Chapter 12.1

Yesterday at noon, Mother Wang had originally planned to speak with Meng Yinyin and ask if she was open to the idea of ​​going on a blind date. If Meng Yinyin was considering it, wouldn’t her son be the perfect match?

However, she hadn’t expected the day to be so busy, and when she saw that Meng Yinyin was sitting in a crowded circle, she couldn’t find a chance to speak with her. In the end, she reluctantly asked Jiang Guihua to deliver the message, telling Meng Yinyin that if she ever visited the town, she should come by and find her.

But since she hadn’t shared more information with Meng Yinyin, Mother Wang wasn’t sure if the young girl had understood her meaning. After all, she was young, and if she hadn’t figured out what Mother Wang meant, she might not even come to visit the town.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious Mother Wang became. A girl as outstanding as that, she couldn’t afford to miss out on her!

After thinking for a moment, Mother Wang suddenly called her second son, Wang Chengwu, into her bedroom and quickly told him about what she had encountered at Lu Dashan’s home yesterday.

“Son, I’m not lying to you. That girl is incredibly beautiful, I’ve never seen anyone as delicate as her in all my years. Didn’t you say you didn’t like the other girls that were introduced to you? I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with her!”

Mother Wang had two sons. The eldest was honest, emotionally slow, and thought that if a match felt right, marriage would follow. But her second son, Wang Chengwu, had always been clever and had his own ideas. Knowing his family’s good standing, he was quite selective when it came to his marriage partner.

What was important to him was not only that the girl must be educated and cultured but also, most importantly, that she must be good-looking. If she had the right looks, the other qualities were secondary.

When introducing partners to the eldest son, someone also tried to introduce one to the second son, Wang Chengwu. Unfortunately, none of them caught his eye and he thought they all looked average.

Luckily, the eldest son hadn’t gotten married yet, so the family wasn’t pressuring him. But now that the eldest son was married, the next target for matchmaking was clearly him.

Wang Chengwu had stayed in town yesterday to entertain guests and hadn’t gone to the Nanjiao Brigade, so he didn’t believe much of what his mother had said about meeting a truly beautiful girl. After all, how good-looking could a girl from the countryside be?

However, Mother Wang quickly explained to her son that the girl was an Educated Youth.

An Educated Youth wasn’t a bad thing. At least she had grown up in the city, so her cultural background should be decent. Seeing her mother’s excited expression, Wang Chengwu guessed that the girl’s appearance was probably decent as well.

With the thought that there was nothing to lose by going to meet her, Wang Chengwu agreed to go with his mother to see Meng Yinyin.

But since Mother Wang hadn’t arranged anything with Meng Yinyin yet, they decided that Wang Chengwu would go with his older brother and sister-in-law when they visited their parents’ home the next day. At that time, he could find a chance to meet Meng Yinyin, and if he liked her, Mother Wang would take the opportunity to formally propose.

After everything was settled, Mother Wang happily went to help her eldest son and daughter-in-law pack for their visit.

…

Meanwhile, Meng Yinyin had no idea about this. In the afternoon, while working, she was still focused on making clothes for Lu Chen.

Because Lu Chen had asked her to gather bamboo strips in the bamboo forest that morning, the scorekeeper had come by during lunchtime. Seeing her run a few steps, the scorekeeper gave her a point and reminded her to work harder in the afternoon.

While the scorekeeper was present, Meng Yinyin obediently nodded in agreement. But when it was time to work again in the afternoon, she simply gave up and lay down next to a thorn bush to rest.

Unfortunately, the sun, which had been behind the thorns in the morning, moved to the front in the afternoon, and she ended up getting completely sunburned.

There wasn’t anywhere nearby to take shelter from the sun, so she had no choice but to raise her hands above her head, trying to block out some of the sunlight.

While this helped shield her from the sun, holding her hands up for too long caused them to become sore. Meng Yinyin had to alternate between blocking the sun and resting her tired arms.

After several switches, she couldn’t take it anymore.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Chen still working in the field under the scorching sun, seemingly unaffected by the heat. She couldn’t help but pout, feeling both frustrated and pitiful. She called out to him, “Lu Chen, I’m hot!”

Clearly, he was working under the same sun, but why didn’t he seem to feel the heat? Did he have some special way of dealing with it? She needed to know.

Upon hearing her voice, Lu Chen straightened up and glanced over at her. He saw that her face was bright red from the sun, her dark eyes widened in frustration, and a few strands of hair around her forehead were sticking up. She looked like a little cat with its fur standing on end.

Lu Chen felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to laugh.

However, he was well aware that if he laughed in front of Meng Yinyin, she would definitely be angry.

He forced himself to suppress the laugh, then set down his work and walked toward the shore.

It was still only May, so although the sun was strong, it wasn’t unbearable. The intense heat came later in the summer, in July and August.

As for Meng Yinyin’s complaint about the heat, Lu Chen didn’t doubt it at all. He understood that she must have come from a well-off family, one where she was pampered. It was only in such an environment that she could develop this delicate personality, feeling uncomfortable after being in the sun for just a little while.

