Zhong Meixian told her, “No, he’s out. He should be back soon.”  

Luo Tian let out an “Oh.”  

Wen Tang and Chi Yue squatted by the well, each holding an enamel cup. Chi Yue shot her a look: So your rival’s here already? 

Wen Tang: As you see.

The two brushed their teeth.  

Just as Wen Tang spat out her first mouthful of foam, she heard Luo Tian ask, “Comrade Wen, where do you work?”  

Wen Tang turned to look at her. “Work? Does getting married count as my job?”  

With toothpaste foam at the corners of her mouth, she asked with an air of naive stupidity. Luo Tian, thinking she genuinely didn’t understand, patiently explained, “Of course not. Marriage is just a lifestyle, not a job.”  

“A job should be like Comrade Gu’s work, or working in a factory, a supply and marketing cooperative, a grain station—those all count. Or even what I do.”  

Wen Tang: “…”  

Chi Yue: “…”  

“So, earning work points in the fields doesn’t count?” Wen Tang maintained her naive stupidity.  

That question left Luo Tian momentarily speechless.  

But she quickly smiled and said, “I just noticed that you and that other female comrade seemed to have just gotten up…” She trailed off, but the implication was clear: You’re not even out of bed, yet you talk about earning work points?

Wen Tang quickly rinsed her toothbrush and stood up. “Other jobs let you take a few days off after getting married. Are we not allowed to take a few days off from earning work points?”  

“Does working in the fields not count as a job?”  

“Then why did Comrade Luo just say earning work points counts as a job?”  

After Wen Tang finished speaking, Luo Tian was left gaping, her lips parting and closing for a long while without managing a single word.  

When she didn’t respond, Chi Yue spoke up instead. She nudged Wen Tang’s shoulder and said, “Forget it, why bother explaining this to her?”  

“She wouldn’t understand anyway.”  

Luo Tian: “…”  

She wouldn’t understand?  

“Heh,” she nearly laughed in frustration.  

She was, after all, a proper high school graduate from the city!  

And these two?  

Had they even finished middle school?  

Yet they dared to say she didn’t understand?  

She wasn’t the type to fight over every little thing or insist on having the last word, but when she was in the right, she absolutely wouldn’t let others twist logic to suit their whims.  

Just as she was about to retort, she saw Gu Yanli walk in carrying something.  

Noticing a stranger in the house—someone he didn’t recognize—Gu Yanli frowned slightly.  

But then he spotted Wen Tang standing by the well, and his expression softened.  

He held up what was in his left hand for Wen Tang to see.  

It was the canned fruit he’d promised to buy her yesterday.  

In his right hand was a still-fluttering wild chicken.  

After buying the canned fruit, he’d guessed Wen Tang might still be asleep, so he took a detour to the small woods near the production team. Luck was on his side—he’d managed to catch a wild chicken.  

Actually, he’d have preferred to catch a wild rabbit.  

But those things weren’t easy to come by, and he certainly couldn’t outrun one.  

It’d be better to set a trap.  

Though they’d only been married for three days, Wen Tang had visibly lost weight. He figured she needed some nourishment.  

Once he’d caught the wild chicken, he hurried home. Just as he’d estimated, Wen Tang had only just woken up.

He just hadn’t expected an uninvited guest at home.  

When Luo Tian saw Gu Yanli, her anxious expression immediately melted away, replaced by a bright, confident smile. “Hello, Comrade Gu! I’m the educated youth you saved from the river the other day. My name is Luo Tian. I came today specifically to thank you.” As she spoke, she walked toward Gu Yanli and extended her hand.  

Gu Yanli glanced at her outstretched hand, then down at his own hands—one holding a wild chicken, the other a can of fruit. He looked back at Luo Tian with an expression that bordered on Are you serious?

Just then, Wen Tang sidled up beside him, still holding her enamel cup in one hand while taking the canned fruit from him with the other.  

Then she gave him a look: Go on, shake her hand!  

Instead of shaking it, Gu Yanli subtly slid his hand into his pocket. “It was nothing worth mentioning. No need to take it to heart,” he said, his tone dripping with the no-nonsense demeanor of a seasoned bureaucrat—completely at odds with his youthful face.  

Luo Tian awkwardly withdrew her hand, rubbing her palms together. With an air of superiority that Wen Tang couldn’t quite fathom, she said, “Comrade Wen might not know this, but in the city, shaking hands is a form of social etiquette.”  

“Just like how foreigners greet each other with cheek kisses,” she added, her eyes gleaming with unmistakable condescension.  

Then she lightly smacked her forehead. “Oh, what am I saying? Talking to Comrade Wen about these things… You’ve probably never seen foreign films, right?”  

“You wouldn’t know about this. Let me tell you—”  

Before she could launch into a lecture, Gu Yanli cut her off with a dark expression. “We’re country folk, uncultured bumpkins who’ve never held any foreign hands or seen any foreign kissing. Comrade Luo, with your vast knowledge, standing in our humble courtyard must be beneath you, no?”  

Luo Tian: “…”  

She wasn’t stupid. She could tell this was Gu Yanli’s way of telling her to leave.  

After a stunned pause, she forced an awkward laugh. “Maybe… my words didn’t come out right. But I truly meant no harm! I just wanted to share some knowledge with Comrade Wen…” She opened her mouth again but then closed it. “I’ll… I’ll go now.”  

Zhong Meixian, seeing the sudden tension and Luo Tian about to leave—especially after accepting her gifts—hurried after her and grabbed her hand. “Girl, stay for lunch!”  

As Zhong Meixian chased after Luo Tian, Wen Tang looked up at Gu Yanli beside her: Big bro, that’s a bit crude, no?

Foreign kissing?

But she loved it.  

She loved the way he stood up for her.  

Wen Tang nudged him lightly with her elbow and whispered, “Since you defended me so well today, I’ll let you have an extra round tonight.”  

Now it was Gu Yanli’s turn to be stunned.  

His eyes darted toward Chi Yue, who stood a few steps away, her face the picture of naive confusion—clearly having heard nothing. Only then did Gu Yanli relax.  

If anyone had overheard, how embarrassing would that be?  

Assured of their privacy, Gu Yanli’s handsome face flushed red.  

Woman, your words aren’t any better than mine!

Zhong Meixian didn’t return until after walking Luo Tian out—though it was unclear how far she’d escorted her.  

In any case, Luo Tian didn’t stay for lunch.  

When Zhong Meixian came back, she shot her son and daughter-in-law a disapproving look. “What’s wrong with you two? That Xiao Luo is such a nice girl!”  

“She came to thank you and even brought gifts. How could you not even invite her to stay for a meal?”  

Hearing that his mother had accepted the gifts, the blush on Gu Yanli’s face vanished instantly. “You took her things?”  

Seeing her son’s anger, Zhong Meixian stammered, “She—she said it was to thank you for saving her. I couldn’t refuse—”  

“Couldn’t refuse?”  

“Did the gifts march into the house on their own?”  

“She wanted to thank you, and she seemed like a decent girl, does that mean I went and begged her for it?” Zhong Meixian was getting worked up too.  

As the mother and son teetered on the edge of an argument, Wen Tang quickly intervened. “Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine! Mom didn’t mean anything by it. She just didn’t understand the situation. We’ll return the gifts, no problem.”  

“Right, Mom?”  

With someone taking her side, Zhong Meixian calmed down a little, muttering, “As if I’m some greedy, shallow person who’d jump at free things!”