come to see you again in the afternoon before she left."
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