The temperature in the afternoon was obviously much higher than in the morning. Most people changed into short sleeves or rolled up their sleeves. Only Tang Momo was still in long sleeves. In an era without sunscreen, physical sun protection had to be taken seriously. 

She reached out and wiped the sweat from her forehead, then walked to the side of the field, picked up the water bottle, and drank half of it. 

Because they thought Xu Xiaoyun would bring water, those who originally planned to bring water in the afternoon gave up the idea. At this time, their throats were almost burning with thirst, and yet there was still no sign of Xu Xiaoyun. 

Some people began to grumble about Xu Xiaoyun, and Tang Momo couldn’t help but frowned as she listened. 

Even though she wasn’t a fan of Xu Xiaoyun’s scheming, these people were getting a bit too full of themselves. 

Moreover, Xu Xiaoyun’s real intention was not to bring water to them specifically, and Gu Chengze, the main target, had said nothing, but they were already stirring up some trouble 

After waiting for a while, Xu Xiaoyun still didn’t show up, and these people’s eyes fell on the water bottle on the ridge. 

Tang Momo opened the bottle before they spoke, drank the water in big gulps, wiped it, and turned the bottle upside down. Hmm, very good, not a drop left. 

After Tang Momo finished drinking, she found that the water bottle next to her was still lying on the ridge of the field. She couldn’t help but feel anxious. Aren’t these people thirsty, or is he really planning to share? But with so many people, how could he distribute it? 

The intensity of the work made Gu Chengze, who often marched, not feel tired at all. When he was still cutting wheat in handfuls, he suddenly heard voices in his ears. 

It was then that he realized how many people were eyeing his water. 

He was a little puzzled; hadn’t the morning’s events reminded them to bring water? 

Ignoring the various looks, Gu Chengze went straight to the water bottle on the ridge and drank it all in front of everyone. 

Seeing this, Tang Momo couldn’t help but raise the corner of her lips. Well done, they deserve it for not bringing their own water and expecting someone to deliver it. 

When everyone saw that their plan had failed, their faces turned a little sour. They wanted to blame others, but they couldn’t. They could only secretly resent Xu Xiaoyun. She knew to deliver water in the morning when it wasn’t hot, but she didn’t come to deliver water in the afternoon when it was so hot. 

People are such strange creatures. In the morning, they were still praising Xu Xiaoyun’s kindness everywhere, but in the afternoon, they began to complain. They are thinking, if it wasn’t for her behavior in the morning, how could they forget to bring water in the afternoon? 

Xu Xiaoyun on the drying yard was also innocent. She originally planned to continue delivering water to the wheat field in the afternoon, but who knew that the captain’s grandson suddenly came over and pestered her to play with him. 

Xu Xiaoyun’s brothers and sisters were all raised by her, so she actually didn’t like children. 

Children aged four or five were at the age of being active. They dragged Xu Xiaoyun to play hide-and-seek and various games in the drying yard. After a while, Xu Xiaoyun was tired and panting. 

Thinking of the fields, where Tang Momo might be trying to curry favor with Gu Chengze, Xu Xiaoyun had a sudden idea. She waved to the child: “Xiao Laohu, come here. I’ll tell you a story, okay?” 

Hearing that there was a story to listen to, Xiao Laohu became interested and sat down next to Xu Xiaoyun obediently. 

*** 

It was getting dark, and the workers began to pack up and prepare to go home. 

Tang Momo glanced at Gu Chengze over there and gave up the idea of going over. No, this is only the first day. I can’t be too friendly, otherwise what if I scare him away? 

Besides, there are so many people here. What if I get misunderstood? 

Tang Momo knew that many people on the team were eyeing Gu Chengze, the ‘golden son-in-law,’ and she didn’t want to be regarded as a rival. 

Gu Chengze was even more confused. Since she was afraid of being misunderstood, it meant that his previous guess was wrong. Then what was her purpose in approaching him? 

Gu Chengze looked back, just in time to see Tang Momo’s graceful handling of the water bottle. 

Well, she seemed to have no bad intentions, Gu Chengze told himself. 

*** 

When Tang Momo went back, Zhang Xiaoli and Tang Jianan had already arrived home. They were both nervous when they saw her. “How are you, are you tired?” 

“You talk as if I’ve never worked before.” Tang Momo looked at the two of them, pretending to be displeased. 

