In her previous life, Tan Jinhe had fallen in love with Song Ziyao at first sight and then pursued her.
As for Song Ziyao, because of her ex-husband, she had not dared to give her heart away so easily again.
Forty-year-old Tan Jinhe had seemed to suddenly unleash all the passion of his lifetime. He pursued her ardently for two years before she slowly opened her heart to him.
Actually, before meeting Tan Jinhe after coming to the countryside, Song Ziyao had thought about it.
What if the Tan Jinhe of this time did not like her?
What if, after meeting the twenty-year-old Tan Jinhe, she felt that he was not the person she wanted?
If, in their previous life, they had met the right person at the right time,
then in this life, when the timing was wrong, was the person still right?
Only when she saw Tan Jinhe did Song Ziyao finally become certain that no matter what time it was, Tan Jinhe was still Tan Jinhe.
The passage of time might change part of a person’s character, but the things at their core would not change.
What she loved was not a particular label attached to him. She simply loved this person.
However, even with that mindset, Song Ziyao did not allow herself to become obsessive.
She had been reborn and carried the feelings from the past with her. Tan Jinhe had not. He might… not fall in love with her.
Having gone through life and death and returned to being eighteen years old again, Song Ziyao’s state of mind had broadened and grown younger as well. She was no longer like that weathered forty-nine-year-old woman who believed that life would become bleak without Tan Jinhe.
She would work hard to continue this destined connection.
But if, in the end, it truly could not happen, she would not cling to it desperately. Instead, she would carefully seal away this love that only she herself knew about and then live this lifetime well.
Perhaps someone else would love her.
Perhaps no one ever would again.
But none of that mattered.
Because she could love herself.
In truth, this had been the thing Tan Jinhe had most wanted to teach her in her previous life.
It was only after being reborn that she truly understood it.
The broad green lotus leaves blocked the scorching sunlight, and the refreshing coolness dispersed the restlessness in her heart. Song Ziyao smiled as she glanced at Tan Jinhe’s stern profile.
Would Tan Jinhe take the initiative to care about a woman unrelated to him?
Obviously not.
Then she must already be somewhat different in his heart.
So, things were moving in a positive direction.
Tan Jinhe suddenly felt a patch of shadow fall over his head. He tilted his head slightly, and Song Ziyao’s radiant smiling face entered his sight.
Holding up a lotus leaf above him, she said with a grin: “It’s too sunny. I’ll help shade you.”
Tan Jinhe could imagine how ridiculous he must look right now.
He wanted to say that country men were not afraid of the sun.
But the words never left his mouth.
She was standing too close to him, so close that every breath carried her fragrance.
That fragrance was intoxicating.
It made him dizzy and bewildered, completely bewitched.
The package Feng Shihui had sent contained winter quilts, bedding, and clothing, a huge bundle.
Before Song Ziyao could even say anything, Tan Jinhe had already taken the initiative to load it onto the tractor for her.
The commune held a large market fair, but only on days ending in nine, which meant there were only three fairs each month.
As for the town, market days were held on the second, fifth, and eighth days, and many farmers would bring agricultural products from their own homes to sell.
Today happened to be one of those days.
Since they were already here, Song Ziyao did not want to go back so early, so she coaxed Tan Jinhe into taking a look around with her.
“What a bother.”
Although he complained about it being troublesome, Tan Jinhe’s feet did not hesitate in the slightest as he headed toward the market street.
Speechless, Song Ziyao shot him a glare.
Tan Jinhe’s bad habit of saying one thing while meaning another would still occasionally appear even when he grew old.
It was already afternoon, so the market was nearly over. Only a few scattered stalls remained, and most of them were selling handmade goods.
Song Ziyao saw a reed-woven curtain and wanted to buy it to hang over her doorway. It would provide privacy while still allowing light and air to pass through.
But Tan Jinhe would not let her buy it.
“There’s no need to spend money on something like this. You can casually weave one yourself.”
“But I can’t!” Song Ziyao looked at Tan Jinhe with a smile. “Then will you weave one for me?”
Tan Jinhe turned his head away awkwardly under her gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Song Ziyao pushed her luck further. “Not just a curtain. I want baskets, mats, hampers…”
Tan Jinhe continued nodding.
His indulgence made Song Ziyao feel as though she was being spoiled by him.
As they walked farther ahead, they unexpectedly came across someone selling chicks.
The fluffy yellow chicks had only just hatched, and their chirps sounded tender and immature.
Excitedly, Song Ziyao pointed at the chicks. “I want to buy them!”
This time, Tan Jinhe did not stop her, because he could not hatch chicks himself.
Song Ziyao bought three of them in one go.
Tan Jinhe reminded her: “Each Educated Youth is only allowed to raise one.”
Raising more than that would be considered engaging in capitalist practices.
The extra chicks Song Ziyao bought were intended for raising in her space.
However, she said aloud: “I’m buying two extra ones in preparation for them dying.”
Tan Jinhe: “…”
Suddenly remembering the matter of raising pigs, Song Ziyao asked Tan Jinhe: “Where can I buy piglets? I want to raise a pig too.”
Tan Jinhe let out a quiet chuckle. “You can’t even keep chickens alive, and you want to raise pigs?”
He was making fun of her!
Song Ziyao twisted Tan Jinhe’s arm.
It was not hard, more like a playful scratch.
Yet it felt as though a spark had landed on the place she touched, making it burn and itch.
It took Tan Jinhe quite a while before he stiffly turned his head to look at Song Ziyao.
Only to discover that her expression was astonishingly open and natural, as though she had not noticed her momentary loss of restraint at all. She was still gazing at him expectantly as she asked: “So are there piglets for sale or not?”
Tan Jinhe’s eyes darkened slightly. He steadied himself and, with great difficulty, managed to gather back his wandering thoughts.
“You can buy them from the Livestock Station, but it’s already September. They definitely won’t be ready for slaughter this year.”
“That’s fine. They’ll be ready when they’re ready.” Song Ziyao once again appealed to him. “Can you take me to the Livestock Station now?”
Her soft, sweet voice was the most bewitching thing in the world.
Tan Jinhe turned his head away and let out a brief “Mm.” as though afraid of exposing the storm raging in his heart.
“Thank you, you’re so nice~”
This was going to be the death of him…
Tan Jinhe suddenly strode forward, widening the distance between himself and Song Ziyao. “Stop dawdling and hurry up.”
Hearing the impatience in his voice, Song Ziyao pursed her rosy lips and responded with a wronged-sounding “Oh.” before quickly following after him.
The town was not large, and they soon arrived at the Livestock Station.
Farmers generally bought piglets to raise in the spring. It was already autumn now, and winter would soon follow, meaning that raising piglets would require much more care.
The staff at the Livestock Station explained various precautions to Song Ziyao before allowing her to choose two piglets.
The local pig-raising policy was known as “hand over half and keep half.” In other words, no matter how many pigs one raised, half had to be handed over to the state when they were ready for slaughter.
However, raising pigs was not as simple as raising chickens or ducks. The cost of raising pigs was very high, and some families needed two or three years before a single pig was ready for slaughter.
A family that could raise one pig to market weight within a year was already considered fairly capable. Few had the ability to raise more than that.
So when he saw Song Ziyao select two piglets, Tan Jinhe raised an eyebrow and asked: “Is this also in preparation for them dying?”
Song Ziyao nodded without the slightest embarrassment.
Both piglets weighed over ten jin and had already passed inspection. Their four legs were tied together with straw rope, and even while being carried upside down, they continued kicking and struggling energetically.
This trip to town had yielded quite a harvest. By the time they headed back, the sun was already slanting toward the horizon.