He opened the tin box on the table, pulled out a needle from a small ball of thread, and turned to hand it to her. As Wen Nan reached out to take it, he glanced at the blisters on her palm. Thinking that her pain tolerance might be a little low, he kindly reminded her, “Try to bear it when you prick the blisters; it will hurt a little.”

Wen Nan: …

This statement, left unsaid, would have been better. The moment he said it, she lost her nerve to do it herself.

Clutching the needle, Wen Nan looked at the blisters on her hand. She really didn’t have the courage to do it herself, so she pursed her lips, looked up at Chen Xu inside the house, and handed him the needle, saying somewhat embarrassedly, “Can you prick them for me? I don’t dare to do it myself.”

Chen Xu’s brow furrowed slightly. Looking at the needle she offered, he hesitated for a moment before taking it. He walked past Wen Nan into the yard, saying, “I’ll prick them for you in the yard.”

It wasn’t appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone in a room. He, a grown man, was fine, but he had to consider the reputation of the woman.

Wen Nan followed Chen Xu. The man was tall and straight, with broad shoulders, and his shadow completely enveloped her. She trotted to a stool in front of a small square table and sat down, watching Chen Xu turn on the light and squat beside her. Even squatting, he was half a head taller than her. He lowered his head, his voice very low, possessing a husky magnetism in the quiet night.

“Put your hand on the table.”

Wen Nan obeyed, placing her right hand flat on the table. Chen Xu placed one hand on the corner of the table and used the other to prick the blister on Wen Nan’s palm with the needle. The needle tip glittered under the warm yellow light. Wen Nan subconsciously tensed up, gritted her teeth, turned her head to the side, and closed her eyes. When she felt a slight sting, she couldn’t help but shrink her arm.

“Don’t move!”

The man quickly grabbed her finger, holding it so she couldn’t move or make a fist.

Chen Xu pricked the needle into the thin layer of skin. Wen Nan bit her lip and let out a soft hum, a tiny whimper like a kitten’s, which was quite clear in the night. Her fingers struggled, and the man tightened his grip on her finger, his low voice even huskier than before: “Just hold on a little longer, it’ll be over soon.”

Wen Nan bit her lower lip hard, never daring to look. It wasn’t particularly painful, but the fear of the needle piercing the flesh and the pain of the blister bursting made her a little scared. She even vaguely felt a faint breath on her palm. Wen Nan turned her head slightly, opening her eyes a crack, and saw Chen Xu, facing away from her.

The man’s brow was slightly furrowed, his brows inexplicably sharper. He was wearing a worker’s vest, and the color of his exposed arms was uneven, but the muscles of his arms were smooth and firm. The large hand holding her finger didn’t seem to be using much force, yet she couldn’t break free.

“It’s done.” Chen Xu took a towel and gently wiped the wound on her hand, releasing her hand. “Put some medicine on it later, and don’t touch water tonight.”

Wen Nan lowered her eyes and gently clenched her fist. Her finger was a little red and stiff from being pinched.

Chen Xu put down the towel and heard the dripping sound in the yard. He turned his head and saw Wen Nan’s shirt and trousers hanging on the clothesline, with a puddle of water already underneath. He put the needle on the table and went to wring out Wen Nan’s clothes. Wen Nan heard the sound of splashing water, blew on her palm, and looked up to see Chen Xu shaking her clothes and neatly hanging them on the clothesline. She got up and went to Chen Xu’s side, pinching the hem of her clothes; there wasn’t a trace of water.

She looked up at Chen Xu, who was much taller than her, and smiled, bending her eyebrows: “Thank you, Brother.”

Chen Xu was used to her calling him “brother.” Remembering her unusual gaze at him at the dinner table, he asked, “About the argument between Commander Kang and Lin Meizhen, did you think I told Commander Kang about his wife and her brother-in-law?”

The man stood with his legs apart, slightly bent at the waist, wringing out Wen Nan’s trousers and shaking them before hanging them on the clothesline. Then he turned around, looking down at her.

Wen Nan didn’t expect him to have figured it out. She looked at Chen Xu with bright, beautiful eyes, curiously asking, “Didn’t you say it?”

Chen Xu: …

“No.”

Wen Nan lowered her eyes, her brow furrowed slightly, biting her lip in thought.

If it wasn’t Chen Xu, then who said it?

Could it be that besides her and Chen Xu, a third person also saw Lin Meizhen and her brother-in-law behaving inappropriately this morning?

Chen Xu stacked the water basins together. The large puddle of water on the ground reflected the man’s handsome features: “Why are you so sure that Commander Kang and Lin Meizhen argued because of this?”

Wen Nan froze, blinking in astonishment.

Chen Xu said, “It’s getting late; go to bed.”

The man turned off the lights in the yard, went back inside, and closed the door. Wen Nan came to her senses and ran into the house. After taking off her shirt and trousers, she lay in bed, staring at the dark ceiling beams. Only then did she belatedly understand the meaning of Chen Xu’s words. Zhang Xia’e only said that Commander Kang was angered by something Lin Meizhen did, but nobody knew what it was.

It was her subjective judgment that led her to believe that it was because Commander Kang found out about Lin Meizhen and her brother-in-law that she immediately suspected Chen Xu.

