Aunt Liu looked at Tang Erya with suspicion: “Was it you who piled these up yourself?”
“No!”
The moment she was exposed, Tang Erya panicked a little, her expression flickering with visible fluster.
And that panic only revealed the truth.
Aunt Liu, sharp-eyed as ever, said coldly, “It’s definitely you, you sly little educated youth. You swept all the stones away and even faked fainting just so you wouldn’t have to work. What is it—when you were happily eating someone else’s grain, why didn’t you think it was too much? Now that it’s time to work, you start fainting?”
Aunt Liu had nothing better to do at the moment.
She looked around.
Not finding a place to sit, she simply sat down at the edge of the field. She snorted at Tang Erya, then turned to the well-behaved Mu Qinqin.
With a kind smile, she said, “Girl, it’s almost noon. Go back and rest. I’ve got nothing better to do today anyway—I’ll just keep an eye on her and make sure she finishes the work.”
Mu Qinqin blinked her eyelashes.
What a kind aunt!
But the sun was quite strong, and she actually hadn’t planned on letting Aunt Liu stay out in it.
Just as she was about to speak—
Aunt Liu waved her hand. “A little sun is fine. My body’s been feeling damp these days anyway.”
“……”
Since she said it like that, Mu Qinqin had no choice but to let her be.
Still, she was a bit surprised by Aunt Liu’s enthusiasm.
After the crowd dispersed, on her way back, Mu Qinqin “happened to” run into Si Chengchen.
The man was as silent as ever, walking not too far ahead of her.
When she looked over, she noticed he was still holding that arm-thick wooden stick, as if to complete the act, slowly tapping it against the ground as he walked.
When he noticed her gaze, his movements paused slightly.
A faint redness seemed to spread up his arm.
Mu Qinqin quickly looked away, barely holding back her smile.
“Next time… if she steals your grain again…” the man’s low voice suddenly reached her.
The moment that deep voice entered her ears, Mu Qinqin’s little head instantly perked up like a sunflower, turning toward him at once. “What will you do?”
“You tell me,” he said firmly, though slightly uneasy under her direct gaze.
“And then you’ll hit her for me?” Mu Qinqin asked with a laugh, stepping closer with bright, sparkling eyes.
Si Chengchen said nothing.
Mu Qinqin understood instantly.
That meant yes.
“I’m going back to the educated youth compound. I’ll come find you later,” she said happily, glancing at the sun. It was getting late. She waved at him and ran off.
After she left, Si Chengchen turned back and headed toward the field again.
From a distance, Aunt Liu saw him and called out, “Hey, Si family boy, why are you back again? Did you forget something?”
“No,” he replied briefly, nodding at her before walking toward a nearby grove of trees.
Aunt Liu found it odd.
Wasn’t he walking quite slowly just now?
She didn’t know that his slow pace earlier was simply because he was matching Mu Qinqin’s steps.
And Mu Qinqin…
was deliberately walking slowly because she wanted to spend more time with him.
Aunt Liu sat back down and chatted across the field with another woman: “Yeah, the field’s not busy anyway. I’ve got time, so I’ll just help keep an eye on things. That girl Mu Qinqin is honest and kind—I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
Meanwhile, Tang Erya, covered in dirt and sweat, was working angrily in the field.
Why was Mu Qinqin “honest and kind,” while she was “wicked and sly”?
She looked up—
and met Aunt Liu’s fierce stare.
“Why are you looking around? Get back to work! Finish this whole patch by noon!”
Tang Erya’s vision went dark. “This is a full day’s work! How am I supposed to finish it in one morning?”
Aunt Liu sneered, “Weren’t you eating someone else’s grain just fine earlier?”
Tang Erya: “……”
She almost wanted to throw down the hoe and quit.
None of the other educated youths helped her either.
It was too hot, and everyone was exhausted. No one had the energy to meddle, and besides, Aunt Liu clearly wasn’t someone to mess with. If things escalated, the village would side with its own people.
So no one spoke up for Tang Erya.
Qi Yue even mocked her from the side: “Since you had the nerve to take someone else’s grain, don’t complain now. Just work properly.”
“Why are you still standing there? Get moving!” Aunt Liu barked, rolling up her sleeves and standing up.
Tang Erya, terrified, quickly went back to work.
But inside, she was already cursing Mu Qinqin to death.
Mu Qinqin, of course, didn’t care.
Let her curse—she couldn’t hear it anyway.
“Grandma!”
At that moment, a small figure ran over—a little girl with two braids.
Aunt Liu hurried over anxiously. “Xiao Xing! Why are you running around again? Haven’t you learned your lesson from yesterday?”
She tapped the girl’s head.
Last night, the child had gone missing and nearly scared the family to death.
They were about to ask the village chief to organize a search when the girl suddenly came back with tear stains on her face.
Later they learned she had been climbing trees with other kids, got stuck, and the others all ran away. She was left crying alone on the tree in the dark.
Luckily, Mu Qinqin passed by and rescued her.
“She can fly!” the little girl said excitedly, gesturing with wide eyes. “She jumped up the tree in one step and carried me down! She even gave me sweet candy!”
Aunt Liu only thought the child was exaggerating and asked who saved her.
The girl tilted her head, sucking on a milk candy. “It was the beautiful sister Grandma told me about from the courtyard!”
Only then did Aunt Liu realize it was Mu Qinqin who had saved her granddaughter.
After sending the girl away, Aunt Liu looked at Tang Erya, who was lazily trying to slack off again, and snorted.
Some bad people still want to bully that girl Mu?
No chance.
“What are you doing? Trying to slack off again?” Aunt Liu snapped, standing up immediately.
Tang Erya shrank her neck and quickly picked up her hoe again.
This time, she really wanted to faint.
Looking at the scattered stones on the ground, she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, pretending to faint again.
Even if it scraped her, it was better than working herself to death.
But the moment she collapsed,
Aunt Liu was already there in three quick steps.
She let out a cold laugh and rolled up her sleeves, then pinched the pressure point under Tang Erya’s nose hard. Seeing that her eyelids twitched but she still refused to open her eyes,
Aunt Liu’s smile turned even colder.