When he reached the shore, Lu Chen pondered for a moment before bending down to break off a few branches of thorny plants with lush leaves. His expression remained unchanged as though he didn’t even feel the thorns. He worked quickly and soon had a flower crown woven from the thorns and branches, which he then handed to Meng Yinyin.

Seeing Lu Chen turn something useless into something beautiful in just a few minutes, Meng Yinyin was stunned. What amazed her even more was that not only did the flower crown look beautiful, but Lu Chen had also thoughtfully removed all the thorns and leaves from the inner circle!

“Put it on to block the sun,” Lu Chen said when she didn’t immediately take it.

Seeing that she hadn’t responded yet, he added, “It won’t prick you.”

Finally, Meng Yinyin came to her senses. She eagerly took the flower crown from Lu Chen and placed it on her head.

“Does it look good?” she asked, tilting her head up to ask him since there were no mirrors around to see for herself.

Lu Chen’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he nodded slightly. In his heart, he silently thought, It looks good.

“I knew it must look great!” Meng Yinyin said confidently, not doubting her own beauty. Besides, the flower crown Lu Chen made was beautiful as well. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see it herself.

Once the flower crown was on, it successfully shielded her from the sun, and she could even smell the faint fragrance of the thorns. Although she didn’t know the name of the flowers, in that moment, she declared that these flowers were her favorite.

The flower crown, which not only blocked the sun but also smelled lovely, was something Meng Yinyin thought was even better than any expensive hat she had bought at the department store.

Lu Chen had given her such a wonderful gift, and she was determined to finish the clothes for him as soon as possible to show her appreciation.

It wasn’t just about impressing him, she truly wanted to thank him.

Seeing her happily admiring the flower crown on her head, Lu Chen returned to the field.

Thus, one of them continued working in the field, while the other rested and relaxed on the shore. Strangely enough, neither of them minded this way of spending time together, and the afternoon passed by quickly.

The only thing that bothered Meng Yinyin was that after being in the sun all afternoon, her beloved flower crown had wilted.

The flowers and leaves hung limply from the stems, no longer as beautiful as they had been at first.

She had even planned to take the flower crown back to show her friend, Yu Xiaoyu.

But what upset Meng Yinyin even more was that as the workday came to an end, she realized she hadn’t done anything all afternoon. The scorekeeper would likely lecture her again!

What surprised her, though, was that even after Lu Chen finished his work and tidied up everything, the scorekeeper never came to their side.

Upon seeing this, Meng Yinyin not only didn’t feel relieved but instead became even more nervous and uneasy, unsure of when the scorekeeper would arrive.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Lu Chen had already solved this problem for her.

In the afternoon, he worked tirelessly to cultivate extra land, so he could use it as Meng Yinyin’s labor achievement.

He knew his actions weren’t entirely appropriate, but when he thought of the scene where Meng Yinyin had broken down and cried in the bamboo forest that day, he realized that making her work was likely harder for her than anything else.

Moreover, doing this didn’t cause him much trouble. It was just a matter of spending some extra time and energy—things that meant little to him. He felt it was worth it, as just spending a little more time could prevent her from crying.

He hesitated for a moment and was about to speak to Meng Yinyin, but suddenly, they heard loud shouting from afar.

“Something happened to the scorekeeper, so he can’t come. Everyone, pack up and go back. Someone will come to register today’s work points later!”

The scorekeeper was in trouble?

Both Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen paused at this news, unsure of what kind of accident had happened to the scorekeeper.

Although Meng Yinyin had only known the scorekeeper for half a month, she still had a good impression of him. Despite always showing a look of frustration when they met, Meng Yinyin knew it was out of concern for her.

She thought about visiting the scorekeeper, but knowing that many people would probably visit tonight, she decided it would be better to go tomorrow instead.

Lu Chen, who was standing by, frowned because of this sudden news, with worry hidden deep in his eyes.

As the day grew late, Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin could only return for now. They parted ways at the main road, and Meng Yinyin walked back to the Educated Youth point, holding the wilted flower crown.

Other Educated Youth, who worked closer to the brigade, had returned earlier than her.

When a group of them was waiting in line to wash up, they saw Meng Yinyin returning in a fresh state, holding a wilted flower crown in her hand.

Her relaxed demeanor, along with the fact that she still had the time and energy to make a flower crown, immediately made it clear that she hadn’t been working hard. This, combined with the fact that the brigade leader had assigned her to work with Lu Chen, especially after Lin Xiaoxia’s comment in front of everyone that day, made many Educated Youth look at her with subtle eyes.

If Lu Chen hadn’t helped Meng Yinyin with the work, she definitely wouldn’t have returned so easily. When she had worked with everyone else before, she was always exhausted and covered in dirt by the end of the day.

Since Lin Xiaoxia and Meng Yinyin had completely fallen out after that lunch, the others, though they were too polite to speak, could tell that Lin Xiaoxia wasn’t going to let this slide. Without holding back, she immediately shouted out.

“Educated Youth Meng, are you done working? Ah, some people just can’t be compared to others. You’ve worked the whole day, and your clothes aren’t even dirty, unlike us who are all tired, dirty, and sweaty. Your flower crown is also quite pretty. I really envy how you still have the time to make that.”

Lin Xiaoxia’s sarcastic tone rang loud, and almost everyone at the Educated Youth point heard her words.