Thinking about how she had just gossiped and asked Chen Xu if he was the one who told, Wen Nan silently screamed, kicking her legs hard on the bed, pulling the quilt over her head, and letting out several heavy breaths.

What a disgrace!

I wonder if Chief Chen is angry with me?

Wen Nan stayed under the covers for a while, then suddenly remembered that she hadn’t applied medicine to her palm. She got up again, turned on the light, and applied some medicine to her palm. Looking at the wound on her palm, thinking of Chen Xu’s quick and accurate movements, she felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. The blister on her palm had been pricked; would it blister again when she cut grass tomorrow? If it blistered again, would she have to prick it again?

Wen Nan: …

The more she thought about it, the more apprehensive she became.

She turned off the light and pulled the quilt over her head.

Wen Nan didn’t sleep well that night and woke up at dawn, but she didn’t get up; she dozed off in bed for a while.

She kept what Xiaomai said in mind. For the sake of her own life, no matter whether that bad person dared to come to Xinghua Village or not, she wouldn’t risk her own life. Moreover, if she went to cut grass before dawn, she would still have to trouble Chief Chen, and she wasn’t that shameless.

Wen Nan slept until the bugle call sounded before getting up. She listened to the footsteps outside, still worried about whether Chen Xu was angry last night. After getting up and putting on her clothes, she opened the door and went out, just bumping into Chen Xu, who was fetching water in the yard. She walked out of the house and looked at Chen Xu, a flattering smile on her little face: “Brother, are you fetching water?”

Then she wished she could bite her tongue.

Wasn’t that a stupid question?

The cautiousness in Wen Nan’s eyes and the flattery in her smile were all seen by Chen Xu. Looking at her fluffy head and the few strands of hair sticking up on top, a smile appeared on the man’s handsome face, and his low voice became a little clearer: “Yes, the jar is empty.”

Seeing the smile flash across Chen Xu’s face, Wen Nan’s heart, which had been hanging all night, finally settled.

It’s good that he’s not angry.

Grandma Chen was cooking in the kitchen. Hearing Wen Nan’s voice, she turned her head and shouted towards the window: “Nannan, wash your face and eat.”

Wen Nan responded from the kitchen, went to the well and pressed down on the pump for half a basin of water, then went to the kitchen to get a thermos. Before she could leave, she heard Grandma Chen’s laughter, pointing at her head with one hand while using the other to stir-fry vegetables: “Nannan, what did you do last night? Your hair is all messed up.”

Wen Nan: ???

She subconsciously looked at Chen Xu, who was pouring water into the jar. The man’s side profile was softer, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his eyes.

Wen Nan reached up and touched the top of her head, then ran to the well in the yard, squatting down to look at her reflection in the water basin. The face was familiar, identical to her appearance in the 21st century, with two small dimples on either side of her cheeks when she smiled. This was the first time Wen Nan had seriously observed her own appearance since coming to this era.

After looking at it, her gaze shifted upwards, noticing her somewhat messy hair and the few strands sticking up.

Wen Nan: …

No wonder Auntie laughed so happily.

Her hair was as messy as a bird’s nest!

Wen Nan didn’t even wash her face; she ran back to her room, untied her braid, combed it with a comb, and then braided a three-strand braid that hung down in front of her. She touched the top of her head; it was neat.

Grandma Chen’s laughter came from outside: “Nannan, quickly wash your face and brush your teeth; it’s time to eat.”

“Coming.”

Wen Nan put down the comb and ran to the well to wash her face and brush her teeth. Hearing a sound near her feet, she slightly tilted her head and glanced down, seeing a pair of straight, slender legs. Thinking of the smile in Chen Xu’s eyes just now, she sighed inwardly.

Going out to see people with a bird’s nest on her head.

Shameful.

Chen Xu carried two more buckets of water and poured them into the kitchen jar. When he came out, he saw Wen Nan standing up to wipe her face. He took a pair of thread gloves from his pocket and handed them to her. Wen Nan had just finished wiping her face when she saw the gloves. She turned to look at Chen Xu, who was much taller than her, her eyes shining brightly from the water, her eyelashes wet: “Are these for me?”

Chen Xu nodded: “The gloves just arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative this morning. Wearing them will make your hands more comfortable when cutting grass.”

Wen Nan lowered her head and took the gloves Chen Xu handed her, embarrassedly clearing her throat.

She hadn’t worked for a few days yet, and she hadn’t received her wages, yet Chief Chen had already given her a bottle of medicine and a pair of gloves. Wen Nan raised her head and smiled: “Thank you.”

Grandma Chen cooked porridge, fried potato shreds, and steamed corn cakes for breakfast. She placed the bowls and chopsticks on the small square table and looked up at the sky, saying to Wen Nan: “Bring an umbrella when you cut grass today; the weather is strange today; it might rain.”

Wen Nan looked up at the clear blue sky and really didn’t know where Grandma Chen saw that it was going to rain today.

However, she believed in the old lady’s ability to predict the weather. In this era, people relied on the weather to make a living; when it rained and when it didn’t rain determined the harvest of the farmers. After breakfast, Chen Xu took the basket and black umbrella, and Wen Nan followed behind him. As soon as they reached the door, they met Commander Kang, Chief Zhao, and Zhao Xiaomai carrying a basket, along with several unfamiliar people in military uniforms.