Zhou Chunfeng finally realized what was going on. Of course—so many people went up to the foot of the mountain every day, how could Nannan possibly have found these things?
“Nannan, you…”
“Aiya, Father, Mother, I really didn’t lie! How could I dare run into the deep mountains? Even if I saw a rabbit, I wouldn’t have been able to catch it! That rabbit ran out on its own and hit its head on a tree, so I picked it up—really, it was just luck!”
“And I’ve noticed ever since my engagement with Gu Linchuan was called off, my luck has just been getting better and better. Today, up in the mountain, I kept running into good things.”
Zhou Chunfeng and Shen Xingqing exchanged glances. Wild rabbits in the mountains were extremely fast and clever; under normal circumstances, Nannan wouldn’t have been able to catch one. Not just Nannan—even people who worked in the mountains all the time would have trouble catching them. Could it really just be luck?
Shen Qingsong let out an “eh” sound. “Could it be that Gu Linchuan had been absorbing our little sister’s luck before, and now that the engagement is called off, her luck is coming back? Otherwise, how could someone like that little rascal Gu Linchuan have become a deputy company commander at such a young age?”
Shen Qinghe tried to hold back her laughter. Her second brother really was a good one—he’d just given her the perfect excuse.
Shen Xingqing shot him a glare. “Stop talking nonsense! At a time like this, saying things about superstition and magic could get you taken away for ‘re-education’!”
Even though it was said casually, Zhou Chunfeng’s mind started to mull it over. It actually made sense. When Nannan was born, her husband had become the brigade commander—what else could that be if not good luck? Her luck must have been absorbed by that stinky Gu Linchuan boy before. Now that the engagement was over, it had returned. Who else at the foot of the mountain could pick up rabbits and silver ear fungus selling for three or four coins a piece? Only Nannan!
Thinking that, she waved her hand. “Alright, alright. Nannan’s good luck is a blessing. Second son, take the silver ear fungus and sell it this afternoon. Leave the rabbit for dinner. Eldest son, after you finish eating, take care of the rabbit.”
“Time to eat, the dishes are getting cold.”
“Yes, yes—let’s eat!”
…
After finishing her meal, Shen Qinghe cooked a pot of mung bean soup using spirit spring water, adding a bit of sugar. Once it was done and cooled, she placed it in the well to chill, planning to bring it to her parents in the field around three in the afternoon.
In the meantime, she entered her space and tidied up the plants that had just been placed there. Looking at the neat and organized space, she nodded in satisfaction.
After a short nap in the villa inside her space, Shen Qinghe brought up the mung bean soup. Chilled by the well water, the soup felt refreshing. She drank a bowl and instantly felt revitalized.
She poured the soup into a thermos, grabbed a few bowls in a basket, and headed to the field.
The Shen family’s farmland was adjacent to the Gu family’s. Old Master Gu was too old to work the fields, and Zhang Manfang’s husband had died early. Gu Linchuan had joined the army and was rarely home, so the Gu family’s labor force was pitifully small. Zhang Manfang could barely earn full work points for a woman; Gu Yuhua couldn’t even manage that. Though she had no “princess status,” she still acted like one, and no matter how hard she worked, she could only get four or five work points.
Shen Qinghe had never worked in the fields growing up, which was a source of both envy and jealousy for Gu Yuhua.
In her previous life, after marrying into the Gu family, Gu Linchuan wasn’t high-ranking enough to accompany the army. She had to stay home in the Gu household, doing housework and even working in the fields, because the Gu family’s food supply wasn’t enough to feed everyone. Her parents, worried for her, sent her rations every month, which was the only reason Zhang Manfang let it go.
Now, Gu Linchuan was at home. He couldn’t stand by while his widowed mother and sister worked the fields, so he had no choice but to work alongside them.
Back then, Gu Linchuan hated returning to his hometown, feeling he was different from the local peasants. But now, dressed in his old clothes, sweating in the field, apart from his good looks, he was no different from anyone else.
Everyone was working in the field, and Shen Qinghe walking along the path stood out.
“Mother, Nannan’s brought mung bean soup,” Shen Qingshan called to Zhou Chunfeng. When Shen Qinghe had cooked the soup earlier, they were still at home.
Zhou Chunfeng, hot and sweating, wiped her brow. “Alright, let’s rest a bit and go drink the soup.”
Liu Lanying swallowed. Cool, refreshing mung bean soup…
With her second brother away, Shen Qinghe only brought five bowls. The soup from the thermos was still releasing a cooling mist. Shen Xingqing felt instantly refreshed just looking at it. He gulped down two bowls in quick succession.
“Father, do you want some more? There’s plenty left.”
“Nannan, have you had some?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Good, then bring some more for Father.” Shen Xingqing smacked his lips—soup with sugar was definitely better than without.
Gu Yuhua watched enviously, also a bit expectantly. In the past, Shen Qinghe had brought water to the Shen family, and since the two families lived close together, she and Zhang Manfang could also get a little. After all, the children of the two families were interacting.
But seeing Shen Xingqing finish his second bowl, and Zhou Chunfeng and Liu Lanying pouring a second bowl as well, she started to worry. What if they finished all the soup?
“Brother…”
Gu Linchuan’s gaze darkened as he watched Shen Qinghe. He had been angry about the Shen family incident last time, but he still believed Shen Qinghe wouldn’t give up on marrying him. After all, aside from him, she wouldn’t find a better man in Shenjiawan, and she was the kind to love vanity—how could she give up on him?
These past two days, he had been trying to ignore Shen Qinghe, but she hadn’t come to him at all.
A flash of panic surged in Gu Linchuan’s heart—the kind of fear when things don’t unfold as planned and control slips away.
Shen Qinghe didn’t even glance at him and continued pouring the second bowl of mung bean soup for her eldest brother.
Gu Yuhua was completely anxious now. Forgetting her pride, she ran brazenly onto the small path, forcing a smile. “Sister Qinghe, I’m so thirsty! Do you have any extra water?”