“Someone fainted over at tung tree field today, and I was afraid that you would faint too.” After seeing that there was nothing wrong with Tang Momo, Zhang Xiaoli also relaxed a lot. 

“Then I’ll go take a bath first.” Tang Momo felt very uncomfortable with the sweat all over her body. 

When she came out of the bath, Zhang Xiaoli’s meal was almost ready. 

Since the last time they went to the city, the family’s meals have obviously improved compared to before, and Tang Momo felt that Zhang Xiaoli was definitely hiding something from them.  

After working all day, Tang Momo felt that her arms and legs were not her own, and she fell asleep quickly when she lay on the bed. 

“The next day, Tang Momo went back to cutting wheat. When she arrived at the field, she found others were scrutinizing her. She couldn’t help but look down at herself, and after confirming that there’s nothing wrong with her, she stepped forward and asked, “Aunt Zhao, why is everyone staring at me?” 

Aunt Zhao didn’t expect Tang Momo to be so direct. She couldn’t help but take a step back and laughed dryly, “Nothing, nothing.” 

This reaction made Tang Momo raise her eyebrows. Something was clearly suspicious. The first thing she thought of was Xu Xiaoyun. Did she do something again? 

Just when Tang Momo was still figuring it out, Yang Zhihua, who had tried to introduce her daughter to Gu Chengze yesterday, walked straight up to her. “Girl of the Tang family, I heard that Comrade Xiao Gu saved you. Are you also going to repay kindness with enmity?” 

“I repay kindness with enmity?” Tang Momo pointed at herself with her finger, her tone full of doubts. Why would she repay kindness with enmity? 

Yang Zhihua looked at Tang Momo from head to toe with disdain. Although this girl was prettier than her daughter, she had so many burdens in her family. Who would be willing to marry her? 

After some effort, Tang Momo finally understood the situation. Yesterday, the kids on the team had heard a story from somewhere. 

It was said that a man rescued a girl who fell into the water. He had good intentions, but the girl, after waking up, found that the man’s family was well-off. She refused to leave, claiming that the man had ruined her reputation and forcing him to marry her. 

Originally, people might have just listened to the story and left it at that, but someone had mentioned Tang Momo and Gu Chengze. The beginning of the story was quite similar, and given Tang Momo’s action of giving water to Gu Chengze, many thought she might have ulterior motives. After all, she was of marriageable age, and no one in the entire Qingshui Brigade was better match than Gu Chengze. 

Tang Momo glanced at Yang Zhihua in front of her. This person was so happy even though she was used as a pawn. She said in a light tone, “Aunt Yang, it’s said that self-awareness is the most valuable trait. My greatest virtue is knowing myself.” 

Everyone was shocked at first, and then someone laughed out loud. Wasn’t this girl from the Tang family directly saying that Yang Zhihua had no self-awareness? 

After Tang Momo finished speaking, she turned around and started to cut wheat with a sickle. She guessed that this story probably originated from Xu Xiaoyun. 

With this story, it is estimated that these people will pay special attention to her every move, so it is better for her to keep a distance from Gu Chengze during this period. 

*** 

Gu Chengze didn’t come to work today; he went into the city with his grandmother and Tieniu. 

He rode his bicycle; Zhao Xiuli sat on the back seat, and Tieniu sat on the horizontal bar in front. The wind blew along the way, and he felt it was amazing. 

Seeing his usually serious uncle become much gentler, he remembered the story he heard yesterday. He looked up at Gu Chengze and said nervously, “Uncle, you saved Tang Jianping’s sister, but his sister didn’t want to hold on to you, right?” 

Gu Chengze, who was originally staring at the road ahead, lowered his eyes and glanced at Tieniu. There was no emotion in his tone. “Why do you ask this suddenly?” 

Tieniu roughly repeated the story he heard and then looked at Gu Chengze with some concern. “Uncle, do you think she might try to hold on to you?” 

Tieniu used to like Tang Momo very much, but after hearing this story, his affection for Tang Momo disappeared instantly. He even began to be hostile toward her and thought that she might repay his uncle’s kindness with enmity like the one in the story and force her uncle to marry her. 

“What nonsense are you talking about, kid?” Zhao Xiuli, who was sitting in the back seat, reached out and patted Tieniu’s head. 

Tieniu looked at Zhao Xiuli with some grievance. “Grandma, I’m not talking nonsense. They all said so. They said that with the conditions of the Tang family, they will definitely find a way to force my uncle.” 

