Xiao Mo didn’t feel sad for long; by the afternoon, Old Chen had brought San Dan and Xiao Wang to the cattle shed to find Xiao Mo. The three boys had made up.

With his small basket on his back, Xiao Mo was digging wild vegetables near the cattle shed, while Old Chen and Grandpa Qi sat at the entrance, talking and watching the children.

In the afternoon, when Xu Ning went to work, she heard Wei Lanlan say that Lin Qiuhua was getting married.

“It’s the youngest son of the village chief from Wang Village next door. I don’t know how they met, but a matchmaker came over today, and the date has been set for after the autumn harvest,” Wei Lanlan explained.

Xu Ning asked, “The matchmaker came just once and set the date? Why the rush?”

Wei Lanlan whispered, “I heard that next year their village has a quota for recommending someone to university. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Xu Ning was surprised. “That’s insane! It’s still just a rumor, and they’re willing to gamble so much. Even if they get married, will that guy really let her go to university?”

“She’s been in the countryside for several years now, and she’s not getting any younger. Even if she doesn’t go to university, it would be nice to marry into a better family.

After what happened with Li Fengjiao, the better families in Yushu Village won’t look for educated youth anymore. Now that there’s someone with similar circumstances, she should hurry up and get married,” Wei Lanlan said, winking at her.

Xu Ning laughed, “When are you and Chen Xiangdong planning to get married? It seems like he’s a bit anxious!”

Wei Lanlan spoke about others calmly, but her face turned red when it came to her own situation. After a moment of hesitation, she shyly said, “Chen Xiangdong said he would start preparing after the autumn harvest and that we would get our marriage certificate before the New Year.”

Hearing this, Xu Ning wanted to give Chen Xiangdong a thumbs up; this guy was quite efficient! Looking at Wei Lanlan’s silly smile filled with happiness, she truly felt that the two were a good match.

Chen Xiangdong was meticulous in his work, while Wei Lanlan was a carefree girl. Their personalities complemented each other well.

Xu Ning nudged her with her shoulder and said, “Chen Xiangdong is a great guy. Congratulations! Don’t forget to hand out wedding candies.”

Wei Lanlan shyly nodded, and Xu Ning found her reaction amusing.

Suddenly, she thought of another question and laughed, “So when you get married, where will you live? Sun Hao and Yang Xiaomei probably won’t get married that quickly, right?”

“Sun Hao said he would move into the male educated youth dormitory and let us have the house for now. When he and Xiaomei get married, they can move into our place,” Wei Lanlan replied.

As the two of them chatted while working, the village chief’s wife approached. Seeing Xu Ning, she greeted her warmly, “Xu Zhiqing, I have a lot of large kidney beans from my personal plot. Da Lin said you like these, so I picked some for you today. Take them home and stir-fry them.”

Xu Ning quickly stood up with a smile and said, “Auntie, I can’t accept this! You worked hard to grow them, and I’m just the one who benefits with my big appetite.”

The village chief’s wife laughed at her response. “Well, it’s your good fortune! Every year, I grow kidney beans, and Da Lin always complains, saying that I insist on growing the vegetables he dislikes.”

The other educated youth nearby were amused by her words, and Xu Ning took her basket to let the village chief’s wife pour the kidney beans inside.

The village chief’s wife took the basket and left, while Wei Lanlan, filled with envy, said, “You have such a good relationship with the village aunties; even the village chief’s wife knows what vegetables you like.”

Xu Ning looked at her and smiled. “Oh, come on! The aunties in the village like you just as much and want to marry you off as a daughter-in-law. Didn’t you turn them down?”

Wei Lanlan’s face flushed again at the mention of this. It had happened when she first arrived in the countryside; an aunt from the village thought highly of her personality and wanted to introduce her to her son as a potential bride.

That had frightened Wei Lanlan so much that she had avoided passing by that house for several days, even taking a longer route to work just to steer clear of it.

As the two of them joked and chatted, Gu Wenjing, who was working nearby, muttered, “Flatterer.”

Wei Lanlan immediately retorted, “Who are you calling a flatterer?”

Gu Wenjing wasn’t afraid of her; she knew that Wei Lanlan was just a paper tiger. With a teasing tone, she said, “I’m calling you a flatterer.”

Xu Ning laughed at this and turned to Wei Lanlan, saying, “Did you hear that? The flatterer is calling you a flatterer!”

Gu Wenjing repeated the tongue twister to herself twice before realizing that Xu Ning was actually mocking her. However, she didn’t dare provoke Xu Ning; that stubborn girl was very strong and could fight well, and Gu Wenjing knew she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Rolling her eyes at Wei Lanlan, she moved to a spot farther away to work.

The two of them didn’t pay her much attention and continued their playful banter.

Lin Miao had been working nearby without looking up, but she was thinking to herself that Xu Ning seemed to have a good relationship with the village. Even the village chief’s wife was bringing her vegetables, and the way they talked with each other indicated that they must interact often.

She wasn’t particularly keen on socializing with the villagers. With the college entrance examination coming up in a few years, building relationships here wouldn’t be of much help to her future.

But she wondered if getting on good terms with the village chief’s wife might make her work a bit easier later on. Glancing at Xu Ning, she noticed that she was doing the same tasks as the rest of them and wasn’t receiving any special treatment.

Unaware of Lin Miao’s thoughts, Xu Ning finished her quota of work, took her basket, and headed back.

She genuinely thought the method the village chief and several team leaders had come up with was good: they outlined the amount of work needed, and once it was finished, they could leave, similar to piecework in later years.

When Xu Ning returned home, she first gathered the dried vegetables that had been sunbathing outside. Seeing that there was only a small amount of water left in the jar, she grabbed a bucket and went to fetch water. After filling it up, she watered the vegetables in her personal plot.

Xu An came back just as it was getting dark. Noticing how dirty he was, Xu Ning knew he had gone to work again after school.

She had told him several times to come home right after school and not to work, but he never listened. He insisted on finishing two quotas of work each day before coming home. Seeing that he seemed to manage, she let it be.

Xu Ning placed the flatbreads and stir-fried big kidney beans on the table, and then made a spicy stir-fry with peppers and meat.

When Xu An saw the large kidney beans on the table, he laughed and said, “Sister, where did these kidney beans come from? Da Lin keeps asking me to go to his house to pick them; he hates kidney beans the most, and his mom makes them every day!”

Xu Ning picked up a piece of meat and said with a smile, “The village chief’s wife gave them to me. She said Da Lin told her I love kidney beans, so she brought me half a basket!”

The brother and sister couldn’t help but laugh.

As Xiao Mo just reached the doorway, he exclaimed, “I can smell it! We’re having spicy stir-fried meat and large kidney beans today!”

Xu Ning and Xu An had only just heard him speak when they saw a small figure dash inside to grab chopsticks and bowls. Before they could react, Xiao Mo was already sitting at the table, picking up a piece of meat and putting it in his mouth.

Xu Ning looked at him and said with a smile, “Xiao Mo, did your good brothers leave?”

After chewing on a piece of meat, Xiao Mo sighed and replied, “They left! They’re such big kids, yet they cry like little children over everything. If they hadn’t made me their big brother, I wouldn’t even want to play with them anymore. But now I have no choice; they’re my brothers, and I can’t just ignore them.”

He sighed again and took another bite of meat.

Xu Ning and Xu An were amused by him, watching as he sighed and ate meat throughout the meal.