Lin Qiuman nodded. It was the first time she had ever heard Shen Linghua brag a little.
He had always kept a low profile, afraid that if others knew he earned a lot, matchmakers would line up to introduce marriage prospects.
The cloth shoes on his feet had a hole showing his big toe. His clothes had several tears that he never bothered to mend.
His hair was messy and overgrown, and the stubble on his face was clearly visible.
Back in her previous life, after she followed Shen Linghua home, he hadn’t immediately told her how much money he had saved either.
Only through her persistent pestering and skillful acting did Shen Linghua slowly lower his guard, allowing her to get hold of his little secret stash.
In this era when people struggled just to have enough food and clothing, Shen Linghua—despite living with a parasitic family—had still managed to save a huge sum of three hundred yuan, along with several permanent ration coupons…
It was clear that Shen Linghua was wary of everyone.
But now, in front of her, he openly admitted that he had two sources of income.
He wasn’t nearly as guarded with her as he had been in the previous life.
Lin Qiuman had already been in a good mood, and now she felt even more encouraged, thinking she could move one step further.
“Third Brother, a relative of mine brought me two pieces of fabric, but the colors don’t suit me. Later I’ll take your measurements.”
Shen Lingkang lifted his porcelain bowl to his face, which perfectly hid his expression.
He grinned widely to himself, thinking that if Teacher Lin treated his third brother so well, she would surely become his third sister-in-law sooner or later.
Yay…
“Pfft—cough, cough, cough!”
Perhaps because he was thinking too happily, Shen Lingkang choked on the chicken soup and began coughing violently.
Shen Linghua frowned in annoyance. Of all times for Kang Kang to cough, it had to be right when Lin Qiuman was offering to make him clothes…
Maybe next time he came to help at the school, he shouldn’t bring Kang Kang along.
After that, Lin Qiuman never mentioned making clothes for him again.
When night fell, the students came to copy down study notes. Shen Linghua felt bored and took Shen Lingkang into the mountains to catch wild chickens.
“Third Brother, does our Teacher Lin like you?” Shen Lingkang asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Shen Zhichun had told him that his mother privately scolded Teacher Lin because she wanted to marry his third brother.
Both he and Shen Zhichun hoped Teacher Lin would become their third sister-in-law…
Shen Linghua blew aside the hair hanging over his eyes and smiled smugly.
“Then do you want to marry Teacher Lin, Third Brother?” Shen Lingkang asked cautiously, watching his reaction carefully, afraid he might say no.
“You little brat. Focus on your studies. Don’t worry about adults’ matters.”
Shen Linghua raised his lips in satisfaction and shone his flashlight toward a wild chicken nearby.
“Go on, catch it. Tomorrow we’ll have meat again.”
Blinded by the flashlight, the wild chicken froze in place like a statue.
Thinking about how he could eat with Lin Qiuman again tomorrow, Shen Lingkang worked extra hard.
In less than an hour, the two brothers returned happily toward the foot of the mountain—each carrying a wild chicken, with one of them also holding a small rabbit.
By the time they reached the primary school, the kerosene lamp had already gone out, and the people who had come to study with Lin Qiuman had dispersed.
Shen Linghua had purposely waited until this time to come down the mountain, just to avoid running into them.
“Teacher Lin, I brought you a wooden bucket from home. You won’t have to line up to fetch water anymore—it’s too heavy.”
Before Shen Linghua even reached the school, he saw someone carrying two buckets of water toward Lin Qiuman’s dormitory.
From the voice, it sounded like that pretty boy Li Wenbin.
Shen Linghua frowned.
Usually, Li Wenbin earned fewer work points in the fields than even the women.
So how did he suddenly have the strength today to carry two buckets of water without even panting?
If someone is overly eager to help, they must have ulterior motives!
“Student Li, thank you for going to the trouble,” Lin Qiuman said with a shy smile. She took a ballpoint pen from her pocket.
“I can’t just take your bucket for free. Here, take this pen. A relative from the provincial capital gave me several of them.”
Li Wenbin waved his hand and said seriously,
“Teacher Lin, please don’t be so polite with me. If you ever need anything, just say so. Don’t treat me like an outsider.
Um… I’ll head back now. You should rest early too.”
“Alright.”
Lin Qiuman wasn’t naive. Having lived two lifetimes, she knew exactly why Li Wenbin had helped her fetch water.
In this life, she wanted to wait.
Wait until Shen Linghua fell in love with her and willingly married her.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced toward Shen Linghua standing in the darkness. She quietly put the ballpoint pen away and began boiling water to soak her feet.
Although she didn’t want to force Shen Linghua into making a decision, making him a little jealous might help him understand his feelings more clearly.
“Take these inside. I’m going for a walk.”
Shen Linghua stuffed the rabbit and wild chicken into Shen Lingkang’s arms and walked off into the darkness.
Earlier, when Lin Qiuman said she wanted to make him clothes, he had secretly felt delighted.
But now she had given that pretty boy Li Wenbin a ballpoint pen!
Li Wenbin did physical work for her, and she gave him a pen. Both of them had clearly put a lot of thought into pleasing each other.
They had only attended three nights of study sessions together, yet they already understood each other’s preferences so well. Who knew how many flirtatious glances they had exchanged?
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
Even though Li Wenbin earned fewer work points, many girls in the village liked that refined type.
Looking so gentle and scholarly…
But could refinement fill your stomach?
Without realizing it, he walked to the Li family’s house. Standing outside their low courtyard wall, he clearly heard the Li family’s scheming.
“Wenbin, Teacher Lin accepted our bucket. She must be very grateful to you, right?”
“Yeah. Teacher Lin tried to give me a ballpoint pen, but I didn’t take it,” Li Wenbin said, surrounded by his family as soon as he got home.
“You foolish boy! If Teacher Lin gave you something, it’s practically a token of affection. You should’ve accepted it. Tomorrow you can give her something in return. Back and forth like that, and things will naturally progress,” Li’s mother sighed, frustrated with him.
“I heard the village chief intends to match Teacher Lin with Shen Linghua and even gave him the job of expanding the primary school.
You need to talk with Teacher Lin soon. If she doesn’t object, we’ll ask a matchmaker to arrange the marriage.
Shen Linghua is known to be hard to deal with. If he starts liking Teacher Lin, things will become troublesome.”
Li’s father also believed that only a cultured and capable girl like Teacher Lin was worthy of his son.
“Sure, Shen Linghua is capable, but he’s so rough. How could he compare to our son? Someone as refined as Teacher Lin should marry into our family,” Li’s mother snorted, clearly looking down on Shen Linghua.
Li’s father frowned and reminded her,
“It’s not just Shen Linghua. That hooligan Li Qiang is also eyeing Teacher Lin. In just two days, who wouldn’t want a wife like her? Don’t get too confident—you need to handle this carefully.”
After hearing the Li family’s conversation, Shen Linghua spat in disgust and turned away without looking back.