Zhao Xiuli had such concerns before, but after the mother and daughter came to her house solemnly to thank her that day, she believed that they didn’t have such thoughts. 

She wondered who was behind this rumor today. 

Zhao Xiuli thought of the situation of Tang Momo’s family and the fact that they separated from the Tang family two years ago, which was a bit undignified. 

So she couldn’t help but wonder if someone from the Tang family deliberately spread such news. After all, they didn’t want to see Tang Momo and her family live well. 

“Do you dislike her?” Gu Chengze took advantage of the free time to look down at Tieniu, who seemed to be disgusted of it. 

Tieniu was stunned for a long time before he understood what Gu Chengze meant. He is just a child of more than seven years old now. Because he was caught up in the emotions of the story, he subconsciously thought that Tang Momo was also a bad person. 

But Gu Chengze’s words reminded him of the time when Tang Momo brought Tang Jianan out when they were young. After seeing him staring at their candies, she generously gave him one. 

He immediately became a little hesitant. “Not really, but…” 

“Tieniu, you have already started school. Didn’t your teacher teach you about not believing every rumor?” Gu Chengze’s tone was serious. 

Zhao Xiuli in the back seat couldn’t help but look up at Gu Chengze in front of her. She felt that something was wrong, but knowing her grandson, who usually has a serious demeanor with the younger generation, she felt that she was overthinking. 

Gu Chengze had good physical strength. Although he was carrying two people, it still did not affect his speed. 

“We’ll first go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy fabric for your uncle’s new clothes.” The main purpose of their trip to the city today was to buy birthday gifts for Zhao Xiuli’s brother 

“Let’s go eat something first.” When they passed by the state-owned restaurant just now, Tieniu’s saliva was almost flowing out. 

Seeing Tieniu’s expectant eyes, Zhao Xiuli couldn’t bring herself to refuse.  

The three of them arrived at the state-run restaurant. Gu Chengze settled the elderly and the child, then went to buy food with the ration tickets and money. 

When Gu Chengze returned with the meat buns and porridge, he saw someone greeting his grandmother. When they saw him coming, they became even more enthusiastic. 

Gu Chengze sat down next to Tieniu. Tieniu quietly came over and whispered to him, “Uncle, this person wants to match her niece with you. She said that her niece is a worker in the textile factory.” 

These days, being a factory worker was quite prestigious, so Tieniu instinctively thought this was good. 

Tang Xiaoxue didn’t expect to meet Zhao Xiuli and her grandchildren here. When her mother came to the city to deliver something to her two days ago, she mentioned that Gu Chengze came back to look for a match which caught her interest. 

Her husband is the youngest in the family. It is all thanks to the two elders and the eldest brother that they can live so comfortably. The daughter of the eldest brother has just joined the textile factory as a temporary worker recently. 

The formal workers in the factory naturally look down on temporary workers, so Qiu Xiaowan’s marriage prospects were still uncertain. 

After hearing the news, Tang Xiaoxue saw an opportunity. If she succeeded in matchmaking, her sister-in-law would be more generous with money in the future. 

Since Tang Dajun’s death, the Tang family had forced Zhang Xiaoli and her family to live separately. This made Zhao Xiuli have a very bad impression of the Tang family. She felt that they were too heartless, so her attitude was a bit dismissive. 

Zhao Xiuli’s indifference irritated Tang Xiaoxue. She was introducing a girl from the city, so what kind of attitude was this? 

But thinking about how pleased her brother and sister-in-law would be once the match was made, Tang Xiaoxue composed herself. “Auntie, I have something to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now. I’ll bring Xiaowan back when I have time.” 

After the people left, Gu Chengze asked casually, “Grandma, how did she know you?” 

“They are also from our Qingshui Brigade; have you forgotten?” Zhao Xiuli glanced at Gu Chengze in confusion. 

Gu Chengze shook his head. “I have no impression.” 

“She has been married to the city for many years. It’s normal that you don’t remember her. She’s from the Tang family—the aunt of that Tang girl,” Zhao Xiuli explained. 

Speaking of Tang Momo, Zhao Xiuli couldn’t help but talk about what happened back then. “I don’t know how Tang Dajun’s job ended up being taken over by Tang Xiaoxue. The Tang family is really unreasonable.” 

Gu Chengze handed the meat bun to Zhao Xiuli, his tone was filled with anger that he himself didn’t even know about. “So Tang Momo’s father’s job was taken by her aunt?”