Chapter 32 : Is this her secret?

“We can’t draw any conclusions yet. We need to observe again at night.”  

Although Xu Chenghua said this, his expression told a different story.  

Experienced scholars could predict weather changes by observing the color of the sky, the types of clouds, wind conditions, and the way sunlight, moonlight, and starlight converged without relying on external tools.  

From the moment Sun Shiheng arrived, he noticed that the weather here was unusual.  

It was too stuffy. It felt as if the entire atmosphere was weighed down, ready to explode at any moment. Even though the sun was still shining, a heavy rainstorm could arrive unexpectedly.  

On the other side, Chen Shuangxin was getting more excited as he spoke, even going so far as to instruct Wang Fulai on where to dig irrigation canals.  

Sun Shiheng frowned upon hearing this.  

What was going on in the province? Why did those with real talent and knowledge have no status?  

But Wang Fulai didn’t understand these subtleties. Upon hearing the experts declare an imminent drought, his only thought was to mobilize people to start digging ditches immediately.  

Shen He, too, noticed the conflicting opinions among the experts. One group predicted a drought, while the other side aligned with his wife’s dream.  

Shen He never doubted Su Ranran’s words. After all, he had his own experience to go by, before Su Ranran moved to the countryside, he was certain they had never met.  

Yet, she could describe the exact position of the mole on his neck in detail. Such a dream defied common logic.  

Now, with the experts’ conflicting opinions, Shen He naturally leaned toward believing that it would rain.  

But this was a serious matter.  

If all the experts had predicted rain, it wouldn’t be an issue. But now, with completely opposite forecasts, one warning of rain and the other of drought, different responses were required.  

However, there was no use in worrying at this point. He could only wait until tomorrow after further tests to reach a final conclusion.  

After settling the experts, Shen He didn’t linger but walked toward the slender figure working in the field. As soon as he got closer, he noticed her flushed face, clearly overheated from the sun.  

“Why did you come to the fields?”  

Shen He frowned, his expression filled with disapproval, as if dissatisfied that she hadn’t listened to him and had sneaked out to work.  

Ever since Shen He arrived, Su Ranran’s attention had subconsciously focused on him. Now, seeing his look of disapproval, she felt a bit guilty and uncomfortable.  

“I’m feeling better now, so I pestered my mother to let me come to the fields.”  

But she ignored the fact that she was still too thin, and her words didn’t sound convincing at all. Especially since Shen He had personally carried her last night, he knew exactly how fragile she was.  

However, seeing her guilty expression, his initial dissatisfaction softened into pity. He couldn’t bring himself to scold her, so he lowered his voice and said, “I can do this. You take Doudou and go play.”  

Hearing this, Su Ranran instinctively glanced at his strong, muscular frame. ‘He’s going to pick rice ears?!’  

Seeing the shock on her face, Shen He fell silent.  

“I can earn eight work points by picking rice straw for half a day.”  

Su Ranran immediately thought about how she had spent an entire day collecting rice ears and had only earned four work points.  

‘Comparing yourself to others really is discouraging…’  

Knowing her own limits, Su Ranran gave up competing for the job.  

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”   

Her expression was so vivid, with every thought written clearly on her fair little face.  

Seeing the brightness in her eyes, Shen He couldn’t help but smile.  

After a brief pause, he said, “Go, Doudou is waiting for you.”  

“Okay!”

Nodding, Su Ranran didn’t linger any longer. She picked up the bucket she had just placed in the field and left. But just as she walked under the tree, something crossed her mind. She grabbed her water bottle and turned back.  

“Drink some water first.”  

Although she didn’t know where he had been, she could see the sweat on his forehead and knew he must be hot.  

Hearing this, Shen He’s gaze lingered on the bottle in her hand for a moment. Without hesitation, he took it and drank deeply. As the cool, refreshing water flowed into his mouth, Shen He realized, it tasted surprisingly good!  

Not just in terms of flavor.  

As the water went down into his stomach, an indescribable energy seemed to spread through his body, gradually washing away his fatigue. It was a physical sensation of being re-energized.  

Lowering the bottle, Shen He’s eyes rested on Su Ranran’s curious face before he handed it back to her. There was no sign of anything unusual in her expression.  

Taking back the water, Su Ranran resisted the urge to ask how he felt and quietly turned away.  

Behind her, Shen He’s gaze deepened with curiosity.  

Scenes from yesterday flashed through his mind, how she had stirred the water in the tank with a ladle. And those unexpectedly delicious sweet potatoes from last night…  

Could this be her secret?  

Su Ranran, however, seemed unaware that she had given herself away or maybe she didn’t care. After all, she had never intended to keep it from Shen He in the first place.  

He was the one sleeping beside her. Unless she stopped using the space entirely, it would be impossible to keep it hidden forever.  

She was merely revealing things little by little, testing how much he could accept.  

If he rejected it, she would stop.  

Su Ranran was very calm about letting him know about the special water.  

If it hadn’t been for Shen He in her previous life, she would have died long ago, none of this would have even existed.  

To her, this life was just a second chance, a stolen moment. Every extra day she lived now was a blessing.  

Shen He watched as the two figures one big, one small disappeared into the stream, then withdrew his gaze. He picked up the carrying pole lying beside the field and began to transport the straw. Each load of straw weighed around a hundred kilograms. Carrying it a few times wasn’t difficult, but hauling it all day long was exhausting.  

This was usually a task for strong men, women only did it when their families were struggling.  

Although Shen He had spent years in the army, he had done plenty of land reclamation work on the island. He was no stranger to this kind of physical labor. But today, even after several trips, he didn’t feel tired at all.  

In the end, he even started carrying ‘two hundred kilograms’ at a time.  

The men passing by couldn’t help but stare in shock soon, they all scrambled to carry heavier loads, unwilling to be outdone by him.  

The already busy harvesting scene turned even livelier!  

The men worked harder, pushing themselves to their limits, while the women, realizing they couldn’t keep up with the speed of transportation, sped up their harvesting.  

By the time Su Ranran returned with half a bucket of snails, she was stunned to see that the team had already cleared an entire field!  

What should have taken two days had been finished in just one day, all thanks to Shen He’s relentless efforts!  

And the craziest part? He had carried 200 kilograms repeatedly without a single break, and he made it look effortless.  

Was he even human?  

For a moment, Su Ranran couldn’t decide whether he was just naturally that strong or if the water she had given him really had that much of an effect.  

But before she could figure it out, loud arguing erupted from the meteorological experts in the distance.  

“I’ll take full responsibility for this, if I say it won’t rain, then it won’t rain!”