Because of that one sentence, Zhou Wanning was nearly kissed raw by Li Zhanye.
After Li Zhanye left, Zhou Wanning couldn’t get back to sleep anyway.
When she got up, she realized that only she and Li Zhannan were left in the house—Er Ya had gone to the fields with the others.
It was only a little past ten, but the sun outside was already scorching hot enough to make a person’s skin burn.
Zhou Wanning thought for a moment, then took out two handfuls of mung beans, tossed in two pieces of rock sugar, and put a pot of mung bean soup directly on to boil.
With Li Zhanye gone, Li Zhannan wouldn’t let Zhou Wanning tend the fire either. The little boy sat stubbornly on the stool by the stove, refusing to get up no matter how she tried to pull him away.
His little face was blackened with soot, and sweat dripped from his forehead down along his jawline, streaking his face like a little tabby cat.
In the past few days, Li Zhannan had managed to string together a few simple words, and he expressed his stance firmly: “No!”
“Alright.”
Zhou Wanning didn’t insist. It was a good thing for a child to want to do things himself and build independence, but she still reminded him: “If it gets too hot, get up. Don’t let yourself get heatstroke, understand?”
Li Zhannan wiped the sweat from his face. “Mm~”
There was a bit of coaxing and a bit of showing off in his tone.
She pinched Li Zhannan’s cheek. “Don’t learn from your brother. He’s a bad influence.”
Li Zhannan’s expression drooped slightly, but the very next second he heard Zhou Wanning say, “Xiaonan is so great, you can even share my burdens for me now.”
The little boy’s eyes, which had just been downcast, suddenly burst with light—the satisfaction of receiving praise.
With Li Zhannan helping tend the fire, the pot of mung bean soup was done in no time.
Zhou Wanning ladled the soup into a basin to cool, then took Li Zhannan to the well in the yard to wash up. In just that short time, Li Zhannan was soaked through completely.
Zhou Wanning simply gave him a full wash, then changed him into a clean set of clothes.
By the time all that was done, the mung bean soup had cooled down as well. She poured the soup into the military canteens, then set them in the well water to chill.
When she felt the time was right, she fished the three military canteens back out. From her leather trunk, she found two hats—one she put on herself, and one she gave to Li Zhannan.
The plaid beret suited anyone; even a little boy looked good wearing it.
“Let’s go bring water to your brother and Er Ya and the others.”
Li Zhannan obediently took Zhou Wanning’s hand, swaying as they walked. “Mm!”
This was the first time Zhou Wanning had stepped out of the courtyard since arriving here. She had no idea where Li Zhanye and the others were cutting wheat—it was Li Zhannan who led her to the ridge of the field.
Golden wheat ears rippled in the gentle breeze. People in military-green uniforms and villagers alike were bent over, cutting the wheat. Over a hundred people repeated the same motion, yet Zhou Wanning spotted Li Zhanye at a single glance among the crowd.
Although the man was a scoundrel, she had to admit he really did look the part when he worked—not a single wasted motion, clean and sharp, almost a pleasure to watch.
Just as Zhou Wanning was about to call out to him, Li Zhanye had already looked up and spotted her.
Seeing her come, his brow furrowed noticeably. He exchanged a few words with the people beside him, then strode over to Zhou Wanning in long steps.
“Didn’t you say the sun was too strong? Why did you come all the way out here? Aren’t you hot?”
His words were scolding, but he pulled Zhou Wanning toward the shade of a tree, and as he did, he plucked a few large leaves and fashioned them into a makeshift fan, waving it lazily back and forth for her.
“Everyone’s busy harvesting right now. If you pass out from heatstroke, I won’t have time to look after you.”
The cold touch cut off the rest of his words.
Zhou Wanning pressed the military canteen against his face to cool him down. “I made you some mung bean soup. Have a drink.”
Li Zhanye took the canteen, his heart softening into a mess. This little ingrate had finally thought of him a bit.
One sip of the cool, sweet mung bean soup went down, and Li Zhanye felt his whole body revive. It was so cold—clearly Zhou Wanning had deliberately chilled it in the well water before bringing it to him.
He grinned. “Wife, you’re the best.”
If there weren’t so many people around, he’d really want to hold Zhou Wanning and give her a good kiss.
“Don’t be cheeky.”
Zhou Wanning handed him the other two canteens. “Give one to Er Ya. I’m heading back first.”
Li Zhanye wanted to linger and be affectionate with Zhou Wanning a while longer, but he knew now wasn’t the time. He handed one canteen back to her. “The women and kids are all on the other plot pulling peanuts. I can’t leave this spot—you take it over there.”
“Fine.”
Anyway, with Li Zhannan around, she wouldn’t get lost.
Seeing the sweat continuously beading on the man’s forehead, Zhou Wanning finally asked, “What do you want for lunch? I’ll make it for you.”
“Wife, are you feeling sorry for me?”
Zhou Wanning turned away, ignoring him. “I’m off.”
She heard him shout, “I want flatbread!”
His voice was loud, drawing the attention of even the people focused on cutting wheat, who couldn’t help but glance their way.
Zhou Wanning walked faster with Li Zhannan in tow—she didn’t want to be embarrassed alongside Li Zhanye.
The peanut field was on another hillside. By the time Zhou Wanning followed Li Zhannan there, she was panting for breath.
There were many women and children from the village working here. Aside from people like Li Zhanye, they all needed to earn work points—the more points they had, the more grain they’d get when it was distributed.
But this side wasn’t as orderly as Li Zhanye’s. Though there were plenty of people, few were actually working. Most of the boys were running around playing in the field, while only a handful of girls were pulling peanuts. More of the women were gathered at the ridge chatting, occasionally scolding the girls.
Wang Jinfeng pressed close to Er Ya. “You dead girl, you see your own mother and don’t even greet her? I raised you for nothing.”
Er Ya didn’t even lift her head, focused on the work in her hands. She’d long been “sold” by Wang Jinfeng. Zhou Wanning had said she had no connection to Wang Jinfeng and the rest of them anymore.
Seeing Er Ya like this, Wang Jinfeng cursed inwardly—this dead girl, now that she’d climbed up the social ladder, she dared to ignore people.
But on the surface, she put on a cheerful look. “I saw Li Zhanye had quite a bit of money the other day. Since you’ve entered their family, you must know where he keeps it, right?”
“What do you want to do?”
“Is that any way to question your own mother?”
Wang Jinfeng couldn’t keep up the act any longer. She pinched Er Ya’s lower back. “After a few good days, I guess you’ve forgotten your own name. Don’t forget, this life you have now—I’m the one who fought for it.”
She grabbed Er Ya and started dragging her toward a darker spot. “You can’t just enjoy the good life and forget your family. Ah~!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Wang Jinfeng was knocked to the ground by Li Zhannan, who charged over like a firecracker. Just as she was about to curse, she saw Zhou Wanning standing behind her, staring at her with cold, piercing eyes.
“Wang Jinfeng, what are you doing?”
“Sister…”
Seeing Zhou Wanning arrive, Er Ya’s tears immediately streamed down her face.
Zhou Wanning pulled Er Ya behind her and said in a cold voice, “I told you before, Er Ya has nothing to do with you anymore. Are you trying to break that promise now?”